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Get it together:
Tips to Get Organized and Write More
Copyright
Cheryl C. Malandrinos - All Rights Reserved.
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It’s a new year,
and like many writers you may have set goals for yourself. Maybe
you’re planning to finish the novel you’ve been working on for the
past three years. You might have committed to sending out two
queries a week. Or perhaps you’ve decided to enter your first
writing contest.
But how can you
accomplish any goal if your work area is as disheveled as Dorothy’s
house after the tornado in The Wizard of Oz?
My workspace is in
our family room and it used to be the catchall for unopened mail,
kid’s toys, and reference books. If company stopped by, I would hide
my pile of junk in a pullout drawer which should have held my
keyboard. After months of scrambling around in chaos, I decided if I
wanted to be a serious writer I had to get organized. Here are a few
tips to help you clear away the clutter, get organized, and have
more productive days of writing.
Uncovering Your
Desk
I can’t tell you
how many times I’ve lost an important piece of paper on my desk and
wasted valuable time looking for it in a pile of research,
unanswered mail, and letters. I had enough surface area on my
writing desk if I cleared away all the unnecessary clutter, so I
looked for ways to clean off my desk.
I brought a filing
cabinet down from the room above the garage and went through all the
folders inside. I purged what I didn’t need. Then I set up an
entirely new filing system with research and current projects in the
top drawer, and things I use less often in the bottom drawer.
Anything I didn’t need on a regular basis was put in a cardboard box
and stacked in the basement.
In her book The
Home Office Solution author Alice Bredin suggests making a
reading file which contains articles from magazines, newspapers, and
trade journals you’ve been meaning to read. She says, "When you
receive new material, quickly skim the table of contents and tear
out or clip any articles that seem interesting or pertinent." The
articles are organized in such a way that you will be able to take
them with you and actually read them, instead of leaving them piled
up on your desk.
Another good way to
keep your desk free of clutter is to make sure every piece of paper
has a home. Invest in a set of letter-sized stackable trays. How you
use them is up to you, but I have them marked in a way I’ve found
makes it easy for me to accomplish my writing goals.
The top tray holds
any query letters that need to be mailed. I always review letters in
the morning when my mind is fresh, put everything in an envelope,
seal it and put it in a pile of outgoing mail that I keep in a bin
on my filing cabinet. The next tray holds all my research for
projects I’m working on, and the last tray is for what needs to be
filed.
Remember that
drawer in my desk that I used to conceal my junk pile when company
stopped by; well, scattered within that drawer were pens, pencils,
stamps, post-it notes, and every other office supply I could use. I
purchased a set of bookends with small drawers on eBay for under
$10. Most of my office supplies fit there, and my reference books
are now neatly placed behind my laptop on my desk. The few remaining
office supplies are stashed in an old kitchen utensil tray inside
the desk drawer.
Once your desk is
clean, what else can you do to get organized and write more?
Creating To-do
Lists
It’s ironic I am
imparting advice which encourages you to write out a to-do list when
I have spent most of my adult life avoiding them. But as Alice
Bredin says, "Lists keep things from falling through the cracks" and
they "also provide a sense of accomplishment, because it feels great
to cross an item off your list after you’ve completed a task."
Bredin suggests the best way to stay organized is to compile a
single list of unfinished tasks.
Whether you create
a paper to-do list or an electronic one, take time at the end of
each day to review your list, cross off the tasks you’ve completed,
and prioritize it for the following day so you can focus your work.
Your desk is clean,
you’ve created a to-do list, but how do you keep track of the
comings and goings of all those queries and follow up letters?
Tracking
Submissions
When I first sent
out submissions, I had this ludicrous idea I could remember the
important details of each submission in my head. Well that idea
lasted about three weeks before I figured I had to find some way to
track the queries I sent out to which editors.
"A record of
submissions can be something as simple as a notebook whose sheets
you have divided into columns," says author Mary Rosenblum, who is
also the Web Editor for Long Ridge Writers Group. These columns
should provide details you will need in regards to your submissions,
like in the table below:
|
Title |
Publisher/Editor |
Word Count |
Sent |
Follow up |
Date
Returned |
Published |
Rights Sold |
Payment
Date/Amt |
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Keep this notebook
handy so that you can jot down the details of every submission
before you mail it out.
Once you’ve
uncovered your desk, created a to-do list, and found the best way
for you to track your submissions, it’s important for you stay
organized. Open and respond to your mail immediately. Take a day
every two weeks and put away the paperwork in your filing tray.
Maintain your to-do list and use it to focus your work on a daily
basis. Know what queries you have out there and who you need to
follow up with.
You too can be
organized and write more!
About the
author:
Cheryl C. Malandrinos began writing as a teenager,
but it wasn’t until she became a stay-at-home mother that she began
to fulfill her dream of a full-time writing career. She is a
freelancer who specializes in time management tips for writers. She
has also written articles on everyday life in the 1800’s, gardening,
parenting, and women’s health issues. Visit Cheryl’s website at
http://ccmalandrinos.tripod.com/
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