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Why a Routine is Important | The Trick to Rejections

Why a Routine is Important
Working from home can be, in a word, challenging. Between the dogs barking at the dust balls floating across the floor, the cats sending faxes to China, the teenagers inviting the neighborhood kids in for Hot Pockets and Doritos, things aren’t exactly quiet at my house.

Which is why a regular routine is essential.

When developing a routine, start by doing a personal inventory of your writing habits. Are you most productive first thing in the morning, late at night, or during the afternoon? I’m referring to the first draft writing aspect of the process because for me, revising can be done anytime.

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that, for me, writing in the morning is about effective as skating on quicksand. It just ain’t happening. Keep track of when you get the most pages written, the time of day you’re really in the zone, and see if there’s a pattern. Capitalize on your physiology’s natural routine; don’t fight it. Yes, that means if you’re most productive between three and seven in the afternoon the kids are going to have to make their own dinner.

Once you’ve figured out when you get your best work done, carve out that piece of your day, every day, to write.

Let’s say you’re a morning writer (I envy you). Set your alarm and get up and write your pages for whatever hours you’ve designated. Have lunch about the same time every day, take your afternoon walk at the same time, etc. Developing a routine stimulates the habit of writing.

What can you do to respect your natural routine? I’ll suggest paying attention to the food you eat. Honestly, I’ve noticed I need a nap shortly after ingesting simple carbs (sugars, white flour, etc). Do certain foods affect you in different ways? I find that protein, veggies and fruits are brain food for me.

Also, pay attention to what triggers your muse. A few things that come to mind: listening to music, taking a daily walk, reading poetry and…vacuuming (I’m not kidding.) Somehow the mindless motion of sucking up tumbleweeds of dog and cat hair seems to stimulate my brain. (Sorry, I’m not coming to your house). Don’t dismiss mindless activity. Think of it as a tool to detach your creative mind from the ever-present critic that lives just beneath the surface, the one that intimidates you into NOT writing your pages.

In my opinion, a routine helps train your brain to tell your body what’s next on the agenda.

Every day at exactly 6:30 p.m., my golden retriever sits in the middle of the kitchen, waiting for his arthritis pill. It’s his routine. Wouldn’t it be great if at 9 a.m., every day, your brain automatically clicked into writing mode and words spilled out onto the page? It’s possible. You just have to create a routine in sync with your body’s natural physiology.

Good luck!

The Trick to Rejection
Rejections. They’re horrible. Gut wrenching. Devastating. And reading them is a complete waste of your energy.

Or is it?

Sure, when you first get your rejection letter, describing in detail what’s wrong with your heroine, your plot, your writing style, your hairstyle; your first reaction is to go face down in a gallon of Moose Tracks ice cream and come out five hours later.

But here’s the trick: give yourself time to throw your tantrum. Get it out of your system. Drink your red wine, eat your chocolate (or even better, dip the chocolate in the red wine), stomp around the house, throw darts at the publisher’s website, yes, even shout back at the letter if you have to.

Whew, once that’s over, play a game of “a friend of mine just got this letter and I need to help her learn from it.”

I’m not kidding.

And no, I’m not drunk.

With a fresh, objective eye, read it again, considering each criticism as a lesson. These rejections are all your teachers, sharing insight that will make you a better writer. That said, please disregard the letters that include comments like “you shouldn’t waste anymore trees by trying to write.” I call these “diseased” and they need to be destroyed so the disease won’t spread.

Onto a few lessons I’ve learned from rejections.

Lesson one: When an editor says “There’s not enough conflict in your story” guess what? There’s probably not enough conflict in your story. Remember, no conflict, no story. Nada. Nothing. Conflict is, in my opinion, the pulse that keeps your story beating. A great reference book on conflict is Deb Dixon’s “Goal, Motivation, and Conflict.” (www.debradixon.com)

Lesson Two: When an editor writes, “I’d be happy to accept submissions from you in the future” she is not kidding and you’d better send her something else. Honest. Editors don’t have time to be nice and make friends with Amanda Author. They recognize something they like when they see it. If they see it in your voice, and ask for it again, send something.

Lesson Three: Don’t take it personally. HA! You knew that was coming. Publishing is a business and the goal is to make money. An editor wants to buy authors who are going to sell lots of books and make the publisher lots of money. Simple. You may not have what they think will sell this month, but six months down the line, your writing will be that much better and the tide may have changed and they’re suddenly looking for books like yours.
Accept rejections as road signs directing you to your ultimate destination: publication!

© 2006, Pat White