Previously, I shared that successful writers have others who hold them accountable, and writers read. 

To write well takes a lot of work. How we spend our writing time affects our projects. To be the best writer you can be, focus on the ART of writing. That’s…

Creativity comes at a price. That’s the T in ART. We need to take time to write. To Learn. To improve. To be.

As writers we need to invest a lot of time into our work, and it’s not all in writing.

Writing Groups

Every week I learn more about the publishing world through online groups. Some are Facebook groups for children’s authors. Another group meets every week with a video chat. It's called Writers Chat. (FYI, I'll be one of the guests tomorrow chatting about kidlit.) It meets Tuesdays at 11 a.m. ET. through Zoom at this link.) 

Accountability and critique partners and writing groups all take time. I find great value in the feedback from my partners/group as well as studying their writing to help them improve it. I even wrote a blog post about the value of writing feedback here.

Conferences

Workshops and conferences inspire and educate us. You’ll leave a conference or workshop with more than just knowledge about the craft and business of writing. You’ll be encouraged and maybe even overwhelmed with all that you learned, BUT you’ll be motivated to work at your next project. And you just might make connections with people who will be writing support and friends.  

Take the time and money to invest in conferences. You’re investing in your future—and in people. Remember those critique partners I mentioned? One conference friend is my critique partner who helped me find my voice. Other conference friends are querying agents and getting responses. Others are selling projects to magazines and publishers. I cheer on my writing friends. I need my writing friends.

As events across the nation are cancelled because of COVID-19, that includes writing conferences. Many SCBWI conferences (and likely others) are providing online conferences and webinars. It's not the same as connecting with other writers in real life (even for introverts), but these conferences are still important! (I'll be teaching about work-for-hire assignments in an SCBWI webibar at the end of April. Details to come soon!) 

And...Write

We're writers. So we must actually...write. 

But, it’s up to you to make time to write.

How are you going to do that? Honestly, whether you are pouring your energy into catching up on NCIS or building a birdhouse, you have to make time. Charles Bixton said, You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it."

Currently, my three children are no longer attending school because of COVID-19. My husband is also working from home. We have no home office. And yet, I take at least a few minutes every day to do something for my next writing project. At this point it's mostly research, but research is part of the writing process. (It's a follow-up book to Whooo Knew? The Truth about Owls.)

If you already work long hours and care for others, then your writing goals might be on hold for a while. But most of us just need to make time. Plan for it. Schedule it.

Who are you? You are a writer. Own it. Live it. Write. 

I hope these recent posts have inspired you to write with a focus on ART—accountability, reading, and time.