This blog is about getting creative work done, right?  Well it seems to me that I haven’t really been talking about my own work and how I’m getting things done.  So, without further ado, here are my writing goals for December:

Write 2 articles for that travel website I want to write for. While getting those articles published is also a good thing, it’s not as important to me as actually writing them.  Finishing a piece makes me feel accomplished, that I’ve completed something I set out to do.  I’ve been postponing these articles for a while, mostly out of fear.  Of course, I was making excuses such as “I don’t have the time” and “I don’t think I’m good enough”.  This December, I’ll make time and get these articles done.

As for not being good enough?  I just have to remind myself that imperfection is no big deal.

Write 16 articles for Web Worker Daily. Although my work for WWD is a paying job, I’m really passionate about it. It’s not just the quantity of articles that matter to me either.  I’ve been dissatisfied with my work there lately - I always think I can do better.  And I should.  I want to pursue deeper, more thought-provoking topics. Here’s how I plan to do that:

• Review my blog subscriptions.  I subscribe to over 50 blogs (a conservative number for most tech geeks), but almost none of those seem to contribute to my work directly, whether it’s in terms of idea generation or broadening my perspective.  This probably means that it’s time for me to add new, more informative blogs to my reading list.  BUT, I don’t want to add more “noise” into my life.  What I’m going to do is review the blogs in my feed reader and remove those which give me the least value.

• Plan article topics in advance. One of my problems when it came to submitting articles on time was that I didn’t have enough listed topics to write about.  Even if I did, the ideas left on my list were either uninteresting, or something that I didn’t feel like discussing that day.  Starting this month, I’ll devote Mondays for idea generation.  So far, it seems like I’m doing a good job with this, as I have 15 topics listed.

Finish the first draft of that short story I’ve been working on. There’s this short story I’ve been working on almost everyday for the past few months.  It’s over 3,000 words now, but it’s still unfinished.  I hope to finish the first draft this December, so I can move on to another story (and go back to writing the second draft of this one on February).

Now, I’m sharing these goals so that there’s accountability.  So I can hang my head in shame if I don’t accomplish them, and you all can go “neener-neener” at me.  I suggest you do the same.  It’s hard and embarrassing, but I hope it works.

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Note: I accidentally deleted 20 comments yesterday as I was moderating them in the wee hours of the morning.  Although I was able to recover most of them, they’re in a funny order and the dates indicate that they were written on December 3rd.  Sadly, some comments (maybe 2 or 3) cannot be recovered.  I apologize for my stupidity.

Image by Davide Guglielmo from sxc.hu

I love blogs.  Big fan.  To the point that I actually have several blogs myself.  But loving too many blogs too much can bring more ‘noise’ than expected.  This made me trim down on my subscriptions and evaluate the items on my feed reader.  Of course, this action also led to a new article I wrote for Web Worker Daily entitled “Fine-tune Your RSS Subscriptions“.  Here’s an excerpt from that post:

“…I refer to an ancient Sumerian saying goes “Get it only when you need it.” Okay, maybe I made that one up, but it’s a rule that applies to kitchenware, packing, and yes, even RSS feeds.  If your reason for buying fondue forks is “You’ll never know when we’ll have a fondue party”, then odds are these forks will gather dust for several months until you need to use them - if ever that actually happens.

The same goes for RSS feeds.  “You’ll never know when they’ll post something I can use…” is a very flimsy reason for subscribing to something - and I know this from experience.  If there’s particular information you need, then that’s the time you go out and look for it, rather than hoarding useless feeds in the hopes that something useful might come up.”

Anyway, if that sounds familiar, head on to that article to read the full version and share your thoughts.  I’d like to hear how other people reduce the noise from their feed readers (yes, even if you’re going to say “By unsubscribing from your boring blog!”)

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Results from Creative Exercise #1

Last week I wrote about this exercise that one of my writing teachers taught me.  Basically, the idea is this: get a small notepad and write at least 3 interesting/odd/quirky/strange/fascinating things in it each day.  These could be things you see on the street, or things you imagine or think about.

The thing is, I don’t want to be a hypocritical phantom advice-giver who doesn’t walk the walk (we have enough of those, according to Deceiver), so I said I’d do the exercise and share some of my results.  Here they are:

• As I was walking at night in a busy street, I noticed how the homeless seem to blend with the background and appear to be inanimate objects - until they move.  What looks like a lamp post or a pile of trans bags from the corner of your eye is actually a human being.
• I’ve lived in the same house for 25 years, but never realized that the handlebar on the front door was uneven.  My partner has only lived here for a little over a year, and yet she’s noticed.
• Three men in long, white, hooded cloaks were unloading boxes behind a grocery store.
• I keep mistaking my bunched up white blanket for my cat.
• The three women depicted in the packaging of “Happy Needles” (a company that sells, uhm, needles) are now illustrated in Japanese manga style.  They used to be in 50’s Americana style.

These are only 5 things from a week of notes, but I actually wrote 3 items each day.  Wouldn’t want to go against my own advice and add to your noise now, would I?

Until next week,

Celine

In one of my Creative Writing classes in college, my professor gave us a simple exercise that we had to do throughout the semester.  She told us to get a small notebook or tickler and write at least 3 interesting or odd things each day.  These things could be made up, or they could be something we actually encounter.

Here are some tips to make the most out of this exercise:

• Use all your senses. This allows you to be more aware of your environment and more receptive to the changes that occur.  By being aware of your senses, you get a better chance of writing down observations that you would normally miss.
• Make time for it. You’re probably busy.  If that’s the case, when you get home, don’t spend 30 minutes watching yet-another-Seinfeld-rerun.  Work on this exercise instead.  You can do it in the bathroom, if that’s all the free time you have.
• Use the simplest, fugliest notebook you can find. You don’t have to rummage about your neighbor’s garbage can, but don’t buy a $20 leather-bound notepad either.  Keep it simple.  Pretty writing pads will just intimidate you.
• Don’t take it too seriously. My main problem with the exercise when I first tried it was that I took it too seriously and pressured myself into making a phenomenal list each day.  Don’t think about your notes ending up as The Greatest Novel of All Time.  It’s just a notebook.  So make notes.

If you don’t have your notebook handy when something pops into your head, just use the tools around you.  Write in an old coffeeshop receipt you found in your pocket.  Tweet about it.  Type it into your phone as a text message and archive it.  Just use whatever tools you can find, because sometimes when you lose the idea or the thought, it’s really gone.  Irretrievable.  You do not want that to happen.

Give this exercise a shot if you find yourself in some kind of mental block.  Don’t worry, I’ll do it with you.  I’m going to start on it this week and report back on what happens.

Until next time,

Celine

Image by Mateusz Atroszko from sxc.hu