by Diana Barnum
Do you have good writing habits? Are you meeting or exceeding your
own expectations?
Consider this gentleman:
A 19th century British Postal clerk decided to start writing 3,000
words each day so that he could author his very own first novel. He
placed his watch on the table and wrote before leaving the house
every morning. This new habit paid off, and later Anthony Trollope
published not one, but many novels; among them, The Macdermots of
Ballycloran (1847), Phineas Finn and He Knew He Was Right (both
1869).
What do you think? Maybe it’s time to think about changing or
starting some of your own writing habits. If you want more out of
your nonfiction plans, here are five tips, the FIVE A’S, to build
healthier habits:
1. ACCOUNT: Make a written account of any habits you’d like to work
on: get more organized, make more telephone calls to potential
business clients for writing projects and assignments, quit checking
your e-mail 10 times a day. There’s no need to be grammatically
correct, just write something down so you can see the habit you want
to improve in front of you.
2. ACQUIRE: Gather information about the habit from several sources:
marketing chat rooms on the Internet, library reference books about
organization, online newsletters from motivational speakers like Zig
Ziglar with improvement tips, etc. Check around for activities &
groups in your area & sign up for workshops and speakers. The Small
Business Administration also hosts workshops and offers free
marketing materials and advice. Sign up. Take notes. Ask questions.
Everyone has to start somewhere!
3. ACTION: Develop a course of action for working on each habit. Be
as specific as possible. For instance, to increase phone calls to
potential clients, maybe start with two calls per day. Then increase
to three, gradually building up until you get the number you’d like.
If you get sidetracked, or let a couple of weeks go by due to busy
scheduling, late meetings, or too many commitments, catch up! Work
overtime, ask someone to take notes at the next meeting for you,
just say “no, maybe next time,” but get caught up and keep calling.
4. ASSESS: Log your progress to follow ups and downs. A scientific
assessment isn’t necessary. Even one line jotted down each day or so
on your calendar can let you track good days and bad, days you
cheated and days you excelled, etc. Try placing a sticker on each
day or some type of art to follow your progress. It’s for your own
self-improvement, so have fun and express yourself! Did you check
your email only twice today? If you missed making some calls or
organizing a portfolio one day, did you catch up the next? Why / why
not?
5. APPEARANCE: Take time to relax and reflect on this change of
habit. How do you appear now? Happier? Healthier? Feedback from
friends can be helpful now, too. Are adjustments needed? Perhaps a
little more time will be necessary; maybe a little less. If you have
an already hectic workload, and three more calls per day on top of
organizing your entire home and office space is stressing you and
your family out, try cutting back to one or two calls, along with
organizing only one room at a time. Maybe a self-help group or class
is needed to learn time management skills?
Put these five A’s to work. Make modifications in your own plans,
then go back to tip number one. Old bad habits that took time to
develop will take time to eliminate. But remember, none of us are
perfect. Each one of us has something to work on for self-
improvement. It’s a process!
About the Author
Diana Barnum is president of Moving Ahead Communications, a company
that offers marketing, public relations & freelance writing
services. She teaches a 4-week course called, “Marketing and Public
Relations Using Computers for Writers” at Word Museum at
http://movingaheadcommunications.com/class.
Copyright © 2003, The Write Exposure.
I.M.G.
