Martha, Rachel Hauck said “butt.” Okay now that we got that out of the way. . .

Writing is very hard work. Fun. Exciting. There’s nothing like holding your hard work, in hand, printed and bound. But, the labor is much like giving birth.

Being creative is fun. Dreaming up ideas and imagining scenarios, talking with our potential characters.

Then comes the hard work. Writing. As I talked about last week, it’s a lot like dating on e-Harmony. The person on the other end of the phone or computer is not the person sitting across from you at dinner.

Same with characters. Your heroine was so lively and fun in your head, but on the page she’s snippy, snide and unlikable.

Here’s the biggest writing tip you’ll ever get. Ready? Here it is. Butt in chair! I know. You’re on your way to being a published author now.

And you know what, no matter how you theorize it, butt in chair is advice that never changes. Read any writing book, and butt in chair is the same.

No arguing over POV, or first person. No silly “I never use the word ‘that.'”

So, how can we manage the butt in chair writing rule?

1. Schedule your time. Even though “we artist” like be like a leaf in the breeze and land wherever, book, art, music doesn’t get accomplished that way.

2. Repeat after me. No. no. NO! No! N-o. Keep repeating until effective in denying anyone and everyone access to your time.

3. Give yourself permission to write “badly.” First drafts are largely discovery. Go for it.

4. Get off the excuse-o-go-round. Either decide you’re going to be an author, published or not, and write books, or stop talking about it and go on to something else. Don’t waste time and energy on a dream you give no effort to. It’s okay to let go!

5. Get a comfy chair. 🙂

Let’s not let our dream fade because we couldn’t manage our time. Blessings and happy writing.