A Central Park Writing Lesson
I sometimes sit down to write and make the mistake of “just checking a few things” before I start attacking my own work. I check email and see a note from my sister — so I write her back (real quick). Then I skim through a yahoo loop. I’m in the zone, inspired to get busy writing.
One more stop, I tell myself. A couple of blogs. While reading about a mom dropping off her child at preschool, I’m reminded of how I feel dropping off my own kids at preschool. (Maybe I should write about that, I think). Then another blogger shares her daily word count of NaNoWriMo. (Hmmm…I haven’t signed up yet. Maybe I should, I wonder). Another blog: an interview with a successful author — YES! Thinking BIG! Then I stop by an agent’s blog — reminding me to build my platform, polish my craft, and wow him with a great idea. Okay.
Suddenly, my oven timer is beeping, reminding me the hour I’d allotted to write is gone. Poof. Outta my life forever!
Can you relate? This has happened to me far too many times. I think I’ll just make a few quick visits, but the time I spend reading what others have to say steals too much of my own writing time.
So, what can we do about it?
A few months ago, I sat next to the outdoor skating rink at Central Park, watching my husband and son slip and slide on the ice. I was too afraid of hurting my knee again, terrified I’d miss the SCBWI conference, where children’s author Katherine Paterson would soon be speaking.
While watching my guys, I noticed the buzz of nannies and their charges around me, as a growing crowd waited for the afternoon skating lessons to begin. In particular, one conversation jumped out at me.
“Focus, Emily. You’ve got to focus!” a blond, college-aged nanny hissed to the petite elementary-aged Asian girl sitting next to her.
“OK,” Emily sighed, wiggling in her seat. She stared out at the ice.
“Emily, I’m not kidding. If you don’t focus, you’re not going to get this page done to show your mommy. Now quit looking around and FOCUS!”
Poor Emily. Looking around too much and not getting her work done!
The nanny’s words have stuck with me, and I’ll always remember this Central Park writing lesson.
Author Edward Everett Hale once said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do.”
You and I can’t write everything, but we can write something, that only we can write. What is that burning message that God wants you to get out? Should you put those words in a non-fiction essay or should you weave them into a plot and have your reader discover them on her own?
If you’re a busy parent, and you only have one hour to write, then WRITE! Focus on that one thing only during that precious hour. Save the email checking and blog-hopping for another time, maybe even another season of your life — when you may have three hours of alone time to write. Don’t waste your calling on little tasks that steal you away.
I’m not sure if Emily of Central Park ever finished her assignment, but her nanny’s words have certainly inspired me to FOCUS on hunkering down and finishing mine.
