Today I'm posting at the IWSG site and telling everyone the secret to getting published. And don't forget that Wednesday is the monthly blog post for IWSG. There is still time for you to join in by signing onto the list.
Due to the recent plumbing issues, the ceiling in my office needs painted. The damage was slight but my husband will not stand for one small water spot on any of our ceilings. Since I had to move my desk for him to take care of it, I decided it would be a great time to shampoo the carpet. But back to moving my desk.
There were piles and piles of loose papers that I've kept for one reason or another. A big stack of them are my notes from the writer's conference I attended back in May.
I also had a small collection of pages I've torn from various writing magazines like Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers. An article about Metadata. Another on using Goodreads in your marketing plan and another about creating loglines and blurbs. Then there's a stray page with some fitness ideas on it. When I was teaching I collected those by the dozens.
All that loose paper makes it a challenge to move my desks. There there are the written lists and a stack of business cards I collected at the aforementioned conference. People I want to stay in touch with.
I realized all this stuff fell into the category of things I intend to do someday. But I'm busy on my WIP so I keep stacking those things up. But like the realization that it was a good time to shampoo the carpet in my office, I realize this isn't the best time to indulge in those things. Write first, catch up later.
"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." William Penn
Do you collect articles and make lists of things you intend to study further or use at some time? Do you ever rearrange your writing space? Do you have a list of things you want to work on that have to do with writing but aren't writing?
29 comments:
I'm still in the process of setting up my new writing space in the new house. Once it's all done, though, I can't imagine I'll ever be moving anything. But I am a collector, though.
I don't collect a lot of paper stuff and try to keep my work area clean. Clutter drives me crazy.
Bet your office smells nice now.
That is such a great quote by Penn - it's so true!
I'm a collector of "someday" articles, too, but I managed to weed through a lot of them before and after our move. And I'm getting better at not ripping so many things out of magazines anymore.
I have to laugh. I just painted my office, and I had the same stacks of paper. I moved them all (in stacks) to another table and left them there. Like you said, time to write. The stacks are for some day.
Most of my clutter is digital. I have folders for my various interests. Some are pdfs, others are Word documents where I copy and paste information.
I try to title them carefully so I can find them again with an easy word search.
My ocd keeps things as clean as can be, so no piles of anything for me
My collection of papers is out of control. I have a stack of magazines that I had planned to read, but I will put in the car trunk for recycling after reading this post.
It is just a jumble of focusing on what to do at times. Your husband sounds handy. I need to paint the ceilings at my house. No water stains but it does make your house look cleaner.
I'm the opposite, MJ. I'm always looking for ways to rearrange every room in the house.
That's so funny. As soon as I walked in my office I thought of how fresh and wonderful it smells.
I don't tear out or collect things like that because I know it'll just create clutter. I'm not one to go back and read most notes or articles, anyway, so I just eliminate that before it can be a problem. Digital - that's how I store valuable notes. Or in the ol' cranium (admittedly, not reliable).
I don't tear as many things out either but I think it's because I only get the occasional magazine.
LOL. Mine found a new spot too, Anne, but are mostly untouched.
The good news is I'm thinking the plumber made it there to fix the problem if you guys were concerned about painting over the ceiling, so that I bet was a relief! Since we moved, I've really tried to keep paper from accumulating, but I'm not a writer. Its one of those things that I have the best intention of going back and sorting through but rarely do so now I just dispose of that which needs to be disposed.
betty
I think we're all moving to more digital clutter. I have five thumb drives on my desk too.
Pat, you are way too organized. At least the cats probably make some mess.
I only receive two magazines now so I don't have as much to recycle, Ann. Those someday projects get left behind.
You're still young enough to keep track of things in your head. Used to work for me but now I need the lists. I have some digital clutter too.
I cut recipes out of magazines to with every intention of trying them but only a few ever do more than clutter up my counters. Just not enough time to do it all.
That Penn quote is so true. Now that I'm on summer break, managing the time is a challenge. I want to take some time to relax but I don't want to get to August only to feel unfulfilled.
My desk area is a cluttery mess. I really need to take the time to clean this stuff up, sort, and file it away.
I am the List Queen! I make lists for goals (social media goals, writing goals, publishing goals, goals for the New Year), lists for things I need to do that day or that week, lists of books I want to read this year, and the list goes on...haha
Yes! I collect things for along time and when I moved I threw something out I shouldn't have done as you will see in my next post this evening.
Great post to read.
Yvonne.
I have a science fiction A4 copybook full of notes. My lists are categorized into sub headings, so I can focus on my next project. At the moment I'm committed to a Wednesday Star Trek blogfest which has plenty of interesting, fun moments.
Writing always comes first :). The to do pile will wait. Good luck with the ceiling. I know how bad water stains look.
I used to collect paper like that. I finally had to clear some of it out. I was running out of room.
Not as bad as I used to be. I still have one area where I put stray papers and lists. Hubs brought me home a bunch of file folders and I've used those as well.
I haven't had a chance to rearrange the office as I want to including cleaning the carpet--it's on the list somewhere in that little pile over there. I do know when I do get to that project this summer it will be a major thing as I also have to paint a wall and Ceiling and I'm building a larger bookshelf for that wall. The other three walls are all golden knotty pine. Just need to focus on one project at a time. :-)
Sia McKye Over Coffee
I collect things and then apparently forget them - I just found a box full of articles, neatly organized into folders, of articles I wanted to explore more.
Hope your plumbing's fixed!
Whenever I rearrange my writing space SOMETHING gets lost. Then I spend a great deal of time looking for through things that distract me. I read papers and snippets of books. Then I get ideas and have to write them down. Finally, I forget what I was looking for and go back to my WIP. Was it worth it? I don't know...
I sometimes use a prep-list for my food writing and then I have a white board where right now it reads, coupons, iPod. The board is by the door, we both use it.
Post a Comment