First Article in the Series:
Ready, Sit, Go

Last week, I attended a workshop sponsored by the Gulf Coast Writer’s Association. John Floyd, a prolific short story writer, was the guest speaker. He’s not only a good writer, but he is an inspiring writer. During the conversation, someone asked him if he had a writing schedule. His answer was, “I’m always writing. I wrote a story in my head on the drive down here.” Oh, really?, I thought. Then, so did I. But, I had not thought of thinking of a story as writing.

I was stuck in defining writing as pen in hand or typing out the story. I was so enthused that I had been writing without calling it that, that an idea came to me to help others get on board with their desire to write. I’m calling my program, “Ready, Sit, Go.”

Today, I’ll share three ways to get Ready.

1.  Don’t write. Do something you enjoy doing first. Take a drive, go for a walk or relax the way you like. Put off the idea of writing, but if an idea hits you, jot a note about it. File it. You can do that, can’t you? Good, you’re getting ready to write.

2. Clear a space to write. Put lists, projects, clutter away from view so they don’t distract you when you get to the writing part. Right now, we’re getting ready to write, not writing (yet). But, again, if an outline comes to mind, jot it down. 

3.  Some writers can write anywhere, anytime. The rest of us need to develop a routine, such as putting on a favorite piece of music, making the bed, pouring a cup of tea (or something stronger). Think about what you would like to wear when you write. Do you need new pens? Folders? Or, will everything be written on your computer?

Maybe you will only do one of the steps to get ready, or maybe all. Let us hear about what motivates you to get ready to write, below.