Comments on: If Only: A Short Guide to Time Management by Carol Buchanan

By: awilson

awilson — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:08:09 +0000

That rocks, Carol! I remember talking to an author once for Wicked Wordsmith who said she wrote a novel over two or three years. She had other writing commitments, but wanted to do this project. She would write a sentence a day. Within a few years, she had a book. It was a terrific example of patience and perseverance.

By: Carol Buchanan

Carol Buchanan — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:22:10 +0000

This morning I spent 1.5 hrs on 3 sentences. Still not sure they’re right, but I’ll try again tomorrow.

By: Angela Wilson

Angela Wilson — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:54:02 +0000

That is so true! At a meeting once, western writer Jory Sherman said writing was 90 percent thinking and 10 percent writing. Even when I’m not at the computer, I’m still churning ideas in my mind. It made me feel better to know someone else felt that way.

I REALLY love Capote’s quote. I need to put that on my vision board. =0)

Take care!

By: Stephanie Cowell

Stephanie Cowell — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:51:04 +0000

I like Truman Capote’s quote about writing only one words a day…”It was the right word.” So on one of my meandering writing days (I meandered to this site happily!) it is encouraging!

from the author of CLAUDE & CAMILLE: A Novel of Claude Monet — April, from Crown)

By: Carol Buchanan

Carol Buchanan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:20:24 +0000

Thanks for the comment! I like your phrase, “moving the chains.” It’s a good metaphor, because the surveying idea goes along with expanding territory, which of course is what we do when we move our chains.

By: Lancaster

Lancaster — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:21:00 +0000

Thanks for this, Carol. Everything is dead-on.

Once you have a plan for attacking your task, you have to move the chains every day (“moving the chains” is my preferred euphemism for “get something done”). Sometimes, it’s blasting through a scene or even a chapter. Sometimes, it’s finally noodling out a crucial plot turn. Sometimes, especially if you’re promoting one title and writing another (as you and I are), it’s pinning down that appearance for next month.

As long as you’re moving forward on germane tasks, you’ll get there.