Tag: organizing

Tips for Making the Writing Life Less-Stressful

Motivation and the Writing Life

A messy desk covered with papers and cups.

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Although I love what I do and can’t really imagine myself doing anything else, it’s not as if the writing life isn’t stressful.  It’s not all The Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

There are always things that need our attention that compete with writing–kids, our parents, household repairs, jobs, etc.  Then there’s managing daily life: meals, appointments, events.  On top of it all, we need to take care of ourselves (probably the last thing on most of our lists, but one of the most important): exercise, sleep, healthy eating.

Invariably in interviews I’m asked how I manage everything and keep a sense of balance. I know exactly how I manage everything…I’m the queen of organization. I organize things (even other people in my family) within an inch of their lives.  The balance? Well, some days are more balanced than others.

Here are some of my tips for keeping sane as a writer: Continue reading

Backing Up, Organizing, Managing Time

Business of Writing, Tools for Writers

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigIMG_4741

Although there are so many things that we can try to help us manage parts of our writing careers, I’ve found that some of the best are the smaller, quieter things.  It’s easy for me to get distracted by trying Facebook ads or working over my metadata…and these are both really good things to do.  But sometimes I need to return to the basics, especially when I’m very busy and don’t follow some of my own best practices.

Here are a few:

Backing up:  I don’t know how many times I’ve heard nightmares about losing content. Too many! It’s like a horror story for writers.  We hear all the time about backing up our work in progress, and that’s certainly important. But it’s also important to have previous projects backed up, covers backed up, contracts backed up. I just went through and backed up a ton of stuff and shuddered when I realized how much time had passed since my last backup.  I usually do it daily.Continue reading

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