The Dos and Don'ts I Do and Don't

Enter the drawing for Whirlwind by Alison Hart by midnight July 10! Scroll down two. :)

This may not be earthshakingly new, but I've been thinking lately about what one trait is the best predictor of writing success, by which I mean writing a good book, having it accepted for commercial publication, and, hopefully, repeating. Of course there's always more than one key to any professional success, and talent, study, and perseverance all count. (As do grammar, punctuation, and spelling.)

Is it the mental game that makes the difference? That IS huge, and it's very close to what I mean, but I think I'd state it more like this: The trait that best predicts writing success is a state of being: being someone who negotiates life mainly by means of writing. Writing is at the core of who you are. You live, therefore you write. You might say "It's a lifestyle" and mean basically the same thing, but I wonder if the trendiness of that buzzword keeps us skating on the surface a little. I'll take another stab at it: The telling trait is immersion. Trying to stuff writing into an already overstuffed life, putting everything else first...these do not bode well for the would-be writer. Nor does it work well to consider writing "me" time. Not only does it mean you put writing last (isn't that where the "me" time goes?) but if you seriously want to pursue a career, any career, you don't do it on "me" time. You do it on "career" time. (And that's one way to get people to take you seriously.) Writing is no different. You aren't just indulging yourself or your creativity; to publish, you must produce a product that a publisher wants to buy. Getting yourself to that level takes immersion. It takes being someone to whom this is life.

How do you immerse? By sacrifice, I think. At the very least, by realizing your life has a number of Roads Not Taken. By being not just selective, but sometimes brutal, about what you do and don't do. The writer Anne Tyler said, "I will write my books and raise the children. Anything else just fritters me away." So what don't I do? Here's a list. With the exception of occasional family-oriented activities that involve the following, I don't:

• Watch TV
• Watch movies
• Facebook or Twitter
• Play computer/video games
• Do crafts
• Pursue hobbies
  
• Shop
• Volunteer
• Do church work
• Staff others' projects
  
• Talk on the phone
• Have a social life

However, I do:

• Spend time with family
• Teach writing
  
• Cook two or three times a week
• Clean house with my husband biweekly
• De-clutter
  
• Read, read, read, read, and read
• EXERCISE! (lest too much BIC lead to simply too much B)
• Pray and study my Bible
• Leave time open to think, dream, and reflect
• And, obviously, blog
  

How about you? What have you had to let go of -- whether it be mainly a time waster or a true case of the good being the enemy of the best? What could you let go of that you haven't yet? What can you not let go of, because it either nurtures your family, wins the bread, or contributes directly to you or your writing?