Color code

You don’t need a filing system as much as a quick way to find the files you need. Here’s a system I’ve developed.

Go to Staples (or whatever other office supplier you use) and buy some colored file folders. Assign colors based on the project or task. For example, put all Project X papers in red folders, all correspondence in blue ones. This will help you quickly locate the type of file(s) you need.

Box everything

While you’re buying folders, get ahold of some cardboard boxes. Group like files together and place them in their own labeled boxes. For example: Project X will go in the “Project X box”; correspondence will go in the “Correspondence Box.”

This approach has three major advantages. First, it creates an on-the-spot filing system that segregates materials, making them easier to locate. Second, because the boxes can be piled one on top of the other, you create floor space and a sense of order. Third, it makes projects portable. You can take your boxes from room-to-room, home to coffee shop, etc.

I am writing a novel. There, I have said it, made it official.

I’ve kept the news pretty much to myself because I don’t want to deal with anyone’s expectations, most especially my own. I’m afraid I won’t finish the book and it will become yet another project I stuff in a basement file drawer.

I’ve written 130,000 words so far. Of them, 50,000 might — might — be usable. It’s hard to tell because I’ve just begun organizing my notes. The process is akin to going through a closet. I’m tossing as I go: scenes and subplots, snippets of dialogue, characters I’ve come to know and love — even the book’s title.

And I worry. What if I wind up with only 30,000 words? Or 15,000 or fewer? What if they’re uninteresting or unmarketable? Will I have wasted the last five months of my life? At what point should I accept defeat?

These are not good questions. First of all, they can’t be answered, at least not immediately. Second, even if they could, the answers wouldn’t be empowering: Ask a negative question and you get a negative answer.

It’s nearing midnight as I write this and I’m tired. Too many hours in front of my laptop has pushed me over to the Dark Side. Still, I wanted to jot down my thoughts and go public, if only to feel less alone with my questions. Maybe after a good night’s sleep, I’ll wake on the Light Side. Whatever the side, I’m going to write anyway.

You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.

—Wayne Gretzky

Don’t let fear of rejection stop you from circulating your work. Sure you may fail — but you might just succeed. So give yourself — and your work — a shot.

My response:

Early morning. I like getting up before the world does and sneaking off to a distant corner of the house or to a coffee shop. My mind is clear and my energy level is high, giving me a creative boost.

Another advantage of starting early is that I have better control over my day. I do what I love first, which makes it easier to set priorities for the rest of the day. Well, at least that’s the plan. Life intervenes, of course … alas.

What’s your response?

Don’t ask if you’re not willing to accept.

Criticism, however constructive, can be hard to take. Nonetheless, it’s imperative that you take it well, and even with grace and style. Remember always, it ain’t personal. It’s about how you can make something better. You must understand and accept this if you are listen to what others have to say with an open mind and heart.

Choose an audience of 3-plus.

One person’s opinion is, well, just one person’s opinion; it may or may not have validity. Two or more people saying the same thing, even if in different ways, is harder to dismiss. The key then is to have three of more “critics” to discern if there are any “recurring themes.” If so, you will know that you have an issue that must be addressed if your writing is to move onto a higher level.

Provide instructions.

Let your “critics” know if there’s anything in particular you want them to read or look for. This enables them to focus their sights on what’s most important to you and to report back accordingly, be it on your delivery, organization, choice of topic, conclusions, etc.

Take two steps back.

All criticism (especially that coming from several “critics”) takes a while to sort through — and that’s just fine. In fact, it’s preferable. Let the comments of others filter through your system. Let them co-mingle, evolve, take new shape and open new doors. Only when you’ve fully absorbed what’s been said can you decide how (or even if) you’ll act on it.

To read this article in its entirety, go to: http://www.writedirections.com/10criticism.html