Since we’re close to the new year, I want to share the adages and advice that have seen me through the pandemic, and how I’ve adapted them.
There’s always one more SOB than you counted on. This was my father’s favorite saying. I’ve found that it has many layers of meaning for me as a writer. There is always one more well-meant request for help than I practiced saying “no” to, for instance. There is always one more email that could be important to answer. There is always one more thing keeping me from writing. Then, when I do get started, I discover the SOBs are my own characters who love nothing more than asserting their independence at the least convenient time.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. This is horrible advice if you are editing your manuscript, because it’s all small stuff and it all needs attention. It only works if you define small stuff as anything other than writing. To be honest, I haven’t had much luck persuading the family that cooking their dinner is small stuff, perhaps because I enjoy eating too.
Not my circus, not my monkeys. This is also bad advice for writers, because your story is most definitely your circus, and your characters are emphatically your monkeys. Nevertheless, it has seen me through days when I know the best thing for my sanity is to back away quietly from whatever is unfolding at the grocery or on the news.
My own advice is that you recognize the worst writing scam, which is the voice in your head that says, “I’ll remember this later.” Trust me, you won’t, so hide a notebook and pen in every room of your house. Maybe two. You’ll thank me later.