3 Ways to Find Balance in The Writer's Life

by Patty Smith Hall

I have a confession to make. I am a yes-a-holic. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to spit out that mean old word, no. I don’t know why. I see something that seems like a great idea, and the next thing I know, I’m signed up for it (most times, I’m even in charge!)

But that’s got to change, and what convinced me was one of those silly test on Facebook. A few weeks ago, I signed into to do one that composed a video of my life over the past year. I thought it would be fun as we’ve had an interesting twelve months with our oldest daughter getting married and the upcoming birth of our first grandchild. While watching it was nice, I was surprised that most of the frames featured one project after another rather than a healthy mixture of personal life and work.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m tremendously blessed to be doing a ministry I love and so very thankful that this last year has been productive. I signed three contracts, wrote six-novellas, signed with a new agent and began writing devotions for Journey magazine.

Each of these opportunities have been a gift and I’ve had the chance to work with some amazing people who have taught me so much about the craft of writing. But with the first grandchild due this month, I needed to make some changes. I began praying over what those changes should be and a word that would help me focus on achieving my goal. Finally, as the old year was winding down, the word came to me.

Balance.

How does that work with a busy writing career and an active family life? How does the girl who can’t say no find balance in her life? Here are a few ways I came up with:

1) Say yes to the best.

A few years ago, I talked to a pastor friend of ours about my problem with saying no, and he gave me this piece of advice. Only say yes to God’s best. He explained that there are a lot of good things out in the world—making waterproof mats for the homeless, working at the food bank, just tons of things. What you have to do if figure out what’s best for you? That’s not easy to figure out but if you put a little thought into it, you’ll come up with a short list of things that satisfy your soul. This is your ‘best’ list that should get the majority of your attention. And remember—what may be good to you is someone else's ‘best.’

2) Make a game plan.

I’ve become a planner over the years, probably from being married to an engineer. For me, making a game plan of the year, month, week and day prepares me—I know what to expect and each day as a familiar rhythm to it. As I tick off each item, I have a sense of accomplishment of a job well done. But how does one put balance into their plans? By following a schedule. Give yourself time limits. For example, I know that from nine to two Tuesday through Saturday, I spend fifteen minutes on emails and marketing then jump into my writing for the day. I shoot for at least a thousand words a day but I always write until two o’clock so if I go over, that’s great. At two, I check emails again then do something around my house or go work out or run errands. When my husband is home in the evenings and on Sunday, I don’t write unless I’m on a very tight deadline.

3) Forgive yourself

You’re heard that old saying—Man plans and God laughs. Yeah, stuff happens and schedules get thrown out the window. At moments like that, you have to cut yourself some slack. Life happens, and sometimes, despite our best efforts, we just can’t get things done. Don’t beat yourself up over it. I’ve found, at least with me, that I’m harder on myself than anyone else would ever think to be. So be kind to yourself. As Scarlett O’Hara said, ‘Tomorrow is another day!’

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3 Ways to Find Balance in The Writer's Life by Patty Smith Hall (Click to Tweet)

I have a confession to make. I am a yes-a-holic.~ Patty Smith Hall (Click to Tweet)

Just can’t seem to spit out that mean old word, no.~ Patty Smith Hall (Click to Tweet)

Patty Smith-Hall is a multi-published, award-winning author with Love Inspired Historical/Heartsong and currently serves as president of the ACFW-Atlanta chapter. She currently lives in North Georgia with her husband of 30+ years, Danny; two gorgeous daughters and a future son-in-love. Her next release, New Hope Sweethearts will be available in July on Amazon.

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Edit, Declutter and Write! by Kelly Klepfer

Edit Your Life and Declutter Your Brain

by Kelly Klepfer

I want to downsize and move into a much tinier home. "Ok?" You might respond. "Whatever floats your boat. But the last time I looked this blog is about writing fiction."

Exactly. I'm headed there. The past couple years I've grown intrigued by the minimalism movement. Why? Because it is not about she with the fewest toys wins. It’s about curation. As a museum curates the art it contains and seeks, we have the option to choose only the best of what we want into our lives. It is like editing our lives.

An edit slices the unnecessary, the redundant, and the excess from our writing. I know this freshly firsthand because my co-authored book has been edited to death and reinvigorated by those edits. Out of the Frying Pan has been a long time coming. Michelle Griep and I started this novel nearly a decade ago. Though it spent many months of that decade in different doneness and languishing in our computers, the darn story just kept calling us back. We finished it. And then the fine tuning began. So, many edits later, it is polished and in book form and the editing process has become such a picture for me.

If you feel like you are not at your most productive or most focused, maybe you could benefit from decluttering your physical surroundings. Picture a sink with dirty dishes piled and a countertop full of cooking implements vs a full dishwasher, empty sink and wiped down gleaming counters. I'm going to guess you feel better looking at the second scenario. Our writing spaces aren't much different. They can get crowded with tools and evidence of our creativity. 

Raise your hand if you have back copies of writing magazines in your possession. How about a pen collection? More than one coffee/tea mug sitting on your desk? Idea boards covered in sticky notes on each wall so that you can't focus on what you are currently working on?

Do you sigh with anticipation when you sit to write in your space, or sigh in frustration? Or have you abandoned your quiet corner in your own home for the public hum of a coffee shop because your corner makes you want to scream?

Do you want a space to write that is just that? Or are you better suited to laptop and couch and your "office" has become the junk room? Honestly, I have discovered tremendous freedom in getting rid of the extraneous. There is less time spent organizing and cleaning spaces because I have deleted some of the stuff that filled those places.

Curating or editing my life has left me with a knowledge of items that are my favorite—items that bring me joy. 

3 Simple Steps to Editing Your Life

1) Editing includes getting rid of extra words that don't move the story forward. They slow reading down and muddy the waters. So, in your office/life, get rid of the obvious items that have no use, especially ones you have to relocate in order to work. With every stack of mail, or every shopping bag that comes into your home you bring unnecessary clutter. 

Go through the piles you've created. One piece of paper at a time. Toss/recycle or file every bit. Chances are real good most of it can be recycled. Take a photo or scan little items like important jotted notes or receipts and get rid of the paper. Put a box or file or whatever makes sense for you to keep on your desk for the detritus of paper that comes in and repeat this process weekly or monthly if not daily.

2) Redundancy in a manuscript is annoying and sloppy. Say it once and trust the reader to get it, right? So delete duplicate items in your life. Do you really need 27 pairs of socks? 40 pens? Or 15 sticky note pads? How about writing craft books? How many do you use/refer to/need? Now, you might be thinking about clutching these to your chest and whimpering. But think about the value they might have in someone else's life. What would you have given for a solid how-to-write book when starting out?

3) Lack of clarity in writing is death to your story. If the story is not clearly communicated you have not done your job. In life, lack of clarity can easily happen when you have too much stuff. White space is important in your area of creation. The bulletin boards around the office with little stickies are a useful tool, but if you still have three books worth of pictures and stickies on finished novels or way future projects how can you find what you are currently focused on? 

What can you do to minimize the visual clutter? Maybe transcribe all the notes onto a couple of index cards and file. Or take everything down, keep it in order and put it in a file until you need it. Do you have too many inspirational signs or pictures or collectibles around your desk? Gift friends with meaningful ones that you are ready to let go of to add more white space to your writing nook. How about candles or cozy items that have multiplied like bunny rabbits? Pick your favorites, put others elsewhere or out of the house and see if you don't feel like you can breathe a little deeper. 

Our muses are finicky enough. Don’t hide your inspiration behind piles of unnecessaries.

Kelly Klepfer had ambitions to graduate from the school of life quite awhile ago, but alas . . . she still attends and is tested regularly. Her co-authored cozy/quirky mystery, Out of the Frying Pan, is the culmination of several of the failed/passed tests. Kelly, though she lives with her husband, two Beagles and two hedgehogs in Iowa, can be found at Novel Rocket, Novel Reviews, Scrambled Dregs, Modern Day Mishaps, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter with flashes of brilliance (usually quotes), randomocities, and learned life lessons. Zula and Fern Hopkins and their shenanigans can be found at Zu-fer where you always get more than you bargained for. 

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