Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Wacking Self in Head With Heavy Textbooks Also, Lists are Incredible

I am not methodical. Whatever. But if I have to get something done, a manuscript, a draft, a thesis (barf), I make a list. I've been incredibly productive ever since I developed a detailed list for writing and editing my thesis. So, every time I zip through the beast, I'm looking for something specific. And I actually get shit done.

Otherwise, when I'm editing for everything and anything, I find myself editing what I want to edit and leaving other problems for later (my lazy bone can be extremely convincing).

But a specific goal helps alot, particularly now that I've stopped caring about the bioavailability of dissolved organic matter in Gulf of Mexico coastal waters.

Plus, I get to mark stuff off my list when I finish it, so I can see my progress. I can see the end. And usually the bog isn't quite as labrinthine as I thought.

I plan to apply this strategy to my creative projects as well.

How do you guys concentrate when you need to?

5 comments:

  1. I'm a big fan of lists. They keep me organized and on-track. My first draft outlines are basically one page lists of what I know needs to happen next. Yay for lists!

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  2. Beats me. I haven't figured it out yet. I live every aspect of my life by lists, except for writing. I just can't seem to follow one in that regard.

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  3. Stephanie- yeah me too. I'm a serious outliner. Otherwise I just chase my tail.

    Susan- lol. Some writers are like that. In fact it seems like most of my favourite authors, for example Ursula le Guin, write by the seat-of-their-pants. Kinda bothers me sometime actually, makes me feel like I'm missing something.

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  4. I'm at a point in my manuscript where I really need to make some lists too. I'm not an outliner at all, but eventually I have to sort through all the muck I've written and try to make it into something intelligible.

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  5. Lists work for me. It helps me feel like I'm getting things accomplished, too, as opposed to just blundering about with my WIP.

    Just stumbled across your blog! Good luck balancing school and writing, when I was in school F/T I got very little done, so it's amazing to me. :)

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