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Ain't No Utopia Here

Thanks so much to Kat M. who ran an incisive post on Adele Journal about my recent, life-sucking incident with plagiarism and copyright infringement. Here's a link to the article.

The fact is, shit happens to all of us. We all have big, crazy, uncontrollable things that happen while we're trying to be writers. That's life!

But when it's happening to you, here are a few tactics you could use.

Tactics

1. Look at a calendar - plot out when everything is due, and if you can give yourself more time for certain projects, say to yourself, "I'm doing that NEXT week," write it down, and put it out of your mind. You've got enough hamster wheels going on in your head without worrying about something that's not actually due yet.
2. Look at what's effective - if you have to pick and choose what to do and what to leave undone, make sure you do your effective tasks.
3. If you're too freaked out to write - your administrative tasks aren't going anywhere. Chip away at them so that when you do get some mental space in which you can write again, you won't be stuck paying bills, registering your copyrights or catching up on correspondence.

Your Assignment

Do you keep a list? Try putting your stuff on the calendar if you're stressed out.

Do you keep a calendar? Try thinking about what actions will make the biggest impact rather than which ones are most urgent.

Come and See Me

I'm doing a reading with the Madison Vampire Coven!

7 pm on Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Borders Books West
Madison, WI