Getting organized

Deb's comment on yesterday's post reminded me of an interesting book by Phyllis Whitney, an author whose works I read in high school. (Anybody remember "Step to the Music?") In her book "Writing Juvenile Fiction," she tells that, at a young age, she "quit her day job" and found a way to support herself with her writing. She was actively writing almost up until her death last year at the age of 104.

In the book Whitney described how she planned her work, scheduling her most difficult task - book writing - in the morning, when she felt she was at her sharpest and best. She used the afternoons to work on articles, speeches and the like. She also made all of her research do double duty. For instance, if she did a lot of research about the garment industry, she used it as a backdrop for both a young adult novel and an adult work.

We all have to find the system that works for us, but I'm convinced that we are like ships without a rudder until we develop one and discipline ourselves to stick with it, charting our course for better writing. If you have a good system, share it here!