
Bum Glue
A giant tube for those who, like me, are princesses of procrastination and are never short of an excuse to either get up from the desk or not sit there in the first place. Even when inspiration has fled and the Muse getting rejuvenated at the day spa, our posteriors need to be firmly glued to the seat and write something – anything. It’s not about making progress on our WIP, it’s about making writing a habit.
Permission to Write Crap
Used in conjunction with Bum Glue, this is what let’s our writing move forward. I have found this the most useful ‘tool’ and remind myself of it constantly –particularly when I found myself editing the very first sentence of a new story! As Nora Roberts once said ‘you can’t fix a blank page’ and it’s easier to fix a page of crappy writing than a page of nothing.
Thick Skin
A cute little suit, in the color of your choice (mine’s a lovely leopard print), which you slip on and zip up before being critiqued or while waiting for news from publishers. What makes this suit special is that it lets you take in feedback and criticism, sift out the useful, relevant and positive comments while not taking anything negative personally.
Thirst for Knowledge
Knowledge nourishes growth of both the author and the writing . Whether we’ve been writing for a year or a decade, whether we’re published or unpublished, one thing we will always need is the desire to keep learning about craft, the industry or just our own writing.
Support
Writing is a solitary pursuit but no writer is an island (pardon my liberty Mr Donne) and we need validation that
our passion is worthy of the time we put into it. Ideally this will come from loved ones as well as fellow writers and will not be dependent upon ‘success’ but an understanding that this is something that
gives us pleasure and something that is as much a part of us as breathing.
This is the bundle of writerly goodies which I hope is under everyone’s tree this Christmas.