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Nemo and Luke in the Front Office

Welcome to “Sit, Stay, Write!,” where we share a lesson, suggestion, or tidbit gleaned from observing the writing habits of our boss, children’s author  Jeanie Ransom.

We hope that over these next few weeks together, you’ll find something you can put to use to help you be a more successful writer — however you define success.

Since this is the first session of our “Sit, Stay, Write!” class, we’d like to do a brief introduction before getting into this week’s material.

We’ve known Jeanie our whole lives, so when the opportunity presented itself to become her office assistants, we jumped at the offer.  During the first few months of our employment, we led Jeanie to what we call the front office — a lovely porch with a view of the yard and easy access to the mailbox. (A very important feature, since the mail carrier is kind enough to leave us two Milk Bones daily.)

Since we’ve become Jeanie’s office assistants, she’s become a more productive writer, although she still has a ways to go before she masters the “Stay” part of “Sit, Stay, Write!.”

If you take a moment to look at our picture located at the top of this post, Nemo Ransom is on the left, and Luke Ransom is on the right.  Nemo is a three-year-old Sheltie from Central Illinois who is curious (a good trait for a writer), and always up for a trip to Starbucks. (A change of scenery is sometimes just what you need to recharge your writing battery, or to solve that plot problem that’s had you stuck for hours.)

Luke, also from Central Illinois, is a 5-year-old Sheltie with a keen eye for detail. He has mastered the art of staying in one place for long periods of time, which you’ll soon learn is essential to being a productive writer.

Now that you know a little about us, let’s get started. So, what is this “Sit, Stay, Write!” we keep barking about? It’s really quite basic. To be a productive writer, you need to follow these three commands. Let’s break it down.

First, there’s “Sit.” To “Sit,” you must find a place to call your own where you go to write. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a desk in your home office, the kitchen table, or, in Jeanie’s case, a wicker chair with a comfortable cushion (trust us, we’ve tried it out) on the front porch.

When you sit in your designated writing place, it signals your brain that it’s time to get down to business. Think Pavlov’s dog for authors.

Next is “Stay.” This is a critical component of the “Sit, Stay, Write!” formula, so you may want to take a few notes. When you sit down to write, you need to STAY in your writing spot for the time that you have set aside to focus on your work. Even if you can only manage fifteen minutes because of the demands of your day, get in the habit of sitting in the same place each and every time you write.

Note: Research has shown that the maximum amount of time a human should sit and work on something without a break is four hours. After that, it kind of all falls apart, from what we understand. So even if you’re on a deadline, you aren’t doing yourself any favors – or getting any more done – if you stay glued to your chair for more than four hours at a stretch. Get up and move around a bit, take your dog for a walk, use the bathroom, etc. etc.

Last, but certainly not least, considering that the goal is to be a more productive writer, is “Write!” You cannot be a writer if you don’t write. This sounds quite obvious, yet there are plenty of people who talk about writing, talk about what they’re going to write, or say in a wistful tone of voice, “I wish I had time to write.”

If you want to write, then WRITE! Start today! Every day is like a fresh sheet of paper, so even if you fall off the writing wagon one day, you can climb right back on the next.

See you next Friday!

School’s in session, and we’ve planned a series of lessons designed to teach writers of all ages and abilities how to be more productive and successful. The name for our “course” is “Sit, Stay, Write!,” and we hope you’ll join us for class each week. We plan to meet right here every Friday, so teachers or students, you’ll have a new writing tip to use for the upcoming week. If you want a class syllabus (wow, that is one ruff word to spell!), you can email us at ransomink@pobox.com . Hope you’ll join us!

There’s nothing like fall to kick-start my energy and enthusiasm for writing. Maybe it’s the smell of fresh crayons, the notebooks of clean, lined paper waiting to be filled, or the crisp, cool mornings.

Whatever the case, back-to-school time is a time for fresh starts and new possibilities. Even though I’m not the one boarding the big Twinkie (as my kids refer to the school bus) every morning, I’ve decided that back-to-school time is a great time to settle into a regular writing routine. I’ve shopped for my “school supplies” and always have them ready when it’s time to get down to work – no trips to the pencil sharpener to interrupt my work flow. I’ve used the bathroom and gotten a drink of water (or, in my case, a cup of coffee) before I sit in my “assigned” seat (the wicker chair on the front porch). And I don’t get up again until it’s time for lunch or “recess.” (Hey, we all need to stretch our legs once in awhile – or check our email, or run to Starbucks.)

Once I hear the gear-grinding rumble of the school bus as it climbs the hill near our house, I know it’s time to wrap up my writing for the day. Of course, school has only been in session for a week in our district, and I’ve already been “absent” a couple of days. But I have high hopes that this school year will be the year I buckle down and get some really good work done. How about you?

Everyone loves to get mail! But it seems that these days, most writers query and submit via email. This makes the process easier, saves paper, and saves time. In fact, most magazines and book publishers prefer electronic submissions, although some still prefer (and only accept) submissions by regular mail. Either way, it’s important to research – and to follow to the letter – the guidelines. You can usually find these (as well as publishers’ catalogues) online, which is awesome, by the way. Before you submit anything, however, check that you have the name of the current editor, as well as the correct spelling. We cannot emphasize this enough. People who don’t care enough to find out our names often call us Lassie, when it is clearly not possible – or logical – for both of us to be named Lassie, duh. Plus the original Lassie was a girl – a girl! Which brings us to the next point.

If you have any doubts whether the editor you’re submitting to is male or female, it’s worth it to make a quick, old-fashioned phone call. We dogs can sniff out those details, but we don’t recommend that humans use this technique. Jeanie’s editor, Randi Rivers, says she often gets submissions addressed to Mr. Randi Rivers, and we bet Ms. Randi doesn’t buy THEIR stories.

Here on the home front, people often assume that Nemo is a girl dog, just because he’s blonde, fine-boned and tends to prance around waving his tail. But if Nemo was an editor and you addressed your query to Ms. Nemo Ransom, or even worse, to Mrs. Nemo Ransom, we can tell you this, Nemo would NOT buy your story!

With the writing business largely being conducted via email these days, why does everyone still love to get mail? Apparently, we are mistaken. Jeanie says that NOT everyone loves the mail as much as we do. Although rejection slips generally are delivered electronically these days, about the only good stuff that the mail carrier brings anymore are royalty checks. At least according to Jeanie.

We beg to differ. Every day Ms. Sue, our mail carrier, puts two biscuits in our mailbox. And not just any biscuits – these are NAME BRAND dog biscuits – Milk Bones! All because one day, Ms. Sue saw us in the front office with Jeanie! Which is why, rain or shine, if we have our way, you’ll find us in the front office.