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!

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?

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.

Having a pre-writing routine makes sense. When you get ready for bed, letting the dog out, locking the doors, and brushing your teeth all signal your brain that it’s time to sleep. You may have other rituals to make it easier to transition from waking time to sleeping time. Why should writing be any different?

Think about what you do now before sitting down to write. Do you check your email, go on Facebook, read the paper, or do housework? Nothing wrong with any of those things, as long as you keep an eye on the clock. I’m as guilty as anyone of letting time get away from me. I’m also guilty of using any and all of the above activities to put off my writing. By being mindful of that, I’ve found that limiting my pre-writing routine to fifteen or twenty minutes allows me to check email, make a cup of coffee and gather my writing supplies.

Whatever your pre-writing routine, if it works for you, stay with it. But if, like me, you weren’t aware of the existence — or the importance – of having a pre-writing routine, you may want to check out Stone’s Thinking Write. Create something that works for you – I’d love to hear about it!

It’s raining where I am right now, and I’m having a hard time getting down to the business of writing. But in reality, if you want to be a writer, you have to write. It’s your job. Through rain, sleet, snow, and a whole lot more inconveniences. Nobody said it would be easy. But if you signed up for it, you need to make an honest attempt to write, no matter what, short of a natural disaster. And let’s be honest here. A diarrheal dog who has exploded seventeen times in eight different locations around your house, although quite disgusting (and somewhat alarming), does not constitute a natural disaster.

So, even though it’s raining out, and it’s late, and I’m tired, and I’d really like to read a few minutes than go to sleep, I need to deliver. I’m at a writers’ retreat, I’m meeting with one of my editors tomorrow, and I’d like to finish up a new story to show her. I can think of no better mantra to adopt than the postal creed, albeit with a writerly twist. “Neither rain, sleet nor snow, the writing must go.” Making an honest attempt to deliver, no matter what.

When you treat writing like a job — your job — you’ll be rewarded with the satisfaction that comes from completing a project. And you may even get that check that really was in the mail.

In fact, we’d be out here year ‘round, except for the fact that Jeanie hates to have to shovel snow off the front porch in order for us to find a place to sit, and she
absolutely refuses to type wearing mittens. Sigh.

So imagine our delight now that the temperature is up more days than down, and we can once again make liberal use of the front office.

While we do occasionally get distracted when the recycling truck rumbles by, and we absolutely have to take a break when the mail is delivered (since the mail lady so generously leaves two biscuits in the box each day – Milk Bone brand, no less!), Jeanie usually manages to get a fair bit of work done in the front office.

We think that having a regular place to write – and using it – is very important. When you find the right place to write – whether it’s on the front porch, at a desk, on the kitchen table, or even at the local Starbucks – stick with it. Get in the habit of going to the same place – or places – every time you write. It doesn’t take long for a dog to learn a new routine.

In fact, it only took one time of Jeanie writing on the front porch for us to take her right out there the next time we saw her near the door carrying anything that remotely resembled writing materials. It took Jeanie a bit longer to catch on, but it seems that old “dogs” really can learn new tricks. And once Jeanie recognized that writing on the porch was making her more productive, our front office was established!

With the two of us serving as bookends to keep Jeanie on task, we can spend hours outside in the front office. The key is to make sure that Jeanie has everything she needs when she gets out here – netbook, pens, paper, water, and coffee – so that she has no excuse to get up from her chair until she gets some work done. “Butt in chair” time, it’s been called. We like to call it “pups on porch” time.

We hope you’ll join us again next week for another “Biscuit Break.” We’re keeping our paws crossed for continued warm weather!

You can read the second post at www.storytellersunplugged.com, where 31 writers, readers and editors take turns posting each month. Just click on my name, and look for the March 10, 2010 post.

The Biscuit Brothers: Nemo and Luke

Greetings! We’re Luke and Nemo, aka The Biscuit Brothers, and author Jeanie Ransom’s office assistants. Our job is to take care of general office duties (fetching pens, watching for the mail, cleaning up spills, etc. etc.) and to keep a close eye on Jeanie AT ALL TIMES to make sure she is writing.

Because if she’s not writing, she’s probably checking her email for the sixth time that day, doing laundry, baking cookies, making a café mocha (seriously, Jeanie, you just had a coffee two hours ago!), or otherwise avoiding what’s called “butt in chair.” That means staying in one spot (something we dogs are good at) and writing.

We’re working on getting Jeanie better trained, and plan to share tidbits and tips on the writing process once a week on this blog. Look for our post, Biscuit Break, starting next week!

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that 2010 is still relatively new and I’d decided to engage in some much-needed clutter busting and paper purging.

Although “Out with the old, in with the new” refers to what happens at midnight on December 31 when the old year is ushered out and the new is welcomed in, I’ve decided to apply it to several areas of my life in 2010, including my writing.

It’s hard to be a productive writer when you are surrounded by mounds of unidentified papers, when your file drawers are packed with manila folders crammed full of query letters, half-completed manuscripts, ideas for presentations and workshops, and pages and pages of research for writing projects. It makes me tired just reading over this paragraph.

In order not to be overwhelmed by the task at hand, or tempted to give up, I’ve been utilizing the “How do you eat an elephant?” approach – as in “one bite at a time.” An hour looking through old correspondence here, a few hours unearthing the contents of my desk drawers there, and I’m already seeing results, and feeling them, too.

I’m now able to see the top of my desk. The whole darn thing. I can find my laptop without having to push aside towering stacks of paper, magazines, and books, hoping that I don’t provoke an avalanche. If Weight Watchers had a program for writers who are packing too much paper weight, I’ve probably lost enough to qualify as a Lifetime Member.

And what I’ve gained, besides space to work on, is space to work in. As in the space inside my head, where ideas are hatched, characters are born, and stories are written. Yes, Virginia, there really is more between my ears than air. But you never would have known it with all the clutter and chaos going on in there.

As I’ve cleared the clutter from my file cabinets, I’ve calmed the overwhelmed feeling inside me. I can breathe again. It feels good. I know I’m not done. My desk is a work in process. As am I.

I hope to make 2010 the year of new beginnings – new habits, new goals, new stories. Out with the old negative thoughts and the story ideas that won’t go anywhere or that I’m hanging onto, just in case. In case of what, I don’t know. As it is, I have more ideas than a wintering squirrel has nuts stuffed in his cheeks.

So instead of hanging onto reams of research I’ve printed out over the years, I’m making good use of my recycling bin. But before I toss the files, I’m writing the ideas in a notebook. Even though it’s a new year, there’s always a chance that an old idea may turn out to be a great new project.