Kelly A. Harmon
Writers write. And no matter how much they produce: a hundred words a day, a thousand words a day, a novel in six weeks...nine times out of ten, if asked, they’ll tell you they wish they were more productive.
The fact is, we could all write more. But between email, the phone, and popping out to the Internet for a bit of research, all that productivity starts to wane. We try to multi-task, but concentrating on more than one thing at a time weakens our ability to do any one of them well.
No lie. Scientists have proven that multi-tasking is a fallacy.
I’m not talking about the trick of putting in a load of laundry and writing while it washes: that’s simply ordering your tasks in a manner which allows you to accomplish more. The fact is: first your put the laundry into the washer first, and then your write. You’re not really doing more than one thing at a time.
Consider a writer who sits down to write with a cup of tea at hand. He types a few words, maybe a few sentences, and then stops to take a drink. Did you hear the key word? He stopped. As soon as he reached for the cup, he was no longer writing.
Imagine how much time he loses when he answers a ringing phone or reads an email.
So the first “secret” of being a more productive writer is to just write. Focus on putting words on the page and ignore everything else until the writing is done (or you’ve reached your time limit, or your word goal, etc.). Just concentrate on one single task.
When you’re finished with that task, start the next. Finish it, then start the next. It’s called serial mono-tasking.
The second “secret” to being more productive is to keep more than one writing project in the hopper at a time. When you’re done with working on the novel, turn to a non-fiction article you’ve been wanting to write. When you tire of that, move on to the novella you’ve been toying with. Don’t just close up shop for the day when you’ve finished the task at hand. Keep moving. Always strive to do a bit more than is necessary. Push yourself to accomplish more.
As Johann Sebastian Bach said, “I was obliged to be industrious. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed equally well.”
So, in truth there are no secrets to being more productive: focus and hard work, which have been around forever, are the key.
A tale of murder, betrayal and comeuppance.
King Theodicar needed an heir. When his wife, Queen Piacenza, became pregnant, he’d hoped for a boy. His wife, along with her nurse, Salvagia, knew it wouldn’t be so: with each cast of the runes, Salvagia’s trusted divination tools yielded the same message: “A girl child must rule or the kingdom will fall to ruin.” The women were convinced that the child would be a girl.
When the queen finally gives birth, the nurse and the king are equally surprised. The king is faced with a terrible choice, and his decision will determine the fate of his kingdom. Will he choose wisely, or will he doom Borgund to ruin?
Excerpt One:
Theodicar looked down at the mewling infant in his arms, and felt the anger rise up. Even in death his wife defied him, the nurse ensuring her success. Women did not rule. He would not allow it. They had created a male child, and that child would take the throne upon his death.
“You can save the boy,” he said to Salvagia.
She slitted her eyes at him, her stare mutinous. Her words were loud and hard in the wake of Pia’s death. “I have the power to save one at the expense of the other, Sire. The girl is stronger. And eldest. She was born to rule.”
Theodicar watched the girl curl up in his arms, her birth fluids staining a brown patch on the dyed-yellow wool of his tunic. She burrowed into the crook of his elbow, trying to achieve the comfort of the womb.
“I will not hear those words again,” he said. “That absurd idea died with my wife. My son will rule.” He reached for the boy, thrusting the girl child back into the nurse’s hands. “There’s no need for a daughter. And no need for anyone to know of her.”
“So be it,” Salvagia said, wrapping the weary girl in a square of wool, covering her face. She reached for her basket.
“Kill her now,” said Theodicar.
Salvagia looked stricken.
“Sire, if we kill her now, she will be of no use to her brother. Once dead, the blood won’t flow, and we need her blood to strengthen his.
“Then drain her now,” he snapped. “I will not have her crying out when we call the witnesses back to cut the boy’s cord.”
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