15 Habits of Great Writers: Practice and Prepare

Practice and more practice...yesterday was my first day to rise at 5am!  Well, it was actually 5:55am.  I tossed and turned most of the night, because I made a bad choice...caffeinated tea before bedtime!  But, thankfully, I was productive during my two hours of concentrated work.  After reading my Bible portion for the day, I began writing my June manuscript for the 12x12 in 2012 Challenge...a picture book (rough draft) a month.  This one is a poetic approach to the book of Job.  I finished almost half the story, relishing the peace and quiet of the morning.  Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to rising early again tomorrow!

Jeff suggests a way to carry out habit #4...Practice

"Find a way to practice in public. Here are a few ideas:

Pitch a magazine you want to write for. Follow some of the templates in You Are a Writer. This article might help, too.

Ask a friend (or stranger) to guest post on his/her blog. Here's another useful post.

Publish something on your blog you've never shared with anyone. Take a risk (we'll be doing more of this soon).

Submit that book proposal. Don't "work on it." Finish it. Send it off. And say a little prayer."

 Jeff Goins

He's got me...I've been writing blog posts to the detriment of my stories! So, I'm going to pursue number four...send in my book proposal/story for "Your on the Wrong Road, Solomon!"

Ahhh....it's feels good to have a goal. To focus... Five AM here I come. My Victorian Sitting Room beckons me!

Jeff goes on to say:
"There is a difference between putting things off and preparing. Preparation is good; procrastination is not. Let's talk about the former.

REAL PREPARATION

You know you're preparing when:

You're getting better every day.
People keep asking you, "When are you going to publish X?"
You're building measurable momentum.
So let's say you're not preparing to launch something big and you want to. Here's what you need to do:

Ship something. Anything. It doesn't matter how bad it is, just put it out there.
Get feedback. If this is an eBook or article idea, even a book proposal, one way you can do this is ask readers, friends, or fans to proofread something you're working on. Send it to them, give them a deadline, and ask for brutally honest critiques.
Make it better. Trust your heart and intuition, but also apply some of the feedback you received.
Repeat until the project is ready to launch."

Okay...I have my proposal to perfect and ship...check. I have a story to submit to "Rate Your Story"...check. And many WIPs (works in progress) to fine tune...check.

My list is getting longer....

If you are a writer, which of the above steps recharges you? If not, what project will you begin today that you have put on the back burner??