But to the point, being a writer requires discipline. We all know it, and yet the majority of us lack it. (Including myself in there). Over the years I have become more disciplined, but if I suddenly discovered that I had to qualify for the romance writers olympics, would I be ready? Hell, no.

People are always asking me how I manage to juggle so many balls in my day. (Full time job, kids, husband, school and writing) My answer has always been, uh…I don’t know. The fact is that you learn to do what you have to. The old saying, God never gives us more than we can bear isn’t untrue–which, you’ll note, isn’t the same as saying it is true, now is it?

I really don’t know how I manage it all. Sometimes I feel like I’m skating on thin ice, but others, and quite alot of others, I feel like I should be the center ring performance in a circus. I think, Damn, I’m good!

The most important thing I’ve learned is not to sweat the small stuff. It’s trite, it’s cliché, but man-oh-man, is it true. If you worry about all the crap, you’ll make yourself nuts. And, since we are writers, chances are we’re already more than a little nuts. Any more nuts will make us… Well, you get the picture.

The biggest thing I have yet to learn is how to separate. How to be industrious when I’m at work, be mom of the year when I’m with kids, sexy goddess with the husband, bright scholar in the class, and diligent crafter of extraordinary fiction when I’m at the keyboard. I find myself scattered much of the time, trying to do a little of everything all the time. If anyone has any tips on how to separate, please post.

One of the things I do well, however, is with my writing. I can pick up the thread of my story at the drop of a dime. Seriously. If I have 5 minutes to write, I can write for 4 minutes and 45 seconds of them. It doesn’t have to be first thing in the morning, last thing at night, completely silent, etc, etc, etc. If you are able to develop this skill–and you develop it by forcing it, unfortunately–I highly recommend it. It will serve you well.

I recently discovered a trick that has really made me productive during my writing, though. I posted this on my blog a week or so ago and thought I’d share here too. Candles. The secret to my success–candles. Okay, it’s more than that. Here’s what you do.

Wherever it is that you write, clean it. Eliminate surface clutter, floor clutter, behind the door clutter. (which is very bad chi anyway. never place things behind a door where it blocks it). Once this is done and you have only things that are necessary or visually appealing remaining, get some candles and place them on your desk and in places where you find yourself staring off to when you get stuck. (make sure they are in holders so you don’t start anything on fire when you are deep in your fictive world). Candles should be solitary or in groups of three and if you can mix up the levels they’re on, that’s good. Now, create a ritual when you write. Whether it’s dark outside or noon, light the candles whenever you work. Think about what you’re doing and what you’re going to do as you light them. I have incense going too and I think the scent has begun to trigger my creative process.

This works for two things–one, if you have kids, they know that when the candles are burning, Mom is not to be disturbed. Plus they don’t particularly like the incense scent, so they tend to stay away. If only I’d known about this years ago. The second is the ritual itself puts me in that “place.” And when I get stuck, the flickering lights I focus on somehow speed me on my way.

Sounds crazy, but then…I am. Crazy, that is.