Five OLD habits to bid farewell in 2012

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Dear Bloggie Friends:
After a well-deserved break, I’m back to the blogosphere!

I hope you are enjoying the holiday season and recharging your writing batteries to welcome 2013.

I’ve been reflecting on some bad writing habits –I must confess– that have impeded me from writing in the last quarter of the year.
1)      Procrastinating (I’ll do it tomorrow)
2)      Making time (I’m too busy this week)
3)      Lying to myself (It’s not as important as…)
So, before the year is officially over, I’d like to share some bad habits that writers, especially aspiring writers are guilty of. Yes, old habits are oftentimes hard to break but not impossible to overcome.

1)      I don’t need to follow any rules:

Think again my fellow writer! We ALL need to pay heed to the rules. For instance, when entering a contest you have to follow their instructions, otherwise you’ll ruin your chances at participating. This also applies when submitting your manuscript. Not following instructions can give the impression you are careless.

2)      Don’t play the blame game:

If your manuscript is not accepted, don’t blame yourself or the publisher. Use this opportunity to edit it or submit it to a different publisher.

3)      Leave your ego at the door:

We’ve all been there! We think our work is better than anyone else’s. It may be so, but being egocentric can discourage a potential publisher, agent, and/or fellow writers (especially if you’re not published yet).

4)      My publisher can do the marketing:

Wrong! Nowadays most writers do their own marketing through social media, word of mouth, networking, and community events. The good old days where even small authors had an agent or publisher to do the leg work are gone. The modern writer/author is also a multi-tasking entrepreneur.

5)      Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today:

Procrastinating is a writer’s worst nemesis. As I said before, this is my biggest problem. So this year I plan to write at least one page per day. I’ll remind myself by setting a reminder on my smart-phone, another one on my laptop calendar, and post-it notes on my fridge.

So as we put our old habits to sleep, a new dawn awaits.

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND KEEP ON WRITING!!!