Editorial Op-Ed | Of Reading and Writing
Illuminating A Potential Structure for an Effective Writing Week
Distractions, hijacks, family & work obligations are real Pacman of our time. We need to build structure into our writing routine for it to happen.
Dear Writers,
Life happens.
Distractions happen all the time, and work obligations can be overwhelming. If you happen to have needy parents and young children, you may experience candle burn at both ends.
Life.
I recently recovered from my second dose of pandemic vaccination. I felt terrible for 4–5 days after the jab. I did not get sick, fortunately, but the jab-induced lethargy had a long tail. I was absent from editorial duties for that duration.
Shit happens.
I couldn’t bring myself to write my usual output either. Many of the stories published last week were submitted the week before. It made me think about managing my writing on top of a sub-par health condition and workload from my businesses and projects.
You should, as well.
Life is seldom on an auto-pilot. The best way to combat Life is to have a schedule to get the day that we want.
This is how my writing schedule looks like:
- Plan the number of articles to write for the week. Decide on the magic number.
- Choose the days to schedule in a writing slot.
- Block out 1 hour to write for each story.
- Send a calendar invite to block out my time.
- Bulk edit, copy-edit over the weekend.
And most importantly, make time to read. We become better writers when we read more.
These are my recommendations for the week.
Enjoy!
How to Piss off Your Editors
I love this story.
I have gone through many points articulated in this story as editor of ILLUMINATION.
Quite a few of these writers expect their articles to be published immediately, according to Tapalaga.
“Some writers simply do not understand that we are a team of three handling over 300 writers, from which I could say 100 are dedicated to submitting on a weekly basis,” said Tapalaga.
The story is well articulated and is relevant for all editors and writers. We operate in a symbiotic relationship. There is virtually no benefit for editors to hold back your story if it is a good fit.
We want our publications to do well with stories that help us shine.
If your stories help us in that way, we want more.
That is really it.
Is it Time to Give Up?
We struggle with this from time to time.
Each time we are ready to throw in the towel, our inner voice says just hang on one-second longer. Seek advice from a wise, and you get spat on, something like man up, hang on, and don’t behave like a wimp.
Desola synthesizes her thoughts processes into 5 bullet points.
Stop worrying about what people think about you. It doesn’t matter.
Don’t spend too much time wallowing in regret if you ever made a wrong decision. Just learn your lesson and move on.
Your life goes by fast, but with each day that comes, you think you still have time, but you don’t. Do what you need to do and get it over with.
People don’t think about you as much as you think. Sometimes it’s all in your head.
Life is lived by making mistakes and learning from them.
Desola Banjo | I Failed, and I Thought, “Maybe It’s Time to Give Up”
To give up or to hang on?
The choice is yours.
Are You in a Toxic Relationship?
This title is simple and pretty eye-catching.
I do think the obvious answer is yes, and it applies to everyone as we have direct interactions with people at home, at work, and wherever we are.
“It could be you or your partner, or both of you. If you find that there is a tendency for someone to keep blaming the other for past mistakes, it’s unhealthy. This situation will end up becoming a case of who has hurt the other the most. In addition, you’ll find that it is used to manipulate and only serves to distract from whatever issues you two are presently dealing with.”
If you have been counting your wins and losses, maybe you want to re-examine the nature of the relationship.
Thank you, Shaunte.
Summary
I hope you enjoyed this editorial op-ed.
We don’t always have our best day to do what we want. It happens, and it is a valuable life lesson to learn and re-learn.
My aunt used to tell me that I can have it all, and I just cannot have them all at once.
What a sage.
Happy Writing, People.
Aldric
Dr Mehmet Yildiz Liam Ireland Terry L. Cooper Maria Rattray Karen Madej Britni Pepper Carol Price Tree Langdon Dr. Preeti Singh Josh Balerite Acol Agnes Laurens Claire Kelly The Maverick Files Geetika Sethi Noorain Hassan, BMS Editor of Technology Hits Zen Chan Esther George
About the Author:
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure. Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.