Scheduling Time for Your Articles

How long does it take to write an article? Honestly, a good one takes as long as it needs to take. So how do schedule time for your articles?

It’s not enough to plug a due date into your editorial calendar, you need to carefully map out enough time to complete all the elements required. An article’s schedule is not just the time it takes to write an article, it also includes the time it takes to thoroughly research the material, interview sources, pre-plan your layout and edit the piece.

• Schedule time for research. This first step is key because it will not only give you background information for the article, it will likely point you to great sources for interviews. Don’t forget this research time includes researching the background and work of your sources.
• Schedule time for interviews. Whether in person or over the phone, giving yourself an allotted time to complete interviews not only keeps you on track, it keeps the interview itself on track. Knowing you only have 15 to 20 minutes to get the information you need, you will be less likely to let your interview subject roam the field before they give you the answers you need. Time is a great motivator for steering an interview.
• Schedule time to compile your notes and create your basic framework. Some people transcribe all their own interviews, others send them out to a third party, either way, you are going to need time for the information to be processed. I like to create an outline for most articles I write. After I go through the information I’ve gathered, I can begin to see the flow, what the headings will be and if there is still more information needed. Doing some sort of initial brainstorming or outlining is key because when you sit down to write the article, your words will flow easier if you know where you’re going. Stopping and starting to look for information is a sure way to waste time and get off track.

Tomorrow we will look at scheduling the rest of the elements of an article. Do you have any scheduling tips? Share them below!

Writing Through Distractions

Busy kids, demanding dogs, grocery runs, alluring refrigerators, visitors, Twitter,  the call of the sun through your window – all worthy adversaries in the battle for your concentration and productivity. As writers, we must guard against the constant intrusions that threaten to turn an hour-long project into a 3 hour-long project.

There are some distractions you can work through if you just can zero in on your focus. Parents become Jedi’s at ignoring the door-knocking, whining or ordinary play noises of kids and it is that selective hearing that will help you get through other distractions. Even if you’re not a parent, you’ve used your selective hearing skills to block out spouses, roommates or your boss’s yammering – all it takes is channeling that focus to blocking out the beeping of Twitter and the phone ringing.

Another way to block out and manage distractions – give yourself a time and a time-limit. If you’re an obsessive email checker like myself, you can easily spend hours checking and rechecking your email. The same holds true for Twitter, Facebook or any of the other social networking sites. Set a time, once every two hours, etc. to check your email, updates, etc., and then only allow yourself 15 mins to respond or surf. This also works for returning phone messages. Knowing when you’ll be able to satisfy your addiction will help you make it through getting actual work done.

Refocusing after an encounter with distractions can take almost as much time as the distraction itself. Often it’s not possible to shift gears and jump right back into the work, so find some focusing or breathing exercises that will work to zone you back in. I tend to use two that work pretty well for me:

I close my eyes and count slowly backwards from 20 to 0. This helps calms my brain and gets me ready to “go back in.” Or I use one of my work songs. Right now I have three on rotation and they aren’t the most politically correct or wholesome songs but they get me motivated. If you like hip hop email me and I’ll let you know what works for me. If not, find a song that motivates you. Two to three minutes of your favorite jam can be enough to not only get you inspired to keep working, but remind you why you’re working.

Got tips for dealing with distractions? Share ‘em!

You Missed a Deadline – Now what?

By Terreece M. Clarke

Writers miss deadlines. Gasp! Shock! Horror! Plenty of writers will swear it has never happened, while others will attest, though usually secretively, that they have missed or come close to missing a deadline.

It’s the “No, No” of “No, No’s” and you’ve just missed one or are close. So what do you do now?

Breathe

There is usually a strong amount of panic when a writer discovers they’ve blown a deadline. Sweaty palms, jerky movements, loud swearing and personal, repetitive self-admonishments are par for the course, but it’s hard to make a rational move while kicking your own butt so calm down. Breathe in and out and get ready for the next step. Read more

Break the election tension & boost your productivity

By Terreece M. Clarke

If you have not voted yet do not start reading this column. You are to immediately get yourself to a polling location.

Tension, excitement and curiosity is high around the country today as Americans vote and wait to hear the news of who will be the next president of the United States. Some of you are trying in vain to stay on task, but your finger keeps taking you to news sites to get updates and you’re having a hard time not following the updates on Twitter. There’s two ways to get past this time until the results begin to roll in and stay productive – volunteer with a campaign or organize your writing space.

Volunteering

It’s never too late to drop by a local campaign office and offer up your services. You may find yourself given the task of calling people to remind them of their polling location, helping at polling precincts to make the wait in line easier by handing out water and chatting people up. So how does all of this increase your writing productivity?

Sources and ideas. Writers have always sought the masses when it’s time to come up with new ideas and angles on articles and getting in there with the election crowd is no different. Where else can you find people of vastly different biographical backgrounds standing together in one place with nothing else to do, but talk to you? Fellow volunteers can also be a source of article inspiration or a resource that could be utilized at a later date.

Get Organized

Can you see your desk? Maybe I should be specific, can you see something besides the legs of your desk? If not it’s time to get with it. Take a day away from the laptop and organize your paperwork. Go through your ideas folder and if you don’t have one, make some up and separate them according to category. Update and fill out your editorial calendar. Compile your invoices and stubs – tax time will be here before you realize it. Sort through the tons of reading materials – magazines, trade pubs, etc. and keep only what you know you’ll need for references. Locate and catalogue your clips and test all of your pens getting rid of those that don’t work. Gather, organize and label your notes from interviews and research. Read more