One of the profound ironies about writing a site about being a productive, efficient writer is that the better I am at what I write about, the less time I have to write about it. The last couple of months I’ve been getting more work than ever, even while I struggled to deal with a difficult semester (my day job is teaching anthropology and gender studies to college students) and an even more difficult break-up and move.
My guest writers helped a lot – Aaron Peters, Kelly Kilpatrick, and Stephanie Stiavetti stepped in to take some of the load off as I got moved and then buried under end-of-the-semester grading, and I’m immensely grateful to them all. It’s been fun having guest writers on the site, and I’m definitely up for more.
The Writer’s Technology Companion has changed quite a bit since I started it. When I launched the site last March, I thought I would be primarily reviewing software and writing how-tos. Those kind of posts have been common on the site, of course, but I find that the ones I enjoy writing the most are the ones about being a more productive writer, and so that will be a bigger focus in the year to come. These posts take quite a bit longer to write, especially since – as anyone who follows my work at Lifehack will have seen – I’m struggling mightily with the notion of “productivity” and how to integrate efficiency, meaning, and passion in our lives. But I think it’s a worthwhile pursuit, even if it means slightly longer gaps between posts here.
To help fill some of those gaps, I’m going to try to do regular posts bringing together some of the best posts around the Internet on writing. I come across tons of great stuff out there, and it’s time I start sharing with my readers. Now, as a general rule, I hate link posts, so my promise to you is that I’ll never post just a set of links; I’ll always make an effort to bring some kind of value to the material I’m linking to, so that even if you never click a link, you’ll walk away with something useful.
Since goals and resolutions are on everyone’s mind as we move into the new year, I thought I’d start by sharing with you some of the great posts I’ve come across on that theme.
Better Resolutions for Writers
No-Fail Freelance Resolutions: How To Succeed in 2009: Jenny Cromie offers some great advice for setting writing goals for the new year. Especially welcome is her emphasis on spending some time to know yourself as a writer – check your commitment level and learn what motivates you now, so you’re ready when the writing flags and just about anything else seems preferable to working towards your goals.
“He shoots…he scores!” (or, writing goals): Jane of Seven angels, four kids, one family offers a crucial piece of advice to writers setting goals for 2009: focus on things you actually have control over. You can write the greatest work ever and the most stunning queries of all time, but in the end you cannot control whether your book gets published. “Get book published” might be setting yourself up to fail; “Submit manuscript/proposal to one publisher or agent every month this year” is something you can make sure happens.
Writing Goals and New Year’s Resolutions Tips for Writers: Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen offers her take on writers’ resolutions for the new year. with a special emphasis on financial goals. Writers often ignore finances (which makes us especially easy to take advantage of, unfortunately) – if you want to make writing your life’s work, though, you’ve got to take the money side seriously.
Stress Relief for Writers: Four Ways to Achieve Your Writing Goals: Angela Booth tells writers to relax – and provides some strategies for doing so. Though many writers seem to thrive on chaos and deadlines, the reality is that our minds think and work best when they’re at peace. Clear your mind and let the ideas flow!
47 Ways Copyblogger Can Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions: Although this is primarily a “sneeze post” for Copyblogger (a “sneeze post” is a post written primarily to direct you to other work in the site’s archive – it’s a good traffic generating tool, but typically not especially exciting content), Sonia Simone provides lots of good advice for writers in between the links to other Copyblogger posts. And, to be honest, you can do a lot worse for yourself than to spend some time with Copyblogger’s usually excellent writing posts.
Top 10 Resolutions for Writers: A simple, to-the-point overview of the ten resolutions that should top a writer’s list of resolutions.
Ten health hazards for writers: Writing seems like a pretty safe work option, compared to say driving the ice roads of the Arctic or doing humanitarian relief work in a warzone, but it’s not without its own particular on-the-job hazards. Tumblemoose Writing Productions offers tips for avoiding 10 health risks that can stop your writing in its tracks. Don’t fall short of your goals because you’re too sick or injured to write!
And don’t forget my own post, How to Set SMART Writing Goals, which isn’t about resolutions per se but which has plenty to say about setting goals that work.
Dustin M. Wax is the project manager at Stepcase Lifehack. He is also the creator of The Writer's Technology Companion, a site devoted to the tools of the writing trade. When he's not writing, he teaches anthropology and gender studies in Las Vegas, NV. He is the author of Don't Be Stupid: A Guide to Learning, Studying, and Succeeding at College.
译文:
迎来新的一年2009！
我一直在搞一个网站，讨论如何成为一个高产高效的作家，但是最讽刺的是，我现在鲜有时间进行这方面的写作。在前几个月里，我的工作量剧增，同时我必须结束一个费力的学期（我白天的工作是在大学里教人类学和性别研究），几乎没有时间休息，所以不得不离开网站。
我的客座撰稿人帮我一个大忙——在我离开忙于期末阅卷期间，幸有Aaron Peters, Kelly Kilpatrick和Stephanie Stiavetti 帮我分担了一部分重担，我非常感谢他们。网站有客座撰稿人是一件非常有趣的事，所以我打算邀请更多客座撰稿人。
撰稿人技术联盟和我当创办时有了巨大的变化。去年三月我建立了这个网站，我的宗旨是主要介绍一些软件和写作技巧。当然那些文章在网站上非常常见，但是我渐渐发现我最喜欢写作的话题是关于成为一名高产高效的作家，所以在接下来的一年内，我将开始开始密切关注这个问题。在Lifehack 任何关注我写作的朋友都知道，自从我开始关注“效率”这个概念时，我试图将生活中的效率，意义和爱好结合起来，所以花了很长的时间来写这些文章。但是我相信这是值得的，即使这意味着我可能需要间隔很长时间再次在网站上发布文章。
为了弥补这段时间的空缺，我会定期在网上发布一些我从网络上搜罗来的好文。我在网站上提供大量材料，和我的读者分享。现在，一般来说，我不太喜欢只给链接，所以我向你们保证，我不会只提供一大堆链接，我会努力为我提供的材料链接增值，这样即使你只是浏览网页而不进入链接，你也会有所收获。
新年来临之际，我们每个人心中都有自己的目标和决心，因此新年首期我为你们分享的一些关于该主题的非常优秀的文章。
撰稿人的美好决心
永不言败的自由撰稿人的决心：如何在09年成功: Jenny Cromie为我们带来了一些建议，如何在新的一年里，设定自己的写作目标。尤其值得鼓励的是，她强调要多花些时间对自己的作家身份有所了解——自我检讨自己的投入程度，知道自己目前的动力，所以当写作热情减退时，你要时刻准备着，寻找新的动力，促使自己去完成自己的目标。
“他射门…他得分!” (或者写作目标): Seven angels, four kids, one family 的作者Jane为设定09年目标提出了一条非常重要的建议：关注你确实能控制的问题。你可以写出非常棒的作品，也可以有非常精彩额疑问，但是最终，你不能控制的是你的作品是否会被出版。你可以将“出版作品”设为自己的目标，你可以保证的是“今年每个月都给出版商或出版社交稿”。
写作目标和新年决心，给撰稿人的小贴士: Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen写了她自己作为作家的新年决心，即将特别强调财务目标。作家们通常都会忽视资金(不幸的是，这就使我们特别容易被利用) – 如果你想把写作作为你毕生的工作, 那么, 你就必须严肃对待金钱。
作家减压法: 四条途径来达到你写作的目标: Angela Booth告诉撰稿人要轻松——并为此提供一些战略。尽管许多作者似乎以喧嚣和截止日期为乐，事实是我们的心理只有在安静的状态下才能达到最佳水平。静下心，让思路飞翔！
帮您树立新年决心47法: 尽管这主要是一个Copyblogger的“sneeze post”（ “sneeze post”主要是指导你到该网站的历史文档中其他文章——这是一个非常好的交通工具，但是是传统的而不是特别精彩的内容），Sonia Simone给作家们提供了很多好的意见的链接，链接到其他Copyblogger的文章。而且如果你能花点时间看看这些优秀的文章，你会少犯很多错误。
作家的前十位决心：一个简单的概要浏览，一些作家决心列表首位的内容。
对作家健康的十种危害: 写作似乎是一种相当安全的工作，当然这是与在北极的冰路上行驶或者在战区做人道主义救助相比而言的，其实它也有自己特有的工作病。Tumblemoose Writing Productions提供了一些贴士，避免你在写作中碰到这10种健康威胁。不要因为身体疾病而不能完成你的目标！
当然不能忘记我自己的文章， 如何设定聪明的写作目标, 也许这不能算是决心，但是我想说设定目标真的很重要。
Dustin M. Wax 是Stepcase Lifehack的项目总监. 他也是The Writer's Technology Companion的创始人, 该网站致力于写作工具. 当不在写作的时候, 他在Las Vegas，NV教授人类学和性别研究. 他是Don't Be Stupid: A Guide to Learning, Studying, and Succeeding at College的作者.