Hello,
I am Harper, a cat, a cat who writes. I have a large problem.
No, not the dog I live with. My problem is I struggle with self-doubt and don't write very much. I really need help to become a more productive writer. My typist is always ready to type for me, but when I sit down to dictate I waste so much time worrying about the quality of my writing.
I really need to prepare for writing and follow Jeff Elkins's Seven Steps to Increase Productivity—The Elkins Seven.
To Be More Productive, Prepare For Your Writing
Jeff Elkins, a writer and the founder of Short Fiction Break, shared Seven Steps To Increase Productivity for Writers at The Write Practice Writing Retreat. My typist, Pamela Hodges, shared his steps with me.
Mr. Elkins said that writers are in a constant state of personal disappointment over their writing. Writers battle self-doubt and often sabotage their writing by constantly checking email, getting up for snacks, and feeling despair that their words are not perfect in the first draft.
The purpose of The Elkins Seven is to manage our thoughts, feelings, and actions so we can get our writing done.
If humans are in a constant state of personal disappointment over their writing, can you image the anxiety a cat feels? I don't have thumbs and I have to depend on my typist. I constantly battle self-doubt as a writer, and I am easily distracted when I am writing. I keep wanting to watch cat videos on YouTube.
Instead, today I will share Jeff Elkins's Seven Steps to Increase Productivity:
7 Steps to Become a More Productive Writer
Step 1: Manage Your Emotions
Before you begin to write, you must manage your anxiety and personal disappointment.
Jeff said that when he begins, “I tell myself—my writing will be crap. It takes the expectations off of it, off of my writing. What I am going to write doesn't matter.”
When you have no expectations for the outcome of your writing, it will be easier to write as it will keep you from self-editing before you write.
From now on, when I dictate my stories to my typist, I will take Elkins's advice, and tell myself my writing will be crap. Then I don't have to worry about the outcome of my stories. There is so much pressure to be taken seriously in the writing world when you are a cat.
Step 2: Set up Your Place
Get a drink, snack, notebook, and pen before you start writing.
“My fears team up with my distractions,” said Jeff. Jeff knows he will want something to drink and snack on in the middle of writing, so he gets a drink and a snack before he starts writing. He doesn't want any distractions to keep him from focusing on his writing.
The notebook and pen are to write down random distracting thoughts that appear in the middle of your writing session. Write down the random thoughts that keep appearing—pick up Martha from the groomers, clean the ten litter boxes, remember to walk the dog—in the notebook, so they don't clutter up your mind.
I ask my typist to place a dish of water on the floor beside her computer, and she has little fish snacks for me on a plate. I let Mrs. Hodges have a bottle of water and an apple for her snack. I don't want my typist to be distracted when I am dictating my story. If we don't get our snacks before we start to write, we will end up wandering away to find something to eat, and not write very much.
Step 3: Know What You Will Write
Know what you are going to write before you sit down. Then sit down and engage. Knowing what you will write before you sit down helps you be more productive with your allotted writing time. If you don't know what you are going to work on before you sit down, you will waste time trying to decide what to write.
Once a week Elkins makes a priority list. He has three categories:
A. Urgent and Important
B. Urgent not Important
C. Not Urgent not Important
He puts his writing assignments into one of the three categories. Any writing in category C gets crossed off the list for this week.
Then he takes all of the items from list A and ranks them. Item A1 is the writing assignment with the closest deadline.
As my typist is only available for short amounts of time I want to make sure I am focused and productive. I would like my typist to type more often for me, but she is so busy rearranging the furniture and cleaning the ten litter boxes she doesn't have much time to type for me. We used to have seven litter boxes, but now we have seven foster kittens and three more litter boxes. Oh dear.
Step 4: Take Five Minutes to Check Email
Jeff gives himself five minutes before he starts writing to check his email and Facebook. If doesn't check his mail before he starts to write, he will be distracted and keep wondering about his messages.
If in the middle of his writing session he wants to check his email, he can tell himself he has already checked it.
Steven Pressfield, in his book The War of Art, calls this resistance. These are the forces in our brain that try and distract us from writing.
I allow myself five minutes to groom myself and use the litter box before I start dictating to Mrs. Hodges, my typist. I don't want to get up in the middle of our writing session to use the litter box as Mrs. Hodges will get up from the computer and start rearranging the furniture again.
Step 5: Set a Length of Time To Write
Before you start writing, choose a length of time to write.
Elkins writes for ninety minutes. I tried to write for ninety minutes, but I got so tired after an hour. Elkins suggests you take a break rather than trying to push through.
And don't use your break time to check your social media accounts or check your email. Get off of the computer and make a physical change. Elkins said, “Your mind changes when you make a physical change.”
I agree; my mind felt so much better after I jumped rope.
Step 6: Set a Reward For Yourself
Jeff tells himself, “I can go for a five-minute walk when I reach my writing goal.”
Walk around the block, walk your dog, or skip rope for five minutes.
I let Mrs. Hodges walk around the block for five minutes, or jump rope. She just bought a green skipping rope. I like to chase a ping-pong ball or knock the computer mouse on the floor for my break. I tried skipping and I felt so refreshed—it was almost as good as a cat nap.
Step 7: Celebrate Intentionally
When you take your five-minute walk, or your five-minute break jumping rope, tell yourself, “Good job. You worked hard.” Be happy you finished a certain amount of time writing. Be kind to yourself and focus on what you finished and not on what was left unsaid.
I like to say, “Good Cat. You worked hard.” Then I take a nap in a sunbeam. Before I heard about The Elkins Seven, I would tell myself how bad my writing was and feel discouraged.
Be nice to yourself, and encourage your efforts. Be a friend. It works. Really.
Do you have any tips on how to be productive in your writing? Let me know in the comments section.
PRACTICE
Please write for fifteen minutes on your current writing project, or choose one of the 10 Best Creative Writing Prompts. Use the Seven Productivity Steps Jeff Elkins suggested. When you are done, let us know how your writing session went. Did you notice you were more productive when you used The Elkins Seven?
Please share what you have written in the comments. Mrs. Hodges, my typist, will read your stories to me, and type my response.
I look forward to reading your stories.
All my best,
xo
Harper, the cat, and Pamela, the typist
Hey there, Harper. Minnie here.
What a fabulous post! Thanks so much.
I love the bit about rewarding myself after having worked steadfastly, and then celebrating. I’m going to do just that. The reward will be watching the doves peck up the crumbs that Lilian puts out for them each afternoon, and then maybe, call for Chubby and Velvet to share my dry, crunchy, yummy catnip.
I get distracted easily so before I ask Lilian to type my story, I sit on the verenda and think it out. Then I tell Lilian I’m ready, and give us both thirty minutes of writing. It doesn’t always work because some one needs something, and there goes Lilian to get it. As you know, Harper, we’re without thumbs and can’t type, and if I’m lucky, Lilian gets back soon and we carry on with our writing.
I need to focus on step 4 and 5, and not to worry about my first draft, no matter how bad it is.
So long for now. Here’s my paw, friend.
Happy writing!
Minnie.
My Dearest Minnie,
I am so happy you liked my post. Your reward for working hard sounds great. Please say hello to Chubby and Velvet for me. I think I will go and watch some birds now myself.
Please say hello to Lillian for me. Mrs. Hodges says hi too. She has to mow the lawn now before it gets too hot outside.
Keep working Minnie, and don’t worry. You got this!
xo
Love Harper
I love the one that says : don’t check your emails while having a break. I constently do it again and again and the result is that my break is no more 5 or 10 minutes but 1 hour and after that my muse is gone and my energy very low…. Thank you; I will do that and surely it will help a lot. 🙂
Hello ANNIE EVE,
How are you this fine day?
Did you stop checking your email during your break? Did it help?
Mrs. Hodges, my typist, took a break today from typing for me, by taking the dog for a walk.
I took a little walk around the house on my break. I am not allowed outside. Sigh.
All my best,
xo
Love Harper
Yes, this morning I had fun with my spouse having a walk in the morning, having a coffee break in a café in my town. We enjoy the place in the morning when tourists haven’t arrived yet and when the temperature is ok. It’s a time to be refreshed and just be together. it’s the most valuable thing because no project equals relationship !
Hey Harper, I really needed this.
For the last few weeks, I’ve been excited about my wip, my ideas and the prospect of actually finishing the book. But for some reason, EVERYTHING else gets in the way of writing and I end up feeling so guilty because I haven’t written.
I realized that its all fear. I’m so worried that I suck at this and therefore will be wasting my time. I’ve tried Step 1, that’s actually how I’ve been able to make it this far without giving up, but I can only do that for a little while before the feelings of dread return full force.
I feel a little better about managing my emotions now and I’ll add the other steps to see how they help. I joined a couple of writing groups which seem helpful but could also become a huge time waster if I let them. I just added an app for focusing which I think will help too.
I’m going to see this thing to the end, no matter how long it takes! Thanks for the motivation because it really helps to know that we all struggle with the same things.
Hey Courtney – before trying steps 2 through 6, skip to step 7. 1 doesn’t work without 7. If you try 1 without seven, you feel crappy all the time. When I start writing I say, “No pressure. I’m just going to put some words down. They aren’t going to be great. They will have to be edited.” When I finish my designated time, I then tell myself good job and try to find something about what I wrote to celebrate. I’ve got to keep it balanced. Congratulating yourself will feel weird at first, but if you are going to sit down to write again, you’ve got to do it. Hope it helps! Best of luck!
Thanks Jeff. Will do.
Wow, Mr. Elkins,
May I call you Jeff?
What a great idea. I will jump right to step 7 too.
xo
Love Harper
Hello Dearest Courtney,
I hope you have been well. I love what Mr. Elkins said, to just right to step 7. I will do that myself.
I have found it hard to write, as I keep comparing myself to the older cat who founded the blog I now own. He died a year ago this April.
I have been thinking about you, please share some of your writing when you feel comfortable.
I will be your friend.
xo
Love Harper
I love this!
Thank you Talia,
Do you have good recipes for cat treats?
xo
Harper
Hey Harper! You were missed! I am writing about a funny cat, myself. Glad you still like dogs. I will be writing about dogs after I get done with my “Fabulous Feline” story. And, got the rules down. I hope! Thanks. Wish me luck.
Hello LaCresha Lawson,
How is your “Fabulous Feline” story? I love fabulous felines. Did you write your dog story too?
Sending you many best wishes with your writing.
xo
Love Harper
Hi, Harper! It is so nice hearing from you. Thank you for asking. It is going welI. It is a 3-part series. Almost done with the second one. Getting the illustrations done. The story about the dog will come much later. Got a lot of work to do. I will let you know when they are ready. I will be needing your approval. Until next time, may you soar!
Last night I had a serious conversation with Self. “Self I said, tomorrow, you are going sit down at Starbucks and BEFORE you check email, Facebook, or TWP, you WILL write for fifteen minutes.”
“Gulp … Oh … Ok Self since you mean it.”
So I do’od it, and here it is. I used the random words until things clicked. Not as polished as I like so you may see warts and bruises:
Selfish cellphone
Where’s the art of conversation? You see it all around you. In line for movie tickets. Everyone taking selfies, bragging about seeing the current blockbuster before anyone else in their friends list. People, in front of me at Starbucks, having to be asked three and four times what coffee they want because they do not have the common curtesy to put the god damn cellphone down and make their order.
The driver that does not see you, almost runs over you, because she got a text message. Your friend that died because an asshole got a text message and blew the red light.
I see it on Thursday night at chorus rehearsal. You would expect when on the risers for everyone to be paying attention to the director. There’s a buzz to my right. A hand sneaks a cellphone out; a text is read and a text is sent. On the risers. In the middle of a piece of music. What’s more important? Your wife asking you to stop and get milk on the way home? Silly, obtrusive distractions that interrupt brotherhood, that interrupt harmony.
Real harmony. You just simply could not say no to that controller in your pocket and had to pull it out. Your voice drifted off pitch and caused the entire section to flat. Instead of resonance the chorus suffered dissonance, because you could not wait till break to answer a stupid cell phone.
You missed that lovely description of two notes in a chord and how the harmony is made and built because two notes of different but proper pitch add and subtract and make new notes higher and lower. But, now you know you have to get milk.
People think they are multitasking animals, but the truth is we are not. Answer a cellphone while driving? Survey says, most drivers will answer the phone call even if they have to drag the cellphone out of a purse and or briefcase in the backseat while doing 75 on the freeway. Statistics say you cannot do both at the same time. Incident and accident rates go up when folk use cellphones and drive. We are NOT multitasking creatures. We do one thing at a time and we it very well. If we add a task, one task suffers when the other task is being attended to. If that other task is driving, the family in the van to our right may suffer.
Do people interact with each other or do they text? I pray for the former and fear the latter. You’re in the same house, do you go see, or do you text?
Oh Gary G. Little,
Your story is riveting and a realistic commentary on society today. I have only been alive for a little over a year, yet I am considered an adult cat now. We mature quickly.
The story line of the milk brings reality to a sad situation. So many times when I try comfort a human with purring, they don’t notice me as they are looking at their phone.
I hope you are well Mr. Little. And may all your friends look you in the eye and pocket their phones.
Wishing you all my best,
xo
Harper
I stumbled on this blog yesterday and decided to complete the ‘about me’ prompt. I set a time of 15 minutes but exceeded the time by over 15 minutes. I had to turn off my mobile network to block out distractions, and it worked! I’m looking forward to improving my writing here 🙂
Here’s the piece:
She stares out the window, so lost in her thoughts that she doesn’t see anything going on in the streets. She should be writing down a paragraph describing herself, but she isn’t sure who she is.
Is she the little girl with her variety of fictional worlds? Always happy and hopeful, and hopping from one fantasy to another. She’s glued to her books, as they are the source of her fantasies.
Is she the confused teenager trying to “discover herself”? She worries about a lot: living right, future choices, the state of the world… She digs into books – religious, ethical, philosophical books – trying to unearth some meaning whatsoever.
Is she the college student reeling from her first taste of freedom and failure? She tries to enjoy freedom but rushes headlong into failure, and then the freedom becomes a tight chain around her neck. She yearns for her younger carefree days, void of freedom and responsibility. She learns a lot, but knows so little. And so she keeps reading, stalks the internet, searching for answers that might save her from choking on the depression closing in.
Is she the young woman who cannot explain how so much time passed by? She realizes that she isn’t much closer to finding any ‘meaning’ than a decade ago. So many years passed in a haze, spent worrying at first for the future then about the past. So she turns to her books, seeking counsel on living in the present.
Perhaps she is all of them – the little girl, the confused teen, the college student, and the young woman. Perhaps she is a little less of this and a little more of that… Certainly, she is a reader, a learner, and a thinker. So she continues reading, for in the books she sees herself more clearly than in a mirror.
Hello glossysly,
A very thoughtful piece about a woman trying to find herself.
An interesting approach to find purpose though asking questions and reading.
I hope she continues to find answers as she continues to read.
A mirror only reflects an image, it doesn’t reflect the soul.
xo
Love Harper
Great advice! Pamela, you know I love your writing, and now I love Harper’s too. Yep, I’m late to the feline party, but I’m here. Finally 🙂
Hello EmFarley,
So nice to meet you here. Mrs. Hodges often talks about how kind you are.
I have been using the steps listed here and they have helped me with my writing.
Do you have any tips on writing habits?
xo
Love Harper
Hello Harper,
Please thank Mrs. Hodges for her kind words!
Here’s a tip for when we’re struck by the dreaded writer’s block…
Instead of trying to force the words onto the page, move to a different section of the piece, and write that. I always find dialog is a great block breaker. When you’ve drafted that section, no matter how rough, (first drafts aren’t called ‘word vomit’ for nothing) go back to the block, ot continue where you are. Writing does not, and at times should not, need to be in the order it will appear in the finished piece.
Hope this helps.
Love Em xoxo
Really informative. I just want to share my experience, i used to do the same whenever, i started writing my assignment. I had gone through all the problems. They are the same, which i felt while practising. I’ll try to over come by seven practicing rule. Further, the biggest problem i face is, i lost connections in my thoughts, i usually write two to three lines and i started feeling boredom due to lack of ideas. May be this is due to lack of vocabulary or concentration which i try to impart but missed.
Hello Meral,
Maybe your boredom comes from writing something you don’t want to read.
Try and think of something that would be fun to read and write that story.
Keep writing, you have thumbs at least, and don’t have to wait for your typist to listen to your dictation.
All my best,
xo
Harper
Late on the post here! This one just really got me.
I love the advice about giving yourself permission to write an imperfect first draft, which has actually been a big turning point in my writing life recently. I’ve been writing a first draft of a story and in the past was extremely conscious of the flaws to the point of feeling like it wasn’t worth trying to finish. I came back to it recently and as I started working a bit I’ve been learning that “Not what I want it to be just yet” doesn’t automatically mean “Absolutely awful.” It’s been a great turning point.
(I also find that as far as Step 6 goes, chocolate covered treats are the best kind.)
Without further ado, fifteen minutes of an idea that’s been swimming around in my brain river for awhile:
No one ever did think much of the little curly-furred teddy bear that so frequently sat on the shelf in the second hand store — nobody wanted it. Not because it was ugly, or expensive, or had a bad story attached to it — rather, nobody picked the little stuffed toy up because of its missing arm.
That is, no one except the little girl named Annabell who went wandering down the aisles one day, looking for a new toy for her birthday, and lo and behold — that little teddy bear was the one thing she picked. She liked the color that matched her pale blonde head so well, and despite that little bear’s missing arm, she took him home that day, and from that day on, he was called Paw.
Paw rarely left Annabells’s bed, and when night came, he stood guard to protect her from the monsters and fears that would otherwise keep her awake at night, as is the job of all teddy bears in the possession of young children. For a long while, life was good and peaceful for them.
But naturally, there would be no story to tell if things had stayed that way. A day came when Paw’s little girl woke up screaming in the night, but he had seen no monster and no nightmare that had tried to slip by him. Her parents came to comfort her, and soon enough she fell back asleep — only to wake three times more in the night, still crying and fearful.
Paw knew that no normal nightmare could get by a teddy bear that stood watch for their children, and knew that this had to be something far worse — something that wasn’t in the waking world. So he would have to leave it, and go to the sleeping one to find and defeat the monster responsible for the terrors in the night his child was facing.
So he left the world of people and went to a place where he could go to the other world — and he had no trouble getting there, through a small hole in the closet. When he tumbled down through the hole, into the other world, Paw found himself in a little town of toys, with hilly, sandy beaches and a wide blue expanse of water that stretched out from the pier.
That’s where the story begins — in a little toy town in a great big world, where Paw knew he could find thee answers he needed to help his little Annabell sleep in peace once again.
Wow Kess Raisor!
I was so happy Annabelle adopted the bear with one arm. For a minute there, I thought Annabelle only had one arm too.
And the poor child having such bad dreams.
I may not sleep tonight wondering what will happen to Paw in the world beyond the small hole in the closet.
Oh, please continue with your story. Please help Annabelle.
And give my love to Paw.
xo
Harper
p.s If you write more, please let me know.
I’m scared of cats (sometimes a cat scratch in childhood, gives you more than cat scratch fever), but I just had to pitch in.
I think this cat, Harper, is so smart.
First thing he does, is scratch off the urge to Cat Nap …
Then he sets his timer.
No emails after 5 minutes? Strict, even stoic—but brilliant 🙂
I’ve no “typist” for this one-woman, no-cat band, but a sloppy yet readable hand that does good creative work in ruled, bound notebooks. The typing had been for a prolific blog in which the names had been changed to protect the innocent (or guilty). I’d thought the TV shrink that hosted that blog got to read every word.
Of course, THESE off-computer, ruled pages silently bleat at me for the longest time, at first.
So, let’s say this is my notebook:
Krisha Gordon had a career . But not one of the biggest kind.
“What could you do for the company?” Long before chatbots and phone trees ever arrived on the scene, in the interview room she had stretched her gamine legs their nearly full length.
“What you as the department head would not care to do. Handle complaints. Handle the phone. Even if it’s ringing off the hook.”
The avuncular, rapidly aging man smiled and extended his hand to hers. He had his doubts about Krisha. Something seemed a little flappable, a little too-languid about her, but he could sense she would work to exhaustion, nonetheless.
“I am a value-added employee.”
Such big words. Coming from this almost-gorgeous prospective employee.
This had been twenty years ago.
Cut to five minutes ago. Gerrard was such the idealist.
… “I want to send a snide card to the world … !” That’s as real as Krisha could get with Gerrard.
All Gerrard wanted was to love Krisha.
Tina, Tina, Tina,
First, please let me apologize for the kitten who scratched you in your childhood. Not all cats are scratchers, and if the kitten had a manicure, it would have been unable to scratch.
How wonderful to be able to hold a pen and write by hand. I can only dictate.
Keisha sounds very interesting. Especially her legs. I asked my typist to look up the word, “gamine.” She has mischievous legs?
And avuncular. Wow, two big words. So he was sort of like an uncle to her?
And he was rapidly aging? Sort of like a cat? Where one cat year is seven people years?
Such an interesting fifteen minutes. I can’t imagine how exciting the story would be if you wrote longer!
xo
Love Harper
I believe you have 9 lives. So, don’t worry my feline friend.
It scared me a bit when the station police rushed into the room and told everyone to get down. They were waving laser guns around like ghosts were jumping around the room. Or it could just have been the martian strain of giant tarantula that had gotten out of its cage. I whimpered as one of the ten pound spiders skittered past my nose.
“Don’t move,” Calico whispered beside me, his paws covering his nose.
“Do you think they bite?” I ask.
“Shut up, Bingo. Look, the police are taking care of it.”
I glanced over to see more people inching into the room with nets and other uncomfortable play things like metal sticks.
I perk up, “I want to play!”
Calico swats at my nose, “You idiot, they aren’t playing. That’s animal control. They’re putting the spiders to sleep.”
“Nap time? You should nap with them, Calico! Don’t you like napping?”
Calico sighs heavily, “I give up. Just shut up and sit still for tuna’s sake.”
I want to play with them but Calico is grumpy today. Maybe once Katie comes back and we have a snack Calico will more cheerful. I relax as the “animal control” put the spiders back in their cages and give the “a-okay” sign. I let my tongue loll out as I ponder the wonderful possibilities of snack time.
The animal control leave and several people rush in past the police.
I jump to my feet, “Katie! Katie! Katie! Katie!”
Calico rolls his eyes and gets to his feet.
Katie crouches by me and scratches behind my ears. I close my eyes and grin. “That’s the spot.”
“I’m so glad you guys are okay. Were you scared of the spiders Bingo? I bet Calico protected you, didn’t you Calico?”
“Damn straight,” Calico mutters, “Lets get out of here, Katie. We’re going to miss our flight to Earth.”
It’s interesting how you have to find your voice/tone again when you write something new. I didn’t even notice the stress I usually feel until it was gone. I decided that it was okay if I wrote and posted something stupid and worthless. It puts the free in freewriting. This is from my WIP but I changed names and appearances to protect the identity of the main characters.
Hey Pamela,
Excellent article, loved it.