As writers, a good portion of our time seems to be dedicated to waiting. You wait to hear back from agents, you wait for contest results, you wait on e-mail replies, you wait for your critique partners to read your projects, etc. And if you’re like me and aren’t the most patient person, the waiting can be hard.
I recently got a request for a full manuscript from an agent. I'm over the moon about it! But I do have to wait twelve weeks to hear from her. Twelve weeks can feel like forever when you're excited about the thing you're waiting for. So how do I pass the time? These four tricks help.
1. Finish the project
You know which one I'm talking about. That one project that's been sitting amongst all your other documents for years, always half-written. What better time to buckle down and finish it than now? You'll feel so much better once it's done, and productive, too.
2. Edit
Whether you love it or hate it or feel somewhere in between, it has to get done. You'll be so surprised at how fast the time passes when you're immersed in the world of revisions. And once you're done waiting, for now, you'll have something else to send off to your peers.
3. Plan your next adventure
A novel, short story, poem, blog post, whatever. Even if you don't write a single word of it, the act of planning something is enough to get you excited and distracted from your waiting.
4. Redecorate
I'm constantly messing with my writing space. I'll swap out old pictures for new ones, move stuff around, fiddle with my magnet board, etc. It's a great outlet for restless energy, and the change of scenery, however small, will help you get a fresh perspective on your writing. Just moving your chair from one side of your desk to the other can make a difference.
How about you? What do you do when you have to wait? Let us know in the comments section.
PRACTICE
What's testing your patience right now? Query responses? Critique partners? Whatever it is, try one of the four tips above to help pass the time. Share your work in the comments, if you wish, and give your fellow writers a little love, too! Have fun!
Hey, I’m a 68 year old curmudgeon. Redecorate? Shirley, you must be jesting. Does moving a dirty sock from here to there count? 🙂
Sorry, da’ devil made me do it.
Ha ha, every little bit helps. 😉 I moved my notepad from one side of the keyboard to the other and it got me through my writer’s block.
Every little bit helps? Really? True story, my mother was once asked how she got two adults and three kids ready for church on a Sunday morning in a trailer house with one bathroom. He reply? I kid you not, “Every Little helps.”
Wow, really? That’s hysterical.
Congratulations sweetheart! #HUGSSSSSSSSS
Kitto
Thank you! 🙂 *hugs back*
Gary,
I’m not 68 and re-decorating is about the last thing I’d think of, too!
Writers do have to wait a lot, though, and not always for the reasons listed here. Family obligations, illnesses, events beyond our control all contrive to make us wait.
So having a list of activities (even if it doesn’t include redecorating) helps take the sting out of the wait!
Great post! Thanks!
Everybody has different methods, so take from this list what you will and definitely feel free to ignore the rest. 🙂 Absolutely! Being patient is hard, whatever the exact circumstances. I’m glad you liked the post!
Congrats on the full request! I’m in the same boat- the waiting is horrible!!
Thank you! 🙂 Did you get a request, too? I agree, it’s only been a couple weeks and I’m already starting to pace!
That’s Awesome! I wish you the best of luck! Also great article as always 🙂
Thanks, Miriam! 🙂 I’m glad you liked it!
Great advice! Writing and planning are definitely productive ways to wait. My fingers are crossed for you and your manuscript 🙂
Thank you! 🙂 Ha ha, I’m crossing my fingers, too.
I love going over something I’ve written, and find there are ways to improve it by cutting out clutter, changing adjectives, restructuring sentences. My fear is that I don’t know when to stop. Going over a manuscript or starting a new one is a wonderful, creative time, when I don’t need company. So good, your advice. Many thanks!
Yes, I love that part about editing! The big plot changes scare me, but line edits are fun. 🙂 It can be hard to know when to stop, I get carried away all the time. I’m glad I could help!
I just moved into a new place, so I am still getting things set up just the way I want. But as I told a girlfriend who really didn’t know how serious a writer I was until she walked into my place. See there were notebooks binders and papers every where and on every surface.
( had I had a maid and she came in to clean on a day throwing every thing away while I was away she would have been fired) So what do I do while waiting for an idea to hit, I create the perfect writing space for me. As I told this same friend who later said she thought I was isolating myself – this is the most perfect (for me) writers retreat cabin / apartment I could have imagined. Any way I think I digressed a bit,,,,
What do I do when I wait, read or write the next section of story I’m working on or do a character outline of those I see in the waiting room where ever I am at.
Those are all great plans! 🙂 And I love creating character outlines of people I see in waiting rooms or coffee shops or any public place, really. There are so many stories waiting to be told, and it’s fun to imagine what those stories are for total strangers.