NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS

A group blog featuring an international array of killer mystery, suspense, and romantic suspense writers. With premises and story lines different from your run-of-the-mill whodunits, we tend to write outside the box. We blog several times a week on all topics relating to romantic suspense and mystery, our writing, and our readers. We welcome all comments and often have guest bloggers. All our authors can be contacted separately, too, using their own social media links.

We find our genre delightfully, dangerously, and deliciously exciting - join us here, if you do too!

NOTE: the blog is currently dormant but please enjoy the posts we're keeping online.


Julie Moffet . Cathy Perkins . Jean Harrington . Daryl Anderson . Nico Rosso . Maureen A Miller . Sandy Parks . Lisa Q Mathews . Sharon Calvin . Lynne Connolly . Janis Patterson . Vanessa Keir . Tonya Kappes . Julie Rowe . Joni M Fisher . Leslie Langtry

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Success is a routine?

I'm not sure where I heard it, but recently I heard someone say, "Success is a routine".

Do you agree with that?

I had to think about it for a while to decide whether I did. Finally I decided that my belief is this:

Routine can set you up for success.

For example:

A basketball player who routinely practices foul shots has a greater chance at making them (success).

A musician who practices a song over and over again has a better chance of performing it well in front of an audience (success).

An actress who rehearses is better prepared than one doing a cold reading.

A writer who writes regularly (even if it's in twice a month writing binges) has a better chance of finishing a project.

BUT:

The basketball player can still miss the shot.

The musician can hit a wrong note.

An actress can forget a line.

A writer can write a story that never sees the light of day.


I train for half-marathons. I've completed three. I'm tortoises-pass-me, slow. Yet the routine of training, which I plan out in a calendar MONTHS ahead of time,  pushing myself to go slightly farther each week, sets me up for success. It allows me to cross the finish line.

Sometimes I feel like I'm doing the same with my writing. Slogging along, week after week, until I reach "The End" and then I start it up again...hoping that this time I'll be a little bit faster, a little bit stronger, a little bit better. I plan that out too, MONTHS or a YEAR ahead of time, which helps me to say on track day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month.


What do you think? Do you have a routine you follow to increase your chances of success? Do you have any tips you can share? 

My tip is: EMBRACE YOUR CALENDAR! (but not literally because that could give you a paper cut)


Just an FYI, next week I’m releasing THE HITWOMAN GETS LUCKY. The novella will be free for a limited time, so be sure to visit http://jblynn.com to find out all the details and download your copy.

12 comments:

Silver James said...

I tend to ignore my calendar, unless I have a hard and fast deadline. I "schedule" like I write. I simply sit down and do it. I...make stuff up as I go along. LOL

When I'm dodging my story, though, maybe I should embrace my calendar...though it has wolves on it. That could be...tricky. ;-)

Yay on the free novella! I've missed the crew from Hitwoman.

Anne Marie Becker said...

I definitely have a routine - not sure I have any tips to share that might not make other people crazy. LOL My planner/goal sheet are an important part of making sure I move forward on my goals every day.

I'm also trying to develop an exercise habit. I heard somewhere that it takes 40 days to develop a habit, so I'm trying to commit to exercising a minimum amount every day for 40 days...we'll see if it'll stick. ;)

JB Lynn said...

Silver -- I hope you enjoy the latest Hitwoman installment.

I've found that embracing my calendar and routines (which is SOOO not my natural inclination) has helped me to accomplish a lot more, but I recognize that what works for one might be torture for another.

JB Lynn said...

LOL Anne Marie -- I doubt people need help being crazy. ;-)

Good luck with your exercise goal. It's so easy to let that fall to the bottom of a To Do list, but it really does make you feel better if you can squeeze it in.

Rita said...

Is it routine or working on your goals each day? In order to reach your daily goals you have to have a routine. It's like the chicken and egg thing. Some days my routine is like a soup sandwich. Life gets in the way and everything falls apart.

Anonymous said...

Um...firstly...YAY for THE NOVELLA!! :)

I totally agree. A routine (and a calendar) are KEY ingredients to success! I also would add, that routine is a key ingredient to my sanity! LOL! So many balls in the air! Full time work, full time homemaking, full time writing, and once a month I even make my own laundry soap...*yes, I am one of THOSE people* so with out routine, I would need medication. ;)

JB Lynn said...

RIta - I've never heard the term "soup sandwich" but I think it's great! And it is a chicken/egg thing imo.

JB Lynn said...

Casey -- LOL I made my own laundry soap for a while and decided it was going to be the proverbial straw that broke this camel's back.

Have you ever checked out Flylady.net? I love her ideas about routines to keep a household running relatively smoothly.

I'm SO psyched about the novella. Isn't the cover great?!?!?!

Elise Warner said...

I guess I would call it a routine. I sit at my computer seven days a week. Don't writ too much of an outline but I do write bios. of my characters. For non-fiction, I begin at the beginning and take it from there. Great Blog, J.B..

JB Lynn said...

Elise -- How interesting that you write bios, but not an outline. I love hearing how everyone works. :-)

Jean Harrington said...

Absolutely, routine is vital to success. While I do write every day--every day--I keep telling myself I don't have to exercise every day.

Enjoyable post. Thank you.

JB Lynn said...

Jean -- If only we could all write and exercise simultaneously we'd all be successful on multiple fronts. ;-)

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