Falklore: Your New Adventure in Life - Writing

So now you are working on this new adventure in life - writing.

We've provided thoughts about how demanding, yet rewarding, writing can be. The previous column covered appreciation and love for writing. Now it's time for you to get your work area organized and get busy, that is, if you haven't done so already. That area, believe it or not, is one of the most important requirements for good writing.

First, make your work area private. The best place might be a corner in your basement where two more walls and a door will form a room and provide you with that privacy. If you have a room elsewhere, make sure it is yours only. Have a visitor, wife, husband, dogs, cats, kids? Doesn’t matter. Your work area is not to be shared with a table-saw, sewing machine or TV. I have a room in my basement. It is comfortable and big enough for a desk, computer and printer center, file cabinets, shelves, radio, tape deck, safe, cork board for notes and walls full of photos .

Organize your time. Set a time in your daily routine to write; some like early a.m. when the brain is fresh, some like the peace and quiet of evening - but write. Don't set it off until tomorrow. Get in the habit of writing every day. Pretty soon, you'll find that others realize the importance of writing and won't bother you. We'll continue getting a good start in my next column.

Questions/Comments? Contact Jim at james@jamesfalk.net, or visit www.jamesfalk.net.

James Falk, as a teen-ager, used to dream of being a big-time racketeer. Fortunately, his dream didn't come true. A 10th grade dropout, he finished highschool after four years in the Marines and went on to earn a B.A. in Journalism and an M.A. in Communications.