With
apologies to Stephen R. Covey, author of the 1989 best-seller ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ here is my customized list for those of an authorial
disposition:
1.
Be
Proactive.
If you want to be a
writer, then be a writer. Don’t blame anyone, not even yourself. Just pick up
your pen, or open a new file on your computer and get on with it. It’s your
responsibility.
2.
Begin
with the End in Mind.
Is it the Booker prize?
(If so, you may drive yourself insane, but it’s your decision.) Is it getting
published? Is it finishing the novel that you have been planning for 20 years?
Again, your end-in-mind. Your choice.
3.
Put
First Things First.
If writing is your ‘bliss’,
then write first thing, every day. Step over the piles of washing if necessary.
The grunt work will get done in the end. Your writing? No one cares but you.
4.
Think
Win-Win.
Awful phrase, but go with
it. Try and compromise, so everyone is happy. Don’t take up the hermit
position; be generous and thoughtful about the needs of others. If you have a
demanding boss, plan ahead to meet his or her goals as well your own.
5.
Seek
First to Understand, Then to be Understood.
Good listeners are hard
to find – chances are, you aren’t one of them. If you really tune in to what
others say, you will develop a better understanding of human nature. It’s very easy to see a conversation as an
opportunity to sound off; but you’ll get more understanding if you are ‘on
receive’.
6.
Synergize.
Writers aren’t great team
players, generally speaking. But synergies can emerge if you persevere– try
setting up group readings, or online work-shopping, and offering emotional
support to your fellow scribes.
7.
Sharpen
the Saw.
Find balance: take
exercise; eat well; look around you at the world we live in, engage with the
issues of the day. Take care of yourself. And leave the cork in the bottle. (On weeknights, any way!)
As
well as recommending seven habits, Covey also advises that we adopt ‘abundance
mentality’ which means believing there are enough resources and success
to share with others, rather than ‘scarcity
mindset’ which is based on the idea that, if other people are successful,
you lose.
Sadly, I think that scarcity
mindset is widespread among writers. So
abundance mentality is the Eighth Habit, which I suspect I may return to later.
