The question says it all – are you a big picture person or a detail person? Which one comes more naturally to you?

I don’t know about you, but for me, it depends on where I am in the process. When I’m starting a project, I’m totally a big picture person. Planning a trip? I’m all about where we can go and when, comparing how much it will cost to drive or fly, thinking through all the options from the top down.

But once I’ve started a course of action, I love getting immersed in the details. I love spreadsheets and numbers and formulas. I love balancing my checkbook! LOL! If I find a discrepancy, I find it hard to stop until I’ve cleared it up. I can’t sleep if I’m in the middle of a Sudoku puzzle at bedtime.

I hate to admit it, but I’ve not been the best employee at times when I had to be able to go back and forth between the big picture and the details. I get so focused on details that I find it hard to pull back if there isn’t a lot of time.

On the other hand, I also hate to admit that I find it difficult to delegate to people unless I know they are detail-oriented. I tend to have high standards when it comes to details and I get cranky if people don’t follow through in the same way I would.

Okay, so there are some of the areas I’m weak in, but what am I good at? Which area am I best at? I’ve not read about the psychology of this topic, and I haven’t taken a test that I remember tested me in this area, but in my opinion I’m good at both. I think that’s what helps me to be a good writer. I start at the top with the big picture and work my way down to the details of writing and editing the book, even focusing in the end on punctuation.

What about you? Are you better at one than the other? How do you think that helps or hurts your writing? Let me know. I’m really curious about how other people think.

There are so many writers out there telling us what we should/must do in order to be successful. I am grateful to everyone who is willing to share in order to help others find their way. But I am somewhat less grateful to those who couch their advice in terms of “should” and “must.”

I believe that all of us find our own best path when it comes to how we get things done. For some people, their best path is one that takes more time – seemingly wasting time to others who appear more efficient. For instance, some writers write multiple versions of scenes before they decide which direction they want to go. Other writers decide first and write one draft. Who has the best path? Sometimes the easiest way to understand this concept of finding your own path is to use something you don’t do well as an example.

I don’t cook very well. I have a few dishes that I can make pretty tasty every time – I just made John and Doug bacon-wrapped meatloaf for dinner – but mostly I despise cooking only a little more than I hate cleaning up. I would LOVE to be wealthy enough to have someone cook and clean for me every day for the rest of my life!

So when I do cook, if someone or something convinces me to try something new, I have found that I should double the prep time. One time, it took me 2 1/2 hours to prepare lasagna wraps out of the “easy” Betty Crocker cookbook. The prep time in the cookbook was 45 minutes.  John was pretty starving hungry by the time we ate that night.

Looking at something I don’t do well and rarely enjoy, it’s easier to see how to adjust other people’s “should’s” to work for me, easier than trying to apply it to something I do pretty well and enjoy, like writing. Following me so far?

Stephanie and I were on a writing retreat once where she did all the cooking and I did all the grocery shopping. I ate like a Queen that week! Steph laughed at me so many times when I gushed about how good her food was, and she kept insisting it was so easy. She eventually learned that cooking is not easy for me.

Now compare all the writing advice you’ve heard. I’d guess that over 90% of the advice you hear works for the person who said it. (I suspect that some people tell you what they believe to be the best way to do something even though they haven’t been able to be completely successful doing it that way.) But just because it works for someone, or lots of someones, doesn’t mean it will work for me or for you.

Take writing every day for example. I do believe that working consistently is the best way to build structure and habits and routines that will get you through the hard times when you don’t know what to write, or when life keeps you from writing as much as you used to. But I don’t believe every writer needs to write 5 or 6 or 7 days a week, rain or shine or Christmas or funeral, in order to be successful.

I’ve found that a menu system works better for me. I work every day, 4-7 days a week, but I don’t write every day. Some days I’ll write for 8 or 10 hours, other days I’ll do other “business of writing” work for the whole day. My brain works smoother and more fully when I do only one or two major tasks a day. I’ll spend an entire day doing a week’s worth or a month’s worth of accounting rather than take a few minutes every day. That’s the menu item I chose on that day. On another day, I’ll choose to write all my blogs for the next week or two. On a different day, I’ll spend most of the day researching, reading, and journaling to get my thoughts stirred up or organized.

So how do I know when I “should” write if I don’t have a specific schedule? Well, first let me say I’m curing myself of the “should’s.” But how do I know if I’m choosing what Stephanie calls creative procrastination or if I’m really procrastinating or being lazy? That’s a tough question. I don’t have the answer for me, let alone you. But I will say that asking yourself the question in the first place will often give you a gut feeling as to which one you’re in now.

Most of you know I’ve had a pretty tough year. Several funerals, several periods of unemployment, financial hardship, two moves, it’s been all I can do to keep from wallowing in self-pity let alone try to keep to a writing schedule. On the one hand, I have the feeling that I haven’t gotten much done this year. On the other hand, I wrote stories for two anthologies that will be out later this year, brainstormed a new series of books, worked on getting Little Miss Lovesick into print, and attended two writing retreats and a national conference. I’ve also been learning how to run a publishing company since I’m self-publishing my books.

Under the circumstances, I feel pretty good about what has been accomplished! I’m working on getting more of a schedule going, creating a printed menu of work for each month, and in general getting more done starting this week. But I’m still not going to force myself to write every day because that’s not how I work best.

What should you do this week? Begin by tossing the word “should” out the window. (I’m not saying you definitely “should” but I think you’ll find it helpful.) Then look back over your writing life and your regular life and look for patterns when you felt like you achieved the most and were happiest. That’s where you’re going to find the answers for you.

I need to find some time each week for silly fun, some time for TV and movies, some time for reading fiction and nonfiction, some time alone, and some time with other people. Some varying amount of each of these help me to get the most work done during the week.

Looking over your life, what do you think will work best for you?

Kathy Tyers is one of my (Stephanie) all-time favorite authors. When I learned about her latest book, I invited her to guest blog with us.

Editing Survival Tips
Author: Kathy Tyers & Jamie Upschulte

Amongst authors, editing is sometimes a dirty word. Many of us enjoy the brainstorming, the writing, and even the feedback from peers, but editing requires hard work that can quickly become meticulous and repetitious. Especially the last round of changes that’s requested by the person who means to publish your masterpiece!

How do you survive final edits without losing your sanity—especially when pressed up against a looming deadline? As we worked on Kathy’s upcoming release of Daystar with Marcher Lord Press, there were many things that made the process far easier and bearable. Among them:

Set a reasonable schedule—The moment Kathy received her edits, she calculated how many chapters per day she had to complete to reach her deadline, while also allowing time for a final read through and polish. For this latest project, the daily budget was 2-3 chapters daily for 23 days, then 6-7 chapters each day for the last week’s final push, including two rounds of proofreading. It was a rigorous schedule to be sure—but because she had a schedule and knew what she was up against, she could clear her calendar and plan accordingly.

Take care of yourself—Set up a work station where you will be able to sit comfortably for hours with short breaks. Better yet, set up several stations and rotate among them. This time around, the big discovery was sliding manuscript pages into a cookbook holder on the dining room table. And those “short breaks” are vital. They can save your back, neck, and sanity. Longer breaks are vital, too. In between saving the world and crafting character development, do some gardening. Take your dog for a walk. Or borrow your neighbor and his dog and take them both for a walk (provided you have permission.) You can do absolutely anything, but do something other than stare at your computer screen or galley proofs all day. Physical activity refreshes the mind, and it will renew your mental clarity for editing well.

Plan fun things—Much as we want to be lean, mean editing machines, all work without play makes our once-loved stories tedious. After you’ve set your daily schedule (see step 1), fit in weekly times of leisure to refresh your spirit. Just like physical activity keeps your mind sharp (see step 2), social fun with friends or loved ones will recharge that other important battery—your heart. Kathy and I made time for a weekly viewing of a popular BBC television series, Downtown Abbey, to make our time together enjoyable as well as productive. Remember, readers are reading your work for an emotional experience as well—so make sure you’re keeping your heart recharged in order to give them the very best.

Avoid listening to music—Music can be a wonderful part of the writing process. It can unclog the mind to get a rough draft up and running. However, when in the midst of editing, you need to ensure that your work is standing on its own emotional merit. The best novels are an experience, so make sure that the story itself is providing the experience—not that favorite Russian romantic composer—especially as you conclude your novel.

These are just a few of the methods that Kathy and I used when evaluating her latest novel, but I’m sure there are plenty of others. What other techniques have you used under deadline? What works for you? What doesn’t work?

(Kathy Tyers has published over ten novels with the general and Christian presses, and has been listed in the New York Times for her work on Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura, and Star Wars: Balance Point. Her upcoming release, Daystar, with Marcher Lord Press will be the final novel in her Firebird series.

Jamie Upschulte is a freelance literary assistant at Jamie Words and greatly enjoys helping authors bring their works to life.)