Sure Fire Way to Finish Your WIP by Jane Walters

I’m no entrepreneur, but I have a brilliant idea for a product that will help writers finish their WIP. Not to beat about the bush, and please pardon the somewhat colloquial reference, I’m referring to bum glue: an ingenious adhesive that keeps a writer firmly attached to their chair and stops them wandering off in search of Hobnobs and other distractions when they are supposed to be actually writing. I would, of course, hire a team of marketers to come up with a snazzier name, replete with logo that conveys not only its efficacy but its neutral impact on the environment. Saving the planet, however, is not the purpose of the unguent. Saving sanity might be a better claim.

You see, I’ve gone through every excuse. The old chestnut of ‘If only I had more time, I could be an internationally renowned, prolific, prize-winning author’ simply doesn’t wash (ooh, an opportunity to procrastinate: find out if chestnuts can indeed be run through the machine and at which temperature) when, actually, I have more free time than I’ve ever had, this side of puberty.

Nor is it feasible to be claiming that I’m waiting on the Lord for guidance, clarity, and a hefty nudge in the right direction when in fact I’ve been clear on what I should be writing for a considerable time.

I’ve declared 2024 to be the year that I actually finish something. Those who have been privy to my writing ambitions will be either rolling their eyes in disbelief or getting out the bunting. It’s really rather easy to start something new, I’ve found. One sniff of a ‘great idea’ has me deciding the title, opening [yet another] New Folder on my laptop, and slapping in a few exciting paragraphs for good measure. Each time this happens, I inwardly declare that This One is what I really should be writing and the reason that the other half dozen beginnings haven’t come to anything is that the time wasn’t quite right.

I sincerely hope it is not just me who comes up with this nonsense…

The fact is, all joking aside, that the only way a WIP will get finished is if I stay at my desk, consistently, for however long it takes. Only last week, embroiled in a bunch of retreat preparation, I felt my heels start to push my chair backwards as I eyed up the door. An internal voice was stern: Jane, keep your bum on that seat! ‘Oddly’, when I did so, I managed to complete all I needed to do and still have time to enjoy a free evening afterwards.

So, what do you think? Could bum glue take off? Be an absolute sure-fire winner? Or is the real solution less sticky…?

Jane Walters is Chair of ACW and always trying to juggle at least 3 works in progress. She leads the ACW group Green Pastures Christian Writers in her local Norfolk and residential retreats further afield.

www.janewyattwalters.com

Insta: @readywritersretreats