Spring is almost here. Time to prune.

March is upon us, my friends. Which means spring will soon be here. Over the last couple of weeks, I have found myself wanting to start my spring cleaning a little early. For me, the verb to prune has been constantly on my mind.

I guess it all started when I began wasting time watching videos about minimalism and tiny houses on Youtube. Then I started rummaging through old file folders for canceled checks, letters from graduate school, and old certificates. I threw away old tennis shoes and worn athletic socks. I found a bunch of old paperwork that could be recycled. I even cleaned my car one warm Sunday afternoon in February.

I used to subscribe to a couple of writer magazines. I would read the articles, then save the magazines for later. This past weekend, I threw them out, too.

So why am I writing this? What has this got to do with writing?

Everything.

Like a good spring cleaning, a writer must sometimes prune ideas and stories that don’t work from their mind. For some of us, this may mean doing some heavy editing from our WIP. But I’m not just talking about editing.

In a garden, sometimes a plant grows wild. It spreads its vines and roots everywhere. But when it does this, it has no energy left to bloom. So a good gardener will selectively remove parts of the plant to encourage new growth. That way, when blooming season begins, the plant gets strong and produces beautiful blooms.

PRUNE THE EXTRANEOUS OUT OF YOUR LIFE

I don’t know about you, but I want to do everything! I want to write novels and short stories and blog posts. I want to teach at every conference in the Rocky Mountain region. I want to be interviewed for podcasts and sign books. I want to serve on nonprofits and give my time freely to worthy causes while spending quality time with the people I love.

But I can’t. I’m only human. So I have to choose which opportunities to pursue. I have to reserve time in my life for my writing. I have to prune the extraneous out.

PRUNE YOUR FEAR FROM YOUR LIFE

If you’ve had that killer idea for a novel rambling around in your head and you haven’t written it, for whatever reason, then ask yourself why. Is the task too daunting? Are you afraid it’s not commercial, or maybe it’s derivative of someone else’s work? Are you afraid it’s not any good?

I get it. For me, the idea of pouring my heart and soul into a trunk novel scares me to death. But you know what? You’re pouring words onto a page, not concrete into a foundation. You’re not building a house or a car that will have to be torn down because you didn’t follow code. You’re writing a story. A story you can edit, rewrite, and delete, if you have to. But you’ll never know unless you begin.

PRUNE NEGATIVE PEOPLE FROM YOUR LIFE

You know the ones. Those people who quietly judge you for pursuing your art. The ones who whisper behind your back and roll their eyes when you talk about that exciting rejection letter you got with the personal note of encouragement.

These people are small, and their hearts are small, too. They’re probably not bad people. Maybe their experiences can’t conceive of someone being this passionate about literature, or any art form.

Don’t tell these people about your passions. You will probably never change their minds. Save your joy for people who appreciate it.

PRUNE AWAY YOUR EXCUSES

Writers write. If you believe you are a writer, then turn on that computer or open that notebook and start writing. Write every day you can. Even if it’s only fifteen minutes a day. Even if your story doesn’t make sense and you’re frustrated. Write. Bad stories can be edited. Unwritten stories can’t.

Once you’ve started, DON’T QUIT! Even if it is bad. (And you’re never a good judge, anyway.) Finish that story. Don’t worry about how bad act three is, or whether your themes come out. Don’t worry if your protagonist is believable or not. Just write and just finish.

THE NEXT STEP

If you’re anything like me, you’re super busy with family and work. So you need to plot out your time. Use a calendar or a calendar app and schedule time to write. Even if it’s just fifteen minutes when everyone is asleep, schedule that time. Treat it seriously.

If your schedule permits it, get a journal. It doesn’t matter if it’s fancy and leatherbound or a spiral from the grocery store. Get a journal and start journaling. I found this very helpful in getting my worries and frustrations out of the way so I could write.

I hope this has been helpful. Sometimes you have to look at your writing life and ask yourself if something is dead weight. If it is, you’ve got to prune it.