A Return to Writing: Five Mistakes to Avoid
By Candyce Carden When I retired from teaching in 2018, I eagerly turned my attention to writing full time. I had written on and off for more than twenty years, but this would be the first time I could devote myself to it without another job competing for my attention. I made plenty of mistakes. As the industry had changed drastically since I last wrote for publication, I punted more than once before finally reaching the end zone. Five Mistakes to Avoid 1. Failure to Protect Writing Time Because I never established regular writing hours, family and friends didn’t respect my new venture. The people who’d never dream of stopping by my classroom unexpectedly had no qualms about dropping in on me at home. The interruptions were my own doing; I hadn’t set expectations. I didn’t think it mattered. I had all kinds of time now that I wasn’t working, right? How wrong I was. When I’m in the flow and stop writing for a moment, I lose much more...
