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After recently celebrating our Second Blogiversary, I asked readers to submit questions they would like us to address. In response, Sue Ekins posted this comment:
"I have trouble motivating myself to write. How do you do that, especially when you are (or were) working a day job?"
I've struggled with this same issue even though, technically, I don't have a "day job" because I only teach part-time. As one of my students likes to say, "
writing is hard." And some projects are more challenging than others.
A few months ago, I shared a bit about my difficulties finishing a historical young adult novel that required a great deal of research. I'd tried to motivate myself in a variety of ways with mixed success. Then
in January my co-blogger April Halprin Wayland posted about how she is inspired by her "tribes(s)," and she shared a brilliant
Writing Workout. Here it is again:
April's Writing Workout: Working with Someone in your Tribe
- Grab a buddy from your writing tribe.
- Both of you write three commitments for the coming week. Don't set yourself up to fail. Don't commit to writing a novel in a week. Start out easy and see what you can realistically accomplish in seven days.
- Set a deadline.
- Select a "salary" you will pay yourself. The important thing is to pay yourself every week whether you've completed all three commitments or not. Don't business execs get paid even when they've had an unproductive week? It happens. This is not about whipping yourself. This is encouraging yourself. Put the whip away and take the paycheck.
- Read your commitments to each other.
- Check in with each other at the end of the week.
After reading April's post, I solicited a member of my critique group,
Leanne Pankuch, to be my Writing Buddy. Unlike me, Leanne has a full-time "day job," so she has to be creative when it comes to finding writing time. Leanne and I followed April's guidelines with one minor modification to step 5: instead of reading our commitments to each other, we email them at the beginning of the week. In that email, we also set a time to connect by phone the following weekend.
I found it very motivating to put my goals in writing and to know I'd have to be accountable to someone at the end of the week. I didn't want to disappoint Leanne by not living up to my goals. That is precisely what I'd hoped would happen. But the rewards didn't end there. April's strategy also taught me how to set
realistic goals that
truly motivate me. For example, this was my first week's
Commitment to Me:
- Spend at least 6 hours revising my young adult novel—this includes thinking and planning time, but not research time.
- Get to bed by 10:30 pm at least 3 nights so that I can get up early and focus on my writing before being distracted by other things.
- Consistently log how I spend my “work” time.
While making this first commitment to myself was helpful, I wasn't as productive as I'd hoped that week. After discussing the results with my Writing Buddy during our check-in, I modified my goals for the following week to include one that read:
- Add at least 500 words/day on at least 3 days for a total of 1500 additional words. (Current word count is: 61,022.)
For me, a specific word count goal was much more motivating than a time-oriented goal. When Friday afternoon rolled around and I hadn't reached my word count, I resolved to get up earl
In honor of
Picture Book Marathon month, each of the
TeachingAuthors will be sharing how we approach picture book writing. Mary Ann kicked off the topic in her
last post, where she talked about how deceptively simple picture book texts appear to be to those who haven't studied them. I once heard
Tomie dePaola, the author and/or illustrated of over 200 books, say that of all writing genres (including novels for adults), a picture book text is the most difficult.
Instead of discouraging me, dePaola's statement words were a great consolation. I didn't feel quite as bad about my struggles to sell a picture book. (
Mary Ann's words about typically taking at least three years to write and polish a picture book are consoling to me, too.) As I shared
in another post, I first became interested in children's publishing precisely because I wanted to write picture books. I eventually learned that novel writing comes more easily to me. But part of me still has ideas that I believe would make terrific picture books. So I work on them in between my novel writing.
It's not always easy for me to transition between the two genres (especially when the novel I'm working on is in the voice of a teenager living in 18th-century Milan!). The best way I've found to get into a picture book state-of-mind is to begin by reading aloud several picture books that have a tone or rhythm similar to what I'm aiming for. As
I've shared before, I sometimes also type out the text of those books. I recommend my students working on picture books do the same.
Don't know which picture books to study? You might want to begin with those on the New York Public Library's
100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know, or the
Top 100 Picture Books Poll Results compiled at the Fuse #8 Production blog. (See the
Blogosphere Buzz below for some Fuse #8 news.) If you're looking for more recent favorites (especially if you're trying to create a manuscript that might actually get published in the current market), then check out the latest winners of the
Charlotte Zolotow Award for picture book text. (In case you didn't know, my fellow
TeachingAuthor Mary Ann Rodman won the Zolotow Award for her book,
My Best Friend. So go back and re-read
her post to learn whatt inspired that manuscript.) Another approach would be to do an author study of a picture book author's body of work. Some of my favorites for this include Mem Fox, Lisa Wheeler, Phyllis Root, and Carolyn Crimi. Mem Fox also has two terrific articles on her website that every aspiring picture book writer should read:
"So You Want to Write a Picture Book"<
Don't forget to enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of Claudia Friddell's beautiful debut picture book
Goliath: Hero of the Great Baltimore Fire, illustrated by Troy Howell. To enter, follow the instructions in
Esther's last post. Entry deadline is 11 pm CST Tuesday, June 29.
As many of you know, I coordinate our posts here at
www.TeachingAuthors.com. My responsibilities include sending out the monthly blogging schedule to all the
TeachingAuthors. Unfortunately, there was an error in the last schedule I gave everyone. Because of my mistake, Mary Ann didn't know that today was her turn to post. Unfortunately, due to previous commitments, she won't be able to post. My apologies to everyone, but especially Mary Ann, for my mistake.
On Wednesday, I'll post the name of our giveaway winner, along with the official announcement of a brief break in our blogging schedule next month. The vacation comes none to soon for me. Juggling teaching, writing, blogging, meetings, and personal life has been more of a challenge than usual for me lately. I'm looking forward to a little time off. :-) Meanwhile, I'll share a few recent items of interest from the Kidlit blogosphere:
Blogosphere Buzz
Happy writing!
Carmela
Here in the United States, the school year is drawing to a close. Around this time last year, we received an
Ask the TeachingAuthors question about end-of-the-school-year writing activities. Unfortunately, we weren't able to address the question in time. To make up for that, we'll be providing a series of end-of-the-year
Writing Workouts this week and next. If you're a teacher, you'll find the first below.
If you're a writer, this may be the time to look ahead and think about how summer will affect your writing schedule. Summer is a very productive time for some writers. Many of my adult students are teachers and librarians who look forward to summer vacation as a time to catch up on their writing.
Not for me. Maintaining my writing routine during the summer months is often a challenge. When my son was young, the challenge was not to let my writing interfere with his summer activities, and vice versa. Now that he's grown up, that's no longer an issue. But teaching has become one of
my summer activities. I teach several week-long writing camps for young writers, along with adult classes. I love teaching, and I'm always revising and fine-tuning my camps to keep them fresh and fun for my young students. That takes creative energy, as well as time. I'm not complaining. It's just something I need to allow for when I set my summer writing goals.
I'd love to know how other writers deal with this seasonal transition. Will the end of the school year affect your writing schedule? Does taking a vacation refresh you as a writer or do you feel you've lost your momentum and have to start over? Do you have any tips on staying creative during the lazy, hazy days of summer? Please share your ideas via our comments.
And don't forget: today is the last day to enter our giveaway drawing for an autographed copy of April Pulley Sayre's picture book
Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! See
JoAnn's last post for details.
Blogosphere buzz:
This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. So let me begin this post with a little classroom humor:
A child comes home from his first day at school.
Mother asks, "What did you learn today?"
The child replies, "Not enough. I have to go back tomorrow."
This joke is courtesy of the
Teacher Appreciation website. In addition to teacher/student jokes, the site contains ideas for showing our teachers how much we appreciate them. Please don't let this week go by without saying "thank you" to a teacher.
This post is later than usual for me because I spent the morning visiting
Union Ridge Elementary School in Harwood Heights, IL. The students were so attentive and enthusiastic, and they made me feel very welcome. Thank you, Huskies! And I have to commend and thank the teachers and staff at Union Ridge for celebrating their marvelous young authors. I had the honor of presenting a writing workshop to the winners of their Young Authors competition. What a creative group!
Speaking of winners, today I have the pleasure of announcing the winners of not one, but two
Teaching Authors contests. As it turns out, both our winners are teachers--how appropriate for Teacher Appreciation Week! Before I tell you their names, I want to thank everyone for celebrating our First Blogiversary with us. Your response was phenomenal, and we're thrilled to welcome so many new readers.
The winner of our First Blogiversary Critique giveaway is Tricia, who blogs at
The Miss Rumphius Effect. Tricia is a former middle school teacher who now prepares future teachers. She's going to have to decide between having a critique of her poetry or a nonfiction picture book manuscript.
The critique giveaway was such a huge success that we will definitely do it again. Meanwhile, if you're looking for a critique, you may want to consider placing a bid for one in the
Hunger Mountain Critique Auction going on through May 9. Here's how Cynthia Leitich Smith described the auction on her blog,
Cynsations:
"Bid to win full length manuscript critiques with Tanita Davis, author of the Coretta Scott King Honor Book Mare’s War (Knopf, 2009), Michelle Poploff, Vice President, Executive Editor at Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, and picture book writer Tanya Lee Stone, who won the Sibert Award for Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream (Candlewick, 2009). In addition, National Book Award finalist Deborah Wiles and Jacqueline Kelly, author of Newbery honor book The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Henry Holt, 2009), will offer young adult and middle grade manuscript critiques. Bidding ends at midnight EST May 9."
Visit
Ebay to place your bid.
Our second winner is Sandra, a middle-school te
The first time I read the word "blogiversary" was on editor
Cheryl Klein's blog.
My first thought: "What a great word!"
My second thought: "What a great cause for celebration!"
Then I learned some bloggers spell it "blogoversary." But no matter how you spell it, it's a milestone we're looking forward to commemorating tomorrow. I've mentioned that we'll be offering a special giveaway in conjunction with the celebration. Meanwhile, I've been adding some new features to our site. You may have noticed a new link under our logo labeled "
About Us." We've wanted to personalize our blog with photos of all the
TeachingAuthors, but we didn't want to clutter up our already busy sidebar. Now you'll be able to see our smiling faces any time you like by clicking on the above link. That page also contains brief biographies of each of the
TeachingAuthors. Another thing I've been meaning to do for some time is acknowledge and thank all the wonderful readers who've nominated us for various blog awards. So I've also added a new page called "
Blog Awards," with a link in our sidebar. I apologize for being so late in thanking our readers for these awards. All the
TeachingAuthors are honored by your thoughtfulness, and we're pleased that you've found our blog helpful.
Speaking of finding the blog helpful, as we close out our first year of blogging, we'd love to have some feedback from you, our readers. What are some of the features you like best? What would you like to see more of? Do you have any suggestions for topics you'd like us to address in the future? Please post your feedback as comments to this blog entry.
Blogosphere Buzz
Today I'd like to introduce a new feature called the "Blogosphere Buzz." I often come across online events, interviews, and blog posts related to children's/YA literature, writing, or teaching that I think may be of interest to our readers but that don't fit in with our scheduled topic. This section will be a place for us to share links to such items. I have three bits of "buzz" today:
- If you're a picture book writer, it's time to gear up for National Picture Book Writing Week ("NaPiBoWriWee"), which takes place May 1-7 this year. This is a challenge where you attempt to write 7 picture books in 7 days! You can read all about it here on Paula Yoo's blog. Paula is also providing 30 days of inspiring posts to prepare for the challenge, so be sure to read her blog.
- Do writers really ne
I Facebooked this and Twittered it. I love this post. I saved it (I hope) on my bookmarks toolbar.
It is bewildering going back and forth between Genres. I am revising and adult novel and a mid grade novel. I have to cut a story for the LA times down to 600 words and have no idea where to begin and I am working on getting our my current PB manuscript. Changing hats is very confusing. I am going to look at biography picture books. Thanks for the tips
I'm glad your found the post helpful. And thanks for sharing it on Facebook and Twitter. If you like, you can friend me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/carmelamartino. All our blog posts appear on my profile page, so it's easy to share them with other FB members.
Good luck with shortening your article. Your dilemma has given me an idea for a future post on how to "write tight."
Great post.
You may have read this already, but Ann Whitford Paul has written a fabulous book called 'Writing Picture Books' which is one of the best on the topic (I think). Besides giving you tons of great picture book titles to read, she has exercises that will take you outside of your comfort zone in writing picture books and will help you make your own picture book story the best it can be.