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Welcome to One Stop For Writers’ launch week. Have you entered to WIN one of seven 1-Year Subscriptions to One Stop For Writers, or the Pay-it-forward Education Gift for a workshop seat in writing coach Jami Gold’s terrific online class (ending today)?
Also, don’t forget to snag a special Launch week code giving you 50% off ANY PLAN at One Stop For Writers.
As you can imagine with an online library, there are many nooks and crannies to explore. One of my favorite places is up in The Stacks where we keep our Templates and Worksheets. (click to enlarge)
Pictured above is the Character Fears Template. By following the prompts, you brainstorm a character’s secrets, failures, greatest mistakes, relationship issues, wounding events, situations he avoids, the lies he believes, etc. so it uncovers the thing he fears most…which, in Character Arc, is the very thing he must face and defeat to become whole and achieve his objective or goal.
Templates are easy to use. You can fill them out right at One Stop and the information transforms into a helpful “wheel” showing how everything ties together. This is terrific for planning and plotting, and will also help keep you focused on your character’s motivation in each scene. Once a Template is created, you can save and access it onsite, or export it to your computer for printing. Try creating one for each character in your book!
(We’re also building new ones as we go, so if you have an idea for a template or worksheet that you’d really like to see, make sure to submit your Wishlist Idea through the CONNECT button at One Stop.)
If you aren’t a member yet, don’t worry! You can register at any time for free and poke around. Go check out the Templates and Worksheets for yourself, and see what you think!
Each day, we seek to put our best foot forward. We shower, dress for the day’s activities, style our hair. We plan, organize, gather our things, and check the mirror before leaving, making sure to pluck stray fluff off our sweaters and straighten our sleeves.
Why?
To enhance our strengths.
To appear confident.
To show the people who interact with us that we are collected and ready for whatever comes our way.
It’s human nature to minimize our weaknesses. We hide zits, disguise thinning hair and avoid talking about our embarrassing mistakes. But in writing, covering up flaws can keep us from success.
Writing weaknesses are normal. We all have them. But it’s okay, because each of us is on the same journey, and there is no finish line–no point we reach where we’re “good enough.” Regardless of how adept we become at writing, there will always be room to grow.
Let’s look at some of the key elements that will help you evolve as a writer.
Attitude
All writers shares a common epiphany on the writing path. I call it Staring Into The Abyss. This experience happens when our writing has strengthened to the point where blissful ignorance rubs away and we begin to realize just how much we don’t know.
It’s a dark moment, a bleak moment. We feel shock. Frustration. Despair. Some stop right there on the path, their writing spirits broken. Others take a micro-step forward, progressing toward the most important stages leading to growth: acceptance and determination.
Once we come to terms with what we don’t know, we can set out to learn. Taking on the attitude of a Learner is what separates an amateur from a PRO.
Asking for help
Writers can strengthen their skills on their own, but it’s a lot of hard work. Reaching out to other writers will shorten the learning curve considerably. Critique partners can help identify your weak areas and offer strategies to improve. They also will know of resources which might help.
No matter what areas need to be worked on, books can help. Find inspiration through your favorite fiction authors and in ‘how to’ books (here’s a great list to start on). Pick up a few and take notes. If you can, pair up with another writer to read the same book and then discuss it. Learning together gives you a better chance to fully understand any topic. This is what Becca and I did for an entire year, and our understanding of writing craft soared. It was time well spent.
Resources, resources, resources
There are thousands of articles on writing that can teach strong writing technique. Plotting, Story Structure, Voice, Description, Showing vs Telling, Style, Dialogue, Characters…whatever areas you want to develop, there is content out there to help you. Click HERE & check out out Writing Heroes for starters!)
The trick is finding the best nuggets of information without losing your whole day online. Try this Search Engine for Writers. You will find excellent articles on any aspect of writing imaginable. Pay attention to great article round ups like Maureen Crisp’s excellent one every Thursday, as well as Yesenia Vargas’ Monday Must Reads. And don’t forget to check our categories in the sidebar!
Think outside the monitor
Many of us are introverts, and it’s easy to get caught up on the keyboard and screen. There’s nothing wrong with this, unless your rectangular life preserver is holding you back. Writing Groups, Conferences, Work Shops and Retreats are all excellent opportunities to hone writing skills and meet mentors. Writing events need not be expensive–get involved in a local writing group and see what events have a low or no cost for members.
When you’re looking for opportunities to learn, don’t forget the movies. So much can be gleaned by watching films to see what makes them work. In fact, some of our biggest epiphanies as writers will come from studying screenwriting. I highly recommend reading Save the Cat & Writing Screenplays that Sell. These books are pure gold. Trust me, your writing will thank you!
Write and rewrite
Transforming writing weaknesses into strengths will take time. Choose learning strategies that work best for you and never stop writing. Each step of the way, apply new-found knowledge to the page. We learn most of all by doing, so always make time to write.
Chances are, you have more than one area where you know you can grow. Sometimes the easiest thing is to look at one facet at a time, and hone your skills in that area.Then when you feel like your writing is on sturdier ground, shift your focus to another facet of craft. Bit by bit, you will elevate your writing and feel proud at how far you have come.
I don't know about you, but I can take a while to write an article, usually an hour and then some. Even if I have an idea, I still try to add extra value into the article by doing a bit of research and getting 'social proof' to back up what I'm saying.
For this article I decided to time it, so I can see just how long it takes me to create a top-notch, error-free (relatively) piece of content.
0 Comments on Content Marketing - Just How Fast Can You Write an Article? (8 tips on how to speed up your article writing) as of 9/22/2014 5:38:00 AM
I’m an easily distracted person. In order to write productively, I need a private space with no voices, few interruptions, and a view—because, let’s be honest, when you spend a large portion of your writing time staring out the window, you need something nice to look at. And all of this was fairly easy to arrange before my kids were born.
So cute, right? They make life worth living. They also make writing really difficult. For the past six years, I’ve had roughly 2 hours of writing time each day. To maximize that time, I’ve had to stick to a strict routine to keep myself on task. I work in my office, where it’s private, noise is minimized (meaning, the wrestling matches go undetected, but I can hear when they take the turn into a UFC cage match), and the kids can get me if they need me. I light a candle. I start up some instrumental music. With these things in place, it’s easier for me to focus and write.
But something happened last week that shot holes all through my perfect writing routine. My youngest son started school—half-day PreK. But that’s great, you say. Writing will be so much easier now with both kids at school, right?
One would think. But, le sigh, not so much. See, my kids attend different schools that are twenty minutes apart, with vastly different drop-off and pick-up times. In order to maximize my writing and decrease the amount of time spent driving back and forth, I decided it would be best for me to drop my son off, then write at the library that’s around the corner from his school. It wasn’t the perfect solution (obviously, writing at home with all my stuff in its proper place was the perfect solution), but I figured it would work. Unfortunately, those first few days were fairly unproductive. Why? Because the triggers I’d set up to get myself into the writing mood—privacy, music, candle, view—aren’t in great abundance at the library.
Now, I know that some of you don’t struggle with this. I know writers who can write anywhere, any time, no matter what’s going on. If that’s you, I envy you. I resist the urge to poke your dolls with voodoo pins. I wish I was wired that way, but I’m just not. So if you’re one of those types like me, who need structure when writing, what can you do when your routine/schedule/regimen changes, and you can’t get into the writing groove? Here are some things that are working for me:
1. Keep Trying Ideas until You Find Ones that Work. My initial plan was to write at my son’s school (which is held at a church). But that first day, I learned that there was no Wi-Fi, which I need for Thesaurus writing. Also, my writing space was located right next to the nursery, which was noisy enough, but when the bingo group walked in…time for Plan B. I considered going to a nearby Panera or Chick-fil-A, since they have Wi-Fi, but I knew there would be too many distractions. So my third option was the library. It took me three tries to find a nice private spot there, and then I was on my way.
2. Duplicate as many of your old triggers as you can. There is no pretty view from inside our library, and for some reason, the dictatorial powers-that-be frown upon my open flame candle. *boggle* But I found the privacy piece in the Quiet Reading Room. And I realized that if I bring my earbuds, I can listen to music on my computer while I write. I also always have a drink of some kind while writing, so I’m now smuggling a Snapple into the library. I know. I’m a total hell-raiser. Anyway, when change rears its chaotic head, some of your old triggers just aren’t going to work anymore. But some of them will. Find the ones that do, and make them work for you.
3. Reward Yourself. It’s universal: change sucks. Scrapping an established routine and starting from scratch is hard. One of the things I wasn’t looking forward to was lugging my stuff to the library everyday to work. I knew I would need a good bag to carry my laptop and books back and forth, so I decided to get a nice one. And wouldn’t you know? I got this one for a song at a charity auction.
Now, I don’t mind carting my stuff around as much. Every time I see this, it makes me happy—not only because I bought a pretty new bag, but because I was able to help this incredible cause at the same time. Maybe you’d like to work at a local coffee shop or café—some place where you could have a yummy snack or drink while working. If you write longhand or need paper for taking notes, treat yourself to an awesome pen or notebook. Figure out what motivates you and give yourself a little writing-related pick-me-up to propel you into your new normal.
4. Maintain Perspective. The writing has to get done. Period. The conditions may not be ideal. You may have to write at a time that isn’t so productive for you (hello, mornings). You might have to squeeze your writing time into smaller chunks than you’d like (hello, children). But, chances are, your old writing routine wasn’t initially ideal, either. Very likely, that routine began because of a change that killed the preceding routine. While change is hard, it can be maneuvered, even conquered. Give yourself some time to adjust, and you’ll soon find yourself hammering out the words and wondering what all the fuss was about.
What about you? What are your must-haves to write productively? If you’re struggling with any part of your routine, feel free to let us know in the comments, and maybe we can brainstorm a solution.
While the official start of summer is still two weeks away, writers with kids newly freed from school may already be wondering if they'll ever write again. At least that's how I felt every June about this time. I was fortunate to stay home with our kids, and there were a couple of really frustrating summers early in my writing career (and boy, am I using that term loosely). I drove myself crazy trying to follow the old "write every day" advice. Why wouldn't my kids cooperate?!
But my dad had his own advice: Enjoy your kids. They won't be little forever.
So I gave myself permission to take my own summer breaks. Play with the kids. Enjoy life. Store up memories.
Back then, I was specializing in rejected picture book manuscripts. But I also submitted lots of poetry to kids' magazines, much of which was accepted (Thank you, Carus!). Oddly enough, I wrote MORE poems during those summers than at any other time ... usually after getting the kids to bed. We'd say our nighty-nights, then I'd spend an hour or so deciphering odd snippets of rhyme from the sticky notes I'd been slapping onto my desk throughout the day.
So if you're ankle deep in Legos and Play-Doh and soap bubbles and sidewalk chalk right now, relax and enjoy. But keep your eyes and ears and hearts open. And take notes.
If you're more determined than I was to keep your writing front and center through these summer days, here are tips and advice from others who have found ways to make it work:
In the end, you have to do whatever works for YOU. Good luck!
Jill Esbaum
P.S. Enter our Rafflecopter giveaway to win a copy of Joan Bransfield Graham's The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices.
P.P.S. Two books I've written are part of a new series from National Geographic especially for 3-6 year olds. Hitting shelves June 25th are Explore My World: Penguins, and Explore My World: Snow Leopards. Watch for them! :)
0 Comments on Summer Writing - with Kids as of 1/1/1900
Some fear the blank page. I fear the half-written page.
I was writing along, doing great on a story when life interrupted (how dare it!). Has that happened to you? You know where the story is going, you’re in the drafting mode and going strong and BANG! Something happens. You have to set the story aside for a while.
Momentum is lost.
The story almost seems lost, too.
When life interrupts your story, how do you get back into it?
Picking up the Threads of an Abandoned Story
The first thing I’ll do this week is re-read the story. It’s important to see what I actually put on the page.
Next, I’ll try to recapture the excitement and recreate my mindset. This means looking at notes, images, reference material or anything else that will help remind me of my place in the story. Maybe I’ll need to write a letter to myself about how excited I was when I was writing the story.
Retype a chapter. If that doesn’t help, I’ll retype a chapter and make small edits as I go.
Move the pen across the page. When I taught freshman composition, I used a technique that always worked. I insisted that the student move the pen across the page and write words. In other words, they had to go through the motions of writing.
“What do I write?” they moaned.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“I don’t know what to write.”
OK. Write this sentence and keep writing it until you want to write something else:
I don’t know what to write, so I am writing this dumb sentence.
Inevitably, after writing that sentence once or twice, the student segued into something else.
If all else fails to get me back into the story. I’ll do the same thing. I’ll sit and go through the motions of writing until I get so bored with the drivel that I’ll start to get creative and something will happen. I only hope what happens on the page is magic!
I'm surprised for two reasons: 1) I've read so many articles about the quirky rituals practiced by writers, such as those mentioned in Debra Eve's article that inspired this series, that I assumed nearly all writers had some sort of ritual. 2) I have several rituals of my own.
There. I've said it. I may turn out to be the only TeachingAuthor with regular writing rituals. If that's the case, so be it. Since I'm the one who suggested the topic, I feel obligated to be honest. Even if it means confessing that my ritual includes prayer, something I don't typically talk about on this blog.
I still remember the first time I heard an author admit that prayer was part of her daily routine/ritual. It was at one of our Vermont College residencies, and someone asked a highly-acclaimed visiting author about her writing routine. I was floored when she told the crowded room that she started every day with prayer. I'd been doing the same for years, but I'd never dreamed of admitting it in public, or hearing a fellow writer admit it. I guess I'd been raised to believe prayer a private matter. Even now, I feel a bit uncomfortable discussing hear. Oh well.
My writing ritual, which has evolved over the years, currently goes something like this:
I light a candle and say several short prayers, including one that my work will be a blessing on the world.
I pull up the music files on my computer and play some classical music to drown out other sounds/conversations going on in the house.
I open my Daily Tracking Log file on my computer and record my start time.
I set a timer for however long I want the current writing session to last.
I recently added another step to this opening ritual after starting a 100-day, one hundred words a day (OHWAD) writing challenge. I read about OHWAD on a friend's Facebook page. The challenge is to write at least 100 words every day for 100 straight days--I'm currently on Day 36. If you miss a day, you have to start back at Day 1. So I've added a step to my writing ritual that includes looking at my previous day's ending word count in my Project Log and calculating my goal for today's writing session. (While my minimum is 100 words, my goal is often for 200-300 words/day, or more.)
My closing ritual includes recording my ending word count in my Project Log, noting my end time in my Daily Tracking Log, and blowing out the candle, if I haven't already done so earlier. (Don't want my office to get smoky.)
Interestingly, I don't close with a prayer. However, I might add one now after reading about this closing ritual in Eve's article:
"J.D. Moyer jots down ideas for the next day’s session and says a prayer of thanks (even though he’s an atheist)."
If an atheist is willing to publicly admit that he prays as part of his writing ritual, I guess I have no reason to feel embarrassed. J
Happy Writing! Carmela
0 Comments on My Writing Rituals as of 3/10/2014 9:56:00 AM
I do have a few elements I return to, though: light, movement, and time.
Photo: Ikea
1) Light – Sometimes I light a little candle before writing. A flickering light sets my mind at rest, somehow. I have a lantern given to me by a dear writer friend that I love to write by.
When I’m lazy but still want that flicker, I light my little febreze fake candle:>) Excuse me: Febreze Flameless Luminary.
And when I’m super-busy, I just write by a window, with the blinds slatted upward so I get glimpses of trees and sky, but not distracting cute bunnies in the yard.
2) Movement: When I’m frustrated with my writing, I move. Can’t think of the right word? I’ll pace around the kitchen/dining room circle, or go walk Capt. Jack (when it’s not 20 below zero), or even just stand up and do 30 squats.
Photo: DuBoix, courtesy of Morguefile
3) Time: Deadline-setting is really my only consistent ritual. I learned to be a writer in tiny bursts while blocking out life stresses. I still write best in small, intense chunks. No matter what kind of project I'm working on, I start the same way. I look at the clock. I look at the project. Panic shoots through me at my day's to-do list. Then I breathe and set a timer. “Rough draft of this poem. 20 minutes. Go.” Even if I have 3 straight hours of writing time, I probably work on 3-5 different projects during that time, each with its own deadline.
So, there you have it. Three sort-of routines. It would probably be simpler if I just started with a mug of cinnamon tea every day or something:>)
--Laura Purdie Salas
0 Comments on Writing Rituals--Or Not as of 3/7/2014 5:48:00 AM
Remember all those goals you set for yourself? What you planned on that bright and shiny January day when all things were hopeful and everything could be accomplished?
It’s now March and usually two scenarios are unfolding:
Scenario 1: You’re striving toward your goals and making great progress. You may even finish all your goals ahead of schedule. You’re officially kicking 2014′s ass.
Scenario 2: You’ve fallen off the wagon with your newly formed habits and now are having second thoughts about your goals. You’re getting behind schedule. 2014 is easily kicking your ass.
So let’s not talk about Scenario 1.
You’ve fallen off the wagon. You haven’t been consistent. You want to ditch all your goals and chill. All symptoms that your resolve and discipline are wearing off.
If you’re feeling this way, you’re right on schedule. This is usually the time of year when it happens. There are many reasons. I’ll share a few of mine:
These goals require hard work and sacrifice — what the hell was I thinking?
Overwhelmed with competing goals — I should take a nap and let my subconscious choose.
These goals gotta be perfect — I want everything to be flawless and it kinda isn’t. Dammit.
Fear of failure — if I stop trying to reach my goals I’m technically a quitter and not a loser.
Coldest. Winter. Ever.
The good news is that it’s not too late for me and it’s not too late for you.
You can dust yourself off and get back on track. If you’ve swayed away from any new-formed habits or haven’t been working on your goals — don’t beat yourself up about it.
If your goals are falling apart, it may be time to get realistic — take a step back and reassess what you need to do.
Ask yourself this important question: Can I accomplish all my goals in 2014?
If your goals are reachable, make an effort to keep striving but realize you may fall off the wagon again. New habits are especially slippery and when you find yourself slacking off — start back up again. You may also have to dig deeper on why you’re not actually making an effort to make a goal happen. Is it fear of failure? Trying to be perfect? More than likely it’s psychological. Be honest with yourself and take it on a day by day basis.
If your goals are too over the top, scale back and break down into smaller milestones. Can you *really* write 1500 words a day? Is 500 words a better fit for you? Maybe take the word count totally out of the equation. How about writing for an hour or 30 minutes a day? You’ll be more motivated by the success of finishing manageable tasks instead of being overwhelmed and giving up.
How do you keep your goals from falling apart? Are you still on track for your 2014 goals?
7 Comments on When Goals Fall Apart, last added: 3/5/2014
I agree with Coldest.Winter.Ever.
There is something about the cold that makes me unmotivated!
Anna Staniszewski said, on 3/5/2014 8:06:00 AM
I’ve come to realize that I will NEVER reach all of my goals for the year, but that’s actually not as depressing as it sounds. I think the striving is the important part, even if the reaching doesn’t always happen. :-) Glad to hear you’re charging ahead!
Mirka Breen said, on 3/5/2014 8:56:00 AM
I’ve given up January goal-making many Januarys ago. Now it’s one day at a time, and sticking only to what is up to me to call it a success. Amazing how much better it is.
Johnell said, on 3/5/2014 9:40:00 AM
And about a thousand million snow days off school. I did fall off the wagon. Thanks for boosting me back up.
Karen Strong said, on 3/5/2014 1:27:00 PM
I’m so SICK of Winter. Tired of snow. It really just makes you want to make a cup of hot cocoa and read instead of writing.
Karen Strong said, on 3/5/2014 1:28:00 PM
I think you are just being realistic not depressing at all. This is how we get overwhelmed in the first place.
Striving forward is always best — even in small steps!
Karen Strong said, on 3/5/2014 1:29:00 PM
This is a good strategy. One day at a time. In reality, that’s all we can do.
I’m such a list-maker though and I obsess about the future too much. I’m a work in progress. :)
It's the start of a new school year here in the United States. Many students have been back to school for several weeks already, and almost all will have returned by the end of this week. Below, I share about a writing challenge some of you, our readers, may be interested in. But first, I want to announce our own new beginning here on the TeachingAuthors' blog.Jeanne Marie posted a few weeksago that she's stepping away from blogging with us for awhile. We will miss her unique perspective as a working writer and teacher who is also the mother of young children. We hope that she'll be able to rejoin us again in the not-to-distant future. Meanwhile, we're happy to welcome back JoAnn Early Macken!
If you're a new reader here, you may not know that JoAnn was one of the founding TeachingAuthors. She is the author of the nonfiction book, Write a Poem Step by Step (Earlybird Press). Her most recent picture books are Baby Says, “Moo!” (Disney-Hyperion), Waiting Out the Storm (Candlewick Press), and Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move (Holiday House). JoAnn's poems have appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies, and she has also written more than 125 nonfiction books for young readers. If you'd like to know more about how JoAnn became a TeachingAuthor, check out this blog post. You can also read more about JoAnn on her website.
With JoAnn's return, we're modifying the posting schedule a bit. JoAnn will return to her former Friday posting spot, which will allow her to participate in Poetry Friday. And Jill will take over Jeanne Marie's Monday spot. We hope you enjoy our new rotation!
Now, for a "new beginning" opportunity for you, our readers: Today I discovered that award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson has shifted her annual Write Fifteen Minutes a Day (WFMAD) challenge from August to September. If you've slacked off in your writing over the summer, or you've been in a slump and you'd like some help getting back into a writing routine, I recommend you join the challenge. You can work on a project of your choosing, or write responses to one of two prompts Anderson provides each day. She also provides bits of inspiration each day. In today's post, Your Abundance of Time, she shares a link to an interesting article about why we allow the Internet to absorb so much of our valuable time.
For me, writing routines are seasonal--as in the seasons in one's life. The routines I stick to in this season of my life (sans kid, with a husband who works many hours) are: 1) romp the dog twice a day, 2) exercise, and 3) write a poem a day. I send my best friend Bruce Balan an original poem each day and he sends one of his back. (Last night his poem informed me that as of December 26th I had written 1000 poems!)
I just finished working on a nine-month political campaign; it was wonderful having one purpose, one thing to strive for. And when my husband was in the hospital in November, that, too, gave me a single purpose. But right now, I am teaching, writing, critiquing, taking care of 92-year-old Uncle Davie.
Despite my routines, I'm in the hallway of unopened doors...
PATIENCE by April Halprin Wayland
In this hall of fear and doubt, open a door and let me out.
Hear that eerie violin? Unlock a door and bring me in!
Spirit, goddess, hear my prayer any door will do, I swear!
What? A door at hallway's end opens, through it sunlight bends?
I am running to escape thank you for the door-sized gape!
Whoa! This place is way too squarish… might I view a room less garish?
poem(c)April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.
In which season of life are you?
What? No more tea?
No, Monkey, but luckily there's more Poetry below...
37 Comments on Poetry Friday, Tea with Monkey, and Seasons..., last added: 2/15/2013
I love Monkey and am delighted to join him (and you) for tea :).
I'm celebrating the 111th birthday of Langston Hughes at Alphabet Soup with a couple of poems and foodie tidbits (my link goes live at 6 a.m. EST).
Your poem reminds me a little of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Here's to the gradual opening of more doors :). Thanks so much for hosting this week.
Hi, April. The hallway of unopened doors evoked a dream-state for me. Great poem, especially the twist at the end. Isn't it funny how we sometimes want change and then feel overwhelmed when it comes?
The National Poetry Month Poster was unveiled this week and it has postcards! Since postcards are in fashion, I'm sharing a fashion-themed vintage postcard (#21) and accompanying poem.
Thanks for hosting, April--I love that sunlight bending and your whimsical ending!
I'm in with "The Elf," from Little Bitty Man, which is Danish poems translated by Marilyn Nelson and Pamela Espeland. I'm kind of in awe that they translated these and came out with such good rhyme and meter. What a puzzle that must be to do!
I'm the season of almost being an empty-nester, with our youngest a senior in high school. We do a lot of family caretaking, though, so...you know how that goes. Will be interesting to see how life and my writing and our routines change next year when both our kids have flown the coop! Every new season is an exciting one. It's why we moved from Fla. to Minn. 23 years ago. Who wants the same old weather (or life) endlessly?
All my posts will be up after midnight. I forgot to put a little description for my Random Noodling post--it's a link to an Anita Diamant article, and, two short videos of a Richard Blanco interview.
Thank you for hosting, April! Delighted to share that my post is all about doors today, too! (With an Irish brogue, so I'll be raisin' a cuppa Irish tea to Monkey.)
Same life point as Laura [the Purdie Salas one ;0)] - our youngest is a senior and it will soon be a new season for us.
Thanks for hosting Poetry Friday! I love seeing your poetry monkey, and your poem reminds me of a recurring dream I used to have when I was in college. Wishing you an open door to a pleasant locale. At The Writer’s Whimsy I’m gushing about the Academy of American Poets’ recently released National Poetry Month poster designed by Jessica Helfand. It’s very cool and retro. http://www.tamerawillwissinger.com/the-writers-whimsy/2013/1/31/a-poster-for-national-poetry-month.html
April, Thank you for hosting Poetry Friday. How exciting to join you and Monkey for a cup of tea and a read on this first day of February.
I'm writing a minute poem for today about the awesome full moon I saw earlier this week at www.poetryforkidsjoy.blogspot.com
This poem MOON MINUTE, will be up at midnight PST, and you can also check the abecedarians and the nonsense poem from earlier this week, if you aren't a regular reader.
Your poem seems to "speak" to everyone, April. Love the poem; it's all jittery, which is the way I feel, waiting to see what else goes on the never-ending list among selling my old house, making the new house home, work, and play (what's that-not sure). I need to run out a door, & the one with sunlight sounds wonderful. Thanks much for hosting!
Thanks for hosting today, April. I wish I could take the class you are teaching! I loved the way your poem began so gravely and then closed so lightheartedly.
Thank you for hosting Poetry Friday this week, April. Love Monkey. Tea and poetry seem like a perfect pair, indeed. I enjoyed your poem very much. I like the first two lines, and that part where it said:
"Spirit, goddess, hear my prayer any door will do, I swear!"
My Poetry Friday offering is called "Longing for Beauty" - a poem taken from Marilyn Singer's classic poetry collection, Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verses.
Thanks again for hosting and sharing your lovely poem. =)
Dear April, Your hallway is full of love, and I send you perfect-door-opening-thoughts as you keep reaching and wondering. I'll be returning to this metaphor again in my head, to be sure.
Today at The Poem Farm I have a little free verse poem about that feeling you get when you meet someone new...who doesn't feel new at all. http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/2013/02/new-old-friends-free-verse.html
Dear April, Your hallway is full of love, and I send you perfect-door-opening-thoughts as you keep reaching and wondering. I'll be returning to this metaphor again in my head, to be sure.
Today at The Poem Farm I have a little free verse poem about that feeling you get when you meet someone new...who doesn't feel new at all. http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/2013/02/new-old-friends-free-verse.html
Thanks so much for hosting, April! I love this place with its multitude of doors, its tea monkey and the delicious spread of poetry links. My poem is about fog, called "fog" and I left it with Mr. Linky at the back door.
Thanks for hosting, April. Love that hallway of unopened doors. I am walking down an old hallway as I recount an old loss, but the process is opening new doors already.
Hi April, Thank you for hosting PF this week! We love tea, monkeys, and poetry in our house - the perfect combination. And your poem "Patience" is just what I needed to read this morning. Thank you! =)
I've been feeling so gray, I decided I needed to find my inner silliness. I've posted two silly animal poems. http://www.lizsteinglass.com Thanks for hosting, and happy Poetry Friday! Liz
Thanks for hosting Poetry Friday. I'm in this week with a poem about acceptance, plus a little chatter about standardized testing and young children. 'Tis the season in our school, which has gotten me thinking about the things I accept and don't accept (as well as a bit out of sorts.)
I can't tell if Mr. Linky is working or not, so here's a link:
Hi, dear April! Thanks for hosting and for your always-wonderful poems. I've posted at my blog (about the recent awards) and at the PFA blog about Eileen Spinelli's poem about bullying. Take care! Sylvia
April...my writing season, that's a great question. I think it's a bridging season: finishing my teaching carreer (five more years and establishing a writing career as well).It inspires me that you write a poem a day. Thanks for hosting.
Today I'm supposed to write about how sticking to a writing routine can save the day. Or not. That ties in perfectly to my January 4th post, in which I vowed to set a writing schedule for myself in an effort to find my way back into a middle grade novel project. I'd like to shout, "Yes! A schedule was exactly what I needed! I'm well into Chapter 5! Hallelujah!" That would be inspirational, wouldn't it? It would also be untrue.
For the first time in my writing life (16 years), I entered a new year feeling overwhelmed by the number of projects awaiting my attention. Hmm. Could I work on the novel for two hours per day, fitting other writing in around it? No. Turns out that, like Mary Ann, scheduled writing time makes me itchy. Plus, I'm much happier and more productive when focusing on one project at a time.
For a few weeks there, I just avoided my office. That led to many late-night struggles with monkey mind - our pastor's apt description for when you can't sleep because your thoughts keep jumping from one problem to another. Especially worrisome were three picture book projects editors were waitingfor (no rush, but still). Throw in the same real life chores/business/family stuff we all deal with and you have enough stress to set anybody's teeth to grinding.
What finally worked to get me back on track was my old friend, list making. Prioritizing. And, hold the phone...what was that hovering down there at #6? Yep, the novel. So I've put it aside and begun chipping away at those projects higher on the list. And I've seen actual results.
1) A nonfiction picture book proposal is almost ready to go out the door.
2) A fiction pb has been tweaked per an editor's suggestions.
3) My messy pile of writing-related receipts stuffed into a drawer and ignored through most of 2012, otherwise known as "important stuff my husband's going to ask for any minute while he gets tax info together," is now collated and duly recorded and in perfect order. (He may faint.)
And I'm feeling much, much better about the situation. As are my jaws.
Routine has saved the day, at least in part. I spend most mornings in my office, chipping away at that list. For me, though, balance is imperative. So I opened another creative outlet. Months ago, I picked out fabric* for a quilt I wanted to make. I finally sketched a design, calculated the pieces I'd need, and got to work. Piecing a quilt, unlike writing, lets me see results quickly. I think - no, I know - that those afternoons in my basement sewing studio have been therapeutic.
*the centers of the squares look black in this pic, but they are actually a dark coffee brown.
And, #6? Don't worry, I see you down there. Hang tight. I'm on my way.
Jill Esbaum
11 Comments on Can routine save the day?, last added: 2/2/2013
Congrats on the quilt. It's nice to have something to help free your mind. That's why I run. Sometimes when I have a lot to do, and then I get yet another thing to do, it's my desire to do the new thing that finally pushes me to get the older things done. I guess it's akin to the homework first, play later bit.
Thanks, Jill. Though I normally thrive on a schedule, that's not working with my current life situation. I'm going to try your list approach. Congrats on getting those receipts organized! And thanks for sharing the photo of your beautiful quilt.
I have been struggling with prioritizing. I find it is a day to day struggle and I often have to revise those priorities. Wow. It's just like writing. Sounds like you are doing very well. Congratulations.
I often have to shift priorities, too. So many factors can throw off our best laid plans, no? I'm just happy if, at the end of a day, I've made some kind of progress.
What a great post! I have been visiting your wonderful blog off and on for a few years, but never commented. I'm always inspired though. Today, I'm inspired to add other creative projects into my writing routine. I've got a mobile started, and also a quilt I've been dreaming about, and taking breaks from thesis writing to work on those *is* therapeutic.
My good friend Carmela wrote such a lovely post on the subject of writing routine last Friday that there really isn't much left for me to say.
Like Carmela, I am the caregiver for two family members. I know any number of writers who tote their laptops to bedsides and waiting rooms and are perfectly productive. I am not one of those people. I am unable to isolate myself emotionally from the situation. I cannot write while I am worrying about finances and medication and contingency plans, should I not be available.
In his autobiography, Rewrites, playwright Neil Simon writes for months and months with his wife dying of cancer in the next room. Simon describes his ability to enter another world peopled only with characters of his own invention, a world where no one was dying of cancer. I wish Mr. Simon could tell me how he so neatly compartmentalized his life. It would be a valuable skill. But alas, he does not.I have been able to "write through" short term illnesses and crisis before. However, my situation for the past year has been one of ongoing issues and worries with no end in sight.
Upshot...I am too emotionally wrung out to write with any depth. I can edit, teach, research, even write blogs (although not as well as I would like to.) Trying to create something new takes heart and soul that I do not have on hand at the moment.
OK, back to the subject of routine/schedule, etc. Even when I am firing on all cylinders, the word "schedule" makes my skin crawl. I was raised in a home where every day of the week had a particular function (Wash Day, Baking Day, Shopping Day, Yard Work Day) and every hour was accounted for before the day began. Whether I was wired differently from my parents or just a rebellious kid, I did not take well to all that regimentation. I grew up to be a person who wrote term papers in two days (hey, anybody can write a good paper if you have a whole semester!) and mailed my tax returns at 11:59 p.m. April 15th.
I am a militant night owl. Left to my won devices, I would happily work graveyard shift. I loved being a school librarian, except that I had to be at school by 7;30, after a 40 mile drive. Add becoming a mother to my disorderly life, and one of two things happen. You either stop writing, or you write when you can.
I write when I can. Until this past year, I was pretty proud of my ability to write in ten minute chunks, wherever I happened to be. In the carpool line at school. On commuter trains. During boring sermons. Wherever. A good chunk of my day was spent at the skating rink, as my figure-skating daughter skated upwards of 20 hours a week.
I know there are writers who manage to carve out consecutive BIC hours (Butt in Chair) to stare at a blank computer screen, waiting for the Muse to arrive. I envy you. Even when my life unknots itself and I regain my full creative energy again (someday), I don't anticipate tidy "office hours" or outlines or schedules.
That's just the way I roll.
Don't forget to sign up for our latest giveaway, a copy of Brenda Ferber's The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever. Check Esther's post from last Wednesday for details.
Posted by Mary Ann Rodman
11 Comments on Who, Me? Schedule?, last added: 2/1/2013
Great post. Once I make it to my computer or to my drafting table I can get going, but I always find distractions and excuses before I sit myself down. Good luck with regaining your creative energies!
What is that silly quote, "life is what happens when you're doing something else!" It's what I feel sometimes, just when I am settling in, I think of something else that cannot wait. It might be my way of ignoring what I "should" be doing, or I just have too many things on my plate right now but I do not have a particular schedule except I do go to work mostly at certainly times. I hope you'll be able to settle sometimes, Mary Ann. It sounds as if you are working extra for others, & I know how that feels. Best to you!
Thanks for this lovely honest post. I find I cannot write when I am dealing with family drama/trauma, I wish I could use it as my out, but I can't. I do not have a writing routine, but try and at least write a few minutes a day, even if it is only in my journal! GOOD LUCK with those precious chunks of writing time.
What a wonderful post. The timing was perfect. In the past I was the queen of schedules and lists. Now that my mom lives with us and I have extra, extra duties at school I find I can't schedule my writing any more. When my sister asked the other day when my book would be finished I told her, "when I finally found time to write." Had to think about what I said. I've gotten so busy taking care of mom, visiting hospital and rehab, taking care of grandkids and all my duties at school I forgot to take care of what I love, my reading and writing. I don't know if I can go back to scheduling time each evening or morning but you made me think and re-evaluate my writing time. Thanks.
I hear you, Mary Ann. I am in a very similar position, caring for parents and finding the emotional energy to create is just out of reach. I've been sorting through some of my own emotions over this inability to write in my journal and blog, trying to find ways to embrace the process, both the grieving and the writing. Wishing you moments of joy as you find your way through. Thanks for sharing.
>>I am too emotionally wrung out to write with any depth<< I can definitely relate to this, too, Mary Ann. Meanwhile, I tell myself, "this too shall pass," and I hope that's true for you, too. Hugs!
You sound just like me. I've recently discovered memo feature on my phone so if a poem pops up on a dog walk in it goes. I've even started blogging from my phone, so much freer than sat at a pc.
This past week, the Teaching Authors have been visiting the subject of best practices when it comes to our writing schedules. Anyone looking to this post for tips on how to lead a productive and/or well-organized writing life had best look elsewhere. If you'd like to make yourself feel better about your own work habits... read on.
I am an unabashed night owl. My dad says that I was born in California four decades ago and never quite got my body clock on EST. My most productive writing time (even when I lived in California, I must admit) has always happened between the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. However, when I got married, I began waking with my husband at 5:30 a.m. Our children are also early risers. Bye-bye productive writing time. Some nights I will try to take a brief nap at my kids' bedtime and then get up and work. More often than not, given the busy-ness of our days, I wind up sleeping straight through.
My day job is a writing job, so there's always the matter of getting my paid work done first. Typically I get up, get the kids ready, and drive the morning carpool before I get down to business. On a good day, I will then spend half an hour on the elliptical with a book (or at least a few Days of Our Lives outlines -- there's always soap reading to get out of the way). Then I plop my laptop in my lap, snuggle with the puppy, and start writing -- or at least make a stab at it.
My current job function is "scriptwriter," and I usually write one complete script each week. (Every few weeks, there will be two.) I have seven days to complete the week's assignment(s), so if I write and edit an act per day in a typical week, I'm in fine shape. In practice, I usually spend at least a day reading and a day at the end of the process on editing and polishing. We write from detailed outlines, and some scripts go much more quickly than others. Also, if I could force myself to ditch my habit of Internet surfing every time I get stuck (approximately every five minutes), I would add an additional two hours of productive time to each day.
Afternoons are for kids' activities and homework. This semester I also teach three mornings of the week, as well as one evening. Besides the scriptwriting, I have to squeeze in time for lesson planning and, of course, grading essays (for example, 40 this weekend). Every other Sunday night I also remember in the nick of time (at least so far) that I have a blog post to write.
Now, scriptwriting is by far the least onerous and time-consuming paid writing job I've had in a decade. But it has been so long since I've made my own writing a regular practice, I am having a hard time finding my groove again. While in theory I think it would be better to work for an hour every day, I seem to do much better with larger chunks less frequently. I had a vacation week a few weeks ago and did pound out lots of pages. That felt good. But it's like exercise -- the feel-good result is only so motivating in comparison to the difficulty and discomfort of the undertaking.
A fellow scriptwriter told me that she spends four hours every week working in a quiet room with a friend who's studying. I have noticed that I am much more productive when someone in the room can see how much I'm goofing off. :) I do think Carmela's on to something with her writing buddy idea. Now I just need to find mine! -- Jeanne Marie
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Don't forget to enter our Guest Teaching Author Book Giveaway to win an autographed copy of FORGET ME NOT by the fabulous Carolee Dean.
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This week's reading recommendations:
Patrick (grade K): anything Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
Kate (grade 2): The Bell Bandit by Jacqueline Davies
me: Capture the Flag by Kate Messner
4 Comments on My So-Called Writing Life, last added: 10/15/2012
Wow, JM, grading 40 essays in one weekend. Yikes! Don't be so hard on yourself--writing 1-2 scripts/week while teaching and raising young children is amazingly productive in my book. You ARE writing; unfortunately, it's not necessarily what you want to be writing for yourself. Hang in there!
You sound very busy, but I also find I waste time, as you said, like surfing the net, or just getting distracted by something else I found to read, etc. I liked hearing about your process-always interesting to hear about others.
Carmela, 40 essays is nothing compared to the 130 my husband brings home from a day's work -- but (this being another 40-essay weekend), it still feels like a lot of work.
April, really, will you be my writing buddy? I love you!
Linda, you may feel that you waste time, but you are my productivity idol.
We had LOTS of great entries in our latest giveaway contest--see the end of this post to find out who our winner is.
As Jill shared last Friday, for our current TeachingAuthors topic we're talking a bit about our daily lives/routines as writers. Before I discuss my routine, I have a confession to make: I don't want to be writing this blog post right now.
It's not that I mind the topic, or that I dislike blogging, because I enjoy these posts and the opportunity to connect with you, our blog readers. It's just that I've been working hard, keeping "butt in chair" for the past few weeks, trying to finish the revision of my young-adult historical, and I'm almost done--"almost," as in, to start this blog post, I had to stop at page 274 of a 280-page manuscript! I really wanted to keep plugging away without interruption until I reached the end AND worked through Chapter 1 again so I could send it off to my Beta
readers.
Ironically (given today's topic), I would easily have made it through those last pages if regular life hadn't intervened with a minor household crisis this afternoon. But that's a topic for another day.
However, since I'm being brutally honest here, I should also note that these last few weeks have really been more "fun" than "work." That's because I FINALLY got through the revision of Chapter 12--the pivotal chapter where the two formerly antagonistic main characters realize they're falling in love! Once I had that chapter working to my satisfaction, I was on a roll: tweaking scenes, pulling threads, deepening sensory details, adding imagery, polishing language, etc. The stuff I love to do!
If you've been following this blog for awhile, you know it's taken me a LONG time to get to this point with this current work-in-progress. In fact, I've been ready to give up on this novel countless times. Back in June 2011, I blogged about how having a "writing buddy" turned out to be the key to my getting a finished draft. But that draft still needed a lot of work--work I hope to have finished by the end of this week. Hooray!
[By the way--my blog post about having a "writing buddy" led me to write a freelance article on the topic for the 2013 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market (Writer's Digest Books), edited by Chuck Sambuchino. The book was just released on September 21, and is also available in ebook form.]
So, what IS my typical day like? I blogged about my "ideal" day back in June, 2009, and that ideal hasn't changed much, though I rarely live up to it.
I find I'm most productive if I get up around 6-6:30 in the morning and get to work as soon after breakfast as possible, without checking email or Facebook. Since I have a hard time resisting email, I set a timer and don't allow myself to look at it until after I've put in 2-4 hours of work, depending on what else I have going on that day. After email and lunch, I work another 2-4 hours, though I take an exercise break in the middle of the afternoon on most days. (If you haven't read about the recent studies citing the dangers of prolonged sitting, you may want to read this Forbes article: Why Sitting at Work Can be so Deadly.]
I should clarify that "work" varies depending on my teaching schedule and my work goals for the week. I'm not currently teaching any classes, so the "work" time these days may include:
writing/revising my current historical YA novel-in-progress (that's almost done!)
researching/planning where to submit a novel I recently finished co-writing with another author
writing a blog post, like this one, or planning future blogging topics
pitching/querying new freelance writing projects
writing/researching freelance writing projects
updating my website with information about upcoming classes, publications, etc.
Weeks when I am teaching, my "work" time includes lesson planning, publicizing classes, and reviewing student work.
Depending on how much time I spend on email and social media, my typical work day is usually 5-8 hours long, Monday through Friday, plus 4 hours or more on Saturday. (I often teach on Saturdays.) If I'm on deadline, or on a "roll" as I have been the last few weeks, I may put in some extra time after dinner. But I can't do that for an extended period. I agree with what Jill said on Friday, that we need to have time away from our work to gather the material that will enrich our writing.
I know many of you have full-time jobs that make it pretty much impossible to spend 2-4 hours per day writing. The good news is, many writers who have much less time to devote to their writing are still able to have successful careers. Esther recently mentioned a new blog by Carol Coven Grannick called Today I Am a Writer. In one of her first posts, Carol talks about how productive she's been by following the simple tenet of devoting the First, Best Hour to her work. As Carol has discovered, knowing we have a limited amount of time can sometimes help us stay focused. I'm a believer in Parkinson's law--work often does expand to fill the time allotted for its completion.
But even if an hour is more than you can muster, you may be surprised at what you can accomplish by writing simply fifteen minutes a day. Every August, award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson hosts the "Write Fifteen Minutes a Day Challenge" on her blog. Here's an excerpt from what she posted on the last day of the challenge::
Life happens whether you are writing or not. You don’t have to wait for the right time, or that Muse-blessed idea or a fellowship to a writing colony or a winning lottery ticket or anything. You just have to give yourself permission to take seriously your writing dream.
So I hope you'll give yourself permission to take your writing dream seriously. Why not start today, by setting aside some regular writing time?. Even if you missed Anderson's Fifteeen Minutes a Day Challenge last month, there's nothing stopping you from using her posts to work through your own month of writing fifteen minutes a day. Day one begins here.
Carmela, thank you, this post is exactly what I needed. I've had some big life changes in the past several months--I left my day job and my Mother passed away. Recently I decided that October 1st is the start of my new lifestyle as a committed writer. Your post gives me concrete examples about how I can do this. Specifically, staying off of email and Facebook until I've met some writing goals is key.
Yay! Thank you, Carmela, Teaching Authors and Lisa Cron! So excited to read this book. Keep the great posts and giveaways coming! (Carmela - I replied to your email.)
And, Congrats, Mary Jo, on winning our Book Giveaway copy of WIRED FOR STORY! I promise you: you'll be thanking Lisa Cron for her insights and guidance. I know you’ll be sharing this with your Young Writers too. Meanwhile, thank you, TA Readers, for reminding me just how intricate our brains truly are. :) Next Wed. tune in for my review of a book that offers your Writer's SPIRIT Instant Rx. And, FYI: I read in my Trib this weekend about the dorsal striatum, wired for (are you ready,Writers?) - CHOCOLATE!
It's great to hear about your day, Carmela, & how it works when you're just about to finish a book. Life happens, I guess, doesn't it? I appreciate your words.
Mary Jo, I'm actually jealous. WIRED FOR STORY is a book I want for myself! Thanks, Esther. Linda and Jeannette, I'm glad you found the post helpful. I have to tell you that the minor family disaster I mentioned may have been a blessing in disguise. I think it gave me more objectivity because when I finally got back to my novel, I saw that by adding a few sentences earlier I could eliminate the last two pages of the manuscript! I was planning to do one more read-through before sending it off, but I just came home from a writing workshop this morning with MORE ideas for making the story stronger. Oh, well. Back to work.
Great post, Carmela--very encouraging and do-able. It makes me feel braver.
And, regarding the dangers of prolonged sitting,I've recently jerry-rigged a stand-up desk and I'm LOVING it. It's not a treadmill desk, as many writers have...but I stand all day, as if I'm at a counter. Love, love, love it.
Wow, April--I thought you were already pretty brave! :-) Yes, I have a jerry-rigged standing desk, too. Unfortunately, I have some foot issues that prevent me from standing too long, but I try to spend an hour of my daily work time standing.
This post is in response to reader Tara, who wanted to know more about the writing life.
Before I was a writer, here's how I pictured the job: A wild-haired writer sits at a desk, typing madly, interrupted every now and again with a call from her agent, who wants to know how her book is coming along or report sales figures or discuss her upcoming book tour. Sometimes she removes her glasses and taps them against her teeth while gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling. She stands to stretch and yawn, looks out the window, maybe goes for a fresh cup of coffee or a contemplative walk before settling in for another few hours.
Confession: I still think this is what life is like for blockbuster authors. Alas, I am not one of them (knock wood and never say never).
My writing life, by contrast, is very sporadic. I might write three to five hours one day, then not at all for two or three days. Or more. For years I felt guilty about that non-schedule. After all, a Real Writer would follow Steven King's advice (in his On Writing), which was basically: 1) have a writing space with a door you can close, 2) set daily writing goals, 3) don't come out until you've met them. I do have novelist friends who pretty much stick to this model.
But I've made peace with my own jackrabbit writing style because of two things:
1) I wholeheartedly believe that every bit of our lives away form writing – every book we read, every person we speak with, every place we visit, every hobby we enjoy – soaks into our beings and feeds our writing in ways big and small. Maybe some of us have wells that go dry faster than others? *shrug* So what might I be doing when I'm not writing? Lately, there's quilting, a hobby I'm just getting back into after years away. My latest project, a wall hanging:
I might be running errands. Seeing a relative. Dining out with friends. Reading. Traveling. Baking. Taking a class (right now: Basic Drawing - loving it!). Participating in a church function. Watching a video or catching up on Facebook. Writing for this blog. Enjoying a writing retreat. Sitting in a board meeting. Answering e-mail. Visiting a school. Teaching a workshop. Walking the dog.
2) I am primarily a picture book writer. Writing picture books is very much a process, and parts of that process work best if you take mental breaks. Every story needs a cooling off period, followed by a lot of revision. A lot. So the fact that I'm not in my office 24/7 doesn't mean my mind isn't still grappling with whatever story problem has me stumped. Some (most!) of my best ideas and aha moments come to me when I'm away from my computer.
All that said, I have had a totally different routine lately, thanks to a couple of short-deadlined projects. Here's the first, due out in mid-November from National Geographic:
I'm working on a companion book now, which means I'm researching or writing or exchanging e-mails with editors pretty much all day, every day. Truthfully I've felt more like a Real Writer, working on these books, than I have for a long time. I'm loving that.
Does that mean I'll be changing my usual writing style when I go back to working on my own projects? Um...probably not. At least not for picture book writing.
But I do have a novel in my head, so when I tackle that after the holidays, I'll be following Steven King's advice for as long as it takes to pound out that first draft:
1) Close the door.
2) Set a daily goal.
3) Write my brains out to meet it.
Look into my office. I'll be the one tapping my glasses against my teeth, gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling.
Jill Esbaum
Reminder: If you haven't yet entered to win a copy of Lisa Cron's Wired for Story, there's still time! Missed Esther's two-thumbs-up review? Just scroll down!
Oops! I also misspelled Stephen King's name! But that's not the typo I was referring to in the comment above. Find the OTHER one, and your name will be in my novel manuscript.
I loved this post, Jill. Thanks for making me feel normal. Katherine Paterson wrote - and I'm paraphrasing here - that the very people who take us - away - from our writing are the very people who give us something to write about. I share this sentiment often with with writers overwhelmed by parenting and jobs. :)
You're very welcome, Linda. Guess we don't have to worry too much about all that writing going on in our heads until we start talking to ourselves in public places!
This post is in response to reader Tara, who wanted to know more about the writing life.
Before I was a writer, here's how I pictured the job: A wild-haired writer sits at a desk, typing madly, interrupted every now and again with a call from her agent, who wants to know how her book is coming along or report sales figures or discuss her upcoming book tour. Sometimes she removes her glasses and taps them against her teeth while gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling. She stands to stretch and yawn, looks out the window, maybe goes for a fresh cup of coffee or a contemplative walk before settling in for another few hours.
Confession: I still think this is what life is like for blockbuster authors. Alas, I am not one of them (knock wood and never say never).
My writing life, by contrast, is very sporadic. I might write three to five hours one day, then not at all for two or three days. Or more. For years I felt guilty about that non-schedule. After all, a Real Writer would follow Steven King's advice (in his On Writing), which was basically: 1) have a writing space with a door you can close, 2) set daily writing goals, 3) don't come out until you've met them. I do have novelist friends who pretty much stick to this model.
But I've made peace with my own jackrabbit writing style because of two things:
1) I wholeheartedly believe that every bit of our lives away form writing – every book we read, every person we speak with, every place we visit, every hobby we enjoy – soaks into our beings and feeds our writing in ways big and small. Maybe some of us have wells that go dry faster than others? *shrug* So what might I be doing when I'm not writing? Lately, there's quilting, a hobby I'm just getting back into after years away. My latest project, a wall hanging:
I might be running errands. Seeing a relative. Dining out with friends. Reading. Traveling. Baking. Taking a class (right now: Basic Drawing - loving it!). Participating in a church function. Watching a video or catching up on Facebook. Writing for this blog. Enjoying a writing retreat. Sitting in a board meeting. Answering e-mail. Visiting a school. Teaching a workshop. Walking the dog.
2) I am primarily a picture book writer. Writing picture books is very much a process, and parts of that process work best if you take mental breaks. Every story needs a cooling off period, followed by a lot of revision. A lot. So the fact that I'm not in my office 24/7 doesn't mean my mind isn't still grappling with whatever story problem has me stumped. Some (most!) of my best ideas and aha moments come to me when I'm away from my computer.
All that said, I have had a totally different routine lately, thanks to a couple of short-deadlined projects. Here's the first, due out in mid-November from National Geographic:
I'm working on a companion book now, which means I'm researching or writing or exchanging e-mails with editors pretty much all day, every day. Truthfully I've felt more like a Real Writer, working on these books, than I have for a long time. I'm loving that.
Does that mean I'll be changing my usual writing style when I go back to working on my own projects? Um...probably not. At least not for picture book writing.
But I do have a novel in my head, so when I tackle that after the holidays, I'll be following Steven King's advice for as long as it takes to pound out that first draft:
1) Close the door.
2) Set a daily goal.
3) Write my brains out to meet it.
Look into my office. I'll be the one tapping my glasses against my teeth, gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling.
Jill Esbaum
Reminder: If you haven't yet entered to win a copy of Lisa Cron's Wired for Story, there's still time! Missed Esther's two-thumbs-up review? Just scroll down of follow this link to Esther's post.
5 Comments on My Writing Life, last added: 9/28/2012
As summer temperatures heat up, some writers heat up as well, typing like mad until they have to go back to their day jobs as teachers. Yet there are many other writers whose writing comes to a halt because they are Moms.
Maybe it’s because my family needs my income. I’ve never said, “I can’t write because the kids are home.”
If you’ve used this excuse, I’ve got something to say. If you genuinely want to write, it is possible even with the kids home if you are willing to follow these four steps.
Commit. The first thing that you need to do is commit to writing even when you aren’t home alone. You are a writer. Writers write. You are not neglecting your children by writing. You’re a Mom not a cruise ship activities director. You do not need to fill their every waking moment. They will survive on their own for short periods of time and they will learn to amuse themselves. Commit to the idea that you can write even with children around. This step is essential. Repeat it until you mean it. I am a writer. Writers write.
Talk the Talk. Lay things on the line for everyone involved. Explain that you are going to write. Because this is work, it is not optional and they must give you this time. Period. All requests during work time will get an immediate NO. Snacks. Movies. Swimming. The park. No, no, no, and (do I need to say it again?) no.
Help Them Find Something to Do. If your kids are used to sailing along with you as activities director, they won’t amuse themselves with grace or dexterity. Ask them what they plan to do while you write. A movie or the Playstation almost always work. Maybe they’d like to read or play a game. If your kids are particularly clever, they may announce that they are bored. You can’t say no to that, but you can always bring out the Jar of Joy. This is a sarcastic name for the chore jar, the perfect anecdote for boredom. Ask my son.
Do It. Decide how long you are going to write. If you normally don’t write with the kids home, this is going to be a learning process for everyone. If you have younger children, start with a shorter time, maybe 15 minutes. Set a timer and get to work. Don’t check Facebook. Don’t pop over to your e-mail. Write.
How do I know this will work? I’ve been writing since my son was an infant. He gave up naps at 3, but I didn’t give up writing. Why? Because I’m a writer and I’m not neglecting anyone if I take the time to do it.
This is all so true. I wrote a 65,000 word novel earlier this year in the space of 5 weeks by finding and MAKING the time to write, all without neglecting my (then) 14 month old son. Admittedly I used the tricky method of getting up early, staying up late and writing during naps (his not mine), but if you are determined enough you can and will find the time to write. I will definitely be stealing the idea of the Jar of Joy for future reference.
It’s drilled into us by the Publishing Powers That Be: platform, platform, platform.
Embrace Social Media. Blog. Get on twitter. Engage. Network. Connect. Start early, think ahead, get a platform in placebefore the deal.
And because we want to give ourselves the best chance of being noticed, we do it. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr and more. We participate in blog hops, help promo new books, run contests, join writing list-serves and organizations, post on forums, interact through writing support circles and groups. We host giveaways, we retweet, we #FF & #MM, we review books and we critique. We learn about SEO and back-linking and stress about Klout scores. We Follow. We Like. We+1. After all, this is what we were told to do, right?
For writers, putting time and energy into an online presence is the new norm. Time, hard work and luck all factor in on how successful a platform becomes. And some writers are very successful at building their platform. That's good...right? Yes, absolutely. Well, you know, except for the but.
Hold it...there's a BUT in this scenario? Yes, and here it is:
Sometimes instead driving your platform, your platform drives you.
A great platform is every writer’s end game...but the cold, hard fact is that it comes at a price: TIME. It takes a lot of time to manage a successful online presence.
When it starts to chew up too much, we get hit with a fish-slap of reality: there's no time to read. The research we need to do for our WIP is always on the back burner. Our family rarely sees us without a laptop or wireless device in our hand. And, the death blow? We're spending all our time blogging and networking instead of writing.
Eventually, a writer in this situation will become fed up, especially if they aren't seeing dividends as a result of platform building (an agent's attention, the editor's interest, the deal to celebrate). They begin to resent their blogs, or twitter, or whatever else is murdering their writing time. They also may resent those who preach that writers ‘must have’ a platform.Social Media Fatigue sets in, and as the pressure to keep everything going builds, a writer flirts with the idea of just...walking...away.
Running yourself ragged is not the solution. Quitting a platform you worked so hard to build is not the solution. Change is.So if you are finding all your time is spent trying to gain online visibility instead of writing, you need a SOCIAL MEDIA INTERVENTION.
Consider this your therapy session.
Experiencing Social Media Fatigue? Look at what you’re doing for platform and what is draining your passion and time. What avenues can you cut back on? What can you do more efficiently? Here are some common TIME EATERS and POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:
SYMPTOM: Blogging Burn Out
Blogging can be a big chore if you aren't into it. Do you struggle to come up with topics? Are you always writing posts? Do you like blogging but it takes up too much of your time?
CURE:
--Blog less. Cut back on your blogging schedule. --J
60 Comments on Do You Need a Social Media Intervention?, last added: 1/26/2012
Natalie cracked me up with her comment that she experiences this and she's not even on twitter. I definitely read way more blogs than I comment on. I wish those bloggers knew I was there! I'm reading you!
For me the desire to scale back that I've been experiencing recently is not due to fatigue. I really enjoy blogging. But it's never become so apparent than with the decision to self publish that yes platform is important and web presence is important but unless you are a super blogger, I'm talking thousands of readers, then the writing is way more important!
Great post, great advice. I blog. I have a personal facebook page that I never post on (last status change was October), and I rarely comment on anyone else. I feel the pressure to tweet, etc., but I honestly have no desire to get into that. I spend enough time as it is on the blogs, either trying to get my next post just exactly right, or reading the others that I follow (and getting sucked down the rabbit hole of blogs the people I follow, follow). Agents and editors may not like to hear it, but I have to do what's right for me. And most of that stuff just isn't for me.
This is an extraordinarily useful and awesome post. I am determined to keep this balance, and one of the ways I'm doing it is by not spreading myself across too many different modalities. I do Twitter (in great moderation), and I blog. I can't do everything, so Tumblr and Facebook/Google+ just are not on my to-do list right now. They might be at some point, but something else will have to be curtailed if they are.
Wonderful post with a great point. I had to scale back with Twitter, but only because I was spending waytoo much time tweeting when I first got my account. Now I pop in less often, but I still make a point of trying to answer my @ replies and RTing anything I find interesting. Buffer and Hootsuite are incredibly helpful.
In the end, the best things writers can do for their platform is focus on what's important and write.
I've recently broadened my blogging topics and am about to put out a call for guest posters. Want to be one?
When burnout drapes me like an old wet blanket, I step back and breath, even if only for a few days. We all are human and life going on all around us. As always, balance is the key.
Wonderful advice! I recently took a break from it all (about a month) but since I've come back, I've found myself back into my old routine (instead of making it fun).
Thank goodness I'm not as addicted to Twitter as other social media. I don't know what I'd do. And I'm getting pretty turned off by Google + lately too. I mean it was so cool at first, but now I'm getting absolutely inundated by random strangers adding me to their circles. I mean it's not that big of a deal, but it just doesn't make any sense.
I've heard a lot of this advice before, but never all in one place. My Facebook and Google+ are more for family and friends, not writing platform. I love twitter and have a blog. I have occasionally posted less frequently on my blog. I don't even visit my Google Reader anymore, but I try to visit a few blogs (from links on my own) a week. Thanks for sharing. You never know, I may have to return in the future.
Yes, AWESOME POST...I suffer from plugging away but still feeling like I'm not doing enough. I've decided to put time limits on the social media, so I can put my writing first again.
I have to admit, writing this post was a huge stress relief for me as well. As writers looking to publish, we are expected to juggle a lot. But as much as we hear platform is essential, writing MUST come first. There isn't an agent or editor out there who would disagree.
With so many different Social Media outlets around, it can feel like we must do them all. But really, this is not the case and we need to resist taking on more than we can handle.
I have had to make many adaptations. I still am adapting to maintain a balance. With a following like ours, it is impossible to keep up. I have many blogs in my reader that I vistit--both followers and ones that belong to people who almost never comment here. This doesn't bother me. I visit for the content, not in hopes they will return here. Once upon a time I did think that way, but not any more.
Also, with a large following, the responsibility to continue to have strong output becomes even more critical. People come here with high expectations. We put a ton of effort into each post, including this one. I will always choose helpful content over socializing--always. The needs of our audience have to come first. That's why we created The Bookshelf Muse.
Like Laura, I visit a lot of blogs and don't always comment. Maybe the blog owners don't know I was there, but I still feel good about visiting when I can and I enjoy their content and learning new things. I also touch base with many of these folks through other mediums like twitter, etc.
Bottom line, I hope no one feels shortchanged if I do not comment on their posts each and every time, but I have chosen a way to be able to keep providing strong content and give back when and how I can. And always, I have to make room for writing. I hope everyone else will do the same, even if it means that one of the blogs they do not comment on as much is this one.
I love your visits, and I appreciate all your support be it comments, tweets, referrals or links. But it's okay to lurk too! :) Do only as much as you can. Knowing that this blog is helping you in some small way is a reward in itself. :)
Jeff, I want you especially to know that you aren't doomed! The fact that you do what you can and focus on your writing is a good thing, not a bad one. :)
When the whole Social Media explosion happened, I was all in. Eventually though, I ended up with all platform, no product. This is never how a writer should end up. Knowing what your limits are puts you ahead of the game. :)
SA Larson, Becca or I am always happy to guest post when time allows. :)
Great discussion everyone! Keep your thoughts coming on this topic. It's so important to talk about, and something you are doing to find balance might help someone else who is struggling. :)
Great post! It's so easy to get sucked in and then get no writing done. I have a certain amount of time that I allot to blog commenting and that's it. I stop once the timer dings. Otherwise I'd be reading and commenting on blogs all day! It's better to focus on a few sites than be stretched too thin.
This.was.EXCELLENT!!!! Off to TWEET it now (bwahahaha, b/c I'm addicted)! But really, I've cut back on Blogging (such a relief) and tweeting, and don't have tons of friends on FB, b/c i use it mostly to keep up with family!
When you start talking juggling, I'm on board. Whew, you said a lot here and I know what you're saying. I've already started doing a lot of these things and have been trying to do or at least thinking about the others.
I like the blogging part and since it's still writing, I can manage that part okay. It pains me to cut back on commenting, but there is only so much time and commenting can take a lot of that time, not to mention actually reading the posts.
It is, as you indicate, a big juggling act, but even when you're actually a juggler like I am, it's still difficult to keep it all going smoothly without dropping something now and then.
*Fantastic* post. This is where my line is drawn: nothing can take away from the real thing, the main event, the true kit ‘n caboodle, the center itself: WRITING FICTION. The rest is the swirly stirring around. But writing time and energy cannot be compromised, or we are stirring a thin soup. .
Ha oh how true it is you can lost in the Social Media world. My world is still very small but i'm weary of growth because it will bring its own downfalls
Like you say, you need to prioritise and stay within your limits. Stay relevant and do what you do really really well
Quality over quantity. That's what they say, right???
At the SCBWI conference I just attended, one of the editors mentioned FREEDOM, which I guess is a free program you can download that turns off your internet for a specified period of time. I haven't used it, but it sounds like an effective tool for people who want a dedicated social-networking-free writing time.
I think that doing it all can be too much, especially with a family, a job and a life outside of writing. I've chosen to focus on one thing (blogging). I've attempted twitter and Facebook, but just can't keep up with it. Know you're limits and figure out what you enjoy the most.
I'm not in need of an intervention, but only because I hit the wall before this post came out! And did much of what you suggested - cut back on blogging, target my social media time. I turn everything OFF when I'm writing, and that's much more effective. I have precisely 15 minutes to cruise twitter and blog posts, and I've been meaning to read this one since this morning! There's only so much time... and that's ok!
You're right. Sometimes we simply demand too much of ourselves and try to do it all, all, all. But we can't. Time to give ourselves permission to relax expectations. The more we try to do it all, the less we'll enjoy it.
You've obviously struck a chord with this post, Angela. Your advice is so on target as well. I know I'm not the only one needing to remind myself of your excellent points. Thank you! -- Susan
Excellent post, Angela. I did have a little bit of blog burnout so I decided to just post less. But then I started a new blog. Doh! But I like how my new blog is different and caters to different people too.
I am very addicted to Twitter now. Must. Set. Timer. (great idea and I love that you listed so many great solutions!)
I thought you must have been peering through my study window when you wrote it lol.
Today, I came to this conclusion myself...that the world won't stop if I forget to congratulate someone on Facebook or retweet their twitter link or go a week without blogging.
Thanks for helping put things in perspective. Today I made the commitment - writing comes first and I fit the other stuff around it:)
I've cut back on the different social media to only following some every other day and others not at all. I do blog twice a week, 3 if there's a muse session from the yaff ladies, but so far that's working well. I try and keep my blogs short and don't stress over them.I understand that you can't visit every blog you want to, it's really hard to pick and choose. Sometimes you hit a winner, and sometimes a dud. And I don't think platform is the "end all" of things. I think it's what it's always been: the word of mouth about your books.
I've cut back on the different social media to only following some every other day and others not at all. I do blog twice a week, 3 if there's a muse session from the yaff ladies, but so far that's working well. I try and keep my blogs short and don't stress over them.I understand that you can't visit every blog you want to, it's really hard to pick and choose. Sometimes you hit a winner, and sometimes a dud. And I don't think platform is the "end all" of things. I think it's what it's always been: the word of mouth about your books.
I really needed this! I have a suggestion for the burnt our bloggers out there.
I started blogging a little over a year ago, and really wore myself out trying to come up with 5 brilliant posts every single week. The best "platforming" move I ever made was when I joined up with 5 other writers and we each take turns writing one post a week. The quality of my blogging increased, we get the benefit of our combined readership to grow our blog, and I get inspired by my fellow bloggers every day. It might not work for everybody, but it definitely works for us!
I am completely overjoyed that this post has hit the mark with so many. I don't think any of us need apologize for blogging less, or tweeting less, or emailing less for the sake of writing or family. I am so proud of all of you for stepping back and taking stock!
In this business, it is easy to feel like we are failures, or that we are letting other people down if we do scale back or do a little less. We shouldn't feel this way.
This choice of career should be a happy one, and our choices within it have to always take us closer to goals and satisfaction, not burnout. :)
I do apologize for the length of this post--I try hard not to create overlong posts, but I wanted to make sure I looked at all the big social media platforms so writers only had to come back to one post if they needed this info now and down the road.
Becca's mention of social tools that cut you off from the internet or social media for a set period time is another way to help willpower when it needs a boost! I found this article that lists out a bunch of amazing tools that will help writers be more productive or even get a visual of how much time is spent where: http://the99percent.com/articles/6969/10-Online-Tools-for-Better-Attention-Focus
Thanks again for all the comments and for sharing what worked for you.
So far I've not experienced the fatigue. My blogging days are set, and I'm able to pop in and out of Twitter when I want. My frustrations come from figuring out if I'm doing the right things. I'd like to see the blog grow more, and I'd like to master Goodreads. I actually just did a blog post about trying to figure out what works. I'd like to reach out past my blogosphere so to speak, and find potential readers that aren't writers. That's what I'm struggling with now.
Excellent post. I fall pray to the fictional "Blogging Mafia" a lot. It's not like I have a huge readership, but it still feels like I owe it to the online world to post regularly. Who cares?! There's no blogging mafia!
Fantastic post Angela! I have cancelled a lot of my google reader subscriptions and moved most over to email. That way I only have one place to read everything I need and can move things to folders for a later time. I don't miss as much. People without books out right now don't need every single blog post tweeting either. But definitely this one! :)
Reading this was such a relief! I didn't realize how much my Twittering and Facebooking and blogging was sucking up so much of my time and energy, in addition to revising my new book, querying my old one, all along with the commitments that come along with my full-time day job. I hit a wall of exhaustion last night--and now I know why! Thanks so much for this--now I have a better idea of where to scale back!
This should be required reading for anyone getting started in the whole social network platform building extravaganza! Wonderful, informative advice. Will refer to this any time I fall off my social network wagon!
Great point! I'm going to cut back as soon as I make this comment. This is the last comment I'm going to make today, except for that comment I have to make on a post that had a recipe for chocolate fudge. (You can't treat chocolate that way.)
I feel the need to cut down on the bazillion blogs I am subscribed to. I get them in my email, on google reader, and through facebook-networked blogs...(I'm sure you do too) I don't get on Twitter all too often...it freaks me out a little. If I go to someone's profile from there and then hit return...there are a Zillion more tweets to read...how does anyone keep up with that? It's so much faster than FB, and even that is driving me nuts lately.
I just spent about an hour trying to get caught up on blog reading. And you are right...this is not supposed to be a chore. I have decided to cut back on my group participation on facebook too. I really need to get more writing/editing done...otherwise, what's the point in all this?
Oh, perfect timing: as I'm launching a new novel into the world, the time I'm spending on social media is exploding. Hopefully, this is a temporary issue, since I've got a manuscript to polish and another I just began. Thanks for the intervention!
I really needed to hear this. I do dread opening my email in the mornings. It's out of control. I'm trying to get better about not getting to everyone's blogs. I space them out through the week, but I still go to a lot! I appreciate the intervention.
This really needed to be "said," and you did it brilliantly. Keeping up with everything social media and beyond can (and often is, for me) overwhelming. Writing should be the priority and yet it often does end up taking a back seat to everything else.
Creating lists on twitter was a lifesaver. In order to have time to write and blog I came up with a schedule and posted it on my blog. I also set aside specific amount of time everyday for networking, reading blogs etc. I did this after realizing how much time was being used up online. I want to create a platform but I also want to finish writing my novel! Ugg...the life of a writer.
This is a great post, and you are so right. I think you can beat yourself up over building a presence just as you can beat yourself up over being the World's Greatest Mother or teacher or anything else. After a point, it's just nonsense to spread yourself so thin that you've got no time left for the most important work.
I love blogging, but I've had to cut way down in order to focus more on my real writing -- and reading. FB is what I use to keep track of my kids, and Twitter is something I treat myself to when I've completed a certain amount of writing. I feel like I'm making the system work for ME now. :)
Glad this helps, and again, thanks everyone for being so open about how the pressure to perform and do more makes you feel. :) I think it helps to talk about it and know other people are feeling the same strain and have the same worries.
Okay so I’ve recovered from the Thanksgiving holiday and now gearing up for the end of the year. With the winding down, I always reflect on my goals and the progress that I made.
I officially made 2011, a year of spaciousness. Ha, much easier said than done for sure but one thing I’m proud of is that I didn’t get stressed out about my novel progress or even worse compare myself to other writers — because we all know that’s a losing battle. Considering some of the things I’ve went through this year and the day job craziness, the fact that I’m still writing is a small miracle.
We still have a last hurrah for 2011: A good month to go and as you NanNo champions already know, a lot of writing can happen in 30 days.
The good news is that I will be finished with my novel by December 31st. The not so bad news is that I know in my heart that I will probably need another revision pass and some beta readers before I can start my submission process.
Still happy about my progress though thanks in part to Operation 50/50. My plot changed significantly in the last third of my novel and I had to totally rewrite it. This is the part that needs the most revision focus. But my all of my characters have deepened and my protagonist has evolved so much since January — she is a complicated creature and I love it. As a writer, I can’t ask for more.
As for 2012, it’s going to be an exciting year. I’ve got some exciting trips to Hawaii and Italy planned and I’m looking forward to starting the agent submission process. This will be my second time around and I’ve learned so much from my past experience. We’ll see! :)
So writer friends, what about you? Are you going to make your 2011 goals for your novel projects? Have you been thinking about 2012 and what you want to accomplish?
5 Comments on A Last Hurrah for 2011, last added: 11/30/2011
Sounds like you’ve had a productive year, Karen. Wishing you all the best as you turn your WIP over to your beta readers. That’s where I’m at now, as well. As for goals for the new year: I’m planning to attend my first writing conference in May, and my plan is to have my current WIP ready to pitch by then.
Best of luck as you enter the agent submission process!
Vijaya said, on 11/29/2011 5:55:00 AM
I think these meanderings we go through in our writing deepen it, even if we end up tossing out the actual words. Sometimes books need major overhauls.
You have an exciting year planned. I love Italy. Never been to Hawaii, but it’s a dream.
As for me, I want to polish my current wip and send it out next year and begin on a new book that has been gnawing at me for a few years. The time is right to put words to paper.
And huzzah to Andrea for winning the Kindle.
Ghenet Myrthil said, on 11/29/2011 7:56:00 AM
Sounds like you’ve done really well this year! I think revising my WIP will take me longer than planned, but if the extra time results in a better book, I’m okay with it. I hope to start the agent submission process in 2012 as well. It’ll be an interesting year!
Also, SO jealous about your upcoming vacations. Can I come with you?? ;)
Karen Schwartz said, on 11/29/2011 12:54:00 PM
Love your new blog layout. Super cute. Sounds like you’ve made so much progress this year. Good for you! I’m a wee bit jealous of Hawaii AND Italy. Lucky girl!
Laura Pauling said, on 11/30/2011 3:23:00 AM
That’s terrific that you’ll finish it! Even if it needs more revision. I think I will but I aim high so I’m okay with where I’m at. I went through a bit of a slump in the fall where I didn’t get much done.
I had the pleasure of being in one of Sara Zarr’s critique groups last December at the Big Sur Children’s Writing Workshop so I already know first-hand how inspiring she can be.
So why would Sara be inspired by failure? If anything, failure is the major thing that keeps us as writers feeling like losers, alone in our mind with the images of what we *want* our writing to be and struggling to get it down on the page.
Most of the time, the images and the words never match. The words usually are a poor representation of the idea in our head. For me personally, this massive failure can be too much. It’s hard to keep pushing against a wall that seems never to budge.
But this is what I love about Sara Zarr’s post:
“Today, I’m looking at my draft and its large and small failures, and I know: if everyone I admire and respect, everyone whose work has endured for more than five minutes, everyone who has come out with something beautiful, has struggled in this same, frightening gap, I must be on the right track.”
It’s never easy to create in the midst of failure, but if we can remember that all art starts from this place — the gap between the idea and the finished work — we will realize that we’re not losers and it’s just a part of our journey.
We can forget that sometimes. So thanks Sara Zarr for reminding me.
5 Comments on Failure is Part of the Journey, last added: 11/9/2011
I loved her post! So beautifully written and so inspiring!
nutschell said, on 11/9/2011 10:11:00 AM
Wonderful post. It brought back memories of my own time at the Big Sur Workshop last year. It’s such a wonderful workshop to attend and everyone there is just so helpful and supportive. Wish I could go again!
She is an inspirational person and so down-to-earth too. :)
Karen Strong said, on 11/9/2011 2:06:00 PM
I love the Big Sur Workshop. It has been one of the best I’ve attended. I would love to go again as well.
Cynthia C. Willis said, on 11/9/2011 3:20:00 PM
So true! I love Sarah Zarr’s post, too. As writers, we must grapple with this looming sense or fear of failure. It’s not easy, but, as you said, it is part of the journey.
Is your life balanced? Do you have time for everything equally: writing, family, work, health/exercise, home, and friends? Do you have time for yourself? According to Alaskan Dude on www.flickr.com, these three performers called Barely Balanced perform tricks like the one pictured to the left at Renaissance festivals; they made balance into their profession. If we could only do the same. . .
I bring this up today after listening to one of my favorite teachers, Dr. Debra Peppers (who has been inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame) speak on Friday night. She said that one of the key elements to living a happy, fulfilled life is finding balance. I would have to agree with her. But it is easier said than done.
In my life, I feel like there is always something else I should be doing. When I am writing, such as working on this blog post right now, I can hear my husband playing with my seven-month-old daughter and ten-year-old stepson in the other room, and I think, I should be in there, right? But then if I went in there, I would be thinking, While he has them occupied, I should be in the other room getting some work done or dusting. I just spent a bunch of time yesterday with my family at the zoo, so it makes sense that today would be more of a work day. Right? So, it is about finding balance, but it's also about being okay with the balance you find. I wish there was a way to turn off my brain and enjoy each moment I am in MORE.
Even in my writing life, it's hard to find balance between blogging, novel writing, freelancing, editing clients, and so on. I have at least three or four tasks I want to accomplish each day in my writing world, and I am sometimes up until well after midnight (with getting up at 5:30 or 6:00 with the baby) to get them finished.
So, I wish I had some answers for you because I know I am not the only woman writer struggling with this issue. What I try to do now is take each day and divide my time between the things I have to get accomplished. I try to remember that the most important thing is my family, and then the second most is that I have to earn money, so my family can do fun things. With those two goals in mind, I try to find balance.
But I would love to hear if you have some tips for balance--especially if you have found the solution to this problem. Heck, before you know it, we may be just like the Barely Balanced acrobats above.
post by Margo L. Dill; http://www.margodill.com/blog/
"You can't say, I won't write today because that excuse will extend into several days, then several months, then...you are not a writer anymore, just someone who dreams about being a writer." - Dorothy C. Fontana
Earlier this week, co-WOW woman Robin did a post on handling life's challenges and staying on course with your writing. I loved her description of being in a “ bus-runneth-over state” at the time of writing. I am so there right now and got the tire tracks on me to prove it!
While I’ve continued writing assignments and projects---I’m participating in Script Frenzy this month---the above quote applied to my journal writing. In fact, I hadn’t journalled in a little over six months. While there are some who have lengthy periods of time between journal entries, I’m not one of them. Days, weeks, a couple of months at the most. Journalling serves as a catharsis for me, but seemed like ‘the bus kept running over’ me. My “I won’t write today,” stretched days, weeks, months and I saw some of my writing suffer.
Then one day last month, I spotted my journal near my bed, still new, waiting to be opened. That day I wrote, releasing months of pent-up crap. Ideas started to flow. It was lovely.
By the way, Fontana has some serious street cred. Better known as D.C. Fontana, she’s written numerous episodes for various Star Trek shows including the original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and so on. She’s also written for The Waltons, children’s shows such as Land of the Lost and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe; Six Million Dollar Man and Dallas. Imagine if she decided not write!
Ever said “I won’t write today?” Share how that turned out for you.
By Jill Earl
Photo credit: Microsoft Clip Art
3 Comments on I Won’t Write Today, last added: 4/28/2011
The things I learn on WOW...I didn't know that Dorothy Fontana was the same as DC Fontana! She wrote some of my favorite Star Trek and Walton's episodes.
I have said, "I won't write today." But, it never happens. I can't help but write, whether it is a quick email to one of my girls or a poem that comes to me in the middle of gardening or an article for one of the freelance positions I have, I always write.
Like Jill, writing is cathartic as well as illuminating. It is what has kept me in balance during some of the crazy days in my life.
The Waltons are classic! By the time I saw them, they were re-runs, but even re-runs can shape our lives. My family still references characters from the Waltons. How cool to be a part of television history. And especially Star Trek!
I think just about everyone references something from The Waltons and especially Star Trek. I personally think it's past time for D.C. Fontana to get her props! Talk about influence!
It’s my final milestone of Operation 50/50. For the last 50 days, I’ve been trying to tackle a scene a day. The reason? I want to get my work-in-progress in a polished draft form for my critique partners and betas plus make my goal of a finished novel in 2011.
The whole goal was to give myself some type of structure without the added pressure of stressing myself out. As some of you already know, my day job can be sometimes very demanding, so I already knew that some of my days would not be as productive as I wanted them to be.
However, I must say the progress on my novel has really been a great thing and I really do believe that if I hadn’t have done something like this that I would have not gotten the same level of output.
So what’s the final tally?
Wrote draft for scenes 49-50
Total for this milestone: 3211
Total for Operation 50/50: 27,944 words
Total words for current whole novel revision: 65,359 words
Operation 50/50 Statistics:
Revised scenes: 5
Draft scenes: 30
Story-boarding scenes: 15
So during Operation 50/50, I had the opportunity to revise/draft out the last 1/3 of my novel. I’m happy about how the new ending is working out. I still need to go back and work on the story-boarding scenes — the ones where I just jotted down some ideas — but now that I have a full novel draft again, I can figure out how best to approach them.
My next steps will be to complete all remaining scenes and then start another revision round. My goal is to have a final revision complete by the end of the summer — pending any crazy job activities.
The things I learned during Operation 50/50:
Consistency (no matter how small) pays off.
Exposure to your novel on a daily basis keeps you in its world.
Being flexible and realistic lowers stress level and fosters creativity.
Breaking a novel into smaller chunks keeps you writing in the moment.
So that’s it folks! Operation 50/50 is over and I’m very happy with the progress. Writer friends, what kind of things have you learned when you reach a major milestone in your writing?
5 Comments on Operation 50/50: Finish Line, last added: 4/19/2011
What great lessons! Focus on small chunks! Be consistent. Yay for you!
Anne M Leone said, on 4/19/2011 6:17:00 AM
Oh dear, we should keep in touch… my goal is to finish the whole revision by the end of July. Our writing schedules seem to be eerily in synch with each other!
28K. WOW! Go you!
You’re so much better at adding up your stats than I am, but I might need to start working on that… they’re so empowering!
Karen Schwartz said, on 4/19/2011 6:59:00 AM
Congrats! I learned that exposure to my WIP on a daily basis is a huge help. I spend a minimum of 20 minutes a day and it saves me so much time in the long run. This really helps keep me moving forward during school breaks when both my boys are home.
Karen Strong said, on 4/19/2011 7:10:00 AM
Laura: Exactly! When you look a whole novel trying to figure out how to revise, it’s just too overwhelming!
Anne: We should definitely keep this thing going over the summer! I’ll touch base with you so we can do our check-ins. We can do this! :)
Karen: Thanks! :) I’ve learned this important lesson. When I would not write for several weeks, it was very hard to get back into the novel world. But it really doesn’t take that much time — 20 minutes a day does wonder by keeping you close to your work.
Ghenet Myrthil said, on 4/19/2011 7:49:00 AM
Congrats on finishing Operation 50/50! I love your lessons and will keep them in mind as I forge through ROW80. So far, exposing myself to my WIP every day has helped me keep up the momentum. :)
I remember studying that picture in my elementary school library instead of watching the film on the Dewey Decimal system. I also remember feeling sort of scared by it, but only in the way you can be scared in an elementary school library which is not too terribly scared.
I think it was the mysticism of the painting that alarmed me. On the whole, there is not too much mysticism in American schools, even though I was taught by returning Vietnam vets and hippies (the real kind who had lived, or at least had visited, Haight Ashbury and met Jerry Garcia, or at least had attended one of his concerts)
It was an interesting time to be a child because none of our once-upon-a-time hippie teachers agreed with anything the Vietnam vets thought and vice versa. And we could tell who they were because the VietNam vets all dressed like hippies and the previous hippies wore conservative clothing to indicate they had now changed and decided to devote their lives to working with children. Both groups told us a pretty sanitized version of what they had learned by their experiences.
We loved when they talked about their former lives.We used to steer them toward the topic and ask them questions.
It wasn't that we understood most of what they said; what we did understand was that it was really, really easy to get these young, devoted, highly sincere teachers to move and stay off the topic of say, the Dewey Decimal system. Or the exports of Guatemala. I became especially interested in learning about Vietnamese village life at the onset of math sessions.
But this is a post about time, not about Anne Spollen's politically divided elementary school experience. The above ramble actually sort of underscores what I haven't said yet...
Time is actually a concept that I grapple with every day. I don't think I am one of those people who is "good" with time in the sense that I am efficient. I do put on the wash and start dinner and help with homework all at the same time. I'll even return phone calls then and go through the bills. And I do it all really quickly, really efficiently.
Then I take the dog out and spent twenty minutes wondering if I should put a few trellises of roses over the spot where the neighbor's hideous plastic and vinyl fence meets my property line. Or forsythia? Wait, I can't stand forsythia; they look like skeletons most of the year.
Could I put a fence up over that fence? Does that require a survey? How about vines? Yeah, vines.Only they would go everywhere. Or have thorns. On the ground that the kids and the dog would get tangled up in. So yeah, roses. Wait, I love wisteria. Is that a good name for a character? Wisteria Howard. Maybe. But how many rose bushes or wisteria vines? And so on....
I feel like I can focus in bouts, but most of the time my brain is, well, more like a tumble of vines than say a straight growing tree organized into brances. I don't know if that's good or bad for writing or how writers' brains work in general. Writers all seem so different to me.
I've tried this before, but I am going to try and create a specific period of time to write and only write. Since I have times when I work, when I sleep, when I spend time with the kids, I need to build in some part of each day to write. I think it would help focus.
How do you structure your day? Do you have a specific time of day to write? Is it built in? Is it flexible?
My life seems to follow a rather similar pattern. I blame it on being crazy busy, which is true, but I'm also someone who is so scheduled at work, I'd rather 'go with the flow' at home :)
I hear you on this one Anne. I'm terrible about setting aside a specific time to write! There ALWAYS seems to be SOMEthing that comes up that takes me somewhere else.
In high school we had a WWII Colonel who taught us history. He was deadly boring UNTIL we discovered we could get him off topic by asking him questions about his experiences. Then he got very interesting.
Maybe that's it, Jemi. I have to be so careful with every minute when I teach, like "One more question, than we HAVE to move on," then quick run to the grocery store, drive frantically home so kids are not alone in house....so writing time needs a little fluidity.
Still, I do envy people who sit and just produce for an hour or two each day. It's becoming a goal more and more.
If I am writing a first draft, I write in any moment possible, no matter how big or small (I like do write a lunch, recess, whenever). However, if I am revising, I need at least a half-hour chunk or it is pointless. (Hours at a time are better...no point fixing up one place and screwing it up again in the next chapter...)
If I am revising, I work in the evenings. Lame dinners for everyone.
Maybe derailing dull lessons from veterans is a rite of passage, Bish.
Yes, things come up, but what I need to do is not let myself come up with things. Like hedges and wisteria and reading about Wiccan spells on the Internet.
I do love and appreciate writing at the same time everyday. It's easier for some folks than others -- say, writers like me, without kids! I'm a bit spoiled in how I get to structure my day, admittedly. But I do find that the muse remains happy with me, and works her mojo best, when I show up at the same time, in the same location. Something in my brain kicks in and says: "Get to it, Buster. Now." Plus, I just love ritual -- putting on the coffee, eating my cereal or eggs, gearing up for the "big event."
I love to write early in the morning. I'm up at 5:00am, on my computer by 6:30. The stinky part is that I have to stop writing by 8:00, so I can head to...yep, work. And it's right about then that I'm actually ready to let 'er rip without inhibition. So, for me, I find my most productive period of my ritual to be right before I stop, like the muse knows I have to head off to my secret double agent life in non-profit.
I prefer writing late at night or early in the morning when I have the least distractions, but if that's impossible I write at other times. Tonight I took my manuscript to the laundromat to work on it since my day was extra busy. I figured I was being productive and time efficient, even though the place was noisy.
That painting is hauntingly eerie. Surreal art takes me outside myself.
I agree with Coldest.Winter.Ever.
There is something about the cold that makes me unmotivated!
I’ve come to realize that I will NEVER reach all of my goals for the year, but that’s actually not as depressing as it sounds. I think the striving is the important part, even if the reaching doesn’t always happen. :-) Glad to hear you’re charging ahead!
I’ve given up January goal-making many Januarys ago. Now it’s one day at a time, and sticking only to what is up to me to call it a success. Amazing how much better it is.
And about a thousand million snow days off school. I did fall off the wagon. Thanks for boosting me back up.
I’m so SICK of Winter. Tired of snow. It really just makes you want to make a cup of hot cocoa and read instead of writing.
I think you are just being realistic not depressing at all. This is how we get overwhelmed in the first place.
Striving forward is always best — even in small steps!
This is a good strategy. One day at a time. In reality, that’s all we can do.
I’m such a list-maker though and I obsess about the future too much. I’m a work in progress. :)