starting again

Heat Wave and Changes Made

My Neighbour's Flowers
My Neighbour’s Flowers

The cicadas are singing outside my window as I write and the fan is full in my face. Today, thankfully, there is a breeze, too–something that was sadly missing as I ran errands yesterday (in a none AC car) and caught up with a house and garden from which I’d been absent for ten days. In between, I spent chunks of time in front of the fan doing basically nothing or soaking my feet in cool water in an effort to feel more human. My son and his friend kept cool recording music in the basement. In the evening, I went to my last PWAC meeting—for a year.

I’ve been a member of the Professional Writers’ Association of Canada for over eight years now. I’ve served on local executives and was president when a few of us started our own branch in Kitchener.  I’ve met amazing people and been able to grow my freelance business with their help and inspiration, but I’m taking a year off. This wasn’t an easy decision to make. Our monthly meetings are always energizing and the people in the group are just plain fun to hang out with. It was tough to say good-bye, but—

I’ve set some writing/publishing goals for myself this coming year, and I also want to take some time to do another thing that I love (take singing lessons) and, well, something had to go–for a year. I’ve set a time limit in order to keep pressure on the other things I want to do. I have one self-published middle readers book, and I know, from my reading, that for self-publishing to work you need several books out there. So, I need to finish the sequel to The Dragon’s Pearl and get back to work on a series of medieval mysteries for middle readers that I’ve been playing with for several years.  Also, this fall, I will have three new courses to teach—-a lot of challenges ahead and lots of time needed to make everything work.

And I’m looking forward to all of it. I stewed about leaving PWAC for a long time, but once I made the decision, I knew it was the right one. So onward to lots of writing, lots of school work—and hopefully a break in the weather very soon!

Wherever you are, I hope you are having a cool and creative day!

Pen in Hand

IMG-20130709-00210Yesterday at Kristen Lamb’s Blog, Kristen listed 5 traits of the successful writer: passion, self-discipline, humility, healthy relationship with failure, and persistence.  She states, “We can have all the talent in the world, but without these five ingredients, we will be hard-pressed to ever reach our dreams.”

Each of the five traits on the list can be a challenge for me at one time or another, but the most consistent challenge is self-discipline. I am constantly distracted by my laptop life: Facebook, email, checking my blog stats, Free Cell and Spider Solitaire, Ravelry (looking for my next knitting project), reading other people’s blog posts, etc.. The writing/working time slips away as I roam from one distraction to another. I’m not alone. People are actually writing about this phenomenon. Here are two links to articles about what is being called Internet ADD:  http://zenhabits.net/8-practical-tips-to-cure-your-internet-add-attention-deficit-disorder/ and  http://kristiholl.net/writers-blog/2013/01/internet-based-add-do-you-have-it/

I’ve decided that the only cure is abstinence. I have the luxury of a lot of writing time this week, and finally, yesterday, I figured out what I had to do to get anything accomplished–and did it. I closed the laptop, got out my journal, and worked my way through the next chapter of my book. Today I’m going to type up my notes–on my NEO (no internet, just a nice clicky keyboard and a small screen.) I have three more days to myself this week and a lot to accomplish. I’ll let you know how this strategy works.

Do you get distracted by your online life? How do you switch off and get the work done? What’s your biggest challenge among Kristen’s 5 traits? Love to hear your thoughts and solutions.

Hope you have a creative week and find your own way to carve out some creative time and make progress toward your writing goals.

 

A Little Encouragement Goes a Long Way

I’ve found the perfect way to bring my writing to a complete halt. Lose confidence.

It was the right time to hear the right words.
It was the right time to hear the right words.

I was working on the sequel to The Dragon’s Pearl, and I was about half way through the first draft when the gloom began. I started worrying about the first book. Was it really any good? Am I wasting my time writing another?  And of course, those questions led to … Is anything that I’ve ever written any good? Can I even call myself a writer? Where is the chocolate? Is it time for a nap?

Yeah, well, you get the idea.

So, last week I passed the manuscript along to a friend who has children the same ages for which the book was written. Her son “liked it a lot.” She said a couple of other nice things, too, but I was so thrilled to read just those four words, I didn’t really need any more.  A child liked my book. Wow. Could it get any better? Not for me. Not right now.

I’ve been working on some paid gigs this week, but this afternoon is set aside to get back to the manuscript. I hope that you find some creative time today, too, and that the right person at exactly the right time says that they like what you wrote.

The_Dragon's_Pearl_Cover_for_Kindle

Friday Check-In and Kidlit Writing Contest

It’s been an up and down week with my writing. I’ve managed to slog through some pages, but haven’t felt ‘in the groove’ at all. Maybe when this thunderstormy heat wave passes and my propensity for migraines brought on by weird weather patterns is no longer challenged, I’ll get back in gear. Or maybe it’s just a slump, and as usual, things will get better if I just keep showing up. Probably the latter. Speaking of “just showing up” here’s a link to my oft-viewed TED Talk by Elizabeth Gilbert “Your elusive creative genius.” I highly recommend viewing this when the writing is at a standstill. I may be watching it today! Here’s  the TED Talk summary: Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses — and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person “being” a genius, all of us “have” a genius. It’s a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

The following link to Kristi Holl’s Blog “Warning: Do You Know Where You Are?” takes a different slant on reaching your goals.

Here’s an excerpt:

“No matter what type of map you use (Google map, MapQuest, GPS or the old-fashioned paper kind), you first have to know where you are right now. Knowing your destination won’t help one iota if you don’t know your present location.

And why don’t we writers know where we are at this moment? Are we lost? Not really. More like deluded. We deceive ourselves about our true locations at the present time. (I do it too. We all do it.) And that’s one big reason why our “maps” don’t work and don’t get us to our destinations.”

I have soooo been there–and, no doubt, will be there again.

Finally, here is a link and some information about a kidlit writing contest, deadline July.

Current Contest at Children’s Writer: Kindergarten Story: Exploration!

http://www.thechildrenswriter.com/af627/

Specifications: Fiction about exploration for kindergarteners, up to 150 words. The story should be appropriate to children 5 to 7 learning to read on their own. The theme of exploration could be set at home, down the block, at school, on vacation, in books: Use your imagination! The story should be fun, colorful, use well-targeted words, and have special interest for the age group. Do not write too high for this readership. Know what a five- or seven-year-old can and cannot read. Originality and the overall quality of writing will also be considered. Publishability is the ultimate criterion.

Entries must be received by July 12, 2013. The first contest entry is free to Children’s Writer subscribers who include their account number on page one of their manuscript. All others pay an entry fee of $15, which includes an 8-month subscription. Winners will be announced in the October 2013 issue. Prizes: $500 for first place plus publication in Children’s Writer, $250 for second place, and $100 for third, fourth, and fifth places.

The contest rules are important. Please read them carefully.

Love to know what you think of the TED Talk or Kristi’s blog, or if you’re thinking of entering the contest. Have a great weekend!

Jumping into Fiction Again

Take a deep breath. Calm the shaking hands. It’s done. The book has been sent to iUniverse and I’m on my way to actually holding a book with my name on it in a few months time. Exciting, scary, and a huge relief to have it done. Now what?

No problem with that.  I have several things that I can’t wait to start working on. I was lucky enough to get a Writers’ Reserve Grant from the Ontario Arts Council at the end of December and I haven’t written a word. Now I am free to start working on the revisions to a YA novel that someone liked the first 10 pages of well enough to actually send me money.  I have a middle grade fantasy novel that’s been lingering for a while and I want to take a look at my NaNoWriMo manuscript, too. That’s three projects to start and I’d also like to include a short story for children in the group. Yup, no problem with what to start writing.

I can’t wait to jump into fiction again. I look forward to revisiting the many voices I have created who are telling my story. With non-fiction, the only voice is mine, and as charming as I may think it is, it’s not as much fun as playing with a bunch of characters who walk, talk, and act in sometimes surprising, but always different ways.

Writing fiction is like visiting my local flea market. New sights, textures, people, and even smells are around every corner and I get to sample them and see if they fit in with the work I’m doing. Sometimes my choices are a perfect match for my project and other times they end up in the bin, but always they are a part of my creative fiction process. I learn as much from the things I decide to eject as I learn from the ones I keep.

With fiction the shoulders come down a bit. I allow myself more room for experimentation, for deviating from the plan, for just playing around. For my non-fiction book (Writing Fiction: A Hands-On Guide for Teens) I had a strict deadline because I knew when I needed to have the books in my hand. My fiction deadlines depend solely on me and I have deliberately set them for several months and more down the road. I want to have some play time, some time to remember how to write fiction again, some time to rediscover the voices of my characters and the rhythms of their stories.

And I’m starting now.

If Only …

I’ve got the “wish I’d done more” blues. I got a satisfying chunk of work done on my book over the Christmas break, but now that I’m in the midst of lesson prep for my new semester, I wish I’d done more.

Nothing is going as smoothly as I hoped. The course I’ve been assigned to teach on-line isn’t anywhere to be found on my on-line resources and 3 emails later I still have no answers from the college powers that be. More emails are on the agenda today. Another course requires me to teach new accounting software in 6 weeks time (after the students have mastered the system manually) but I can’t access any of the training programs on the internet site. “Someone is working on it.”

I knew I would be busy this week, but I also expected to be spending some time on the book. Writing time has disappeared into the mess of frustrations that abound right now and that have slowed lesson prep to glacial speed. And today is Wednesday already. Needless to say, large portions of Thursday and Friday will be consumed by meetings. I can feel my blood pressure rising now.

Solution?

Take a hard look at the next 3 days and drag some writing time kicking and screaming out of the morass. It can and will be done. Yes, I’m a teacher, but I’m a writer, too. If I don’t honour that part of who I am, the teacher, let alone the mom, the wife and the person, won’t be worth much.

I’ll let you know how it works out.

A Resolution for All Occasions

I decided to keep things simple this year. Just one resolution to cover all the things I want to do in 2010. Something simple that I can pull out of my pocket and apply to whatever situation I find myself in and that will help me make the right decision.

My resolution is to be better to me.

That doesn’t mean I get to eat as much chocolate as I want and hire someone to clean the toilets. Though at the moment, they seem like good ideas. I spend a lot of time and energy putting things that are good for me (like taking a walk, or reading a book for 20 minutes, or de-stressing with my MP3 player and a crossword) to the bottom of my to-do list. This year, I’m going to be more selfish and put myself first more often.

And I’m not talking about anything complex or hugely time-consuming or expensive. I’m talking about being first in some simple things that will help me become healthier, fitter, less stressed, more productive and creative and maybe even a more balanced person. That’s a tall order for such a small resolution. But I’m ready to take it on and see where it goes. I want to look back at every day and make sure that I can see something that was accomplished for me that will move me toward my goals.

There’s always time in the day to get the work done, and if there isn’t, I make it–deadlines are met, lessons are prepped, household chores are done. I need to be that dedicated to me. As has been said before: If not now, when? If not me, who?

Yes, this year I will be better to me.

Filling the NaNo Void

Okay. NaNoWriMo has been over for almost two weeks now and how much writing are you doing? Are you writing every day? Or has your word count since November 30th dwindled to an embarrassingly low daily average?  If your daily writing pattern has changed back to a not-very-inspiring normal, I’m betting you are not alone. It’s hard to keep going when such a great incentive has run its course.

I have a solution, but here’s a little background first. I’m part of a small writers’ group that meets once a month and during July this year, we set ourselves a challenge of writing every day. We kept our personal goals to ourselves, but we let each other know by the end of the day (and sometimes very close to midnight) that we had reached our goals by sending an e-mail with the word “done” in the subject line. The idea came from an article that I read in a writers’ magazine. An author said that this is how her writing group works every day.

For the month of July we met our goals, did lots of writing, and enjoyed reaching our “dones.” However, in August most of us went back to our everything-else-is-more-important-than-writing modes and … well you can imagine the rest.

If you’re missing NaNoWriMo and would like an incentive to get some writing “done,” I’m proposing a Twitter hashtag #ididthewriting. You set your own writing goal. It may be as simple as just thinking about the book and doing some brainstorming. It might be 500 words a day until the chapter is done. And you are free to adapt the goal to your life and writing needs at the moment and to not tell anyone what it is.

The purpose is to give yourself a daily reminder that you are a writer and to honour that by doing something writerly every day. If  you’re not on Twitter, post a “done” comment on my blog page or on an email to me at wright underscore writer at hotmail dot com. Now’s the time to think about what you want to do with your writing life and join me at #ididthewriting.

Explaining the new writing project

Hmmm. There are times I wish I’d stuck to my NaNoWriMo story and just left things alone. It was so much easier to say I was writing a romantic suspense novel about 2 people who are kidnapped by a bad guy, escape, and set out to rescue the bad guy’s next likely victims, while avoiding the police who want them for murder. Well, okay, it’s easy for me to explain.

So what am I writing? A hands-on writing guide for young writers. And that’s a lot harder to explain—even if I can get past the glazed oh-it-must-be-a-teacher-thing look. I finally figured out what my problem was.

When I talked about the romantic suspense novel, my friends got it because they were readers. They understood bad guys and murder and romance and how that all works. They could see the movie.

But my book is by a writer for writers, and that’s a lot harder to get excited about if you’re not a writer, too. I explain that my book is not for teachers; it’s for young writers, ages 12-18 who don’t care if they ever see a black-line master in their entire life. It’s for young writers who enjoy a sense of humour and some attitude. It’s for young writers who don’t want to brainstorm or create mind maps every time they sit down to write, because they have a great story in their heads already and they just want to write the damn thing, the best way they can. I’ve been around these kids for years and they’re amazing, creative, energetic, and can’t wait to tell their stories. They also want to be taken seriously as writers—not as students—and that’s what I want my book to do.

Whew! That feels better. Thanks for listening.

Stay tuned for more as I get this project into shape and embark on my experiment in self-publishing.

Now, back to the book.

Deadlines and Passion

Yesterday I set a deadline for finishing my book. It’s one I have to stick to or two other goals that I have will not be accomplished. This deadline is unbreakable—and what a motivator it can be.

Is it the reason I woke up this morning thinking about “the book?” I don’t know, but this moment is important to me. There’s a point when I’m working on a writing project that it moves from being just an idea to being a passion. From now on this book will live in every spare moment I have to think about it. When I have any time to sit down, a pen will be in my hand so I can write a little more or plan a little more. This is the fun part and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.

I will start arriving early to meet friends for coffee so I can scribble some more words toward my goal. I will make and constantly revise calendars to make sure that among all my other commitments, there is time to write. My days will become longer so that I can wake up early and write and stay up later and get the other jobs in my life done. There will be less TV and more MP3. And I will sing in the car on the way to work a lot more because all of this makes me happy.

 For me, this is the best part of my writing process. What’s the best part for you?

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