Drop the Ego & Write What You Want

 It is said some people come into your life and quickly go, others stay a while and leave footprints on your soul. 

My late friend and writing buddy left a footprint I carry with me in my writing: Leave your ego in the back seat.

Translation? Don't let the worry of what others think stop you from writing your story. 

The ego is that thing between us and others. What will they think if I write this? Will they think I'm gross? A freak? Some kind of weirdo? To which writers should respond; who cares! 

Some will love your stories, some will hate them. You can't please everyone so don't let it stop you. Write what you want, critics be damned. 

My one book, Soul Mates (A different kind of love story) had a first review that stole my heart, "I laughed, I cried, I loved this book." 

A few reviews down, "this is about animal abuse." 

Note: it's not about animal abuse it's a story of a dog who goes through a tough time and get's rescued. I've worked in dog rescue for over 15 years and have seen a lot of sad stories and helped to save hundreds of dogs. I've seen and heard of more animal abuse than anyone should ever see and none of it gets any easier. Your heart breaks a million times as you bring in the starving, hurt and mentally damaged pups. We make them better and adopt them into good homes. I'll take that heartbreak because it keeps their hearts beating. 

Did I respond to that comment about animal abuse? No. Did I want to? Of course! First of all I believe the reviewer didn't finish the book because the dog wins in the end. Besides that? I'm not here for their opinions. I just here to tell a story. Many stories. If If I take that stuff as a hit to my ego, that ego might whitewash my next story. 

Who cares what cousin Suzy might think or how your Auntie might judge your book poorly. They didn't write a book and you did. 

YOU DID IT! 

First they judge you, then they laugh, then they're telling people how they know you. 

So toss that ego in the back seat and write on. 

P.S. The dog in that picture is doing great. Here's what she looks like now. God Bless the Rescuers.

Using a Planner for Writing?

 Last time I bought a planner was 2020 and we all know how that worked out! Yikes! But that was for my business, separate from writing. A business covid crushed. 

I was almost afraid to purchase a new planner, but it's always best to look forward, right? 

Here's to 2023! 

Sending positive wishes 

for a great year to the Universe. 

What to use a planner for in writing? 

   Starting in January, one of my resolutions was to get 2 to 3 more books published on Amazon. Writing everyday. 

   Hard part?  Getting the time alone to write - yes, I need to be alone. (There's a reason King wrote in the laundry room with a typewriter on his knees in those early years -Recommending Stephen King's On Writing if you want to learn more)

Is this planner to set a schedule? No. 

Keep notes about the story? No. 

This planner is maybe 5 x 3" and would not fit the notes. 

I'm using this planner to track writing/editing days. Once I finish writing for the day, I print it and edit those pages. This is for two reasons. Editing the pages a day or two after writing them, and before going back to story creation, keeps the details fresh in my mind. 

With the planner I can see where creativity flows and how to keep it going. Its a bird's eye view of the writing process. 

 I have 3 printed chapters sitting her now and I've got to get to the editing process. 

Time to get to work (No matter what the cat on my keyboard says) 

Types of NANO Books to Write

Most talked about subject leading up to NANOWRIMO is probably; What will you write? Do you have a story idea? Subject? Is there an adventure inside you? 

Well, it doesn't really matter which direction you write in, it's all good. You can write any type of book. Just write. 

 Fiction. All those genres are yours for the taking. Write a romance, horror, drama, paranormal. Whatever's inside you is a great idea for a book. Write it. 

Non fiction. Could be a cookbook, how to book, memoir, expert advice subject, etc.

Kid's books. From fiction stories to picture books, this could be the most fun genre to write. Tell tall tales about child wizards, kids with the ability to morph into animals or anything your imagination can cook up. 

No rules for NANOWRIMO,  just write!

Most of all, don't worry if it's bad or good, if someone might be offended by it, or think you're weird, just write it down. You can edit or decide to publish later. Some NANOs leave my desk, some end up in the files. They might come forward later, but for now, for tomorrow when NANO starts, just write. 

May the NANO be with you as you start the journey tomorrow, November 1st. 

Looking for that Writing Mojo

 It's a slump? Writer's Block? No, I don't believe in writer's block because there's always something to write about. This is more like too damn busy to get any writing done. 

Up early and in work at 7 am. Out at 3 pm and then either to second job or home to do paperwork. And if I sit still for too long, I fall asleep.  It's lack of time. Too much to do and not enough hours in the day.  Super old excuse. 

So how to overcome it? 

Since I have some drive time I'm listening to books about writing. Donald Mass is a good one with the Emotional Craft of Fiction. Stephen King's On Writing - a must read. 

Any other favorite books on writing? I need to get inspired, to pull back into that writing zone. The place that comes from deep inside and spits out stories one after another. I need to get back to that place. That zone. 

Where do you get that inspiration? How do you find that writer's zone when life gets in the way?

Gearing Up for NaNoWriMo

 Most writers know what NaNoWriMo is; National Novel Writing Month in November. It's yearly challenge, started in 1999, for writers to complete a 50,000 word novel within the month. Yes, it's possible. My novel, Soul Mates was a NaNo. Good things come through a little discipline. And coffee.... lots of coffee. 

How???

Here's a few tips to do now to get ready to join the NaNoWriMo challenge. 

Soul Sucking Things that Get Writers

Covid 19 is a soul sucker. It's an on-edge feeling of fear, want & confusion. We fear the virus (or we should.) We want to be normal. To go back to our day to day life and to our old goals and ambitions. Right now all that is on hold. We face confusion every minute of the day. Information overload from all directions.

I was a that real job thing the other day when a man told me about those Americas Frontline Doctors who said that hydroxy-whatever can cure Covid. Wow, wouldn't that be great? So as soon as I could get to a computer I looked it up. A bunch of doctors said it's so. So I looked them up. Each. Individually. I wanted to know if they were people I should believe. 

First I saw that Facebook and Twitter had deleted the postings. hmmmm, why would they do it? 

Well it call came out that 2 of them were ophthalmologists and not regular medical doctors. One of them doesn't even have a license. The main speaker has publicly stated that she believes dreaming about demons can get a woman pregnant. 

Did I really have to read further? 

Ok so the ball of confusion is everywhere and by the time you research -- we are writers after all, that's what we do; research -- maybe an hour or two has passed. Then where are we? Certainly not writing or editing.  We all know social media is a soul sucker so now on top of all that we have Covid-land. So, how do we get our drive back? 

Back to basics; 

1. Schedule your writing time and go to it like a job. Every great writer does this so it's #1 on the how to get your writing mojo back. 

2. Close the door. Not just on the people in your house but on all that static from social media. DON'T OPEN IT! Consider it a demon ready to snatch your writer's soul. 

3. Set a goal. It could be 20 minutes it could be an hour. I like pages. Setting a goal by pages makes you get it done. I could daydream for an hour and then wrap it up. Done. But if I say I have to write 10 pages before I get up... well, then I'll have something to show for the time. 

Stay strong my writer friends. You are creative and the world needs your words. 

The Pitfalls of Admitting You’re a Writer

I'm a writer and proud to admit it. It never was that way, but it's okay now. I think once you accept you're who you are, writing gets easier. Talking about who you are and what you do gets easier, too. 

Any professions should be something to be proud of whether it’s sweeping floors or flying airplanes. It’s what you do, what puts food on the table and a roof overhead. However there is one profession where people think you should work for free or at least on their project for free.

“What do you do for a living.”

“I’m a writer.”

“I have a great idea for a book. You could write it and I’ll split the money with you.”

Yes, I’ve had the conversation many times and I used to bite my tongue every time. I used to say, “Sorry, I really don’t have time. I do have a book I’m working on now.” This reply has either brought no response or something along the lines of, “But this will be a best seller. You should still write it.”

Aside from the fact that most lay people have no idea how much work goes into writing a book. The late hours, pages upon pages of edits and revisions and when the book is finally done, searching for a publishing house or agent. Some writers are fairly prolific and others spend years perfecting their books. People outside of the profession just don’t get it.

So what do you do when someone insists you’re missing that best seller if you’d only write their book? You know, and do all the work so they can “split” the profit? And POOF! Have that magical best seller?

Here’s what works for me;

“Okay, give me an outline by chapter and character sketches. I’ll also need a timeline in detail to make sure I get it right.”

No one has ever given me any of this and most never come back asking. If they do, I reiterate how important it is getting the outline, character sketches and timeline is to create the book.

Next time they ask you to write that book, give them the list and watch that glint go out of their eye. Oh wait! Writing a book is work???? Who knew!

No Apologies

10 Prompts to Start your Novel

One of the most common writer laments I hear is, "I want to write, but I just don't know what to write" or "where do you get your ideas?"

First, ideas are everywhere!
      Look around and imagine "what else."
I used to play a game we called, What if, with my kids where we'd pick an object and tell a story about it. In a restaurant we'd pick a painting on the wall or object on the table and challenge each other to tell us the story about it.
A spoon suddenly had a story that dated back to the civil war. A painting was actually about a a buried treasure. It was a exercise in creativity that carried tons of possibilities. Okay, so maybe these stories might not morph into a full novel but its a good exercise in creativity and who knows? It just might spark something that will work.

Here's a few short and sweet prompts to get you started. Pick one and write for 20 minutes. See what comes from it and if you want to share,  post it below.

1. The dog sat by the road and when Max pulled his truck to the side, it came up to him, but looked back toward the trees and whined. "Are you trying to tell me something?" Max asked as he looked toward the dark woods. He didn't have a good feeling about this. 
2. He was the last person she wanted to meet here. The man who could tell all the secrets she had so carefully hidden. 
3. She opened the door and ducked as a large parrot flew in. "Bad man! Bad man! Agggh!" 
4. A sad looking cat walked across the grave beside me. I leaned down to read the name on the tombstone and gasped. It was mine. 
5. Dragons never listen and mine was no different. Now I was stuck in this tower and he was trapped below. 
6. The shabbily dressed man approached me. I had no time for vagrants today and started to walk away. Then he called my name and when I looked into his eyes I saw my first love. 
7. The surf was wild today. Big waves hit the shore with all of mother nature's raging power. As I grabbed my board Joe touched my arm. "Hey man, don't surf in a hurricane. It's crazy."
8. She was ignoring me and that wasn't going to work. I stepped in front of her and held up the knife. 
9. Lies never start big. They're little mean things that grow like weeds. One leading into another until they tangle surrounded you and take you down. Ask me, I know. One little lie and now I might not make it out alive. 

Blood Aversions 

The best way to keep that writing muscle growing is simple; Write! Write what you know, write what you can imagine. Just get it down on paper (or computer!) and make it happen. The muse only shows up when it knows you're writing. 

Go to it, make it happen. 

2 Things Writers Need

New writers need two things; drive and patience.

Drive

Drive because writing a novel is a long haul. You don't just pour it all down on paper and ship it off your desk. A good writer knows that there is a lot more to writing a book than that first draft.

• Getting it written in the first step. Don't stop, get it all down from beginning to end. 
• Next comes the rewrite. Going over it page by page to check for plot gaps, grammar, typos, and general mistakes. Hey, if you killed a character in chapter 5 you better not resurrect him in chapter 8. People will notice, you'll be called out on it, and your reader will probably not read your next book or recommend you to friends. 
• After your rewrite put that book on the shelf for a few weeks to clear your head. Come back and read through again. Make any edits you need to and be honest with yourself. 
• Then go find someone to read it that will give you an honest opinion. I tell my beta readers to "rip it apart." 
• Take their comments with a grain of salt. Consider them all carefully and either edit again or move on. Just put your ego in the back seat for this part. It can be painful. 

Patience

Patience comes in about the time you will have to spend on getting your novel polished. Skipping steps will impact the quality of the finished product. Take your time to get it right.

• Writing a book isn't a sprint, it's more like a marathon. Take it slow and pace yourself. 
• Editing takes time. 
• Putting your book on  a shelf for a week or more can be a killer. You're going to want to go back and play with it so you just get that thing done. Don't do that. Let the story leave your head a bit so you can actually read the thing without thinking about what you know is there. 
• Beta readers? I've had quick ones and I've had those that take weeks. Be patient, don't harass them. They have lives and families and probably work so your book might have to be fit in between all that other stuff. While you're waiting, start you next book. Don't waste time obsessing on your beta.  
• Remember to breathe. 

Know your book will get there and when you're finally finished with it you've done your due diligence to make it your best. Your reader will thank you for it.

Happy Writing!

Turbulent Life & Time to Write

I wish I had stairs to do this! 

When life gets crazy--writing gets hard. 
Lots going on right now at home and at work so I'm struggling again with carving out time to write. Some days I come home from work and my brain is fried. I just want to veg-out and if I do pick up my laptop, it's usually for surfing art on Pinterest.  Some really awesome artists post there and after writing, painting is my next love. 

At work I've been designing artwork/lettering for company trucks and doing some copy writing. Although I started there as a receptionist, my job has morphed into much more and I'm having a great time. However, a busy day at work can be draining.  When my brain is mush, I'm not sure I can give my manuscript my best. 

Just did a major home improvement, which sent dust everywhere and drove me crazy. Now it's done so the house doesn't seem to be such a wreck any more. As a former stay-at-home-mom, I still feel like the house is my job and if it's a mess, that's all I think about. 

Am I making excuses??? Hmmmm....could be. Everything is an excuse when you don't write. I just have to figure out which excuses are valid and which are my anchors of procrastination. 

Back to the wall-best way to write. 

Did I mention my desk? Due to the shuffling we did in the house, my desk is now up against a wall. My desk use to be set out from the wall so I could slip behind it and my back would be to the wall. I know this might sound weird but when I write, if someone comes up behind me it startles me big time. I nearly jump out of the chair. So I'm thinking of moving it, I just don't know where. 

Where are you Edgar? 

And I can't find my Edgar Allan Poe action figure since moving my desk. 


The excuses are mounting....

How's your writing going? What are your usual excuses?  

To Be or Not To Be

There is a woman at work and I'm kind of coaching her on some freelancing basics. Demand Studios, Constant Content and writing for the Trues. Today we got into a discussion about admitting we are writers.
Long ago I thought I couldn't say I was a writer until I was published. It wasn't until I joined critique groups and Romance Writers of America that I discovered it wasn't a bad thing to admit I was a writer even if I hadn't been paid for it yet.
Being a writer is something you are because of what you do. Finances had nothing to do with it. Of course it would be better if we had money coming in from writing but that doesn't make us any less a writer.
The leap to answer questions about your career choices by saying, "I'm a writer." can be a big one. Big and scary.
Today I told my friend that she is a writer. She sold! I could see the realization dawning in her eyes. Like, Oh yeah-I am a writer!
In becoming a writer I think there are many hurdles. Stating you're a writer is one of the biggest steps. It puts you out there, face to the world, declaring what you are.
Scary at first. Then oh so satisfying.