Writing During the Holidays

Finding time to write during the Holidays season seems like a struggle. Can I slip into my office for an hour or so or should i be finishing my Christmas shopping? Get those decorations up? And all that normal household stuff like laundry, dishes, vacuuming. I was once a stay at home mom. When that was my job I took the keeping of the house seriously. Old habits die hard. If I see something that needs to be taken care of in the house, I itch to get it done. Not doing it is like watching a job you loved for many years, fall apart.  

Carving out writing time without guilt is always a challenge. Doing it with the holidays here is like living in crazy-land. I sometimes wonder if I should just put it on hold until January when we're trapped in the house by snow.

I need to find a way to get rid of the guilt. Being a writer with a day job is like having two full time jobs and only time for one. Still feeling the need to fulfill the responsibilities of a stay at home mom, make for full time job number 3.  Yes, my husband helps but he also has an hour commute to and from work. Since he's doing that two hour drive every day I don't ask him to  do too much housework. He has enough with yard work, home repairs/improvements, bringing wood in for the wood stove, and shoveling snow. He does his part.

Back to finding that time to write. It used to be easy. I used to get up and write at 6 a.m. before work. Lately, bouts of insomnia screw up that schedule.

 I think I need to make up a new schedule for all this stuff and writing. Help!

What's your writing schedule during the holidays? Do you go to your desk at the same time every day?

3 Simple Tips to Save Your Creativity

Have you ever lost a story idea? 

Lets face it, creative people have ideas all day long. A word, a scene, and sometimes just that wandering imagination can spark the start of something brilliant. Here's where the problem starts. If we don't write it down every day life can sweep it away. That day job, friends, family, every person we interact with distracts us from that great idea and, like an illusive dream, it slips away.

How do we harness those creative sparks? Here's a few tricks I've learned along the way from other writers. 

1. Write it down. Always carry a note book and get it down on paper A.S.A.P.! Put a note on your cell phone. Make it a priority. For the longest time I never wanted anyone to see those first scraps of a story. I feared they would think I was weird for that opening sentence or blurb that popped into my head. What if someone found my notes and read them?

2. Schedule time. After you get the idea down on paper/cell phone, cut a slice from  your day to expand on it. This could be as little as a half hour at the end of the day or hiding out in your car during your lunch hour. (No my coworkers don't understand why I spend my lunch hour in my car.) Expanding that idea as soon as possible can turn that spark into a flame. You don't have to start the story, but you can write the blurb, outline, or just scratch more notes that will build your idea.

3. Give up the ego. Ego is that thing inside our heads that is the face we want to show to the world.  We may let down our ego-guard with those closest to us, but they're not the ones we worry about. Giving up the ego is as simple as telling the world, "I am what I am, take me as I am." Don't be afraid of someone accidentally peeking at your notes or thinking you're weird for hiding out to get some writing done. If they do, so what? Just give them a mysterious little smile, take your notes from their hands, and get back to your idea. You owe no one an explanation.

So, how do you protect your brilliant ideas?

Sneaky Writers Win

Yesterday I reviewed the book, The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton. I picked up Ms. Brighton's book late one night when I was having trouble falling asleep. I clicked that little shopping cart  icon and when I got to Amazon searched "free" in the book category.  I like paranormal books and this one had good reviews.

I got a free book, YAY!

The book was good. The story ended, there was closure, but also the possibility of another adventure for the main character. The last pages showed me the additional books this writer had so back to Amazon I went.

This time I paid for the book and the writer made money.

I've read that Hugh Howey saw his book, Wool, was selling so that smart man turned it into a series. BAM! He's a best seller! Of course the writing has to be good.

David Rosenfelt is another writer with a lawyer series. All stand alones, but with the same main character. One free book and I came back for the others.

There's always been a lot of controversy over whether or not a writer should give away their books for free. I've run campaigns where I put my book up for free and saw a spurt of downloads. A review or two came back, but nothing to write home (or here) about. However, my books aren't a series so there was probably no reason to use the free book hook to suck in new readers.  Live and learn.

Conclusion? If you have a series offering the first in the series for free could hook new readers. Otherwise? eh.

The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton - A Review

There's nothing better for insomnia than having a Kindle. Finish one book, surf Amazon for another. I may not be getting any sleep but at least I'm entertained. 

I found Mind Readers by Lori Brighton on Amazon when I searched for free books. Since the main character, Cameron,  is in high school when the story starts I think that classifieds this as a young adult book. Although I can no longer claim the "young" part, I still loved this book. 

Cameron starts off with that semi-innocence of the typical teenager, insecurities, attracted to boys, but her turmoil is doubled since she can hear the thoughts of those around her. Sometimes a good thing, sometimes it adds to her anxiety. These parts are very well written without being overblown. 

The action begins when a classmate is murdered and the main character searches the minds around her to see who did it. The story is well paced and keeps us guessing just enough to turn the page. 

When Cameron discovers other mind readers who promise to teach her to control her powers, she goes with them. Soon Cameron discovers the people she thought wanted to help her, could just be using her. 

Good writing and a well paced plot, I give this book five stars. As soon as I finished I went back and picked up the second in the series. 

Facebook Ads or Boost Post

The facebook ad was a NO SALE!
Although I did have a few click throughs they went to nowhere-land.
Money invested $10.
Ad length of ad one week.
Books sold? Zero

Experiment over.
Did my ad suck and no one wanted to look? Was it not engaging enough? Was my audience too narrow? Is $10 not enough to take a fb ad anywhere? Or is facebook just not a great place to sell books? Anyone out there have any luck with facebook ads?

My next try will probably be something like Pixels of Ink or one of the book blasters. A blog tour? I have to do some research on this subject. Set a budget and do another round of something that's not Facebook. Until then I'm back to the writer's cave and my  WIP and maybe the NANO and will get the fun part of this author thing done.

Strangely, after I decided to give up on the NANO I got this great idea of where to take the story. :)

Google: Facebook Ads for Indie Authors

If you put "Facebook ads for Indie Authors" into a search you get a lot of hits. Everyone has advice on how to promote your book on Facebook and I think I'm going to have to save this research for Saturday morning and coffee. I know I'm going to want to take notes.

Right now my facebook report says I've reached 453. However my page views for my author fb page says 671. I'm guessing this sudden page view phenomenon is connected somehow to the ad.  So I guess I should go write something witty and awesome on that page to keep them coming back.
Bottom line; No Sales. :(

Facebook Ad Update

Impulsive Facebook Ad

Yesterday I posted a link on facebook to a blog post I did from my website about why I wrote Soul Mates and how the idea came from the dogs I've helped to rescue. (I work as a foster family and foster homeless dogs until a good family can be found.) It was kind of a sloppy post. All I did was put the link on fb and the photo popped in with the title of the blog post. No big deal.

Then this morning a little thing popped up on FB that said, "Boost your Post."

I checked my paypal account and found 12 bucks. So I flipped back to the FB tab and hit the button. I figured its kind of like a lottery ticket. Sometime you win, but probably not. Either way I haven't done any promoting in a few months so what the heck. I was planning on waiting till after the holidays to create a budget and make a plan. (Hopefully, my current WIP, -not the NANO one-  but Threshold of Midnight, will be up by then)

I clicked all the buttons to set up the FB ad; one week for $10. Yeah! I'm a big spender! Unlike last time when I made the book free,  Soul Mates, is up for its regular prices. Kindle $1.99 and Paperback $6.99.
So since this morning I've got a big 3 click-throughs and no sales.
Unfortunately, since this blog was set up on a free Wix site I have no analytics to see if anyone actually went to the site. I should go to google to see if I can add it.

I'll post the results every couple days. This is from Facebook;

Slow Go for NANOWRIMO?

I get depressed when I look at my NANO word count. Then I visit the NANOWRIMO facebook page and see I'm not the only slow poke. Lots are faster/further than I and lots are with me or behind me.

Hey! At least I got something down on paper. Now if I only had more hours in the day.

Usually, when i write something I kind of have an idea where the story is going. Maybe I don't know everything, but I know most. Sometimes I get the ending before the beginning.

This NANO I took one sentence that I scribbled down a few months ago and decided that would be my start. I tucked that little piece of paper under the arm of my Edgar Allen Poe action figure and refused to look at it until November 1st. When I finally looked....nothing came to me. However, in the spirit of NANO I forged ahead and just started writing. Now, 6000 words in I still don't know what to do with this story. Edgar has been no help. ;)

I spent an hour last night changing the main characters names. Then changing them again. Googling names by country and by popularity and basically wasted the night. I think that was my sub-conscience's goal. Waste time and hope to write SOMETHING.

When I get stuck I usually stop and think; How can I torture my main character?
A strange phone call in the night? Meet a creepy neighbor? Discover something bizarre and off the main point of the story. (What if you were investigating a murder and in the process discovered something really weird about someone you thought you knew?)  Would I want to keep that in the story later? Who knows! But I'm going for a word count here, baby! 50,000 by November 30th! That's 18 more panic filled days of writing.

It's after nine and I have to work in the morning...that real-life-gotta-eat-job that so interrupts my writing time. Come on! Let's NANO!

So??? How's that NANOWRITMO gig treating you? What's your word count?

National Novel Writing Month? Do You?

Here comes November! In writer's circles this is known as National Novel Writing Month where you pump out 50,000 words to make a book.  I've done it before and, although November can be a busy month as it starts the holiday season, it's possible.

The NANOWRIMO site lets you sign up and find fellow NANO-ers to write with and support each other. I've never used that site, but I see some regions where a lot of people signed up. They go to coffee houses and gather in groups to pump out their 50,000 words. Sounds like fun?

My daughter, a food blogger, likes to write in coffee houses. I'm not sure. I've always written better in a cave. A desk in the corner with the door shut. I find coffee houses noisy and distracting.

Then we have the virtual facebook NANOWRIMO which is part of the regular NANO but maybe less organized with  more easy online access. (Others have set up pages too. NANO world on facebook. )

I'm in the middle of a major edit for my latest WIP and really want to get it done. Would I be a NANO cheater if I just finished that work for NANO? It's a lot longer than 50,000 so it's still a lot of work. A fellow writer isn't sure that qualifies. Now I sit on the edge of writing something totally new or finishing the WIP and I'm not sure which way to go.

So, do you NANO? Are you ready for the challenge?