Ah, The Writer's Life

Every once in a while I like to just ramble and muse about how writing is the pivotal point of my life and how it affects pretty much everything.  There are many things I write about individually, extrapolating and using one thing or another in an attempt to provide guidance to other writers or just give some of my writer friends a smile.

Today is one of those rambling days. Yep, I’m busy working on Planet Of The Eggs comic series and it’s coming along very well, thanks.

Even have a Facebook fan page  – go on over and like it. Keep abreast of what’s happening in Egg world. And don’t forget to tell us which egg is your favorite (we have warriors, scientist, librarian, water hound and medic) and where you might like to see our eggs travel next.

The goal is to put out one adventure per month in this fun comic series. So, here’s the rambling part. If I worked a regular job I’d probably have some time off when I want to take a bit of a break as I’m planning on in September when my husband and I are going to celebrate our anniversary with a few days away. But I don’t have that job. I’m a writer. That being the case I have to plan differently. Yep, I’m working harder and faster now to gain some ground so I don’t fall too behind while I’m off having fun. No paid leave for me. And no matter how I work it or plan it, I know when I get back I’ll feel overwhelmed and like I’ve fallen behind, which I will no doubt have done.

But you know what, none of that matters because I love what I do and sadly, there are many who don’t even like what they do.

But that’s not all. In my musings I give thought to those projects which I’ve put on hold while I work on Planet Of The Eggs. And yes, I’ll get back to them, and yes, fortunately since they’re already on hold they don’t add any pressure to my already slightly overloaded schedule. And that’s another thing. 

The schedule, because I’m a writer and work for myself, is my own. I set it. Mostly (unless there’s a publishing deadline set by another) I set my own deadlines. But I’m a very stern task-master. So those projects I’ve consciously put on hold are still at the back of my mind while I work to meet current deadlines I've set.

One is a paranormal romance beneath the sea that’s about three-quarters done and needs to be finished. I’ll have to re-read the whole thing before resuming work on that one. Then there’s the screen script I’ve barely begun to adapt to novel format. I want it to exist both ways. Probably be a Kindle release when I get that done. There are a few others, but I’ll leave it at that for now.

What it all boils down to is to be a writer one needs discipline, schedule and the occasional break. Yep, there’s another one planned in December. And do I take weekends like a regular person wo works a regular job? Yes, mostly I do. I have a husband and he kind of likes to spend time with me as I do with him. Schedule, remember? He’s very understanding if I do have a deadline and need to work just as I’d understand if he had to put in some overtime. But mostly, I admit, my life is fairly structured. 

For professional writers I highly recommend it. Yes, there is that myth that writers work when the muse strikes. Not true for the writers I know. They ‘go t work’ each day. They may have the freedom to schedule their hours differently than some, but they do schedule.

Think about it.

And while you do I think I’ll just go off and muse on what I need to get done a bit more. Organization. What comes next.

Developing Good Writer’s Habits

Writers write, right?

Sounds easy. But not so fast.

It takes dedication, discipline and some good habits to see any writer thorough.  From writer to writer they differ, but there are many writers have in common.

And there are just some things that need to be said, a reminder of sorts for those of us who get wrapped up in our every day work and find ourselves eating away at time that we’d really much rather have spent writing.

So, a few ideas.

Here’s one: Write on ugly paper because it tricks the brain to really believe that it doesn’t have to be perfect.  Really, it does work. And, besides, who wants to write that first draft on nice, clean, expensive final draft paper? And yes, you should print it out; makes for easier and more thorough editing.

Another: Write when you’re tired, write when you’re not, write when you have hours ahead of you, write when you can only steal a few minutes. Just write!

Here’s yet another one. Stop following links and write! Right now. Really. Stop. Do your research, then get off the web, close your browser window. You can’t browse, surf, whatever, and write at the same time. It just doesn’t work.

And related to that take some time to turn off all electronic devices. Cell Phones, tablets, web access on your computer. Everything. Set a time to dedicate to writing and eliminate all distractions and disconnect. You won’t die, really. And with no distractions like text messages, cell phones or games at your fingertips you’ll be able to really focus. It’s one of the best bits of advice I can give. Gads, unhook already.

When you’re writing always remember to repeatedly ask the question “what if…”  What if a meteor fell from the sky? What if it’s large enough to flatten a small city? What if a bunch of people in a large building have enough notice to dive into the basement and are trapped there by the explosion? What if one of them is a psychotic murderer? What if, what if, what if.  One of the best questions a writer can ask himself, if not the BEST question.

Another great habit to develop is to give yourself a break between writing bouts and be sure to stretch or exercise. Run up and down stairs if you have them. Take a short brisk walk outside. Get yourself an inexpensive stationary bicycle. Do stretches. Physical activity will keep the mind active and sharp. Writers simply sit too much. Think about getting a new standing desk. I have one and move from standing to sitting to standing several times during a work day. Standing keeps the brain moving too.

How about setting a timer? Force yourself to write a story within a set amount of time. The shorter the better, as long as you can create in that amount of time. It doesn’t have to be good, probably won’t be, but get that writing spewed out. You’ll feel better for it and it will almost definitely create something that can be revised later.

Don’t forget to make notes on ideas for where you’re going with a story for tomorrow before you quit for today.

Read great writing. Read bad writing. Read, read, read. Then write, write, write. 

Yes, writers write.

        .

Writers And Readers Websites Wednesday - Helping Writers

...forge Creative Writing Careers - that's Silver Pen's hope. So go ahead and check out Silver Pen for their resources, workshop and foum. A non-profit writing community.

Writer’s To Do List

Have a lot to do?  I know I do.

But in the spirit of procrastination I do find time to wander the web a bit between projects and I came across a rather long post (the equivalent of three pages with – oh horrors – no illustrations) on how to write a writer's ‘to do’ list and manage it.

Really?

Now I don’t to be too sarcastic here and really I don’t intend a slight – in fact it’s good to come across these things so they inspire me to keep it tight, keep it short. Folks just don’t have that much time. Save the long writing for a novel that just insists it wants to keep going.

So I’m going to keep my comments on the lengthy writer’s ‘to do’ list minimal. 

Here it is.

I realize there are many folks different from me and I applaud them – I like difference.

However, the question nags. How does one come up with more than three pages on a subject such as a ‘Writer’s To Do List’? I might be able to do it myself, but it would be a stretch and I’d probably find myself getting repetitive.

So I’ve decided to give my own advice on a Writer’s To Do List. And I do keep a running list on my desk in a spiral notebook, my supply of which usually comes from a well-known office supply store around back to school time when I can get them from $.01 to $.05 each.  When a page fills I rip it out and recycle (trying to be green conscious).

Pretty straight-forward advice:

1. Create the To Do list  - i.e. write stuff you have to do in a list on the page.

2. Follow Your list – i.e. read it once in a while to see what you need to do next. First thing in the morning might be good.

**Check off what you manage to accomplish.

To the point? Clear? Got it?

-- Of course I am rambling on here as well.  Maybe the fun is in the rambling on…I, too, on occasion love to ramble on.

And don't forget a couple other cool blogs: 

Seumas Gallacher's blog:  http://bit.ly/1bPVb1b

David Lender's Blog:  http://bit.ly/13OZAfA

Kevin Hanrahan's Blog:  http://bit.ly/1dpx2jM

The First Draft of Anything is Shit - What????

"The first draft of anything is shit."
~Ernest Hemingway


What?

Really?

Okay, Ernest and I are going to have words.

What?

Okay, I can sort of see where the guy was coming from and after all, writer Ernest was pretty intense and if rumor has it a bit of a drunk (well, maybe a lot of a drunk). Perhaps his intensity and drinking  (and sadly his eventual suicidal inclinations) colored his opinion. Perhaps it truly was that way for him.

Whatever.

Here’s the thing. That statement can well be true many times. And, first written drafts usually DO need a lot of work, but then again there are times when perhaps the spelling, punctuation and technical stuff might be off and need some polish, but the underlying writing is pure gold or just darn good fun.

Yep, I said it. Sacrilege. We all keep hearing the first draft has to be awful, or bluntly put, shit. That it has to be worked and reworked and polished and polished some more.

But I’m here to tell you there are a couple of books along my illustrious trail that were written, checked over for that technical stuff and submitted to the publisher just that way. (I won’t tell you which ones, I’ll just let you guess – and you’ll probably be wrong.)

And, yes, they were bought by a major house.

And yes, they were published.

Did I have to do some additional tweaking of my writing once it reached the publisher’s editor and the galleys came back to me?

Yes, but it was pretty minimal.

Does that make me a genius? No. They were fun, fast fiction. Fast to write and fast to read.

Perhaps all ‘great literature’ has to be shit first, I can’t comment on that as so far I've written the fun stuff, not the 'great literature' stuff, but the point is, not every first draft written of a book or a script or a short story or whatever, is shit.

Nope.

Not even close. Unless of course you’re among those who believe most of what’s being published is shit – then we have a whole new problem such as why if it began as shit it remained so throughout the editing process… but I won’t go there just now.

What I will say to writers is this. You can’t always be running around trying to figure out what you should do. You have to know some of that stuff inside you. (And, my apologies, but not everyone has a 'book inside'.) Oh, you can get some great advice, but not all ‘truisms’ about writing and writers are ‘true’. Not all rules are to be followed. Not all pearls of wisdom are truly wise.

And not all first writing drafts are shit. Might be total word shit. Might not be.

So you have to get in there, use your spell check, re-read for errors and punctuation glitches; get it right so a book editor will actually look at it or a reader won’t be turned off by the script’s many errors  and put yourself out there. Truth is, it all comes back to you, the writer.

And stop thinking of your first written draft as shit. It’s a beginning.

Forget The Rules Already - Newest Writing Advice

Today I’m going to give some advice that’ll make some people sit up and spit.

It’s this – Forget the Rules Already and Write.

Yep, that simple.

I could stop writing right now and leave it at that, but of course I won’t.

We humans seem to be constantly in search of advice, guess that’s why “self-help” books sell so well. But really, do we NEED all that advice? Can’t we rely on our own abilities and instincts once in a while – or most of the time? And don’t many of those ‘rules’ just tie writers up in knots  trying to ‘do it right’?

Now, I’m not saying we don’t need to know things in order to write well, such as grammar and some decent spelling (though we do have spell checks and grammar checks these days). We do need to know how to format the manuscript or screen script for submission so it doesn’t get trashed upon receipt. The once-upon-a-time of an editor at a publishing house doing all the grunt work of cleaning up a manuscript are long gone. You absolutely must present a clean, readable manuscript or screen script in the currently accepted format.

But those aren’t the kinds of rules I’m talking about. There are lots and lots….and lots of places on the web, in person, at writer’s groups, where you can hear ‘rules’ recited. Don’t to this. Do that. Nobody’s doing it that way!

What?

Hmmm. Here’s the way I see it. Writing is an evolving craft, always has been. If you look back at what others have written, the classics and the ‘penny-dreadfuls’ and compare it to novels, literature and pulp books along the way up to now you’ll see just how writing has changed. Not really because of ‘rules’ but more because of the way society is changing and readability. Some of the old ways of writing a novel could now be called ‘stilted’, but it was perfectly accepted and great reading when published. Things change. Styles change. Subject matter changes.  And yet what was old is new again (take for example the fixation with vampires – we’ve seen vampire books before Anne Rice and the vampire romances). So ‘story’ keeps coming around, but ‘delivery’ and ‘style’ changes.

So, what am I saying? Quite simply, forget the rules and write already. Get your story out. Break a few rules and by doing so you may well be creating new ones; someone before you did. You may have to change it, rearrange it, but if you don’t stop worrying about all the rules that are getting crammed into your head about how a story is to be presented, then you’re never going to do it at all. You’ll just keep spinning your wheels.

Really, learn how to handle language, present in an acceptable format and give yourself free rein to cause a few new rules to be created that someone else will worry about down the road.

So write already.