Skip to content

Posts tagged ‘writing’

Nov 9

I’m Not Doing NamoWrimo, but maybe you should?

There’s a lot of controversy this year surrounding National Novel Writing Month. There has been plenty written (and discussed on YouTube), so if you want to know the ins and outs of the story, I urge you to look it up. I’ve never really been a fan of the challenge, but I do see where there are some advantages.

The first is community. Writing is a lonely activity and joining a community of like-minded people is comforting. I think that one of the primary reasons I continue to write is because I have a critique group and took classes off and on throughout my city. Also, I have recently joined the author community on YouTube (here’s my channel). Having encouragement and people who push you to continue on with your writing will help you overall your career.

The next advantage concerns how far you are in your writing life. If you’re just starting out and you always wanted to write something, this may be a perfect opportunity to try. All you have to do is commit for 30 days. This can test your stamina and whether or not you are really ready to embark on this adventure called a writing life.

For some this is exciting. For others, this is exhausting. Either way, writing challenges are not for the weak! A few years ago, I did the one year, one hundred rejection challenge. It pushed me to submit a lot (and I did get an acceptance). It also numbed me to the sting of rejection. It never feels good, but I also realized it wasn’t the end of the world if a story came back rejected. Also a few weeks ago, I tried the “Write 10K in a Day” challenge. I only got about four thousand words, but still, almost quadruple what I normally write, so I think that was pretty good for a first try.

The biggest reason, I don’t to NamoWrimo is… well, I haven’t really focused on writing a novel for most of my career. I tried writing one from March 2020 to March 2022, but that was a failure. I’m back at it again, but I’m also writing (and rewriting) other stories as well. Since most of my writing has been short stories, if I were to try and write for the challenge, that would be 10? (or more) stories in one month. That’s a lot for me. I don’t think I could stick with that and would probably burn out.

And we are not trying to burn ourselves out from writing.

If you have a solid routine and you’re getting after your work, forcing yourself to do a challenge that may hinder your writing is a bad idea. Nothing wrong with trying if you want to, but only you know for sure. Funny, I actually don’t know a lot of writers who do it. We’ve all just been plunking away at our own pace and aren’t really to embark on a change for a whole month.

Because of the controversy this year, some are choosing to write, but not participate formally with the organization, or they started new challenges (which I love). So I guess the bottom line is do what is best for your writing career. Ultimately, it is you and the page. Whatever is the best way for you to grow and create is the answer.

Me? I’m focusing on getting this first draft of this novel done by December 31st. I’ll be doing another 10K day on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving here in the US) and try like hell to push as many words as I can for the next few weeks. Between this blog, the new channel, and my fiction, my plate is full.

Happy writing everyone. Stay safe this holiday season!

Oct 5

How Do You Measure Growth? – Beginning of Oct 2024

Last month marked a milestone for me. Ten years ago, I got my first fiction story published. Prior to that, I had a couple of non-fiction pieces published, but nothing else. I was happy to realize that I was still on this journey, writing and publishing. I’ve had bumps along the way, but I’m still picking up the pen (or booting up the computer) to get the story down. I mentioned this to my mother, and I had an epiphany.

I had real, measurable growth in the past ten years.

My first two stories were published in two anthologies. I knew the editor and she had encouraged me to submit. I had a pretty good feeling that I would be accepted (about 90%). It was a good beginning and I was happy to finally have some stories out in the world to show people. My family could have something in their hands that would prove that I was a “real” writer. (I should note that no one ever made me feel bad about being unpublished. It was just nice to show them after all the years of talking about it.) It was good for my ego too. I had two books in my hands that listed me as a contributor. Humble as they may be, it was a start.

My next two stories came out in 2018 and 2019. These were two stories that I had workshopped in grad school. They had gone through multiple revisions and had at least a dozen people comment on the work. Both had been rejected from 20 or so places, but I persisted because I believed in them. They, at last, found a home and I was proud of both of them. The growth aspect came from the editors. They were complete strangers. These folks received submissions all the time. My stories had been good enough to convince them to publish me.

And, finally, we get to the two stories that got accepted this year. Both of these stories were written after I graduated. No workshopping (but I do have a critic group and they read over and commented on both stories) and no prior relationship with the editors.

Folks, I’m off the training wheels and riding this bike on my own! I may be slow on this journey, but I’m getting there.

The growth in my writing career is there. I can see it, but it is only obvious when I look back over the years. In a snapshot of a year or two, you won’t see much. But ten years later? Yeah, there is movement. It’s a reminder to me that a writing career is a marathon, not a sprint.

I’m still on this journey and I’ve made progress.

Sep 15

The Time I Quit Writing #2 – Mid-September 2024

In some ways, I have avoided writing this post. I don’t really like to think about this time in my life, but I think enough time has gone by where I am comfortable writing about it. When I started this blog back in 2009, I was coming out of this period. I may not have known where it would lead, but I felt I was ready to get back to writing.

In 2002, I started writing a book. I was 25 and ready to focus on this idea that had been knocking about in my head for a while. I had written a book back in the 90’s in high school and college that went nowhere. I was ready to try again and get something BIG published.

So I sat down day after day and wrote. My main character was an earth goddess, who was awakened after 150 years to the modern world. I was really proud of all the hard work I put into it. I workshopped it and revised draft after draft. By Summer 2004, I thought I had a great book. So, I set out to publish it. I sent out queries to lit agents first. Then small presses. Then, finally contests.

Nothing.

In 2007, I left my job of six and a half years. I was burnt out and needed a change, but I didn’t know what to do. I was debt free (completely) and had saved about a years’ worth of money. I figured I had my novel to sell and this would kick off my writing career. Leap and the net will appear, right?

Wrong!

I took the leap and crash landed. I burned though my money, ended up moving back in with my parents, and still remained unpublished. The final straw came when in 2008, I applied for Clarion Writing Workshop and failed to get in. I had enough. I quit writing and tried to move on with my life.

I got another office job and settled into a boring routine:

Wake up/get ready for work

Go to work

Come home

Eat dinner/watch TV

Bed

Very exciting, I know. But I look back now and am glad I stopped. I got a taste of what the world would be like if I quit writing. It wasn’t horrible, but I always felt like something was missing. In February 2009, I started this blog. I thought maybe writing like I used to for my monthly column would be good. However, I barely posted. I didn’t have much to say. I think I was still trying to work out who I was apart from writing. I did have other interests, friends, and family. But for so long, I thought I was a writer, and to not be able to see any progress, crushed me.

In summer of 2009, I decided to take better care of myself. I changed my diet and exercised. It was like a fog lifted and I realized that, as a writer, I was still growing. All the years of querying, I didn’t write anything new. I rested all my hopes and dreams on this one book. I had gone stagnant. Years later, I tried to read that novel, and wow, let’s just say, I’m glad I got rejected. It was a bad book.

By fall 2009, I was ready to get back to writing, but with a different attitude. I stopped worrying about publishing and instead focused on writing. I didn’t start to send work out again until 2013 (well into my MA program). And even now, I don’t repeat that same mistake. I write something and move to the next project. There’s always a next project.

I have never considered quitting again. I have taken breaks, like I did in 2022, but never quitting. I understand now that when you are in the creative life, you can’t rest on your one project. You are always growing as an artist and the act of creating makes you better. I’m a better writer than I was a year ago and I will be better next year. I quit back in 2008, because I didn’t see that. I pinned all my hopes and dreams on a project that I had outgrown, and it was good that it was rejected. I didn’t see that at the time, but I do now.

I came back to writing a different artist/writer. In some ways, it is easy to quit. No one is standing over me demanding my work. I’m not getting paid on a regular basis to write. If I don’t get my words in today, who is going to suffer? So, taking up this mantle again is a choice. I am a writer, because I choose to be one. I choose to follow this path in life. It’s frustrating, exhausting, and depressing at times. But it is also exhilarating, fun, and fulfilling at times too.

I love being a writer and I took me quitting this job and coming back to realize it.

Happy Writing! I’ll see you all at the beginning of October with a new post.

Sep 2

Building My Garden – Beginning of September 2024

Happy Fall!

I spent the summer doing all things writing. I finally uploaded two stories that had been published years ago and one story I uploaded in my chapbook in 2015. I thought about it a long time and decided to unpublish the collection. I will be uploading most of these stories later on this year. I think it is better to offer each on its own and let the reader decide whether or not they want to read them. Each short story will be $3.49. In January, I’ll evaluate if I should change anything or continue.

I also was able to finish another new story that leans a little long. I’m warming up for the new novel and I wanted to finish this story I started last year. I knew it was going to be long beacause usually my short stories are about 1500 – 3000 words. I think this story is double (?) the words. We’ll see…

So, three stories self-published, one completed short story, and plans for at least one more self-pubbed story and one traditional story to come out this year. For the rest of the year, I’m going to push for a finished first draft of the novel.

This month marks the ten-year anniversary of my first fiction story being published. I remember being so proud of myself for finally getting something out into the world and feeling like I was a real writer. Cut to ten years later, I have published five stories traditionally and (now) three stories self-pubbed. It is not a huge amount of work, but it’s not nothing. In some ways, I’m a bit disappointed I haven’t done more. Comparison is the thief of joy and seeing other writers rack up the publication credits is tough to see. Of course I am happy for them, but seeing the slow progress of myself is, at times, depressing.

However, I have found a new mantra to help motivate me and bring me out of depression.

A few weeks ago, I was watching one of those on-line guru videos on YouTube and I read a comment that stuck with me. It read, “If you want a butterfly, don’t chase butterflies. Build a beautiful garden.” I decided that this would be my plan going forward. I wasn’t going to worry about individual publications, or what anyone else was doing in their writing. Instead, I was going to build a metaphorical garden for my writing career. Story after story. One story was not going to get me what I wanted, but a collection of stories would. I will build my garden flower by flower, plant by plant. In the end, I I hope to have a beautiful garden filled with stories that I love.

Going forward, I’m just going to link my Amazon Author page in the Published Works section of this site. Any traditionally published stories will still be listed too.

Happy writing! (And gardening!)

Jun 23

End of June 2024 Round Up

Happy summer!

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. I’m basking in the comfort of air conditioning and hard at work on my next writing project. While I’m happy to enjoy the sunshine, I don’t really like to sweat. Indoors I stay.

Let’s recap my writing news for the first half of the year and what I hope will be some achievements for the last half of the year.

In March, I decided to really try and get some stories out for submission. I made the commitment to submit five times a week. Although there was a week I didn’t make it, I made up for it and submitted extra the following week. As a result, in the month of April I got two acceptances. I was floored. I’d never had that happen before, but it motivated me to keep going.

One story (Siren Call) is already out. The other will be published this fall. After four years, it feels good to see some of my work out in the world again.

Also, I finally stopped procrastinating and self-published two of my previous short stories for Amazon Kindle (See the Published Works Page for the link). They came out so long ago that the rights have reverted back to me and I’m putting them back out into the world. I will do the same for my other stories too (both published and unpublished). I view my short stories as marketing for an eventual longer work. The short stories are cheaper and shorter in length, so if someone is unsure whether they want to buy a novel, they can buy a story and see if they like me.

And I am writing a novel. I still have a long way to go, but I’m making progress. Like I said, those two acceptances have been great for my motivation. I’m hoping to be done with a first draft by September 1st.

Also, I have four other short stories that either need to be finished or rewritten. I’d like to get them submitted too.

So, in the last half of the year, I have a novel draft to finish and four short stories to work on. I’d like to self-publish two more stories (one in 3rd quarter and one in 4th quarter), get two more acceptances, and have a complete draft of my novel. That’s a lot, but I like aiming at big goals.

Finally, I quit X (Twitter) last fall, but I have joined Instagram. Feel free to follow me here.

Hope everyone’s summer is fun and productive!

Jun 2

3 Strategies I Use to Keep Writing with a Day Job

So here are three strategies, I use to get my writing done while holding down a day job.

Read more

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »