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Posts tagged ‘writing’

Apr 13

#1 Trick for Writing Everyday

You can do everything right. You’re in the right head space. You sit down to write and then –BOOM! – you find yourself drifting off on some day-dream that has nothing to do with the story your writing. What happened? You did so well yesterday and thought you would be ready for the next, but nothing seems to be happening. You stare at the words you wrote yesterday, but nothing else is flowing.

I used to waste a lot of time trying to get back into the flow of the story. Try as I could, sometimes I couldn’t get back the magic that I had the previous day. Sometimes I could push through and get some good work in. Other times, I stayed lost and I resigned myself to getting something written, even something bad.

But a while ago (like 15 years or so), I learned a trick to keep the bad days of writing at bay. (Most of them. I still have a few.) I’ve used this idea consistently and it never lets me down.

I always end my writing day in the middle of a sentence.

If I do this, I always have an easier time finding my way back into the head space of a story. It’s like a pause in the middle of a thought, a metaphorical breadcrumb to the story, that I can restart again by reading back the words I wrote the day before.

I’m not one of those marathon writers that sits for 12-18 hours hammering out story. My brain shuts down around 8 pm. I have a day job. I need to work out and eat food and sleep. Life stuff. So I pause my thoughts a lot when I write. It’s so much easier the next day when I pick up the story. I finish the sentence and then, I usually write another one.

And another. And another…

The only time this fails is when I complete the story. No more sentences to finish. My work around now is to have multiple projects going. If I finish one, I have something else that can be finished. If I get a new idea, I can start that. I always get a new idea. Ideas, as you may have heard, are cheap and plentiful. Completed stories are much more rare.

I find this trick gets me writing every time. Gets me to the finish line. Gets me to my goals.

Good luck and happy writing.

Apr 11

Finding the Time

Cherry trees have blossomed.

One thing posting everyday has taught me — I have time to write. Sometimes it feels like I have zero time. My day job has drained me, or I have plans that take me away from my desk all day. Most days, however, I have a few minutes to write.

Went to the doctor this week and she encouraged me to get back into regular exercise. I thought, When is that going to happen? After work, no that is writing time. It’s going to be first thing in the morning for now. Maybe later I’ll change them. I used to be a “write first thing in the morning and workout in the evening” person. We’ll see. I can always change if I think the routine isn’t working.

In the past, people have always said, “When I have time, I’ll write.”

I always respond with, “You’ll never have time to write. You have to make time.”

But you knew that didn’t you (if you are a fellow writer)? Now I’m learning that I have to make time for everything else. Heck, even my grand plan to watch all of the GOT episodes before the season premiere on Sunday went awry. Last Sunday, as I started, I didn’t realize that Killing Eve was having a marathon. So GOT went on the back burner, Sandra Oh needed me now. And that day I still had to fit in a blog post, writing, reading more my friend’s novel, and grocery shopping. And some folks have way, way more responsibilities than me (like kids or aging parents). We do the best we can by making time for the important stuff.

And this month long challenge reminded me that I do consider my writing important. That I can carve out time to write (even a few paragraphs a day) among the craziness of life. This is important to me and I can make time for it. Everyday.

Apr 8

The Stories We Tell

I’ve been thinking a lot about storytelling. I think it is because my novel hit a wall and I realized I have to rethink the story. I haven’t figured it out yet, but I’ve been trying different versions to see what works. So far I haven’t found anything I like.

I have other short stories that I’ve started and not finished. I could work on them too. Like I said before, one of my goals is to write 6 new short stories this year (along with a novel). So far I’ve finished one. We’re into the fourth month of the year, so I need to get going. I don’t want to wake up and it’s November and I haven’t done anything.

Watching TV sometimes help. As some critics have said, we are in a golden age of TV. (Anyone else ready for the final season of Game of Thrones?) There are so many shows on TV and different ways of telling a story. Last night was the season premiere of Killing Eve and I love the storytelling on that show. It unfolds with these unbelievable circumstances, but their actions are completely in tune with each character. I just love it. My guilty pleasure.Also I find more plot driven shows, help me see a beginning, middle and end. Seeing how the writers lead the viewers on an arch is becoming helpful.

I’ve also been rereading myths. Why do some people become heroes and others become villains? What makes them good? Why does the audience care about them?

These are all the questions I’ve been exploring to help me write. My main character in my novel has conflict, but I’m not sure why she is doing what she is doing. I don’t understand her motivation. I guess I don’t know her well enough. You’d think after years, I would know more. Just goes to show that characters are always changing and surprising you.

One thing is for sure. The more I think about this in my writing, the better my writing is going to get. I’m not much of a spontaneous writer. I always leave some room for surprise, but I don’t like to just write and see where it goes. Nope. Not that kind of writer. I like to know my stories well. I’ll memorize the passages and live in the character’s heads for a while. Then I can write the story, their story, the way it should be.

Apr 4

Two Years – Still Consumer Debt Free

About two years ago, I paid off the last of my graduate school bills. I got my Masters in May 2015 and for two years I sacrificed and worked to pay the degree off. It was tough, but I had paid off debt before (my undergrad degree and my car), so I knew I could do it.

Two years later, I’m still consumer debt free. I do have a mortgage, so I don’t consider myself totally out of debt. It hasn’t been hard, I love being debt free. There is no part of me that wants to go out and charge up my cards, or make any other foolish money decisions.

Why?

Because of the freedom I have now. I can spend my money on the now (regular monthly bills) and the future (savings & retirement), instead of the past.

But paying off debt also gave me something else. It reminded me that doing something long-term, eventually pays off. I had forgotten about that side effect.

Writing can sometimes be lonely and isolating. But sticking with a long-term project like a novel, or a collection of stories will eventually pay off. For me, just knowing that I did something empowers me. I’ve written novels before and they didn’t sell. No one wanted them. However, knowing that I could do it gave me the confidence to write more. Sooner or later, I’m going to write a novel that sells.

Apr 3

Write Different Pieces to Fire Up Your Creativity

I’ll tell you a secret.

I write really bad poetry.

It’s cheesy and rhymes. There is no point to a lot of them. They ramble on and on…

But I write them to write. They are in my head, so I write them down and then moved on to something else. When I was younger (like a teenager), I would write every idea that came into my head in spiral notebooks. I still have those ideas and half written stories in a box somewhere. Many of them are bad, but I wasn’t writing them to show anyone or to publish. I wrote them because I wanted to write.

I do this now mostly in my personal journal. I write about my day (or week) and then move on to the next piece. I have no intention of showing anyone my journal ever. Really it can be quite boring.

Some people may think, “What’s the point of writing stuff no one will read?”

Well… it does take the pressure off. Writing the poetry and the journals help me write with out expectation. No one will read it, so it doesn’t have to be great literature, or even make sense. I’m just writing to blow off steam, or create. It can be stupid, sentimental, words that make everyone roll their eyes if they read it, but it doesn’t matter because no one will.

For me, this freedom helps me move on to the other work that I want to share. Writing in my journal helps me write on this blog. Every now and then, I’ll say to myself, “This would make a good post!” So I take note and write the idea down. The bad poetry helps me think about images or ideas that I may explore in my fiction.

Sometimes I even write stories that I have no intention of submitting. Those stories help me work out a character, or a setting, or some technique I want to work on. I remember writing and erotica story just to get better at sex scenes. I didn’t like any of my previous attempts, but when I deliberately set out to write something sexy, my writing changed. I think it got better. But that story is in the (so called) trunk. It served its purpose and I’ve moved on.

Give yourself permission to write the bad stuff. It’ll help you grow. You’ll have fun. Don’t worry about what someone else is going to think. You’re not going to show anyone anyway.

Mar 6

It’s Almost Spring 2019!

The first two months of the year are done. My winter season was pretty boring, as I spent most of it recovering and hunkering down in the snow. No blizzards this year (Yay!), but snow doesn’t make me want to get out in the world. I’d rather stay and sip hot chocolate.

But I haven’t forgotten about my goals this year. I’m pleased to write that I did finish a new story. So one down five more to go. Hey if I write one every other month, I’ll complete that goal.

One other development is a bit tough to swallow. For over a year, I’ve been stuck in almost the same place in my book. I keep saying I will work on it, but the truth is that I’ve been avoiding it. A few days ago, I took a hard look at it and asked myself why I wasn’t working on it. It wasn’t because I wasn’t working. I wrote a few stories. I still hand write almost every week in my journal. I even update this blog every so often.

Why, then, had I barely made any progress in over a year on this novel?

The answer: It’s the wrong book. I love the main character and I love her story, but this is not the book I should be writing. I had tried to write a more commercial books with mystery and magic, but that’s not the writer that I am. I need to rethink how I’m going to tell this story.

And probably start all over again. *Heavy Sigh*

This is not the first time this happened. The first time I started this story I stopped after about a thousand words because it was wrong. Now I’m doing it again. Well, at least I know what NOT to do. I’m not throwing everything away, but it needs a major redraft. I am excited by this. If I can figure it out, the book can move forward. Progress! If not, I may have hit a dead-end and need to start a whole new book. We’ll see. I’ll give it another month or so.

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