Be Happy Where You Are #IWSG #AMWRITING
[I wrote this post as a member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group where we share our worries and also offer support and encouragement to each other on the first Wednesday of every month. If you’re a writer like me and you’re looking for a bit of support, you can click the link and sign up here
Thank you to our awesome co-hosts this month:Feather Stone, Beverly Stowe McClure, Mary Aalgaard, Kim Lajevardi, and Chemist Ken!
Check out our IWSG homepage for recent news and events. And as always, thank you to founder Alex J. Cavaugh 🙂
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Does writing make you happy? Is it the process of writing, the creative juices that flow as you find yourself spinning a new world, new characters, and all the possibilities? What is it about the craft that draws you the most?
I think for me, its the time I spend in another place, another head, and envision all the lessons I can share, or wish I would have learned for myself. I think it’s diving into a problem solving world, and one I know I can control and change.
Right now, I’ve spent the last ten months working with my editor to develop my manuscript into something I know I”ll be proud of one day. I’m not as far as I want to be, only 31K in. I wish I had twice the world count, but right now life is a balance. I can’t write all the time. I can have a schedule to help myself, but my schedule is sort of blown.
This month’s IWSG question asks: : “Do you have any rituals that you use when you need help getting into the ZONE? Care to share?”
I’m finding new routines. I don’t write as much as I want. But when I do write, I write with purpose and each minute is maximized.
My routine goes as follows:
I have to have a cup of coffee.
Then I grab a few necessary props: A favorite book in my same genre and same voice as my own work, my rough plot outline, and most recently my iPad. Lately my dogs can’t seem to let me work at my computer station, howling and crawling up my leg until they are both plopped in my lap with one of my fluffiest blankets.
Once I am in my perfect spot on the couch, I always begin writing the same way. If I’m creating new content, I first read a chapter in my favorite book and decipher what works and what pace the author set successfully. After I’ve read the chapter I turn to mine. I analyze my plot sketch. I study my own flow and consider whether I’ve been too wordy and need to cut description in order to maintain a reasonable pace. I reread and adjust words. I adjust dialogue and add writing tags. I usually go paragraph by paragraph, writing then rereading, editing, and then on to begin another new paragraph. This technique seems to keep the character motive fresh in my head. It also helps me analyze whether or not what I’ve written is true to character.
I write maybe a couple of days of week. Would I like to write every day? Definitely. But I don’t beat myself up.All we can do is be happy and do what we can with where we are and with what we have.
Happy IWSG Day 🙂
Make the Best of Today
The Author Toolbox Blog Hop is “a monthly blog hop on the theme of resources/learning for authors: posts related to the craft of writing, editing, querying, marketing, publishing, blogging tips for authors, reviews of author-related products, anything that an author would find helpful.” Want to jump into the writing tool box? Search #AuthorToolboxBlogHop or to join via blog, click here.
Recently, life has taken on some sort of intangible new shape and I’ve got nothing brilliant to post this month. Next month, I promise to be back. I wish you all happiness, health, and good spirits as we continue to trot through these strange swirly times.
Happy Hop Day.
Living the Waiting Game #IWSG #amwriting #SciFiTimes
[I wrote this post as a member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group where we share our worries and also offer support and encouragement to each other on the first Wednesday of every month. If you’re a writer like me and you’re looking for a bit of support, you can click the link and sign up here]
This month’s awesome Co-Hosts feature other fabulous writing friends with me:
CDiane Burton, JH Moncrieff, Anna @ Emaginette, Karen @ Reprobate Typewriter, and Lisa Buie-Collard!
Check out our IWSG homepage for recent news and events. And as always, thank you to founder Alex J. Cavaugh 🙂
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A reflection on my life based on the IWSG Question this month:
In early March, my mother began to take the warnings of the spreading virus seriously. I gave some thought to it, and started being more careful going out and about, and strangely, I also started buying cleaning supplies. Spring Break quickly approached, and I knew several families including my own had plans to fly out of the state. Never the country. Thank goodness. Though I did hear of a few families who were adamant they would keep their plans to fly overseas and relief came when the greater government entities stepped in and forced them to stay put.
On the work front, I’m in the field of Education. Though buildings have closed through the end of April, I’m in Public Relations and currently called in to work because it’s an essential need. Administration is busy prepping food, serving families in school parking lots, and organizing online and paper Education packets for all grades. My fiancé is also called in to work, employed in a pharmaceutical plant. We’re nervous, glad to have steady work though, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say the drive down the road to work and back isn’t scary.
So what is my plan now? I’m homeschooling the kids several days a week. They maintain a schedule with bedtimes and rising times, and thanks to my youngest daughter’s teacher, I have an hour-by-hour or topic by topic powerpoint to follow. Bless the teachers! I made my first online grocery order for a curbside pickup. It took four days to schedule the pick-up, but I feel better about the arrangement. I’ve rearranged my basement so the kids and I can get online exercise every day. Amazon Prime has some great free options for workouts, no matter your preference.
On the writing front, I just started editing and writing again this past week. I’ve been so worked up I haven’t been able to find the creative flow. I guess I figured I better try, because it feels like this is a longer road than any of us know. So I wear gloves, I carry hand-sanitizer in my car, my desk, and in every room of the house. We’re certainly living science fiction times, and I pray everyone says safe and follows guidelines for the sake of others. On a lighter note, I’ve found several great quotes to consider:
The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof. — Barbara Kingsolver
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. ― Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter
To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless. ― G.K. Chesterton
Everything that is done in this world is done by hope. — Martin Luther
Digital Books During Isolated Times #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop
The Author Toolbox Blog Hop is “a monthly blog hop on the theme of resources/learning for authors: posts related to the craft of writing, editing, querying, marketing, publishing, blogging tips for authors, reviews of author-related products, anything that an author would find helpful.” Want to jump into the writing tool box? Search #AuthorToolboxBlogHop or to join via blog, click here.
Currently, my entire town has been asked to quarantine until April 6. City offices are closed, events with over 10 people are closed, which means the local libraries have extended due dates on books until their doors reopen in April. This date may change.
We’ll make it. I believe we will eventually conquer and thrive again 🙂
Considering all of these surreal events, this month I’m thinking about the importance of eBooks and what it means to author and writers. Do audiences find e-books as easily? Do covers matter as much? Will the publishing industry change again, completely focused on them? I’m not %100 sure, but I have been cruising around the internet reviewing different articles on the dos and dont’s. So far, I like the list of dont’s because I’ve learned a great deal. I am also happy we have eBooks during these isolated times to escape our walls in our own homes.
A list of favorite eBook tips:
From Owlcation by author Jennifer Wilber on 10 Reasons Why eBooks are Better Than Print, I got a couple of great reasons to consider eBooks over print:
- They can be read in the dark
- New releases are usually cheaper
- Viewers have multiple font options
- eBooks have no late fees from libraries (my favorite one)
- My own added tip: eBooks are sanitary as long as your screen is clean and your fingers are too 🙂
From Publish Green on The Important of a Professional eBook Cover, I got:
- With all the eBooks on the market today, it is important as an author that your eBook cover makes a lasting first impression.
- The cover makes your eBook stand out on similar topics with other authors. I know I’ve drawn to the beauty of a cover first. Publish Green also offers eBook cover designs.
My favorite thorough article on both benefits and drawbacks of eBooks came from Investopedia:
- E-readers may cause eye strain, and some screens are not easy to read in sunlight.
- I also learned the expenses to consider when making eBooks such as the added technology cost of formatting the eBook for multiple reading platforms as well as the conversion cost of print formats to electronic files.
What about you? What number one tip do you have about what has gone well or what you might change regarding eBooks?
Happy Hop Day.
