Category Archives: Inspiration

And

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In my Friday night writing group our prompt was to pick a word for the year as a guide and companion. The prompt was based on a blog Nevada City poet Molly Fisk wrote about finding a word as an alternative to a list of resolutions. It turned out to be the perfect catalyst for finding my own word for 2013.

My word was AND. It arrived with a pop after mulling over words like ALLOW and FLOW (as in go with the flow). I even considered some hyphenated words, like sovereign-self. I read that in a book and loved the idea of being a sovereign-self the way Native Americans have sovereign laws and lands.

I thought of choosing two words. WHAT and IF are two of my favorite word combos. WHAT IF is almost as good as AND.

I thought of my favorite phrases, but the process was getting away from me so I went back to the one word. The one true word to carry with me for an entire year.

My ego wanted a word that was unique and cool, so I tried to shake off AND. But no, the lowly and overused and much abused AND was my word. The AND of run-on sentences.

And yet, simply saying it out loud lifted my spirits.  I realized that AND has a higher calling, maybe even the highest calling of all words. It’s definitely loftier than OR and more decisive than BUT.

It’s inclusive. It means I can work on two novels simultaneously. I don’t have to choose. I could even work on three at once if I wanted to, and write short stories and prose poems and….

AND works across all areas of life. It brings relief to any obstacle or setback. I can feel sad AND know I’m still okay. It’s liberating to add any amount of them to wish lists and goals. It’s a word that means infinity, endless acceptance, endless adventure, experiences and possibilities.

Do you have a guiding word for 2013?

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Expand or Contract?

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Two articles appeared in front of me today. One felt like a door closing and the other one expanded my outlook on life.

The first was in the Fast Company online newsletter by Francine Hardaway, Why Blogging is Dead—and What’s Next.

I hope it’s a lingering death. I love reading others’ blogs and writing mine. I believe people want to be heard and also want to discover new things.

The second article, The Art of Being Still by Silas House, was about writing, my favorite subject. House once asked novelist and poet James Still for his writing advice. Still’s answer was to “discover something new every day.”

Most answers to that question advise you to sit at your laptop for a specific number of hours, or attend workshops/conferences or join writing groups. All good, but limited compared to “discover something new every day.”

For me, what I learn from reading blogs has expanded my life in many areas, not just writing. I’ve read amazing poetry and learned about new writing forms like postcard fiction and tried out a few of them. Each click on a blog is a new discovery. I especially like reading About Me pages. It reminds me that our world is filled with people I’d like to know better.

According to the “blogging is dead” article, in the future people will do all their reading on mobile devices, so long forms like blogs won’t be viable.  I like Twitter, etc., but also think that whatever platform(s) replaces the blog will have to offer enough content for me to “discover something new every day.”

Overcoming Resistance on Your Writing Journey

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I bought the book, The War of Art, Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, by Steven Pressfield for a young artist/musician and seeker. I skimmed it and thought the references to war and battle would be attractive to a male. And he loved it. He even read parts of it to me that he thought I’d like. And I did, so I bought a copy for myself and read the entire book in one sitting. I’ve read a number of books about writing motivation, so some of it was familiar, but every time I read something like this, or re-read, it reaches a new place in me that needed to hear it. There were many such places in this book.

The book is written in three sections: Part One, Defining the Enemy; Book Two, Turning Pro; and Book Three, The Higher Realm. Here are a few gems on resistance:

“Resistance is most powerful at the finish line.” It’s true. Right now, I have a finished draft of my mystery, Focused on Murder, and have sent it out to exactly one agent. This section turned a light on my resistance. I fooled myself into thinking there weren’t enough hours in the day to research agents and send out queries and synopses when I wanted to take on the 50,000 words in one month NaNoWriMo challenge. I’ve done great with that and have a first draft of a brand new novel, but my finished novel sits.

Resistance and Procrastination. “Procrastination is the most common manifestation of resistance because it’s the easiest to rationalize. We don’t tell ourselves I’m never going to write my symphony. Instead, we say, I’m going to write my symphony, I’m just going to start tomorrow.”

Resistance and Unhappiness. “As artists and professionals it is our obligation to enact our own internal revolution, a private, insurrection within our skulls.”

Resistance and Healing. “Remember, the part of us that we imagine needs healing is not the part we create from; that part is far deeper and stronger.” The part we create from can’t be touched by anything our parents did, or society did. That part is unsullied, uncorrupted; soundproof, waterproof, and bulletproof. In fact, the more troubles we’ve got, the better and richer that part becomes. The part that needs healing is our personal life. Personal life has nothing to do with work. Besides, what better way of healing than to find our center of self-sovereignty? Isn’t that the whole point of healing?”

I hope you, too, find something in these words that helps you in your writing journey.

Thankful for Notebooks

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I’m thankful for just about everything: family, friends, pets, and all the material items that make my life pleasant.

In addition, I’m thankful for notebooks, journals, tablets, sketchbooks of any size, with lines, graphs, or blank. As a lefty, I generally write diagonally across a page, sometimes starting from the back and working to the front, sometimes going upside down or in spirals. I scribble and doodle and make messes all over the page and can barely read what I’ve written. They’re like sand sculptures, precious only in the moment.

A direct link to my heart

Some notebooks are my friends, some are my shrinks, some hold my stories and others tell me their stories. Always, they are my companions. I don’t get out of bed in the morning without writing in one. They tell me how I feel and how to design my day. I keep them in my car, bag, pockets, and other places too. When life gets confused or chaotic, I head to the notebook. It reflects my spirit and reveals my truth.

Who wouldn’t be thankful that so much joy could come from something so simple?

Storyboarding Ideas for NaNo

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It’s day thirteen of the NaNoWriMo challenge. My head has been down and fingers flying over the keyboard, and now it’s time to step back and plan ahead.

My characters, setting and first act are in place, I know how it’s going to end and most of the plot elements, but in order to tell my story in a way that will engage my readers and keep them guessing but not confused or bored, I need a guideline.

I prefer a visual roadmap so outlining is not for me. In the past, I’ve used the Mary Carroll Moore W and liked its simplicity and the help it offers with ascending and descending action.

Last March I attended Alexandra Sokoloff’s workshop at Left Coast Crime and immediately bought her book, Screenwriting Tricks for Authors. The grid is more complex but Sokoloff offers lots of good tips and advice.

Most recently, I read a blog post by an author in my Sisters in Crime chapter, who draws the scenes on her storyboard. I’m not an illustrator, but I’m going to try using a combination of Sokoloff’s index card/sticky note method and include drawings of key scenes.

Who says a writer can’t be creatively organized and crank out 1700 words a day? I’m always interested in hearing what works for other writers, and would love your suggestions.