Tag Archives: Writers

Confuse Your Writing Muscles

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I’ve been attending Kaia F.I.T., a women’s exercise program three mornings a week and am now on my fifth week. The philosophy is to confuse the muscles for improved strength and tone. You won’t find giant exercise machines jammed into the room. Sometimes we work with jump ropes or resistance bands or kettlebells or even huge tires. We run, do lunges, sit ups, squats, pushups and all variations of body work, sometimes individually, or with partners, and we often move from station to station, constantly changing from one type of exercise to another. The sessions work our brains as well, keeping track of variations in sequences and repetitions. Afterward, my body aches and yet I feel great because I’ve done something I didn’t know I could do. And I’m getting stronger every day.

What does a woman’s exercise program have to do with a blog about writing? I wondered what would happen if I applied the same philosophy to confuse my writing muscles.

Writers are advised to stick to a writing routine and never let anything deter us. But what if we mix it up and create a writing schedule that changes direction at intervals? I’m going to try it for one week and see what happens.

For example:

  • If you always journal in longhand at 7 am, head to the laptop and do a prompt or write a nonfiction piece
  • If you’re working on memoir, mystery, romance, literary, sci fi, historical, or poetry, do something entirely different like postcard fiction or flash fiction for twenty minutes
  • If you always write alone, call a friend to write with you
  • If you don’t have any writing friends, join a group
  • If you’re in a group, go on hiatus
  • If you write at a desk, take your laptop to the sofa or stand at a counter
  • If you’ve never done NaNoWriMo before, do it. You can start anytime

After a week, check in with yourself. Have you stretched your writing muscles? Are they a little rusty from disuse? Does it feel good to surprise yourself?

In the effort of full disclosure, I can’t take credit for jumping into a rigorous exercise routine all on my own. My daughter talked about how much fun it was and how all ages of women were involved. She encouraged me and invited me to a couple of tryout sessions, and when I was discouraged, she told me everyone had a hard time at first and that I was doing great and she was proud of me.

And that brings me to my last suggestion for today’s blog. If you don’t have someone in your life who pushes you a little, encourages you and believes in you, find someone like that or be that person for yourself.  Now get out there and get confused!

NaNoWriMo Begins November 1

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Back in Feburary I posted a blog, How NaNoWriMo Changed my Writing Habit and in it I talked about how easy it was for me to keep to the writing schedule during that month. I thought I’d changed my usual habit of procrastination for all time. Not exactly!

Last week in my Friday writing group, I wrote this piece about procrastination in response to one of our prompts:

DRAFT FOUR

Boot up laptop, organize notes, open novel

Get coffee

Make two trips back to kitchen to perfect ratio of coffee to soy creamer

Sit at laptop. Find page 246

Old girl’s toenails click on hardwood, white muzzle appears at office door

Fill her food dish, add one tab Benedryl , one-half tab arthritis med, one-half tab pain med

Sit at laptop

Coffee is cold. Trip to kitchen to warm in microwave

Old Girl has spit out her meds

Wrap a chunk of last night’s chicken breast around pills and pop in her mouth

Sit at laptop

Read first sentence of Chapter Twenty. Too many prepositions. Reword it

Read again. Too choppy. Add prepositions, but not as many

Check emails. Friends tell about new haircut, how the kids are doing, how busy they are

Respond to emails. Tell friends about weekend plans and new gray sofa

Look at clock. Close gmail

Read first page of Chapter Twenty. Decide that it should be part of Chapter Nineteen so cut and paste

Check Facebook. Niece posted adorable photos of new twins. Six political commentaries, a hs classmate so proud in his camo outfit, shot an Elk and posted photo of its severed head. Delete photo

Check time. Close Facebook and resume editing novel

Old Girl whines for a walk

Close laptop, find shoes, jacket, key

Slow circuit around block takes longer every day

Open laptop

Chapter Nineteen no longer ends on a cliffhanger.  Delete last change and add back to beginning of Chapter Twenty

Stomach growls

Read paper with breakfast

Check time. Open laptop

Redundant third paragraph on page 292. Reword

Phone rings. He asks, How’s the writing going?

She says, Worked all morning. Need a break!

NaNoWriMo starts in two days and I’m gearing up to write again. I’m hoping for a repeat of my good record last time. If you are doing NaNo this year I’d love to hear how it’s going for you. I plan to blog about the process as the month, and my writing progresses!

Change of Seasons

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This morning I did a reverse spring cleaning, washing and airing out all my bedding. Fall hasn’t arrived yet in California but it’s right around the corner. I thought my purpose in stripping the bed and washing comforters was to prepare for a new season, until I was struck by the symbolism of it all.

I’ve nearly finished my final draft of Focused on Murder and am gearing up for the next step  by mentally clearing away the past season of writing and editing  to make space for a new effort: Publishing my book.

Frightful

Publishing a book is one more step in a long list of scary transitions that must take place to get a book from conception to making its way into the world.

It used to be easier: Do your research.  Find agents who handle your type of book, send queries and wait. If agents like your pitch, they ask to see the first chapter and a synopsis. Months later, you might get a letter saying it wasn’t what they were looking for. Or they might want to take you on as a client, but then might not be able to sell your book to a publisher.

The outcome is out of your control so all you can do is keep trying to get one of the gatekeepers to let you in the magic door. It wasn’t easier to get published, just less complicated when the outcome of your work was decided by someone else.

Change of Focus

Today, an almost overwhelming smorgasbord of options exists to get a book published. Of course, tackling anything new is daunting but diving under those clean sheets and comforter and hibernating rather than taking on the unknown was not an option. Instead, I chose to look at it with a certain alert curiosity and an expanding mindset that:

  • Turns toward a new experience with anticipation
  • Welcomes a chance to learn something new
  • Loves an adventure
  • Takes charge of my own destiny to make my own decisions and my own mistakes.

But for right now, my next steps are to do research and make the bed.

Be Kind!

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Today’s blog is about critiquing etiquette. Few things rile me more than bullies, and I’m not talking about junior high kids. When we writers put our work out there, we open ourselves up to criticism. Sometimes we solicit feedback and sometimes we don’t, but it’s never easy to swallow negative comments, even when they’re done right.

The catalyst for my writing on this subject was a heavy-handed and unsolicited critique received by a friend and published writer that left her feeling demoralized. It’s difficult enough to break into the world of being a published author without having someone stomp all over your self-esteem. We all are good at doing that to ourselves already.

Here are some of the phrases used in the offending critique:

  • I’m going to give you a lesson in….
  • I rewrote the scene.
  • Your problem is…
  • This makes no sense.

Comments like these are red flags that this person is a thug. My guidelines for setting boundaries to combat this kind of verbal abuse are simple:

  • Never allow anyone to take your voice from you and replace it with his/her own. Suggestions and examples are fine, but to re-write someone else’s work is wrong. As a writer, you have your own distinct style (even if it is not yet fully formed) and you must protect it.
  • Never allow anyone to affect how you feel about yourself or your writing. Do not give them that power over you.

Respect the Writer

I’d like to remind those who critique other people’s writing that it’s an act of courage to show one’s work to others. Remember the old adage: Treat others the way you would like to be treated.

As an editor in the corporate and nonprofit world for many years, I have worked with countless people to help them improve their writing. It’s daunting enough for them to look at a page of red marks without belittling them as well. Most of the people I’ve worked with are not writers. They’re experts in a particular field and are expected or required to produce reports documenting their findings or research. They are usually highly skilled and knowledgeable about their areas of expertise, and yet often feel vulnerable and insecure when it comes to writing. A good editor handles those communications with tact, consideration and above all, respect.

I recently reread Neil Gaiman’s 8 Rules of Writing. Two of those are especially helpful in regard to what other’s think about your writing:

  • Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.
  • The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it ­honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

And finally, if a writer asks for your feedback, be honest. Honesty and kindness can go hand in hand.

Birthing a Blog

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I’ve been writing this blog for nine months and here’s what I wrote in my first entry last January about why I started it:

“Over the years I’ve attended writer’s conferences, workshops and countless author readings. I’ve read a library of books and many blogs on the art and craft of writing. Some of the most insightful and helpful ideas about writing have come to me through the generosity of others who shared what they picked up along the way.

“I started this blog to continue that tradition and to cast my net in hopes that writers attracted to this site will find something useful that might help with their own journeys.”

Those statements are still true today, but I didn’t mention another reason a private and introverted person like me wanted to blog. I wanted to change, to be less afraid to put myself out there for the world to see. I’d written a draft of a novel and realized that I’d never get anywhere unless I learned how to get comfortable with showing my work.

Last week I posted the first chapter of my finished mystery novel and the difference in how I felt when I hit the Publish button this time compared to that first time showed how much I’ve changed and grown. The first time felt like I had stepped off a cliff into a bottomless ravine. Now, when I step off a cliff, I know there is a safety net. And that’s because of you.

Gratitude

I want to thank all the people who have checked out, liked, followed, and taken the time to comment on my posts. It warms my heart every time someone makes that connection. It gives me hope for humanity that even in an election season, even when there is so much wrong in the world, there are still people who want to share something positive and who take the time to do so.

Learning and Growing

Your blogs have introduced me to new writing genres and styles, photography, design, art and spiritual guidance. They’ve led to insights that have made me more aware and definitely more knowledgeable.

Some of the outstanding people I’ve connected with during the past nine months have nominated me for awards and I want to acknowledge how grateful I am.

Janet Koops nominated me for the Genuine Blogger and Reader Appreciation Awards. She introduced me to Postcard Fiction and I love it.  If you want to read some great short fiction, check out her blog: postcardfictiondotcom.wordpress.com

                       

fstopfun nominated me for The Versatile Blogger Award. He’s an artist and photographer who has a great big heart. Check him out at: http://fstopfun.com/

Catriona nominated me for the Sunshine Award. She’s a poet, writer, photographer and works in human rights development. Check her out at: luckydiplife.wordpress.com

          I know part of the reward process is to pass award nominations on to others. I’ll be doing that in one of my next posts. Thanks again for your support and encouragement!