Tuesday, February 22, 2011
February 2011 archive
Published author? Click on the “For Authors” tab above and request one of the author interviews for WIP readers. We’ll send you the questions and schedule your responses as an upcoming post. Feel free to pass us along to your other published friends. Everyone loves an author interview!
Unpublished author? Click on the “For Authors” tab above and in the request box, send me your most pressing writing questions. Craft, business, creativity, markets…hit me with your best shot! I’ll use your questions as upcoming posts and give you all the credit 
Monday, February 21, 2011
Monday Market 2/21
Do you have a short story or two you haven’t quite been able to market? Here’s a helpful post with links to ten print publications that accept fiction, poetry and/or nonfiction. Read the guidelines carefully–there are a few more literary markets mentioned. Oh, and good luck!
10 Print Publications That Publish Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry by Heather Carriero at Yahoo’s Associated Content
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Where Does Your Writing Come From?
I’m reading Martha Beck’s “Finding Your Own North Star” (again) and am struck by her thought that we humans operate, in essence, from two distinct points of view: our essential self and our social self.
When our essential selves–that part of us tht lives from passion and seeks out the pure joy in the experience of life, the self that wants to do big and amazing and grand things–and our social selves–the skils and actions and behaviors we assume to get us moving in the direction of achieiving the dreams of our essential selves–are in alignment, we can’t be stopped. When the connection between the two is clear, strong and working as one, life is beyond good.
But what about when they’re not? What if your social self keeps you chained to a job that you hate just for the paycheck? Or your essential self stays hidden beneath a pile of meaningless to-do work that you find little, if any, excitement in? This disconnect can wreak major havoc and lead to somethink akin to sleep-walking through life.
I’m interested in this idea (an idea I fully support) from the perspective of the writer. So often, we find ourselves feeling mentally challenged and sometimes even reluctant to face the page, to get words down, to send out our work, to make pitch appointments, and that can disrupt our forward motion toward our goals of becoming published at whatever level we decide equates to success for us. Is this disconnect because our essential selves don’t move toward writing or because our social selves are going about the writing process in the wrong way? Are we feeling creatively empty because the social self has an expectation to publish books–a social representation of our work–a product–or because we would rather be writing nonfiction or memoir or fantasy or mysteries instead of the genre we’re in? Do we blame writer’s block for our inability to put words onto paper because our social self has heard that excuse umpteen times, or do we attempt to write out our frustrations instead of working on our novels because we know that we can uncover a glimmer of excitement if we just weed out the negativity?
The question, then, becomes more “where are you writing from” rather than a “why are you writing”? When you’re feeling frustrated with writing, is it the process or the product impeding your progress? Is it a disconnect between your actions and your true, essential desires? More importantly, how do you get back to writing from your true, essential self when the social self causes problems?
Are you writing from your essential self or your social self? And what does your essential self *really* want from your writing actions? I’d love to know.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Twitter Tuesday 2/15
Blog posts that caught my eye on Twitter last week:
Blogging Tips: 6 Types of Twitter Tools That Come in Handy: http://dld.bz/K247 (more Twitter, less writing-focused)
Publishing Perspectives’ Dirty Girls and Self-Publishing: The Tricks of the Trade (fascinating…how a million-selling author went to self-publishing) http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/02/self-publishing-the-tricks-of-the-trade/
Joseph Finder’s (and other authors’) writing desk at Joseph Finder’s blog: http://bit.ly/h52RhR
Adventures In Children’s Writings’ Writer’s Tools: Worksheets & More: http://dld.bz/cXmN
Elizabeth Gilbert’s discussion on creativity (a video–and I don’t do videos. But this one challenged my thinking. Well worth the time) TED Talks http://bit.ly/hYnRcE
Andrew Jack’s Writing: Ten Websites for Writers Ten Websites For Writers http://wp.me/pyMqx-cR
Monday, February 14, 2011
Market Monday: Paying Personal Essay Markets
Today’s market listing is actually a past post from The Writer Abroad’s blog. I really like how she injects bits of herself and her own writing/submitting process to the markets. And I really love the idea of pitching your own essay series to a publication currently not running essays. Might have to give that a try…
The Writer Abroad’s Paying Personal Essay Markets
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Writing, Zen and You
A friend of mine has been going through a lot of complicated relationship issues (non-writing) and has been struggling with emotionally distancing himself from a situation he’s not likely to ever resolve the way he wants to because of a multitude of factors. I picked up on the pattern of how he is forever obsessing either about the things he did in the past or the fact that he doesn’t feel much hope for the future of the relationship, and this lead me to ask how often he lives in the moment.
Years ago when I worked at a Yoga studio, I had the extreme fortune of working with a gifted zen meditation teacher and through discipline, incorporated several of her meditation techniques for living in the moment into my daily life (and writing process) and somewhat take for granted that I am able to shut off/shut out the real world when necessary to get things accomplished–including writing. I wanted him to think about living in the moment, about blocking out all those painful emotions and thoughts to get through the hard parts of life, or at least give it the old college try.
His reply–this is a person I’ve been friends with since the age of 11–really surprised me: “I have never lived for the moment for one single day of my life.” He said he’s always mentally reliving the past or freaking out about the future but has never stopped to see the beauty of the moment right now.
Naturally, as I processed this, I started thinking to writing–and I wonder how many writers suffer from this inability to just suspend themselves in the beauty of the moment(s) they are given to write and …well…just write…instead of wasting that time worrying about what they finished in the past, what they can’t do as writers, what they’re not doing as writers–or filling themselves with a fear about the future of their writing.
Do you spend your daily writing time ( you *do* have a daily writing time, don’t you?) lost in thought over things that have nothing to do with the work in front of you? How often do you face the page and find an inability to focus because of something else going on in a different area of your life? To be successful (however you define success for your own self and career, not just in terms of selling lots of books) in writing–or any creative endeavor, really–you have to train your mind to create a safe, comfortable, warm, nurturing space IN YOUR MIND from which to work on a regular basis. If you show up to the page and allow the worry, fear and just general life-junk to clutter your thought processes while you’re trying to create, you’re going to end up on a fast train to nowhere. That fast train–aka life–will derail you quicker than any writing obstacle can. If you never allow yourself the luxurious necessity of creatively absorbed moments, you’ll be stuck in those past vs. future thoughts.
And writing happens in the now. There’s no two ways about it.
If you’ve never thought on this before, what are your thoughts now? Or, if you’re successful at leaving the real world at bay while you create, what advice would you give writers who have a hard time suspending themselves from reality to write? I’m curious to see what you think on this. Writing is much a state of mind as it is a physical act–so how do you get yourself into that creative frame of mind?
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Twitter Tuesday 2/8
I come across links to some of the *best* blog posts on writing via Twitter. Instead of hogging them all, like I did with that bag of Hershey Kisses last week, I think I’ll start sharing them on Tuesday. (Blog posts, not chocolate. Sorry…)
Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorites:
from Darcy Pattison’s Fiction Notes Blog: Character checklist: http://tinyurl.com/yzwo9op
from Freelance Folder.com’s Blog: 7 Tips for Using Your LinkedIn Profile to Land Great Projects http://bit.ly/hsBCnP
from Liz Michalski at Writers Unboxed blog: Full Boil or Slow Simmer? (on the writing process) http://bit.ly/ej875o
from Natania Barron’s blog: Six Ways Twitter Can Make You A Better Writer: http://t.co/CcP7gPI
from Kristen Lamb’s Blog: Non-Fiction and Using Your Uniqueness to Become an Expert http://bit.ly/fLe0fq
from Julie Isaac’s The Writing Spirit blog: How to Write Daily (Or Meet Whatever Writing Goal You Set) More Easily http://blog.writingspirit.com/2010/11/write-daily-part-1.html
Stop by these great blogs. Read one, read ‘em all. Tell ‘em I sent ya. Then, get yourself on Twitter to find more great reading of your own! (and Tweet me up while you’re there: @Buckeye_BethM)
Any of these posts really strike a chord with you? Which ones? Why? I’d love to hear your thoughts…
Monday, February 7, 2011
Monday Markets: Women’s Memoirs contests
I love planning ahead–that’s why I love this listing of 2011 monthly memoir contests at Women’s Memoirs. Each month’s contest and deadline is listed so we can work those into our writing schedule–nice. If only all editorial calendars were so organized!
If you’ve got a memoir, they’ve got a contest. Stop by and check it out:
While you’re there, check out the site as well. Great food for thought if you’re a memoirist/essayist. Let us know what you enter!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
5 Ways to Become A Better Writer In 24 Hours
I love infomercials. My personal belief is that it’s a genetic quirk. If you’ve met my parents, you’ll know exactly what I mean. If there’s something new, improved or promises to give you a better life in an unrealistically short period of time, my parents will try it. Some people call them suckers, I call them adventurists. (I’m just glad I didn’t end up with a leopard-print Snuggie this Christmas).
In all the hype over get rich, get skinny, get beautiful quick schemes, I thought I’d jump in the mix with an infomercial of sorts for writers. Don’t worry, I’m not pawning anything off on you. No promises of writing more and publishing more, no insider secrets guaranteed to earn you millions. Just a couple of points to move your thinking in a more holistic way toward being a better writer regardless of genre and level of writing experience.
But wait, there’s more! If you act now, I’ll throw in a free post on Wednesday, too. How can you pass that up?
I think I’d better stop while I’m ahead. Besides, I just spilled my coffee. Where *is* that ShamWow?
5 Ways to Become a Better Writer in 24 Hours
Eliminate all whining, excuses and negativity
Life is too short and writing time is even shorter. When you continually bemoan your lack of a) published works b)money made from writing c) ability to finish a particular work d) time, energy, focus, …whatever it is you’re whining about, you immediately send your brain into negative mode. Negative mode is a time stealer and the real enemy to being a productive writer. Stop giving yourself excuses for not writing. Granted, real life loves wreaking havoc on your writing time (see below on how to plan for reality), but learn to simply accept setbacks and move on, not let them form like jagged ice crystals in your mind. When you let negative mode have its way with you, you preclude yourself from any type of writing success before you begin.
Forgive yourself
Life happens. Really. There are times we have grand plans to write, feel the urge to further our plot long into the night, have a second wind and the energy to do great things with our WIPs…then something pops up to derail our plans. It isn’t something strong enough to send us into negative mode, but it is strong enough to keep us from executing our writing goals for the moment. With that, we often subconsciously harbor guilt that we’re not paying enough attention to our writing when, in fact, simply through the act of deliberately planning to write we’re paying enough attention. When a stumbling block deters your moment, forgive yourself for the time you have to take from writing to focus on the real-world and forgive the time offender who took you away. Mindfully set your intention to get back to the writing as soon as humanly possible, then let the worry go. You’ll free up the feeling of guilt as well as freeing your mind to play with ideas from your WIP–a win/win on both accounts.
Show Up To the Page
I hear you–this is a no-brainer. But for some, this is the most difficult part of writing. At one time or another, some more than others, we set aside time in our days to write, to take time to focus our efforts on furthering our stories. But when the time comes to sit and write, a strange sort of fear paralyzes us into inaction. Personally, I’d often rather dust baseboards than start writing. I don’t know where to start or where to go, I feel apathy or frustration at my story. Whatever the reason, when you’ve set aside the time and have the ability, you MUST learn to face the page. For me, it takes the form of a journal where I do sit down and write, just not immediately on the WIP. I face the page of the journal and begin listing reasons why I can’t write or can’t begin. Within a few lines, I have strangely primed the pump for writing and immediately move over into the realm of working on my WIP again. Just like paying extra to have my infomercial purchases shipped faster, I have come to accept this resistance as a part of writing I don’t like but have to deal with–I may as well find a way that works to get me out of that mental fear.
Set a reasonable goal
This one takes time to do well. If you don’t learn to set reasonable, flexible goals, you won’t be going anywhere fast with your writing. We don’t want writing to take time. We want to crank out a story in a week, revise a manuscript in a weekend, sell 20 books each year and spend all the time we can immersed in creative thought. Sorry, but the world don’t work that way, sugar. Train yourself to be ultra-aware of the things going on around you so that you can set your goals accordingly. Know that at any time, you can reset your goals to honor your time and mesh with reality, but it takes practicality to do so. Setting goals too high will only lead to negative mode when you can’t meet them, and it spirals downward from there. Think of the smallest chunk of work you can do in the period of time you have, then set the goal and work upwards from there. Build for success.
Do what you CAN and don’t lament what you CAN’T
When one of our intentionally-set writing goals is rendered impossible to achieve by something we can’t control, it’s natural to feel a letdown, a loss of interest or just plain anger. Rather than letting negative mode have its way with your mind–by keeping you angry about what you can’t do because of something–retrain your thought processes to focus you energy and a new intention on what you CAN do. If you’ve got hopes of finishing the last 8 pages of a chapter but something unforeseen steals your time from you, think to what you can accomplish towards your original goal. If your writing time is completely vaporized, the best you can do is move on and look forward to a new day–but journal it first to release all that anger and frustration so you don’t carry it around and it doesn’t cloud your writing time tomorrow. If you’re lucky enough to have a chunk of time with which to work, say, 15 or more minutes, think backward from your original goal and break down the work into steps you could take in pieces of time–then go do the first, most logical piece. Maybe it’s just scratching down the outline of the end of your chapter or writing down the last paragraph. Maybe you know the end of the chapter well and can use the time to contemplate where to start the next chapter, or even back up a step and read over the first part of the chapter to keep your mind fresh. There’s a huge fallacy out there that we writers need enormous chunks of time in which to work. While that’s nice, it’s not practical. Learn, through practice, the ability to chunk your work to keep you moving forward on tasks you can complete when you might otherwise want to whine about what you can’t complete.
Becoming a better writer isn’t about having more and doing more. It’s about living more intentionally in the writing moments you do have. We can waste our lives away wishing for more writing time, but that ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. Refocus your wanting more time into believing you already have enough of the time you need and silence that negative mind mode with action and progress toward your writing goals.
Do you have any tricks to share about when life deals you a lemon in terms of writing time and focus? How do you get your mind back into creative mode when something throws you for a loop? I’d love to hear it. Wait, let me find my Snuggie first…this is gonna be good stuff!
It's pretty simple, really. I'm a writer who loves writing about writing, and sharing all the tricks of the trade with other writers. And when I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. I have a hunch you know what I mean :)