I'm featured on Susanne Drazic's blog as part of the Random Act Of Kindness blitz. This was totally unexpected and very much appreciated - Thanks many times over, Susanne. Stop by and see what the buzz is all about - E :)
PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER: Random Act Of Kindness - Elysabeth Eldering: Elysabeth Eldering is one of two people that I chose to honor for the Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ! If you didn't get a chance to see the ...
How to Select a Writing Journal
A friend of mine was shopping for a journal. She was debating
whether to purchase a school themed notebook or a pretty journal. My recommendation for writers is to buy
both.
Each August, with the back to school sales, I buy about 20
spiral notebooks. They are not
attractive and are very inexpensive. They’re
great if you do any sort of writing exercises, (e.g. Julia Cameron’s morning pages). The cheap price and disposable feel gives
me permission to write crap. Fortunately, my inner critic doesn't seem to mind
if I write crap in a spiral notebook. I can write garbage, filled with spelling
errors and bad grammar...but it doesn't matter because I write. Besides, I know that most of what is in these
notebooks will never to be seen by anyone but me without major revisions.
I also have some beautiful journals. Usually, these are on my nightstand. My special journals give me a completely
different feel when I pick them up. It’s
an instant message that something important is about to be written. I have a floral covered cloth “gratitude” journal. Its purpose is to remind me of the blessings
in my life.
What does your writing journal look like?
Is it an old spiral notebook or is it a beautiful bound book?
It's likely that what it looks like reflects how you approach your writing and what's written inside.
Happy Writing,
Mary Jo
Dealing with the First Editor
"But," you say, "surely this is important? I don't want to produce inferior work."
No, you don't. But the time for editing will come later, once you've finished writing the article or chapter. If you stop to listen to all the suggested corrections of your internal editor, your work will lack creativity and flow and may never get finished.
Sometimes it can be as simple as playing music or wearing headphones. Other times you need to be far more drastic. Acknowledge the presence of your inner editor, then deal with her/him.
Cecil Murphey, in his Writer to Writer blog, is polite when he deals with his inner editor. He admits that he talks aloud. “Be patient," he says. "Let me get on with this. When I finish, I’ll let you rip it apart.”
Karen Swim at Words for Hire banishes her inner critic by "physically kicking her out of the room and locking the door. I have found that acknowledging her presence and ordering her to leave is as effective as it would be on a “real” person. She is only allowed back in when I have written the first draft, and then and only then she gets to have her say."
For me, I admit it all depends on how persistent she is. Sometimes I can be firm. "Go away! I'm busy writing!" And no, I'm not polite like Cec. Other times I do what every parent knows you shouldn't do, and say, "Oh for goodness sake here!" and give in to her.
What about you? How do you deal with this nuisance who tries to correct you as you write? Please share with us by adding a comment below.
Ethics in writing
Whether writers are writing nonfiction or fiction, they owe
it to their readers to double check facts, as well as checking for any errors
in consistency, punctuation, grammar, spelling, and typos.
Unless writers are giving their work away free of charge,
most readers are spending their money for a product; the writer has an ethical
responsibility to their reader. Writers need an EDITOR to make sure that their
book is as error free as possible.
This is the reason that self-published books have a less
than stellar rating. Reviewers are talking about how bad self-pubs are, also
the internet. It is true that anyone can write, but not everyone is a writer. Readers
hold writers to a standard ingrained by traditional publishers where they
edited, and proofread as part of the publishing process.
Writers should hold themselves to this standard. Some indie
authors feel there should be no rules. Whether there are or aren’t any rules is
not the point, the point is that authors ethically owe their readers work that
is the best in can be, edited, and proofread before the reader receives a copy.
If writers have blogs, delve into social media sites, have a
web site, in all instances, they shouldn’t use internet shortcut language, they
should be practicing their language and writing skills at all times.
Some authors may disagree, but there must be some basic
level of ethics in all writers, that make them strive to turn out the best
product for the reader. A product that has been fact checked, edited, and
proofread by someone other than the author.
Why someone other than the author, simple, the author is too
close to the project to be truly objective when it comes to the blue pencil.
Robert Medak
Writer, Blogger, Editor, Reviewer
MId Year Evaluation
It is almost the middle of 2012 and a time for evaluation of goals, both writing and personal. I do this between mid May and mid June so that July through December can hopefully be productive rather then dwindling into nothingness. Maybe the teacher in me picks this time of year because the school year is coming to a close and summer presents a time for renewal and the formation of a new attitude for fall. Here is how I re-evaluate and make goals for the remainder of the year.
I look at what has worked and what has not to move my writing career forward. For me, I have finished a big project and have only a few smaller gigs to make the monthly paycheck so I need to look for new writing gigs. This means at least three times a week I will look at job boards or send out queries.
I have books to promote, a new picture book to be released in August 2012, and a some ideas for magazines that I want to query. Keeping a calendar of holidays, magazines and their editors, topics that need a fresh twist, and marketing ideas is a good way to make the remainder of the year productive. I pick a day a week to look at this list and make my goals for the next week to include tackling something on this list.
I have social media sites to visit. How much an author does with social media is a personal choice but making sure activities on those sites includes moving your writing career forward is a must. I will weed out those areas that are not for writing and add the ones that will help my writing for the rest of 2012. It is a business decision and works to help promote a niche and platform.
I look at what conferences are around and what free or low cost workshops are available and decide which ones I can attend. Currently there are three that I am either attending or will attend online. This is an important step in honing writing skills and keeping current. Conferences and networking, taking workshops and joining critique groups are an important way to learn more about the craft of writing and to get to know other authors, publishers, or editors.
Finally, I weed out some of the groups that are not helping me to move forward. This is the most difficult part of my mid year evaluation but it also must be based on the business of writing. What groups are helping you grow as a writer and which are simply another form of socializing that takes you away from the writing? Stick with the ones where you are still learning and step back for a few months from the ones that keep you away from your writing goals.
Evaluation is never easy and neither is making the decisions it takes to succeed. The important thing is to take positive actions so you can become the author you know you can be. Just remember to make friends along the way and enjoy the process.
I look at what has worked and what has not to move my writing career forward. For me, I have finished a big project and have only a few smaller gigs to make the monthly paycheck so I need to look for new writing gigs. This means at least three times a week I will look at job boards or send out queries.
I have books to promote, a new picture book to be released in August 2012, and a some ideas for magazines that I want to query. Keeping a calendar of holidays, magazines and their editors, topics that need a fresh twist, and marketing ideas is a good way to make the remainder of the year productive. I pick a day a week to look at this list and make my goals for the next week to include tackling something on this list.
I have social media sites to visit. How much an author does with social media is a personal choice but making sure activities on those sites includes moving your writing career forward is a must. I will weed out those areas that are not for writing and add the ones that will help my writing for the rest of 2012. It is a business decision and works to help promote a niche and platform.
I look at what conferences are around and what free or low cost workshops are available and decide which ones I can attend. Currently there are three that I am either attending or will attend online. This is an important step in honing writing skills and keeping current. Conferences and networking, taking workshops and joining critique groups are an important way to learn more about the craft of writing and to get to know other authors, publishers, or editors.
Finally, I weed out some of the groups that are not helping me to move forward. This is the most difficult part of my mid year evaluation but it also must be based on the business of writing. What groups are helping you grow as a writer and which are simply another form of socializing that takes you away from the writing? Stick with the ones where you are still learning and step back for a few months from the ones that keep you away from your writing goals.
Evaluation is never easy and neither is making the decisions it takes to succeed. The important thing is to take positive actions so you can become the author you know you can be. Just remember to make friends along the way and enjoy the process.
10,000 Hours
We had just ordered dinner when the musicians found their way to our table. I couldn't help but notice one young man, a guitarist, who seemed to find my dinner companion irresistible. She giggled a bit and blushed. Moving closer to me, she mentioned that he looked familiar.
Only when the song was finished did he approach us. "Hello," he said to my friend. "I do not know if you recognize me . . . "
"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed. She introduced him to me. A friend from school. Someone she hadn't seen since forever. "What are you doing now?" she asked.
His answer, "I'm getting in my 10,000 hours."
She was baffled. I smiled. "Good for you," I acknowledged.
Ten thousand hours is all you need to become an expert at any skill. His 10,000 hours were going to make him an expert musician. His practice, persistence and passion would set him apart.
Artists, athletes, musicians and yes, writers, all benefit from 10,000 hours rules. Putting in time helps to hone your skills.
Practice: Sit down every day and write something even if it's only a bit of dialog.
Persistence: Write when it is difficult, when the muse is elusive and the right words do not seem to come.
Passion. Having passion for writing is what makes the practice and persistence doable. Without passion the writing becomes work instead of a pleasure.
Commit to becoming an expert today and finish your 10,000 hours.
_____________________
D. Jean Quarles is a writer of Women's Fiction and Young Adult Science Fiction. Her latest book, Flight from the Water Planet, Book 1 of The Exodus Series was written with her coauthor, Austine Etcheverry.
D. Jean loves to tell stories of personal growth – where success has nothing to do with money or fame, but of living life to the fullest. She is also the author of the novels: Rocky's Mountains, Fire in the Hole and, Perception.
The Mermaid, an award winning short story was published in the
anthology, Tales from a Sweltering City.
She
is a wife, mother, grandmother and business coach. In her free time .
. . ha! ha! ha! Anyway, you can find more about D. Jean Quarles, her
writing and her books at her website at www.djeanquarles.com
You can also follower her at www.djeanquarles.blogspot.com or on Facebook“Writing Down Goals and Objectives Can Keep You Focused,” by Mayra Calvani
I have kids, a husband, pets, a house, and many errands to run on a weekly basis. So how do I find the time to write? Well, first of all, I don’t find it. I make it. You know why? Because if you wait for the perfect time to write, it’ll never come: there never is a perfect time to write.
One method that has worked for me is to, first of all, 1) be clear about my goals and objectives and 2) write down my goals and objectives each day before I start working. I learned this powerful trick from Suzanne Lieurance, founder of The Working Writer’s Club.
After my kids are off to school and my hubby off to work, I go to my office with Amigo, my adorable golden retriever, and I sit down at the computer. Before I start working, however, I open my spiral notebook and write my schedule for the day. I use Google calendar for all my weekly and monthly goals and objectives, but I also like to keep this spiral notebook for my daily schedule. There is something extremely powerful about writing your goals and objectives each day before you sit down to write.
First, I write my 3 major yearly goals at the top of the page. Then I write down the objectives that I can take today in order to bring me closer to those 3 major goals. My goals are usually very broad, and my objectives very specific.
For example, if one of my 3 major goals is “to establish myself as an author,” then one of my objectives is:
9:00-11:00 AM – work on my novel.
Unless something unexpected comes up, I’ll usually keep this objective from Monday to Friday month after month until I have a complete manuscript that is ready to be submitted. If, for whatever reason, I can’t write that morning, I’ll try to allocate those two hours in the afternoon or at night—though not often, as my mind is fresher in the mornings.
A typical writing day will include one objective for each major goal, for a total of 3 objectives. Each objective must be related to its goal. If it isn’t, then I discard it. This is extremely helpful to help keep you focused and prevent ‘bright shiny objects’ to stir you away from what’s really important.
Of course I already know what my goals and objectives are, but the secret lies in writingthem down each day before I start working. This really helps keep me focused and productive. I love to tick items off as I complete them, so at the end of the day I usually feel like I’ve really accomplish something and that all my projects are progressing and getting somewhere. I started using this system this January and the results have been excellent.
If you’re feeling unfocused, unproductive and unmotivated, I encourage you to try this method!
About the Author: Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults and has authored over a dozen books, some of which have won awards. Her stories, reviews, interviews and articles have appeared on numerous publications such as The Writer,Writer’s Journal, Multicultural Review, andBloomsbury Review, among many others. A reviewer for over a decade, she now offers online reviewing workshops. When she’s not writing, reading, editing or reviewing, she enjoys walking her dog, traveling, and spending time with her family.
Visit her website at www.MayraCalvani.com, join her mailing list, and automatically receive the free ebooks, Reviewers Talk about Their Craft and the first lesson from my Slippery Art of Book Reviewing Workshop.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/mcalvani
Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mayra-Calvanis-Fan-Page/162383023775888
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