A Year in Review

It's actually a good thing that we have a built in system that insists that a person take stock in the past year and give thought to the coming year. I suppose the infamous January 1st isn't the only date that does this. Birthdays tend to have this effect on us too, especially the big 30, 40 and 50. It's these times of reflection and reassessment that help us understand what we've done and what still needs to be done. It forces us to take a hard look at ourselves and redefine our goals. So this is my attempt at taking a look back into the year to see what I have accomplished (or not accomplished) and where I should go from here.

Book Spotlight: How to Be a Writer

At the beginning of the month I picked up a book that drastically changed my way of thinking as a writer. It is why I took a bit of a hiatus from this blog so that I could focus on the book and what it had to offer. I have to say it has made a significant impact on me. Barbara Baig's How to be a Writer gave me what no other writing book or writing class had given me, permission to explore and experiment in my writing.

Taking a Break for Practice and Rediscovery

After a lot of thought and consideration, I have decided to halt my regular writing projects and deadlines to take a step back and reflect on my writing and writing practices. I have felt for some time a disconnect from my writing (and life in general) and need to get back in touch with these things. I have rediscovered an old technique of free writing and am taking it to the extreme by only doing free writing for the next few weeks until I have worked through some underlying issues and found solid ground to work from again.

Daily Flash 2012: 366 Days of Flash Fiction

It's here! The publication of Daily Flash 2012: 366 Days of Flash Fiction, which holds my short story Gloria. It's a quick 500 word story and marks my debut as an actual published author, so it's a little exciting for me. I, of course, would like to continue to publish more of my stories, but right now my main focus is building up my craft of writing. My career as a published author will come in time if it is meant to be. 

NaNoWriMo Alternative Challenge: A Month in Reflection

Today marks the last day of November and the last day of my NaNoWriMo alternative challenge. My original goal was to complete 15,000 words on a work in progress novella called Fahrenheit, as well as to keep up with my two blogs and other writing. I also had a side challenge to write everyday and read everyday, something I had not been doing like I should the last several months. Did I reach my goals? Did I reach my goal of 15,000 words. Yes and No.

Are Deadlines Hurtful or Helpful to the Writing Process?

I have always been in the belief that goals are important, keeping a person focused on what needs to be done and usually giving a time-frame for when said project needs to be completed. It keeps us from running around in circles and gives us purpose. In a sense deadlines are the same, but on a smaller scale. Deadlines are usually for very specific projects and have a definite timeline. It’s a strict date to work towards and a feeling of doom if said project is not completed by the expected date. Deadlines too can be helpful in motivating a procrastinating body (such as myself) to keep moving forward and having a sense of accomplishment from completed deadlines, but what if this strict process creates a pressure that stifles the creative spark?

Books Anonymous: Are You Hooked on Books?

Are you an addict? I’m an addict and a big one, a book addict. It seems I have no self control when it comes to books. I pick one up and start reading. I reach a certain point (usually the 2^nd to 4^th chapter) when I can’t stop reading. The house could be burning down around my ears and my eyes wouldn’t move from the page. It’s sad but simple fact. 

I have tried to restrain myself, but my efforts always end with failure. So what's my solution? I stopped reading, which then affected my writing. It's a proven fact (I’ve tested the theory myself) that if you want to be better at the craft of writing then you need to read every day. This made my so-called solution no solution at all. Is there a real solution to the problem?

NaNoWriMo Challenge Success!

It's a week into November and the NaNoWriMo contest, or in my case the NaNoWriMo alternative challenge. Last week I was all ready to start writing and get the ball rolling, except when I actually sat down to write, I couldn't come up with two coherent words to put together. This puzzled me for a bit, because I had done NaNo (the official contest) and other unofficial NaNo challenges with no problem. After a few hours of no progress, I hung up my spurs and decided to get something out of the day and spent a much needed time with the Hubbie. The rest of the week I reflected on why I had trouble and came to the conclusion that I had been so focused on other things that I was incapable of doing the challenge, so I had to make the decision of whether I would bail on the contest or continue.

NaNoWriMo Alternative Challenge Fumble

It's November 1st are you ready to write? Apparently, I'm not. My big kick off has yielded a big fat ZERO. I sat down this morning to start writing on a story that I set aside the beginning of the Summer and realized why I set it aside in the first place. It has great characters, inner conflicts, but the setting is off and I can't seem to nail it down. So what does that mean for my story Fahrenheit, and the November challenge? Well, it has taught me I shouldn't wait to the day of a challenge to tackle a shelved story. I should have dusted it off last week or even a few days ago.

Writing Prompt: A Bony Halloween

Free download from Office Microsoft.

Here's a writing prompt for the Halloween Holiday! Have fun as you discover the story behind this picture. Ask yourself: Who was the person these bone belonged to? Who dressed up the skeleton, or did the skeleton dress herself? Is the skeleton a female or a cross-dressing male? Is this the beginning of the dead walking Apocalypse, or a bunch of teenagers playing a prank on their superstitious teacher? Write a story in 1000 words or less, and remember to have a Happy Halloween!

The Art of Shut Up and Listen

The world all around us gives us clues on how to do everything we need to do, including becoming a better writer. The more obvious clues come from reading other authors, taking writing classes, talking out problem areas with fellow writers, reading books dedicated to the writing profession. There are other less obvious clues that come from our everyday lives.

The people around us, the dog next door that won't shut up, the co-worker that steals your desk supplies and blames it on someone else, the mother that won't stop giving helpful advice, the doctor that that gives you the eye and tells you to lose 50 pounds or else, the mail man that runs his mail truck over the freshly planted flowers in the front lawn. Stories are all around us begging to be told. The people parading through our lives are holding their breath to play the main character in our next story. Why not take these gifts and make use of them?

Word Choice: Finding the Right Shade of a Word

As a writer you are an artist. The page is the canvas and the paint are the words. Use words to paint a picture, creating a movie in the theater of the mind's eye. - Michael Knost.

I know I've hit on this subject before in my Good Description series, but this topic deserves repeating because of the important and necessary role that words play in writing. This is one of the areas in my writing that I have been focusing on this year. I have found that actively being conscious of the words I chose makes a BIG difference in the way a story sounds and how successful I am at conveying the story message to the reader.

2 Ways to Be a Better Writer

Writing is a love affair of words and emotion, but there is also much more to it. There is a lot of work that is involved that includes perfecting craft, plot, character and much more. A writer's journey never ends as he or she blazes the trail of art and soul. The further along that trail a writer travels, the more he or she realizes that perfection will never be achieved, only stages of good and bad writing; however, a writer can accomplish better writing by putting into practice two very important things. Are you ready for the most important advice you will ever get?

The Art, Craft and Business of Writing Fiction

Here are some notes I took from a workshop I did by Linnea Sinclair when I went to Context a few weeks ago. I found them helpful and thought I would share. 

Are you a writer or author?

Writer= isn’t serious about being published

Author=  has published works

Writing is an art and craft, but it is also a BUSINESS!

 

NaNoWriMo: An Alternative Challenge

It's almost that time again. November is just around the corner, which means it's NaNoWriMo again. Are you ready to pump out 50,000 words in 30 days? It's a great way to work on that novel or novella you've been putting off. It's a great challenge to see what you are made of and how far you can push yourself. I did the challenge in 2009 and managed to complete 50,000 words with two days to spare! It was fun, exciting, as well as, an eye-opener of my limitations and capabilities as a writer (when I started it, I really didn't think I would be able to make the 50,000 word goal, but I pushed through anyways). It taught me how to write without the inner editor, the creative benefits of writing everyday, how to organize my life so that I could write everyday and that I could push myself to reach any goal if I wanted it bad enough. It also taught me how exhausting writing 50,000 words in a month is and that I really don't need to do that again any time soon. One time was enough, but I highly recommend the challenge if you have not tried it before. If you want to learn more about the official NaNoWriMo check it out here.