Z is for Zealous

 I hate revising. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you already know this little tidbit about me. And so it is with no small amount of pride that I share that I am closing in on the halfway point of revisions on my latest novel.

Big deal, right? That's what authors do, right?

Um, yeah. That's what we're supposed to do -- when we don't get distracted by the next shiny project, that is. 

The last non-Marita, Angel, Charli novel I finished is still sitting in a drawer. It's way too long, even after one revision. I know I need to go through it again, and I really do love the characters and the story, but it's all so...daunting. And so, when new projects came to mind, that's where I put my energy and my focus. 

Last fall, I set a goal of finishing my latest book (the one I'm revising) by the end of the first week in January. I met that goal, and promptly set another: to revise that book and send it to 24 agents and/or editors in 2024. 

Weird goal? A bit. But it was a goal designed to get me out of my own way. Creating is not always easy, but it's fun. Revising is hard and submitting is hard and neither is particularly fun. In order to get to goal #2 (24 in 24), I had to complete goal #1 (revising the thing). And submitting to 24 industry pros means I can't let the first few (or many) rejections slow my roll.

So, I went public with my goals -- accountability and all that. When I finished revising the first third of the book, I sent it out to readers, using that step to keep my momentum going. 

The mind games we need to play with ourselves sometimes defy explanation. (Just me?)

Anyway, it's working. I am diligently, zealously powering through this revision. I've promised myself that the book doesn't have to be perfect because expecting perfection is enough to make the whole project collapse under its own weight. My critique group has already given me feedback that I've incorporated. My volunteer readers will give me more of the same. Together, we'll put together an end product that I can send out, hopefully this summer.

Some days, I'm excited to dig in. Other days, I'm not so zealous. But successful completion of a chapter at a time is a powerful motivator. And going public helps keep me on track. 

20 chapters done. 16 to go. Less than 35 pages to the halfway point.

C'mon, zeal. Don't fail me now.

T is for Tricks of the Trade

Okay, I haven't done any of those things, but that "can't get started" feeling?

Welcome to my writing life. 

I know I'm not alone. When I share this feeling with other writers, they nod knowingly, and then we spend ten minutes discussing whether it's a matter of finding time or making time which, as we both know, is just procrastination disguised as semantics.

For part time writers (i.e. writers who have a day job), winning at the writing game can feel a bit like entertaining a toddler. We need to be quick on our feet, prepared to pivot at a moment's notice, and limit our amount of exposure to shiny objects and other distractions. (This might also be true for full-time writers but, having never been one, I don't feel qualified to assume as much).

Finding the right tools can help a lot. Here are a few of my favorites.

• A supply of just-right writing tools and writing surfaces. Some days, clicking on a keyboard just doesn't do the trick. We need to pick up our favorite pen, freshly sharpened pencil (complete with that telltale pencil-shaving aroma), or white-board marker and put writing implement to writing surface. Some days we need lines, other days, endless white space, but the tool must feel right in our hands and on the page because flow is key.

• Writing apps. This is actually a new tool in my arsenal. Last year, another writer recommended the Dabble app. While there's something about logging into a site that is only for writing that helps me to focus, what pulled me in first was the ability to organize all my files for all my projects in one place. Recently, Dabble added a new timer feature with a built-in word count. After the timer goes off, it asks if you want to beat your word count. (Of course I do!)

• Flexibility. Some days, Plan A works, other days, Plan B works and, from time to time, none of the plans work. I've used writing sprints (alone in my writing space), timed sprints on Zoom or online with other writers, writing in small chunks of time, writing in long blocks of time, writing retreats, brainstorming sessions that prize creativity over productivity, and probably a few other back-door approaches I've forgotten. I admire those for whom one plan does the trick, but I've discovered I'm not one of those people. Three decades of writing have taught me that I do better with many tools in my writing tool belt. (Currently, I'm back on the "small chunks of time" bandwagon).

• A healthy dose of reality. Taking writing seriously means finding/making time for it, but it also means acknowledging that days have only 24 hours and that priorities besides may fill up the prime time slots in those 24 hours where productivity aligns with creativity. Using my creative brain for other tasks (organizing, decorating, work) might drain my creative energy, or it might refuel it, depending on the projects, the time of day, and how much sleep I got the night before.

In the end, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that I have to get creative when it comes to finding time for creativity. Nor should it surprise me that, some days, that's one hoop too many to jump through.

Luckily, tomorrow is another day, likely with another plan.

Making and Breaking Rules

 On Mother’s Day, I wanted a quiet, drama free day – the kind of day that lends itself to reading. Happily, that’s what I got. I worked my way through a few of the magazines in my ever-expanding pile, and I got to spend some time doing other sorts of reading as well.

As it turned out, this Mother's Day activity was a good warm-up for the summer vacation that lay ahead. Now, with my online class behind me, I'm digging into my writing and, after a really good week of writing last week, I decided to take Sunday off. Instead of writing, I puttered, started a new jigsaw puzzle, and read -- books and magazines instead of one or the other. It was relaxing and rejuvenating.

You know. Kinda how vacation is supposed to be.

About midway through the day, I decided that I was going to make taking Sundays off from writing a new habit. Although this decision flies in the face of a popular writing rule (writers must write every day), it gave me the opportunity to commit to another popular concept.

Writers must also be readers. 

This writer is on year two of a "finish what you started" reading plan, endeavoring not just to read, but to finish two books a month. I know that doesn't sound like much but, when it comes to reading, I have commitment issues. I start an enormous number of books on multiple platforms (traditional, e-book, audiobook), along with the aforementioned magazines. Although I've long since given up (intentionally) on finishing every book I start, opting to finish only the ones in which I find personal value, not finishing anything was problematic.

Enter my Sunday plan. Not only does it give me a chance to dedicate time to reading (rather than fitting it in between the cracks of a daily schedule), it also gives my writer mind a day to be creative, rather than productive (another one of my recent goals).

Today, I came across an article that further convinced me that Sundays off from writing will be a good plan. Entitled "When Passion Leads to Burnout," it takes issue with the idea that if you do something you love, you'll never work a day in your life. Instead, it focuses on the idea that we can, indeed, have too much of a good thing, and that blurring the work/play line can lead to the kind of stress that comes from not knowing where to draw the line.

Life is full of rules and guidelines. Some we need to follow (stopping at stop signs and red lights, for example). Others, we need to adapt to suit our goals and lifestyle. While my personal rule book is a work in progress, I've learned that putting well-being and creativity in the early chapters is essential. Without those two attributes, productivity is just busy work, and work without purpose is just, well work.

And you know what they say about all work and no play.

Write! Right?

 Driving to Pittsburgh last week, I was excited for a new, conference-related set of blog posts. But, as you can see, they didn't materialize. The combination of terrible internet service in the hotel meeting rooms and balancing conference time with daughter time meant that blog posts got shelved. 

But that doesn't mean I wasn't inspired. Now that I'm back (and back on track with the summer course I'm teaching), it's time to dig in! This morning, I put on my WRITER t-shirt -- the one I bought when Castle had new episodes every week -- for both inspiration (my own) and preparation (for a meeting with my writing accountability partner). The shirt, like my writing schedule, is a bit worse for wear, but that's no excuse. 

I'm ready. Let the creativity commence.

Way Back Wednesday: The Procrastinating Writer

 Today’s throwback is a mash-up of two posts from thirteen years ago, and testimony to the adage that old habits die hard. I've spent more time than I’d care to admit during the last month procrastinating instead of writing. Sometimes, it was justified – life intervened. Sometimes, however it was something else on the list below, a list which seems to have changed very little in the past thirteen years.

I planned to write this blog this morning, but I seem to have...procrastinated. Actually, I got caught up in the events of the day, including finishing up several other writing projects, which meant this one got put on the back burner.

After yesterday's post, I got to thinking about why I procrastinate when I'm supposed to be writing. Here's what I came up with:

1. I don't feel like writing.
2. There are 10,000 other things I need to do.
3. There's something else I want to do.
4. I don't know what to write next.
5. I'm afraid what I wrote yesterday isn't really that good, and if I sit down and look at it, I could prove myself right.

#5 is a really sneaky one. It sometimes masquerades as the four excuses that precede it, and to their credit, numbers 1-4 make really good covers.

Unfortunately, the only way to do away with #5 is to confront it head on and show it who's boss. Worst case scenario? What I wrote yesterday really isn't good, and I have to rewrite. It's not as though that's something I can't do. Best case scenario? It's good. Really good. And it reminds me why I bother to do this writing thing that can be so torturous it causes me to procrastinate.

The truth is, spending time on something besides what we're "supposed" to be doing relieves stress and frees our minds to wander, both of which often lead us to the very solutions we're struggling to find. We aren't robots. We can't focus on the task at hand 24/7, especially when that task is a creative one.

Starting slowly, by doing other things before I write, helps me to think. Sometimes, stepping away from the computer, even if just to toss in a load of laundry, unlocks my brain and releases the tension I feel when I sit at the computer not knowing what to write next. It also gives me space and a chance to move my body beyond swinging my leg and squirming in my seat. 

So, I refuse to relinquish my procrastination. Instead, I'm going to strive for balance. Too much procrastination? Not a good thing. But I can say with certainty that too much focus and not enough fun make me a very cranky writer.

A Sneak Peek, Courtesy of Todd Fitzpatrick

www_slon_pics via Pixabay

When I start a new novel, the first thing I do is create my characters. I love doing this -- it's one of my favorite writing tasks. As I create the people who will populate my novel, I have to decide who my point-of-view characters will be. Though I love writing from multiple points of view, I can't be inside every character's head and so while all of my characters will speak, some of their inner thoughts will remain a mystery to readers. 

But not to me. 

Though I don't work out inner thoughts for everyone who appears on the page, I sometimes delve into the feelings of the characters who interact with my main characters. Occasionally, I even write little mini-scenes from the perspective of the secondary character. This helps me to make their interactions with the primary characters more well-rounded.

Last week, when I shared "5 Things I Know About Todd Fitzpatrick" (Charli's first boyfriend and her best friend Anna's brother), I teased that I might have a little more to share about Todd -- a scene that would have made it into book three (currently in the works) if Todd were a point-of-view character.

Curious? Take a look.

Todd tossed his backpack onto the sofa and slouched onto the cushion beside it, nearly knocking a soda out of Anna’s hands in the process. 

“What is wrong with you?” his sister said. “Ever since you and Charli broke up...oh.”

“Not oh. No oh. This has nothing to do with Charli. This is just how a guy sits on a sofa.”

“Uh huh. Sure. A guy who’s too stubborn to admit he’s heartbroken, so he’d rather act like a neanderthal.”

“I am not heartbroken. Geez, Anna. You’re so dramatic.”

Anna stood up. “Okay. Whatever. So I guess I don’t need to warn you that Charli’s sleeping over tonight.”

Todd shook his head and shrugged one shoulder. “Couldn’t care less. Just don’t think you’re gonna get the good TV in the basement.”

Anna smirked. “Already cleared it with Mom.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see.”

“I guess if you want your phone confiscated two days after you got it back, that’s up to you.” Anna turned on her heel and took her smirk upstairs.

Charli was sleeping over. Great. 

The first thing he’d done when he'd gotten ungrounded from his phone was to text her the news that he'd rejoined the twenty-first century, hoping Charli would tell him how much she’d missed him and how stupid she’d been to break up with him. But no. Instead, she’d texted back, “That’s great, Todd! Bet you missed it!” like an hour later.

Message received. And now she was coming here to spend the night, making it impossible to avoid her until these feelings — these stupid feelings — went away. 

After Charli broke up with him, Brad trash talked her and told him he should just get another girl. It wasn’t like there weren’t other girls who thought he was cute.

But they weren’t Charli.

Zander had defended Charli, telling Brad to shut up, even though Brad could shove Zander into a locker with one hand tied behind his back, which made Todd wonder — not for the first time — if Zander liked Charli. If Charli went out with Zander….man, that would suck.

Todd pushed his backpack off the sofa and onto the floor. The thud was satisfying, especially since his mother wasn’t home to yell at him about backpacks on the furniture or being shoved onto the floor. 

Well, if Anna had plans tonight, he’d just have to make some, too. And he certainly wasn’t going to give her and Charli the satisfaction of leaving his own house. If Anna wanted to invite Charli here, then she’d just have to deal with the fallout of having both of them in the same house. He certainly wasn't going to let a couple of stupid girls ruin his night.

News and Updates, A.K.A., Whaddaya Mean Writers Don't Just Write?

When I first embarked on my writing career, writing time meant literally that -- time spent at the computer, or with paper and a writing implement, putting words on the page. The Internet was in its infancy. There was no blogging or social media. Writing meant physically placing oneself into a chair (there were no treadmill desks either) and putting stories on the page or the screen.

Now, nearly 25 years later, I think it's fair to say that this is still the most important part of a writer's job. Clearly, it's the defining part of a writer's job. 

What it isn't, however, is the only part of a writer's job.

I'm not complaining. I happen to like the Internet, blogging and social media. In fact, I prefer all of them to what is arguably a writer's second most important task: editing. I enjoy exercising my creative muscles doing things like making graphics, pinning ideas and trying to fit fun and meaningful thoughts into 140 characters. 

It's a good thing, too, because, for better or for worse, these activities are no longer considered optional for those who wish to embark on or maintain a writing career. Whether we publish independently or traditionally, whether we represent ourselves or have agents to do the heavy lifting, authors are expected to help spread the word about the things we write. 

The fact that I like doing this stuff makes me one of the lucky ones. I truly enjoy interacting with my readers online and offline, with other writers in cafes and at conferences and with wannabe writers, well, almost anywhere, which is exactly where I tend to find them. All of these things create a sense of community and reduce the loneliness inherent in a job where your best work gets done when you're alone.

This week, I've been playing with my blog (you might have noticed a change in the background). Look for a bit more tweaking over the next few weeks as I get it to just where I want it to be. I've also created a header to use when I share these posts on Twitter and I'm preparing for a Facebook party next week, creating a script of sorts, making graphics and putting together prizes.

If you fit into any of the categories above (reader, writer, wannabe writer), or if you're just curious, I hope you'll stop by. Last year's Christmas in July Facebook Party centered on Chasing a Second Chance, which had come out eight months earlier. Since I have no new book (yet), my Second Annual Christmas in July Facebook Party will have a different focus, but I can still promise conversation, games, a character Q & A and prizes, but no hard sell. Christmas, whether celebrated in July or December, isn't supposed to be about selling stuff. And parties are supposed to be about talking to people, not whipping out our checkbooks.

So, if you happen to be free on Tuesday, July 25 from 3-6 pm (EST), I hope you'll stop by. That way, you can find out a little bit about what I do when I'm not writing.

Beach Inspired, Part 1

Photo: Steve Hess

I love the beach, but I'm not a beach person per se.  I burn almost instantaneously (fry is, perhaps, a more accurate verb), so my idea of a day at the beach is a day spent under an umbrella, clad in shorts and a tee shirt, (and a hat, of course), slathered with 50+ sunscreen.

It's all about the ambience. While I prefer the shaded, screened in porch at our rented condo to the sand, I love the sound of the surf and the endless vista of water stretching out to the horizon at the beach. When the breeze is just right, it counterbalances the heat of the sun, convincing me there's no place I'd rather be. From my perch on a beach chair, with my feet in the cool sand, I can lose myself in a novel, jot down any inspirations that arise (yes, I always take a notebook to the beach) and usually craft a blog or two (at least). Writing, relaxation and vacation converge, creating a setting conducive to all the things I love to do, but never seem to get quite enough time for at home.

Although I can't imagine a permanent move to the beach, I dream of owning a condo just like the one where we stay each summer. I could visit every time I need a dose of the place that reframes the challenges of real life. Even in the off-season, I imagine I could get so much creative work done in my home away from home.

Then I wonder if having a place of our own down here would change the experience, injecting a little too much reality into my getaway mentality, tipping the scales out of my favor.

I think that's a risk I'm willing to take.

On Jersey Girls, Writers and Social Media

As a writer, I spend a lot of time cultivating a professional online presence. This blog, which doubles as my website. Facebook. Twitter. Pinterest. LinkedIn. In general, I try to follow the standard rule of thumb: don't put anything on your page you'd be embarrassed for your grandmother to see.

As I'm old enough to be a grandmother myself, that's not usually too difficult. I have no desire to post things that are vulgar or graphic, and I try not to post things that I suspect will hurt other people's feelings. 

Lately, though, I've been feeling passionate about a lot that's going on in the world. Perhaps it's the stage of life I'm in. As the parent of a young adult, I look at a lot of things through the lens of how it will affect her and her future. As an instructor at a college, I urge my students to view things through this lens as well. And I feel the need to speak out about things that bother me, whether it's to spread the word, express an opinion or spark conversation and inspire critical thinking.

Toward that end, I keep separate personal and professional Facebook pages and I try to keep politics off my professional page. But Facebook is something of an open book, making it easy to be found, and there is tremendous crossover between my friends (real world and Facebook) and my readers.

The other day, as I scrolled through my personal page to find a post I'd put up more than a month ago, I got to take in the big picture. As I moved past posts about education, equality and health care intermingled with silly Facebook quizzes, family stuff and humorous videos, it hit me.

This page is me. It clearly represents what matters to me in terms of people and issues and life. As such, it accomplishes exactly what the Dag Hammarskjold quote above describes.

Which is what I aspire to.

Toward that end, I'll continue to keep separate personal and professional Facebook pages, with my writer page being an island of books, writing and things relevant to those two topics. My Twitter feed is a mix of the personal and the professional, with what I hope is an undercurrent of respect. Pinterest is just for fun -- all pictures, no politics -- and LinkedIn is purely professional. Somehow, I seem to have achieved a social media presence akin to a conservative financial portfolio -- one where I don't shy away from risks, but rather, make sure my risky investments are counterbalanced by safe ones.

I hope you'll join me online in whatever location interests you most. More important, I hope you know that I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my work, and that I will do my best to make sure maintain a tone of respect wherever you may find me, regardless of any difference of opinion or point of view.

But, as a 50-something Jersey girl, I just can't stay silent.