Claiming your writing time--NaNoWriMo Blog 1

Hello Writers!

There are lots of writers and teachers posting how to “Win” NaNoWriMo this month. (Click the link if you don't know NaNo.) Some of my favorite Nano blogs are Mur Lafferty, and this Tumblr.

I’m not one of them.

Daily? Who am I kidding?

However, I can commit to one post a week with some very useful tips for you. Plus, I will link to some of the more industrious writers who ARE posting daily, God help them.

Let’s start this post with some tips on claiming your writing time.

1.     Make writing the first thing. That is, do the writing BEFORE you do the other things. If you have a free hour and you hope to get 20 minutes of writing and 40 minutes of online holiday shopping done, DO THE WRITING FIRST. Then you won’t have worry about not ending your shopping in time to do your writing. The writing will be done!

2.     Adhere to the Pareto Principle.To over-simplify, the Pareto Principle say that 20% of your time and effort generates 80% of the results. So, try to eliminate the 80% of stuff that is a waste of our time and effort. Things like:

                             i.     Negative friends

                            ii.     Expectations (i.e. cleanest house on the block, etc.)

                          iii.     Busywork that gets you nowhere

Also, try to simplify your life. For example, my kids get one after-school activity each per week. That way I’m more than a human taxi, and I can get more writing done. They seem okay with this.

3.     Keep track of your writing time. Be accountable to someone, even if it is just yourself. This will motivate you. The word-counter on the Nanowrimo.org website is excellent for this. 

4.     Don’t ask for time. If you ask, people can say “no.” So, don’t ask. Just take the time. It’s the difference between, “Honey, can I please have an hour to write?” and “Honey, I’m in my office for an hour. See you at dinner.” The first invites the listener to consider the options; the second does not offer options.

5.     Make appointments with yourself. It sounds silly, but it works. I have a writer friend who writes over the dinner hours. Her friends would invite her to dinner, and she would always say, “No, I’m working between 5 and 7 p.m.”  Eventually her friends stop inviting her for dinner. They go to lunch, instead. Practice saying, “I can’t. I have a previous appointment at that time.”

6.     Buy your time (figuratively and literally). I practice what I preach. I have a housekeeper. The kids go to daycare an extra afternoon a week. I literally buy about 10 hours a week  of alone time so I can write. If you can’t afford that, trade babysitting with another mom for next month. Or, trade yard work for tutoring with kids. Be creative!

7.     Get out the ax! This link leads to a form that breaks the day into 30 minute chunks. I have my students track their actual time usage over a week in order to find time to write regularly within their normal day. Things that people normally cut (for the month at least) include:

a.     TV and other time-sucks

b.     Lunches out (I know a writer who wrote all his books during his lunch hour with a sack lunch)

c.      Favors for other people

d.     Cooking dinner (take out for a month won’t kill anyone)

8.     Just say “No.” This one is hardest for me. I can hardly say “no” to another project, another person asking for help, whatever. However, during NaNoWriMo, the answer has to be “no,” or I won’t finish. Also, I can’t say “maybe” to new stuff, either, because many people think this means “keep pestering me until I cave.” Writers should practice saying, “No, not until next month when I am finished with a current commitment. Please feel free to check in with me next month.” 

I'll see you in a week. By then you will have written 12,500 words. Amazing, huh? 

The tips come from Book in a Month: The Fool-Proof System for Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Victoria Lynn Schmidt. The examples are mostly mine.

Have a weekend writing prompt on me.

The whole weekend stretches before you. Need a writing prompt? Here you go. You're welcome.

You get the opportunity to talk to a famous deceased person, but you end up with someone you don't think you will like. How is this conversation accomplished? Who do you chat with? What do you talk about? What does s/he say that surprises you? Definitely try to write the answers in the person's (creepy dead?) voice.

5 tips for what to do with a publishing contract (besides sign it)

As you may know, I have signed a contract to publish my book Fuzzy Logic for a release of on or before eSummer 2015. I’m still doing my happy dance, which looks a little like the  Cabbage Patch performed by a nervous wallflower. (yay!)

I intend to use my newsletter and my blog to let my readers know 1) that it is possible to get a book published and 2) what my book’s publishing process is like.

I’ve only experienced a couple things so far. The first is that elated feeling when reading an email that begins: “Thank you for sending us your book. I think it is delightful. I’d like to offer you a contract.”

The second is the fear and bewilderment that accompanies reading that contract when it arrives.

So, here are a five tips for what to do when confronted with a new publishing contract.

1) Don’t sign it until you read it. Really. This is important.

2) Pay someone else to read it for you. Unless you are an IP lawyer, an agent, or a lawyer in the publishing industry, you need someone to read the contract for you. That someone should be an IP lawyer or a very experienced literary agent. Legalese is very dense for a reason: like iTunes contracts, you aren’t meant to read every word, nevertheless understand those words. Find an advocate whom you trust to read and explain the rights you are selling before you sign anything.

3) Publishing companies usually try to grab as many rights as possible. They have watched what happened to the music industry, and they are understandably trying to cover as many bases as possible as cheaply as they can. There are exceptions, like my publisher (more on who they are later). But don’t count on it. See #2.

4) Get a book like Copyright Handbook, The: What Every Writer Needs to Know, and familiarize yourself with copyright law, with what rights you own as a writer, and what you can sell.

5) Network with other writers, publishers, editors, agents, etc., and learn the business. Publishing is always changing. Keep up with the business so you aren’t caught flat-footed.

I hope these help you in the future…mostly because I hope all of you reading have the pleasure of reading the words “We want to send you a contract to publish your book.” That’s the best feeling.

m

Quotes to Combat Writer's Block from Writer's Circle

This might be really useful for those of you who are floudering in the third week of Camp Nanowrimo. Enjoy, and follow Writer's Circle!

-m


http://writerscircle.com/2013/09/quotes-to-combat-writers-block.html

Quotes to Combat Writer's Block 

Every writer's been there. The blank white screen and the pulsing cursor. The empty notebook and the pen poised to write. The tools are there, there's ample time... but the words refuse to flow. If you're locked in writer's block mode, there are a few time-tested methods to help you break free. Stop what you're doing and take a break. Go for a walk. Put down your work for an hour, a day or a week, then come back to it. Start writing whatever comes to mind, free from any judgment. Tell your inner critic to hush. You can edit later. Go someplace that inspires you. Read a book. Basically, shake up the dust in your head like a snowglobe. Eventually the particles will settle back down, but everything will have shifted, rearranged itself. Finally, those trapped words will start spilling out.

If you're battling writer's block, it's also helpful to read some inspiring words from authors who have been there. Here are a few gems:
 
"One of the most difficult things is the first paragraph. I have spent many months on a first paragraph, and once I get it, the rest just comes out very easily." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
 
"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." - Mark Twain
 
"I've often said that there's no such thing as writer's block; the problem is idea block. When I find myself frozen--whether I'm working on a brief passage in a novel or brainstorming about an entire book--it's usually because I'm trying to shoehorn an idea into the passage or story where it has no place." - Jeffrey Deaver
"If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word." - Margaret Atwood
 
"What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat.’ And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, 'Okay. Okay. I’ll come.'" - Maya Angelou
 
 "I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if you sit down at the keys long enough, sooner or later something will come out." - Roy Blount, Jr.
 
"Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer." - Barbara Kingsolver
 

6/26: Write a Novel in a Month Class

© craigslist - Map data © OpenStreetMap

311 S. Monmouth St.

(google map) (yahoo map)

A summertime tradition! Write Your Novel in a Month class!

* Do you have an idea for a novel?
* Do you want to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo, but want to do it with the support of a (for-credit) class?

Then the Novel in a Month Class is the class for you!

The class will be held at the old Independence Library at the following times:

Thursdays 7:00 to 8:30 pm
June 26 through August 7

Registration Fee: $75 (includes required text)

If you are interested in this class, please go to http://www.ashcreekarts.org/#!classes/csc0

Class size is limited to 20. Early registration is recommended!

* Do you have a great idea for a book, but haven't gotten around to writing it?
* Perhaps you have no idea, but do possess a deep, burning desire to write.
* Maybe you are convinced you don't have time to write a novel.

Really, who has time?

Lots of people! Every November, hundreds of thousands of people participate in National Novel Writing Month by pledging to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days.

In fact, our instructor, Maren Bradley Anderson, has "won" NaNo for many years by writing over 50,000 words in thirty days.

Write Your First Novel In Thirty Days is a 7-week class aimed at people who want to write a novel by participating in the deadline-driven, community-supportive atmosphere. The class will focus on:

* preparation for writing a book-length first draft (including idea generation),
* completion of the book-in-a-month challenge,
* and end with a workshop on what to do with a freshly written novel.

The emphasis of this class is not quality, but quantity. Without a completed first draft, the writer cannot revise a better second or third draft. In this class you will get that elusive first draft.

You can write the first draft of a novel in just thirty days!

I hope to see you this summer, fellow writers.

Willamette Writers' Workshop featuring Maren and Kate

Kate Ristau and I are giving a workshop on painless grammar for writers. See you there!

Grammar for Writers Workshop
Presented by  Kate Ristau and Maren Bradley Anderson 

Saturday, May 31, 2014, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
At the Salem Public Library (the Plaza Room)

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

I believe in lollipops and she believes in the apocalypse.

What’s wrong with the previous sentence (besides my misplaced love of lollipops)? Don’t know? Then this workshop is for you.

We’ll work with your writing to help you understand some of your basic error patterns, and then we’ll show you how to fix them.

Don’t worry; this is not your average grammar class! We will make it fun, informative, and well worth your time. We look forward to seeing you there!

Participants will need to bring:

• Pen and notebook
• Mug for coffee or tea
• Homework (see link below)

COST TO ATTEND

Willamette Writers members (fees subject to change):

• Early Bird*: $25
• Regular Enrollment: $30
• At the Door: $35

Non members pay an additional $10 

*Early bird ends May 15

http://willamettewriters.com/salem/workshops/

I'm related to that...

http://writerthereseoneill.com/2014/04/03/playing-underpants-chicken-losing/


Here is a link to my funny friend, Therese's, blog and her description of her trip to the seaside with our children in tow.

I'll let you guess which kid I know best.

m