I love writing. I love rewriting, fixing loose bits,
brightening the fuzzy spots, clearing out the rubble. It is a habit and a
hobby, and I can spend blissful hours lost in the worlds I'm making. But I've
never had one thing published, ever. I don't count blogging as publishing and I
don't care if other people do.
So why go on writing?
Point #1: There are people in the world who go their
whole lives without finding a lasting passion for something. Work, eat, sleep,
love your loved ones; repeat. Life is busy, but is it full? I count it as a
tremendous success to find something you love to do. The passions that drive us
to excel come from something unique within us. We have to work to find them.
So, if you find something you love, you're an
explorer who's found a place worth planting a flag on. Celebrate your success.
Point #2: Once you've found something beautiful, you
really do want to share it. In comes the idea of publishing. The only thing is,
it shouldn't be the very next thought. Publishing is hard. There are lots of
little steps between finding and sharing. Steps that might make it easier to go
on writing when you feel discouraged.
Point #1a: Find a writing group. That may not be so
easy, so if you do it, remember to celebrate that success, too. The PlotSisters met in a writing class and we just never stopped meeting. If you want
to meet other writers, you have to go to events and talk to people. If that
gives you hives, then it's a big success when you get out there.
Good writing groups will give you praise and
criticism. If you find a group that only does one or the other, ditch them.
They won't help you. If you feel discouraged after a critique, think
clearly—are you being too sensitive, or is your group a bunch of jerks? This is
an important point. Critique can hurt, especially if the critique is spot-on.
Point #1b: Sending things to editors or agents is
hard. First, you worked to make your stuff good. Then you had to write a cover
letter. Groan. After that, a synopsis and bio. Oh, and I forgot to mention
everybody has different formatting rules. Groan again.
So when you actually manage to send something in for
consideration, you've accomplished something. It's worth celebrating, really.
Point #1c: While you're waiting for the probable rejection
that's coming, remember that you love writing. Everybody gets way more
rejections than acceptance. Receiving a 'no' is part of writing. Keep trying.
The things you love are worth it.
Here we are, 20 days into November, and I'm guessing that many of you are in the thick of writing for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). If you're not familiar with that challenge, you can head on over to the link provided for the details, but the crux of the challenge is this: to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. Yes, that's right, at the end of 30 days, a person should have a first draft of a novel in hand.
This is the third time I've written a first draft in less than a month (twice I've participated in NaNoWriMo), and while I find that each time, my style of writing has been different, my life's commitments have been different, and my attitude has been different, what has stayed the same is my approach to writing those 50,000 words.
And here's my best advice:
Sit down with your writing utensil. I know that sounds funny, but it's true. Lots of people say they are going to write but never bother getting their butts in the chair. Wherever and however you write, you need to get there first.
Ignore all unnecessary items. That could mean Facebook and Twitter, laundry that really doesn't need to be done, or the book club you were supposed to attend. If you put aside a few things that can wait until after the month is over, you will have more time to write.
Be ready to write at a moment's notice. One day that I logged almost 6,000 words was the day I had my draft open and ready to go all day. I didn't have a huge chunk of time, but those little intervals, by the end of the day, really added up.
Write, don't revise. Any person who has "won" NaNoWriMo will tell you the same thing: put the story on the paper and don't go back until you've hit the 50,000-word mark. Sure, you might have written the most horrible sentence in the history of horrible sentences, but who cares? Get the story out. Then worry about the rest of it.
Even if you missed out on NaNoWriMo, these tidbits will help you at any time. So go ahead and choose a month that works for you, and see how many words you can get done. I'm sure you'll surprise yourself and in no time, you'll have accomplished that dream.
I woke up this morning after a week's vacation to realize that while I hadn't done much writing over the past week, I had done much soaking. As in soaking in the inspiration, the peace, the serenity, the goodness that comes with a venue I call, "My Happy Place."
Happy Places are so important for all of us, whether or not we realize it. Happy Places help us become who we are and who we should be. They keep us calm in the midst of personal hurricanes, and at least for me, they can lend guidance when I most need it. Happy Places can help us grow, heal, and just be.
What is your Happy Place? And what does it do for you?
On Saturday, despite the blanket of snow that covered the ground in
Yellow Springs, Ohio, I attended the spring (ha!) seminar from Antioch Writers' Workshop. The topic of the seminar was "The Writing Life," and Margaret Wrinkle led the pack as the featured speaker.
I hadn't heard of Margaret Wrinkle before registering
for the seminar, but I took a peek at her bio, which intrigued me
(excerpted from her website):
Born and raised in Birmingham Alabama, Margaret Wrinkle is a writer, filmmaker, educator and visual artist. Her debut novel, Wash, published
by Grove Atlantic, reexamines American slavery in ways that challenge
contemporary assumptions about race, power, history and healing. It
has won the Center for Fiction’s Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize and
an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. Wash has also been named the Fiction Runner Up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, a finalist for the 2014 Chautauqua Prize, a Wall Street Journal top ten novel of the year, a New York Times Editors’ Choice, an O Magazine top ten selection and a People magazine 4-star pick.
Not intimidating at all, is she?
Much
to my utter delight, Margaret Wrinkle walked into the auditorium
dressed in casual clothes and spoke to us like she'd known us for years.
And after listening to her speak about her writing life, her bookis now on the top of my to-read list.
But
what did she say that other people have not? I mean, I've been to
several writing conferences, I personally know authors, and have read
extensively on "the writing life." In fact, I have my own writing life,
right? A couple of sentences stuck out amongst the others in her
presentation, as they struck me as something I hadn't really thought
about before. They included:
Images help you stay present to the heart of the story.
Your mind is a small boat on the ocean of your subconscious.
Live a boring life; save the drama for the work.
I plan on referring to those thoughts wherever and whenever I can.
~
I also had the pleasure of hearing three energetic and passionate
speakers talk about querying, editing your manuscript, and
self-marketing.
First up, Sharon Short.
I know Sharon on a first-name basis, and attended the query session
because I was interested in what she had to say. (I'm in the process of
querying right now and have an agent looking at my book. I hoped that
I'd done everything right.) Sharon's genuine enthusiasm made for a great
session. She shared her experiences with querying, gave us some
information about agents--those to look for and those to avoid--and
helped us understand the importance of researching which agent you
actually query.
Kate Geiselman
then took me through the art of editing and formatting a manuscript.
Again, I'm past this stage but I felt like I wanted a refresher course.
Kate provided that and more. She began the session with a lovely video
by Stephen Fry (If you haven't seen this yet, you should):
And
from there, she reminded us of grammar rules and formatting tips that
any writer could use. The best advice she gave, though, is to pay attention to submission guidelines, as they can vary widely. Like the true teacher she is, Kate repeated that phrase often.
I'd seen Kate before at a Sinclair Community College
writing workshop, but I've never had the privilege of attending one of
her sessions. She's a vibrant teacher and someone from whom we can all
learn.
Last but not least came the session with Greene County Public Library publicist Ryan Ireland.
He'd created a presentation worthy of any publicist, and disseminated a
wealth of information on how to self-market. (He spoke about figuring
out your readership, what to include on a website, and how to use social
media most efficiently, among other topics.) I'd chosen this session
because I find it really easy to help promote someone else, but I had,
until yesterday, no idea how to self-market myself. Based on what Ryan
said, I think I have a lot of work cut out for me, but I knew that when I
got into this mess of a writing life.
~
This
spring seminar is a one-day type that happens every year. I'd suggest
trying to get there next year, if you're local. But if you're looking
for something even more extensive, consider the Antioch Writers' Workshop Annual Summer Workshop.
It's a week-long event that is chock full of information and experience
that any creative writer would be fortunate to add to his or her
writer's toolbox.
Happy Writing!
~Christina
(Blog post originally published at http://17gon.blogspot.com/ and used with permission here.)
