When are You a Writer?

I thought I would share something with you about how you determine if you are a writer or not: You are a writer when you say you are a writer.

Sounds easy, doesn't it?

Check out this blog post by Jeff Goins called The Shocking Truth About Starting a Writing Career. 

Keep on writing! 

Writing Prompts and Banned Books

This is a good week to look at using writing prompts and having fun with them. Why is it a good week? Just because.

Writing prompts can certainly spiral our creativity forward, especially if we feel stuck.
Here are a few to get the creative juices flowing:

• Start a sentence with the word 'oranges'. 
• You arrive home to the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking...but you live alone. 
• Start a sentence with, "He had $5.67." 

On top of all this crazy fun with prompts, it's Banned Books Week! Check this link out to view challenged books from the past. I think I was surprised to see Captain Underpants on the list. Really?

Happy writing!

Illuminating the Path

What can you do today to take the next step in your writing career?
Why haven't you taken that step?
What are you waiting for?

We can easily blame our lack of progress on being too busy; maybe protest about how there are not enough hours in the day. We can all blame the juggling of home and family life, and the toll it takes on us. We can complain that we are too tired, or not feeling creative enough. Maybe the house needs cleaning or the kids need to be shuffled off to hockey or ballet.

I have said every single one of these things, and have always put it off for another day. And then ,one morning, you wake up and realize that a week, a month, or a year has passed.

The truth of the matter is that the only person who can make progress in your writing career is you!  Sometimes you have to let the dishes sit. Sometimes it means taking your writing to the kids' swimming lessons. Maybe it means staying up an extra half hour or getting up earlier just to get a page in. The fact is, it's doable. Determine what is important and make a plan to do it. If it's important to you, you will make time for it.

If lack of creativity is a factor, find something that will get the creativity flowing. Maybe it's doodling or colouring. Maybe it's listening to music or reading a chapter of a book you enjoy. I find 'free writing' is always helpful. Free writing is simply writing whatever is on your mind. Just go with it. When I do this, I find the words begin to flow and my characters start talking.

So, what is the next step that you can take to progress your writing further?
Does it mean starting the book? Finishing it? Editing? Proofreading? Contacting an agent or publisher? Or self publishing?

Whatever that step is, take it and own it.
When you are done with that step, take the next one.
And then the next...till the path illuminates itself for you.

Keep on writing! 

Money or Passion

A number of years ago, when I was doing a lot of freelance work, I had numerous requests for my writing services. Some were from students who were looking for someone to write their paper for them. Others legitimately needed my assistance with writing and editing. And then there were those who hinged their retirement plan on writing a best selling book and living off the royalties forever.   

One person in particular emailed me and wanted me to write her story pro bono. She was in dire straits and needed money, and she was sure her story would net her an income, which she desperately needed because she was unable to work due to an injury. 

This is what a lot of people don't understand: Because you have an interesting story to tell doesn't automatically guarantee a publishing contract. The writing of the story is a long process. Lots of time energy, blood, sweat, and tears goes into writing a book. Writers paint a picture with words so the reader can use their imagination and understand exactly what the writer is writing about. Clearly, this can be very challenging. 

Also, no writer should work for free. Your hairstylist, your dentist, your plumber ... they all don't work for free. Unless you are collaborating with someone, you should be paid for your efforts.   

The biggest thing of all is that the book may not make money, especially if the author has no desire to market or promote it. 

So, what are you writing for? When you write because you have a passion for it, a drive for it, then it will show in your writing, and your readers will know you are writing from your authentic self. 

If you are writing only because you think you will be offered a 6-figure advance, then you are writing for the wrong reasons. 

Happy Writing! 

Your Calling

I know I haven't been focusing on this blog for a long while; but, I promise, I will from now on.

What have I been doing with my time? I've been focusing on an area of writing that has been calling my name for a couple of years. I have been focusing on relationships, love, self love, and everything else that comes with it over at my blog Soul Love Awakening.

Ever since my fiance passed away almost 3 years ago, and after having a large variety of relationship experiences from great to not really great, I felt a passion and an inspiration to assist others by writing what I know.

What should a writer write about? Many writers struggle with this. Some writing projects seem like a struggle and it's difficult to find the flow.

Keep in mind that writing what you know is part of finding your niche. The other part is to write what is guiding you. Sometimes, it's a topic you aren't entirely familiar with, but you feel that you need to pursue it. And, sometimes, inspiration shows up and we don't know what it wants or where it's going. So, we drop it, thinking it's just a crazy thought when we really should dig deeper.

Inspiration can lead you in a whole new direction you never expected if you have the courage to follow it.

What is it that is inspiring you? What writing project has been on your mind for a long time and doesn't seem to go away? Maybe it's time to pursue it.

Happy Writing!

If You Care About Your Writing Career... Don't Do This

Face Palm

Head in Hands photo displayed as original. Thanks to Alex E. Proimos for the use of the photo. Follow link to his work here.

“Try to learn to let what is unfair teach you.”  - David Foster Wallace

If you care anything about your writing career and where you would like to see it go, do not trash talk another writer. Constructive criticism is much different than demonstrating jealousy towards someone else's success...especially if you haven't read their work.

All of Lynn Shepherd's hard work may go down the crapper, especially when people maliciously leave 1-star reviews on Amazon. I guess time will tell. However, any publicity is good publicity. Right?
Read the story here:
Crime Author Urges JK Rowling to Stop Writing

Is It Time?

“The first draft of anything is shit.” 

― Ernest Hemingway

Is it time to start thinking of Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month)?

I know. I know. Thinking about Nanowrimo, which starts November 1, is an admission that summer is coming to a close and it's time to put the shorts and sandals away (well, at least in my part of the world).

But, when it comes down to it, now is just as good as any to start getting those creative juices flowing. With over half the year gone, there must have been something that sparked your interest. Something that you thought would be a good story. Maybe it was someone you saw while at the grocery store or walking down the street. Maybe when you went to visit a family member. Or, maybe you had to work the entire summer and found out something juicy about a co-worker, your boss, or a regular client.

Remember, this isn't about having a complete story in your brain that, once December 1 hits, you can throw on the bookshelves. This is about writing. Just writing. Whatever it takes, without any inhibitions. Letting it loose. Throw caution to the wind and go for it.

“I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things I'm afraid of. ” ― Joss Whedon

Write as if your life depended on it. Write as if it would save the lives of those in a zombie apocalypse.

This reminds me of an episode from the TV show 'Supernatural' called, The Monster at the End of this Book. The characters of the show, Sam and Dean Winchester (two brothers who hunt supernatural forces), discover that someone named Chuck is, unknowingly, writing books about the Winchesters; and thus, what Chuck writes is what Sam and Dean experience.

You are Chuck. You write what happens to your version of Sam and Dean. Whatever you want.

“Make up a story... For our sake and yours forget your name in the street; tell us what the world has been to you in the dark places and in the light. Don't tell us what to believe, what to fear. Show us belief's wide skirt and the stitch that unravels fear's caul.” 

― Toni Morrison

See how freeing that is?
Isn't it amazing that there are no limits to the imagination?