Squeeze In That Writing Time!!

*The Following post is a version of one I'd written for Dianne Segan's blog. She gives some wonderful ideas and insight for writer Mamas everywhere so be sure to check out her blog.*How many of you can relate to this question: “Where on earth do you find the time for writing with four young children?” Believe me, there are many days I wonder the very same thing. But I’ve come to realize that writing...

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Checklist for Freelancers

by LuAnn SchindlerYou've submitted queries and you're playing the waiting game. Once the editor bites on your pitch, there are a few items you need to cover with the editorial staff. Clarity of expectations will help the project progress smoothly. Use this list when working with an editor.Ask for a precise explanation of the project. What's the word count? Are photos necessary? Do you need a sidebar?Note the deadline.Determine what format should be used to submit the final product: an...

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1 comment collecting payment, freelance checklist, invoices, LuAnn Schindler

Making the ‘Write’ Connection on Facebook

By Jill EarlWhether you’re a newcomer to Facebook, or know your way about the social networking site, you might be wondering if there’s an easier way to connect with writers. Take a peek at two of the resources I’ve found helpful.First up is Creative Writing Sites on Facebook - an Index. Use it to look up authors' business pages, writing programs, writers' groups, writers' retreats and residencies, presses, magazines, workshop communities, the list goes on. According to the site, this...

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Leave a Comment connecting with writers on Facebook, Jill Earl, writing resources

Friday Speak Out: "Some Thoughts on Writing," Guest Post by Jayne Martin

Some Thoughts on Writing

by Jayne Martin

At 60 years old, I finally know what I want to be when I grow up. A writer.

This is actually the second time in my life I have realized this. The first was when I was in my 20’s struggling to be an actress despite my extreme discomfort in actually standing up in front of anyone and performing. This was about the same time that Sylvester Stallone was achieving his “overnight” success as writer and star of the first “Rocky.” I naively figured if he could write, how hard could it be and I started writing scenes for my acting class. To my great surprise, they were very well-received and I suddenly went from being the worst actress in the class to someone regarded with a certain amount of respect, it felt good.

While earning my living typing the screenplays of others, I became exposed to literally hundreds of scripts – some exceptionally good, like those by Alvin Sargent and Fay Kanin, and some exceptionally bad by writers never to be heard from again. I learned from all of them. My forté became the realm of the TV-Movie. I would either pitch an original idea or I would get an assignment to write a script from someone else’s idea, or from a true-life story, or adapt a book. The great thing about working on assignment or from a pitch is I got paid whether the movie got made or not and if it did get made, I actually get a bonus payment. My career as a TV writer spanned almost two decades and I was fortunate to have several of my scripts made into movies.

I wrote my last movie in 2004 and for the longest time I felt no creative drive to write anything. Until recently. It started with the discovery of a few new authors and the re-discovery of some old favorites, and their voices inspired me. So with the encouragement of some friends, I started a blog, injaynesworld, and darned if people didn’t start showing up, although where they got the idea there’d be refreshments served I have no idea. Oh, yeah, I might have said something about that in my shameless effort to lure readers. Most importantly, my creative juices are flowing again and I’m meeting and making friends with some wonderful writers.

Since I am no longer completely dependent on writing for a living, I am once again free to write for the pure pleasure and love of it, and I had forgotten how much I truly do love it. Not that I would turn money down. I’d love to get a paycheck for writing again and maybe I will. In the meantime, it’s such a joy to write directly for an audience and get that immediate feedback. A writer needs an audience. Because if a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around, it really doesn’t make a sound.

Jayne Martin is an unapologetic, bleeding-heart liberal who loves good horses, good friends, and good wine. A TV-writer in a former life, her credits include "Big Spender," for Animal Planet, and "A Child Too Many," "Cradle of Conspiracy," and "Deceived By Trust" for Lifetime. Visit her blog, injaynesworld.

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Do you want to reach WOW’s audience? We welcome short posts (500 words or less) from writers just like you! You can include your bio, pic, and links to your website/blog for promotion. Our only requirement is that your post be about women and writing. Send your Friday “Speak Out!” post to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration.

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14 comments Friday Speak Out, guest post, Jayne Martin, writing inspiration

A Day of Thanksgiving

Today is not only a day for eating turkey, enjoying time with family and friends, and giving thanks for those in your personal lives, it's also a time to be thankful for your writing life.I'm lucky to have a job where I get to work with talented writers who inspire me daily. These writers include our current staff members: Margo L. Dill, Marcia Peterson, LuAnn Schindler, Joanne Stacey, Jill Earl,...

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7 comments giving thanks, thanksgiving, WOW staff members, writing life

Make Mistakes to Find Out What You Want

I was just reading the November issue of O magazine and thought this piece of advice would encourage you to take action in your writing life. Excerpt from the article Where To Start by Anne Lamott:When I was a young writer, I was talking to an old painter one day about how he came to paint his canvases. He said that he never knew what the completed picture would look like, but he could usually see...

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Leave a Comment anne lamott, learning from mistakes, overwhelmed, rejection, taking action

All the best laid plans...for next year's writing

I am a serial NaNoWriMo wannabe. Each year, I plunk onto the site as a willing and able writer. Blink and I find myself at the end of November. I've lost my train of...well, maybe I've just missed the train.I spend time preparing for the monthly excursion and decide what I'm going to write. I find that the ideas are easy to come by, especially since, for me, it is an exercise in getting the words down. A cowboy story that morphs into a romantic children's book about frogs? No problem....

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1 comment daily writing schedule, Elizabeth King Humphrey, NaNoWriMo

Remembering Rejections

On The Muffin, we've posted about rejections before. As a writer, you've probably heard all the standard rejection advice: personal rejections are good, a rejection is at least a response, and everybody gets rejected.That's what I want to focus on today--during Thanksgiving week--Everybody gets rejected!I received an e-mail over the weekend, reminding me of this fact, and I thought it would be great...

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3 comments Margo Dill, Rejection Letters, rejections, writing inspiration

NaNoWriMo vs. NaBloPoMo

November is a crazy month where writers across the globe get a stranglehold of their muse and push their writing abilities to the limit! Which is harder: NaNoWriMo or NaBloPoMo?NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) participants strive to write 50,000 fictional words in one month, and NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) participants strive to post on their blog every day for one month. I did...

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10 comments blog post every day for a month, NaBloPoMo, NaNoWriMo

List of Universal Themes in Memoir Writing

Do you need a universal theme for your memoir?  In Annette Fix' article on WOW, Memoir Writing: Drawing From Your Life to Create Your Story, she says, "You need to decide who your target audience is and what message you want to leave them with when they reach the end of the book. If you find that you have no 'point' to your story, it may be best to consider binding some copies for family...

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2 comments Memoir writing, personal memoir, universal themes

Friday Speak Out: I Wish I Were A Packrat, Guest Post by Rebecca Gomez Farrell

I Wish I Were A Packratby Rebecca Gomez FarrellI lost six years of my life. Okay, I’m being a tad dramatic. I lost six years’ worth of word processor documents. They’re gone. They left for the great recycling bin icon in the sky and some jerk emptied it. I’m the jerk.A few years ago, I decided the old college laptop had to go. It had been wacky since my roommate borrowed it for a night of feverish...

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2 comments backup files, Friday Speak Out, Rebecca Gomez Farrell

Fonts and Writing Style

by LuAnn SchindlerWhen you're composing on your computer, do you tend to select one font more than another? Sure, Times New Roman is common in the publishing world, but do you long to use other fonts that express your personality?At times, I do. And some times, I compose in those fonts because it makes sense in my mind. It adds an edge to my writing, especially when writing fiction. It's a visual cue that allows me to see how a character sounds. It's a personality trait that formulates...

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2 comments font, LuAnn Schindler, personality

One for the road...

Sometimes, we reach a fork in the road. Rather than deliberate and fret, sometimes, we just choose one road and hope it meanders back to a medium course or path later. If it doesn't, we know that we still made the right choice and that we gained from the journey.I started interning with Women on Writing/WOW through an online program over a year ago. I had found out about the program through past participation in a flash fiction contest that I tried like a lot of things -- on a whim. I...

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NaNoWriMo Stories: Joy V. Smith

I'm past the halfway point (32,000 words) on my novel that I'm writing for NaNoWriMo, but why does the homestretch look even longer?! Anyway, after passing that point, I decided to go back to the beginning. Yes, I know you're advised to keep writing, but I knew I had to do some cleanup and there was more information I needed to put in--that's not an info dump, is it?!--which would add to my word...

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3 comments guest post, NaNoWriMo

Wergle Flomp Poetry Contest - Got Humor?

Ever heard of the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest?Sponsored by Winning Writers, this contest was inspired by Wergle's creator, poet David Taub, who submitted a nonsensical poem to the former poetry.com under the name Wergle Flomp. To his surprise, it was accepted, and inspired by Mr. Taub’s experience, the Wergle Flomp Poetry Contest was born.There’s no contest fee and poets from around the world may enter. Poems must be in English, any length, only one poem per entry. Gibberish gladly...

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Leave a Comment Jill Earl, poetry contests, Wergle Flomp Poetry Contest

B. Lynn Goodwin, author of Journaling for Caregivers, Launches her Blog Tour!

& Book Giveaway Comments Contest!During the six years she spent caring for her mother, B. Lynn Goodwin found comfort in the journaling she did. She eventually began teaching journaling workshops and writing a book to guide other caregivers through journaling.Lynn is also a teacher, editor, and writer. Her work has been published in Hip Mama; the Oakland Tribune; the Contra Costa Times; the Danville...

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26 comments author interview, B. Lynn Goodwin, blog tour, book giveway, caregiving, journal prompts, Journaling for Caregivers, writer advice

Stolen Moment

We, as writers, know how difficult it can be to find times to write. With our busy life styles there never seems to be enough time to actually sit and write.For many of us it is a matter of organizing our writing time around the lives of our families but that can even be difficult to do when you are a parent or when you are at work etc.As many of you know, the best thing to do is setting time aside specifically for your writing. Which, of course, means early in the morning when the...

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Reading aloud uncovers all sorts of treasures and pleasures

Perhaps it is the cooler, rainy weather fall has brought along, but lately I'm spending a lot more time cuddling and reading to my kids. The children's books I'm opening up are inspiring me...I love to hear the cadence of the authors' voices and see the brilliant colors and luscious brush strokes of the innovative artists.In between cuddles and giggles, I ready my ear to focus on word choices and the authors' selections and pacing. Definitely it is a great exercise as a writer (and, as...

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2 comments children's books, Elizabeth King Humphrey, good reads

Writers' Conference Anxiety

This weekend, I am going to a one-day SCBWI-IL workshop in Chicago called Prairie Writers' Day. Is it a good idea to travel to a writing conference on Friday the 13th? Let's hope so! But even it if was a different date with no superstitions, I would still have "writers' conference anxiety!"I shouldn't have this problem--I've planned and taken part in writers' conferences before. I even wrote an...

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1 comment Inspiration, Margo Dill, writers conferences

SEO Blog Talk: What's a NoFollow Link?

If you have a blog and link to other sites (that don't link to yours back), you are giving your PR (Page Rank) away.Why should you care? Page rank measures your site's popularity. It applies to each individual page and post on your blog. The higher the number you have (0-10) the higher up your blog posts will appear on search engines.There's nothing necessarily wrong with giving your PR away; it's...

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Leave a Comment NoFollow link, NoFollow tag, Page Rank, SEO for blogs

You Want Blog Idea Topics? WOW Gives You Blog Idea Topics!

Do you ever sit down at the keyboard ready to post something on your blog and draw a blank? I can't count how many times I've done that myself these days. In fact, things are so slow around here (including brain-wise) that the only things I have to blog about are sick kids, having no time to plow through my gynormous "To-Do" lists and how to function on two hours of sleep every night. Not exactly topics that will draw in crowds of people.Last year one of our fantabulous former WOW ladies...

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6 comments

Interview With Michelle Dwyer - WOW! Spring 2009 Fiction Contest Runner Up

Michelle Dwyer’s love for writing began in high school. She’d studied creative writing and soon after, longed to become a published author. However circumstances arose, causing her to join the military while pursuing business classes instead. Despite receiving high accolades for her military service, she felt incomplete. When the opportunity presented itself, she finished her first romantic/crime...

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4 comments Interview with Michelle Dwyer, Jill Earl, Michelle Dwyer, Spring 2009 Flash Fiction Contest