The October Panic

So here it is October, a whiff of pumpkin spice in the air, swirls of red, gold, and brown leaves in the neighbor’s yard, and maybe somewhere, folks are even pulling on their favorite boots. And as you, dear writer, sip on your toasty beverage and gaze out the window at the leaf blower sending all those swirling dead leaves into your backyard, all you can think is, “WAIT, WHAT? NANO IS JUST ONE MONTH AWAY! 2018 IS ENDING IN A FEW MONTHS! AND WHAT HAVE I ACCOMPLISHED? WHAT? WHAT! WHAT?!”

Okay, first of all, take a deep breath. I’m pretty sure that you’ve accomplished way more than you’ve imagined, even if your achievements were not exactly on your list of writing goals. Um…you do still have your goals, right? (I’ll give you a few minutes to find that list…)

Got it? Good. Now set it aside. The thing is, we often focus too much on our failures rather than examining the whole picture, and end up feeling just awful. So instead, let’s go off list and focus on all the aspects of the year so far. Did you get in your steps every day, lose a few pounds? Or maybe you’ve suffered the loss of a loved one and watched as carefully laid plans drifted away. Did you have major renovations or make a move? Have you navigated new and challenging waters of employment? Maybe you finally got an agent, made a major sale! Whatever the ups and downs of your year, from the physical to the emotional to the spiritual, it’s impacted your writing goals for better or worse.

I'm not where I thought I'd be in October, but still, I feel pretty darn good. Despite all the comings and goings of a wedding, I’ve finished a major novel revision. Maybe five years ago, I would’ve accomplished much more, but I’m weighing my achievements against this year only. That's what matters for me, and it’s what matters for you as well. So now, let’s look forward. We have three months left and that's plenty of time to make a plan.

First, prioritize. Do you want to do National Novel Writing Month? Then now is the time to do your prep. And give some thought about what you want to accomplish with Nano; you don’t have to write a novel, or get a certain word count. Make Nano your own, but it’s imperative to start the planning stages now. Bottom line is this: whatever is still on your writing list—Nano, a revision, a freelance project— that you desperately want to finish by the end of the year, focus on that goal.

Because the second step is all about that ticking clock: be realistic about what you can accomplish. Once we hit the holidays, with costumes to make and kids home from school, and family visiting, and baking and cooking and…well, honestly, I’m already wore out. You only have so much time here in the home stretch so make it count with whatever writing project(s) you choose to tackle.

And the third step, because I’m all about the Rule of Three, is celebrate what you’ve accomplished so far. Pick up that warm beverage and put your feet up for a few minutes. Congrats to you on whatever you’ve achieved and good luck on what’s to come.

And one more thing. Feel free to dump all those leaves back in your neighbor’s yard. (That’s what I’m fixin’ to do.)

~Cathy C. Hall

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7 comments achieving writing goals, Cathy C. Hall, National Novel Writing Month, prioritizing

Five Minutes a Day: Roughing Out Your Novel

About a month ago, Sioux challenged us to state a BHAG – a big, hairy, audacious goal. Mine is writing a piece of fiction long enough to require chapters. The problem is that I’m writing two nonfiction books and, thus, the fiction keeps falling by the wayside.

A friend of mine drafted her first novel writing fifteen minutes a day on her lunch break. But that just didn’t feel do-able. To put it simply, I’m a full time writer who doesn’t have a single full time work day. I’m hoping that will change soon, but it is going to require some help from outside. So right now I’m learning to work around it.

Fifteen minutes a day is impossible but five minutes a day is do-able. But is it enough? Can you really rough out a novel in five minutes a day? I wasn’t sure but it wouldn’t hurt to try. For the last month, I’ve written five minutes a day on my novel. Most days I don’t get to it until bed time but I pop in here and do those five minutes.

But is it enough?

A month ago, I had two chapters or 1000 words. Today, having worked five minutes a day for a month, I have 6,400 words.

They won’t all make it into the final draft. One chapter wandered off in an odd-ball direction. You know how it goes. The whole chapter, you’re type-type-typing, but something feels off. I realized I had no clue how to get from the end of this chapter to the end of the book. I’d written myself into a corner.

That’s when I looked at my outline. It’s a lot like looking at the map after you get lost. I had definitely taken a wrong turn. And that’s okay. A rough draft is rough. Brilliant statement, yes?

The point is that I managed to keep writing even during the week that I drafted 12,000 words on one of my nonfiction projects. Fifteen minutes a day? Impossible, but five worked.

Part of what makes it work is acknowledging that this draft is truly rough. I don’t go back. I just keep moving forward. And that’s okay. When I write later today, I’ll just ignore chapter 10a and start at the beginning of chapter 10b. I’m not deleting the messed up chapter because I actually need part of it. I’ll just keeping moving forward and sort things out in the rewrite.

NaNoWriMo is coming up. It’s a great idea if it works for you, but not everyone can draft that many words in a month.

But five minutes a day? You can do that. And in a month you’ll have about 5,000 words. Keep it up and your word count will reach even higher.

5 minutes. You can do it.

--SueBE

To find out more about Sue Bradford Edwards' writing, visit her blog, One Writer's Journey.  Sue is also the instructor for Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults. The next session begins January 8th, 2017.

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8 comments achieving writing goals, five minutes a day, NaNoWriMo, Sue Bradford Edwards, writing goals

Doing A Little Work Each Day: A New Year's Lesson

I always make huge New Year's goals for writing and probably too many. Here are a few examples:

by alibree (Flickr.com)

• Get a new website and blog
• Finish my YA novel
• Find an agent
• Market my books
• Read more

In just this short list, these five tasks are huge and overwhelming. This is why I have trouble making any progress because being a stay-at-home mom and a writer/editor is often a juggling act, where I don't feel like I have enough time for anything.

This year, I decided to take a deep breath and break big goals into little tasks. So at the end of this year, even if I haven't completely accomplished the BIG goal, I will have at least made progress toward it and be well on my way for 2016.

Here's a specific example that I've been working on in January, in the category of new website and marketing (which actually go together well). My website needed an update, and then in December, my blog disappeared. So, guess what? I was now forced to work on this task of a new website. I asked my parents to babysit one Sunday afternoon; and for two hours, I found a new template and wrote a couple new posts and some pages. I replaced my old site with a new home page and erased some old pages. It wasn't done! I had more pages to add about my books, speaking, and editing as well as widgets to add to the sidebar, but it was a start. I felt so happy when I got home. I couldn't believe the relief I felt from just working toward the goal instead of avoiding it until I had an entire day (which I never have) to tackle a new website.

Then with the new website, I created a new tagline for my work: "Be Unique. Be Strong. Be Yourself." I decided I needed to let the world know about this, so I started posting about the tagline on social media, and I blogged about it a couple times on the group blog I belong to, The Lit Ladies. I also spent a big chunk of time, one day when my husband was off work, creating a newsletter to send to my email list. This newsletter announced a picture book contest I'm having to get people to visit my new site and also the fact that I need reviews on my books. I've had a great response, and I couldn't be more thrilled with how it is all working together.

Do I still need to do more marketing? Well, yes, especially with my YA novel. I need to find teen readers, find speaking engagements, write a sequel, re-do my Tumblr and Instagram accounts, find blogs to guest on and more. But doing something each day is getting some speaking events, some books sold, and some guest blogs/reviews. So, things are starting to happen.

What's my advice for your 2015 goals? Look at how you can break them down into small bits or think of something you can do each week to work towards them. Then give yourself a pat on the back because you are moving forward!

Margo L. Dill is a children's author, speaker, editor and writing teacher. She teaches writing classes online for WOW! Women On Writing. An upcoming class, starts March 18, some might be interested in is: WRITING FOR CHILDREN: How to Get Started and Take Hold of Your Career. Check out the details here:
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/classroom/MargoDill_WritingForChildren.php

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4 comments achieving writing goals, Inspiration, Margo L. Dill, New Years writing Resolutions

Before You Move Forward, Take a Look Back

Happy New Year’s!

I know you’re ready to get crackin’ on all those 2015 writing goals, but before you dash onward, you might try taking a moment and looking back. That strategy worked like a charm for me and…you know what? I feel a story coming on. I think I’ll call it “The Awakening.”

(With apologies to Kate Chopin’s novel of the same title which is really quite a classic novel and well worth a read. Though honestly, my story’s sorta worth a read, and it’s much shorter.)

On a cold and blustery morning in January of 2014, I sat pondering over the fiction side of my writing business. I decided that I could not face yet another 55,000-word rewrite of my angsty teen novel (which definitely needed revisions).

And besides, I wanted happy. I wanted funny. I wanted short.

So I signed up for a yearlong picture book challenge. I would concentrate on 500-word- manuscripts. You can’t get any shorter than that, I figured, as books go.

And anyway, I’d been dabbling with picture books for a couple years. Why, I had gobs of picture book ideas—and even a half-dozen manuscripts—hanging about in virtual files. But 2014 would be different, I vowed. I would really apply myself to the picture book format, the limited word counts, making the space for images. You know, all the important stuff that makes for a swell (and salable) picture book.

Off I wrote, and read, and wrote, and read some more. And goodness, I learned SO much about writing picture books! (Mostly, I learned that it’s much harder than it at first appears.) I connected with a terrific online community of passionate picture book writers whose mountain of knowledge on the subject astounded me! Oh, I would be just like them; my picture book success was right around the corner!

But in the late spring, I found myself flirting with revisions on one of my middle grade manuscripts. After all, lots of picture book concepts were applicable to the longer form, and so I worked on my story a bit. In between the important business of writing picture books, of course.

Then suddenly, in the middle of the summer, I had a fun and fresh idea for a new middle grade novel. Well, I would just take a day or two (or a dozen) to flesh out the first chapter, get down my ideas, sketch out an outline. But then I’d go straight back to picture books. Especially since I was preparing to attend a week-long picture book workshop.

So there I was in the mountains, surrounded by writers who ate, drank, and breathed picture books. And as I soaked up their lovely critique and wonderful camaraderie, I felt…out of place.

Their picture book excitement and joy—it was downright palpable, not to mention enviable. I wanted some of that passion for my writing, and for me, and in a quiet moment of reflection a few nights before I left the workshop, I found it.

It had been there, waiting for me, in my middle grade voice.

I enjoyed my “Year of Living With Picture Books” (even if it was more like seven months), but I was ever so happy to get back where I belonged. And the next time I need a break? Maybe I’ll just go to a movie.

So on this first day of January in 2015, when you are rushing to make goals and resolutions, slow down for a moment and give a thought to your 2014 writing life. You might be surprised, and more importantly, awakened, to where your heart—and pen—is leading you.

~Cathy C. Hall

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16 comments achieving writing goals, Cathy C. Hall, Kate Chopin, New Years writing Resolutions, The Awakening

Updates from a NaNoWriMo Battlefield

Photo | EKHumphrey

This is the blog post where I admit that I’m still on the battlefield, but I have no plans for winning the battle. (I refuse to call myself defeated.) Two weeks ago I braved jumping into NaNoWriMo without a plan, a story outline, or a writing schedule. (Thank you for all the cheering after my November 1 post! I appreciated it!) Diving into NaNoWriMo was less pressure for me than in other years, but I knew it would still require a commitment of my time.

I wish I could claim that I haven’t been writing for the contest because of some other fantastic project. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. In this time, the biggest realization I’ve come to is that—writing or no writing—I’m not putting aside enough time for me.

For example, those times when I had a spare moment, my focus shifted from writing to helping my daughters clean their room during a crisis—a buyer contacted us to buy their beds we were replacing and we would do some repairs. Or I was diving into the launch of my email list free gift. (That excitement was lessened by some last-minute editorial changes that took time.) These were not the only things that became a bump in the road. Unfortunately, I’ve let individual bumps grow into a mountain that was between me and my writing.

For the next two weeks, I’m going to shift my focus. Obviously, I’m not going to finish a novel in the next fifteen days. But I know I want to finish it. What I can do is I can put a plan in place to at least get writing during this busy time. And these are tips that are applicable post-NaNoWriMo.

• Refrain from reading (too much). Don’t get me wrong, I love to read. Lately  I find that if I check my phone or email, I start clicking on links. Thirty minutes later, I’ve started reading the longest article in the history of the world. It’s a sign of my procrastination, which I need to curtail.
• Plan better. The bed fiasco sucked more time than necessary because I let it. I could have stepped back and allowed my kids more autonomy while I supervised. I thought by jumping in, I would get return to writing time. Instead, I was pulled deeper into my kids’ activities. (Totally worth it, mind you, but I still could have planned better!) This weekend, we are throwing a birthday party...and I've been planning!
• Better buddy contact. I needed to check in with my NaNoWriMo friends and give them support. I find having those writing conversations energizing, but I haven’t made time for them…yet!
• Shuffle writing time. I’m a morning writer, so I often tell myself I can’t write creatively later in the day. So, for the next two weeks, if I don’t write in the mornings, I vow to write during my lunch hour or before bed at night. I will be writing, no matter the time of day.

What have you been doing to reach your writing goals, NaNoWriMo or others? What have you had to rearrange or stop doing in order to make progress on your work-in-progress?

Elizabeth King Humphrey is a writer, editor, and teacher. Her free guide, Harmonizing: Find and Communicate to Your Audience, helps health and wellness professionals communicate with their potential clients.

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2 comments achieving writing goals, daily writing, Elizabeth King Humphrey, NaNoWriMo, planning, work in progress

On Your Mark…

The race to the NaNoWriMo finish
line is on! Photo credit | EKHumphrey

The race is on!

Today marks the start of NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month. I don’t know if you are like me, but I have signed up for NaNoWriMo each year for the past gazillion years. In fits and starts, I have tried to reach the finish line. This year is the first year I think I may actually complete my novel. Why? Well, besides the fact that I’ve finally added a couple buddies (and hopefully more!) to my account, it’s the first year I decided I wasn’t going to try to finish. I know, it doesn’t make sense to me either. But stick with me.

Each year, I sign up and I’ve set my expectations really high, which includes the idea that not only will I finish, but that I will win, be discovered, and…you probably can imagine the rest. Each year I’ve received the emails from the organizers for motivation or to check in. Many years I leave them unread. Some years I’ve read them and quickly deleted them, but with a sinking, guilty feeling.

What makes this year different? Three reasons:

• This year I have created no unwieldy expectations for myself. This is probably the key to my deciding to jump in because setting expectations almost always creates a place for me to step in and fail. With no expectations going into NaNoWriMo 2014, I have nothing to lose and only something to gain. Expectations can create an incredibly high hurdle and this year I vowed to simply try, which generally brings me a more positive outcome. (I’m not setting the expectation, as I have in the past, that I will reach the daily writing goals or that I’ll make it the full thirty days. Effectively, I’m hoping to trick myself into crossing the finish line.)
• Organic encouragement. Since my graduate school days, joining a writing group has been on my list of things to do. Instead, I signed up for NaNoWriMo each year and made excuses for not finishing. Now I have two capable and fun writing buddies—one who lives overseas and one who lives nearby—to encourage me and for me to encourage. (And it doesn’t hurt that my oldest child has discovered the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program. She’s gung-ho, so now we can be in this marathon together.)
• Thirty days of writing: a beginning with an end. I search for writing retreats with the dream that I will finally have time to write. (See family obligations noted above.) It’s foolish to think my life’s schedule will change in the near future, so thirty days of writing in the midst of Thanksgiving and teaching editing and my daily job is a goal I can work toward. Keep my chaos going and I will conquer it! Even if I find time to write for only twenty minutes during the month, then that equals twenty minutes more than if I hadn’t decided to participate. And I need to start somewhere toward writing the novels that are in my head.

One of the best reason to do it this year? You. I’m kicking off the month of November writing on The Muffin, then I’ll be back in the middle of the month and then at the end of November. It seems like destiny!

Whether you are diving into NaNoWriMo or not, I hope you will check back on my progress. And if you are diving in, good luck!

Have you tried NaNoWriMo? Are you signed up for NaNoWriMo this year? If so, what keeps you going to the finish line?

Elizabeth King Humphrey is a writer, editor, and serial NaNoWriMo unfinisher living in North Carolina. She just realized that she needs to write about three times this amount daily for the next thirty days…and has fainted from the thought. :)

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4 comments achieving writing goals, balancing life as a writing mom, Day 1 NaNo, Elizabeth King Humphrey, NaNoWriMo

Sacrifices of the Writing Life

Me at 17

I'm not sure what happened, but the time between the photo on the left and the present seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. One minute I was a senior writing essays in English class and the next I'm staring at the invite for my 20-year high school reunion.

For the past few years, there's been a nagging voice in the back of my head telling me that I have yet to publish a novel and I'm not getting any younger. For awhile, I was able to momentarily silence that voice, but it's starting to get louder and louder lately. Never mind that I have experienced success in the freelance writing world, won awards for my writing and interviewed hundreds of expert sources on a number of different subjects. I can hear the voice of my senior English teacher, asking me to dedicate my first book to her, and it makes me hang my head in shame because I haven't done it yet. I haven't been working hard enough toward my goals and I know it. There are days when I wimp out and tell myself that I'm probably too old to keep pursuing this particular dream.

My heart sank when I realized the weekend of my reunion is the same weekend as the Carolinas SCBWI Conference, which I registered for months ago. I've signed up for an intensive workshop on using imagery and metaphors in my writing and purchased two critiques for the first 10 pages of my YA novel. I was pretty down for a few days. After all, this is the conference where I got a pretty harsh critique on this very same book last year and I really would love to see some of the classmates I haven't seen since high school graduation.

Then I happened to get on Facebook and read a great inspirational post by author Jessica Bell. She shared the story of getting dismissed by a publisher who basically told her she was kidding herself if she ever thought she would be an author. But--and this is the thing that struck me--she kept on, eventually building a great career for herself as an author, editor and literary magazine publisher.

"If you want something, LEARN IT. BELIEVE IN IT. DO IT," she said.

So as much as I would like to make the drive and spend the day with my old friends, I had to decline the invitation. I told them, that I'm sorry, but I'm still chasing my dream of becoming a published children's author and have a conference to attend instead. And I still have a lot of work to do.

Maybe by the next reunion, I'll have a book to share with them.

Renee Roberson is an award-winning freelance writer who also works as a Blog Tour Manager for WOW! Women on Writing. Visit her website at www.finishedpages.com.

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5 comments achieving writing goals, Renee Roberson, Writing Conferences, writing inspiration