Summer Break: The Boost Your Writing Needs

This summer, take time to smell
the roses and recharge your writing.

When you were ten, summer break represented a glorious stretch of unstructured free time. Not so as an adult, but even a writer and a Mom can reap the benefits of a summer break attitude.

Take a Break
First things first, actually take a break. This is especially important if you are someone who is used to finding writing time every day. Take a few days and don’t write. We just spent 4+ days in Chicago. My word count for those days? A big goose egg, and I didn’t miss it one bit. Given how much I love my work, this told me I needed the break. Sometimes we get so focused on how to work writing in that we don’t always remember to take a break to recharge.

Take Stock
While you are taking this break, take stock. As you get ready to start writing again, what are you looking forward to and what are you dreading? Recently, I was offered a new contract that would mean steady income. As I put off signing, I realized that I didn’t want to go back into that field. During your time off, if there is something you are happy to leave on the desk, maybe you need to replace it with another kind of writing. Consider how you can make changes.

Take Time To Read
One way take up a new writing challenge is to read. While your kids take advantage of the summer reading program at your local library, do the same. Try that new novelist you’ve heard so much about. Revisit an old favorite. Engage in your guilty pleasure reading. Look at what you write. Does it bear any resemblance to what you love to read? If not, try writing in this area.

Take a New Path
One of the things I always loved about summer was the chance to take a fun class and try something new. This was when I picked up a paint brush and excavated an archaeological site. This summer, try writing something new to you. Get back into poetry. Try your hand at essays. You may discover a new writing passion.

You may not have much time to write in the summer months, but take advantage of the opportunity that summer offers you to recharge, renew your career and get started on something you can pursue with passion once everyone else is back in school.

--SueBE

Find out more about Sue Bradford Edwards and her work on her blog, One Writer's Journey.

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8 comments career, read, recharge

Do This For Your Children's Writing Career: Join SCBWI!

I admit it, I'm a joiner. I belong to three writing groups and a critique group: Missouri Writers' Guild, Saturday Writers (a local chapter of MWG), and SCBWI. I think the best way to keep your head up and words on the page, while you are pursuing your writing career, is by networking, discussing, and being around other writers. It's important to do this in person and online, and it's important no matter what genre you write.

But if you are a children's writer or illustrator, fiction or nonfiction, for ages 0 to 18, then you should seriously consider joining the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, otherwise known as SCBWI. I'm not usually so opinionated--and I'm hoping that some of my fellow WOW! readers and SCBWI members will chime in here, too--but there is not a better organization for children's and YA writers in my opinion.

First, it's only $85 for the first year's dues, and $70 after that. This is for an entire year, and so per month, you are only spending $7.08 a month on your writing career the first year, and $5.83 a month after that. Don't go to Panera Bread for lunch one day each month, and you've got the dues. Plus, if you are claiming writing expenses and revenue on your taxes (which you should be), the dues is one of your writing expenses!

For your membership, you get a plethora (thank Cathy Hall for this great word choice! ) of FREE writing resources from the inside track on agents and editors who are accepting manuscripts to magazine listings to children's book reviewers and blogs. You can build a profile on their website as well as numerous other membership benefits, which you can check out here.

I'm not going to repeat everything their site says because I'd rather share personally how I've used SCBWI in my writing life. First, I love the fact that when you join the national level, you are automatically put into the state chapter FOR FREE. This is where you will do a majority of your activities. State chapters have free workshops as well as paid conferences and retreats. Members always get a discount to the paid events. Most state chapters have a message board, website, and/or newsletter that is full of information you can use for your writing career. And best of all, real, live writers in your very own state, many published and knowledgeable, are now accessible right at your fingertips. They want to help you and talk with you because you are fellow SCBWI members.

Conference @ the Hyatt Regency

When I lived in Illinois, I found my critique group through SCBWI. I participated and led free shop talks and networked with some very well-established authors. We attended the LA conference at the beautiful Hyatt Regency hotel, where I learned all about Facebook and blogging and started both in August 2008. I'm sure that my career took off, and that I sold more books as a result of this. I know a lot more people in the business and am surrounded by great marketing ideas and creative brilliance all the time. Currently, in Missouri, I've been asked to lead a writing workshop on June 8--this is a paid speaking opportunity where I can also sell books. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.

If you are looking for an organization with professional children's and YA writers, full of benefits--including ones that will help you get published and market your book--then go to SCBWI now and sign up!

Please share your experiences and opinions if you are a member, too. Questions are great, too!

Margo Dill teaches several online children's and YA classes for WOW!, including one on taking hold of your career, another on short fiction, and a novel writing workshop, too. For more information, check out the WOW! classroom. 

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5 comments career, children writers, children's writing workshop, Margo L. Dill, SCBWI

Five Year Writing Plans

by Wonderlane Flickr.com

I'm currently editing articles for our next e-zine, Issue #56, with the theme of psychology for writers. As a writer, you know how much of the daily writing process is mental preparation. You have to mentally prepare yourself all the time to work on your writing, and there are probably hundreds of reasons why you could have writers' block. This is why one of my favorite classes to teach online is Writing for Children: How to Get Started and Take Hold of Your Career. And one of my favorite exercises in the class is creating a five-year plan or vision for each student's writing career.

Why do I think this is important? We already make six-month and one-year goals in the class. The goals are S.M.A.R.T., which is also crucial. S. M. A. R. T. means Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. For example, I talk to my students about having a goal, such as, "I will finish my 30,000-word middle-grade novel in six-months by writing 5000 words a month," as opposed to: "I will write three picture books and send them off in six months." We make plans for how we will achieve each goal and make sure it will actually work in the lives of each individual student. This is important for our mental health!  And if you have never done this, I encourage you to, AND share these goals with the people you live with, so they can help you achieve them.

But the five-year plan/vision is something different. It makes you imagine your life as you REALLY want it in five years, but only focusing on the things you can actually control .So for example, a lot of writers want to write: "In five years, my novel will be published and on the New York Times Bestseller List." This is a fine dream and one that should never be squashed. However, it doesn't belong on a five-year career vision because you can't control getting on the New York Times list.. A better five-year plan would be: "In five years, I will have a published novel. I will either publish it traditionally or self-publish. I will be busy marketing by having a blog on the topic, visiting other blogs, working on speaking engagements, and writing freelance articles on the topic. I plan to support myself with my writing in  five years OR have a part-time job that allows me to write in the morning when I am at my best."

I ask students to be optimistic when turning in their five-year plans, but to try to include only things that they can actually control. This is hard--again, I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings or ask people not to dream. But I do think it's important when thinking of your writing as a career that you are realistic with a bit of hope and optimism thrown in.

In my opinion, part of writer's block or even writer's apathy comes because you have set too high of expectations for yourself or even goals that you cannot control. (As much as we try, we can't control those agents or editors or even readers whom we want to buy our book!) Also, if you don't envision your life as a writer, in my opinion, it's easy to let other things take over--other hobbies, family commitments, part-time jobs, volunteer positions, and so on. If you keep the ultimate five-year vision in mind, then you will have an easier time saying no to some of these extraneous things.

If you've never done a long-range vision for your career, I encourage you to. Share part or all of it with us in the comments! We'd love to hear. :)

If you are interested in Margo's class: Writing for Children: How to Get Started and Take Hold of Your Career, which includes a critique on a picture book manuscript or 10-pages of a novel, then you can find more information here. Margo is the author of Finding My Place: One Girl's Strength at Vicksburg and edits most of the e-zine articles for WOW!

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8 comments career, freelance career, goals, Margo L. Dill, SMART goals, writing plan

The 100 Years from Now Story

What are you writing that someone will want to read in 10 years? In 50 Years? In 100 Years?

We all write grocery lists for ourselves, trash as soon as our shopping cart is full. To-do lists are crossed off and tossed as soon as you can. A letter or email lasts a bit longer, but the pleasure in these is usually short-lived. The results of our writing can be short-term or long-term. But we hope that something we do is longer lasting. The idea is scary: what could I write that someone would want to read 100 years from now?

Like Ray Brandbury's Fahreint 451, we want our stories to be the ones people choose to keep in their hearts. How do you write for posterity?



Passion. First, find something for which you have passion. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson was written over 60 years ago, but today we recognize it as the beginning of the environmental protection movement.

Emotion. Find emotional connections to others that will resonate with the time and period in which we live. Charles Dicken's story, "A Christmas Carol," is about the poverty of his times and how stingy characters can be turned around. But it's also a timeless story of the power of love to change a person. Look for strong emotion in your life or surroundings and trust that those emotions will resonate across the years.

Voice. Most important, be who you are. Write it your way. Who cares that first person POV, present tense apocalyptic stories are popular. If you write in verse, then write in verse. If you write in 3000 word chapters, do it. If you like jargon, dialect, do it. Or, like Hemingway, maybe you tend to write in simple sentences and vocabulary. What tpics do you love, what storytelling techniques turn you on?

Practice. Of course, saying that you need to use your own personality and voice doesn't let you off the hook. You still need to practice and learn and find ways to write stronger. It may modify your working methods and voice some, but hopefully, you'll find ways to satisfy general aesthetics about writing, but with your own twist.

I like watching shows like HGTV's "Design Star"or any of the other competition shows on these days. Because so often, it is about Voice. You'll hear the judges say things like, "Show us more of who you are." "We want your take on things, not just an imitation of other people."

It's a struggle to be original. Judges urge contestants to relax, to be themselves.
If you want to be read a hundred years from now. write something true to only you, something that no one else could have written.

What is that story or piece of writing that you have been scared to write because you didn't think you could ever write? You should do it. No one else can. And it's just possible that it is the one thing that will still be read 100 years from now.

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2 comments career

Jockey Person to Person for Writers: Wardrobe and Income

Amy Lamphere, writer and senior team leader for Jockey Person to Person, was worried she didn't have a retirement plan, as she supported her writing career--waiting for her big break. She had been working retail to "support that habit" when she decided to go for something with  more security. This is when she got into "social selling" with a company you've probably heard of before--Jockey. I'll let Amy tell you in her own words about her business, about her writing, and about how you can get super comfy clothes or even a new career to support your writing until it takes off.  

WOW: Hi Amy, I know that you have a business and a writing career, so we'll talk about both today. First, please share with The Muffin readers about your business, Jockey Person to Person. What is it exactly?

Amy: You know the underwear company, right? Person To Person is their leading direct-to-consumer division. We have shaken up the social selling marketplace with a super functional, super fashionable line of clothes that women love to layer on. I am a sales rep and coach for a national team of fabulous women who have found great money and great balance between their Jockey business and their life passion--whether that's family, education, volunteering...or writing!

WOW: So, what are some Jockey styles that you can suggest for writers? Do you have any particular pieces that you LOVE to write in?

Amy: My blog is The Lady in Leggings, so you know what I like to wear! Jockey P2P's active wear is simply the best, perfect for yoga class, then settling down to the computer. I love our Convertible Wrap Cardigan--it can be worn twenty different ways, and the fabric is delicious. And our Modern Pants--fondly known as The Butt Pants (because they make EVERYONE's butt look good)--and Jacket are my writing "uniform": I put them on when I need to get some serious pages done, and the fact that I FEEL great really comes through in how I approach my work.



WOW: Some people think it doesn't matter what they wear when they write. Do you agree with this or do you think the way you look and/or feel makes a difference for your creativity?

Amy: I swing a little old school on this topic. I was brought up with "you never get a second chance to make a first impression" mindset, and that sentiment has served me well. I don't think you have to obsess or overdo; but if you are confident in your appearance, it does reflect in your work, whether it's alone with your laptop or at a conference with potential colleagues, readers, or collaborators.

WOW: Or what if some of our writers are also speakers? Do you provide some good wardrobe choices for speaking and presenting, too?

Amy: Crazy good wardrobing--and that is the KEY word. We work with our clients to build ten-piece wardrobes that mix-and-match into thirty-plus outfits, at an average of $40 per three-piece ensemble. Our Smart Casual stretch suiting is incredibly comfortable, professional, and MACHINE WASHABLE. I love it for travel--our pieces can be rolled into a carry-on, and you arrive virtually wrinkle-free. Confidence in a duffel bag! And, frankly, I am a better writer than I am iron-er!

WOW: Me too! As we all know, writing often doesn't pay all the bills. Is it easy to get started as a Jockey Person to Person consultant? Where would our readers go to find more information about this business opportunity?

Amy: I consider Jockey P2P to be my "pocket business" -- it allows me a very livable income on MY time, which balances my writing, my dance classes (I teach four and five year olds creative movement and adults NIA technique in a local studio), and my family. I would love to coach other writers to create their own business: they can look at our opportunity at www.jockeyp2p.com/p2p, and contact me through my website www.myjockeyp2p.com/goodstuff. Our Starter Kit goes for $199, but we have a recruiting incentive in play now where a new consultant can get the kit for $19.95 and be instantly eligible for $2,300 in cash incentives. We ask for a commitment of "precious part-time hours," but the payback, both financially and in the areas of personal and professional growth--well, it has been most satisfying.

WOW: It does sound like a great opportunity for someone who is looking for flexibility and an income and who LOVES clothes. Tell us a little about your writing career and what you are working on.

Amy: Writing has been a constant in my life. I called myself a poet in high school and college, worked as an editor for a trade journal in New York, researched and assisted in the writing of four cookbooks, wrote a weekly restaurant column for a Minneapolis weekly, and contribute dance reviews to several papers. I was a prolific grant writer until I discovered P2P three years ago. Sharing Jockey clothes, and supporting others doing the same, allowed me to earn the income I wanted while helping me use a different side of my brain. I have fun with social selling--something ANYone can do with practice, and I am living proof of that--and then go home with laser-focus on my writing. I have two novels in the works and a memoir sitting with an agent in New York. I love taking my P2P business--and ten-piece wardrobe!--on the road to writing conferences and retreats. I love being able to work, write, and travel on MY schedule. It has made ALL the difference in my daily pages.

WOW: How exciting, and good luck with your memoir! To close, Muffin readers, if you are interested in Jockey Person to Person or discussing anything that we've shared here, please feel free to contact Amy. Here's her info:

Amy: You can find me online at a-lamp(at)earthlink.net and on Facebook as Holmes Campbell (my middle names). I am starting my blog, THE LADY IN LEGGINGS, and tweet as ladyinleggings. My Jockey business website is www.myjockeyp2p.com/goodstuff, and readers can learn about the business and place orders there. I would LOVE to answer any wardrobing or sizing questions anyone might have and can travel for trunk shows or fundraising events. I would love to offer Muffin readers 25 percent off their first order, so they can try these great basics for themselves! 

Doing this business has certainly given me a great cast of characters for my writing. The stories I hear, the places I hear about...well, you can't make this stuff up!

WOW: That is so nice of you to offer 25 percent off, Amy! Good luck to you in your writing career and with your "pocket business." Okay, ladies, let's take advantage of this offer and get ourselves a new wardrobe (or business oppportunity!).

Interview conducted by Margo L. Dill

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1 comment career, Jockey Person to Person, making money, Margo L. Dill, supplemental income, writing wardrobe

Moving in New Directions: The Freedom to Create New Paradigms

Last night my partner brought me flowers and tools: diagonal pliers to replace the ones he broke, and joint pliers because mine do not work very well. Another woman might have offered an evil eye for a gift of tools, but for me it was perfect.

Embrace who you are.

I learned a long time ago that I don’t fit in the usual boxes. To some people, like my sister, my having nine careers in thirty-four years seems flighty and unfocused. Others see my ability and willingness to shift lanes as adventurous. For me, it has just been the natural progression of my life.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Helen Keller

So often we become stuck in society’s boxes of what is acceptable or what is required of us to move forward. Almost every writer experiences these judgments at some point. When leaving a well paying corporate job to work from home. The stigma of following a creative passion versus a good business position. The credentials needed to fulfill a dream.

A friend once told me, “If God gave you the inspiration you are already qualified.”

The world is in a topsy-turvy state. We are in a flux where no one decision is the “right” one. Work for yourself or someone else? Stay in the business world or pursue creative drive? Print publications or eBook? What kind of platform works best and is FaceBook really necessary? With the economy constantly shifting, the benefits of long-term employment no longer secured and conventional marketing loosing ground society has no choice but to roll with the shifting sand.

Don’t be stressed, be happy!

This chaotic state offers us the gift of choosing our own way, the space to create new paradigms. It is as if a big, dry-erase pad is sweeping through all the old, tired models and leaving us with a big, blank board. The only question is…

What will you place on it?

by Robyn Chausse

Photo Credit: arztsamui/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Leave a Comment career, choosing a new path, courage, Inspiration, Moving in New Directions: The Freedom to Create New Paradigms, Robyn Chausse

Fickle editorial love?

I love writing and I love my editors. Well, on most days. Sometimes, I guess, I feel a little fickle and want to reconsider the high school job counseling which said I should become a funeral director or a beekeeper. Now, I have nothing but respect for funeral directors or beekeepers, but chose not to follow those particular areas of work. (Although I often wonder…what is it about both of those that would have suited me?)

It’s not often that my thoughts turn to those careers, until I’ve had a particularly bad day with an editor. I’ve had two recent events—interspersed with an awesome experience. Nonetheless, the bad experiences gave me pause.

One editor requested such a serious re-write that I verged on crying out “But this reeks of being a new assignment!” While I swallowed my pride, re-wrote the piece and thought of career changes, I slowly came to realize that the editor had forced me to improve the piece. Just as a teacher wants you to reach into your skill set, this editor was challenging me to better my game. Begrudgingly, I appreciated the editor’s request and will probably cherish the clip for that experience.

I have a couple clips like that. Sometimes, for me, it is hard to discern if the published piece is very good or if I pull it out as one of my clips for sentimental reasons.

In the second instance, an editor alerted me to a published article similar to a piece I had turned in days before this other story appeared. In the e-mail, I was asked if I wanted to massage my piece, based on what the other writer had written. The published piece was a different take on the same thing. While I respect the direction the other writer took, it was not the way I interpreted my assignment. I responded to the editor that I trusted the editorial direction given and would make any changes upon request.

So, while I wait for this editor’s response, why do I feel the urge to search the classifieds for jobs in the funeral industry?

Elizabeth King Humphrey is a writer and a certified Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach. She writes about motherhood at Coastal Carolina Moms and creativity at TheWriteElizabeth. Find her on Twitter @Eliz_Humphrey to follow the saga: will she start applying for funeral jobs? Will she dive into beekeeping? Or will her editor *pay* for a massage instead of asking her to massage the article?

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Leave a Comment career, editor, Editors, freelance writing

10 Tips to Feng Shui your Office

As the kids head back to school, you too can start with a clean desk and some fresh goals. This article offers some great tips and motivation for getting your workspace into shape.

--MP

Feng Shui (fung-shway) is the study of arranging your environment to enhance your life. Every minute of every day your environment is either supporting you or draining you. Feng Shui teaches you to join forces with your environment to make living your best life effortless.

Not only does your environment reflect your consciousness, but also the flow of energy in your home and workplace determines the overall quality of your life and its outcome.

By balancing the energy in your environment, your own energy will be in harmony, and you will draw to you, people and opportunities that reflect this balance. Your environment indirectly determines the type of relationships, finances, career opportunities, etc you attract.

Because you spend so much time in your workplace, this space has a huge influence on your life. Here is a list of basic feng shui enhancements you can make in your office space to support you in creating an environment of success.

1. Clear the clutter in your office : Clutter is anything unfinished, unused, unresolved, tolerated or disorganized.

When you clear your clutter you get into your power and create a space for new things to come into your life. You will have more energy and creativity to design your life to reflect your authentic self.

Clutter is like emotional constipation - it bogs you down. Filing cabinets need to be regularly purged and desktops kept clutter free.

2. Place your desk in the ‘power’ position: The ideal placement for your computer and desk is in a position that allows you to see the door of your office. If this isn't possible, you can restore good Feng Shui by arranging a mirror that gives you a clear view of the door. A small convex mirror designed for use on car side mirrors can be purchased and attached to the edge of your computer. Cost, about $3.00.

3. Make sure everything at your desk allows you to be comfortable: A good combination glare screen/radiation filter to prevent headaches and eyestrain, a comfortable chair that doesn’t squeak, comfortable keyboard and arm position, a mouse that fits your hand etc. Anything that causes you discomfort will drain your energy.

4. Keep your computer clutter-free: How is your Inbox? Create Folders to file emails you want to refer to. If you see hundreds of emails when you open your Inbox, you will feel overwhelmed. It's important to regularly go through all your folders to delete emails no longer needed. Once a week check your Deleted Items folder and empty. Is your Desktop full of shortcuts to programs from a past life? Do you have programs on your computer you never use? Computers are great clutter collectors, and like us, they work better if we keep them decluttered.

5. Enhance your Prosperity Corner: As you enter the door of your office, the far left hand corner is your Wealth and Prosperity corner. What do you have there? Clutter in this area will definitely be affecting your prosperity. This would be a good place for a small tabletop fountain, a valuable item or even an affirmation of what you want to attract. Blues, purples and reds are the colors of prosperity. Can you include one of these colors in something that makes you feel prosperous?

6. Create a nourishing view: What do you see when you look up from your desk? If you see a brick wall, this could explain why you feel stuck! Paint the wall a color you love, hang a favorite painting or poster. Make sure what you see as you are thinking, uplifts you and nourishes your creativity.

7. Clean your windows, dust and vacuum : What do you see when you look out your window? Is it a clear view, or do you look at the world through a murky lens? Regularly cleaning your office, and emptying garbage and recycling bins daily will keep the energy fresh.

8. Buy a healthy plant : A plant will bring life into your workspace and will also absorb toxins in the air.

9. Separate your workspace : If you must have your workspace in your bedroom, try to partition it off with a screen. Work and sleep are two conflicting energies. Having a relaxing sleep will enhance your work time.

10. Repair or replace broken objects : Anything that isn’t working represents a block to the flow of energy. Light bulbs, clocks, doors that don’t open smoothly – why risk not being at your best when you are putting so much into your creations. By consciously creating your environment, your environment in turn will create a quality of life to support you in reaching your potential. Feng Shui has a powerful effect on your life – whether used alone, or used in conjunction with healing work or your personal growth path.

C2008 Vicky White, The Feng Shui and Raw Food Coach. Get Vicky White's FREE "5 Biggest Attraction Mistakes" report and her FREE articles to boost your passion, purpose and creativity at: www.LifeDesignStrategies.com

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1 comment career, computer, feng shui, home office, Marcia Peterson, organization, workspace