Putting Your Story Aside

It’s no secret. I have a tendency to bounce between projects. In part, this is because I do work-for-hire and it may very well interrupt a “fun” project. Yeah, that’s what I call my own writing – my fun work. But it isn’t all that fun when you can’t make it work. 

About three weeks ago, I started playing around with a new preschool poem. It was originally a Golden Shovel poem in which you use one line from a poem you love for inspiration and to supply the first word in each line of your own poem. Mine first attempt was a riff on a Poe’s Eldorado. Kindly put, it was awful.

Version 2, written the next day, was longer and worked better except that it still contained blank lines. Version 3 had everything filled in but the rhythm was off. On Day 4, I’d change one word and then change it back. Then I’d do that with a different word. Fortunately, I recognized the signs and turned my back on this particular project.

After a break of about a week, I got it back out. Coffee cup in hand, it took about 10 minutes to fix. Why?  Because I was smart enough to turn my back on the project. 

Unfortunately, it sometimes takes intervention to make me do this. I've been working on a picture book. I LOVE the premise. LOVE IT. Really. But something wasn’t working. I added a secondary character, but things still weren’t quite right.  I took the secondary character back out. Then I printed the manuscript for my critique group.

But I kept hearing this little voice.  “Don’t let them read it. It isn’t ready.”  I brought the manuscript home and handed it to my husband. Then I ran and jumped in the shower. Lots of water would mask the sound of him turning pages. 

I didn’t bother to dry off completely before I hunted him down. “Well?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t work.”

“What? What do you mean it doesn’t work?” It’s one thing for me to think it doesn’t work but where does this non-writer get off?

“You’ve got way too much going on. Yeti. Yoga. Cats. Too much.”

“But . . . yeti!”

“Too much.”

He was right, of course. I’d known something wasn’t working but apparently this time I needed someone else to tell me to set it aside. Hopefully a solution will come in time, because -- yeti! Seriously, how can I not write about yeti?

--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 August 14th. 

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4 comments distance, rewriting, taking a break, when something isn't working

Deadlines vs Taking a Break

This was “The Week of Deadlines.” Educational activities with photos. A sample chapter. A book outline. It made for some really long days.

I’ve learned this week how to tell when I need a break. The first sign came when I told my son that I didn’t appreciate his subtext. He’s sixteen so he shot me “a look” for that one.

The second sign came when I read an article on how not to be too wordy. Instead of just reading the examples, I found myself editing out additional unnecessary words.

But the biggest clue came when I tried to quickly paint my toe nails. I told my son I’d put lunch in the oven as soon as I finished drafting my toes. We decided he should deal with the oven.

So what do I do when I need a break but I have so much to get done? I take a break.

I know. It sounds counterintuitive, but I’ve learned that once I hit that wall, I need to stop. My progress has slowed to a crawl anyway, and if I keep pushing myself I’m going to do more harm than good.

My top three breaks?

Meal time. It isn’t that I’m food obsessed but skipping meals is a big mistake. Low blood sugar does not go hand-in-land with creativity. If it happens to be lunch and I’m home by myself, I listen to an audio book. It gives me something else to think about for a while. Dinner time is family time which always pulls me out of work mode.

Yoga class. Home workouts are too easy to skip as is gym time. Because of this, I signed up for a twice weekly yoga class. I was tempted to skip this week but I made myself go. It meant 90 minutes away from my desk filled with both exercise and deep breathing. I came back to my office focused and re-energized.

Knitting or crochet. Doing something creative, and non-writing related, recharges my batteries. Maybe it’s that I see results. Maybe it’s because it’s meditative. I’m not sure, but it does the trick. I come out of my craft time with writing related solutions ready to go.

Even if you have a deadline or three to meet, be sure to get up and get away from the computer every now and then. Set a timer in another room if that’s what it takes to make you leave your desk. But get up. Don’t skip meals. Move around. You’ll see the difference when you sit back down to write.

--SueBE

Sue is the instructor for our course, Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults. The next session begins on November 9, 2015.

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Leave a Comment deadlines, giving yourself a break, meeting deadlines, taking a break

Friday Speak Out!: The Gifts We Are Given

by Carie Juettner

Last weekend, my husband and I went camping with some friends at South Llano River State Park, near Junction, Texas. We hiked and fire-gazed and ate s'mores and herded children away from hot things and pointy things and things that might bite. We watched the sky fill up with stars and saw the Milky Way stretch itself across the dark. Then we watched it fade away again in the light of the three-quarter moon. Just before nine, moon glow, star light, and campfire flames all dimmed as a bright blue-green meteor lit up the sky on its descent through our atmosphere. At some point, I heard from my tent the mournful cry of my cell phone battery dying. It was music to my ears.

I didn't write anything during our campout, but the smoke and the stars and the moon and the meteor all followed me home. They slipped into the poems I wrote on Sunday afternoon and curled up in the picture book draft that flowed from my fingers on Monday.

I remember thinking, as I watched the meteor light up my campsite Saturday night, that it was a gift, a rare sighting that need not be taken for granted. But then again, wasn't the Milky Way a gift too? And the smell of wood smoke? And the cold air that snuck in between my layers of clothes? And the dead cell phone battery? And the moon? Wasn't the moon a gift too? Isn't it always?

There are so many times when I sit at my desk, trying to force the ideas to come, attempting to wrangle words, kicking and screaming, onto my page or screen. Why do I do this when the world is full of gifts just waiting for me to notice them? All I have to do is step outside for a few minutes. Or read a poem. Or open a photo album. Or drive down a street I've never been on before.

As writers, we have to make the most of the gifts we are given—a snippet of conversation, a dog rolling on his back in the grass, the taste of an unripe raspberry, the moon.

The next time you're slouched over your desk trying to hog tie some poor piece into submission, take a break. Stand up. Turn around. Open your eyes.

The world has a gift for you.

* * *

Carie Juettner is a poet and short story author living in Austin, Texas. Her work has appeared in over a dozen publications, including The Texas Poetry Calendar, di-verse-city, Dark Moon Digest, and WritersWeekly. Carie splits her writing time between her home office and her favorite Austin coffee shops. She has one husband and five pets, and she never leaves the house without at least a little bit of cat hair on her clothes for good luck. Her favorite color is purple. Follow Carie's blog at www.cariejuettner.com.
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!

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3 comments Carie Juettner, Friday Speak Out, Inspiration, nature, taking a break, writer inspiration

Friday Speak Out!: You Deserve a Break Today, Guest Post by Sioux Roslawski

Okay, some of us have been snowed in recently. And you'll see in a moment how that precipitation (which was at first a beautiful white blanket but now is a bit dingier) comes into play, because today I'm encouraging you to take a break...from your writing.

Oh, not a long break. Don't leave that manuscript or that article long enough that it collects a thick layer of dust. No, I'm advocating for a short leave...just long enough to jar your thinking and get your creative juices flowing again. And here are some possibilities:

Handwork—If you knit/crochet/carve Justin Bieber statuettes out of prune pits, moving away from your computer and—for twenty minutes or so—doing something else frees up your mind. You're using your fine motor skills in a different way than tapping away on your keyboard. Then, return to the piece you're working on.

Cooking—Cook a quick side dish or toss a salad. If it's a dish that evokes lots of memories, your culinary creation might lead to future writing ideas. Varied textures and tastes, along with distinct aromas, occupy our minds in unique ways. Then, put your butt back in your chair...

Manual Labor—Okay, here is where the snow reappears. Getting away from your writing and doing something that makes you sweat (like shoveling snow) or gives you some immediate gratification (like scrubbing your bathtub) lets your mind loose, allowing you to return to your writing—rejuvenated.

Something Epistolary—I have a friend who writes letters—dozens of handwritten letters every week, and she is a fierce writer. There must be some method to her madness, so there there are occasions when I put aside whatever submission I'm working on and write a letter. Yes, I'm still writing, but I'm using a completely different process, and as I see the inked (and sometimes illegible) words form on the paper, it gets my brain headed in new directions. Then, get back to your draft.

Exercise—This could mean running back and forth between your chair and the cupboard, getting a handful of chocolate chips each time. It could mean lifting some weights. It could mean doing a bit of Pilates or taking a brisk walk. Then put your rear end (and it might be leaner, after enough “breaks,” unless you take Hershey breaks) back in your writing chair.

Conversation—Talk to a writing friend about what you're working on. This could be over the phone or in person. Taking the time to discuss your writing obstacles, whether it's just a quick chat or a critique session, is extremely valuable. And listening is just as important. Hearing what other writers are working on can spark something in your head.

Obviously, it's crucial we stick to our writing. We have to remain firmly tethered to our goals and keep deadlines circled on our calendar. But if we find ourselves rooted in front of our keyboard and don't move—and do something different occasionally—we might find ourselves getting stagnant.

And stagnant things stink....

* * *

Sioux Roslawski is a freelance writer, a 3rd grade teacher, and a member of the infamous writing group, the WWWP's. She is keeping her fingers crossed about her 9th Chicken Soup for the Soul story, and rescues dogs for Love a Golden. You can find more of her writing at http://siouxspage.blogspot.com.

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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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6 comments Friday Speak Out, Sioux Roslawski, taking a break, writer inspiration

NaNoWriMo Stories: Sanity Check, Guest Post by Amy Mullis

Sanity Check

by Amy Mullis

I love November. The month decorated with shades of orange and gold and...wait. That was October.

November is the month we plan a meal that involves more food than a jetliner requires fuel. We must clean the house, yes, even the corner behind the litter box, because it’s a safe bet the baby will find the petrified Snickers bar and spit it out with a flourish, wrapper and all, when you serve the pie.

We need to see if we have 24 cloth napkins to match the tablecloth and they have to be clean because if Aunt Maude gets the one with the wine stain, she’ll convince everyone that we’re a family of alcoholics who eats candy off the bathroom floor.

Oh, and while we’re up to our elbows trying to shove stuffing into a cavity the size of a quarter, lets take on a writing challenge and agree to throw down 50,000 words like they were marbles on the playground.

If I were into role playing games, I’d be rolling for a sanity check right now.

Head down, I’ve been typing away since the stroke of dawn on November 1. By the second week I finally began to pull ahead on my word count.

Before much longer, perhaps I could work in a bathroom break.

Why do life lessons happen at the most inconvenient times?

A call came from my son, who had one of those days at work. On the ten year college plan, he’s hovering between adolescence and adulthood and presently sitting under a cloud so dark that he was willing to talk about it.

I looked at my blank computer screen.

I looked at my phone.

The computer buzzed a faint protest as I turned it off.

We spent the day as a family, eating fresh doughnuts at a bakery shop where the air smelled of sugar and childhood memories and wonder. We took a trip to the local discount theatre, and laughed at the antics of a curmudgeon turned hero. We ate at a local fast food restaurant, sitting on high stools, swinging our legs.

Then came magic words. “Being with you guys makes up for everything that happened today.”

The next day I got up early. In two hours, I made up the word count from the day before. My mind was relaxed; its empty cup filled with new thoughts, new schemes, new ideas. I finished the day with enough words to pull back ahead. And it was fun!

Take a day off? Crazy. I never would have done it on my own. But it increased my productivity and gave me a fresh outlook.

Take a break. It doesn’t have to be for a day; it can be a walk down the street, looking at the miraculous change the seasons have made in the world around you.

And don’t worry about the napkins. If Aunt Maude gets the one with the wine stain, it will make a great story.

* * *

Amy Mullis is a humorist and essayist who hitched her computer to the NaNoWriMo locomotive for the first time this year, and figures she has to hang on until the end of the ride because she can’t figure out how to stop the train. Her work has appeared on the humorous blog An Army of Ermas and in various Chicken Soup and Cup of Comfort anthologies as well as The Christian Science Monitor and Sasee magazine. She was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2010 Erma Bombeck Writing Competition. Join her for some "Don't let this happen to me!" moments on her blog, Mind over Mullis .

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1 comment Amy Mullis, NaNoWriMo, taking a break