Category: Writing

The productive writer…

is the writer who writes. I know, I know. You’re thinking: DUH. But there’s a lot that goes into writing, and putting your butt to the chair and clicking away at your keyboard doesn’t necessarily mean you’re productively writing.

I caught Ann Aguirre’s blog over at Writer Unboxed the other day, and dang, she’s right (or write, as the case may be).

She offered 5 productivity tips. I’ll paraphrase here:

1) Don’t multitask
2) Know your next scene
3) Writer’s block could indicate a problem
4) Set goals, be accountable
5) Turn off the interwebs

What does it all mean? Come with me, Grasshopper…

Continue reading →

by Categories: Cool stuff to read, Inspiration, Things that make you think, Writing, Writing tipsTags: , 3 Comments

Turn it off, take a break

Hi, all–

I don’t really do resolutions, because I’m constantly setting schedules and goals based on my publishing contracts and other stuff going on. I tend to “shoot for a realistic goal” rather than make a list of resolutions, because I’ve gotten much better at figuring out how I work and what really is doable given my schedule and day-to-day. Which is not to suggest I don’t sometimes overreach. I do. But I don’t beat myself up about it if I don’t quite make the goal. Instead, I assess what the hang-up might have been, and adjust my schedule accordingly.

I know a few writers who feel guilty if they’re not writing every day. To them, I say, make a schedule. If you’re balancing family, work, and daily time, pick a day and a set time and make that your “for sure writing” time. Or try every other day, for an hour before bedtime or wake up an hour earlier. Keep in mind that your writing time is YOU time, and it’s always important to carve out YOU time.

One of the things, though, that I absolutely recommend for writers is to get away from the interwebs. Author Anne Lamott had a great piece recently in Sunset Magazine about making time. One of the things I completely agree with in that piece is turning things off. Stop obsessing over Twitter and Facebook. Get away from the interwebs and go sit yourself in your writing place and have at. Really. Twitter will be okay without you for a few hours. So will Facebook. It’s important for you to get away from those things and immerse yourself in your writing, even if it’s just an hour a day or an hour every other day. That said, it is okay, as well, to take a break from it.

Writing, like, say, a sport or a musical instrument, requires daily attention and/or as much practice as you can get in. Also like a sport or a musical instrument, I’ve found it’s okay to take a break from it for a day or two or even a few days because otherwise, I start to look at it not so much as a joy, but as a chore, and when I start feeling that way, I know it’s time for a break. Or if you’ve got personal stuff that comes up that needs to be dealt with, it’s okay to put that ahead of writing for a bit, though some of us do use writing as a way to balance stress of dealing with whatever else is going on in our lives. Just remember — it’s okay to take some time off from writing so you can get things back in balance. The muses will understand.

Ultimately, what writing requires is not just discipline and scheduling, but also self-awareness. You need to figure out what works best for you, and you need to apply a schedule (practice time) in accordance with your own rhythms. So if you’re running around all day every day and making excuses not to write, then maybe you’d better have a look at the reasons you’re writing in the first place. Could be you need a break from not just writing, but from the pace of your life, and maybe you should think about a retreat for yourself. Even just a day or a half-day of YOU time can help recharge your batteries and give you new perspective.

To that end, turn off the interwebs for a day during the week. Get away from the constant stream of information (which often proves unfiltered and useless) and get back to yourself. You just might find that doing so frees up some writing time and helps you make even more YOU time.

Happy reading, happy writing, and happy Saturday!

by Categories: Inspiration, Writing, Writing tipsTags: 2 Comments

Tuesday Writing Prompt

Hi, all–

Whew. Hope your T-Day was awesome (if you celebrate it — if not, hope your weekend was awesome). I was on the road enjoying some groovy sights n’ sounds but here I am! Back again!

Anyway, I think you need a writing prompt. Try this one, from Writer’s Digest:

A close friend asks you to help him kill his wife and, to his surprise, you agree without hesitation—not because you particularly dislike his wife, but because she’s the only person who knows this one deep, dark secret that could ruin your life forever. Write about how you confront her and how the murder plays out.
Source: Writer’s Digest

A little on the macabre side, yes? Some of you, I’m sure, will dig that. And speaking of macabre, how about 10 ingenious ways to get rid of a body, from 10 different movies? That might help you…um…”flesh out” your scene that the prompt above provides. 😀 And if you just wanna find out about some horror books and news from the horror genre, try Greg at the Undead Rat. He’s always got great info about books and writing in horror. He’ll steer you to places you never thought you’d go. MUAH HA HA!!!

Now if that doesn’t say holidays, I don’t know what does. hee hee!

Okay, kids. More later this week. Take care and happy writing!

by Categories: Writing, Writing tipsTags: , ,

Calls for Submissions, love and leather

Hi, all–

I’m a little late to the party, but found out that Radclyffe’s Best Lesbian Romance 2013 through Cleis Press is up and running and ready to accept submissions. You can go to this link (RadNews!) and there on the left, you’ll see “Best Lesbian Romance 2013” link. Click that, and a pop-up for a .pdf will show. You can thus print it out for easy peasy reference. (Deadline March 15, 2012)

You can also find it here, at the Erotica Readers and Writers Association.

The ERWA also has some other calls for submissions:

JMS Publications is looking for LGBT short stories. See here (deadline Dec. 30, 2011).

EDITED TO ADD: Hi, all–Victoria Oldham noted (see comment below) that JMS seems to be a little tight with story rights. So, make sure you check into that if you want to work with them.

Also according to ERWA, Bradley Publishing is looking for romance, too. Check details here.

And Laura Antoniou is looking for submissions (heh!) to her leather anthologies. Click this link. One has a deadline of Dec. 31, 2011 and another has a deadline of January 31, 2012, and another February 28, 2012. If that’s your gig, go check it out!

There. That should keep you busy for a little bit…

Happy writing!

by Categories: Calls for submissions, Coolness, WritingTags: , , , , , , 2 Comments

NANO NANO!

Hi, folks–

So some of you, I’ll bet, are doing NaNoWriMo. That’s National Novel Writing Month, and it takes place every November. I’ve participated twice, and each time completed it, much to my pleasure. It’s a great opportunity to set a writing goal for yourself, and to achieve it. Plus, you’ll meet lots of other people who are also engaged in it, and established authors offer pep talks and advice throughout.


source: NaNoWriMo

It might be just the thing you need to get off that idea you’ve been sitting on and commit it to paper.

Need some inspiration? Check with author Chuck Wendig. He posted The Inkslinger’s Invocation to provide just that. Check it here. Note–if you are of a more “delicate constitution,” Mr. Wendig may not be for you. Too bad. He’s a veritable smithy o’ words.

Want more, ah, staid inspiration? Here’s Lynda Barry from last year.

The point is, NaNoWriMo is a vast cornucopia o’ anxiety-ridden, excited, jump-on-the-document authors, whether established or not, whether you’ve been dreaming about putting your idea to words or you’ve just been trying to work out the next plot for your next novel. It’s a circus of writing delirium, the kind of milieu that only those who engage in this absurdly profound (profoundly absurd?) pursuit can understand. It’s a slap-happy, punch-drunk commiseration festival, and should you crank out your 50K words by the end of November, it’s a silly, grinning, drink-raising toast to the mighty you, who conquered the demons at the door to your muses’ private quarters.

So if you are an aspiring writer, and you’ve been looking for the opportunity to finally get that manuscript written, NaNoWriMo might be just the ticket for you.

So good luck, word bandits! May your drafts flow effortlessly from your fingertips.

Happy Wednesday!

by Categories: Inspiration, Writing, Writing tipsTags: , , , 4 Comments

Writing tip: “could” be passive

Hey, kids–

Hope this week has started out well for you. Anyway, how about a quickie writing tip?

The word “could” sure gets a lot of (over)use. And what it tends to do is make your writing passive, especially when used in combination with some variant of the verb “feel.”

Example:

She could feel the pain in her ankle when her booted foot slipped off the rock.
vs.
Her booted foot slipped off the rock and pain lanced through her ankle, bringing tears to her eyes.

Do you see the difference? Better yet, do you feel it? That’s the key to showing and not telling. When you use the helping verb “could” too much, you’re pushing your reader out of your character’s head and telling her what your character felt, rather than allowing her to feel/empathize with her.

Another example:

He slowed down because he could see the road was wet, since it had been raining
vs.
Streetlights glinted off the rain-slicked road and he took his foot off the accelerator.

See that? We all know what a road looks like when it’s been raining. But it’s kind of blah, if you will, to tell us that with a “could” construction and, in the next phrase, using “it” to refer to the condition of raining. SHOW us with your words what that road looks like and what the driver might do. Most of us, if we’re not being chased by zombies, will slow our vehicles accordingly.

Author Lori Lake has a great piece on passive voice and words to watch out for right HERE. You can find part 1 of that article here.

Do a search in your manuscript to see how often you use these forms of the verb “to be”: is, was, are, had been, have been, be, become, could be, would be, could have been
(see Lori’s article at the link above)

Yes, you might be adding words to your count. But you’ll also enliven your writing and bring a reader into the story, rather than leaving her outside, with a barrier of passive word-age between her and the characters. I’ll come back to this later. Don’t worry.

In the meantime, happy writing and happy reading!

by Categories: Writing, Writing tipsTags: , , ,

Hallo-WRITE! Short Story Opportunities

Hey, kids–

I’m keeping my eyes open for Halloween writing contests and calls for submissions. Found some cool stuff going on at Dark Moon Books. You’ve still got time to toss your flash fiction in the ring for their “Slices of Flesh.” Click that there link for all the scoop. Deadline is October 15, and this collection launches at the 2012 World Horror/Bram Stoker Awards in Salt Lake City.

Dark Moon is also running THIS fab contest: Apocalyptic Horror Short Story Contest. The down n’ dirty: 4000 words, $10 entry fee, deadline January 15, 2012. Winner gets a hundred bucks and publication in Dark Moon Digest. Must be an unpublished work. There’s also a “no entry fee” option, but you don’t get considered for the hundred bucks, though your story could earn a spot in Dark Moon Digest and if it is, you get $10.

Want more info about Dark Moon’s horror calls for submissions? Check here, too.

Happy haunting, happy writing!

by Categories: Calls for submissions, Contests, WritingTags: , ,

A few calls for submissions

Um–STORY submissions, you nasty-minded cretins! (but that’s why I luuuuuv you!)

Anyway, Lambda Literary posts calls over at their website. Here’re a couple you might want to consider:

Lethe Press is looking for Bisexual/Genderqueer REPRINT SPEC FIC stories for an anthology. $100 if accepted. REPRINTS ONLY. Here’s the scoop. The deadline for both suggestions and submissions is November 15, 2011.

And Storm Moon Press is looking for gay and lesbian stories that center on the theme “whispered vows” — as in, secret marriages. Romance is good, strong erotic elements at the core of your story is strongly encouraged, and your story must have an HEA (Happily Ever After) ending. Clickie for the skinny. Deadline for stories is October 28, 2011.

And here, my friends, is a super fun one. The fun folks over at Cocktail Hour/Bar Rag are holding their own short story contest. The stipulations: between 10K-30K words and the story MUST contain the phrases “Cocktail Hour” and “bearded clam” (oh, lord have mercy!). And you must be 18 or over. There is a prize involved, but it has yet to be announced. So if you’re a writer of lesfic or lesbian fanfic, maybe feel a sexy, nasty groove coming on, well, you might want to give this one a whirl. HERE’s the 411. Deadline is October 15, 2011.

All rightie. Get them creative juices flowing and have at!

Happy writing!

by Categories: Calls for submissions, Contests, WritingTags: , , , ,

On being a writer

Hey, kids. I’m a huge fan of author Chuck Wendig for his spot-on blogs about writing and the life of a writer.

His latest is no exception: “What It’s Like Being a Writer”

It’s true. Every last bit of it. That’s what it’s like.

I get a lot of questions about “work.” That is, what writers “do” when they “work.”

There’s no real mystery to it. I sit down (or stand — I alternate, because the bane of backs everywhere is sitting for long stretches), I open a file onscreen, I go through a couple of chapters to pick up the mood and flavor, and start writing where I left off. I also go back and tweak, edit, obsess, re-do, tighten, and check. I have the interwebs open so I can fact-check (when I’m working on a mystery), and sometimes I stop everything and contact an expert to make sure that I have details right. For me, thus, writing is like putting together a research paper. There’s an internal organization and structure, a way that things unfold, and I have to do some research for a lot of my work.

Having said that, I don’t ever really know how my stories or novels are going to play out or end until I’m practically there. I’m one of those “organic” kinds of writers. I’ll have an idea and I’ll mull it for a while and then sit down and just start writing. I don’t do outlines (unless I’m working on a nonfiction piece), though I do keep notes.

Most writers will tell you that to keep fresh as a writer, you need to do at least a thousand a words a day. And not Tweeting or interwebbing or Facebooking. A thousand words on your project(s) each and every day. Every writer has a different approach to doing those thousand words. I tend to hammer out 2,000-3,000 in a session, which can be an hour or two. On weekends, I might get in 5,000-7,000 words, if I don’t have anything else going on. And yes, I have a day job. I treat my writing like a workout. I do it almost every day. And when I’m not doing that, I’m dealing with publishers, cover designers, and marketing/promotion. Writing is not just about the act of writing. It’s about the entire business that surrounds it. And when I’m not doing that, I’m trying to figure out how to make my writing better, which involves workshops, reading other writers, and engaging in discussions about craft.

But I also have a day here and there where I don’t write. That’s fine. It works for me, because I’ve found that for me, if I force myself to write too much all the time, I stop liking the story, and that’s when I know I have to take a break. But I don’t ever stop thinking about stories. And everything I do during a day has the potential to turn into a story or to be part of a story.

So yes, writing is work. Is it brutally physical labor? Hell, no and I would never presume to compare it to things like, say, firefighting or law enforcement. But it requires a level of engagement with a subject sustained over long periods of time. It can be a lonely, frustrating pursuit with little monetary reward. And no, I don’t know why writers write. Everybody’s got their own reasons. I do it because I love it and it provides an outlet for me that I think (for unknown reasons), keeps me grounded and sane, in a weird way, though I know that lots of writers are rumored to be other than that.

Oh, and writers constantly tell wannabe writers things like this. Because it’s a crazy freakin’ life, and honestly, not everyone should be a writer, just as not everybody should be a firefighter or a police officer. For those of us who are writers, it’s obviously because some strange alien creature invaded our brain fogs like the Borg and now we’re doomed.

So there you go.

Happy reading, happy writing!

by Categories: Random WTF stuff, WritingTags: ,