To celebrate Thursday, come join us for a list of thirteen things…
Riding Nicole’s Coattails
Not to cheat on my assigned blog post, I would like to build on the valuable one that came prior. Nicole Gordon’s thoughtful post inevitably makes me think of my own writing dry spell. She offers some truly useful advice. If I may be so bold, I’d like to reinforce something I consider important.
To cut down on distractions, Nicole mentions setting up a small desk designated for writing. She also made sure to give the space atmosphere. This is ideal!
I did something similar a while back, claiming the corner of a spare bedroom. I set up a desk and even installed a small aquarium. The problem is that, while the fish tank got me started on a whole new hobby, I drifted away from writing.
The lapse is partly due to a mentally tiring day job. Many aspiring authors suffer the same, however; it’s no excuse to let my art wither. How do I get back into a flow of writing through which I can find both enjoyment and pride?
For one thing, I need to resume utilizing that currently neglected space. Even sitting at my desk for non-writing tasks will hopefully spark a habit and ultimately the urge to write. I figure it’s a start.
Now I need to carve out quiet time and avoid distractions as Ms. Gordon wisely suggests.
All The Time In The World
When I left my job at the end of June, I had all these magical visions of entire days spent writing, where tens of thousands of words would appear effortlessly on the page, and completed manuscripts would pile up faster than I could submit them.
Now here it is the middle of October and I have to say that pretty much the opposite is true. I’ve written maybe 4,000 words total since the beginning of July. I’ve missed several blog post deadlines. I haven’t even opened the file for the project I’d hope to complete in July.
How is that possible?
While I was working, there was no question in my mind that it was my job taking up my time and energy and preventing me from writing, but if that was the only issue then I would have a lot more words on paper than I do right now.
First, I have come to realize that there are always distractions waiting to rush in and fill the gap when you manage to clear one off your plate. Suddenly it’s the TV show I have to catch up on, or the reading I’m doing in preparation for book club, or the extra long walk I’m taking rather than work, but they’re just as effective at eating into the time I have to spend in front of the page. That doesn’t make them bad things, but left unchecked they can take over and make writing that much more difficult.
Second, I may not have a job, but I still have a Critic. I still have that voice inside me pointing out that the sex scene I’m writing really isn’t that sexy, or that I’m not nearly as clever a writer as that girl in the Wordstock workshop. In fact, my personal Critic has an even easier time in some ways, because I’m alone more often and that much more vulnerable to its insidious suggestions.
So what do I do? How do I defeat the distractions and send the Critic packing so I can be as productive on the page as I’d like to be?
There is no one right answer to those questions, but here’s what I’m trying to do right now.
1. Schedule writing time.
When I just let things happen, I never had any time to write. I had to take control of my time, consciously set aside time that is devoted entirely to writing, no matter what.
To help myself be more accountable I created a calendar that clearly marks the dates I’ve set aside to write, as well as any deadlines I have, and I posted it where I can see it every day. That is not to say I’ve been one hundred percent successful at sticking to the schedule, but I did better this week than I did last week, when the schedule was a mental decision and not a physical piece of paper clearly reminding me where my focus is supposed to be.
2. Remove distractions.
My writing used to happen at the dining room table. Every time someone came over for dinner I’d have to pack up the computer and then set it back up again the next day. I was sitting right in front of a large window and the sliding door. The natural light was great, but I’d look up every time someone walked their dog past the window, and that led to a drink or a snack or a stretch and suddenly I’ve killed 20 minutes not writing. And then the next person walked by.
Now I’m writing at a small desk. It had to be small, because my apartment is tiny, but I now have a permanent place set up to write. And I can see the laptop from anywhere in the house. I still get the light from those windows, but those dog walkers are much less distracting from the corner of my eye than they were right in front of me. And the pretty flower-shaped lights and candles give me plenty of ambiance.
3. Tell your accountability buddies.
Once I made my schedule and set up my desk, I told my family and friends about it. I confess this was more about keeping them in the loop than an attempt to garner their support, but that’s how it worked out. The potential is there for the people in your life to abuse this knowledge, to deliberately sabotage your plans, but hopefully that will not be the case.
I have been fortunate. If I talk to my family on a Tuesday or a Thursday they ask me what I’ve been writing, because they know those are the days I’ve scheduled to work. My friends call me to chat on Mondays and Wednesdays so I can have a break from job hunting and my writing won’t be interrupted. It has been an unexpected, but awesome reinforcement that has helped keep me on track.
Ultimately I’ve come to realize that I write when I’m focused and prepared, and when I’m not, I don’t. Writing is never going to be something that magically happens, even if I become lucky enough to support myself by writing full time. Opportunities to write come because we work at that them, because we carve out that space and time and make it happen.
What worked for you? How do you make time for writing?
Thursday Thirteen
Welcome to the celebration of thirteen random things. Click below to read…
Wiley Wednesday – Writing Quantity Over Quality
As the month of October quickly slips along, I’m left to contemplate participation in NaNoWriMo. That is shorthand for November’s National Novel Writing Month. It’s actually a worldwide affair during which writers of every conceivable genre scramble to put out 50,000 words toward one story in thirty days.
This is no minor feat, demanding an average of over 1,600 words every day. Last year I count myself blessed to have succeeded. The resulting manuscript still needs work, as I set it aside in favor of other projects and then life in general. Still, I did it!
Dogged persistence isn’t the only requirement. A big part of the process involves turning off the inner Critic. That alone is no easy task. Another is ignoring the desire many of us have to edit what is on the page instead of continuing to write. Edit in January or February after the pressure is off and you’ve stepped away from the project for a time.
Finishing fifty thousand words in thirty days requires each author to focus on simply spooling out the story rather than worrying over the quality. This is key to completing a tale under any conditions, let alone increasing the rate of production.
So, write instead of editing. Write despite any murmurings of an inner critic. Just sit down and write.
Have I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this year? I honestly can’t say. First, I need to figure out what to write! It’s great fun, though, and provides an opportunity to meet writers online and in person at various events or through the website.
If interested, you should definitely check it out. Instructions for participation are simple, and then you put fingers to the keyboard and get busy. It’s that simple, if not exactly easy.
Write, right?!
Thursday Thirteen
Here we are again toward the end of the week. Click below to check out our contribution to this weekly event.
Scrabbling for Life
Having become recently hooked on playing Scrabble via an android mobile device, I realized that there are many similarities between the game and life.
To find success and happiness folks need a balance of luck and skill. You need to pay attention and follow the rules. If you find yourself unhappy with your lot, you can gamble in making a change much like throwing away letters from your options in the game. The trick is that one needs to be willing to end up in a worse situation.
But enough about life in general. This blog is about creative living. And that, blessedly, has no rules outside of still paying attention and definitely opening your mind.
As for the game, I like to play Scrabble because I love words. Writing is understandably my favorite creative outlet. Fortunately, writing is very different from the game. There is no limit on the number of words or letters available to play. The trick is about putting the letters down more than having either luck or skill.
Much can be said for other forms of creativity. I hope you’ll find yours and go have some fun. You might very well change your life for the better while you’re at it.
Thursday Thirteen
Join in today’s meme with a read and a comment!
Wiley Wednesday—Custom Facebook Fan Pages
One thing I always admire about the bigger-name authors is their beautiful custom designs–Twitter backgrounds, websites, Facebook pages…things I didn’t think the averaged e-published author could afford.
I was SO wrong.
Let me tell you about the company ShortStack. They’re new, hip, and with it. The FREE version of the program would allow you endless ways to customize your Facebook fan page. And it’s fairly simple to use–just click and drag the elements you want added to a new tab (y’know those things along the left column under your picture? Those are the tab elements) and then connect your account to Facebook. POOF! You have a new tab! (For an example, look at Skylar Kade’s page–thought it’s on the edge of NSFW)
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This is what the tab composer in ShortStack looks like. While I’m sure you’ll enjoy exploring on your own, I’d like to highlight ten elements of the program that you should know.
1. Your composition tabs: design (where you put the elements together), CSS (where, if you know this coding language, you can make your tabs look even more slick), and PUBLISH, where you apply the Facebook tab you’ve just created to your Facebook page. The image below shows the PUBLISH tab, and there are two very important things to change before you officially publish your page. First, change your tab name to something descriptive, like “Welcome”
or “Contest”, otherwise it will default to “Tab 1”. Second, if you want this to be the first thing that your visitor sees, you should change it to the “Default landing tab”.
2. Tab name: like I mentioned above in the Publish tab, also change the name here to match.
3. Add widgets: These are the different elements you can add to your page.
4. Basic tools: You can add elements for pictures, slideshows, text, links, and a shopping cart, though I primarily stick to the pictures and text (NOTE: there is also a text element at the bottom of the widget column; this is for HTML text. The top text element is more like a word processor that allows you to choose font, color, style, etc)
5. Promotions: from left to right, the widgets are Promotion, Voting, and Entry Count. Note that if you are running a promotion there’s extra work involved because you have to create the promotion information and entry form–but it’s well-worth it. What I prefer to do is create two tabs–a “Welcome” tab with basic information, and a link to my “Contest” tab. (NOTE: while you can’t create two tabs at a time, the free version of Short Stack does allow you multiple tabs)
6. MailChimp widget: Have a newsletter or thinking about sending one out? You can add a MailChimp sign-up widget to your Facebook tab. I love MailChimp as much as I love ShortStack–and it’s equally free.
7. Integrations: YouTube videos (for those book trailers), twitter streams, and RSS feeds–all can be added to your tab. To keep things from being crowded, consider creating an additional tab for your RSS and twitter feeds.
8. Forms and Promos: This is where you’ll be directed if you add the promotion widget (#5)
9. Edit Widgets: This is where you drop any element you want added to your tab. To rearrange their order, grab the top left corner and move the element. The pencil allows you to edit the widget–definitely explore all the options available to you there. The teal button at the bottom, “show titles and borders” is something I usually unclick. Otherwise, each widget will be boxed and titled on your Facebook page.
10. Live Preview: This is what your page will look like to a visitor. Note the three options: A key (what the page administrator would see), A thumbs up (what a fan would see) and a red-lined thumbs up (what a non-fan would see). If you look back to #9, each widget has these similar images below them so you can determine who sees what. This is useful for what is called “fan-gating,” where you show exclusive content only to your fans. So, for example, you could have a promotion widget that is set to fan-only (click the thumbs up at the bottom of the widget box) and a visitor would have to “like” your page before seeing the contest information. (NOTE: in place of the key, the Edit Widgets area uses two people to represent what EVERY visitor sees)
11. Status: This will show you whether your tab is Unpublished or Published.
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I know this is sounds complicated, but play around with it–if there’s something you don’t like, you can always edit it.
Feel free to direct any questions at me (@caseylynnmms) or at Jim from Short Stack (@shortstacklab)–they’re really good about helping their customers.
Happy Fan Paging!