Tag Archives: restless writers

by | January 14, 2011 · 12:00 pm

Writing on the run: paper or pixels?

Do you scribble in pen on any writable surface when you’re out and about?

Or do you record your thoughts on whatever mobile device you happen to be lugging around (i.e. BlackBerry, iPhone, netbook, laptop)?

For me, it depends where I am when inspiration strikes. I was putting on mascara in a late-for-work panic this morning when I had a great idea for some dialogue. Luckily, I had my BlackBerry within reach, and emailed myself the details. (Yes, I had my BlackBerry with me in the bathroom. You’ll never know when I’m tweeting “en toilette,” will you?)

At the doctor’s office last week, I was well prepared with a little spiral notebook and my favourite pen. I was still scribbling when the nurse was taking my temperature.

So how about you? Is it paper and pen, or thumbs and phones?

Maria

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by | December 17, 2010 · 6:31 pm

Let us write! Let us write! Let us write! (sung in a falalalala kind of way)

Holiday meetings are the best.

Our writing group held its final meeting for the year and oh what fun it was! There were pretty gifts and sprinkled cupcakes—and heck, even prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe. And PAGES; yes, we managed to consume treats, whilst still making time for each of our critiques.

We worked through 2 queries (1 rated PG-13; 1 rated G), 1 red carpet synopsis, 1 alien picture book manuscript, and 1 sleep-inducing essay (or not) for the insomniacs among us. We were also fortunate to receive personal feedback from LD’s 6 year-old son, aka the Simon Cowell of children’s literature, who we lured a critique from with Lindt chocolate Kinder eggs.

All in all, it was a productive meeting, with ‘minutes’ to boot, albeit recorded on a yellow sticky note (the jumbo kind—with lines). It was a terrific meeting, stuffed full of encouragement and advice (and a party dress exchange?) as we journey the road together to that paranormal place called publication.

And so, for the record, here are the sparkly business bits.

Restless Writers commitments for 2011:

  • LD: to tweak her query & synopsis for sending to agents in January
  • LD: to do a proposed table of contents for her humour non-fiction project
  • LD: to submit a story to Chicken Soup for the Soul
  • MM: to revise her sleep essay for submission to the Globe & Mail
  • MM: to clear her plate of indexes (for good, this time)
  • BJ: to revise her picture book and send the baby to agents
  • BJ: to continue querying her middle-grade fiction

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all! May you have the time, the wine, and the gusto to write your pants off this season.

BJas

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by | November 15, 2010 · 2:33 pm

You Come Here Often?

We Restless Writers are still swooning over the great Twitter chat (Twat? Oh dear…) last week with the writing group from Calgary. One question we kept asking – and getting asked – was how we (the Restless Writers) met. It began like many of today’s great relationships do: online.

I had taken some writing workshops with Brian Henry and he suggested that I find a critiquing group for my work in progress. I had no clue how to organize, find or join such a group so Brian offered to put an ad in his popular e-newsletter.

It was like match.com for writers: “Single, writing female seeks same for mutually beneficial relationship. Groups ok.” I received e-mails from an established writer (whose group had broken up a few years prior) and another writer who, along with her friend, was looking to start a formal group that focused more (or at least equally) on the writing as it did on the wine.

Getting ready for our first meeting was like preparing for a blind date: Will they like me? Will I like them? Do I have the goods to keep them interested? We had a meal together and although things didn’t work out with the other writer, Beckie, Maria and I decided to keep going. Now here we are, over a year later, still as enamoured with each other as ever.

Although the wine flows freely and we drown ourselves in a river of melted Brie, the Restless Writers do eventually focus on the job at hand. I’ve basically re-written the first 100 pages of my WIP and it wouldn’t have happened without this group. And we’re not benefitting solely from the critiques at these meetings: the ladies are always bringing magazines and books for general interest or inspiration (i.e. when I had sexy-times-writer’s-block I was given Exit to Eden…consider me officially unblocked, ladies…).

For me, this group is essential. They hold me accountable, bolster my self-esteem, help me through the rough spots and make me a better writer. In fact, they have all the qualities you could ask for in a spouse writing group.

LD

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by | September 30, 2010 · 8:56 pm

Photo Diary of a Restless Writers’ Meeting

The Restless Writers are back in business! In lieu of a post, check out this photo diary from our latest meeting.

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by | September 15, 2010 · 9:54 pm

Can I get a HELL YEAH for September?

Along with the rest of the world, I am attempting to get back in the groove with work, life, and my writing. Work and life are judiciously in check; however the writing has been somewhat sporadic, even lethargic. But that’s all about to change.

We, Restless Writers, begin our regular meeting schedule once again next week (Squeee!). This means dates and deadlines—and of course, a little vino. It also means GOAL-SETTING. September is the perfect time to put the goods on the table, so-to-speak. And I’m not talkin’ butter tarts here (although, I’m sure that will happen too); I’m talking about realistic and achievable goals. You know the kind. The SMART ones. With details. And dates.

One of the most important things writers can do is set clear, explicit goals about what they want to accomplish. Most of us have a bunch of vague goals, like the “one day” kind (as in, “one day, I’m going to write a novel), and then there’s the “some day” kind (as in, some day, I’m going to finish my book and find an agent). Make that day, today. Don’t be a chug-meister. Set a clear goal and get ‘er done.

It’s time to spend some quality time with words. Be an active practitioner of your craft. Commit to improving your art. According to Dustin Wax, an author’s relationship with a work in progress is a lot like your relationship with your significant other. You have to work at it every day, and nurture it, and accept its quirks and even failures. And if you lack real commitment, sooner or later, one or the other of you will flake out.

Sure, you gotta start small. Have some fun with it. But don’t expect the unexpected or worse, confuse your goals and expectations (and end up disappointed). Planning and patience are crucial to your success. Some brilliant advice from Write for Your Life, Iain Broome: Aim high. Expect nothing.

My September Writing Goals:

  • Attend (schmooze) Surrey International Writers’ Conference, Oct 22-24.
  • Polish my LITTLE EARTHLINGS non-fiction proposal, craft query, & send the baby out by Sept 30.
  • Send 3-5 queries to agents (per week) for my MG novel: BILLIE BOOTS, til Dec 31.
  • Give my YA novel (LIGHTS) some lovin’ — review outline, write 1 chapter per week, beginning Oct 15.
  • Select 2 Screenplay Competitions for my family drama: FROM NEBULA TO HERE.
  • Ressurect thriller project (or at least determine its future!)

I am WRITER. See me WRITE!

Beckie

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by | May 31, 2010 · 4:52 pm

And the powerful play goes on

Today is the birthday of the great American poet Walt Whitman. Controversial from the moment he self-published Leaves of Grass, Whitman has been maligned as immoral, perverse, sacrilegious and decadent. But he is also praised as the poet of democracy, the father of free verse, and possibly the first Beat poet.

I like to think of him as one of the original restless writers—in addition to writing, he made a living as a typesetter, a clerk, a teacher, a journalist and a nurse. “Do I contradict myself?” he once said. “Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.”

The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?
            Answer.
That you are here—that life exists, and identity;
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.
                                                                                                 From O Me! O life!

Maria

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by | May 20, 2010 · 2:03 pm

Restless Writers web address change alert!

Sometime during the week of May 24, 2010, our web address is changing to www.restlesswriters.ca.

Nothing else besides our URL is changing, except for the fact that our writing group is newly energized to share our experiences writing and living in our little corner of the GTA.

If you’re a regular reader, please change your bookmarks to our new address next week. (Visitors using the old address will be redirected for a while.) The change might take a few days to go through the WordPress system.

If you’ve just stumbled upon the Restless Writers’ blog, welcome, and we hope you’ll be back soon. Why not drop us a line, and let us know how the writing life is going for you? We’d love to hear from you.

Have we mentioned how much we appreciate you stopping by?

“Readers, after all, are making the world with you. You give them the materials, but it’s the readers who build that world in their own minds.” Ursula Le Guin

Maria

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by | April 21, 2010 · 12:44 pm

Coffee = fuel for restless writers

I wholly believe that writers are a restless bunch who need a change of scenery every so often to write at their best. Starbuck’s coffee shops and William’s cafes are filled with writers and poets who find inspiration among the aroma and vibe of the local java joint.

A few years ago, the Toronto Star asked some coffee-shop writers what they were working on. An article today follows up with those same writers to see how far they’ve come.

The next time you’re settled into a cosy chair in your favourite cafe, strike up a conversation with the scribbler beside you. You never know if that writer will be the next Giller Prize winner.

Maria

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