Tag Archives: writing

by | February 16, 2011 · 2:16 pm

Practice makes perfect

Getting back to thinking about writing as a happy chore

When I was a little girl, like other little girls, I had to take piano lessons. This was not a happy time for me. My piano teacher, Mrs. Kimpton, reduced me to tears on many occasions. It wasn’t her fault though; I take all responsibility for each week’s emotional drama. The problem was that I didn’t practice.

I was supposed to practice 30 minutes every day, starting with scales, working my way through the Royal Conservatory lessons, and experimenting with Hooked on Classics.

But here’s what usually happened: I would get home from school and either watch TV, read a book, or chase muskrats at the creek behind our house. (Yes, it’s hard to believe I was a tomboy once, considering what a delicate flower I am today.) To me, practicing piano was a chore; it was something I had to do. And there were so many other more enjoyable things to do instead.

As a consequence, I never ended up loving to play the piano. Although I enjoyed the end product, I was happier to be done, than to be doing.

Fast-forward to today, and I’ve fallen into some of those same bad habits.

The Restless Writers have monthly (-ish) sessions. The day after last month’s session, I promised myself that I would write 500 words a day, just like those classy and committed Wordbitches out west.

One day into a week filled with work, freelance commitments, household responsibilities and an attempt to fit in some exercise, I was telling myself, “Okay, you can skip today, but you absolutely must write 1,000 words tomorrow.” The next day was worse. I’m sure you can see the inevitable word-count snowball coming a mile away.

Our meeting’s on Friday—and if I don’t write a novella by Thursday evening, I’ve got nothing for my girls. Sigh…

So my lesson for today is to get back on track. Get back to writing a little every day. And get back to loving writing a little every day. Don’t let writing become a dreary chore—write for the beauty of language, the pleasure of creation, the excitement of story-telling.

Every session with the Restless Writers is an opportunity to get motivated. Here’s to backing up that motivation with action, and thinking about writing as a happy chore.

Have you ever considered writing a chore? And does that thought motivate or de-motivate you?

Maria

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by | January 25, 2011 · 10:25 pm

To Pay or Not to Pay

I recently discovered a great new resource, written by a published author: Jody Hedlund. She offers wonderful advice on everything from plotting to querying, but I was most intrigued by her post about the benefits of paying a freelance editor to critique your work.

Early on (probably too early, as it was my first draft) I had an editor critique my manuscript and I found the feedback to be invaluable. Along with a lot of other great tips, he basically told me to ditch the first act and start my story on page 79 (I was the queen of telling, not showing). He also suggested I join a critique group, hence the Restless Writers.

I was considering having the first fifty pages of my mss critiqued by a different editor, but unsure if I was simply procrastinating on the inevitable rejections that come with querying. But as Jody’s post points out:

It also gives us the ultimate critical and objective feedback we need. An editor tells us like it is, minces no words, and doesn’t tip-toe around trying not to hurt our feelings.

It sounds similar to a writing conference in that there are no guarantees that an agent will result from it, but it is an investment in my growth as a writer.

What do you think? Have you paid an editor to critique your work? Was it worth it?

To the comments!

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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 | November 3, 2010 · 2:10 pm

Ten reasons why November is the perfect time to write

The Restless Writers were considering participating in NaNoWriMo this year. But one lingering bout with the flu, one schedule so busy that peeing had to be optional, and one flood of new freelance work all added up to a resounding not this year.

This doesn’t mean we’re not writing. We just have to do without the accountability, tips and motivational supports built into the NaNoWriMo community.

For those of you like us who are not part of the NaNo tsunami, here are some reasons why this month is still a great time to write:

10. We’re fresh off the flight from SiWC. Time to leverage that motivation into some ambitious word counts.

9. No-one’s getting any younger.

8. It’s getting cold outside, but it’s nice and toasty in front of your computer.

7. You won’t feel bad when you see those “Wrimos” tweeting their daily word counts, because you’ll be holding your own. (P.S. Tweets count…don’t they?)

6. Tweeting word counts—and not embellishing—will give you a warm fuzzy feeling, like a snifter of Drambuie.

5. Even though Scrivener for Windows isn’t yet available, now is a great time to check out some other software, like PageFour, RoughDraft and WriteWay Pro and see what you want to put on your Christmas wish list. See more options here.

4. What else will you do during the post-Halloween and pre-Christmas shopping and party marathons?

3. You still have two months to reach those writing goals you set for yourself last New Year’s. (Unless you’re @RestlessBJas, and you set your goals in September.)

2. There are no more reality show finales to distract you.

1. You’re a writer. This is your calling. Today is just another day that you have the chance to bring your stories to the world. So get to it!

Good luck to Wrimos and non-Wrimos alike!

Maria

PS: This was our 100th post. Cue the balloons, party hats, and wine in a box!

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by | October 5, 2010 · 4:40 pm

Giving my organizational tools a makeover

Fall is a busy time for the Restless Writers. This is when we set our writing goals for the year, and get back into the swing of our meetings post-summer hiatus. We’re writing and tweeting and Facebooking with abandon. Two of us are preparing for the Surrey International Writers’ Conference, and one is also trying to maintain some semblance of a personal life (way to go, Lori!).

Sounds like a lot, right? I for one am feeling a bit frazzled.

I am a natural multi-tasker. Worker-bee by day, writer and indexer by night; full-time wife, aunt, and friend; and caretaker of three demanding cats, I’m a busy gal. Like most women I know.

In general, women are better multi-taskers than men. Yes, I’m gonna throw it out there. I’m not necessarily saying that women are naturally better equipped to handle more than one task at a time—I’ll leave that to biologists and neurologists to make that argument—but somehow women have gotten pretty good at it.

The men I know have the ability to focus on one task at a time, work on it until it’s done, and then get started on something else—piles of laundry, ringing telephones, and deteriorating manicures be damned! I’m envious of this ability. I can almost understand why some young women turn to ill-gotten prescription drugs to finish the items on their to-do lists. (No, no, I kid! I can barely swallow an Advil.)

Busy as I am, I continue to accept new projects and develop new ideas every day. So what’s going to help me hunker down and work with the focus of a man? I’m giving my two main organizational tools a makeover:

Old: The To-Do List – Ah yes, that seemingly helpful list of things that you have to do, today, this week, this month. A to-do list is a mind-numbing, never-ending and self-created abyss of worry and guilt. Toss it.

New: The Get-‘Er-Done List – If I know I only have three hours one day for my projects, I have some idea of what I can get done. My list for today would be 1) write and post a new blog post (check!), 2) edit my latest short story, and 3) find five markets to submit the story to next week. A total of three things that I can achieve in three hours.

Old: Editable Calendar – I did try this. I got one of those big editable whiteboard calendars and installed it in my home office. But moving those little stickers around and re-writing my notes reminded me of that scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where Indy and co. come across a room-full of Nazis in a castle who are planning their conquest on a map of Europe. *shudder* Not really my style.

New: Mobile Calendar – I use my BlackBerry for everything from checking Twitter, texting my husband, tracking my workouts, taking photos of my nieces and sometimes even making phone calls. Why didn’t I think of using its organizational functionality earlier? I’ve started scheduling in dedicated research, writing and editing times right into my BlackBerry calendar, and it’s working very well so far. Seeing how much I’ve accomplished each week keeps me motivated.

What tools do you use to keep your projects on track? And do they need a fall makeover?

Maria

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by | September 13, 2010 · 12:16 pm

Taking It Outside

As a restless writer, I don’t like to stick to my home office. I like to move around, and see if there’s some other chair, or view, or ambiance, that will get my literary mojo flowing. The same is true for my restless colleagues, who mine the creative potential of the local hair salon and the edge of suburbia.

I like to experiment with new places to write. They don’t always work out. Early last Saturday morning, for instance, I drove out to my favourite spot at the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Hendrie Valley Nature Sanctuary. The well maintained trails and boardwalk draw nature-seekers, amateur photographers and amblers like me.

I settled onto a sturdy bench perfectly situated beneath some leafy trees, and overlooking lush wetlands. A few ducks paddled about and the crickets were singing. Some chickadees peeped charmingly at me from the branches. It all felt very Thoreau-like.

Beady-eyed squirrel

It was wonderful for the first few minutes. My notebook and pen were at the ready. I breathed in the cool, damp air, closed my eyes and grabbed onto a snippet of dialogue that was rambling around in my head. I opened my eyes…just in time to see a beady-eyed grey squirrel creeping along the handrail.

I leapt from the bench with a lady-like squeal and looked around. I was surrounded. Three chickadees were peering hungrily at me from the trees—not so charming any more. A cardinal, normally the shyest of birds, was perched smack-dab in the middle of the boardwalk. Some rustling just off the trail signaled the arrival of one of those cute terrors: a chipmunk.

Turns out this lovely boardwalk that had seemed so promising as a writing spot is also a feeding ground for spoiled rodents and cheeky birds. These little beasties had grown accustomed to being hand-fed by visitors. Without any birdseed to fling in my defense, I was liable to be swarmed.

That squirrel was pretty damned bold. I thought he was going to scramble up my leg. He advanced. I retreated, all the way back to the parking lot. Back in the safety of my car, I realized that I had lost my good pen. I hoped that squirrel choked on it. A gaggle of Canada geese squawked at me as I drove away, probably reminding me to bring food next time.

Sheesh. Nature and I don’t always get along. Next stop on my places-for-restless-writers tour? My local pub. I think I’ll be safe from the outside in there.

Maria

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by | August 22, 2010 · 1:13 pm

How garage sales are like editing

The weather was good to us today. The rain even held off til the end of our event—a garage sale in the country. Today, we edited our home (and our lives) and it felt GREAT!

It took us about a week to clean out each room in the house in prep to sell our wares. And oh the lovely wares: bikes, beds, games, and gadgets. Accumulation. Everyone does it. And for me and my hubs, two greenies at best, we definitely have our share of objects destined for repurposing and recycling. We are dreadfully guilty of giving treasures new life, which means, parting with trinkets can often feel like selling a kidney.

And people want them organs, let me tell ya. The characters came a-crawlin’ in seek of something for nothing: wedding goers (dressed to the nines) killing time till dinner, dudes ditching family picnics, musicians waiting their gig-time downtown, antique dealers, farmers, cyclists, the boo radleys—the works. We also had the escarpment tourists and the boldest barterers, looking to trade six cobs of corn and a cantaloupe for an old wagon. And what the hell? Guess what we had for dinner? Yep, corn on the cob.

Having a garage sale today felt a lot like editing my manuscript. It went something like this. Clean a room. Remove crap. Change my mind. Put crap back. Take another look. Remove the crap again. Repeat. This is a similar process of revision that I scuffle through with my middle-grade fiction novel. The only difference being: I have sold the damn wagon—and not the manuscript.

Beckie

Progress update: My agent-search continues, with 3 full MS requests & 5 partials. Bring it on. Haggle me. I’m ready.

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by | August 11, 2010 · 10:29 pm

5 Ways to Provide Gracious Feedback

Take this, bitches! Okay, I just pulled a Lori Dyan there. Such sentiment could be perceived as ungracious, but I assure you (in this case) — it’s ALL LOVE!

Like Maria says, our little writing group can be a bit loosey-goosey when it comes to rules. However, because critiquing is such an important part of our Restless Writers’ unwritten rules and responsibilities, it seemed worthy of a follow-up blog post to: The Restless Writers’ Guide to Criticism.

To grow and evolve as writers we must do the inevitable—offer our work to others for critique. Agreeing to provide feedback is one of the best things we can do to improve our writing skills. In fact, just being asked implies a “trust” in each other’s skills and opinions to help take our stories from good to FANTASTIC.

According to Write for Your Life, there are ways to provide feedback  that can be tough, thought-provoking, compassionate and yes, even constructive.

5 Ways to Providing Gracious Feedback:

1. We’re talking one person’s opinion

Always frame your feedback as only your opinion. Others will have different thoughts or suggestions—particularly the author! Add a statement at the end of your feedback emails that reads:  please accept/reject/alter or ignore anything here as it is your work and this is my take on it.

2. Feedback is not a monologue

Feedback involves more than one person. It’s a dialogue. Always offer to discuss your comments or suggestions with the writer. Remember, it’s okay to disagree. It’s the writer’s work after all and they do get the final say.

3. Be Positive & Stick to Specifics

Always begin with something positive! Then use specific examples to illustrate your point. Give suggestions on how the writer may make changes. Be honest. Constructive feedback is more likely to give a writer an ‘a-ha!’ moment, even if it initially feels like a slap in the face. Avoid broad-sweeping statements or generalisation. It gives a writer nothing to work with.

4. Stick to Deadlines

Don’t leave people hanging for weeks waiting. Writers assume that if people don’t get back to them in good time it means they’re struggling to find the right words to tell you that your work stinks. Determine mutually agreeable deadlines for turning in feedback.

5. Set parameters from the get-go

Ask the writer: what kind of feedback they’re looking for, what draft version they are sending, where they are planning to send it (e.g. contests), the word count, due date for submission, and the date feedback is required.

Sure, giving feedback can sometimes be terrifying but if you stick to this format, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Start small. Be truthful. Offer creative alternatives. The more you do it, the less painful it will be.

How do you provide *gracious* feedback? Any suggestions to add to this list?

Beckie

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by | August 3, 2010 · 5:04 pm

How Tweet It Is…

We are the Restless Writers and we are Twitterholics.

Maria, Beckie and Lori's initial reactions to Twitter

Whether we’re toiling the summer away on patios while sipping Mojitos, or in basements sweating over queries (note: put the two together!), there’s one constant to be found: we’re taking regular breaks to tweet, see who #FF us, check for new followers, or just read everyone else’s stuff. Pavlov would be proud.

We were tentative at first, putting out little missives announcing blog postings. Then we slowly began following other writers, agents and interesting celebrities. Now, we ourselves have a sassy cadre of followers with whom we banter regularly. And if you look at who we’re following (as well as who follows us), it’s very telling of our personalities:

Beckie is currently shopping around a kick-ass proposal for a non-fiction environmental book aimed at younger audiences. Her lists include YA / MG writers and agents; greenies (those with an environmental slant) and book bloggers.

Maria is our literary empress, PR maven and indexing dynamo with a penchant for short stories. Her list is as diverse as she is – everyone from Seth Myers to Simon & Shuster (UK) to AintYoMamasBlog.

Lori is the stay-at-home-mom and pop culture junkie who is querying her women’s lit manuscript. Her list is full of the usual suspects: agents; funny writer-types; and any celebrity not on a reality television show.

There’s definitely some cross-over (hot hitchhikers traversing the globe, line forms on the left), but that’s true of us as well – during our last meeting we marveled at how such different women, writing in such different genres, could enjoy each other so much.

Who should we follow on Twitter? Is it you? Let us know in the comments!

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by | July 9, 2010 · 3:26 pm

We’d Like to Thank the Academy…


As they say in Beckie’s (YA) neck of the woods: OMG!

We’ve received an award for our blog! The lovely @KoreenClemens is an aspiring YA writer from Colorado and she likes random pop culture, writing and eating BBQ, so naturally we love her!

And right near our first anniversary, too! This is much better than the traditional paper present, let me tell you…

Thanks  so much,

Lori (& Beckie & Maria)

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