February 22, 2008

The pain in my side from coughing turned out to be a broken rib. Each cough is a big OWEEE. But the rib cage belt and painkillers are helping, and the cough is getting better.

Today I am going to take this opportunity to point you to a wonderful resource for children’s writers: Write4Kids.com. Scroll down on the home page for a long list of very helpful articles. They also have a terrific newsletter, Children’s Book Insider, and they’ve posted sample articles here. If you’re a children’s writer, you need this resource!

February 20, 2008

I had so much writing planned for today–alone in the house with no distractions or appointments. But, alas, I did something last night to my ribs in a coughing fit and have to see a doctor this morning. Distractions! Interruptions! How does a writer get anything done? Well, I printed out the chapter. I’ll take it along to read in the waiting room (emphasis on waiting–you always wait forever at my doctor’s office.) This all reminded me of an article I’d written a few years ago about dealing with distractions, so I’ll post that here–and head off to the doctor’s office.
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During the early stages of a writing project, when you’re gathering ideas and deciding on your approach, it’s useful to daydream and be unfocused in your thinking. However, there comes a time to focus, to fully concentrate on the work, as if you were putting a beam of sunlight through a magnifying glass to concentrate its power until the paper it touches bursts into flame.

Why Focus?
When you focus, you’ll accomplish writing projects in half the time, and your concentrated efforts will produce better work. Focusing also builds momentum and enthusiasm, urging us to move steadily toward finished stories, articles, and books.

Being able to focus is critical. As Stephen Covey (author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) says, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

Getting Sidetracked
What keeps us from focusing? Distractions. They have always been with us. Agatha Christie once said, “I enjoy writing in the desert. There are no distractions such as telephones, theaters, opera houses and gardens.” While our modern-day distractions may have changed a bit (e-mails to answer, faxes coming in, the World Series on TV), the result of being sidetracked by them remains the same. We don’t finish our writing. We don’t study guidelines and mail that manuscript. We don’t follow up on marketing tips. If we stall long enough, we may quit altogether.

So how do we deal with things that take us away from our writing? Try adapting the Serenity Prayer for this purpose: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the distractions I cannot change, courage to change the distractions I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Wisdom to Know
What are some distractions you cannot change or ignore? Sometimes it’s a sick child or spouse or a crisis with a friend. Sometimes your boss gives you an overtime assignment with a “now” deadline. There may be a project that needs to be attended to without delay, like your teenager’s last-minute college entrance application. This type of interruption or distraction you have little control over. You grin and bear it.

However, we need wisdom to know the difference between the distractions that are unavoidable and those we allow. Chances are, you’re your own worst enemy when it comes to distractions that keep you from writing. So take courage! Change what you can in order to focus on your writing.

1. Use an answering machine to screen calls. Better yet, turn the ringer off altogether so you’re not tempted to pick up when you hear your best friend’s voice. Then return calls at lunch time or when you’ve finished your daily writing stint.

2. Isolate yourself as much as possible from the traffic flow. I now have my own office, but I’ve written in family rooms and bedrooms and dens. The family room was the most difficult with constant interruptions of TV, kids, and doorbells. The more you can shut the door on distractions, the easier you’ll find it to focus.

3. Take note of your own personal distractions. The blinds in my office are pulled because I look outside every time a car/garbage truck/motorcycle/UPS truck/bus/delivery truck goes by. I also remove all chocolate from my work space. Even hidden in the back of a drawer, it calls to me while I work and distracts me, whether I stop to eat it or not. Nice weather tempts me to go out for a while, so I don’t put on makeup until late in the day. I know I won’t show my face in public without it–so I’ll stay home and write instead.

4. Leave the mail alone. Reading letters and e-mail and surfing the Net can be a major distraction. It interrupts your flow to stop and sort the mail. And if your mail contains rejection letters, bills, and bank statements, it can create an instant slump. So get the snail-mail if you must, but stash it in a basket until the end of the day when you’re done writing. The same is true for e-mail. Leave it unopened and unread till late afternoon (unless it’s a response from an editor!).

5. For non-emergencies, make your family wait. Barter with your family for writing time. When you’re finished, you’ll make popcorn. When you’re finished, you’ll play catch. When you’re finished, you’ll go rent a movie. (Just be sure you actually follow through on your promises!)

6. Leave home. If home is too chaotic sometimes, take your work to the library or a park or a cafe, somewhere quiet with no phone and a minimum of distractions.

7. Organize your work space first. Arrange your work space before you begin writing, to ensure that you have everything you need. Don’t run out of paper halfway through typing your chapter. Keep things within reach. Even finding a new ink cartridge or box of paper clips in your supply closet can distract you. Before you know it, you’ve spent half an hour rearranging the closet shelves.

8. Silence can be golden. Are you as distracted by noise as I am? I run a fan on high speed for white noise, and during school vacations I also use ear plugs. If traffic bothers you–or if you’re in a quiet neighborhood where twittering birds distract you–close the windows during your writing time.

9. Change your schedule. Get up earlier and write when the world is still asleep. Phones don’t ring. Kids don’t interrupt. Your spouse is still snoring. (This works equally well if you’re a night owl and can write after the world shuts down for the night.)

10. Eat healthy meals at regular intervals. Avoid the distraction of a growling stomach or a hunger headache. If you’re always thirsty, keep cold drinks within reach. A mini-refrigerator in your office, filled with bottled water and fresh fruit, an keep you from constantly running to the kitchen.

Focus!
Take time to study yourself, discovering your own favorite distractions. Once in a while we have absolutely no control over interruptions. However, most of the time, we (consciously or not) use distractions to keep us from having to face the work and anxiety of putting words on paper.

The next time you sit down at your keyboard, close your eyes and imagine yourself as that concentrated beam of light focused by the magnifying glass. Then open your eyes, hit the keys, and set the world on fire!

February 13, 2008

Do you ever wish you could ask an agent your “beginner” questions? Maybe something like these?

• “What do I need to know about creating a proposal for an agent? Is it like filling out a form, or do I create the story for them to see?”
• “Do you suggest a writer seek endorsements before approaching an agent?”
• “How extensive of a platform do you look for in a first-time novelist (as opposed to a new non-fiction writer)?”
• “What do you think about getting a copy of your book printed by LULU or some place like that, for the sole purpose of showing it to publishers during a pitch session?”
• “How has the huge influx and influence of blogging in recent years affected writing, writers, and the writing industry?”

Well, now you can find the answers to these questions. Agent Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary answers them for you here.

February 8, 2008

Do you read widely? Do you study the techniques of all genres–short stories, novels, screenwriting, poetry, thrillers, sci-fi–not just the one you want to be published in?

Cross-training is just as important for writers as it is for athletes. If you don’t study widely, read “It’s All Useful” by Sherryl Clark–and you’ll change your mind!

February 4, 2008

I was interviewed today (2/4/08) on Book Bites for Kids, a website run by Suzanne Lieurance, a fulltime children’s author, freelance writer, and owner of Working Writer’s Coach. On BlogTalkRadio, she interviews children’s authors and editors. Today we talked about making writing into a career, obstacles to overcome, tips for new writers and other topics. The interview was thirty minutes, minus the first few seconds when I had trouble getting online–so be patient for about a minute.

I also encourage you to check out the hostess’s website. At the Working Writer’s Coach, you can sign up for Suzanne’s free e-book, Get Your Freelance Writing Career Off the Ground. When you sign up for the e-book, you also receive her daily “Morning Nudge,” which I truly enjoy. Her word of encouragement arrives in my inbox each morning, nudging me to get started and make it a great writing day.

February 1, 2008

Reading and writing go hand in hand. You really can’t have one without the other–if you want to succeed as a writer.

There are many reasons why reading makes you a better writer. And there are multiple ways you can use reading to improve your writing skills. For some great tips–and a fabulous photo–see “How to Use Reading to Become a Better Writer” on the Write to Done website.