December 31, 2008

What’s preventing your success? Thoughts? Behavior? Low energy? Procrastination? Perfectionism? Overdoing? Counter-productivity? Negative self-talk? Disorganization? Time mismanagement? Unrealistic expectations? Defeat your self-defeating behaviors with this one-month mental boot-camp. (from Margie Lawson’s class on “Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors: Allow Writing Productivity and Creativity to Soar.”

Jumpstart 2009 with a Mental Boost

Last week, I mentioned that I would be studying Margie Lawson’s lecture packet on character emotions.  I also wanted to pass along information about a January on-line class she’s teaching that starts Friday, Jan. 2 and runs till Jan. 30.

Here’s the rundown on the class taken from her class description page. (You can register for her class at the bottom of that page.)

• Address the three fears that paralyze writers
• Analyze yourself: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
• Challenge your internal dialogue
• Redirect resistance and manage your moods
• Duct-tape your Inner Critic
• Protect your priorities
• Practice Conscious Competence
• Apply Margie’s DUH Plan

On-line Class vs. Teaching Packet

You can register for the on-line class for $30 or buy the teaching packet/lectures on this topic for $20. (For lecture packets, go to Margie’s website and click on “lecture packets” on the left-hand side.) You can study the lecture packet at your own speed and any month of the year, while the “self-defeating behaviors” class is only taught in January. I asked Margie what a writer would gain for paying that extra $10–I’m always making sure there is plenty of bang for my buck!

Her email answer included this important information: “Writers taking my Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors (DSDB) course on-line can post their assignments, get feedback, get support, ask questions, get answers. Some class members are active on the class loop, others lurk and learn from what their classmates post. In DSDB, writers also work with a CHANGE COACH throughout the month-long on-line course.  Many of the Change Coach pairs continue working together after the course is over.  They keep those self-defeating dragons from making any sneak attacks. The camaraderie in the on-line class is amazing.  It’s a powerful bond. An amazing force.”

Slay the Dragons!

I can’t personally recommend the course because I haven’t taken it yet (although I plan to register today), but I’ve heard excellent comments about Margie’s other courses. I also know (from 25 years of teaching and from writing my Writer’s First Aid book) that these behaviors are what most often derail writers. As our lives change, the dragons change, but they’re always there, breathing fire down our necks.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to defeat mine–once and for all!

(If you also register for the class, let me know. It would be fun to share on the blog the things we’re learning.)

December 29, 2008

Will this be the year your writing dreams come true?

Last Friday I shared one goal for 2009, a three-pronged “Self-Study Advanced Writing Program” that I designed for myself. Ten days ago I talked about “Setting Goals NOW for 2009,” about moving from where you are to the greater success and fulfillment that you desire.

Now What?

If you did the writing exercises in that post, you now have a clear, detailed, written description of your current writing life. You also have a detailed image of your future perfect writing life. And you know some projects you’d love to work on—your writing dreams. Now what?

To go from where you are to where you want to be as a writer, two things are critical. One has to do with your feelings, and the other has to do with your will.

Two Requirements

First, you need an overwhelming desire to change something in your life. (Perhaps you want to get on a regular writing schedule. Maybe you want to submit the finished stories hidden in your desk. Possibly you’re ready to find an agent.) Whatever your goals, the more specific, the better.

Second, you must be determined to move from wishing and hoping to taking action. It’s as simple as cause and effect: you must do something different (cause) in order to develop the writing life of your dreams (effect). This determination will also involve developing good habits to support, nurture, and sustain your changes. (These habits might include eating right, getting sufficient exercise and sleep, and curtailing time wasters like too much TV and Web surfing. I’ve been working on such a list this past week myself, organized in a 3-ring notebook. So many habits to change!)

Time to Take Action

This week, think about what habits you may need to implement–and which ones you may need to eliminate–to support your writing goals for 2009. If you feel inclined, please share some of the goals and habits you hope to create.

December 26, 2008

In a previous post, I talked about designing a self-study program for 2009 after talking to many fine writers who had completed the MFA (Master of Fine Arts) Writing for Children & Young Adults Program in Vermont. I was envious of how much they’d learned in their two-year program from a stellar faculty. However, I just didn’t have the cash necessary for an expensive program.

So…Could I Do It Myself?

I interviewed both faculty members and students who graduated from the program while designing my self-study program for 2009. I discovered that the program consisted of (1) studying a few texts, (2) closely reading large amounts of children’s books, and (3) much critiquing by advanced writers. While I don’t have any misconceptions that my own self-study program will even approximate going to Vermont for an MFA, I have tried my best to duplicate the elements.

Many of you have emailed me privately and asked about the program I was attempting, so I thought I’d report now in case any of you want to include this in your own 2009 writing goals.

The Elements of My Program

• In a previous post called “Reading Like a Writer” I discussed a book by the same name and how to read children’s books in such a way to learn the author’s writing techniques. I have been doing this for a month or so, but still need to get through the close reading book. To help me with technique study, I started a “Book Club with a Twist” to discuss children’s books with other children’s writers. We are currently making up the reading list for our monthly 2009 meetings.
• I found that a writer friend of mine was also independently pursuing some “higher education” in her children’s writing, even though she has published more books than I have. She was studying Margie Lawson’s “Empowering Characters’ Emotions” self-study lecture packet. (Go to her website, scroll down to “Lecture Packets” on the left.) When we did our next critique swap, I could tell a huge difference! So I added that to my list of “texts” to study. My friend is an excellent critiquer, so we are planning to study and grow together in 2009, frequently critiquing each other’s work. We started last week with a full book manuscript critique exchange, followed by written notes and a nearly 3-hour free Skype phone call to discuss and brainstorm. I wanted to have the critique done so that I could begin applying what I learned right away.

• For the last month, I’ve been going through the writing books on my shelves and getting recommendations from other writers. At this point, the list below contains the texts I plan to read or re-read, study (and do the exercises in), then apply what I learn to my two MG works-in-progress.

1. Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot by Peter Dunne
2. The Anatomy of Story by John Truby
3. Margie Lawson’s “Empowering Characters’ Emotions” lecture packet (see above).
4. Creating Characters Kids Will Love by Elaine Marie Alphin
5. Getting Into Character by Brandilyn Collins
6. Finding Your Voice by Les Edgerton
7. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
8. Word Magic for Writers by Cindy Rogers

Get Ready, Get Set…

Perhaps you don’t have time or want to do anything this extensive. I would encourage you, though, to choose a book or study course to help you up to the next higher level in your writing. Given the economy right now, you’re wise to make your writing the best it can be.

Also, I’ve rediscovered–just in the planning stages–some of that joy in learning I experienced back in 1979-80 when I took my writing course from the Institute of Children’s Literature. Back then, I couldn’t wait to get the kids down for naps so I could study for a blessed hour of quiet. I loved stretching my mind and seeing my writing skills develop and grow. I love that learning feeling! And I look forward to recapturing that feeling in 2009.

[NOTE: I've had people email me and ask if this is an official program they can join. No, it isn't--it's just something I'm doing for myself. I've also had writers ask if they could exchange critiques with me for this program; I'm afraid I don't have time to take on more critique partners. I have four weekly partners and one book critique partner for the study program. However, I really do encourage you to find a critique partner of your own and get ready to learn! I'd love to hear about YOUR program.]

December 24, 2008

Imagine for a moment that you are flying to an exotic island.  An hour or so into the flight the pilot announces over the intercom, “I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is our radio is out and our navigational equipment is damaged. The good news is we have a tail wind, so wherever we’re going, we’ll get there at a rate of six hundred miles an hour.”

(from Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow)

Momentum is great, but…

In your writing career, are you like the passengers on the good news/bad news plane ride? Are you barreling ahead at a lightning pace, but your radio is out and your navigation system is damaged? Are you traveling at 600 mph in your writing, but leaving the direction to chance and gut feelings?

These days, with the emphasis on the “platform” expected of writers, this is an easy mistake to fall into. We are told by marketing experts that we need to have a website and a blog (with up-to-the-minute search engine optimization), podcasts, teleseminars, newsletters, and Amazon “shorts.” We also need to be “seen” on social networks (like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) and quickly gain literally thousands of “friends” and “followers.” We need to read dozens of other writers’ blogs and leave links back to our websites. Doing even half of this takes hours every day, leaving you with the feeling that you’re zipping along through cyberspace at lightning speeds.

But what about your writing time? Are you flinging yourself out there to build a platform without a functioning navigation system? Do you know where you’re headed–and why?

Chart Your Own Course

If you try to jump on every bandwagon that comes along, you’ll continually rush, rush and wonder at the end of the day if you accomplished anything. You will miss valuable hours to study your craft, read books in your area of interest, and WRITE.

Be sure, if you’re building a platform, that each leg of it supports what you want to do as a writer. For example, with this blog and my website, my overall goal is to help other writers. I announce blog posts on Twitter and in ICL’s free newsletter, plus link back here and to my website from other writing blogs. I don’t do all the other stuff. There’s no time–not if I also write.

To reach young readers, I have two separate websites for them with contact forms so they can email me with their questions and problems. I’ve developed some lovely relationships that way. I spend anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours each day during the week on platform building. I know many writers who are so caught up in it that they have almost ZERO time to read and write. They feel as if they’re zooming along at 600 mph, but they’ve lost their overall direction. Whenever I ask them if the merry-go-round is worth it, I have NEVER had someone say “yes.” They always say, “I sure hope it will pay off someday.”

Listen to all the marketing advice out there, but don’t jump on every bandwagon. Evaluate each idea, determine if it’s something that would fit the purpose of your writing, and still leave you enough time to write. You don’t want to get to the end of your writing days and realize you’re clear off course. Chart your own course and determinedly stick to it.

December 22, 2008

As we head into the new year, goals are front and center for many of us. (Or New Year’s Resolutions, you may call them.) I just want to caution you as writers about one danger in setting goals. It’s a danger you can avert, but first you have to be aware of it. Do you have this warning sign?

Goals: What I Want?

The following poem was written by a fourteen-year-old boy with incredible wisdom. It was used in a talk by Chuck Swindoll. I think it has a good application for writers.

“It was spring but it was summer I wanted;the warm days and the great outdoors.

It was summer but it was fall I wanted;the colorful leaves and the cool dry air.

It was fall but it was winter I wanted; the beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.

It was now winter but it was spring I wanted; the warmth and the blossoming of nature.

I was a child but it was adulthood I wanted; the freedom and the respect.

I was twenty but it was thirty I wanted; to be mature and sophisticated.

I was middle-aged but it was twenty I wanted; the youth and the free spirit.

I was retired but it was middle-age that I wanted; the presence of mind without limitations.

My life was over but I never got what I wanted.”

The danger of goal setting is that it can turn our writing life into something resembling that poem.

The “I’ll be happy when…” Syndrome

This syndrome can attack a writer at any stage of his/her life. Along the road to publication, instead of being happy with our accomplishments, we are in danger of thinking instead “I’ll be happy when…”

• when my kids start school and I have more time to write
• when I sell my first short story
• when I sell my first book on spec
• when I get a contract first, then write my book
• when I sell a series
• when I get an agent
• when I land on a bestseller list or get a starred review

I think goals are great–even critical–to your success as a writer. Just don’t go to the extreme of focusing ONLY on the next step. Instead, enjoy the stage you’re at right now. Look up occasionally to make sure you’re still on track and headed in the direction you desire. But then re-focus on today–find meaning and joy in your writing now.

Your goals will come to fruition in the future. Your writing life takes place today.

December 19, 2008

In less than two weeks, it will be 2009. Now is the time to set some goals for the new year. The main question you need to answer is this: how will you get from where you are to where you want to be?

Get It In Writing

In “writing life” workshops, I’ve used an exercise to help you get to where you want to be. I recommend buying a spiral notebook for these exercises. You want a place to keep your notes and ideas about your goals.

Allow yourself two or three hours to work on these three exercises. Do them alone, or with your writing group. I’ve been working on this for myself during part of November and this month.

1) Honestly assess where you are in your writing and illustrating career. Consider and answer these questions in writing. How many hours per week do you actually practice your craft? (Use a timer.) How many books/stories/articles do you read in an average month (of the type you want to write)? How many queries per month do you send out, if you’re a nonfiction writer? Do you have a daily writing practice of some kind, such as journaling or writing exercises from a list of prompts?

2) Visualize (and write down in great detail) your ideal writing life. Describe a perfect writing routine, the physical writing environment of your dreams, your image of wonderful family support, etc. We all have an ideal image in our minds of the perfect writing life. Write it down. (Mine involves such things as porch swings, hot chocolate, journaling, and reading Jane Austen on breaks.)

3) List three things you would attempt to write if you knew you could not fail. Image yourself in your ideal writing life. There are no risks here, no rejections, no bad reviews or bad writing days. If you knew everything you’d write would sell, what kind of writing would bring you satisfaction and fulfillment? Dream bigger than you’ve ever allowed yourself to dream before.

An old adage says “plan your work, and work your plan.” That’s especially appropriate for goal-setting. Find more ideas on goal setting for writers here:
“Setting Effective Writing Goals”
“An Approach to Goal Setting for Freelance Writers”
“Setting Goals for Your Writing Business”

December 17, 2008

Voice: we all have one that is unique to us. Does it show in our writing? Editors say they want “unique voices.” So how do we get our unique voices onto the page?

Lost and Found: My Voice

My first eleven hardcover novels were published by Atheneum. At that time, I was writing on an Iowa farm, surrounded by toddlers and babies. There was no Internet. I knew no other writers. I simply wrote stories close to my heart, using the language I spoke, writing the way I really thought in my head. My voice was similar to the voices of authors of my favorite children’s books.

Then I learned the rules–and lost my voice.

I learned that you had to write snappier, shorter sentences. You had to begin with ACTION and tons of dialogue. Cut the description very short. Stay out of your characters’ heads. Show it all–don’t tell!

Those are all probably good rules to follow most of the time. Unfortunately, if you’re not careful, you can lose your unique voice in the process. You can become generic and lose your most valuable writer’s asset.

Short Study on Voice

Yesterday I read an excellent post on voice on EXTREME KEYBOARDING. Most of the valuable advice is in the 21 blog comments, responses from many published writers on how to access your unique voice and get it down on the page. I copied several hints on a large note card and propped it under my computer monitor.

1. Write how you hear it in your head.
2. Your favorite writers probably mimic your voice.
3. Write the way you really think.

Sounds Familiar!

Hmmmm… That’s exactly how I wrote my early books back on the farm. Could it be that I haven’t lost my voice, but that it’s just buried under all the rules I’ve picked up along the way? The advice by the well known authors in the “comments” section gave me hope. Maybe you and I can just relax, be honest, and let our lost voices find us!

It takes a certain amount of self-confidence, don’t you think? I’m curious. What stops YOU from writing in your own voice?

December 15, 2008

It’s time for the rubber to meet the road. While it was fun to write like the wind during NaNoWriMo, it’s time to get down to work and re-shape the messy rough draft into a publishable book manuscript. I ran into trouble right away with a main character I loved–but who was decidedly limp and forgettable on the page. How could I make her memorable? I found help in an unexpected source: a market guide.

In Book Markets for Children’s Writers 2009, I read an article called “Characters in Control: Charismatic, Flawed, Memorable.” Compiled from interviews with editors from major publishing houses and well known agents, the article shed some very helpful light on what to do with my main character and her sidekick.  Much of the advice in the article shows writers how to develop the type of character that readers love to root for.

Advice from the Pros

“I love character-driven fiction because I want to get into that character’s head and breathe their air, experience the world through their eyes…” says Delacorte Press Executive Editor Wendy Loggia. “Action can happen anywhere. A juicy character can make even the most mundane aspects of life entertaining.”

“Characters’ lives can become almost as real to us as our own,” explains Rachel Orr, a literary agent at the Prospect Agency and former editor at HarperCollins. A successful character is someone whom readers connect with, but “these characters are far from being types. They have original ways of looking at the world, unusual quirks, strong passion, and most importantly, flaws…. Perfect, preachy characters are not only flat and unrealistic, but they’re no fun for anyone to read about, particularly if you’re a tween or teen reader.”

And Michelle Poploff, Vice President and Editorial Director of Bantam, Delacorte Dell Books for Young Readers, explains, “Underdog characters appeal to readers, whether it’s a quirky character, or someone trying to do their best but sometimes falling short. If a reader sees him or herself in the characters that adds appeal.” (FYI: I have permission to use the quotes from the article.)

Quirky Characters: Yes or No?

Last Friday, I talked about the characters in the book club discussion choice, The Egypt Game. The main character, April, was described like this when her friend first meets her: “Her hair was stacked up in a pile that seemed to be more pins than hair, and the whole thing teetered forward over her thin pale face. She was wearing a big, yellowish-white fur thing around her shoulders, and carrying a plastic purse almost as big as a suitcase. But most of all it was the eyelashes. They were black and bushy looking,and the ones on her left eye were higher up and sloped in a different direction.”

She certainly sounds quirky in that description, but without her very touching problems with her mother and her outstanding imagination, she would have just been an oddball. You don’t want “over-the-top, outlandish figures in the name of creativity or originality.”

Wendy Loggia (Delacorte) put it this way: “You can create the quirkiest character in the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good character, or one that anyone will care about. Sometimes quirky just equals off-putting and weird.”

The article went on at length about how to create memorable characters, make the best use of character history, finding character motivation and voice, and more. After reading the article, I can spot quite a few weaknesses in my novel’s main character, and I know where to start to bring her to life.

Back to the keyboard!

December 10, 2008

Yesterday my writing friend and I Skyped for two hours about our 2008 goals: what we’d accomplished, what we’d given up on, and what still was challenging (and beating) us.

Current State of Affairs

We were both pleasantly surprised at the amount of writing we’d accomplished and how we were taking stronger steps in the marketing arena. We brainstormed more effective ways to draw boundaries at work, at home, with friends, and (most importantly) with ourselves. This whole boundary thing seems to be an ongoing challenge with us, but we’ve grown this year! We’re better at setting boundaries and not backing down.

Don’t wait until New Year’s Day to think about your progress in 2008. Begin to review it now. Think about it. Celebrate your successes. Be honest about how much work you’ve put into your writing career this year. If you got derailed, take time to think deeply and figure out why. And then begin to visualize and dream. Where would you like to be a year from now? What changes will you need to make?

Thinking Ahead

I intend to read what’s currently being published in my field a lot more. I’ve already read more middle grade books this week than in the last several months combined. Everywhere I turned this year, I got the same message (from writing friends, books, and conference speakers): If you want a rich writing life, cut out time wasters and replace them with reading—and reading a lot. Otherwise our creative wells run dry. Also socialize with a purpose more often (SCBWI conferences, critique groups, book discussion groups, book store readings, lunch with writers.)

I also want to read and actually study the writing books on my shelves. I want to market a bit better, but mostly I’d like to consistently do the marketing things I’ve started. If I could ask Santa for one thing this year, it would be consistency.

So think now about your goals for 2009 and how you’re going to hit them. Give yourself three weeks before the New Year starts to pray and ponder these questions–and then decide on a direction.

Memorize This

If you want a writing life that you’ve never had, you’ll have to do things that you’ve never done—and do them consistently. (Copy the preceding sentence and tape it to your computer.)

Where do YOU have the most trouble being consistent? Do you know why?

December 8, 2008

Today is my birthday. Before I open any of my gifts from family and friends, I already know what my favorite gift is going to be. It’s one I decided to give to myself.

Always Running, Faster, FASTER!

I’ve been writing and publishing since my kids were babies. They’re in their twenties and thirties now, having babies of their own. Many of those growing-up years were either single parenting years or times when the family relied heavily on my income. Slowing down to read more or study my craft was not an option. The 50+ hours of work per week needed to generate income: writing books, teaching, speaking, writing test questions, doing private critiques, etc.

Whenever I thought about studying more, reading more, taking more time to grow as a writer (versus making every hour a billable hour), I would promise myself, Later, when things slow down and the cash flow eases up. Even when that day came where I could cut back, I found that the very idea panicked me. I had drummed into my head for so many years that freelancer warning, “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” You learn to go without paid sick days or paid vacations–much less time to study one’s craft.

If Not NOW, When?

For several years, I’ve been having a discussion with a dear writing friend who would also love to slow down and study and spend time to improve her writing. It’s a dream we’ve both had for a long time. We’ve done motivational workshops, learned how to “work smarter, not harder,” streamlined our work habits, multi-tasked until we met ourselves coming and going. And what did we do with the time freed up by all this smarter working? We worked more, took on more projects, learned how to do website design/blog/Twitter, and lamented ever finding more time.

The Tipping Point

What pushed me over the edge into making the decision to give myself the gift of time? I went to a writer’s workshop Saturday in Austin, a “first pages” workshop hosted by Cynthia Leitich Smith where Cynthia and HarperCollins editor Jill Santopolo critiqued three opening pages from every workshop participant. One of the many things that struck me Saturday was Cynthia’s broad knowledge of what’s being published. I asked her on break about her reading schedule. She reads a juvenile/YA novel or a stack of picture books DAILY. Most times, I’m embarrassed to say, I do well to read a children’s book a month (usually something a friend has had published.) We learn so much about good writing from reading. I’ve always known that. But at some point–while trying to keep food on the table–I had let that part of my writing life lapse.

Cynthia is an instructor for the famous Vermont MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Jill had been one of her students. Several writers in the audience had completed their MFA program as well. While I don’t have the $$$ to do the two-year program, I can make the time (if I really want to) to read widely what is currently being published. I can study the excellent writing books on my shelves that have gathered dust after I only read the first chapter or two. I always intended to finish the books later–but later had not yet come.

Now is later.

Starting today, I am giving myself the gift of time to study and read. I think if I do my writing/teaching/moneymaking activities in the morning that I can read/study my craft in the afternoons. I’ve wanted to do this for years, and given the economic times, it’s a smart career move too, I expect. We will all need to become better writers. And if not now, when?

Maybe you can’t afford to work part-time yet. I know that situation is a reality for many of us. But if you can squeeze out even a daily hour to read current books in your field and study a writing craft book, I encourage you to do it. I can’t wait! It’s going to be a very good year.

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