February 21, 2011

(Bear with me–today is nothing but shameless self-promotion! The Table of Contents with sample chapters is at the bottom.)

If you liked

          

 

     then you’ll love

                                                        e-book!

 

You won’t actually find bandages or medicine in More Writer’s First Aid. But in 48 short chapters, you will find cures for dealing with disappointment and jealousy, writing despite physical and emotional pain, banishing procrastination once and for all, and combining writing with parenting (from infancy to adulthood.) “We’re all in this together” has been Kristi’s constant reminder to readers of her first book and her blog. (Read sample chapters below in the Contents.)

 

Kristi has had nearly 40 books published in 30 years of writing, taught writing for the Institute of Children’s Literature for more than 25 years, and has guided, mentored and taught hundreds of aspiring writers (both as an instructor and blogger for more than 55,000 subscribers.) “I started writing on an Iowa farm, very isolated, with no Internet and no other writers around,” Kristi says. “It’s not about how talented you are–and it’s not who you know–that gets you published. Most often the published writers are simply those writers who refused to quit. I can help you persevere until you publish.”

 

In addition to the uplifting encouragement you found in Kristi’s first book for writers, More Writer’s First Aid e-book includes:

 

• eight more articles (48 versus 40) to inspire you [See Contents below]
• a new “family matters” section on combining writing with parenting children from birth to adulthood
• advice on current time management issues like e-mail and information overload
• portability for today’s modern reader–keep it handy on your computer’s desktop
• live links within the chapters leading to referenced books, classes, websites, and authors

 

 

Only $12.95 (pdf)   requires Adobe Acrobat

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE (immediate direct download)    

 

  Kindle also available. (Enjoy Kindle on your Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry with Kindle’s free apps.)

 

 

 

Only $12.95 (pdf)   requires Adobe Acrobat

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE (immediate direct download)    

 

  Kindle also available. (Enjoy Kindle on your Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry with Kindle’s free apps.)

 

 

 

Contents

 

I  ENJOYING THE WRITING LIFE—EVERY DAY! 

What Kind of Boss Are You?                                         

Honoring the Writing Process                                         

Dealing with Disappointment                                          

Striving for Contentment                                             

Breaking the Procrastination Cycle                              

How Tight Is Your Bow?                                           

Joining a Work in Progress                                        

Writing through Physical Pain                                   

Mentors or Tormentors?                                           

Mindful or Multi-Tasker?                                          

Perfectionist Writers                                                

Misplaced Dreams                                                  

 

II WRITING HABITS THAT HELP YOU

Change: Making It Stick                                          

“Not” To Do List                                                

Counting the Cost                                                 

Focus: the Power of Scheduling                            

Getting the Writing Done                                      

Undo It Yourself                                                  

Timing is Everything                                             

E-mail: the Hidden Enemy                                     

Finding Time: Pruning before Prioritizing              

Procrastination: Have You Tried An Unschedule? 

The Power of Writing Things Down                      

Course Corrections                                             

 

III A WRITER’S EMOTIONS

Write What You Love                                          

Facing Your Creative Fears                                          

Writer Imaging                                                    

Silent Sabotage                                                   

Stages of Writing                                                

Sorting Out the Voices                                        

Conquering the Green-Eyed Monster                   

Give Up Your Perpetual Maybe                           

Writing through the Storms of Life                      

Dealing with Rejections and Setbacks                  

Writing after Major Losses                                  

Get Your Fear Shot!                                           

 

IV FAMILY MATTERS

Set Boundaries to Write More                            

Creativity and Noise: Do They Mix?                    

Hats Off to Mom Writers                                   

Household Have-to’s                                        

Writers: Always Working                                   

Busy—or Crazy Busy?                                      

A Parent’s Writing Schedule                             

Writing through Relationship Struggles               

Combining Babies, Bylines and School-Age Children

Writing during the Teen and Early Adult Years          

Running on Parallel Tracks                                       

Cherish the Commonplace                                        

November 15, 2010

Do you ever wonder if you’re a REAL writer? If you have doubts, it might be because you have a bad case of the “shoulds.”

Symptoms of the “shoulds” include:

• You should write first thing in the morning.
• You should write daily.
• You should keep a journal.
• You should write down your dreams every morning.
• You should have a room of your own and be organized!
• You should write for publication.

What if some of the “shoulds” just go against your grain? Are you not a real writer then? What if you write best after 10 p.m. instead of first thing in the morning? What if you start journals repeatedly and never last more than three days? What if you can’t remember your dreams? What if an organized office makes you freeze and you secretly prefer writing in chaos?

Are you a REAL writer then? YES!

What Am I Exactly?

If you struggle with your identity as a writer–if you don’t seem to fit the mold no matter how you’ve tried–you would love the book I found over the weekend. It’s called The Write Type: Discover Your True Writer’s Identity and Create a Customized Writing Plan by Karen E. Peterson, who wrote the best book on writer’s block I ever read.

This book takes you through exercises to find the real writer who lives inside you. You’ll explore the ten components that make up a writer’s “type.” They include such things as tolerance for solitude, best time of day to write, amount of time, need for variety, level of energy, and level of commitment. Finding your own personal combination of traits helps you build a writer’s life where you can be your most productive and creative.

Free to Be Me

To be honest, the exercises with switching hands (right brain/left brain) didn’t help me as much as the discussions about each trait. I could usually identify my inner preferences quite easily through the discussion. It gave me freedom to be myself as a writer. It also helped me pinpoint a few areas where I believed some “shoulds” that didn’t work for me, where I was trying to force this square peg writer into a round hole and could stop!

We’re all different–no surprise!–but we published writers are sometimes too quick to pass along our own personal experience in the form of “shoulds.” You should write first thing in the morning should actually be stated, It works well for ME to write first thing in the morning, so you might try that.

What About You?

Have you come up against traits of “real writers” that just don’t seem to fit you? Do you like to flit from one unfinished project to another instead of sticking to one story until it’s finished and submitted? Do you need noise around you and get the heebie jeebies when it’s too quiet?

If you have time, leave a comment concerning one or two areas where you have struggled in the past with a “real writer” trait. Let’s set ourselves free from the tyranny of the shoulds!

October 29, 2010

I don’t know how many of you have pig-out weekends with wake-up calls on Monday morning, but this week I had both. So I read a few motivational articles online for getting myself back on track.

It struck me that getting fit and getting published have a lot in common. The problems that derail us and the solutions proposed by the “experts” can almost be interchanged!

• For example, if you want to lose weight and get in shape, fitnss experts say that a support system of some kind is necessary. (Writers need it too.)
• Interval training is recommended for fitness–short bursts of focused work, then lighter periods for recovery. (This works best for my writing schedule as well.)
• Fitness experts recommend keeping track of your calories consumed and miles run. (Writers recommend keeping track of words and pages written.)
• Certainly to succeed in both areas, you need daily disciplines (consistency).
• And in both arenas, “slow and steady wins the race,” rather than days of self-torture followed by taking several weeks off.
• Both fitness experts and published writers recommend journaling, both for dealing with emotional issues that can throw you off your goals, as well as “before-during-after” journals for dealing with special blocks and temptations.
• Fitness gurus tell you how to deal with those loved ones who (perhaps unconsciously) try to sabotage your weight-loss progress. I’ve written about that issue myself, pertaining to writing.
• Fitness experts talk about the changes you need to make daily, and how you must think of them as “lifestyle changes” if you want to be successful. (Writers, also, must make changes in lifestyle that need to be permanent instead of lasting only until a deadline is met.)
• Diet instructors caution against using your calories on junk food and feeding the body little nutritional value. (As a writer, I have to force myself to lay aside my junk food mysteries sometimes in order to feed my mind something more literary and challenging.)
• To be successful in either endeavor, you need to stop those negative, defeatist thoughts and be optimistic.
• There are also times to deal with where you do everything right but get disappointing results (follow your food plan and exercise daily, yet gain a pound–OR write daily and submit, yet get rejected.)

Where’s My Motivation?

I realized that if I can master these general habits and mindsets, I can conquer all my fitness issues AND my writing issues! I just need to find the motivation.

In case you think your own motivation is lost, enjoy “Where Does Your Motivation Go When You Lose It?” The suggestions work equally well for developing fitness OR writing habits.

And if you have time, please leave a short comment sharing a way that YOU fire up your smoldering motivation. We’re all in this together!

May 19, 2010

A few weeks ago in “Find a Need and Fill It” I asked for your input concerning the topics you find most helpful in this blog.

Thank you all for the responses! It’s been very helpful. The requests fell into three main categories. Since I blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, that made it easy for me. From now on, this will be my general blogging schedule so that I can cover each topic area regularly.

What You Can Expect

Monday = Inner Motivation (includes:)

• fears–all kinds!
• discipline
• focus
• goals
• rejection
• lack of motivation
• encouragement
• a writer’s dream life
• procrastination
• working with our “inner editor”
• enjoying writing more
• perseverance
• creative inspiration
• writer’s block

Wednesday = Outer Challenges (includes:)

• setting boundaries
• time management
• distractions
• discipline
• writing schedules
• goal setting
• balancing writing with chaos in life
• balancing day jobs with writing
• our writing needs (vs. “their” needs)
• self-defeating behaviors

Friday = Tips ‘n’ Tricks of the Trade (includes:)

• specific genre help
• writing books I’ve found helpful
• blogs I find useful
• classes I’ve taken
• voice (writer’s and character’s)
• critique groups
• conferences
• working with publishers
• marketing–all kinds
• considering the audience when writing
• dealing with publishers who don’t respond
• finding good markets
• developing depth in writing
• selling “unique” pieces instead of jumping on the bandwagon

Thanks for Your Input

All your feedback has been immensely helpful in organizing future blog posts and making sure I cover topics you want to hear about and find useful. If I missed anything on these lists, feel free to let me know!

March 19, 2010

Getting into the writing habit is difficult, especially in the early years of writing. Our lives are full to overflowing already, so where can we possibly fit in some writing? How can we form a consistent writing habit when our schedules change from day to day, depending on our obligations?

Believe it or not, you have more time to write than you think. Keep a time log, tracking how you spend your time for a few days or a week. If you do, you’ll spot “down” time that you use for other things which could be snagged for your writing.

Redirect Your Time

When my kids were very young, I desperately wanted to write. I realized that instead of catching up on laundry and chores during their afternoon naps, I could write. Instead of making beds and doing dishes during the morning half hour of “Mr. Rogers,” I could write. Instead of thumbing through ragged magazines for twenty minutes every Friday afternoon while my daughter got her allergy shots, I could write.

Bed making and dishes and laundry could be done while little ones milled around. I chose to write instead when they didn’t need me. That “nap-Mr. Rogers-allergy shot” schedule became my writing routine until my youngest went to kindergarten. By that time, Atheneum had published my first five middle grade novels.

Hidden Time

“But I really don’t have any free time!” you might truly think. I challenge you to study your schedule very closely. Everyone has pockets of “down” time during the day. It may vary from day to day, but usually it is consistent weekly. (For example, you may sit in the pick-up line at your daughter’s elementary school every afternoon for fifteen minutes. Instead of listening to the radio, write.)

You might free up some time by doubling up on your mindless activities. Most of us multi-tasked before the word became popular, but if you’re not, try it. While supper is cooking, don’t watch the news; pay those bills or wrap those birthday gifts, and free up a half hour in the evening to write. If you want to write YA novels, listen to those young adult books on tape while you walk your dog. You’ll be doing your “market research” for an hour, freeing up an hour later to write.

Get It in Writing

Write down whatever pockets of time that you discover can be used for your writing. Even if it’s only fifteen-minute chunks, note them. You can write an amazing amount in ten or fifteen minutes at a time-and it adds up. You may find these chunks in the “between times.” You might have a bit of time between when the kids get on the school bus and you have to leave for work. Or between your day job and supper, you may have half an hour that you wait on a child at ball practice. (I wrote a lot sitting in bleachers waiting for children at practice.)

Write all these pockets of time down on a weekly schedule and write it on your daily calendar. Make it a habit. Perhaps on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, you write half an hour before work, plus daily you write fifteen minutes before cooking supper, and Saturday morning you write an hour while the kids watch cartoons. That’s four hours of writing in a week, just in the free bits and pieces. Since many of us started writing while caring for small children and/or holding down a day job, this kind of weekly schedule may be the best you can do for a while.

And that’s fine!

Time-Honored Tradition

The highest percentage of today’s famous, best-selling authors admit that their writing schedules were exactly like this in the early years. But they had that “burning desire to write” too. And that desire is what motivates us to find those pockets of time, give them to our writing, schedule it daily, and follow through.

You can find time to write, whether it’s early morning, during your noon hour, late at night, during commutes, or in catch-as-catch-can bits throughout the day. You must integrate writing into your existing routine for it to work.

Schedules make writing a habit, which in turn makes it a permanent part of your lifestyle.