 Here I am, trying to squeeze in a blog post or two before I’m off on another adventure next week. Oh, how summer vacations make blogging difficult—but they sure are fun, aren’t they? Last week, my family and I traveled to see Mt. Rushmore in good ol’ South Dakota. Now, before you guffaw at such a trip, (something I did when my husband first approached the subject--South Dakota? Seriously? Ahh, shoot me now) hear me out . . . I had a blast, and I learned something too, which normally I don’t like to have happen when it comes to vacations. Vacations are vacations. Not learning time. Learning = boring. But not so. Not anymore. For instance, did you know that President George Washington and President Thomas Jefferson hated each other? Did you know that? I sure didn’t (In fact, I had no idea what four presidents were even on the mountain—I didn’t care. History bores me). But guess what, folks? Both presidents are carved into stone, side by side. I’m sure they’re loving that. Just goes to show ya, have a dispassion for someone and they just might make a monument to you and your mortal enemy. Anyway, while in South Dakota we went gold panning and actually found gold (not enough to make us rich, but gold nonetheless) and garnets, tons of garnets. My kids LOVED it! We also went down a zip line (scary) and then we went on a lantern cave tour (super, super, super scary—not because of the dark, per se, but because we had to carry heated fire lanterns down these really steep, slick ladder/stair things, and we were told NOT to set down the lanterns under any circumstance, and I was CERTAIN I was going to die. I’m actually quite surprised I didn't). My kids loved this too. It was interesting but terrifying at the same time. We went to Cosmos, the Mystery House(check out Youtube video at the end--I have no idea who these people are. We were told not to videotape anything, but apparently people did, so I'm sharing it with you). For my kids though, they would say they loved the campground we stayed in best of all. Yes folks, I went camping. I hate camping. It’s dirty and messy and not fun. BUT, we stayed in a KOA cabin at the Mt. Rushmore KOA campground and let me tell ya, this was my kinda camping—pancake breakfast every morning cooked by the staff, water slides and water park for the kiddos, paddle boat and bike rentals, homemade fudge and ice cream, horseback riding, movie nights, live music, restaurant, big ol’ trampoline thing that a dozen people can jump on at a time, free mini golf, and a slew of games and various activities to keep a person busy for days. My husband joked that you could literally go to the Mt. Rushmore KOA, stay there a week and NEVER actually go see Mt. Rushmore, or anything else, for the matter, and STILL have an awesome vacation. That KOA was camping heaven. Highly recommend it. So now, I’m home for a few days before I head out again next week to do (you guessed it) more camping. This time it’s just me and not the family. They’ll be staying home. I’m a leader of youth in my area and next week is their annual camp time, in tents, in the mountains—ahh, my favorite thing. You know, even though it won’t be camping heaven, or anything like that, it will be fun. These kids are amazing and we will have a great time. I will miss my laptop though and my access to the internet (what will I do without twitter and email?). BUT, big but here, sometimes taking a break from tweeting, and email, and even writing (yes, folks, even writing) can bring you the needed boost you might be needing to put you back into the swing of things, to get your writing mojo back in line. For me, the break is a necessary evil. I hate being away from my laptop and all the work/writing I need to do. But, while away, I think out plot issues in my mind so that when I return to my laptop, I’m ready to attack it and get to work (hello, mojo). I’m ready. I really am. So after I write this blog post and in between mounds of stinky camping laundry, I will edit and edit and edit. I can’t wait. I really can’t. I’m actually excited about this. So, have any of you had a super fun vacation this summer? What do you do when you need to get your mojo back, and better yet, what do you do to survive being away from your laptop for any length of time?
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 It was a quiet afternoon in the Scott household. The husband was busy doing his thing. The kids were busy doing theirs. And I had plans to do some writing (I know, I know. We're not a very unified family, are we--off on our own).
But as I settled into the writing mode, laptop burning the flesh of my lap, and proceeded to check email and twitter (that's my warming up to write ritual), my computer flickered, froze, and then went blank. Dark screen. What the heck? What happened? This couldn't be right? I began to panic. My laptop and I are like this *crosses fingers* I shut down the computer and quickly rebooted (adverbs suck, so use them sparingly). All kinds of mayhem ensued. First, a list of computer code ran down the screen--stuff I'd never seen, yet knew couldn't be good. Second, it asked me if I should do a recovery scan. Yes, yes, of course! Do a recovery scan. Fix it! For the love of all things good in the world, FIX IT! A half hour into the recovery scan, I received a disheartening message, "recovery not possible." Not possible? What did that mean? What did that mean? Oh, no, no, NOOOO!! Recover, recover, recover. So I did what any sane person would do, I powered off the laptop once more and tried again. And again, "recovery not possible." Don't say that! It's possible. It is. It HAS to be. I decided to try something different. I decided to say no to the recovery scan. Saying yes sure wasn't working. So I said no, just bring up the laptop in safe mode. I clicked my mouse. I waited. Nothing. Black screen. I repeated the process. Blank screen.Saying yes didn't help. Saying no didn't help. That's not fair. I took out the battery. Rebooted. Again, blank screen. At this point all sorts of profanities raced through my brain. (I have children in the house and we have a swear jar and I have no change). I did my best to hold it together. Then I yelled for my husband. He's a computer guy. I needed good news, something to give me hope. Because, I had just spent the past several days working and reshaping my WIP, editing and revising. AND, I didn't back it up on my memory stick. I only saved it to the hard drive. I reworked whole passages, changing the POV from one MC to a another MC--that was painfuly hard work. My husband ran it through some diagnostic tests (that's what computer guys do). It came up with another scary message, "memory integrity failed." Crap, oh, crap, oh crap! I love my laptop. Did I mention how we're like best friends? It's possible my laptop only needs some new memory. So my husband tells me. That's the hope. Fingers crossed. But to order new memory will take time (do you recall how I'm not a very patient person?). At the moment, I'm using my husbands laptop. I hate it. The keys are all weird. It feels unnatural. Wrong. But, I can blog But you know what I can't do? Write or edit my zombie western romance novel. BECAUSE I SCREWED UP! Yes, folks, I screwed up. I didn't use a stick. Not lately anyway. What I do have backed up is old, weeks old. I never saved the new edits to the memory stick. *I'm smacking my head against a wall right now* I'm so hoping the increased memory will do the trick, or otherwise I will have to rely on my own memory to recall ALL the changes I made to my manuscript. (I think my heart just skipped a beat--and not in a good way). Oh, mighty computer gods in the sky, please oh, please, oh, please, let my laptop live! Give it life, if only for a moment so I can use a stick to back up my work. I promise, if you grant me this wish, I will ALWAYS backup my work. I will remember this awful feeling. I will repent of my nonbacking up ways. I will be better. I will be a promoter of using the stick. I will blog about it. I will encourage others to stop reading this blog post, this very instant, and pull out their stick and back up their important files (that sounded kinda nasty). So, if you have a memory stick, use it. Use it now. Don't risk it. It only takes a seond. Hardly any time at all. I sure wish I had backed up my files. I really, really, do. I may not even know if I will be able to retrieve my work until the end of the week (ordering memory takes time). And until it comes, or until we figure out the problem, I can't write or edit. I did this to myself. It could have been avoided. Don't make my same mistake. Do you own a stick? How often do you back up your files? How often should we? Leave a comment (because I love them) and tell me you backed up your files. If you do back up and leave a comment--someone's gonna recieve a prize (a drawing). The best writing advice EVER...I mean it. It's pure genius. (Please no snorts or chuckles).6/5/2011  Photo by smoo 1) Narrative is so much better than dialogue.
2) Adverbs are absolutely essential. 3) Using the tag “said” to carry dialogue is boring. Spruce it up a little by using words like grumbled, declared, cried or gasped. 4) If you must use the word “said” then by all means pair it up with an adverb—“Harold said, sadly.” Now the reader knows for certain that Harold is unhappy. 5) Readers are dumb. They are unable to infer a single thing. Spell it out clearly. If you're still uncertain that your reader gets the gist of what is taking place, then by all means, write it again. You may have to write it several times to ensure that the concept has been thoroughly explored and explained—“Harold said, sadly. The tear sliding down his cheek proved his unhappiness. He cried a little more. He had never been so unhappy in all his life.” 6) Exclamations should be used often! They are the visual signs of excitement and thrill! The proper rule of thumb is at least one exclamation point per page but no more than ten. Double exclamations or exclamations paired with a question mark are AWESOME!! 7) When using dialogue, infuse it with a thick coat of regional dialect. 8) Obviously, words are a writer’s paintbrush. A writer can never use too many. If you write anything less than 150K novels, then return to your novel and see what you’ve missed. Because you have definitely missed something. 9) Building on point #8, NEVER delete words or scenes from your manuscript. Every word is necessary and essential to the story development. 10) Characters must remain consistent throughout the novel. If a character begins the story rich, happy, and full of vigor, then they must end the story the exact same way. Otherwise, you risk confusing your reader by writing too many emotions. A consistent character is ten times better than a character who is flighty and unpredictable. 11) Phrases such as “all hell broke loose”, “needle in a haystack”, “so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk” are not only cute but are widely known terms that people worldwide can relate to. 12) When your character enters a new setting, take two to three pages to describe in detail his or her surroundings. If it is a room in a house, include the description of not only the drapes and rug thickness, but a full description of the sconces on the wall and the pattern of the wallpaper. This is important to the story. 13) A great novel starts with backstory. 14) Never show your work to anyone but your parents, boyfriend, girlfriend or adoring grandmother. 15) Imagination is dangerous and full of lies and deception. Write only what you know. Back it up with facts and references (add footnotes to your fiction as proof of your knowledge). What other funny or bad advice would you add to the list? I know I've missed a bunch.  There was a time in which I would have NEVER read a self-published piece of literature. I admit, sad to say, I was a literary snob. I had heard the saying, “The great thing about self-publishing is that anyone can do it. The bad thing about self-publishing is that anyone can do it” and so I became leery of anything self-published for that very reason. At writer’s conventions, authors would set up tables with their self-published works and I would simply walk on by. Rude I know, but I felt justified in my smugness.
Self-published, in my mind, was equal to crap. Before you throw rotten tomatoes or come after me with pitchforks or flaming torches, just realize, I’m not the only one who’s had these thoughts. Many people, those who plan to go the traditional route, tend to roll their eyes at self-publishers. This isn’t something new. This attitude has been around for a long time and it is still a battle that goes on today. The reason: A lot of self-published books look and read very amateurish. That’s the plain, hard truth. Lately, with the explosion of ebooks and the ability to self-publish them at such a quick rate, I’ve actually had the great pleasure of reading several ebooks by Indy authors, and I do say pleasure. I have been pleasantly surprised. The stories were great, and I’m honored that someone would give me the opportunity to read their work. I have yet to read a self-published story I disliked. That’s a good thing The bad thing: most I received for free. A few I paid 99 cents, but only a few. But if I had to pay $2.99 or more for these same books, I probably wouldn’t have. (Now you can throw your tomatoes if you like, but I hope you’ll read on and hear me out). I’m not a gambler and for me, if I’m going to spend $2.99 or more on an ebook, it had better be polished. Since there is no guarantee of that, I’m not willing to take that risk. And seriously, that’s exactly what it is—a risk, a gamble. Will I get a great book? Or will I get a book riddled with missing words, jumbled sentences, and mistakes that should have been picked up in the editing stages? Ebooks are exploding like crazy. Amazon sells for ebooks are higher than paperback and hardback book sells combined. It’s a crazy market. And the opportunity for self-publishing has never been greater than it is right now. The problem, it just makes it even easier to get a whole lot of crap into the market quicker. Now, the self-published books I read aren’t crap by any means. As I said, the stories were great. A few, I even wondered why they didn’t try their hand at the traditional route—they’re that good. I could see them on bookstore shelves. But even saying that, these books were still in need of more revisions and more editing. The sad truth of the matter, I fully expected these books to have issues with misspellings and typo’s. I went into it judgmental and with lowered expectations. And sure enough these books delivered the typos and mistakes just as I figured they would. Some books more than others. I would think, with the prejudice that self-publishing experiences, that someone contemplating that route would do EVERYTHING, going above and beyond what is even necessary, to prove people wrong and produce a perfect, polished piece of work. But they’re not. Why settle for mediocre? Why would you want to put your name on something that was anything less that the absolute best it could be? I guess I don’t get that. I do think self-publishing is a trend that is changing and shaping the publishing world for the better. Traditional publishers need to wake up, fix their broken machine, and realize they need to make some changes or authors will skip right past them—authors are doing that very thing right now. The gatekeepers are losing their control, which in some respects is a good thing. But if you plan on self-publishing or have self-published for that matter, make sure your work is as close to perfect as it possibly can be. Otherwise, you’re just feeding into the prejudice that is holding self-published works back, keeping it from being viewed as a respectable means of getting books into the hands of readers. Which is a shame. I would love to see self-published books start kicking traditional books behinds (oh, there’s a few out there, but not nearly enough). A couple of tips: 1) Don’t rely on yourself to edit your book. You can’t. It’s your baby and you will always think it’s beautiful. If you have the means, pay for a professional editor to do a line edit. They will catch things you will miss. They will provide you with ways and opportunities to improve your work. Why wouldn’t you want that? Now, I understand this can be pricey. I get that. I also understand some writers simply can’t afford it. Then either a) you wait until you can afford it or b) you find some really, really smart writerly friends to proofread your work and then you take their advice. And I’m not just talking one or two people here. I’m talking several. If you’re going to skip out on the professional editor, then you better believe you have your work cut out for you. You find the meanest person in your circle of writer friends, the most blunt, and you give it to that person to edit. Put yourself in the line of fire and take the bullets—this will make you better. I promise. 2) Get a great cover. Don’t judge a book by its cover, well, we do. People will look for any reason to diss your self-published work—don’t let the cover be the thing that keeps them from ever opening your book in the first place. If you can afford a graphic designer, do it. Again, pricey, I know. But it will be well worth it. Do what you can to make your book look as traditional published as possible—I’m sorry, but that is the standard. And DON’T have your name be bigger than the title of your book. You’re not famous. You can’t get away with that, so don’t do it. 3) Don’t forget your interior layout. This is important as well. There are rules for the way the interior of your book should look. Check out books. Look at the way they are set up. Look at the type font, page number placement, headers, etc… Again, it needs to look like the books you see on the shelves. 4) I think the most important thing to remember is not to rush your book. I know we get excited when we’ve worked so hard to complete a novel that we want to share it with everyone. Take your time. Be careful. Do your edits and rewrites. Because here’s the thing, once you put your book out there for the world to see, it’s hard to go back and fix the mistakes. Oh, you can. But people will remember and it’s hard to get them to change their mind once they’ve made their opinion. You only get to make a first impression once, so make it the best it can be. Check out this article. I think she makes some very valid points to consider. The Pit and the Pendulum By Cynthia Robertson of Self Publishing Stick up for your Genre! Demand Respect! Fight! Fight! Fight! (In a pillow fight kinda way)5/1/2011  If I told you I was writing a western book, filled with cowboys, saloons, and gunslingers, what would be your first thought?
I can almost bet you didn’t think, “Boy, that’s a serious piece of fiction I could sink my teeth into,” right? No. When you think of westerns, you tend to think of your grandpa. THAT generation reads westerns. THAT generation loves John Wayne and black and white films. Westerns are so outdated. Do people even write that stuff anymore? You’d probably pat my shoulder and say, “Good luck with that, Angela.” And you’d probably even try real hard to mean it. Now, what if I said I’m writing a romance? What’s your first thoughts on that? Cheesy Harlequin books? Fabio? Romance is a big seller, one of the top selling genres out there, yet, I don’t think you’d consider me a writer of the highest quality if I told you I wrote romance. (Romance writers, put your dukes down. It’s not time to fight yet. I’m not dissing you, really. I love me some romance. I’m just presenting the judgment some genres face. Hang in there. Keep reading. Seriously, put the dukes down. The fight comes later). To make things even MORE interesting, what if I told you I’m writing about zombies? Flesh eating, brain munching zombies? The real deal? Would that be a piece of fiction you could wrap your mind around and embrace as literary genius? I don’t think so. You’d just think it weird and that I was weird and I had to be some kind of hack writer of the lowest of the lows. Okay, now let’s combine all three of those aspects—western, romance, zombies—and mush them all together to form a 80K word novel. What do ya think now? Really. Be serious. I bet you laughed. AND I wouldn’t have blamed you. I think I might have laughed too, if it wasn’t me we were talking about here. Because in truth, I’m writing exactly that—a western romance with a scattering of zombie mayhem just for fun. It’s true. I know. You’re probably thinking, but she looked so normal. The reason I bring all this up, is that when I mention my current WIP, I sometimes feel as though people kind of do the invisible eye roll and their brains (BRAINS) just assume I’m not a great writer at all, but more like a “bad writer”, a writer that can’t write for “real.” Have you ever felt that way? Do you want a little respect (R-E-S-P-E-C-T—go Aretha). I mean, in the terms of writing, I still think there is prejudice. I know people who have romantic elements in their novels but REFUSE to be known as a romance writer, as if there is something bad about that (Okay romance writers, this is the time to stand up for your genre and come out swinging). I also think horror writers, paranormal writers, and even sci-fi writers experience less than favorable responses when it comes to their chosen genre. For sci-fi writers, its like being the kid with the Star Trek costume at the prom. That kid’s interesting for sure, but he doesn’t quite fit in, nor does he get asked to dance because nobody wants to be seen dancing with that weirdo. No way. (Sci-fi writers, you can put your dukes up too, if you like. Or you can zap me with your ultra-molecular scramble radar gun. Whichever you prefer). Don’t say this isn’t true, because I know it is. I know there is a lot of judgment taking place—I feel it. I’ve experienced it. I think it’s because in the terms of “respectable” writing, a zombie western romance is not it. Nor is sci-fi or horror, or erotica, or anything at all to do with a vampire. In the mind’s eye of the masses, respected writing goes something like this (from most respected to the least respected): Non-fiction books Literary fiction Historical fiction Contemporary/Commercial Adult Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Adult Contemporary YA Paranormal YA Fantasy/Sci-fi YA Middle Grade Children’s Books Fantasy/Sci-fi Adult Poetry Romance Westerns Horror/Erotica Zombie Western Romance (nothing lower than that) I’m ready for a debate. Let me have it (in a nice pillow fight kinda way). Do you think your genre is too far down the list of respectability, let me know. Stick up for your genre. Tell me why your genre deserves more respect. Fight! Fight! Fight! Actually, let’s come together and rally around one another. A writer is a writer is a writer, regardless. I know that I’m as serious about my Zombie Western Romance as a Literary Fiction writer is about their writing. It’s not about being a serious writer. It’s about being a respected writer. Give my Zombie Western Romance a chance, that’s all I ask. It’s kinda like Tofu. At first, it’s mushy and looks nasty and awful. But fried until its crispy, with a bit of stir fry sauce to dip it in, and it’s actually something you can stomach without gagging. That’s all I want. I want to be like Tofu. How about you?  I know “was” is technically only three letters, but I still hate that stupid word. It sneaks its way into my first drafts, littering my sentences with its presence, and overall fills my life with utter and complete misery. It forces me to reevaluate my very existence as a writer--I suck. I really, really suck—and taunts me, daring me to replace it with something better.
Okay, so I’m being overdramatic, but I still hate that word. I do. Most of the time I don’t even see it there, my eyes gloss over it. It isn’t until I submit my work to my critique members for review that the “was’s” become noticeable—they kindly highlight them in bright yellow for me (sweet, huh?). And I swear, honest I do, those “was’s” magically appeared in my manuscript, scrambling my sentences and popping up like weeds. Because I know I couldn’t possibly have written that many. No way. Not me. I know to use them sparingly. I know I should write with more description, more pomp and zeal. But guess what? I did. I wrote them. Every one of them. I am . . . *gasp* . . . a “was” whore. Yep, I said it. I hang my head in shame and humiliation. I use the word “was” far more than I should. A bad habit in need of breaking. But how? How does someone like me fix it? How do I write with stronger and more engaging verbs? Then, as if in answer to lift me from my self-loathing, I received an email: 6 Things You Should Know about “Was,” by the Grammar Divas . Now, most often times (I’m being honest here) these are the kind of emails or blog posts I delete because in my mind, grammar equals boring. Bluck. Phooey. I don’t need no stinkin’ grammar. But if this truly was an answer (there I go using “was” again), then I needed to heed it as a sign, and read it. So I did. And my eyes widened with pure understanding—just because I used the word “was” didn’t mean I sucked a lot, only a little, and somehow knowing that made me feel better. The Grammar Divas said that “was” is okay to use in a rough draft. It’s the “go-to verb.” When trying to get all your ideas down on paper, sometimes it’s enough to know the hero was sad. Instead of wasting valuable time searching for the perfect verb, just throw it down, move on, and plan to fix it later in the editing stages. (Yeah, yeah. That was my plan all along). They also said that using the word “was” doesn’t necessarily make the sentence passive, just boring. These are only two of the six areas they discussed about the word “was.” To read the others, check out their site. But, these two resonated with me the most. First, because it’s okay to use the word “was” in the first draft. I’m not a horrible writer, just boring. And boring I can fix. There are several things I can do to eliminate “was” and other to-be verbs from my manuscript. For instance, I can start with substituting words. Instead of saying, He was going to the saloon (I’m writing a western) I can write, He meandered his way to the saloon. See? Less boring. Not perfect, but better. Another thing I can try is rearranging the sentence. Sometimes just flip-flopping the order around can erase out those nasty to-be verbs. The man was standing at the bottom of the stairs. I could say, At the bottom of the stairs, the man stood watching. (Okay, I probably wouldn’t write that sentence, but you get the idea). Another way to remove to-be verbs is to try to change another word in the sentence into a verb. Instead of saying, He was watching her from the bottom of the stairs. I could simply say, He watched her from the bottom of the stairs. Anytime you have a to-be verb placed in front of an “ing” word, just change the “ing” word to “ed” and WAH-LA—the to-be verb is eliminated. Simple. I understand the need to kill all to-be verbs. I get it. I mean, to-be verbs show no action. They're just there. And yes, they are boring. Can I get rid of all of them? Probably not, but when I go back through my manuscript during the editing stages, I find it’s not all that hard to give my sentences more punch, more action, by removing the to-be verb and inserting something far more exciting. It’s impossible to write without to-be verbs, so don’t chuck them all, but try to use them sparingly. That’s what I’ve learned. I can do that. I don’t suck. I’m just boring and boring I can fix.  I broke up with Facebook. We’ve agreed to take things slowly, see other networking sites, and I can happily say that Facebook and I have remained good friends. We can look back on the good times—wedding announcements, birth’s of babies, and reconnecting with people long since forgotten—but it’s those bad times (the 36 hour Farmtown marathon and constant pokes) that helped me to realize the relationship was no longer working.
Where Facebook was the aloof “boyfriend” of social networking, not quite giving back, Twitter has become the needy obsessive “boyfriend”, always giving, always wanting to know what I’m doing, what I’m up to, telling me it’s only 140 characters, so why haven’t I tweeted something, anything, yet? And once I do tweet, trying to be a good partner in this relationship, Twitter wraps its arm around my waist and pulls me tight, not wanting to let me go. “Follow this link, baby.” Or “FF that person”. And before I know it, I’ve just had a two hour make-out session with Twitter I hadn’t intended upon. I like Twitter, don’t get me wrong. I like it a lot. Twitter has connections, knows important people, and has the ability to take me places I’ve never been before. And Twitter sure has a super sense of humor too—so funny. In only a few short months since being introduced to Twitter, I’ve met over a thousand people, writers who aspire for publication, just like me. Facebook couldn’t do that. All Facebook introduced me to was The Mafia. So I don’t want to break up with Twitter. It makes me so happy. It really does. But I’m a writer who is easily distracted. It doesn’t take much to waste away valuable hours that should otherwise be spent writing. Twitter and I need to find balance in our relationship—an equal give and take. I’m slowly working on it, but Twitter doesn’t seem to understand my reluctance to make-out all the time (Twitter thinks it’s quite the catch—handsome and irresistible). I assure Twitter “it’s not you, it’s me” and we’re moving forward with a greater understanding of one another. Hopefully things will turn out well. So is Twitter good for writers? Depends on who you ask. Judd Apatow, writer and director of comedies like The 40 Year Old Virgin and Funny People, explained his active Twitter habit by saying, “I’m looking for any distraction not to write.” Isn’t that what we’re all pretty much doing? He went on to say (about the Internet as a whole), “I'm supposed to be writing a new screenplay. You know, it's hard to write, because the computer now isn't like a typewriter; [the computer] has everything fun on the world on it. So everything is a distraction from writing. I'm not looking at a screen; I'm looking at every episode of "South Park," every video ever made, every porno ever made. Every time I sit down to write I could just type in "kid vomits in dad's mouth" and not write for two hours.” Isn’t that the truth. So yes, Twitter can negatively affect a writer’s ability to write. (Today I have written nothing except this blog about how Twitter affects a writer’s ability to write. Do you see a problem here?) BUT, Twitter has an awesome side too: -Networking with like-minded people who would otherwise be out of reach. -Inspiration and encouragement from fellow writer. I can’t tell you how many times someone’s 140 characters has lifted my spirits—saying exactly what I needed to hear. -All the up-to-date information in our writers market, the trends and advice every writer needs to be aware of right at our fingertips. Ask a question and a slew of answers will follow. Quick and fast. People are quick to help. -Exposure and promotion. I know this is very big for a lot of writers who have something to promote. I’m still in the writing stages, so I don’t have anything to sell but my sparkling personality *flashes a grin and a wink* I’m happy I met Twitter, but just like every new relationship, it needs to be taken slowly. A couple is only as good as each individual in the relationship. If I lose myself, allowing Twitter to take control, the relationship will quickly fail. I don’t want that. I want this particular relationship to succeed. So what do you think of Twitter? Love it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? What other benefits have you found by using Twitter?  Every worthy goal or dream will go through a series of various peaks and valleys in the process of reaching success. It’s to be expected. If you don’t expect some failure along the way, then you’re setting yourself up for some mighty big disappointment. Oh, of course there are those success stories of people who hit a home run the very first time they pick up the bat (don’t you just hate those people? Boy I do!), but that’s a fluke, a rarity. I don’t even count them as real people anyway.
Here’s the thing—you will fail. At some point, you will be rejected (and rejected, and rejected). Isn’t that great? If you said no, no it isn’t. That sucks. Then you’re looking at it all wrong. Because it IS great. Hang in there with me. Let me explain. In my opinion, it’s through our failures that we find the strength to get back up, brush ourselves off, and keep going. It’s through our failures that spur us forward. We learn through our failures. We learn what worked and what didn’t. And, more importantly, we learn that we are stronger than we ever thought possible. You should see how tough I’m getting. Success doesn’t come easy, and it shouldn’t. Because how can we truly value it if it did? Ever hear of the term mashup (if not check it out here)? Well, I’ve mashed up two inspirational quotes by Kelly Gottuso Mortimer and John Gilstrap to produce ONE awesome quote that has become my writing motto: “I won’t fail, because I won’t quit until I succeed. AND if I don’t succeed, it just means I died too soon.” Ten success stories for you to motivate you to NEVER give up. 1) Stephen King: The first book by this author, the iconic thriller Carrie, received 30 rejections, finally causing King to give up and throw it in the trash. His wife fished it out and encouraged him to resubmit it, and the rest is history, with King now having hundreds of books published the distinction of being one of the best-selling authors of all time. 2) Elvis Presley: As one of the best-selling artists of all time, Elvis has become a household name even years after his death. But back in 1954, Elvis was still a nobody, and Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired Elvis Presley after just one performance telling him, "You ain't goin' nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck." 3) Babe Ruth: You probably know Babe Ruth because of his home run record (714 during his career), but along with all those home runs came a pretty hefty amount of strikeouts as well (1,330 in all). In fact, for decades he held the record for strikeouts. When asked about this he simply said, "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run." 4) Harrison Ford: In his first film, Ford was told by the movie execs that he simply didn't have what it takes to be a star. Today, with numerous hits under his belt, iconic portrayals of characters like Han Solo and Indiana Jones, and a career that stretches decades, Ford can proudly show that he does, in fact, have what it takes. 5) Judy Blume: Ms. Blume received “nothing but rejections” for two years. According to Ms. Blume:I would go to sleep at night feeling that I'd never be published. But I'd wake up in the morning convinced I would be. Each time I sent a story or book off to a publisher, I would sit down and begin something new. I was learning more with each effort. I was determined. Determination and hard work are as important as talent. 6) Walt Disney: Today Disney rakes in billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney himself had a bit of a rough start. He was fired by a newspaper editor because, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn't last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked. 7) Madeleine L'Engle: Ms. L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time was rejected by 26 publishers before finally breaking into print. It went on to win the 1963 Newbery Medal. 8) Michael Jordon: Most people wouldn't believe that a man often lauded as the best basketball player of all time was actually cut from his high school basketball team. Luckily, Jordan didn't let this setback stop him from playing the game and he has stated, "I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." 9) John Grisham: Mr. Grisham’s first novel, A Time to Kill, was rejected by a dozen publishers and 16 agents before breaking into print and launching Mr. Grisham's best-selling career. 10) Dolly Parton: She was once told in high school to drop out of the choir—her voice didn’t blend well. She had signed with Monument Records in late 1965, where she was initially pitched as a bubblegum pop singer, earning only one national-chart single, "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby," which did not crack the Billboard Hot 100. In the four-and-a-half decades since her national-chart début, she remains one of the most-successful female artists in the history of the country genre which garnered her the title of 'The Queen of Country Music', with twenty-five number-one singles, and a record forty-one top-10 country albums. (I just love Dolly!)  Last week, I shared with everyone my struggles with writer’s block (nasty, nasty stuff). I have two chapters left to write on my WIP and it’s just not happening. The little voices that normally sit on my shoulder and FORCE me to write their story have disappeared. My own fault? Yep. Most definitely. I have allowed myself to become easily distracted by shiny distractible things (twitter, blogging, SQUIRREL, etc…)
Now, the wonderful thing about twitter and blogging has been the online support from people, who I’ve never met, who were quick to offer words of wisdom, support, and encouragement. For the most part, writing is a solitary endeavor. We’re on our own. The people in our lives love us and encourage us to write, but because they’re not writers they simply don’t “get us.” When they say, “Just write it,” they don’t realize how difficult that can be to do. So, yes, twitter and the blogging world has squirreled away my imagination, but to be able to surround myself with HUNDREDS of like-minded people who “get me” is something I’m extremely thankful for. The support is amazing. As a way of paying it forward, I want to share this advice with you. Maybe something someone said will resonate and give you the push you need to just keep writing, or if nothing else, will let you know writer's block will pass. Thanks to everyone who took the time to help me. A great big MUU-AH to you. Now some of the advice was practical, while a few others a little more unconventional, but who's to say what would work and what wouldn't. I posted them all. Katrina Lawrence: step away from the writing and immerse yourself in your favorite book for a few hours, that always helps me! Ryan Louis Schneider: If you paint yourself into a corner, change corners. ie work on a different story. Begin a new tale perhaps. Make it fun. ArrEllEss.com Jason McKinney: I grab a V8 and watch mind-numbing stuff like Spongebob w/the kids. Diverting your mind with nonthinking things works. Jason McKinney Barbara Nordin: How to Write When You'd Rather Set Your Hair on Fire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klSM3-xrNgQ All But Dissertation No More Ara Trask: I'm in a similar situation right now. It doesn't help the winter makes me depressed, and of course Twitter distracts me constantly. But I have begun one exercise that has helped me begin writing again. A PAPER journal. Not a blog, but a notebook I carry around with me that I have set up the following rules for: 1. Write something in it every day, no matter if it's 2 pages or 2 sentences. 2. From now on, all notes about my WIP will be entered in said journal, so they will be easier to find and cataloge. 3. Anything going on in my life while I'm writing this WIP is relevant, because later, I will want to know what was distracting me through the writing process. This includes the music I'm listening to, the place I'm currently writing, or if I'm out of town. 4. Any findings from interesting research should be noted in this journal. This keeps my collection in one place, and me always thinking about how I'm going to work on my story. South of Sanity Sarvenaz Tash: I am also in an eerily similar situation (though I'm nowhere near an ending. I wish!). I freaked out for a couple of weeks. And then, this week, I decided NOT to write. I'm taking a writing-free week and I'm spending all my free time reading instead. It's too early to say whether this will ultimately work, but I'm definitely seeing some signs that a creative spark might be on the horizon. It's the best I've felt about the WIP in weeks so I'm hoping it IS the right thing to do. Or do you have something else you can work on? I think the answer may be to just stop focusing on it so much and maybe your subconscious will have had the answer for you all along! Sarvenaz Tash Ashley: I recently just blogged about this very problem myself! Twitter, and blogging, and just plain life get in the way of my writing all the time too. Here's a few things that helped me get to the end of my WIP: - I forced myself to sit down and start writing. I told myself it's a first draft so if it sucks I can go back and fix it. - Music- music definitely gets those creative juices flowing and the voices talking - Taking a walk- getting outside and moving really help me to work out plot points in the WIP. A car ride is always an option too, although gas prices in my neck of the woods are HORRIBLE. Coffee Spoons Nancy Lauzon: It happens to all of us. What a block means for me is there is something off in my WIP, a character, a plot issue, something ... and until I figure that out, I stay blocked. So I walk away, clear my head and think about the story. After a few days the answer usually comes to me, and the block disappears. Maybe this will work for you. Good luck and happy writing! Nancy Lauzon Allison Maynard: I'm with Sarvenaz on this one. I know it goes against the gospel of you must write something every day, but sometimes if it ain't happening, it ain't happening. Don't freak out! I think there's two sorts of writers "block". There's the sort you just have to power through and keep going. The distracted by twitter, sunshine, cute doggies, pretty shoes that you can order online etc. type of block falls into that category, as does the x thousand words in and starting to feel like hard work sort of block. But I think there is another kind, which is when you've forced it as far as you can and you do just need a break. Everyone needs a break now and then - why should writers be any different? I had an experience very similar to what you describe when working on 2nd draft of a script a couple of years ago. It felt, just as you describe, like a wall had dropped down in front of me which was not going to shift. In the end I took a break (not through choice - there just didn't seem to be any other way). About 4 weeks later I was walking home from somewhere and the end of the story popped pretty much fully formed into my head (an ending which was completely different to the first draft version I'd stalled trying to "fix"). So I'd say, if you've proved to your own satisfaction that it's not one you can just write through, then take a break. Don't write at all for a week or two, and then if necessary write something else short to ease you back in. If you've had some writer's block miracle that you'd be willing to share, please leave a comment with your advice and I will include it in the above list. Pay it forward. Who knows? Maybe your suggestion might be the ONE thing a struggling writer needed to hear to push past their own writers block.  I would like to take this opportunity to present a response to a blog post titled “Endings Schmendings” by a dear friend and critique partner of mine, Diana at My Life in Writing. In her blog post, she describes how one of her critique partners is struggling to write the ending of her latest WIP. This particular partner of hers (though completely awesome and is absolutely HILARIOUS) has a bad Diet Pepsi habit, blogs a little too much, and has lost her creative edge (or mojo) when it comes to completing her nearly finished manuscript.
What Diana has failed to mention, is that while this particular critique partner of hers (again, super awesome) struggles to write the “perfect” ending, this critique partner does think about it ALL THE TIME—while showering, while twittering, while eating ice cream, right before falling asleep, and, yes, even while blogging. The problem, the creative muse (if one believes in such things) has slipped away. The voices that lead, direct, and bring life to the written word, have vanished. Painfully, all she hears is silence. Terrifying. Crippling. Silence. *insert tumbleweed for dramatic effect* And it scares her to be left on her own. She fears she’s just not creative enough without her fictional guides to well, guide her (see?). Did this happen by her own doing? Probably. Did blogging get in the way? Most likely. Has Twitter become an evil pass time? Yes, yes, a million times yes. BUT, regardless of her mismanagement of affairs, what really should be addressed is this: How do we help this poor soul to get her mojo back? Especially when, with only a click away, a writer can get sucked into twittering and blogging? (And please don’t suggest she unplug the internet—that’s just wrong). Because isn’t THAT what’s most important—helping her to find her creative muse? Let’s not judge her for her excessive blogging and tweeting habits. Let’s not condemn her for drinking far too much Pepsi, which she knows is unhealthy and wrong, shall we? Yes, she dug her hole, but why not come together and gather around this dear writer and help her to form a plan—a reasonable, easy to follow step-by-step program—that she can put into place and help her to complete her WIP, so that her foils will not be put on public display for all to see and comment on? What advice would you offer? What has worked for you? Help a fellow writer, won’t you? Share your tips on overcoming writer’s block. Please, oh, please, oh please. Oh, and check out my poem: I've Hit a Writer's WALL, and it Stings a Lot. |
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