Charlotte Rains Dixon

How Many Times Has Your Writing Been Rejected?

Last night, one of the members of my writing group got married.

All but one of the current members of the group were there, and a couple former members turned up as well. 

Talk turned, as it will amongst such groups, to rejection.  Soon we were attempting to outdo each other with how many rejections we'd each received.

• I allowed as how I'd sent out Emma Jean at least 50 times.
• My retreat partner said she'd sent out her book of cat photographs well over 100 times.
• And yet another writer told me he'd submitted his novel 120 times.*

Lest you think we're all just bad writers, consider this:

• My novel will be published by Vagabondage Press in February of 2013.
• My retreat partner just got word yesterday that the cat book will be published next year as well.
• And the other writer's earlier novel has been made into a movie that will be released in September.

Rejection.  It is part of the writer's life.  To become a successful, published writer, you have to steel yourself againt rejection.  You have to learn to live with it.  And you need to be able to bounce back from it and submit again, as the numbers above testify.  Too many writers stop after getting two or three rejections.

Here are some posts I've written about rejection:

7 Steps to Handle Rejection

A 5-Step Process to Deal With Rejection

Handling Rejection

Getting Your Work Out in the World: The Mindset

Getting Your Work Out in the World: The Mechanics

That ought to keep you reading for awhile.  While you're at it,

Create a successful, inspired writing life: Submit something.  Maybe it is something that's been rejected before, maybe it is something new.  Doesn't matter.  Just do it.

Please, please, comment.  Care to admit how many times you've been rejected?  How do you handle it?

*Names have been omitted to protect the rejectees.

Photo by clshearin.

Beginner's Mind

Sometimes, as a professional writer, I worry too much about product and don't focus enough on process.

Yes, I need to worry about outcomes--my income depends on it.  So it would seem to be a no-brainer to focus on it.

Over the years of practicing writing every day, you get better at the game.  The words flow a bit more easily and not quite so much rewriting and polishing is necessary. 

It is easy to begin focusing on product, not process, because that product appears so much faster.

There are two prime keys to creativity in writing:

1.  Process, not product

2.  Do the work, don't judge it.

I learned both of these at a creativity camp I took with Julia Cameron, she of the Artist's Way.  And back then, when I was a beginning writer, I practiced them constantly.  And then I got better.  And then I started writing professionally.

And then I forgot these lessons.

I forgot the prime keys to creativity.

And writing got less amusing, less free, less wild.  It got more constrained, more anxious, more blocked.

I figured this out in my novel writing, where suddenly I was second guessing every word I put on the page and going back over everything I'd written a million times rather than just sailing through a rough draft.

I figured it out when the novel writing got un-fun.

And now I've gone back to beginner's mind.  I've gone back to focusing on process and doing the work without judging it.

And life is good.

Create a successful, inspired writing life: Assess where you are in your writing. Do you need to rethink your process?

I'd love to hear your take on this.  Are  you utilizing the two prime keys in your writing?  Or have you gotten anxious and constrained?

 

7 Ways to Meditate and Why Writers Should

I know. 

Meditation.

Crap.  Must we?

For many of us, meditation is an item on the to-do list that never gets done, akin to cleaning the basement and scrubbing baseboards.  (And if you actually accomplish those things, please, please, please come to my house and help with mine.)

Meditation is boring.  Meditation takes time away from writing.  Meditation is hard to do correctly.  Did I mention that it is boring?

And yet, many of those pesky spiritual traditions, mine included, emphasize meditation.

Again, crap.  Do we really have to?  We're writers, not swamis or priests, right?  Right?

Right. But what if I told you that meditation:

• Helps with clarity
• Aids focus
• Assists with ideas
• Gives you peace of mind (helps you not angst over agents, etc.)
• Helps you concentrate

Now it starts to sound interesting, right?  Because what writer doesn't want increased focus and ability to concentrate, peace of mind, more clarity, and perhaps best of all, lots and lots of ideas?

Me, pick me!

So, here are some ways for writers to meditate.  If you're a slacker, like me, start with #7.

Ways to Meditate

1.  Breathe.  Because, really, that's all you have to do.  That's all there is to it.  Breathe in, breathe out, focusing on the breath while you do so.

2. Guided Meditation.  The world is full of recorded meditations that will take you to a deeply relaxed place and guide you to visualizations if you so desire.  Google accordingly or create your own by talking into a tape recorder.

3.  Use a Mantra.  Some meditation traditions rely on the use of a mantra, which is just a word or phrase repeated over and over.  If you study certain kinds of meditation, you'll be given a mantra, but there's no reason you can't come up with your own.

4. Count Breaths.  I like this style of meditation because it gives my ego something to do.  Count your breaths from one to ten and then start over again.  If you lose count and your mind wanders, start with one again.

5.  Walk Mindfully.  Take slow, purposeful steps while staying mindful of every movement your body makes.  Not my cup of tea, because I get impatient, but hey, it could well be yours.

6. Combine with Prayer.  It can be incredibly soothing to talk to a higher power, however you envision that higher power to be, even if it is simply your higher self.   Use one of these meditation techniques and then have a chat with whomever you choose.  End by focusing again on your breath.

7. Short Bursts.  Sitting down to write?  Close your eyes and center yourself by taking a few deep breaths and centering yourself.  Getting tired?  Close your eyes and count breaths to ten.  And so on.

And there you have it, some ideas about how you, as a writer, might want to try meditating.

Create a successful, inspired writing life: Commit to one of these meditations and try it for a week.  See if it doesn't help you with your writing.

Please, please comment!  I love to hear how other writers find inspiration in meditation, or not.  And if you liked this post, feel free to share it anywhere you like.

Image by Joi.

Excerpt: The Moon She Rocks You

For my Monday post, I have something different for you: an excerpt of a cool book called The Moon She Rocks You by Gurutej.

If you are a woman, knowing about The Moon Centers gives you power over your negative emotions. If you are a man, it gives you the key to understand women of all ages. You learn to listen to the voice of their emotions. Women – we can have control over those crazy emotional times in our lives. For more information, visit the author's website or her Amazon page.

What are Moon Center cycles and why should we as women care about them? Because these cycles have a direct and deep effect on us. Have you noticed that some days you feel strong and powerful and can take on the entire universe and other days someone looks at you cross-eyed and you want to find a bathroom to hide in? Why is that? This theory of Moon centers will shed some light on all this. This is not a shield to hide behind but information to make us more aware, informed complete with support tools that will make you more powerful.

Moon Centers unveil the hidden secrets to the inner workings of women. This is the next biggest leap after Men are from Mars Women are from Venus. Do you want to understand yourself as a women in your many aspects? Men do you want to be able to see and chart the emotional and devotional landscape of the women in your life? You will know when and how to support yourself and your women and when to move away from the firing line. Priceless information.

Moon Centers is a secret and sacred science: Do you want Greater harmony in your life? If yes then skip the text and just say yes buy it now. If you need more information carry on. If only all women and men for that matter could learn of these moon centers in their teens what a wonderful world it would be. This is an ancient secret science unveiled, how the moon affects women each day.

This is the secret code to women’s inner states. The positive, challenged and neutral aspects within each center, within each women. The moon moves into a different part of a women’s body every 2.25 days. Learn how to utilize the gifts of each center and recognize the moods that come from the challenged aspects ahead of time. Then turn them into harmony. Utilize the gifts of each center. All this can be yours

About the Author

To know Gurutej, you first need to know her name, which means “the one who brings you from darkness into light at the speed of light.” What she teaches emanates from her name and her purpose to lead others towards their inner self by mastering their own energy. Even at six years old, she already had the vocation to help others connect to their essence through healing, meditation, yoga, and chanting. She is a born leader, a creational genius, and a visionary. Her boundless energy enlivens the day and her gift for lightness, comedy, and humor radiates with every breath and every word of her powerful message. Gurutej is one of Yogi Bhajan’s original disciples and close collaborators. She is a true Master Teacher of Kundalini Yoga.

Saturday Writing Tip: Experiment with Viewpoint

At the Diamond writing retreat I co-led, I got clarity about where I'm going with my current novel.  (On some odd subliminal level, getting my first novel accepted has made a huge difference in my commitment level to this WIP.)

But last week I spent most of my time caring for my daughter and The Most Beautiful Baby Ever Born, and not a lot of time working on my next novel.

So imagine my surprise one morning this week when the first thought I had upon rising was this:

Change Jemima's viewpoint to first person.  (In case you hadn't guessed, Jemima is my protagonist.)

Clear marching orders.

Or guidance from the divine.

My reaction?

Yikes.

Changing the viewpoint made me nervous.  One could say panicky. 

Because Emma Jean is written in third person.  The entire book is her viewpoint, and it is a very close-in third.  I like third person.  A lot.  I wrote my MFA novel in first person and after I finished it (sort of, it's still a mess), I decided I hated that viewpoint.   Thought it was too chummy.  Swore I'd never write in first person again.  I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I started writing Emma Jean in third.

So, of course, when I began writing Jemima, I swung naturally to third person.

And I didn't want to change.

But divine guidance is divine guidance.  I figured I could give first person a whirl.  Just to play with it. ( For the record, changing viewpoints is not as simple as doing a global search for "she" and changing it to "I."  If you don't believe me, try it some time and check back here.  That's all I'm going to say.)

So I spent some time retyping Chapter One into my computer, this time in first person.  I was convinced I was going to hate it.  Hate it.  But guess what?

I'm sure you know where this is going.

I love it.  Love it.

In the third person version, I struggled with a sense of distance from Jemima.  She's a cool cucumber, and judging by the reaction from members of my writing group, a bit too cool.  Like, unlikeable.  (Yes, I struggled with this problem in Emma Jean, too, go figure.  I'm really a very nice human being in person, I swear it.)

First person is inherently friendlier.  It is as if you're sitting down with the narrator, having yourselves a chat.  Sometimes it feels as if the narrator is letting you in on secrets and deep thoughts.  And Jemima sorely needed this.  Suddenly, in first person, her voice came together.

And now I'm happy.

Create a successful, happy writing life:  Play with this.  If you're struggling with a character, switch it up, first to third, third to first.  Hell, try second.  (The "you" voice.  Read Bright Lights, Big City if you think it can't be done.)

Oh, how it would delight me if you commented.  Have you ever experienced a distance voice?  Or have you switched up viewpoints with success?

Photo by ferrison.

7 Ways to Get to Know Your Character

No matter what you're writing, memoir, fiction or even web copy, character is everything. You've got to know your character through and through in order to write successfully. This was brought home to me all over again last week, when I spent the week with my daughter and her baby and learned, first hand, what their life is like together.

It is worth it to take the time to learn more about your character.  Otherwise, you'll get midway through your novel and realize you don't understand your character's backstory and hence, her motivation.  Or you'll be rolling along on your memoir and realize there are holes where you don't know some crucial bit of a character's timeline.

So here are some of my favorite ways to advance your understanding of your characters.

1. The Basics.  You gotta know this stuff.  You know, height, weight, hair color, eyes, age, astrological sign, etc.  The absolute bedrock basics you'd know about, say, someone in your family.  Write this stuff down and keep it somewhere you can access it so your character's eyes don't change color from page 5 to page 128, when her new love is gazing into them.

2.  Timeline.  What are the big events in your character's life, and the dates of them?  Things like birth, graduation, marriage, birth of babies, and so on.  You can also do an emotional timeline of important events and put the two together.

3. Ordinary Day.  I'm big on this one, because it is deceptively helpful.  From the time your character gets up in the morning, what does he do?  Start with getting out of bed and proceed in as much detail as you can muster.  You'll learn all kinds of interesting things, because how we spend our days is how we spend our lives, as Annie Dillard says.

4.  The Interview.  Ask your character questions about her life, the way you would if you were a journalist interviewing her for an article.  This can be especially helpful to jar loose secrets, conflict, and motivation.

5.  The Dream.  Author Robert J. Ray recommends this exercise, and its a doozy.  Doesn't seem like it would be worth much, but it can help a lot.  Start by writing, in the dream.....and then keep repeating the words in the dream as you write.  It gets you into a meditative state that will reveal depths.

6.  Look at Yourself.  You can find a lot of inspiration for your characters in how you approach life.  Write a journal entry and then rewrite it in the viewpoint of your character.  See how things change or remain the same. 

7.  Examine Setting.  Landscape shapes who we are.   A character who lives in rural South Dakota has different ideas and opinions than one who lives in Manhattan.  And yet, as Janet Burroway says, setting is so much more than just landscape.  It is the house you live in, the books on your coffee table, the mug you drink coffee from.  All of these things influence our character.

So there you have it, 7 ways to look at character.  Please comment and tell me your favorite ways to uncover the secrets of your characters!

Create a successful, inspired writing life:  Take the time to get to know each of your main characters as intimately as possible.  It will save you time in the long run!

 

Photo by cogdogblog.

The Sometime Hell of Writing

I had an assignment to write an article for my buddy Roy's new magazine, 2nd & Church. The assignment was fairly open-ended: go see the new movie, The Raven about Edgar Allan Poe, and write about it.  Since I was due to be gone on various retreats for two weeks, Roy gave me a special dispensation to get the article in much later than everyone else's deadline.

Well, shit happened, and I dithered.  Wasn't sure I wanted to see the movie, didn't know how I'd write about it.  I emailed Roy and dissembled.  He emailed back and told me to just do it, already.  (Actually, he said, in a very kind way, that I could have until the end of this week to just do it.)

And so yesterday I went to see the movie, figuring I'd write up the article today and send it off.

Uh-huh.

Today I procrastinated.  I did everything but write. I hung out with my daughter.  We walked The Most Beautiful Baby Ever Born to the New Deal cafe and ate lunch on the back patio.  I wrote some emails.  Watched HGTV.

And once in awhile, in between these important activities, once in awhile, I'd do a little research.  I looked up articles on Edgar Allan Poe, re-read the poem The Raven. And then I went back to other more important activities.

My daughter left, I went to the store for groceries, came home and fed the animals.  And then with a half an hour before I had to cook dinner, I sat down and wrote.  The article just flowed out of me.  Took a break to cook dinner and sat back down again.  More words flowed.  I ignored the weeding I promised to do and wrote more. 

Finished the rough draft just shy of 8 PM.  And you know what?  It's not half bad.  (Well, Roy will actually be the judge of that.)  I still have to go back in and rewrite and polish, but I'm happy with what I produced.

And here's the deal:  throughout all that time that I was supposedly procrastinating, my subconscious mind was working.  Processing.  Making connections.  The funny thing is, I could feel this happening in some part of my mind.  Which is probably why I didn't panic at any point during the day.

Keep calm and carry on.

Somebody said that, I don't know who, but I think it's my new writing motto.

And now, I've got to go rewrite that article....

Has this ever happened to you?  Have you procrastinated and then suddenly hit paydirt in the rush of writing words?  Or have you had the opposite experience?  Please share your experiences with us by commenting below.

Create a successful, inspired writing life:  Next time you're procrastinating, try relaxing and letting your brain wander, too.  You might just come up with the written piece you are looking for.

And if you found this article useful, please share it on Twitter, or Facebook, or Pinterest! Thanks, I appreciate you so much.

Photo from Wikipedia.

Tips on Writing: Slow and Fast

This weekend, I started a new series called the Saturday Writing Tip and wrote about scenes.  One of my loyal, longtime readers, J.D., who I adore, wrote a couple of comments.  In one of them he noted how the author Lee Child had said, "Write the slow parts fast and the fast parts slow."

Which got me thinking I needed to write a blog post.

Because I've heard the same thing, from an author whose name I've long since forgotten.    And it is very good advice.  Yet, sometimes, in trying to explain it, I falter.  J.D. himself said it took him awhile to figure out what Child meant. 

Let's see if we can parse it out.

When writing the slow parts fast you'll be writing narrative (which compresses time).

When writing the fast parts slow you'll be writing in scene (which is much more real time than narrative).

So, as an example, your character enjoys a long, languid summer afternoon, sipping chilled sweet tea, reading a book, and occassionally chatting with her husband, who is doing the same.  This is not an activity you need to write a scene about.  It can be dispatched in one sentence.  It is happening slowly.  It can be written about fast.

But then the same character decides to ignore the dictates of society when she falls in love with another man.  The first time that they are together, time flies because every moment is charged with emotion.   Later, looking back on it, time is a blur.  Yet this is a time when you will want to write in scene, because you will want to explore every nuance of emotion of your main character.  This is an important moment in her life.  It needs to be written slowly.  In scene.

Make sense?  I asked in the Saturday post if readers struggle to write in scene.  Do you?  Do you feel like you need more help with this?  I ask because it is one of the things I most often write on student manuscripts--make into scene.  So I presume it's a difficulty.   Please comment and if there's a common theme I'll write more about it.

Create a successful, inspired writing life: Examine your WIP and see if any scenes need to be put into narrative and vice-versa.

Photo of fast-moving truck on a highway by funkblast.

Saturday Writing Tip: Scenes

This morning while writing Morning Pages I had a brainstorm for a new series of Saturday posts.  Short and sweet, offering one writing tip.

This, my friends, is the inaugural post, on scenes.

Scenes dramatize writing.  They bring it to life on the page.  Scenes have dialogues, interiority, description and movement.    I know, you know all this.  Here's something else:

Scenes need to have rising or falling action.

Too many writers start and end scenes at the same place.  And by, at the same place I generally mean emotionally.  If the scene starts with your character happy, end it with him angry.  Or vice-versa. Or whatever works in the context of your story. 

This is a simplistic way of getting you to look at scenes as a whole, self-contained package.  They need to have a beginning, middle and end.  Each scene needs to have a purpose, preferably several purposes: to advance the action, to reveal character, to show setting.

To really get down and dirty with the concept of scenes, read books on screenplay structure.  Screenplays must have scenes that are tightly contained and structured.  You'll learn a lot from the genre.

Please comment.  Do you love writing scenes or do you struggle with them?

Create a successful, inspired writing life: Study scenes.  Read about them and apply what you've learned to your own work--even if you're writing non-fiction.

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Guest Post: It's Between the Page and I, 6 Things I Learned Over 10 Days of Morning Pages

While I'm on retreat, I've got a variety of guest posts for you.  Today, please welcome Resham Khiani, as she writes about morning pages.

It's Between the Page and I, 6 Things I Learned Over 10 Days of Morning Pages

by Resham Khiani

It's 8:00am on Saturday morning.

Another long, hard week in London has come to an end and I'm looking forward to a cosy lie in.... until the challenge I've set myself bursts my bubble.

For 10 days straight, I will be doing my Morning Pages Exercises. For those of you who are new to hearing it for the first time, they are an exercise devised by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way. The concept is basic: write three long hand pages, non-stop once you wake up in the morning. It doesn't matter what you write, just write.... even if it's line after line of "I don't know what to write,"  your subconscious mind will kick in and messages will appear.

Bleary eyed, I made my way to the kitchen, prepared a green tea and grudgingly sat at my desk. "I'm too tired to write" - the voice of sabotage has arrived. I gently say to shut up or I will smack it (I know, I know, it's weird, how on earth can anyone smack their conscious mind?!). A sip of green tea and my hand begins to glide, almost insanely, within seconds. Scribbling messily, sloppily, uncontrollably I see I'm just whinging and moaning about all the things in my life. I'm fed up, tired, can't be bothered and don't want to take responsibility of my life.

But then, I feel an urgent message coming along, something profound, almost spiritual. I'm alert. I'm ready: "Do you remember what it was like to fall in love?" Before I answer this message, my subconscious begins misbehaving and complaining how annyoing my flatmate has become. It begins hatching a plan all by itself, with me, merely being an onlooker with no say. All I know is, the retalation is quite harsh. And then I hear: "muhahahahaha." Note to reader: writing down the evil laugh diminishes it's effect.

Each day, of course, was a battlefield with the mind. Getting up on time to actually do the exercise was a challenge; however, I remained disciplined throughout. Looking back at my pages, I could see myself swinging from exhilarating happiness, to downright depression, to simmering, passionate feelings and finally spiritual, optimistic statements. The Morning Pages revealed so many messages in a short space of time. And they were:

1) I write a lot about sex, so much so, I make myself blush after I finish reading it! (I blame the Mills & Boon romance books I read on a regular basis, whereas Sigmund Freud will blame me for suppressing my natural instincts).

2) I goad myself to set up my own business, based on NLP and helping woman change their beauty beliefs.

3) I have a depressive and philosophical streak in me enough to put Milan Kundera (author of The Incredible Lightness of Being) to shame.

4) Apart from being depressive, at the base of it, I'm optimistic, and realise I have the power to direct my thoughts.

5) I question myself too much: I live too much in the future or past,without fully being present.

6) I am a diva.

Putting ink on paper, coupled with honesty is a revelation to oneself. Morning Pages have switched on my intuition, my creativity, my belief of trusting myself. I realised I had fallen out of love with my life and my creativity - hence the reason why I got such a message. As a result of being persistent with the exercises, I no longer walk around with a feeling of frustration or anger because I've dealt with it on paper. I'm free from negative emotions and drama. Funnily enough, my life has become simpler, more fun, opportunities are flowing, inspiration is soaring. I'm writing a lot more, I've got a few romantic dates lined up and certainly feel life is on my side. Perhaps getting up on the first morning really was the beginning of a new life......

 

Resham Khiani (on the left in the photo) is the founder of InnerBellissima blog, devoted to helping
woman change their beauty beliefs. She writes regularly on her blog.

Book Review: You Have No Idea

This is a paid review for the BlogHer Book Club, but the opinions expressed are mine and mine alone!

The book I'm reviewing today is a bit of a departure for me, or at least these pages, where we focus on literary and creative writing topics.  But in a part of my life I don't publicize, for obvious reasons, I'm sort of a fiend for celebrity gossip.

I'm not proud of this.  But there it is.

But it is also why I leaped at the chance to review You Have No Idea: A Famous Daughter, Her No-Nonsense Mother, and How They Survived Pageants, Hollywood, Love, Loss (and Each Other), by Vanessa Williams, and her mother Helen Williams.

It is mostly the story of the life of Vanessa Williams, she of Miss America, Ugly Betty, and Desperate Housewives fame.  But throughout the book, direct and forthright Helen, Vanessa's mother, speaks up, adding her point of view to the proceedings.

I've always liked Vanessa Williams, because to me she comes across as an intelligent non-diva, and that's exactly the impression I still have of her after reading this book.  Helen's part in the narrative really helps this.  Both women are good company.  I often get bored reading books like this, but I finished this one with interest.  And I loved all the photos that are interspersed throughout.  Vanessa Williams really is a stunningly beautiful woman who manages to look good no matter what.  Sigh. 

One of the things I kept thinking about as I wrote was ghostwriting.  As most of you know, one of the writer's hats I wear is ghostwriter.  In this case, the ghostwriter got a credit.  Irene Zutell is listed as a "with" on the cover.  I think she did a good job on this book, as the narrative of each woman comes across as the distinct personalities they are.  From a note at the back, I presume there was lots of meeting for interviews in locations across the country.

Sounds easy, right? Meet a celebrity in some glamorous location, interview her, transcribe the pages and clean it up a bit.  And voila! You've got yourself a memoir.  But it doesn't work like that, because the spoken word doesn't necessarily translate to a unique written voice.  Weird phenomenon, but there it is. The ghostwriter has to really work to get the voice of the subject on the page.

Anyway, if you're a fan and you get the chance to read this book, do it.  You'll enjoy it.  And it would make a great Mother's Day gift.  Also, you can read tons more about it on the BlogHer Book Club page.

Now It Can Be Told

So, the contract for my novel is signed, sealed, and delivered.  And I now feel comfortable revealing the name of the publisher.

It is Vagabondage Press.   If you go to the link, you'll see they are looking for "literary quality quirky romance and love stories, fantasy, horror, and women's fiction."  What's not to love about that?  I adore that they have such a varied list and that they use the word "quirky" in their description.

I'm pretty excited about being allied with such a staunch member of the independent publishing world.  So far all my dealings with them have been great and I'm looking forward to beginning the editing process soon.  We're on track for a February 2013 pub date!

Now I want to direct you to a Vagabondage Press publication, that of the novel Facing the Furies, by Dan DiStasio.

I love this book.

I read it in manuscript form, more than once.  Dan and I met when I returned to my alma mater, Spalding University, to work as a graduate assistant.  Dan was in my workshop and when it was over he asked me if I would read his novel.  I'd enjoyed the story he'd submitted to workshop, so I said yes.

I had no idea the treat I was in for.  It's an amazing novel about storms within and without, beautifully written, with characters you'll fall in love with.  I can't wait to read the edited version and see the changes that publication brought.

Dan is the reason I'm with Vagabondage.  When he told me his novel had been accepted by them, I decided to check them out, liked what I saw, and you know the rest of the story.  I felt confident submitting to them since they'd accepted his high quality novel.  So check it out, you won't be disappointed. 

Another note: one of the participants in the Diamond retreat last week had read some of my posts on getting accepted for publication and looking for an agent and come away thinking that I had to have an agent to sign the contract. 

Not so. That's the beauty of the indie publishing world, they are much more open to writers.

I just thought it would be a good way to nab myself an agent and have a pair of eyes from the publishing world look over the contract.  So here's the upshot of all that: I did have an agent look over the contract and pronounce it good and viable.  And, (and this is my favorite part), she's very interested in my next novel.  So keep your fingers crossed for me.

And go check out Dan's book.

And in the meantime, I'd love to hear what's on your reading list.  I'll start: I just began A Game of Thrones.  You?

Create a successful, inspired writing life: Read.  As a writer, you should be inhaling every book, magazine, short story, article, essay, and blog post you can get your hands on.

***PS, if you're writing a book, don't forget to download my free Ebook, Jumpstart Your Book With a Vision Board.  It'll help you visualize the book no matter what stage you're at.

Here, Not There

Last week I co-lead a writer's retreat in remote Diamond, Oregon.  (We kept referring to it as "the middle of nowhere" but one of the hotel's employees took offense to that.  However, it kind of is.)

It was an awesome week, with attendees and myself and my co-leader making strides in our writing.  I had come upon a wee block in how to reconfigure my novel and I had a breakthrough about that while gone.  Yay!  I even ran into an old writing buddy.  (Go figure--billeted where the paved road ends and you run into someone you know.)

The days went like this:

9AM-12PM:  Writing instruction, discussion of literary pieces, workshopping of participant pieces

Noon-1:30ish:  Lunch at the hotel

1:30, on: Writing, time to work on assignments

5 PM sharp: Happy Hour on the screened-in porch

It was a shock to drive from brown, high desert Diamond into lush, green Portland on Saturday.  It was even more of a shock to learn, as soon as I got into cell-phone range, that my daughter was at that very moment in emergency surgery to remove her gall bladder.

Which is why this week I am here, not there.  There being Maui, where I had planned to head for a spiritual retreat.  But a daughter recovering from surgery with a five-month old baby to care for is reason enough for me to stay home, don't you think?

Maybe I'll get some more writing done in between caring for them.  In the meantime, I've got another guest post lined up for this Friday, and I'll be lurking around, so stay tuned!

PS.  The retreat was so successful we're thinking of doing it again in the fall, probably for a shorter amount of time.  You should come.

Create a successful, inspired writing life: How do you retreat to write?  Or do you?  Are you one of those souls who fit in your work around everything else that you do on a day-to-day basis? Please share how.

The photo is of the old hotel sign at the Diamond Hotel and I snitched it off their website, but I don't think they'll mind, because they are really, really nice people.

Guest Post: Engross Your Readers

While I'm away, I've got an array of guest posts for you.  Today's comes from Alice Anderson.  Check out her website here.

Engross your readers

by Alice Anderson

I recently read an ARC from Karen Hawkins that got me thinking about ways to engross your readers. This book, The Taming of a Scottish Princess, did a fabulous job of it. So well in fact that I read straight through Dancing with the Stars and Castle!

So how do you engross your readers?

Well, it starts with your characters.

Let your readers in on an inside joke.

Why it works: We all like to be included. At some point or another we've all been in on an inside joke. Giving your characters an inside joke gives them a connection that they don't have with other characters. It's that connection that ties them; it gives them something in common. Relationships are often based on commonality. By giving the characters an inside joke, and letting the reader in on it, they'll look for references to that joke throughout the book. I like to think of this as a thread that pulls them through the story.

Example: Michael Hurst and his assistant Jane Smythe-Haughton have a unique relationship. He's an explorer. Think Indiana Jones. And she keeps his life running smoothly. She is charming and sunny and he is no nonsense. She doesn't put up with his crap. In fact, she gives as good as she gets.

So what's the inside joke? Though he acts as if he could live without her, she knows he can't and she calls his bluff. They call each other silly names over the course of the book. They're not menacing, rather playful. Always keeping each other in check. He'll call her a "fainthearted twit," to which she promptly replies "cravated grump." And they go on and on with their tenderhearted insults.

This happens over and over throughout the course of the book, not over doing it, but showing that these two have spent a lot of time in each other's company and that they understand each other. They respect each other. They pick at each other. This works for the story and I found myself looking for these "spitfire" moments between the two of them.

Give your characters habits.

Why it works: we all have habits. Twirling our hair, biting our nails, worrying our lower lip. Habits make us human, good or bad. Readers will begin to anticipate characters making those habits and if the habits mean something (for instance, I twirl my hair when I'm deep in thought) they can read the character's mood without you having to tell them what the mood is.

Look for habits everywhere. Search on the web. Think about friends and family. Ask for suggestions via facebook or twitter.

Example: As Taming a Scottish Princess begins, Michael is at a ball and he's tugged at his tie. Okay, okay it's a cravat, but the point is, he does this several times during the course of the story. He does it when he's impatient. And ultimately, that garment comes in handy, but you'll have to read the book to find out why. I don't want to give all the good stuff away.

Vary your dialog.

Why it works: A person's speech can be as unique as a fingerprint. Do you have a phrase you use often? Perhaps you don't even notice it. Ask someone who spends a lot of time with you. Give your characters a favorite phrase, a level of formality in their speech or even an accent and then carry it (or change it) over the course of the story.

Example: Michael is English with Scottish ancestors. Jane is Scottish with an English mother. Both of them have spent extensive time traveling the world but over the course of the story, Michael finds out that Jane is Scottish. As she talks about her homeland, her old accent comes out. When they travel to Scotland, they meet a character named Mrs. Farquhar and she has a thick accent, an accent that the author plays up. In this scene there are three people and you can tell who's talking without any sort of dialog tag. Why? Because they each "sound" different through their accent and language.

So there you have it. Three quick and easy tips to take your novel from ordinary to extraordinary, engrossing your readers from the first page to the last.

Alice can be found on her website and Facebook and Twitter.

The Art of Seeing

A writer is nothing without ideas.

Ideas are so important to our craft that I do a whole class on them.

Where do ideas come from?

One place they come from is observation.  Which means the ability to see is vital to the writer.

Here's the deal: we get wrapped up in our stuff really easily.  I do it, you do it, we all do it.  And when we're wrapped up in our own stuff, that means we're not observing the world.  We're not seeing.  And thus we're not allowing new ideas to filter in.

So if the art of seeing becomes an important creative act, how do we encourage ourselves to do so?  I have some guidelines:

1.  Be present. Yeah, yeah, a no-brainer.  But how present are you as you move through your daily activities? Are you awake and aware or going through the motions?  Being present to your life can make the difference between sleep-walking through it or gathering all kinds of ideas for writing.

2.  Change things up. Do you drive to work the exact same way every day and see the same things? Visit the same cafe for lunch all the time?  Try something new!  Maybe you can't take a vacation at this exact moment but you can take mini-vacations by changing up your daily routine.

3.  Observe in categories.  Writers need to know things--like what noses look like and how hairdos work.  We need to understand details so that we can write details.  So assign yourself categories to observe--shoes, cars, dialogue--and write down what you find.

4. Listen.  Too often we get so wound up in what we're saying we're not listening.  Or, while another person is talking, we're planning what we're going to say.  That's not listening and it's not being present.  Try relaxing and really listening and see what happens.

5.  Get over yourself.  You're great.  I know you are.  But when it comes to the art of seeing, check your ego at the door, as the saying goes.  You can remind yourself later, when you're back at home with a pocketful of ideas, how great you are.  (Or, the flip side of this coin--how nervous you were being out in the world observing.)

6.  Write down what you see.  Obvious.  But maybe not.  Don't depend on your faulty memory to remind yourself of that great observation about what taxicabs look like.  Because you brain won't remember.  Trust me.  Write stuff down.

7.  Practice remembering.  This is for the times when  you can't write stuff down.  Years ago, I remember hearing about a famous journalist--Tom Wolfe? Joan Didion? I can't recall--who, when on a story, took no notes.  He or she had appointments, did interviews, went through her day and when she returned to her hotel room at night sat at the typewriter (it was a long time ago) and wrote down everything she saw and heard.  Now that's practicing memory skills.

Create a successful, inspired writing life: Take yourself out on an observation date right now (or as soon as possible).  Grab your journal, hit the nearest coffee shop, and see.

Please comment!  What are your favorite tricks for seeing and remembering details?

Guest Post: The Life of a Writer--Peaceful to Frazzled

While I'm away, I'm running a variety of guest posts.  Today's post is from Alene Snodgrass of Positively Alene.  Welcome, Alene!

The Life of a Writer--Peaceful to Frazzled

It was a beautiful morning. The sun was slowly taking away the night sky and the sunrise colors emerging were shades of pink and orange. It was pure beauty to savor, as I sipped my morning cup of coffee. I was finishing an eBook I had been working on and this setting definitely kicked the creative part of my mind into overflow.

I wrote passionately, with an urgency that had been escaping me for the past few months. I remember thinking, Ah, now this is the life of a writer! Bliss. Perfection. Peace.

I wrote with abandoned joy. I left words of passion and encouragement upon every page of the document I was working on. This felt so right. So inspiring.

Distracted from the task at hand, I clicked over to check-in with twitter when I saw Charlotte had left a tweet asking if anyone would want to guest post for her and describe their day-in-the-life of a writer scene. I had to jump at that because I knew in that moment I was called to write! Bliss. Perfection. Peace.

Still distracted from my writing deadlines of the day, I emailed Charlotte to see about guest posting for her. She quickly responds yes and gives me a deadline. Weeks passed with that deadline lingering on my to-do list when I realized I had to get this post in.

As the day begins, I quickly begin to wonder why in the world I thought I should write about this. Everything that could possibly go wrong did, which totally left me feeling like a failure as a writer. I longed for that peaceful morning where dashes of pink and orange filled the sky. Instead, I was left sitting behind my computer frustrated and frazzled.

This just happened to be the day before the BIG launch of my new eBook “Giving Up Normal.” I was coordinating the link-up of the eBook to my newsletter, websites, blog posts. I was soliciting influencers to help me get the word out and asking for endorsements from others. It was only 8am and my two hours of linking and working on html codes seemed to be going smoothly. Then . . .

I check email.

Note from friend: Alene, the link you gave in your site did not work.

I spent an hour trying to decipher the technical glitch.

I create a specific “tweet this” link and tweet it out.

Direct Message: Do you know your tweet link to your eBook does not work?

Then I receive a Facebook message: I tried to subscribe to your newsletter, but it is not letting me enter my email. Mercy! By this point, I’m fried and frazzled.

Can I just give you the short version of the rest of that day? It consisted of 8 hours of linking, relinking, coding, decoding, emailing, and answering emails about issues I was having.

And this is the day-in-and-day-out-life of a writer – especially this writer.

Knowing that you were called to write one moment and the next doubting why you ever embarked on such an emotional task seems to be the underlying mixed messages of my heart. However, I wouldn’t change the fact that I get to live this crazy life as a writer.

If you’d like to receive a FREE copy of the eBook “Giving Up Normal” that was written under beautiful pink and orange skies, click over HERE.

I’d love to hear what your day of writing looks like. Peaceful? Frazzled?

Oh, please do tell!

About Alene:  Alene Snodgrass is a south Texas girl who loves to write, speak, teach, and serve. Basically, she loves living life as herself . . . Positively Alene! You can connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.

Photo credit: Alene Snodgrass

Writing in Retreat

Tomorrow I take off for Diamond, Oregon to co-lead a week-long writing retreat.

It's been a hectic week, with my cat Captain in the hospital for two days and a million things to get done. (Including packing a bag with at least five books, maybe more, in it.   Gone a week? I'll need at least that many books to dip in and out of.)

But I think I'm about ready.  Mornings will be spent giving the retreat attendees instruction and afternoons exploring the area and writing.  I've explored the area a lot already, so I intend to do a lot of writing.  And thinking.

Never fear, however, because I have some guest posts scheduled here for while I'm gone, so the blog won't be completely dark. 

So come on by and check out what's going on here in my absence.  It'll be a party, for sure.

 

So Go Write Already

One of my students said something about writing and the teaching of writing that resonated with me.  She said, basically, that every writing teacher says the same thing in different ways. 

What is it that we say?

The way to become a writer is to write.

Period.

The big secret is that there is no secret.

It's all about putting words on the page.

Now, every writing teacher, myself included, has come up with various tips and tricks to get yourself to the page.  But they are all variations on a theme. 

The theme being, go write.

So what are you doing reading this blog post?  Go write, already.  You could start by writing a comment about what most often keeps you from the page.

Create a successful, inspired writing life: You know what I'm going to say.  Go write.

Photo by OmirOnia.

Review: The Book of Jonas

This is a paid book review for the BlogHer book club, but the opinions expressed are mine and mine alone!

Any book I read (and I try to read a lot, because that's what writers do) I read through the eyes of a writer.  Once you being writing, reading is a whole different experience, because you're studying how the author uses craft as you read.  In The Book of Jonas, I not only enjoyed pondering the way author Stephen Dau wielded craft, I also loved his overall theme, which is of huge interest to writers.

But before I go into that, let me tell you a bit about the book.  The book's main protagonist, Jonas, is just a teenager when his family is killed during a U.S. military operation in an unnamed war.  He escapes to the United States, where he struggles, not only with fitting in, but with the weight of a terrible secret.  This secret concerns the story's secondary protagonist, Christopher Henderson, the U.S. soldier who saved Jonas's life.  Written in dream-like prose, the book builds to quite the emotional ending, though you'll probably have guessed it before the end.

It is quite a tour-de-force of a book and I suspect it will land in the annals of classic war literature.  Extremely well written and nearly hypnotic in its ability to keep you reading, The Book of Jonas is a stunning achievement.  And all that is saying a lot from me because it is not the kind of book I usually read--I shy away from books about war.

As I mentioned, Dau uses the writer's craft in a mesmerizing way.  Part of that is his use of a fractured chronology.  The story leaps from Jonas's current day life in America to his former life in his unnamed homeland, and neither of those chronologies is linear, so the reader is jumping all over the place, yet the story remains clear.  If you're writing a fractured chronology, you should study this book.  And by study, I mean read it over and over again, underline it, and take notes.  It is extremely well done.

Finally, the book offers up a theme that every writer can embrace: the power of story.  It is only through telling the story, in Jonas's case, and writing it down, in Christopher's, that we achieve healing, and ultimately, freedom.

For comment: what book or books have you read lately that inspired you?

 

Coaching Package Sale

Quick heads up--I'm having a two-day sale on my three-month, paid-in-advance coaching package.  If ever you're considered hiring a writing coach, this is the time to do it, because I'm offering the packages for half off.

You can visit the sale page to learn more about it.

Just think, in three months, you could have a book proposal done, or a great start on a book.  Or a blog up and running.  The sky is the limit, truly!  So go check it out and sign up before this great deal expires.