#NaNoWriMo2015–Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #15)

If you are participating in NaNoWriMo, you are halfway through your month and you might be wondering if you’re going to make it all the way through your draft by November 30th. If you’re flagging, take a deep breath (and perhaps a nap) and give yourself the credit you deserve: you’ve taken on a big challenge and that’s a victory all its own! Did you take a selfie on Day #1? If yes, look it over, put it away, and take another selfie now, on Day #15. If you didn’t take an actual photo, picture what you looked like two …

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Always End With a Smile~and Other Writing Lessons from Puppy Class

Last week my daughter and I and our 10-month old recently rescued puppy, Jazz, all graduated from ‘Puppy Basics’. Jazz, who is 13.5 pounds of clever terrier-plus-guess-what, and my daughter, who is wise and a few days shy of her 11th birthday, breezed through the lessons: relax, sit, stay, off, down, lineup, come, and leave it. I did fine, too, as I am fascinated by animal behavior and what it teaches us about ourselves and others. At the end of the class, as is her custom, our instructor Judy reminded us to generously praise our dogs and ourselves because the …

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Writing in Time…

Having lost myself in time–for months at a time–I am sharing words of wisdom from Kenneth Atchity and his book, A WRITER’S TIME. “Like everything else in life, the process of revising your view of time begins with a decision. It’s a matter of willing to change your life by starting today to manage your time and understand its relationship to work and personal satisfaction. Here are some starting points, gleaned from my own experience and that of some other time-management experts: *Stop doing things no one needs to do. *Stop doing things someone else will do if you stop …

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Of All the Stupid Things

As my friend, writer Alexandra Diaz, celebrates the publication of her wonderful debut novel, Of All the Stupid Things, she also shares some advice and thoughts about the writing life. *What advice do you have to writers? If writing is what you really want to do then keep at it, and keep at it some more. All artists encounter people who tell them that they will never make it, but you’re the only one who can make that decision. *What do you think was the most crucial move you made in your writing life that pushed you toward publication? Whether …

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Shunning the Muse

I’m writing on a deadline these days and, consequently, I’m short on time to blog. However, I do have time to share some of my favorite quotes from incredible writers, editors, and teachers. This one from A Writer’s Time by Kenneth Atchity: “I haven’t mentioned the Muse, the mythic word for “inspiration.” She is the last person you want to depend on. Professional writers generally speak of her with a mixture of affection and tolerance: Discipline, not the Muse, results in productivity. If you write only when she beckons, your writing is not yours at all. If you write according …

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INTENTION & COMMITMENT–YOUR CONTRACT WITH YOURSELF

This post is taken from material I use in my workshop: The 90-Minute Novel. Over the next weeks, as I prepare to teach at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference in B.C., I will continue to post exercises from the workshop. Many of them are applicable to writers of memoir as well as fiction. The Contract: When you sell your book to a publisher, you will be asked to sign a company contract. Now, wherever you are in the process of your new writing project, I am asking you to sign a contract with yourself. This contract means you will:A) Aim …

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THE GIFT OF TIME

Last week, busy with life and various editorial projects, I found myself feeling out of touch with my novel. My writer friend Dianne reminded me of something important that I had momentarily forgotten. “Give yourself dream time and mornings,” she said. “Let the book be with you when you are drifting off to sleep, and use those first minutes of the day for writing your pages.” I took her wise advice and the reconnection to my characters and their story was immediate, vivid, and visceral. When you give yourself the gift of time, choose those golden “windows” that are your …

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IN YOUR LANE, IN THE ZONE

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps nabbed gold eight-for-eight at the 2008 games in Beijing. When his mother faced interviewers, she spoke of the challenges her energetic son encountered in childhood. Bullied by other kids, diagnosed with ADHD, Phelps needed a positive channel for his energy, and he tried several other sports before he settled on competitive swimming. The combination of clearly delineated lanes and visible goals made swimming his perfect sport. Hearing Phelps’s story got me thinking about Creatives–our inventiveness, productivity, fluidity, and generativeness; our creative mania, expansive vision, and the complimentary need for balance and focus and commitment to a …

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FIRST DRAFT, SECOND DRAFT, THIRD DRAFT!

Writing a book is a long and demanding endeavor. It is best accomplished by breaking the process into doable steps. These include dreaming, brainstorming, researching, outlining, and drafting. I am always surprised when writers are surprised by the concept of drafts. I know many writers and not one of them has penned a novel or memoir in one sitting–or even in one draft. Most writers confess to a minimum of two, usually three, and sometimes many more drafts. I suggest you aim gently for three drafts: the first being the rough and wild draft, the second being the editorial revision, the …

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