Month: April 2014

No Excuses Now

BlossomsSpring is making a valiant effort to warm up my part of southern Ontario, though the roof tops were white with frost this morning and double digit temperatures have been scarce. But I know things will change, and the trees will soon show signs of green.

I’ve been making valiant efforts to write every day–and failing lately. I was making great progress until the middle of last week when a nasty cold decided to take up residence just as my final marks were due–along with my taxes–and a major freelance gig needed to be finished. Nothing like a cold to slow down everything. However, the marks went in on Friday, the freelance gig and taxes were done yesterday, and as of today, I have nothing to stop progress on the books I’m working on. A great feeling.

And a scary one. I can be the world’s champion procrastinator when it comes to getting down to the work. My best solution for getting the writing done lately has been to not write at the computer and to keep my phone on mute. I love checking Facebook and my email and playing Free Cell, and can waste a lot of time doing that instead of writing. I’ll be trying out some strategies in the next couple of weeks that I hope will help me make serious progress on my projects. I’ll let you know how they work. If you know of any tried and true techniques, please pass them along. I have a lot to learn here.

In the meantime, I’m talking to a couple of grade 8 classes on Wednesday about what a writer does, so I need to work on finding props and organizing my presentation in the next couple of days, too. I love class visits, so I’m really looking forward to my Wednesday morning with Mr. Brenneman’s classes.

I hope you have a creative week ahead!

Three Writerly Blogs for You to Visit

Crocuses --Spring must really be here!
Crocuses –Spring must really be here!

Today I thought I’d pass along three of the writerly resources that I visit often.

One of my favourite blogs is by Kristi Holl, author of Writer’s First Aid, More Writer’s First Aid, and many other books. Aside from blogs on the craft of writing, Kristi shares her extensive reading and insights into the other aspects of the writer’s life that can get in the way of creativity, such as procrastination, writer’s block, dealing with rejection, solitude and toxic friends. You name an issue that writers deal with and she’s covered it. I always find her blogs inspiring. http://kristiholl.net/writers-blog/

The title of Jane Friedman’s blog, Writing, Reading and Publishing in the Digital Age, says it all. The site is a wonderful resource for writers tackling the challenge of getting published or self-publishing. Jane tackles topics from query letters to author platforms and blogging, from how-to-publish an ebook to marketing, and a lot more.

The last blog on the list today is from Elizabeth Spann Craig, a traditionally- and self-published mystery writer, whose regular posts cover all aspects of the writer’s craft. Every week she creates a list of the writing-related blog posts that she’s found in her research and posted on Twitter. This weekly round-up, called Twitterific, is like having your own personal writer’s magazine delivered to your door every week. There really is something for everyone on the list. http://elizabethspanncraig.com/blog/

Hope you have fun checking out these blogs and that you find something in them that will help you on your writer’s journey. If you have any inspiring or informative blogs that you’d like to share, please add their links in the comments below.

Wishing you a creative week ahead!

Slowly But Surely

My daily writing challenge for April continues, and, so far, I’ve written every day or worked on my editing. I’m definitely not flying through the work a great speed, but each time I go back to it, I feel like I’m seeing the project a bit more clearly and finding the right voice for it.

Finding the right voice is always a big part of of my first draft struggles. With fiction, I try first person, third person limited, omniscient–sometimes all in the same chapter! For non-fiction, it’s a matter of settling the level of vocabulary and finding the write tone to use to talk to my reader. All this playing as I write means that a lot of words will be rewritten or thrown out the next time through. I can’t wait for that day, because it means the first draft will be finished and some of the tough decisions will have been made. I like the editing part a lot.

Spring is finally starting to become a reality here. Although I still see lots of snow from my window, grass, very brown and soggy, is claiming its space in my landscape. Birds are singing and the basement has managed to get only slightly damp. Warm days are in the forecast, and I’m looking forward to taking my writing outside. Last Thursday, I took a trip to Starbucks and made a lot of progress on planning the book. I find that a change of scene can really boost my creativity. Do you like to work outdoors or in places other than at your desk or usual writing spot? Where do you like to write?

Wishing you a creative week ahead no matter where you choose to write!

Hoping to see these in my garden soon.
Hoping to see these in my garden soon.
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