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Perhaps 'tis the season to be jolly, but I have to confess, I'm in a funk.
Short of congratulating the five amazing finalists in the Dorchester Next Best Celler contest(two of whom are DIVAS!!!!), I have no blog topic today. So, I'm going to do what hard pressed women have been doing since the dawn of time. I'm going to fake it until I make it. ;)
The holidays are upon us, and I don't know about you, but the more I throw myself into celebrating, the lower my daily wordcount falls. I think my high school math teacher referred to this concept as an "inverse correlation." Or not, considering I probably skipped that day, which means my notes were borrowed from the studly but not so intellectually endowed second-string quarterback. Translation? God only knows how accurate that term really is.
But for the purpose of today's blog, it works. Holidays are play time. This holiday, moreso, as it may be the last one for a while when my entire family is together. So my word count is tanking hard and fast. That makes January payback time.
But this year, I can't afford to spend the month of January oiling my rusty hinges. In spite of my dropping out of the Next Best Celler contest to deal with some epic family struggles, I do still have a manuscript due to my (patient) publisher and a personal goal to get Muse Struck into Dorchester before they forget that they have ever so graciously invited me to send it in to them when it's done. ;)
Muse Struck was the manuscript that autism built, my fun way of pushing awareness into areas of readership that might not have been introduced to autism otherwise. The project simply can't die. Every hope I have for my sons' futures is tied up in that manuscript.
So, with that said, I'm falling to our writer readers to help me figure out how to move through a bittersweet holiday season with enough focus to keep the pages piling up, even if it's just a paragraph at a time.
So dear readers, have at it. How do you pile up the pages when the gun's aimed at your skull?
On an aside, did you ever wish you could say you knew a best seller way back when? Now you can. When you're done putting me on the straight and narrow, check out fellow textnovelist and Next Best Celler semi-finalist, Jennifer Hart's fun, fresh and sassy interview at Wild Child Publishing as she talkes about her new release, River Rats.
Happy Holidays!
4 years ago
8 comments:
Aw... thanks for the faith (and for the pimping.:-)
Best advice I can give you. Don't think about writing and the sheer amount of crap you have to do. Just write, let the pages pile up on their own. Carve out a particular time everyday and make that writing time. Even if it's only 20 minutes between hectic events.
I work best when I first wake up, so I've been getting up between three and five AM everyday. That's writing time. No one needs mommy, no one is calling on the phone. Knock out the little projects first, i.e. blogs and whatnot then move on to close to dones. For me, the more I accomplish, the more I feel like I can accomplish and on and on.
Of course, by 8 PM I'm super crabby, but hey, what a girl's gotta do.
Hm... I hate those times, when the word count grinds to a halt. The only thing that's worked for me is to tinker. I write anything, something. Just so I've done a something that day.
And, for me, the Write or Die program has proven handy. That darkening red screen keeps my fingers pushing at buttons hoping something coherent can be made of it.
OMG, Finny, Write or Die? Are you serious? I mean, you don't really, like, die, right? ;) Looking forward to checking it out, tho. Details, woman!
Jennifer, thanks so much. Sometimes the fundamentals are indeed the best approach!
haha, no you don't actually die. :) Though, if you opt to play in kamikaze mode, it will eat your words one at a time until you start writing again! :)
Details: Write or Die is a program that prompts you to keep writing constantly. If you stop for any given amount of time, your computer will start doing weird things such as start turning pink/red, then making weird annoying sounds at you. The only remedy is to continue typing.
Info: There are two versions -- a free online version or a paid on-you-computer-so-you-can-have-ultimate-control-over-the-settings version (otherwise known as the desktop edition - available for $10...and yes, yes, I am mad-pimping).
Find it here: http://writeordie.drwicked.com/
NOTE: He is currently having issues with his website host, so it appears that the site and stuff is inaccessible at this time. (Try sometime later this week or next week. I understand he's trying to work on it. Or follow his tweets at http://www.twitter.com/drwicked because I know he'll update as soon as the site is available again)
For the record: I highly recommend Write or Die desktop edition as you can connect with other Write or Die desktop users and have a "word war" :)
I seriously just throw my characters into a crazy hilarious situation that happened to you and see how they handle it. Like once when I was 20 my friends and I were mistaking for...HOOKERS! We were walking from Ihop with a BABY, no less at ok 2 am but still these guys didnt speak english and all they could say was "how much?" I put my heroine in that situation when I was stuck and hilarity ensued from there. I snickered all the way through. I later revised it out but it got my writer mojo going. Good luck. You are very strong BTW and you inspire me. That was random but true.
Finny, I will def. check into the program. A dose of fun is always welcome.
Casse, good call. Normal characters are so, like, boring! I'll have to try that one. And thanks for the compliment. The support I've found from fellow writers really helps to keep me rolling out of bed in the mornings.
Chiming in a little late here to say - Dr. Wicked is God and Write or Die is da bomb!
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