Finishing the Dream

WRITING WEDNESDAY
We all dream of things, and especially of doing things.  Writers want to sell a best-selling book.  But without a book to sell, the dream will never come true.

Instead of dreaming, let's start doing.

The first key to the writing dream is to write.  Yeah, you probably already knew that. ☺  But it bears repeating.  Keep telling yourself WRITERS WRITE, and it will become so ingrained in you that you'll start writing, hopefully on a regular basis.  If that means an hour each morning or evening is all you have for writing, do it.  Write.

The second key to to the writing dream is to finish a book.  Hey, isn't that your dream?  Well, a huge step toward your dream, at least.  So what's keeping you from doing it?

EXCUSES FOR NOT WRITING

1. I have a family to care for.  Having been a wife for twenty-four years, and a mom for thirty-four, I understand how hard it is to find the time to do the things you dream of doing.  But hard isn't the same as impossible.  Mothers--and fathers, too--often find their lives filled with nothing but catering to others.  There's nothing wrong with fulfilling responsibilities, but you also should have responsibilities to yourself.  You should give some time to making yourself enjoy the things you want (and need?) to do to be a well-rounded person.
2. I work long hours at my day/night job.  Yeah, I've been there and done that.  Now I work at home, and I still find it difficult to find the time to do everything.
3. I don't know where to start.  You are not alone.  Most people don't, at least in the beginning.
4. I don't have the knowledge to know how to write a book.  Nobody knows everything.  If you have children, do you remember what you knew about babies before having one?  Did you know everything about your job when you were first hired?  Probably not.
5. I don't have a place to write.  Very few do, in the beginning.

Basically, the above are cop-outs.  Excuses.  A way to not fail, because if you don't try, you can't fail.  Here's another:  Don't have a computer or typewriter?  Countless books over the years and up to this moment are written by hand.  There's always an answer and a way, if it's what you truly want.  Miracles happen.  Let them.

Let's take a quick look at the above excuses.

• I have a family to care for.  Yes.  It's "difficult" doesn't mean you can't do it.  Get up an hour earlier in the morning, when the family is still sleeping.  Or stay up an extra hour at night.  Or write when the children are napping or after they've gone to bed.  Write while dinner cooks.  Write while waiting at the school for the kids to emerge, all full of energy.  Write during their sporting events.  Not the entire event, especially if your child is playing, but during the warm-up at every other game?  You don't need huge blocks of time.  Smaller ones work as well. They're there.  Look and you will find.
• I work long hours at my day/night job.  Do you have a lunch hour or half hour?  Write.  Or at least think about your story and take notes.  Yes, we all want to chitchat with our work friends, but two or three days of the week, take take for yourself and your writing.  I'm also familiar with the rest of this.  "And I go home to care for my family."  Do you watch television?  Cut out one to three programs a week and use that time for writing.  Go into an empty room, shut the door--after explaining that you are not to be bothered unless there's blood involved.  Or flames. Or flooding over six inches.  We have to be real about this.  Delegate.  Let the kids or hubby clear the table--if they aren't doing it already--and do the dishes.  Let hubby or oldest child who is responsible watch the others.  And DO NOT feel guilty about taking time for yourself, whether it's writing, spending time with friends, exercising, or taking a walk.  Give yourself the gift of time.  If needed, ask family members to brainstorm with you about how you can find some time.  Remind them that a fulfilled mom is a happy mom.  (This all includes dad-writers, too.)
• I don't know where to start.  This one is hard for me to understand.  If you want to write, there must be something you want to write about.  The answer is at the beginning...of the story, of an idea, of a character, a snippet of conversation or internal thoughts, a snippet of scene playing in your mind.  All of those and others are the beginning.  Your beginning of an idea.  If they aren't coming together, write them down.  In time, they'll evolve, especially if you give them a read, now and then.
• I don't have the knowledge to know how to write a book.  Then I have to believe you've never read a book.  Ever.  It's a story of a person...or two people...or a family...or an incident...or...  My advice?  Read more books!  After that, find books about writing.  There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of books out there about writing.  Or try online.  Look for the basics, at first.  Worry about the details later.  Join a writers group.  You'll immediately discover that you are not crazy, or if you are, you aren't the only one.  People in writers groups, both live and online, can be the door that opens your world of writing.  The plus is finding new friends who won't put you down for wishing and dreaming.
• I don't have a place to write.  I chuckle at this one.  Why?  Because I have a place, but not a day goes by--or an hour--when someone doesn't step in to tell me something or ask a question.  And if I'm home alone, the phone will ring.  Oh!  You mean a real place?  Then make one.  A corner in your bedroom, the attic, the basement, the kitchen or dining room table, although that does mean that when mealtime comes, you'll be moving your things elsewhere.  Go outside and write.  In your car, if necessary.  Even the library!

Excuses are now gone.  Start writing.  Don't worry about what it's about.  If this is your first time to write, revel in it.  Enjoy it!  You're writing!

Now that you're beginning, don't worry about finishing quite yet.  We'll really take a close look at that next week on Writing Wednesday.  You're dreaming of writing and you're making that dream come true!  That's what's important right now.

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying. ~ Michael Jordan

The Seasons of our Minds

I started to write this about my favorite season, Autumn, but when I sat down at my keyboard this morning and read the 110 words I'd written, I decided to start over.  We do a lot of that, don't we?  Starting over.

There's nothing wrong with starting over.  It doesn't necessarily mean we give up on something else.  What it really means is that we want to do something better than we did before.

Seasons of nature are always a special time, especially for new beginnings.  Starting over is a part of that.

Last week, I worked on my current WIP, a full proposal for the last book in my Desperation, Oklahoma series for Harlequin American Romance.  It's rough draft stage, so I try not to go back and make big changes.  Well into the second chapter, I had to leave my desk several times to do my daily chauffeuring.  Autumn means school days, as will winter and spring, and I spend a third of my daytime sitting in my car and driving to and fro.  That time sitting is often spent writing or editing.  So with the extra time that day, I started writing a scene in longhand.  After I got home and had some quiet time, I keyed it into a Word document and continued, thinking I'd done a good job.  By the next day, I realized the scene didn't work.  I'd gone off course from my basic idea.  I ended up scrapping it and starting over with the original idea.  Time wasted?  Not at all.

Sometimes our minds instinctively know what's right and what's wrong.  At other times, our minds may take off on a new road or go back and choose a different one.  It may be a smooth road, and it may be a rough one.  The only way to know is to take it.  I drove down what I thought was a smooth road, but it started getting bumpy.  Nearly to the end, I realized I had to start over.  When I did that, everything fell into place on a much smoother road.  There's nothing wrong with starting over.  Tell yourself that and you'll find new freedom.

Autumn is my favorite season.  I think that's because I remember the excitement of school starting after a long summer of too much freedom.  It meant seeing all my friends (and not-so-much-friends) on a regular basis.  I love the colors of autumn.  They invigorate me and make me want to make changes and start new beginnings.  Whether it's the colors of the leaves changing and the grass hibernating, or the new, crisp, colder air that inspires me to make changes, I'm smiling.  This is nature at its best.

This year is especially special.  I'm re-discovering the beauty of autumn.  For the past few years, we've experienced a drought, and the changing of the leaves had been a bit disappointing.  But this year, we've had rain.  The drought is over and nature is in full bloom.  As I drive along the riverbank to drop off or take the kidlets at their grade school or drive through neighborhoods with Maple and Oak trees among the usual Elms, I'm blown away by the vibrant shades of red, orange, yellow leaves that were green, not so long ago.  I need to remember to take my camera, but even taking pictures can't catch the breathtaking beauty of nature this autumn.

Life, too, has cycles, just as our days and seasons do.  At times we're forced into change, but even when it feels uncomfortable or is caused by something we believe isn't good, we eventually adjust and make things better.  We start over, we find a new beginning, and we enter a new season of life.  Make this new season the very best.

Every corny thing that's said about living with nature - being in harmony with the earth, feeling the cycle of the seasons - happens to be true. ~ Susan Orlean

And the Heat Goes On

Except for the mountains in the background, the image on the left could be of where I live and many other cities and states across the U.S., where we're experiencing a severe drought.  To say it's hot and dry would be a huge understatement.  For the past two days, our high temp has been 111--and we aren't even close to a desert.  We're setting record highs, both during the day and for our nighttime lows.  Yes, our lows have set record highs.  How's that for confusing?

Hot weather can provide a few perks.  It's too hot for my morning walk, so I get an extra hour of sleep.  (I love to sleep!)  Shopping has come to a standstill, since it's too hot to drive anywhere.  There hasn't been much of that for the past few days anyway, because my car has taken a dislike to the heat, too, and doesn't want to run.  All of this means that I'm spending more time inside...and getting more writing done.

Cornfield north of Wichita, Kansas

Who knew that stinky weather would become a prime motivator?

Writing isn't the only indoor activity.  I signed up for Pinterest and added my covers.  Okay, that's all I've managed to get done there, but it's a start.  One of the reasons I hadn't joined was that I wasn't sure where to find photos, and if I did find some, would there be a problem with copyright?  Two days after I uploaded my covers, I discovered that someone had received a legal request to remove a copyrighted photo and may have to pay royalties for the time it was used.  Yikes!  If you're a Pinterest user, you might want to read what happened.

I may have missed RWA 2012 in Anaheim last week, but I'm not the only one.  Author friend Penny Rader has a new blog post on Bits & Bytes titled Do-It-Yourself...Writing Retreat, That Is.  It not only includes several inspiring suggestions, but links to more.  If you need a kick in the pants, check it out!

Motivation is everywhere.  The hard part can sometimes be recognizing it.  If you have or have experienced something that's helpful, feel free to share here or wherever it might help others.

Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity. ~ Bo Bennett

Scarlett O'Hara Syndrome

MOTIVATION MONDAYS


You may be asking, what is Scarlett O'Hara Syndrome.  There's a simple answer to that.

"I won't think about that now, I'll think about that tomorrow." 

Back in January of this year, I declared each Monday to be Motivational Monday here on the blog.  The reason was that I'd been procrastinating about all kinds of things, but mostly about things that needed to be done--some desperately needing to be done-- that I'd kept putting off.

I've been working on that problem and although I'd love to say I have it solved, that would be a lie.  Still, I've made some progress.  Most of the time, anyway.

If we tend to put many things off until later, it's probably a habit we formed long ago.  It can be changed, but it takes some work...which probably brings another round of procrastinating.  Definitely a vicious circle.  But it can be better, and a round of seeing a shrink isn't necessarily needed.  Sometimes it's best to just do than to study why it isn't done.

A friend and fellow writers group member blogged at Bits & Bytes on Thursday about her own procrastination. Because I'd been putting off the need to get some words on paper or work on revisions or do a few other things, her post was a painful reminder that I sometimes have that P word problem, too.  Let's face it.  At one time or another, we each will put off what needs to be done the most.

When it comes to writers, when procrastination becomes a normal part of the writing life, there's a chance it's because of one of two reasons:  Fear of Failure or Fear of Success.

Only the procrastinating writer can decided which fear has gained the power to immobilize.  And trying to determine it could end up being yet another tool in avoidance.  So what's a procrastinator to do?  Especially a writer with dreams of being published or a published writer who has fallen into a writing slump?

Here are a few suggestions to try that might break the stagnation and kick start some forward movement.

BEGIN NOW

• Stop beating yourself up.  You can make a change.  
• Stop complaining and whining (yes, we all do it), and form a plan.
• Make a fresh start.  There's nothing we can do to change what we did or didn't do in the past, so leave it behind.
• Set a goal.  Don't sabotage yourself before you begin, so make it small and attainable to begin with.  If your writing has become non-existent or almost non-existent, and you want to change that, set a weekly page or word count goal.  Keep it small.
• Make a new habit.  A GOOD one. ☺  Get up an hour early and devote it to writing or whatever it is you need to do.  Turn off the television for an hour or two in the evening.  If you're a writer, take a pad and pen or a laptop computer and go to a library or coffee shop or even to a park and write.  I've found that my morning walk clears the cobwebs from my brain and gets it working, so that by the time I'm  home again, I have an idea of what I'll be writing.
• Give yourself little rewards whenever you reach a goal.

ENLIST FRIENDS

• Ask a friend to help keep you on track.  Even if the two of you don't share the same goal, you can still  support and encourage each other.
• Find others who are dealing with or have dealt with the same problem and brainstorm some ideas that might help.
• Challenge someone who struggles with the same thing you do.  Remember that it's not who does it best, but that each of you are DOING.

Sometimes there's only one way and that's the Nike way.  "Just Do It"  We can make excuses until the end of time, but if we really want something, we have to take that first step.  After that, the road ahead doesn't look quite as daunting.

If procrastination is something you deal with and you find yourself going nowhere, or if you have some ideas that may help others, please feel free to share them here!


Thank you to Tammy, Reese, Pat, and Debo for the inspiration for this post, their always super ideas, and their friendship.


In the end of GWTW, the real Scarlett--- the strong, independent woman, who never let anyone or anything get her down---gives us all hope.

"Tara! Home. I'll go home. And I'll think of some way to get him back. After all... tomorrow is another day." - Scarlett O'Hara, the last lines of Gone With the Wind

'Twas the Day Before Thanksgiving...

Yes, I know it's a sketch of a desk, but stick with me for a minute.  It is the day before Thanksgiving, and my turkey is thawing in the refrigerator.  Not for fixing tomorrow.  We'll be doing that on Saturday.  As I've explained before, with three daughters who have "in-law" families, I try to make it easier on them by planning our own family holidays on different day.  After all, it's only a date on the calendar.

While many of you are spending this Thanksgiving Eve cleaning and cooking, I'm gearing up to spend mine cleaning and moving furniture.  What can I say?  I'm a Gemini, and although there are aspects of my current arrangement that are great, thanks to working on it for almost a year, I need a change.  I've thought it through and used a scale model on paper to move things around, until everything not only suits me, but fits the room.  That's the hardest of all, of course.  Because today is the beginning of three straight days of freedom, then one day of holiday dinner, and then a final free day for finishing up, it's the perfect time.  Or at least I'm hoping that's the way it works out.

While I'm lifting and shoving and scooching and moving, my mind will be on other things.  I'm working on a new story for a possible new line.  The plot is pretty much set, with only a few changes and tweaks yet to do, but I've made some changes since I first began.  The heroine's GMC has changed from the original idea with relative ease (thank goodness!), and now I'm trying to mold the hero to a new and different backstory, strengthening (I hope) his GMC.  This is the perfect time to do it, because I'll be working on my goal of office re-arranging and re-arranging a story, too.

I'll also be thinking of all the things I'm thankful for.  There's no doubt I'll have a long list by the time we celebrate Thanksgiving.  Hope yours is, too.  Happy Thanksgiving!

"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many--not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."  

                     ~~Charles Dickens~~

Creative Space

What does your office look like?  Is it large?  Small?  Dark or sunshiny?  Do you have a large or small desk?  A comfy chair to sit in?  Music playing in the background or through earphones?

When I think back over the past fifteen or so years, I'm amazed at the different writing spaces I've had.  At one time I sat at the edge of an old floor furnace in a drafty old farm house and wrote by hand on large, lined pads of paper.  In the summers when I helped haul wheat to the elevator, I wrote on those same pads in the cab of the dump truck between loads of wheat.

There was the freezing-in-the-winter and melting-in-the-summer half-finished attic where I shared the computer with my then-husband, followed by porch which had been enclosed years before. 
When the marriage ended and my daughters and I moved to an apartment, the computer and I shared the floor of the small laundry room.  Later, I unfolded myself and moved upstairs.  I shared my mother's dining room where she had her computer and large desk for a few months, then settled into another laundry room in a different place, but at least with a new desk and chair.  Finally in one place for more than a few months, I have the converted garage, and although the view isn't of a lovely wooded area or the ocean, there's plenty of room for my bookcases, shelves, desk and file cabinet.

I work on a desktop computer and have never had a laptop.  Maybe someday I will, but only if I'm so mobile that I'll need one.  Until then, there's always that big pad of paper, and even though it's getting more difficult to decipher my own handwriting, it works well.  Sometimes it works even better than when at the computer.

Not everyone has the luxury of having a special place to write, but that shouldn't keep anyone from writing.  Outdoors in parks and even the backyard in the spring and fall can be ideal, depending on the weather and where you live.  In cold or bad weather, there are bookstores, coffee shops and libraries.  Even grabbing a few minutes while waiting in the car will bring you that much closer to typing THE END.

How important is the place where you write?  Is having a space all your own where you can go to write in solitude important to you?  Would not having that space keep you from writing?

If someone gave you a magic wand and told you that all you had to do was wish for the writing room you dream of having, what would it be like?

Don't let the lack of the perfect writing space keep you from creating.  Learn to create anywhere at anytime, and you'll never have no-place-to-write as an excuse.