tips tips tips... write write write...

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"Writing is easy:  All you do is sit staring at a black sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead."  Gene Fowler

Here are some interesting tips I found today for writers:


http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/bestseller.html


http://abundance-blog.marelisa-online.com/2009/05/24/54-tips-for-writers-from-writers/


http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/nytimes_bestseller.htm


http://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/dent.html


http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingroadblocks/tp/block.htm


I really enjoyed these in particular- they are the top 10 tips from authors....


http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one


http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/10-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-two

everything will be okay...

I sent the this to Hubby today.  Closing for the deal he is working every waking second (and many non-waking) is Monday.   He's under the gun, and I was trying to find something positive to help give him a little extra boost of energy.  

Its that moment, right before its over, when you're just not sure if you have it in you to keep going.  Whether it is in a marathon, in a work setting, finishing a book, dealing with family situations or personal struggles... everyone has been faced with that exhausting moment when you are just not sure if you can find the strength to keep going. 

I liked the advice because it helps you remember that if you pinpoint something in one moment of time, it might look like a failure, but if you move further down the road, you realize that what looked like a failure was just another step in your journey that made you stronger.  

It kind of reminded me of the advice I used to get from my great grandma, whom we affectionally called TuTu:

"You will feel better when it stops hurting."

 This has never once helped any situation I have been in.  Ever.  But, it always made me smile.

I love this song and it think if you play it loudly enough when you are stressed and not feeling optimistic, it will somehow seep into your bones and give you that extra push.  

So turn it up!  

perfection....

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Its that feeling. The one where everything falls into place and its like you were never meant to do anything but this. Where you just can't get it wrong and everything fits perfectly.

I had a day like that yesterday with writing. Yesterday I was on fire and I loved every second. Time just flew by and I got soooo much accomplished. That's the part of writing that I love. It really felt like I was just watching the characters play it out- they just did what they would naturally do and it just worked.

I have been purposely vague about my book on here. I guess I haven't really even revealed anything that would lead you to believe I am a good writer or that I can even finish it. I don't know why it makes me so nervous to put a little of it out there. I was reading Kristen Lamb's website (this is a great website for writers to check out!) where she gives tons of great writing advice, and there was a part discussing whether or not to post part of your book online and why we decide for or against sharing our work publicly.

She was saying that often we think that we can't share our idea because its the most unique and unbelievable idea for a novel that has never been thought of before and it would be much to risky to share it. (Her point was that this is NOT the case) Ok, I admit I had similar feeling to that... I do feel like my idea is different and fresh enough that it is really worthy of being published. Not yet of course, but someday.

And for some reason, I feel like if I put it out there someone could steal the idea. Which is a little silly and probably kind of snobby of me to think that its sooo good that its worth stealing. Not to mention it is nerve-wracking to put it out there before its perfect. There is still so much work to be done.

I still feel too uneasy to put some of it on the world wide web. Maybe someday I will feel a little differently. Or maybe I can just hurry up and finish it. :)

So today I am so excited to get back to it. I think I should be done with the reworking by tomorrow and then I will be back to my favorite part of creating new material!

I used to write on here what books I was currently reading until I found goodreads. But I think I should at least mention it sometimes because I think it is extremely important for me to be reading as much as I can. It will ultimately make me a better writer. I find that I am heavily influenced in my writing based upon things I have come into contact with recently. So I am really trying to make reading a part of my daily routine. For example, check out how many books Mette Harrison has read during the month of August! Her website has been extremely helpful to me as well. There have been days where I have gone to her website just to get motivated! Thanks Mette!

Anyway, right now I am reading Kathryn Stockett's The Help, and the second of Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, The Girl the Played with Fire. I am really enjoying both of them. Completely different genres and totally different writing styles, which is great for me to learn from.

I have yet to come upon a website like mine, where it is someone that is working on a book that has not been published at all. I'm sure there are people out there, and I would be very interesting in finding them!! Hmmmm maybe I should do a little digging....

skype

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So I tried out Skype last night. I know... Im WAAAAY behind in technology I guess. Anyway, I "hung out" with my BFF in Las Vegas for two and a half hours! That's crazy! It was sssoooo much fun!!

Some random tidbits from our conversation that were way more fun on Skype than on the phone:

• We made dinner at our houses together... apart. I made tacos and she made lasagna.
• We both had wine... and Patron shots to celebrate us being in the same room... sorta
• We both did a dance at some point.... just because we could.
• She helped me when I got something in my eye... because if you get close enough to the camera... its like you are right there.
• I showed her a new painting I've been working on and she was surprised at how big it is (thats what she said)
• Our dogs all freaked out at the sound of the other dogs, but when we put them up to the camera, they didn't really get it. come on, who doesn't know how to skype??
• The best/worst part of the conversation was when she was talking to her hubby on her phone (on speaker) and accidentally knocked her wine glass over causing it to shatter and spill red wine everywhere, which made her dogs freak out (she has 4) and then her son came in the room and we were both telling him to stay put cuz there was glass and I was just on the other side witnessing everything with my eyes all wide.

It was kind of weird to hang up and not have to clean up the wine and the glass... it felt so much like I was at her house and should be helping with it! Seriously a strange feeling!!

But, it was really fun. You've gotta try it out if you haven't. BFF and I are going to make it a weekly occurrence, which I am really excited about. We used to be neighbors, ya know, so we got used to seeing each other all the time. If only we'd known that we wouldn't always live by each other, we would have taken better advantage of it!

A toast to Skype... bringing people that are miles apart to the same bottle of wine.

(if that's not their tagline... it should be!!)

Love the Way You Lie- Eminem feat. Rihanna (HelenaMaria Cover)

I just found these twin sisters and they have amazing voices!! I am loving hearing all of their songs.

You can check them out on youtube.

mock-up book jacket summaries

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Today I wrote mock-up summaries for the book jackets for books one and two. I think there will ultimately be three. I have the beginning of book one, beginning and middle of book two started. There will be a lot of reworking since the plot has kind of evolved, but at least I have a direction.

It was really helpful for me to do the book jacket summaries because it helped me get my head around the big picture story. The storyline and premises are pretty complex, so its always been kind of hard for me to "sum it up." So this was a really good exercise for me.

I read it to one of my sisters and she was really excited, which made me even more excited. She said she knew I was a good writer, but that THIS was REALLY good. She couldn't wait to hear more. I know she's totally biased and of course she would like it, but it was nice to have some positive feedback. I haven't shared very much this time around, which has made me more comfortable, because I don't have to have any sort of judgements before its "perfected" but it also has taken some of the fun out of it. I loved hearing that someone liked my story. It made it that much more fun to pick up where I left off and push through when I didn't know where to take it.

Things are coming together more, the more I work on it. I have some exciting and very moving scenes coming up which Im really excited to work on. First I have to finish the "re-work" of the chapters I already have, but Im not too far off of that. Im hoping by next Wednesday to be done with that part and moving on.

I am really loving writing and being creative. It is so much fun to work from home and create as I go. I love it when I get in a groove and I feel like I'm just watching a movie, not the one actually making it up.

If you are writing and ever get stuck, try to back and out do a big picture exercise. The mock-up book jacket summaries really helped me get my head around things. There is a huge thrill that comes with thinking about when it will be done, when the story will be all out of my head and down on the paper. Writing the summaries made it seem closer.

Gotta go write some more!!

a barney-ism

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August is coming to a close. Kids are back and school and Labor Day is just around the corner. September brings the crisper air, beautiful fall colors... and its back to our regularly scheduled programs to be viewed whenever we want (thank you DVR). One of my favorites is

How I met Your Mother, which the picture above comes from. There are all sorts of "Barney-isms," in fact, there is a whole book that it pretty funny called "The Bro Code" that is chock full of them. Anyway, the one above I actually think is pretty good in a strange twist. I remember when he said that in the episode and I swear I found myself thinking of it at moments when I was sad, and since it was so silly and trivial the way Barney said it... it just seemed so easy to do. Just BE AWESOME. Just stop feeling sad or frustrated or angry or whatever and just BE AWESOME. And whatever awesome is to you- just be that.

There are so many self help book about becoming a better person or attaining the things you desire the most or having a good attitude or the "secret." But this is so simple, I swear it works. It just a paradigm shift in your mind that immediately makes you feel better.

Try it. Because Barney is nothing if not honest. True story.