Going Places

What's a writer to do when inspiration is thin?  Go someplace new!  This weekend my hubby and I got to go on a romantic date night and we rather spontaneously decided to visit The Fantastic Caverns, in Springfield, MO, on the way.  

This is one of the largest caverns in the world and it is full of history.  My mind was whirling with possibilities!  There's nothing like stepping into a place that has barely changed in hundreds of years to get you inspired!

Three Ways to Make Yourself a Writer

To become a writer is easy.  All you have to do is...WRITE!  But there are some things that you can do to get yourself motivated to dust off the laptop and start plotting.  Here are three suggestions.

1.  Have a designated writing time and stick to it.  Every weekday, from 1-3 pm you will find me pecking away at my laptop.  The dishes might be piled in the sink, the laundry is surely a mountain in the hallway, but I have decided to treat writing like a job, so it takes priority.  And low and behold those other things manage to get done one way or another.  Maybe all you can allot for your writing is thirty minutes in the mornings, or an hour before bed, but if you set that time aside as sacred writing time, you will be amazed at how much you can actually accomplish!

2.  Create an Office.  It doesn't have to be a traditional office, but it should have everything you need to write, a place to put your coffee, and no beds or chores in sight.  I write in my living room, in a cozy leather chair, with my coffee sitting haphazardly in the drawer of the china cabinet within arms reach.  From this luxurious vantage, I can't see the kitchen (a bio hazard) or my laundry pile (Everest).  And most importantly, it is far, far away from my bed, which calls to me like a sea full of sirens.

3.  If you don't know what to write, write anyway.  Here's the thing, you are not going to wake up each and every morning, brimming with inspiration and ideas.  You just have to jump in and start writing sans muse at times.  But a funny thing will happen if you just make yourself start typing... You will probably put together some words.  And those words tend to run together into sentences, Before you know it you have a whole page full of something (sometimes its totally crap, I'm not gonna lie.)   Writing time is never wasted time, and who knows, your next best seller might appear in the midst of those uninspired words!

So go get writing!  I'll go do the same!

What I'm Writing

Last fall I was introduced to the wonderful world of Nanowrimo.  What's that, you may ask?  National Novel Writing Month.  It happens every November, and it is a challenge to any and all writers to produce a rough draft novel in a mere thirty days.  I had never written a novel before, or even tried really, so this was all new turf for me!  I spent the months of September and October coming up with an idea to write about, doing some preliminary research and pounding out a rough outline.  I am not a pants-er.  You know, those people who can write a novel without any sort of plan where it's going?  So I knew I would have to have a road map.  What I didn't know (because how could I?) is that my average scene length was about 1,000 words.   My neat little outline said that the scenes would be 3,000 words.  Needless to say, I derailed from the outline, quite quickly.  But it all worked out in the end!  By November 30th I had a 50,000 word first draft!  How exhilarating!  And what is this novel about, you might ask?  Here's the synopsis:

In 1932, Camille Westford wakes up in an insane asylum, with no memory of the events proceeding her admittance.  She meets a quirky schizophrenic, Ingrid, and together they explore the secrets of the asylum's horrible practices, as well as Camille's mysterious past.

So right now I am editing away, and hopefully you will see "Committed" on a book shelf near you soon!

It Takes a Village

It takes a village... To write a novel!  One thing that I have learned so far is that it is important for an aspiring author to surround herself with other writers.  These are the people who will help you line edit your manuscript!  These are the people who will encourage you to keep writing!  These are the people who will tell you that your idea sucks so you don't waste a year working on it!  

Where does one go to find a writing village?  I found mine at the local library.  You can also find groups online or at local bookstores.  Another idea is to join a professional organization such as SCBWI and connect with other members.  The main thing is, find your village!  No author is an island!

In The Beginning...

How does a writer become an author?  And how does one know she is, in fact, a writer?

I have been writing since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I have always kept a journal, and I sleep with a notebook close to the bed so that I can record any brilliant ideas I have before drifting off to sleep.   I have notebooks all over the house that are filled with story ideas or little bits of dialog.  My husband tells me that this is not normal behavior, and at some point I began to agree with him.

I also read like it's going out of style.  I remember coming home from the library when I was a kid with literally a whole series of books to read and I would just lay on my bed and read them, one right after another.  The babysitters Club!  Nancy Drew!  Sweet Valley High!

I remember praying one night, "God, I think I want to be an author!  Isn't that funny?" and from then on, it was like a switch was flipped inside of me.  I was going to be an author, no matter how long it took.  I had things to say, and darn it, people were going to have to listen to me!

After making this profound decision, I knew just the place to start.  The library.  I read pretty much the entire 808 section last summer.  Books like "Getting a Book Published for Dummies" and "Writing Great Children's Lit".  In those books I discovered that I had already done an important step in the process- studying the market.  Finally, reading all those YA books has paid off!

So my next step was to set up a writing goal for myself.  I decided I wanted to work on writing every day during my young children's nap time.  That would come out to approximately an hour and a half a day.  Not a huge amount of time, but I can get quite a bit done if I buckle down!

I know the road ahead is probably going to be full of bumps, but I am ready for the ride!