The Joy of Writing

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

When I'm feeling rushed and overwhelmed with too many commitments, I am always reminded that the main reason I love being a writer is because it makes me happy.  Though many times I must physically write amongst chaos, noise, and dozens of other nuisances, when I am focused and deep in thought I am instantly transported to my own little world, a world that I control with my ideas.

I call this my "writer's happy place", and each time I am in this zone, I feel calm, content and able to handle just about anything that comes my way.

While writing in my "happy place" I experience moments where I laugh out loud, sometimes cry, or when I'm really tapped in and turned on I might discover something new about myself or the world around me that I never would've realized had it not been for my love of the process of writing.

So, if writing can evoke such a plethora of amazing feelings, what could possibly be the hang up?  Real life, that's what!  I don't mean to keep returning to the "I'm a busy mother of eight" scenario, but it is the truth.  And every writer I know is juggling a career, household, families and pets, never mind raising kids, so at least I'm not alone.  Because of our passion to write, we find creative ways to make it a regular part of our lives despite the odd hours we keep or the eclectic rituals we follow to make it happen.

Through the years I've saved an on-line journal of my favorite writing advice from other writers.  I visit this collection when I'm feeling uninspired as well as when I'm on a writer's high and my words just seem to flow.  By doing this I allow myself to glean new ideas on a host of topics regardless of how many times I've read the same advice because my needs at that particular moment are different than they were last year when I read the same piece.

John Soares from www.productivewriting.com is a writer I turn to when I want to shake things up with my writing.  Here are three thoughts of his that I have found very helpful in keeping the joy alive and well in my “writer’s happy place”.

Staying inspired with an on-line journal of quotes from writers helps me keep the joy in my writing.

Move From One Writing Project to Another

If you’re like me, you have multiple projects going at one time. You must pay attention to deadlines and make sure you meet or beat them, but within the structure of your project completion dates, you usually have some flexibility. If I find myself growing weary of one project, I switch to another on a different topic, or to one requiring different skills. This brings back my enthusiasm and my ability to get high-quality work done quickly.

Practice Present-Moment Awareness

Frequently associated with Buddhism, Taoism, and other religious traditions, present-moment awareness means staying focused on what you are doing this moment. Don’t think about anything that happened in the past. Don’t think about what you’ll be doing in the future. Just relax and give your single-minded attention to your writing.

Vary Your Writing Location

You can do this in many ways. I frequently write on my laptop on the back deck of my house in rural northern California. I also like to write in coffee shops and libraries. In summer I go camping with my laptop (and DC-AC inverter that allows me to recharge the laptop battery using my car battery). And I also get to write in the beautiful homes where I house sit.

 

What do you do that keeps the joy in your writing life?

Literary Adventures: Reading With Robin

From Kate's Writing Crate...

          Last year, Cheryl suggested we start going on Literary Adventures--to book and writing-related events--at least monthly. We realized we had made a lot of author connections writing for local magazines. Through the years, we had both also written about the Reading With Robin radio show hosted by Robin Kall on 920 AM WHJJ at 7am on Saturday mornings.

          Robin Kall is on the ultimate Literary Adventure. She loves to read and wanted to talk to and share news about authors she enjoys with other readers. About ten years ago, Robin started her radio show where she interviews authors from across the country. These conversations are fun and insightful. This show is a terrific place to discover new authors and learn more about the ones you love.

          Friendly, outgoing, and civic-minded, Robin then started hosting An Evening with Authors events benefiting the Love, Carol Foundation which was set up by Robin and her sisters to honor their mother who died from breast cancer. The proceeds help families deal with the ravages of breast cancer in their lives.

          Robin has been very gracious to invite Cheryl and me to many events including the An Evening with Authors, Reading Across Rhode Island breakfast to celebrate Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks, and the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) breakfast and convention as well as asking us to be guests on her radio show with author Maryann McFadden. Turns out Cheryl is a natural on air. Amazing the things you learn on adventures with a person you thought you knew.

          We sat next to authors at breakfast and learned that Elin Hilderbrand, author of Summerland and many others, writes her books longhand in notebooks a hundred pages at a time then types them into her computer. J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Maine, types her books with only her left index finger.

          Turns out many authors are quite funny--Chris Bohjalian, Amanda Eyre Ward, and Elizabeth Berg to name a few--but the reigning champion of hilarity is Adriana Trigiani. At yet another event hosted by Robin Kall, Cheryl and I expected a reading from Adriana's latest book and a Q&A with the audience. Instead, it was non-stop laughing as she recounted her childhood and incidents including her large extended family members. If Adriana is speaking anywhere near you, attend the event. You won't be sorry!

          When we aren't at a "Robin event", Cheryl and I attend book readings, signings, and events at local bookstores and libraries, or meet for lunch to discuss our writing projects and the books we are reading. The waitresses join in the discussion sharing their favorite books with us as well.

          Then we started this blog--just for fun and for a writing deadline. It is a wonderful outlet to share our adventures, experiences, and love of reading and writing.

 

                                   GREAT ADVICE! If you are looking to
                                   live a literary life, Carolyn See offers
                                   writers suggestions, tips, and insights
                                   in her book from her years of
                                  experience as a novelist, memoirist,
                                  critic, and creative-writing professor.
                                  Having a like-minded literary friend
                                  makes attending events easier and
                                  more fun, but the more timid among
                                  us can start right away, as I did, with
                                  Making a Literary Life.

          It is fun to follow your bliss, meet kindred spirits, learn, laugh, and live a literary life. Give it a try!


What are your favorite Literary Adventures?

Listen to Reading With Robin on 920 AM WHJJ from 7-8am Saturdays or anytime by visiting www.920whjj.com.

Encouraging Kids to Write

From Cheryl's Writing Crate 

Long before they go to school, before they even know the alphabet, children begin to write. In fact, for most children, literacy begins at home with a crayon. Young children who are encouraged to draw and scribble stories will learn to write more easily and confidently once they head off to school.

I noticed with each of my eight kids who was interested in books and writing from when they were toddlers. Some of them easily gravitated to books and loved to sit and point at the pictures. Most of them couldn’t wait to get their hands on crayons or markers and create non-verbal masterpieces whether it was on paper or not! Two of my children had no desire to spend extra time drawing and looking at picture books unless I engaged them, which believe me, I did! 

There are dozens of opportunities for children of all ages to get excited about writing, especially if you make it fun for them. Here are a few ideas that have worked with our family:

Infants: 
From infancy on, reading books aloud to your children is the single most important way you can help them get ready to both read and write. Hearing you read aloud gives them their first meaningful experiences with printed words and makes them aware of how stories work.

Young Children: 
Take advantage of your regular household activities for putting children's writing skills to good use.

Shopping Lists.  Ask a child to write out your list or have your children add their personal items to the list you've already made.

Foster your children's interest in writing by making it fun!

Family members can also leave each other notes at a message center. Each of my kids has their own “communication log” that they leave in their bureaus. My husband and I take turns writing things back and forth with them. This is great for teens who hate to share out loud!

Ask your children to write in their own appointments and dates on a family calendar. Very young children can draw picture reminders.

Have your children make cards. People in retirement homes or sick children in local hospitals will appreciate them. Not only do your kids get practice writing, they will really brighten someone’s day. 

Older Children and Teens: 

Journal writing. A gift of a journal or diary is a way to get young people into the habit of writing daily. A journal begins the writing process and may be the source of ideas for poems or stories. Journals also provide  private outlets for emotions.

Join a school newspaper.  Because writing is my passion, I was thrilled when my children’s middle school asked me to start a school newspaper. The Mariners’ Catch is an authentic 16-page publication printed on real newspaper, and is now in its 5^th year. We have an enthusiastic staff of 30 reporters who are learning everything it takes to produce a professional newspaper.

Visit the library and find books about writing. Ask the librarian to help you find books for your child about plot and character development, mystery or humor genres, or perhaps how to write magazine articles.

     A Holiday Newsletter.  Around the winter holidays, some families send all their distant friends and family copies of one long letter recounting events of the past year. Your children can contribute to this kind of holiday greeting.

Keep an area in your home stocked with writing supplies such as stationery, birthday and greeting cards, post cards, envelopes, and stamps. This is a great opportunity for your child to take charge of sending grandma a birthday card specially from her rather than a parent just signing the child’s name to the card.

How to you encourage the young writers in your home?  Please leave us a comment.

Deadlines Are Essential For Writers

From Kate's Writing Crate...

          Adding more deadlines to my life has made me a more motivated and dedicated writer. Yes, this means more pressure, but deadlines are the driving force for most writers.

          I must meet two monthly and two weekly deadlines plus various deadlines for freelance projects. This requires organization and dedication.

         If I don't meet my magazine monthly deadlines, my bills don't get paid. This means that I cannot write posts for twelve days straight. To compensate for this time crunch, I write five posts during the other eighteen or so days to stay ahead of the weekly blog deadlines. I write one extra in case I run into production problems, illness, or emergencies. I write the posts in advance so I don't let our readers or myself down. It's too easy to let deadlines for fun projects slide--and then let go of them altogether.

          Another weekly deadline was added when I signed up for a writing class led by an excellent teacher who inspires me to write more thoughtfully and expansively. The other students are terrific writers and listeners who make insightful suggestions that improve my writing, too. Good feedback is also essential. It strengthens my work when I can see clearly what to cut, rewrite, or edit.

          As I have done for years, I continue to fill a spiral notebook every month with thoughts, jottings, and early drafts of posts and assignments. I write in this notebook first thing in the morning and keep it nearby all day so I don't lose ideas, random phrases, and thoughts that come to me.

          Furthermore, Cheryl and I agreed to work on our novels to new deadlines. November is National Writing Novel Month, but this project doesn't work for us--it's difficult to find the time to write a novel with the regular pressures of life and, for Cheryl and her husband, all the fall sports' practices and games for five boys and one girl to carpool and attend, as well as preparation for Thanksgiving and other upcoming holidays.

          We are going to start in January and work on completing our novels following either or both The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt and 90 Days to Your Novel by Sarah Domet. Feel free to join us!

          January, February, and March are good months to spend inside working on big projects as there are no major holidays and the weather compels us to stay inside with hot tea and cocoa. I cannot wait to start--and finish!

          If this time frame doesn't work for you, try following The Weekend Novelist by Robert J. Ray or The Weekend Novelist Writes A Mystery by Robert J. Ray and Jack Remick. Get going on your novels now!

          There just isn't enough time for all the reading and writing I want to do. Additional deadlines mean not only more writing (which leads to better writing), but less procrastination and more goals achieved. Give yourself some deadlines and see what happens to your writing.

What deadlines do you use to keep writing?

The Art of Accepting Rejection

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

Whether you’ve been writing for a short period of time or have been published for many years, chances are you’ve faced some type of criticism for something you’ve written. I’ve been writing professionally for 12 years now, and I can still remember the very first time I received a rejection. Ugh! It was the third personal essay I had ever submitted. Because the first two had been published, I never dreamed I’d be faced with this hurtful type of criticism on my third try. (How naive of me!)

Worse, this particular essay was all about kindness. Though I thought I had presented my views on this topic with a very unique and fresh perspective, the editor scribbled a note on the back of it that said, “Even Pollyanna wouldn’t want to read this.”

Now that I’ve been writing for awhile, I know that rejection letters or negative feedback simply go with the territory. Thankfully, I no longer take it personally. I have tried (when I’m in a good mood that is!) to glean something constructive from them.

Overall, I’m very grateful that most of my work is praised as humorous, thoughtful, and creative as the columns and articles I write are generally not controversial, but more in the lines of entertaining or thought-provoking. But as a published author currently in the midst of writing a first novel, I know I need to be prepared for the rejection and disappointment that goes hand in hand with getting published.

  

Here are some helpful tidbits I’ve kept on file throughout the years for accepting rejection as gracefully as possible.

Turn rejection into a positive, no matter how small!

Don’t take it personally:  It’s important to remember that the critiques and rejections are of our work, not us, not our family or our pets, just something we wrote.

Persistence Pays Off: If you keep writing, you’ll keep getting better as long as you are open to improving your craft. Writers that persist and put themselves out there have a much better shot of getting published.

You’re Not Alone: J. K. Rowling was rejected the first time she sent out Harry Potter--and thirteen more times after that. Stephen King’s novel Carrie was turned down more than a dozen times before it was published and he shot up the bestseller lists. William Golding’s The Lord of The Flies was rejected more than twenty times before it was finally picked up. These are just three of thousands of examples of authors who never gave up.  I’d say we’re in good company!

Make it a Motivator: When I send a query to a magazine, I visualize receiving an acceptance e-mail or letter from the editor. I also realize that sometimes it’s a matter of odds before my idea is accepted, so each time I submit something I know I’m one step closer to either getting published or crafting an even better article or story.

How do you deal with rejection as a writer?  Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section.

Dogs: One of the Many Ways Reading Has Influenced My Life

From Kate's Writing Crate...

          Learning to love reading is the greatest gift I was ever given---thanks Mom! She is a teacher so I learned to read early. My parents also ensured there were plenty of books to read since they often had their noses in their own books.

          I have a lot of books because I am descended from a long line of avid readers; I inherited the personal libraries of two family members; and I still have my favorite books from childhood.

          However, I don't live surrounded only by books, a computer, notebooks, and pens. I have family members who demand anonymity and their privacy (fair enough, blogging is my choice) and pets who don't--their numbers vary, but as many dogs as possible and one cat.

          Books have influenced my life including my career choice and even the pets I choose. Early on I read The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney, a classic reprint given to me by my grandmother. It's the story of a widow raising her five children. They don't have much money, but they have a lot of fun until one day when the youngest child, Phronsie, is enticed away by an angry organ grinder and his little monkey. She is saved by a sturdy boy named Jasper and his majestic German shepherd appropriately named Prince. The two of them watch over Phronsie until Ben, her oldest brother, finds them. They all become fast friends.

          I was smitten with Ben, Jasper, and Prince; however, I didn't think I could ask for another older brother, but I could ask for a German shepherd. So I did, repeatedly, until my parents bought a puppy--a black Lab puppy, a better dog for children they thought. He was a nice dog who preferred running off to swim in a local watering hole than playing with us until we fenced him in.

          Since then, I have had the privilege of owning many German shepherds, some adopted adults and some puppies.


          They are the greatest watch dogs. As I work from home, they watch me constantly. They follow me from room to room watching to make sure I don't get lost or leave the house without them. They watch to make sure I do not sit at my desk too long by bringing me their giant tennis balls and dropping them at my feet until I get up to join them in a game of fetch at least hourly. They watch for anyone to touch the leashes as they are always ready for a walk. And, I swear, they watch the clock so they can nudge my elbow exactly at meal times.

          If they are outside watching over the yard and neighborhood, they come in often to check on me. Since I am watching them run and play outside my office window, that seems only fair.

          Ben and Jasper may have lived with me only in a book, but German shepherds like Prince have moved in providing wonderful companionship, writing interruptions, regular exercise--and protection from angry organ grinders.

How have books you read as a child influenced your life?

Do you find pets help or hinder your writing?

Finding A Constant Source of New Ideas to Write About

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

People always ask writers where they get their ideas because the process seems like such a mystery. I think finding an idea has everything to do with being open to whatever the world is throwing at you. It's as if your brain is flypaper. Your job is to see what sticks.

Writer Neil Gaiman has a great blog post on this concept in which he says, "You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we're doing it." I love that.

Being the mother of eight kids doesn't always offer up ample time for daydreaming, but I have found that even just a few short moments can deliver a handful of amazing topics that I can take and mold into funny columns, serious articles, or even whimsical fodder for the journals that I keep about family life here in the Butler household. 

The key point I’d love to share with you is that when you’re open to any and all possibilities that may present themselves, you have nothing to lose by grabbing your favorite pen and pad of paper and allowing the words to flow.

For instance, last week I was driving the cross country team carpool home when a gust of wind swooshed a bunch of ripped newspapers in front of my car actually blinding my view for several seconds. I admit I was rattled momentarily, but the more I thought about the incident, the more ideas began to flow into my mind about what this meant in terms of my writing. By the time I pulled in our driveway, it hit me—sometimes I get stuck in neutral and just can’t get my mind moving in a forward or backward direction. While the wind pushed those newspapers temporarily in my line of vision, that same wind also unstuck the papers and blew them to the side of the road, allowing me to see clearly again. Aha! Sometimes you need to be blindsided in order to let a brand new, clear picture come into focus to begin again.

A writer can find ideas almost anywhere, as long as he/she is open to receiving them.

 

This moment is just one of many that I can refer to as an example of being open to the possibilities that present themselves throughout the week for ideas to keep my muse going.
 

Sometimes these moments are quite clear. Other times they are temporarily hidden. But when I’m in tune to allowing my creativity to feed off of the ordinary, it’s then that I come up with my most passionate pieces.

How do you get your ideas for your own writing pieces?  We’d love to hear about them in the comments section!