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Posts from the ‘Writing Life’ Category

Sep 1

Sign up for your most important card — your library card

Whenever I move to a new city, the first thing I do is get my library card, even before a driver’s license.

Not only as a reader, but as a writer, I consider my library card to be my most important card. When I enter a library, I’m stepping into my happy place.

I know several published authors who reserve study rooms at their local libraries when they need a quiet place to work on their books. I’ve done the same thing when I wanted to defeat distraction.

Since today is the first day of National Library Card Sign-up Month, I’m highlighting some of the excellent services available at libraries. Read more

Aug 26

9 Comments

A twist on the writer’s journal: The commonplace book

I’ve never needed a reason to buy a new notebook, but I have one today.

I’ve decided to start a new commonplace book.

My writing addictions list wouldn’t be complete without adding “journals.” I have separate notebooks for book projects, story ideas, my tiny notebook — in case I’m out without a larger notebook — and think of something I must record immediately.

Years ago, I heard a writer speak at a writer’s conference about his commonplace book, and I began keeping my own. Commonplace books emerged in the 15th century. People would note interesting ideas about books they’d read so they could use them for conversation starters. I no longer remember the name of the speaker, but I remember what he said (because I noted it in my commonplace book): Read more

Aug 23

6 Comments

Three ways to feed your muse: hunting down inspiration, Part 2

You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.  Jack London

Inspiration comes from many places. Sometimes, it’s a visual image—fog settling over the bay, a blue jay teetering on a phone wire, a dead leaf swirling on the wind. Sometimes, inspiration comes in the form of sound—a phrase overheard, the sound of water rushing over rocks, silence when the power goes out.  But too often, inspiration doesn’t just come out of the blue—I have to go hunting for it.

One of my favorite ways to find inspiration is to read the work of others—poetry, fiction, nonfiction. As a writer, we train ourselves while reading to have different levels of awareness running at the same time. Kind of like having multiple computer programs running at once.

On one level, we’re fully immersed in the story or poem, but on another level we’re noticing language, syntax, the arrangement of words, metaphors, rhythm. We notice how the author or poet uses concretes and abstractions, how she presents her characters or builds suspense.

As you read, notice if the piece grabs you. And, if it does, where does that happen? Be on the lookout for what inspires your muse.

Sometimes, an idea or inspiration will come in the form of one word. One wild word that sparks your muse into action. Read more

Aug 22

1 Comment

How I started writing in my dream state — And what I learned

As I write this, I’m thinking about following the advice of my blogging partner and taking a nap. That’s because I woke up extra early this morning to write in my dream state.

If you read my last blog post, you know that I decided to turn myself into a morning person after reading the book, “From Where You Dream.”

Here’s more about how I did it and what I learned, starting with a note I had sent to my writer’s group back when I started waking up early: Read more

Aug 19

5 Comments

Nap your way to health & creativity

Let’s face it, we are insanely busy these days. It seems as if the more technology we have to make our lives easier, the less time we actually have for rest and relaxation or even vacations. (And when we do go on vacation, we often take our work with us).

We live in a culture where the myth of a superman and a superwoman is perpetuated daily and we begin to believe we can and should become these super beings.

I know. I’ve been there and still am to some extent. And I’ve paid for it with my health, my happiness, and my quality of life. It’s called burnout. And the really insane part is I’ve done it more than once. Think I’d learn, right? Read more

Aug 18

5 Comments

Write from your white-hot center – your dream state

Most people know whether they’re morning people or night people. I’m pretty sure I’m a hybrid. I love early mornings, but I also like to stay up late. Of course, it’s pretty hard to be both ways for long before you crash and burn and have to catch up on sleeping, which I also enjoy.

And despite the fact that I enjoy mornings, I’m not usually one of those ultra early risers. That changed when I read Robert Olen Butler’s book From Where You Dream. This book had a huge influence on my approach to writing.

Art does not come from what you know – the mind, Butler says. Art comes from the place where you dream. Art comes from your unconscious; it comes from the white-hot center of you. Do not “will” the work, Butler says. Write when you feel it’s coming from your unconscious. Butler’s instructions reminds me of how writer John Gardner described novels as “vivid, continuous dreams.”

I was intrigued by what Butler had to say about writing in your “dream state.” I wanted to see how my writing could be different with this approach. I wanted to be more committed to a daily writing practice. Like most writers who juggle writing along with full-time jobs and all the other stuff in life, I had been thinking about my schedule and how I could increase my writing time. I knew writing first thing in the morning was my best chance to write every day before other events or interruptions could interfere — best laid plans and all that. I was ready to put myself in a trance. Read more

Aug 17

Three steps to change & how you can realize your writing goals

New York Times best-selling author Bob Mayer’s nonfiction book Write It Forward is the best book I’ve read for helping writers become successful authors. It’s not a book about plotting or character development (though he does have an excellent book for that—The Novel Writer’s Toolkit). Write It Forward addresses things like fear, self-sabotage, how to design a writer’s business plan with long term and daily goals, how to take yourself seriously as a writer, how to get others to take you seriously, and that big, scary monster called change.

Mayer’s three steps of change are:   Read more

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