VBT Day 5 Discussion
May 11th, 2007Today, mystery authors, Peter McGinn, Marjorie Abrams, Susan Waller Miccio and I, Cheryl Hagedorn, will be discussing:
Susan: Ha ha ha. I can give advice but I can’t take it. There’s some good advice, but – in my opinion - all the good advice in the world won’t work unless you a) don’t have to go work everyday (or you can slack off at work), or b) are young and energetic.
At my stage of life, time is more important than anything. Morning starts at 5 AM so that I can get a workout before I go to the day job. My day job consumes me for long hours and sucks all the energy out of me. By the time I get home, it’s all I can do to take care of the dogs and parrot, read the paper, watch a game during hockey season and go to bed. If weekdays are eaten up by working, weekends are eaten up with living – book shipping, food shopping, bill paying, grass-cutting, beach going and so on.
There are some who would argue that I should just give up the paper or give up the game or give up the beach or give up some sleep so that I could work in an hour of writing everyday or a few hours on the weekend. First of all, and let’s get this straight - there’s nothing more important than hockey in the winter and beach in the summer. All work and no play makes Susan a dull girl. And I’m not “giving up” anything else either: I read the paper to be an informed citizen, I sleep to ward off exhaustion, I shop for food to eat.
Nah – none of that “rob Peter to pay Paul” stuff works for me. The only solution that works for me is to take off work for two or three weeks. I can’t write a book in two or three weeks, but I can recharge my batteries and take a good whack at it. For a while after a work break, I have the energy to work, live and write.
Cheryl: I think setting yourself a goal for each day is a good idea. I seemed to make a lot of progress when I told myself, “Just three pages, that’s all. Just three pages and you’re done for the day.”
Another writer that I had on a while back, Beth Hiitola, said, “I wrote in 10 - 15 minute chunks for about 9 months (maybe a year) and finished a novel.”
I also think that there are a lot of people who aren’t writing novels that don’t know what to write about. They discount the thoughts that do come to mind, so it’s easy just to give up. For these folks, I’d recommend journaling. I did that for years. You can do it in a little leather bound notebook like I had or get yourself a blog and do it online. The trick there is not to censor yourself — don’t shut yourself down before you start. You’re not writing great literature - just do it.
Peter, what about you? Any advice for writers who can’t seem to get anything written?
Peter: Get rid of your cell phone. Okay, maybe you really need it, but turn it off while you are driving, and slow down. You might be surprised what you notice if you aren¹t trying to run every yellow (or maybe even red?) light. As a bonus, driving slower increases your reaction time for potential problems, so it is safer too. But it frees you to notice things around you and start you thinking like a writer. Also, get a dog and walk it regularly. (Or walk without a dog.) But no walkman type music. Muses have a way of planting ideas in the heads of people who are bopping along letting their thoughts flit in and out. You don’t even have to think about your plot. Your subconscious is working on it all the time so it seems like ideas just pop into your head out of nowhere. That has been my experience anyway.
The other thing I would suggest for those who have trouble finishing something is to allow yourself to write crap sometimes. Keep going rather than reworking something that isn’t working. Something you stumble over later might fix whatever problem is stopping you. And read what you’ve written out loud. It will sound different to the ear and might make it easier to edit.
Cheryl: Thanks, Peter. Marjorie, you’ve been pretty quiet. What advice would you give to a writer who struggles to put words on paper?
Marjorie: Find another avocation.
Okay. Well, wow! Can you believe it? The two weeks with you folks has just flown! I want to thank you for joining me on the first-ever BookLocker Virtual Book Tour. I’m hoping you will all come back for a visit.
| Author blurbs and books | |||
| Interviews | |||
| Peter McGinn |
Susan Miccio |
Marjorie Abrams |
Cheryl Hagedorn |
| Return to or visit Cheryl Hagedorn's web site |
I’d like to comment on how to jump-start your writing.
Make it fun. Write about the best thing that ever happened to you, or what you would do if you won the lottery. Where do you wish you were right now? On the beach in the Bahamas? Write about the feel of the sun on your face, the smell of the sea, the taste of a tropical
drink.
Just can’t cut loose? Then begin by describing your desk. Talk about your day. What are your pet peeves? What did you like about XXX book or movie? What can you take from it and use in your own writing?
If you could write the Great American Novel, what would it be like? Describe a non-existent book that you would like to read. What are the characters like? What are their conflicts? How do they handle this? What is the outcome?
Create a character — the Perfect Man, Perfect Woman, Perfect Child. Creating a bad guy can be lots of fun, too. Why is s/he “bad”? How did s/he get that way? What would make him/her happy?
Give yourself daily assigments, maybe only a paragraph long, maybe to write during your lunch hour or commute. For example, Monday write about your first car. Tuesday, write about what life is like from your pet’s point of view. Wednesday, what you love/hate about shopping, golfing, the subway, etc. Thursday, write a paragraph starting
with “Excitement is…” or “Love is…” or “Glory is…” (The
dictionary provides endless material for this one!) Friday, write a letter-to-the-editor about…anything. Write something every day — it doesn’t matter what — and it becomes a habit; you’ll find yourself looking forward to it and making time for it.
All of the above gives you something concrete to think about and write about, just to break out of the doldrums and connect with the writer inside. You might even find some inspiration for your next “official” written piece as you work on these or other topics that interest you.
Any kind of writing you do also helps you improve echnique. The more you write, the better you get.
Tell the Critic-that-sits-on-top-of-your-head to just be quiet and go away. You can always go back, change, and rewrite. It’s easier to edit than create. And it can be fun to explore bizarre, spur-of-the-moment ideas or plot twists that may add another dimension to your work, or might become your next work-in-progress.
Remember, nobody but you has to see what you’re writing! You’re absolutely free to do whatever you want in this space. Your writing is your playground.
Comment by Jeanette ? May 11, 2007 @ 8:23 am
Just found this and I think it fits. You try to tell a story using song titles.
Comment by Cheryl ? May 11, 2007 @ 10:44 am
Use that time before you go to sleep to half-dream your plot. You might find yourself getting back up and writing. I tend to remember what I dreamed up and write it the next day.
I’m not a write-everyday person. Too much of that in journalism. But I do believe in thinking, thinking, thinking through that plot every day when you have a spare moment.
Driving is one of the great times for inspiration.
Lynn
Comment by Lynn Voedisch ? May 11, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
I’m either going to fall down laughing or fall down crying, I don’t know.
I’m so paranoid that my WIP stinks that I can hardly go back to it. And it’s been a while.
When I go back to it, it’s not at all as bad as I thought. It’s not great but it’s not bad either.
Anyway, this is timely for me.
AND, you have been tagged. If you wander over to my blog, you will see the instructions.
If you decide not to do it, that’s perfectly fine. Hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day, whether you’re a mom or not.
Comment by chrisd ? May 11, 2007 @ 2:39 pm
All these suggestions are evidence that how one induces oneself to write is a very personal process. You definitely have to have a disciplined, self-starter type of personality. Beyond that, what gets me moving in the right (pun intended) direction may or may not motivate anyone else and vice versa. I remember one time when a friend-in-writing was encouraging me to join a discussion group that she’d found very stimulating It worked great for her. But, if I have only a finite of time that I’m able to devote to the avocation of writing, I’d rather spend the time actually writing than talking about, reading about, thinking about, writing about… writing. That’s just me.
One thing that I do think applies to Everyone universally is, as Jeanette said - “Make it fun.” One simple thing that made writing more fun for me was my laptop - it enabled me to write in the comfort of my favorite overstuffed chair with my feet propped up. Sitting upright in an office chair pecking at a keyboad reminded me too much of work-work, and that’s no fun. I also agree that you have to banish the “critic-that-sits-on-top-of-your-head.” (I call mine “Evil Susan,” and she sits on my left shoulder.) Not only that but, if you have nay-sayers in your life, shun them, too. Expose your passion to a mentor or someone positive who understands and encourages you.
As I’m a dog writer, my final word of advice is to take a lesson from dog training. In writing as in dog training, a little praise modifies behavior more than punishment does and, for the really stubborn ones, use food as motivation and reward. :-).
Thank you, Cheryl, for inviting me to join in this virtual tour. I really appreciate your hard work in putting this together.
Comment by Susan Miccio ? May 11, 2007 @ 8:44 pm
Congratulations to Jeff Markowitz who scored a great interview at the Wild River Review! The following excerpt applies her:
WRR: The writing career that you’ve made for yourself is something that other writers often dream about. What do you think is the most difficult aspect about writing and publishing mysteries?
Jeff: To stop dreaming about it and do it. Which, for me, means getting up at 5:30 every morning. Only a very few authors support themselves by writing. Most have day jobs, myself included. I’m fortunate to have a day job that I am passionate about. But if I am going to write and market and do all of the other things that go into being a published author, I have to do them at 5:30 in the morning. Every morning.
Comment by Cheryl ? May 13, 2007 @ 6:57 pm