Writers Chatting: Beach Read 2
We all seem to be in agreement that summer is time to kick back and relax a bit. So with that in mind, here is the next in our summer’s Writers Chatting open threads.
Enjoy!
Writers Chatting: Beach Read 1
We all seem to be in agreement that summer is time to kick back and relax a bit. So with that in mind, here is the first of the summer’s Writers Chatting open threads.
Enjoy!
Writers Chatting: Chapter 7
I spent most of yesterday transplanting roses from the backyard (where nothing is safe!) to the front yard. These roses are from my friend’s garden and I’m looking forward to making my own bouquets this summer. I have an unbelievable variety and many, many plants.
For today’s writing thread, I’m digging into my email basket and highlighting a nice piece from WereBear on creating a web presence to promote yourself.
From WereBear:
You’ve written a wonderful book. Now what? That was the position I was in when I listened to all the friends who urged me to “write a book” about the cat insights I had developed through years of running an amateur cat rescue. So I did.
I could not get an agent or publisher. Angry and exasperated at the process, I took it to the virtual streets. I started my own website, Way of Cats, with blog posts based on everything I had organized and crafted into the book. Was the publishing industry right, or was I right? Read more
Writers Chatting: Urgent Advice Needed
Really pretty sundog yesterday when I was out gardening.
Had a request from Mnemosyne this week:
Right after I get back from Disneyworld (have you heard I’m going to Disneyworld?😉) I’m going to a writing conference where I will be pitching my novel, and I need advice!
So let’s help her out…
Writers Chatting: Chapter 5
Lars Leber Photography
Lars Leber has become one of my favorite local photographers. Above is Grand Prismatic Spring Sunset (Yellowstone National Park, WY) – a late summer sunset.
There were quite a few requests on publishing last time. I put out a call for advice on all aspects. This week we’ll start with Paul Wartenberg’s advice on securing an literary agent.
Let’s also talk about where everyone is at with their works. What stage are you at? How is it feeling?
Don’t forget you can click on the Authors In Our Midst under the quick links to see all the great advice in the writers chatting threads (and all 0ur great authors, too!)
Now from Paul:
There are superheroes in the world, people with Talents, and the ones who choose can get to train and suit up to work the streets fighting crime and saving lives.
Body Armor Blues can be found here and Paul’s author page is here.
I’ve taught a class on self-publishing at my library a couple of times, and I start with describing the three (and a half) methods of writers getting published. The first method is the traditional route: getting signed by a major – or small press – imprint such as Penguin or HarperCollins.
Going that route has the hardest steps but the biggest rewards. The major imprints aren’t kind to new or emerging authors, but it’s because they’re swamped by hundreds of wordsmiths banging at their door. And they’re swamped because the major imprints have the greatest reach to every market: the retail stores, the libraries, the schools that can purchase hundreds if not thousands of copies of your work. The large publishers can market your book everywhere it can, set up deals for bookstores to display your covers, get you interviews and signing tours and reviews. Everybody (usually) wants to sign a contract with one of the big guys, because that’s money up front, that’s a solid chance of making the bestsellers lists, that’s playing in the major leagues.
Writers Chatting: Chapter Four
Hat tip to Iowa Old Lady for the chart.
Welcome back. This week I thought it would be fun to talk about genres – what are the requirements of particular genres and what drew you to the genre you’re most interested in writing. Anyone write across several genres and want to talk about the challenges of changing things up? Especially if you’re crossing lines like playwriting/screenplays vs. novels or fiction vs. non-fiction. Do we have any technical writers?
I thought the chart above would be a fun way to address the varying stages of self-doubt that we face as creatives during the process. How to handle the stumbling blocks, tricks to move past it and not let it bring creativity to a halt. What do you do when self-doubt creeps in?
In the next chat or two, I would love it if someone wanted to write up a bit about self-publishing, self-promotion, small presses, traditional publishing, and the ins and out of each. If we need to split it between two separate chats, that would be great. Hit me up with an email.
Ok, have at it – the above talking points are just to get you started – talk about whatever is on your minds today. Have fun and keep it positive. – TaMara
Writers Chatting: Chapter Three
Welcome back. I thought today we could talk about staying focused when things going on in your life and in the world become a distraction and where you work.
First up: Distractions
Our guest post is from Robyn Bennis, a scientist and airship aficionado living in Mountain View, California. Her book The Guns Above, will be published and available May 2017 – click here for book info.
You’d think “where I write” and “how I stay productive in Nyarlathotep’s America” would be separate topics, but they aren’t. In fact, finding a good space is critical to maintaining focus. Okay, I know what you’re thinking, and I don’t go to Canada to write. I’m not even sure I’m allowed back after I dressed up as a sled dog and tried to hug that polar bear.
Instead, I make my own writing spaces, employing the sort of contextual readiness that Bob Harris describes in Prisoner of Trebekistan. You see, while Bob was training himself for an appearance on Jeopardy!, he re-created as much of the set as he could in his own apartment. That way, when he went on the show, the familiar context primed his brain to perform.
I do something similar, creating pure writing spaces through mental conditioning. I don’t allow distractions to intrude into those spaces, even when I’m not writing. So, if I’m at my favorite coffee shop and I want to catch up on Twitter, I step outside first—even if I’m only there for a cup of coffee. If I’m writing at a maker space and want to check the news to see whether I still have civil rights, I’ll go into the lobby. Even when I’m writing at home and want to take a Netflix break, I turn the desk around first.
Okay, that last example might bear some elaboration. I live in a studio apartment, so a home office is out of the question. Instead, I’ve tricked my brain into believing that it’s in a different space. When the desk is facing the window, I’m only allowed to write. Through many repetitions of this ritual and, most importantly, never cheating, I can make the room where I eat, sleep, and binge-watch Star Trek into a pure, distraction-free writing space.
And that’s the key to any productive writing space. You must never cheat. Never allow yourself to take one step down the dark path of distraction, and any space can be perfect to write in.
Thanks Robyn – and to everyone else, if you want to share your experience and I can fit it into a topic, email me and we’ll make it work.
Hillary Rettig is out today, so she won’t be able to check in, but I did ask her if I could post a couple of her articles on how to stay focused when life gets in the way,
…grab your timer and do short intervals. (Even a minute or two!) You will make progress and, perhaps even more importantly, keep the material fresh in your head so that you can re-enter it more easily when you have more focus.
And who knows? Maybe a couple of minutes will lead to a couple more, then a couple more, etc.
Did I tell you I sometimes use dice? I have a great purple set from Chessex (gamers’ choice; a cheap indulgence). Sometimes I roll a die to decide which part of my manuscript to work on. (Which chapter or section; they’re all numbered.) It adds a bit of color and fun to the process, and randomness is a great tool against perfectionism because you can’t really take a piece of writing that seriously when you’re only working on it because you rolled it.
And another great idea…BINGO:
When you pick a section at random it’s hard to take the work too seriously or otherwise get perfectionist.
Reader Nathan wrote in with another great randomizing technique from Viviane Schwarz: bingo cages (a.k.a., wheels)….
…. these techniques work is that they get you out of the realm of abstract thought and into something concrete that’s right in front of you. (Abstraction can be tiring.) And they inject some fun and color into the process, which always helps
In the get-to-know you potion of our chat – where do you work? Office desk, kitchen table, coffee shop, bed…or do you pull a Trumbo and work in the tub?
Ok, have at it, talk about whatever. Keep it positive and have fun! Don’t forget to introduce yourself and let everyone know what you’re working on and what you want to talk about. Let me know if you have a specific topic you want me to cover in future chats. – TaMara
