Writing Stocking Stuffer—New Year’s Resolution Writing Tools

“Every hardship; every joy; every temptation is a challenge of the spirit; that the human soul may prove itself. The great chain of necessity wherewith we are bound has divine significance; and nothing happens which has not some service in working out the sublime destiny of the human soul.”—Henry Fielding

Will 2010 be the year you’ll start or finish that book or article you’ve always wanted to write? Do the words “New Year’s resolution” remind you of a ball and chain? The Jerry Seinfield red marker and one-year calendar system may change your writing and idea about a chain.

The Jerry Seinfield School of Writing New Year’s Resolution Writing Tip

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Years ago Brad Isaac, a software developer, asked Jerry for tips for a young comic. The advice Jerry gave Brad applies to writing, exercising, or any other New Year's goal you set out to accomplish.

Stocking Stuffer: Large wall calendar, red magic marker, hanger

How to Use Your Stocking Stuffer: Hang the calendar in a conspicuous place. Each day that you write, mark a huge red, satisfying X from each corner of the daily box on your calendar. Set a goal to write for one week, then two, then 30 days. Is the goal to write for 3-4 hours or one hour? Nope! Give yourself permission to write ten minutes a day. The constant crimson chain compensates your craving for more X’s.

Top Ten Ways to Earn Your X’s

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1. Write.

2. Write every day, even on holidays.

3. Write when you want to write.

4. Write when you feel like skipping a day.

5. Write about every hardship, joy and temptation.

6. Write about every challenge to your spirit.

7. Write so that your soul may prove itself.

8. Write so that the great red chain of necessity—writing—binds you to divine significance.

9. Write when nothing happens.

10. Write to work out the sublime destiny of your soul.

The Reality of Rejection

Photo by baikahl/StockXchange.com

If you hang around writers, you know the topic of rejection comes up.

It's our least favorite thing to talk about--but, talk about it we do. We tell each other when we get rejection letters. Maybe we forward them to our critique partners. Or we compare rejection tallies--battle scars, as it were.

A writing buddy shared that she got a rejection letter -- and several writing friends (me, included) rallied around her with e-mail shouts of, "You can do it!" and "We believe in you!" and "Rejection is all part of the writing game!"

I went sleuthing on the Internet and found a post on Rejecting Rejection by author James Scott Bell. (I've got a fun James Scott Bell story--but that's another post!) He starts with a story about, of all things, a matador:

The writer Barnaby Conrad tells the story of a matador, all decked out in his "suit of lights," talking to a group of reporters outside the arena.

One reporter asks,"How did you happen to become a bullfighter?"

The matador replied," I took up bullfighting because of the uncertainty of being a writer."

Bell then goes on to list a few things writers need to keep in mind when we get a "thumbs down" from an editor, agent or publisher:

1. Rejection is not personal.
2. Rejection happens to the best.
3. Rejection can point the way.
4. Rejection is not final.

I would probably add a fifth thing to remember: Rejection is not optional. But, to best handle that reality, I need to remember James Scott Bell's four points!

Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend

The New Oxford American Dictionary made it's annual Word of the Year announcement on Nov. 17 on the Oxford University Press blog. And the winner is: unfriend.

Unfriend means to remove someone as a "friend" on a social networking site such as Facebook.

Example: I had to unfriend my roommate after we had a fight.

So, why is "unfriend" the 2009 Word of the Year?

"It has both currency and potential longevity," according to Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford's U.S. dictionary program.

Other words that were in the running for the top word in 2009:

• hashtag -- a way to unite global Tweets around some particular topic

• netbook -- a small, light and inexpensive laptop computer

• sexting -- when teens use their cell phones to send sexual messages and/or naked photos of themselves to their boyfriends or girlfriends

• funemployed -- being unemployed, and yet having lots of time to do fun things during normal working hours

• choice mom -- a woman who chooses to be a single mother

• deleb -- a dead celebrity

Any words you think should have been considered for Word of the Year?

Looking for Old Wives’ Tales or Superstitions to Weave into your Fiction?

“I cannot tell how the truth may be; I say the tale as 'twas said to me.”—Walter Scott

Fiction and wives’ tales, what a perfect marriage. Both not real, but both tell a story. Does your novel feature the local neighborhood gossip that takes a shred of truth and twists it so out of shape that reality is no longer recognizable?

Help her pass on superstitious folklore, bizarre beliefs, taboos, omens, plus good and bad luck in all seriousness and concern.

From birth to marriage to death, the websites below offer interesting stories and ideas.

Birthmarks

Superstitions A–Z

More old wives’ tales from A–Z

"Getting to The End" with Amanda Cabot

Amanda Cabot, author of more than 25 novels, knows more than a thing or two about "Getting to The End." Her journey to publication took several unexpected turns. She planned for writing to be a second profession and majored in French in college. After graduation, Amanda's temporary computer programming job became a successful career in Information Technology. But readers are thankful she left I.T. to write full-time. Her latest release, Paper Roses, a historical romance with a strong suspense thread, is a page-turning pre-Civil War story set in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. During a recent trip to San Antonio, Amanda shared her writing strategies with the Alamo City Christian Fiction Writers.

The Key to Success: Writing MUST be your #1 priority.

Analysis.
Amanda believes understanding is the first step toward mastery. Before understanding complicated characters charts or the complexities of the publishing industry, as an author, you must first understand yourself. Ask tough questions:

--Why do you write?
--Why is this the book of your dreams?
--What is keeping you from finishing it?

Next, analyze your personality, productivity, and present use of time. It's more than a matter of being a morning lark vs. a night owl. Record your use of time and productivity for an entire week. Using a timer, record half-hour increments. Your objective is to understand yourself, when you'll likely write your best, and what's keeping you from writing.


Priorities.
Now you must establish priorities and change old habits. Cabot cites William Bridges' Four P's of successful change.
--Purpose. What do you hope to accomplish?
--Picture. Create written goals and "real" pictures like a mock-up of your book cover.
--Plan. Establish a realistic schedule with small, manageable tasks.
--Part. Develop a support group. Your success requires more than you.

Accept that you can't do everything. The time to write is not free. What sacrifices are you willing to make? You'll have to decide what won't get done. For example, Amanda might forgo a picnic with her family in order to meet a writing deadline.

Organization. Advice from the experts:
Marilyn Paul:
--A place for everything & everything in its place.
--Establish a filing system using the KISS principle.
--Learn how much time each task takes, include transition time.
--Schedule "unscheduled" time.
Stephen Covey:
--Substitute weekly organization for daily planning.
Brian Tracy:
--Work from a prioritized task list.
Amanda Cabot:
--Find your own writing space.
--Prepare to write. Have your materials ready. Reread you last scene or refresh your memory of your last scene before bed, commuting, exercising, etc.
--Don't leave home without it. (your chapter, scene, ten pages.)

Discipline.
--Schedule a time to write every day.
--Remember: 5 minutes is better than none.
--Remind yourself that writing is your #1 priority.
--Optimize research time.
--Remind friends you are working.
--Use your answering machine.
--Consider e-mail a reward.

Support.
You need personal and professional support groups. Don't underestimate the internal support process. You'll need to learn to write even when the muse is missing in action, learn to survive rejection and to re-energize yourself.

After successfully applying Amanda's principles, you'll finally type those magic words: "The End." Celebrate!

Cabot's References
Blanchard, Ken and Gottry, Steve, The On-Time, On-Target Manager
Bridges, William, Managing Transitions
Covey, Stephen R., The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Kroger, Otto and Thuesen, Janet M., Type Talk
Paul, Marilyn, It's Hard to Make a Difference When You Can't Find Your Keys
Tracy, Brian, Time Power

Things Novelists Do While Their Novels Remain ... Unwritten Video

In honor of all my friends and fellow writers who are slogging through NaNoWriMo, here's a video just for you!!

I do not like to write - I like to have written.

~Gloria Steinem (This is my sentiment, exactly!)

I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard

A metaphor is like a simile. ~Author Unknown

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. ~E.L. Doctorow

There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein. ~Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith

A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one. ~Baltasar Gracián

Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say. ~Sharon O'Brien

I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter. ~James Michener

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth

Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. ~Gene Fowler

What no wife of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out of the window. ~Burton Rascoe

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. ~Mark Twain

And finally--

Do not put statements in the negative form.
And don't start sentences with a conjunction.
If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a
great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
De-accession euphemisms.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.
~William Safire, "Great Rules of Writing"

Hope you're busy writing during National Novel Writing Month! It's still not too late to start, but you must be finished by November 30th.

~ Roxanne Sherwood