A Word Is A Word, And It Counts

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alphabet close up communication conceptual

 

Yep, that’s what I tell myself. A word is a word, no matter if it’s one of one or one of thousands. And it counts the same, so if you’re tight on time and you just jot down that first word of a chapter, paragraph or conversation, it’s one more word than you’ve had before, and it counts, baby. It counts.

This little pick-me-up speech comes courtesy of a recent busy schedule, but busy in a good way. A little more contracted work meant more time devoted to that work, which happened to require a little more research this go around coupled with a client requested change on the morning of my deadline, but hey, all good, right?

Sure, except for making any real progress in my personal, creative, fun type of writing. And I missed it, big time. So that’s when I decided to just do microbursts of writing in short little drive-by type of sessions, running through the office, opening up my laptop and typing a sentence or three or five, then closing up and going back to regularly scheduled duties and responsibilities.

And it wasn’t bad. It began to feel more like a game or a contest, which obviously I would win no matter what because hey, it was a game with myself, and I made the rules up, which for the record is the best type of game to be in, amirite?

But it worked, in a sort of flash fiction way where all the passages are related and depend on each other. I’ve enjoyed being in previous writing exercises that had a number of writers involved, each creating a one hundred word passage in a story, then passing it on to the next writer to continue the story with their hundred-word passage, then passing it along to the next, and so forth. All passages must be related and continue the story from where the previous writer had left off. It’s a very cool and fun exercise and can be timed if you like, turning it into a writing version of improv.

The best thing is, not only does it count, it adds up. Those short little microbursts of writing can add up to significant words by the end of the day, elevating your WIP with dedicated ideas and thoughts that can be filled in and expanded on later, you know, when you do get the time to sit your butt in that chair and do what we all want to do-write more.

Happy Writing

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Ideas During Sleep, ​Blank Stares While Awake

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light

We always hear about the constant need for a pen and paper nearby for those golden, light bulb ideas of brilliance that only show themselves when we are least expecting them.

I always believed this to be the crazy notion until I was proved wrong. “Once again”, some might interject here.

Blissfully awoken by an overactive brain that decided to come up with a great headline for a boring article I was working on, I actually smiled in the darkness of my brilliance, knowing that my client was going to simply gush over my amazing word wizardry and probably throw a sack of money to me for making his company social media go viral.

And then I fell back asleep, followed by a traditional alarm clock revelry. I jumped up all excited to get to writing, pointed my fingers downward ready to play the keyboard like a piano player ripping through some ragtime music when I realized that every bit of that idea flew from my head to never return.

“Dammit” I proclaimed to all within hearing distance, which was maybe a bird and two dogs that decided to tuck their heads just in case I was talking about them. I sat, twisted face and scrunched brow, trying to remember the forgotten words: Any of ’em, at least one of ’em, maybe just the beginning letter, consonant or vowel, to jar my memory and get the ol’ generator humming.

My head sank, as did my expectations.

This wasn’t the only time this kind of thing happened. I consistently tell myself I’ll remember something only to consistently show myself how unreliable of  a source I can really be,

Yet I continue to resist joining those that carry the paper and pen with them at all times, those that are happily transferring their light bulb ideas and clever phrases to paper, complaining about their overabundance of ideas and how they just don’t have the time to get to ALL of them that are written in their file.

I’ve been saving a special word for people like you, I say. And as soon as I remember what it is, I’m calling you out on it. But it’ll have to wait because, you know, I didn’t write it down at the time, and…forgot.

Dammit!

 

Don’t Discount Those Non-Writing Achievements And Successes

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close up of text

Word counts. Chapters. Scenes. We all have our way of measuring our progress, don’t we?

And then, when we miserably fail to reach our goal on a particular day… and we will… we label ourselves losers, failing yet again, and never wanting to chicken-peck that terrible old keyboard again.

Go ahead and feel sorry for yourself if you must, giving yourself one hundred percent of the blame for your day’s lack of goal attainment. But can you also, for one moment, give yourself credit for the other things that you DID get done, you know, those things that may have prevented you from attaining your word counts and writing goals?

Things that life or family or friends or work threw your way in the waning moments of your day that just couldn’t be pushed off? Emergencies that had to be dealt with? Helping others that are at the farther end of their rope than you are?

You get my drift?

Non-writing goals, man. Non-writing goals. Don’t discount them. In fact, you should celebrate them. Reaching a goal, no matter what part of your life they pertain to should be cause for celebration, but you never see a decorated cake for that, now do you?

No, you don’t, and it’s too bad because whenever you reach a goal, you make yourself a better person in one way or another. Achievements give us confidence, yet we tend to dwell on the negative, because, let’s face it, us writer folk can be a sorry bunch at times, so consumed with our personal writing success that we fail to recognize all the good that we’re doing otherwise. It’s a thing, I’m sure, and if anyone wants to get into the psychological aspects, have at it.

But we know that reaching goals makes us all the warm and fuzzy inside, which generally leads to a more pleasant disposition on the outside.

A more pleasant disposition will lead to better relationships, more satisfaction in your current situation, and less moping around thinking “Why me” and “What if”. It’s the whole power of positive thinking angle with a conscious choice to be happy.

Didn’t get your word count in today? So what.

A chapter short? Big Deal.

But DO tell me more about what you DID get done today. I bet it was awesome!

 

#HappyWriting

 

Regaining Writing Momentum After The Holi-daze

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person sitting on bench under tree

So that big push in November for writing more, especially if you participated in NaNoWriMo, led to a giant “sigh” in December, flowing right into the holidays, after which we skated into the new year.

Before you knew it, you might not have written anything constructive for a couple of weeks.

Sound familiar?

I myself felt like I was treading water, and I can’t swim!

The creative writing part of me just kind of remained stuck in the mud, not moving backward, but certainly not moving forward either.

So how do I jumpstart myself out of this little funk? 

It happened to be a combination of things, the first of which was putting the behind back into the chair. If I wasn’t writing, I was reading. I read fiction by authors I enjoy and nonfiction works on the craft of writing. I read blogs and comments on writing techniques. I attended our local writing guild’s workshop.

And then I read my own work.

I read my wip, from the start to where I left off, which consequently left me hanging without any type of closure to the story, because well, there was no ending written for this story, now was there?

No, there wasn’t, and you know what? There is only one person that can write that ending, and that’s the one sitting in my chair. So there’s your motivation. You are the only one that can write your story, and write it well.

So get that behind in the chair, at home or at one of your favorite inspiring locations, plug into your favorite music to create with (just please tell me it’s not that creative mood channel on Spotify-please, please) and start writing. Anything. Anything at all. Just write. And you’ll get back into that groove that you had started before being interrupted by those pesky holi-daze.

Good writing!

 

Keep Your WIP Moving With Secrets And Motivation

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Keeping plot, action, and dialogue fresh can be a challenge. but Sol Stein can help you with that.

Who is Sol Stein, you ask?

He’s the writer of a great book on craft techniques and strategies, both fiction and nonfiction, and beyond. It’s titled, Stein On Writing. And why wouldn’t it be?

He suggests to spice up your drama, dialogue and plot, maybe give each participant a unique secret, kind of a whisper in their ear. Something that relates to the story, yet only is known by the person speaking. It may be a motive for a particular action, a desire for a specific result, a reason for having a lively conversation in the first place, etc. Provide something unique to each person that only they know to fuel their actions, motive and personal stance within your WIP. And no two characters get the same information at the same time. Intriguing for sure.

But it makes total sense, doesn’t it?

I mean, isn’t that what happens in real life? We take the bits and pieces of available information that specifically pertains to us and use that as our motivation in our conversations and dealings with people. Now, whether any of that information is accurate is a totally different story, but nonetheless, it affects us in everything we think and do.

From his book, Sol Stein says:

“That’s what happens in life. Each of us enters into a conversation with another person with a script that is different from the other person’s script. The frequent result is disagreement and conflict–disagreeable in life and invaluable in writing, for conflict is the ingredient that makes action dramatic. When we get involved with other people, the chances of a clash are present even with people we love because we do not have the same scripts in our heads. And the tension is even greater when we are involved with an antagonist.”

So there ya go, the secret to keeping your dialogue and plot action-oriented and full of drama.

Just like we want it to be.

 

#AmWriting

 

 

All The Words – NaNoWriMo

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person holding white paper and typewriter

Every November, we get deluged by the NaNoWriMo craze. Maybe I shouldn’t call it a craze, because it is a thing, and well, sometimes we writers need a good ol’ kick in the posterior to keep things moving along, right?

Many proudly proclaim on social media that they are “doing it” this year, meaning writing 50,000 words toward their novel in just 30 days. They register on the NaNoWriMo website, where they’ll be tracked and held accountable. A great feat indeed,  if done properly.

Wait a minute, I said properly, didn’t’ I?

What, did you detect that sarcasm in my typing?

Weelllll, that may be because I’ve already heard the “plans” of some on how to achieve this task, and it seems to me that they’re perhaps more interested in the achievement rather than the actual purpose. And I mean that they’re gonna get those 50,000 words no matter what, because if they get a little hesitant in their storyline, they plan to just start typing random things, like a grocery list, a to-do list, or maybe a blog post. You know, things that aren’t necessarily related to their WIP, but are valid words nonetheless, and when plugged into that word tracker, count towards their 50,000-word goal.

Hmmm…

That’s when my eyes tend to want to roll a bit and a whisper of Whatever! flies through my head. I just don’t see the point of that.

But, I’ve never officially signed up for NaNoWriMo so I may play the same game if I was to put myself in that pressure situation. I can be realistic enough to realize that with everything else going on in my life right now, there is a very good chance that I would not be able to average the 1667 words a day needed to complete this challenge. Oh, I can likely get the words alright, but they would not all be written for a single novel, in the true sense and purpose of the challenge.

That being said, with all the hype that goes along with NaNoWriMo, I do renew and increase my commitment to write more regularly, with more frequency, and be more productive with my writing time, to build better habits if nothing else.  If I happen to hit that 50,000-word benchmark, then good for me. But otherwise, maybe I can start a National Writing Productivity Month, you know, NaWriProMo.

Anybody with me?

PS: If you’ve signed up and are participating in NaNoWriMo, what are you doing reading blog posts. Get to writing! 😎

Seasons Change, And So Do I…

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autumn close up color daylight

Well, here we are, back at that dreaded daylight savings time, or maybe a better name would be the daylight shifting time. Apparently it’s not enough that the sunlight naturally dwindles a bit each day now, because we feel theneed to manipulate our clocks to better match the lighting patterns of the sun.

Shouldn’t we at least get to vote on this?

It really doesn’t matter, I suppose, because I can’t really do anything about it. I just accept the fact that I will, through no fault of my own, lose an hour of my preferred daylight time while some others may benefit from the change.

But does it affect you? More specifically, do your writing habits change with daylight savings time? With the seasons in general?

It does for me, I know that. Being someone that loves to be outside, including being able to sit out there and so some writing, you betcha it changes things. It brings me inside, of course, but it does so without the benefit of natural light. There I sit, darkness the backdrop out of the window, soft light glowing at the desk, and it puts me in a different mood. A wintertime, sluggish, less aware mood. If I liked locking myself in a room to write, I would love this time of year, because that’s what I feel. It’s more of a job than an activity, and it’s harder to get up and get outside to stretch the bones and mental processing.

But here we are, and theres nothing to do but sit my posterior down and put words to paper, whether hot or cold, sunny or darkened.

And you know what? Even if it does feel like more of a job during this time of year, what a wonderful and fulfilling job it is.

Happy writing to you all!

 

What’s Your Why, And How Does It Affect Your Writing

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ask blackboard chalk board chalkboard

We hear the phrase a lot.

What’s your why? Why are you choosing to do what you do? Specifically, why are you writing?

So here’s your chance to explain yourself. What’s your why when it comes to your writing? I mean, you’ve got a reason for putting pen to paper, don’t you? Sure you do, or else you wouldn’t put yourself through the headaches, backaches, and mental struggles of finding that perfect word or phrase to get your point across.

Say, for example, that you write because that’s what you get paid to do. Perfectly legitimate reason, and a fine reason to put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard. I do it myself, and know that deadlines, contracts, and pending payment are fine motivators. Fine motivators, indeed.

Let’s say you write because you have a message or sales pitch that needs to get out. Again, a perfectly fine reason to write and get that message out to your targeted audience. This, seemingly, is one of the main reasons that articles and web content are splattered about all over social media, sometimes over, and over, and over, and, well, you get the picture.

“Because I have a story to tell, Jerry. That’s why I’m writing”. Excellent. Write that story and get it out there. Tell those that should know, and those that you think will have interest, and then sit back and be satisfied that you got your story out there as desired.

“I shall be rich and famous, revered by all for my literary prowess, leaving a legacy of the written word that shall carry over into the history books. I shall please everyone with my words, and everyone will buy my books”. Okay, here is where I must pause and turn away while laughing so hysterically that my eyes turn red, coffee shoots out of my nose, and I need an inhaler to regain my composure. Aack!

Come on now, you don’t really believe that one, do you? I mean, if that happens, kudos to you. Honestly, congratulations! But writing just usually doesn’t work that way. When you’re trying to please a certain group, person, or genre, the words will reflect that in an almost sleazy, sales pitchy way. Good for those used car salesman, but bad for a writer.  In fact, for creative story or novel writing, it’s tough to completely narrow down your genre before writing your story or novel, because you have to be continually aware of the parameters and various rules you need to remain in your predetermined genre classification.

I have a different idea.

You’ve got a pending story or idea for a story in you. And for one reason or another, (the why), it needs to come out. Whether it’s a story that you’ve been thinking about, pouring over, and painstakingly working on every-single-day, or it’s an article that you’ve been commissioned to write, just write it. No immediate rules, no confining parameters. Just write it as you see it, because you know what?

You can shape it, edit it, and transform it later, after the original draft is written without the predetermined rules. This will ensure that the article, short story, novella, or novel will be written in your voice, ultimately satisfying your why. It doesn’t matter who you think the audience will be, or what the genre was going to be. Those things will be revealed naturally as your story evolves.

Happy writing.

Fixing Boring Fictional Characters By Looking Into Their Real Lives

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There’s always a lot of discussion about characters in writing, as should be. I mean, without the characters, your story is just a long narrative on scenery and background. But hey, sometimes even with characters, your story is just a long narrative on scenery and background. And that sucks.

But maybe your characters are just boring or too predictable throughout your work. Do you, as the writer, really know who you’re writing about? Are they shallow because you haven’t developed them enough throughout the story, or shallow because they indeed, are just that type of person? Do you have any idea about their upbringing, their values that they hold true, or their innermost beliefs? Do you know their favorite expression, hobby, favorite music, or most hated food?

I’ve found an interesting way to find answers to questions like these and likely others that you haven’t even thought about through a fun and simple writing exercise.

Drop those characters into situations that they would never encounter in your story or novel. Put them in scenarios that they would likely never encounter in their real lives. Yeah, I said it. The real lives of your fictional characters. Go ahead and take a minute to think about that one. Because there’s a lot of character development to be had when diving into the real lives of your fictional characters.

Are the characters from your story rural based? Take a few minutes to magically drop them into a Hollywood red carpet event and write down their personal thoughts and their conversations with others at the event. How do they react? What do they whisper to each other? How would they respond to the extravagance, and sometimes arrogance, of Hollywood life? How do they react to the reactions of others to them? You can bet that there will be some basic beliefs and values that come out in those thoughts, conversations and inner reflections from that event. And they’ll help you determine their actions and the reasons for those actions throughout the scenes in your story.

Maybe your characters are top of the line, successful detectives, complete with all of the latest tech gadgets, information processing, and social media skills that help them solve or even prevent crimes. What if these detectives were all of a sudden swept up and relocated to a time period without all of the current technology or sophisticated cellphones? What if these detectives, armed with all of these savvy skills, were dumped into a scenario where people didn’t have or know of such devices? What would those conversations be like? Would the detectives be deemed crazy? Would they have the patience to deal with problems in the old-fashioned way, using old-time detective work and personal interaction? Their acquired and innate personality traits will ultimately determine their actions and reactions, which will be the same traits that are the basis for their actions in your current work in process, both in their work situations and in encounters with others, positive or negative.

These traits, recorded from the unexpected, uncomfortable situations that you put them into are the true traits and beliefs of your characters. Traits that were either acquired along the way or taught to them long before they became a character in your manuscript. You brought them into the reader’s world to share a story about a particular time or event in their life, so it’s your responsibility to show the reader the character’s true personality, which hopefully evokes love, hate, or at least a rooted interest, positive or negative, from your readers.

Which is infinitely better than a reader putting your book down before finishing because of boredom.

Hello New, Old Friend. I Think I’ve Missed You.

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view of tunnel

Hello there old friend. Why, those are some attractive accessories you’re sporting these days, and may I say you’re looking sleek and confident. Have you lost weight? Indeed, it shows. Come, let’s sit, talk, and get reacquainted, shall we?

Ah, nothing like getting used to a new piece of equipment after your old one just decides to die, right in front of you, leaving you hurt, angry, speechless, and also wordless, which some clients don’t always like to hear. But it happens, and we must move on, learning yet another, newer, and supposedly better way of doing things, even though the old ways were perfectly fine, dammit!

Back from the depths of technology hell, where glitches are said to be caused by outdated operating systems, leading to operating system updates that lead to bigger glitches, system crashes, damaged hardware, and well, you can figure out the rest, I suppose.

But when new, out of the box equipment starts acting up, and technicians on the phone explain it away calling it yet another glitch, I start really, really hating the word glitch and move on to frequently using a new word, aggravation. So two days and two marathon phone conversations later, after that innocent little glitch renders a new laptop unusable, I returned the laptop to its rightful owner, the store where I purchased it, and came home with another, again all bright and shiny computer with again, promises of a beautiful relationship experience.

We are celebrating a couple of months together now, and while catching up with work, moving a website to a new server, drinking to ease the pain of moving a website to a new server, and the setting up of this machine to my liking, I can say that we’ve already been through a lot of aggravation, turmoil, but also some relatively good times and none of those pesky glitches. Still, as much as I need technology to do what I do, I sometimes hate this technology that I need to do what I do.

But, because the assumption is that opposites attract, I can only conclude that this machine and I are indeed made for each other, as things are now getting done on time, with little interruption.

And, I really do believe that I’m starting to see that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

Unless, well, you know.