Hey All!!!
As many of you know, I'm in the mist of the storm of wedding planning...and it has been a major source of both joy and frustration in my life to say the least. Between having to research 10 vendors for every thing that we need, and having to make tons of decisions about décor and themes and such, I'm exhausted. Not to mention the ever present political things that come up during this process...things like being asked, "Can you invite so-and-so that you've never met a day in your life because they're my friend?" by loved ones when they know darn well that you're trying to keep to a budget. But now that I'm coming to the end of the "major items I have to get off my list", I am able to stand still and look at what this process has taught me...many of these lessons are great when placed towards my writing.
1) Make a List and Check it Twice! - When I first started wedding planning, I went with where my interests lay. If I wanted to look at DJ's, then I looked at DJ's. If I wanted to search dresses, then I did that. That led to lots of fun searching, but no real progress. So, the fiancé sat me down and talked to me about making sure I had a list of to do's and keeping to it. After that I started really using the lists given on The Knot and Wedding Wire and have been really organized ever since.
The same determination and strategy-based focus is a must when it comes to writing...especially for the tasks that you don't particularly care for. In my case, I'm not good at social media and being overly aggressive online. I'm more of a homebody who likes to watch movies and do some heavy reading, and that doesn't bode well for the promotions side of this business that I need to do. So, I'm looking to put myself on a major schedule so I can do what I need to, which is to promote my work!
2) Don't Sweat the Small Stuff! - There are few processes as stressful as planning a wedding. You make decisions daily that will either make someone unhappy (such as not giving every single person there a plus one) or you're worried about the linens not being right, or there not being enough food, or of something going wrong! But the thing is, something will inevitably go wrong. Yes, I've been thinking about this one day for as long as I can remember, but the most important part of it is that I'm finally marrying the man of my dreams. If someone wants to talk badly about the fact that they didn't like our décor then they can kiss my behind (and I really do mean that). I don't want to spend my time worrying about anything that doesn't involve the relationship and foundation of the marriage I'm going in to.
When you're putting your book (or baby, as I like to call it) into the world, it's very easy to get caught up in the negative talk in your head. Things like, "What if no one reads it?" or, "What if everyone hates it?" can easily get you off the track of putting your work out there. When it comes down to it, we write to put our stories out into the world. So, don't worry about folks not liking it and not understanding your genius. The only person who has to fully understand you is you!
Well, you and maybe your significant other =).
Happy reading and writing!
Showing posts with label organization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organization. Show all posts
Monday, April 28, 2014
Monday, April 1, 2013
WHEN AWESOME IDEAS ATTACK
Hey All!!!
Imagine this:
You're at your writing critique group meeting, shooting the breeze, talking plot points, and just chatting about overall life. In your spare time you've been trying to work out a new story idea that would fit in with the current reading trends you're seeing. You know the one: girl meets boy, girl likes boy but knows there's something seriously wrong with boy, girl finds boy is X, girl finds herself very attracted to boy because of X or Y redeeming qualities, girl and boy fall in love and fight X situation together.
Suddenly, one of your critique group members makes a comment that leads you to think on one of your favorite sci-fi shows and voila, you've got a spankin' new tale on your hands.
Something similar happened to me tonight. An idea just hit me out of the blue when chatting it up with friends. And it's GOOD!!! Well, I think it is anyway.
There's nothing more exciting than when you get that sudden burst of a shiny new idea. It's the beginning...a new start. And the possibilities of where that tale can take you are endless. I love this part of writing. The glimmer of an idea. Fleshing out the main characters and who they are. Thinking about what they want and what gets in their way. And finally penning that first draft.
I don't know about you guys, but when I get in these moods, I become darn near obsessed. I eat, drink, and breathe the details until they solidify.
Now all I need is a new notebook to jot all of this down in!
How do you all handle the idea phase of your writing process? Is it something you revel in, or something you don't look forward to?
Happy Writing!!!
Imagine this:
You're at your writing critique group meeting, shooting the breeze, talking plot points, and just chatting about overall life. In your spare time you've been trying to work out a new story idea that would fit in with the current reading trends you're seeing. You know the one: girl meets boy, girl likes boy but knows there's something seriously wrong with boy, girl finds boy is X, girl finds herself very attracted to boy because of X or Y redeeming qualities, girl and boy fall in love and fight X situation together.
Suddenly, one of your critique group members makes a comment that leads you to think on one of your favorite sci-fi shows and voila, you've got a spankin' new tale on your hands.
Something similar happened to me tonight. An idea just hit me out of the blue when chatting it up with friends. And it's GOOD!!! Well, I think it is anyway.
There's nothing more exciting than when you get that sudden burst of a shiny new idea. It's the beginning...a new start. And the possibilities of where that tale can take you are endless. I love this part of writing. The glimmer of an idea. Fleshing out the main characters and who they are. Thinking about what they want and what gets in their way. And finally penning that first draft.
I don't know about you guys, but when I get in these moods, I become darn near obsessed. I eat, drink, and breathe the details until they solidify.
Now all I need is a new notebook to jot all of this down in!
How do you all handle the idea phase of your writing process? Is it something you revel in, or something you don't look forward to?
Happy Writing!!!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
MOVING FORWARD
Hey All,
For those of you who don't know me, recently my life had been turned upside down. I'm serious...it really went to shit for a while. I moved back to Texas (both a good and bad thing, depending on how you see it, but it definitely wasn't in the plan). As of today's date, I've found a new job (thankfully, because the market is definiately a beast). And I'm having to re-sketch all of the plans I thought had been finalized in my life. During that time of intense change and re-evaluation, I was forced to deal with an idea that I had hoped and prayed I wouldn't have to deal with - the idea of moving forward, of making a decision to strive for something more and leaping into the void to get it.
It's a topic that I think interconnects with many aspects of life, including writing.
There's that moment when you look at a manuscript and think, "Where do I go from here?" There's the constant fear of it never being good enough, and always, always, always cornering yourself in revisions, trying to smooth out every single hitch in the plot. There's the time when you think it's great, and someone else reads it and tells you it's shit!
When you come across these moments, it's important to be able to see the bigger picture - to be able to look outside your fear and make a calculated decision that goes in line with your overall goals. Now, I know that this is much easier said than done, but we all have to push through these moments. I, myself, have to get off my butt and finish reading through my first manuscript and be brave enough to begin sending it out...again. It's hard to decide if a story is good enough - to know that you'll be rejected time and time again...and to still press on. But you have to do it!!!
So, make the decision. Move forward with your goals. Send out that manuscript that you've revised over and over again. Because though you might've been pushed down and beat up many times, this may be YOUR time.
Happy writing!!!
For those of you who don't know me, recently my life had been turned upside down. I'm serious...it really went to shit for a while. I moved back to Texas (both a good and bad thing, depending on how you see it, but it definitely wasn't in the plan). As of today's date, I've found a new job (thankfully, because the market is definiately a beast). And I'm having to re-sketch all of the plans I thought had been finalized in my life. During that time of intense change and re-evaluation, I was forced to deal with an idea that I had hoped and prayed I wouldn't have to deal with - the idea of moving forward, of making a decision to strive for something more and leaping into the void to get it.
It's a topic that I think interconnects with many aspects of life, including writing.
There's that moment when you look at a manuscript and think, "Where do I go from here?" There's the constant fear of it never being good enough, and always, always, always cornering yourself in revisions, trying to smooth out every single hitch in the plot. There's the time when you think it's great, and someone else reads it and tells you it's shit!
When you come across these moments, it's important to be able to see the bigger picture - to be able to look outside your fear and make a calculated decision that goes in line with your overall goals. Now, I know that this is much easier said than done, but we all have to push through these moments. I, myself, have to get off my butt and finish reading through my first manuscript and be brave enough to begin sending it out...again. It's hard to decide if a story is good enough - to know that you'll be rejected time and time again...and to still press on. But you have to do it!!!
So, make the decision. Move forward with your goals. Send out that manuscript that you've revised over and over again. Because though you might've been pushed down and beat up many times, this may be YOUR time.
Happy writing!!!
Friday, October 1, 2010
FRESH EYES
Hello All!!!
So before you curse me thoroughly out, let me just say...my bad. I've been so focused on job hunting in New York that most of everything else has fallen to the side. But I'm close to getting that coveted position, which will cause some stability to come into my life, so I'll be back on track in no time.
So, I've joined a new critique group, which was hard, hard, hard. After a few meetings, they revealed quite a few problems with the Fated manuscript that I had been working on. Now to tell you the truth I've been worried about this story for a while, and their notes just confirmed some fears I had. The problem I came upon was the fact that I had no interest in messing with the story. I'd look at the pages and my eyes would bleed. My brain felt like it was melting in my head. I stalled for days to even look at the suggestions, much less actually getting any work done. And that's when it came to me: I needed a break from Fated.
Every writer comes to this place in the process. You know the one. Where you cannot and will not look at a story. Where it's obvious that any work you do will probably cause more damage to the story, instead of making it better.
Instead of forcing the writing I decided to go back to my first book...and it was like a breath of fresh air. I'm excited to listen to Morghan again, to hear what she has to say and to polish that story. It's all about fresh eyes, people, and it's important, as writers, to understand when you need to take a break from something and when it's time to go back to it.
Happy Writing!!!
So before you curse me thoroughly out, let me just say...my bad. I've been so focused on job hunting in New York that most of everything else has fallen to the side. But I'm close to getting that coveted position, which will cause some stability to come into my life, so I'll be back on track in no time.
So, I've joined a new critique group, which was hard, hard, hard. After a few meetings, they revealed quite a few problems with the Fated manuscript that I had been working on. Now to tell you the truth I've been worried about this story for a while, and their notes just confirmed some fears I had. The problem I came upon was the fact that I had no interest in messing with the story. I'd look at the pages and my eyes would bleed. My brain felt like it was melting in my head. I stalled for days to even look at the suggestions, much less actually getting any work done. And that's when it came to me: I needed a break from Fated.
Every writer comes to this place in the process. You know the one. Where you cannot and will not look at a story. Where it's obvious that any work you do will probably cause more damage to the story, instead of making it better.
Instead of forcing the writing I decided to go back to my first book...and it was like a breath of fresh air. I'm excited to listen to Morghan again, to hear what she has to say and to polish that story. It's all about fresh eyes, people, and it's important, as writers, to understand when you need to take a break from something and when it's time to go back to it.
Happy Writing!!!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME: GETTING ONE'S GROOVE BACK
Hello all from New York!
So, my life has been a little hectic, hence my MIA status from blogging for a while. In a time span of three weeks I've gone to look at venues for my future wedding, picked a venue (post on that to come later), driven over 28 hours across the country to move in with my boyfriend, and gotten settled in a new city and apartment. To say my head is spinning is an understatement. During this down time, in which I'm job searching and relaxing, I came across something I never thought could or would happen to me - I lost my mojo, my juju, my groove.
It started when I first arrived. I knew that I needed to be spending my days looking for a job/writing. It's my goal to eventually write full time, so I figured now would be really great practice. I would get up, eat, job search for an hour or so, write for an hour or so, watch t.v. for an hour or so, and then start all over again. It was a great plan. Genius even! But as the hours went by I found myself drawn to the varying distractions this place provided.
See, my boyfriend (and now I) has a great place. And when I say great...I mean great. The bed's comfy. He has darn near every t.v. channel known to man. And the internet connection isn't bad, either. It's a great place to relax and let loose. But soon I found myself watching more t.v. than writing. First it was Supernatural, then Law & Order, Cold Case, more Law & Order, and lastly Charmed. And that's in addition to the normal shows I used to watch every day after work when I was in Houston. It's a crime show junkie's dream!!!
I'd look up at the end of the day and realize I hadn't gotten any writing done. None! So, I called a friend, Barbara, and asked her how she does it. She told me to make a plan that involved rewarding myself for the writing I got done with t.v. shows and relaxation. And it worked! I began to be more productive with editing and outlining immediately. Now, I haven't completely gotten my groove back, but I'm well on my way.
When it comes down to it, writing is supposed to be like any other job. You have to put in your work everyday, and if you keep at it you'll get the results you're looking for. So, I now have more of a schedule set, and if and when I get to do this full time, I'll be ready for those pesky diversions.
So, my life has been a little hectic, hence my MIA status from blogging for a while. In a time span of three weeks I've gone to look at venues for my future wedding, picked a venue (post on that to come later), driven over 28 hours across the country to move in with my boyfriend, and gotten settled in a new city and apartment. To say my head is spinning is an understatement. During this down time, in which I'm job searching and relaxing, I came across something I never thought could or would happen to me - I lost my mojo, my juju, my groove.
It started when I first arrived. I knew that I needed to be spending my days looking for a job/writing. It's my goal to eventually write full time, so I figured now would be really great practice. I would get up, eat, job search for an hour or so, write for an hour or so, watch t.v. for an hour or so, and then start all over again. It was a great plan. Genius even! But as the hours went by I found myself drawn to the varying distractions this place provided.
See, my boyfriend (and now I) has a great place. And when I say great...I mean great. The bed's comfy. He has darn near every t.v. channel known to man. And the internet connection isn't bad, either. It's a great place to relax and let loose. But soon I found myself watching more t.v. than writing. First it was Supernatural, then Law & Order, Cold Case, more Law & Order, and lastly Charmed. And that's in addition to the normal shows I used to watch every day after work when I was in Houston. It's a crime show junkie's dream!!!
I'd look up at the end of the day and realize I hadn't gotten any writing done. None! So, I called a friend, Barbara, and asked her how she does it. She told me to make a plan that involved rewarding myself for the writing I got done with t.v. shows and relaxation. And it worked! I began to be more productive with editing and outlining immediately. Now, I haven't completely gotten my groove back, but I'm well on my way.
When it comes down to it, writing is supposed to be like any other job. You have to put in your work everyday, and if you keep at it you'll get the results you're looking for. So, I now have more of a schedule set, and if and when I get to do this full time, I'll be ready for those pesky diversions.
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