Resolutions? by Debra H. Goldstein

Resolutions? by Debra H. Goldstein

January 14. Two weeks since 2022 began. If you are like me, two weeks is more than enough time to have broken every resolution you made or contemplated making. That’s why, this year I didn’t make any resolutions. Instead, I decided to roll with the flow.

 

How’s that going? I’m not sure. I seem to be weaving down a lot of different paths. Some of them are fun to explore, but many are dead ends. Of course, even when I know which way I’m going, there have been many unforeseen obstacles ranging from the soaring Omicron numbers to realizing my new sneakers look pretty but don’t fit my orthotics and feet well for extended walking.

 

My writing seems to be following the same pattern as my life. Instead of resolving to write a set number of words a day or so many stories a month, I’ve been letting the muse guide me. How’s that going? Not well. I’m playing a lot more solitaire than I should be. What’s worse, I’m repeatedly surfing the net to see if there are any unread news stories, touching human interest articles, or exciting things reported by friends.

 

The latter makes me happy for them; but, if they are writers, it also prompts a little jealousy. Why are they getting things accomplished and I’m not? I guess they made resolutions that they are carrying through. There are still fifty weeks in 2022. I think there’s still time for me to make and act on a few resolutions. What about you?

 

Top Ten Writing Tips

I can’t believe it’s already the middle of July! This year seems never ending--and conversely to be evaporating in an endless blur.

Remember an eternity ago (ie pre-pandemic) when you made New Year's Resolutions? How are you coming with yours? 

One of my resolutions (the only one I actually remember and am still attempting) was to transfer the organization I always implemented in my day job to my writing life. Since my writing space and habits were a bit (cough, a lot) disorganized, I got together with some author friends. What quickly evolved was a set of writing tips. Many of these I’ve done without conscious thought. I’m attempting to be more mindful, however, and plan to use this structure as additional motivation to, as one friend puts it, finish the damn book.

Yes, as the launch activity for Calling for the Money wraps up (see below) I'm back at work on another story.

So, without further fanfare – the writing tips:

Ten – Make lists. Every day I make a list of the things I want to accomplish that day. (I’m not sure what it says about me that I love drawing a line through an item when it’s done.) The first line (every day but Sunday) is always, Write. Long-term-goals are listed on my white board: things I want to be sure I don’t forget, but I don’t have to do today.

Nine – Sprint.  A group of us grabs our first, or next, cup of coffee and checks in, then we all ignore each other, turn off the internet and the phone, and work steadily for an hour. It’s a writing club, a mutual support group, and a fabulous technique for working without interruption. I write until I meet my word count goal for the day. (Thank Steven King for this one.)

Eight – Work on one series at a time. I try my best to immerse myself in one setting, one set of characters, one story, whether I’m working on a first draft or revising a draft. Avoiding the “new shiny” keeps me focused.

Seven – Finish what’s due first. Except #8 blows up sometimes. I’ll be in first draft mode on Pony Ring and edits will come in from Beaver Pond. Then there was all the activity around the launch of Calling for the Money. Whew! I operate on the First Due principle. I knock out the edits, because they’re due in a week or two, then get back to the longer work. The problem with doing that, of course, is getting back up to speed with the work-in-process, so I can re-immerse myself in that world.

Six – Take time away from the desk. By the end of a writing session, my creative brain is mush. I usually go for what I call my plotting walk, especially if I’m writing a first draft. There’s something about the rhythm of walking that brings the next scene or a plot problem into focus. It makes the dogs happy to get out of the house, too.

Five – Separate creative time from admin time. I’m most creative in the early morning, so I do my writing then. A corollary is, Keep creative time sacred. I don’t schedule anything else for mornings. I try to keep writing blog posts, scheduling author events, record-keeping, and all the other business stuff for the evenings.

Four – Work ahead. Know what you want to accomplish. I’ve written my goals for the year and set up a time table to implement them. That means I work now on upcoming items instead of waiting and scrambling at the last minute.

Three – Outsource what I can’t do. While I tinker with art and photo-editing, I know my limits with graphic design. I hire a wonderful cover artist. I like formatting my books, but it’s something I can do in the evening while my husband watches TV. The key point is identifying what I’m good at and enjoy, versus what I can outsource. Why waste time on things it would take me forever to do and rob me of the hours I need to do what I’m good at – writing stories?

Two – Stay healthy. I always have a full flask of water on my desk. Fluids in, fluids out. It makes me get up and move around every hour or so. And if I forget, my Fitbit buzzes at me with a reminder. I try to eat lean fresh foods, and I get regular exercise even if it isn’t always a sweaty gym workout. And the exercise doubles as creative time – see #6!

One – Butt in the chair, fingers on the keyboard. This is really the most important one. If I get distracted, schedule other things, or simply don’t do the writing, then…I’m not doing the writing. And that’s my job. Of all the varied jobs I’ve held, I’m lucky and blessed to have this one I love.

What tips can you add?

The launch tour for Calling for the Money is wrapping up, but there are still several ongoing giveaway signups. The entire tour is listed on my website (https://cperkinswrites.com) with assorted post, giveaways, reviews, and interviews.

Here are the remaining tour stops:

July 16 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

July 17 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

July 18 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT  

July 19 – eBook Addicts – REVIEW  

Stop by, and leave a comment!

You can download your own copy here (all vendors):

https://books2read.com/CallingForTheMoney

Enjoy! 

An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories.  When not writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.  Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com or on Facebook 

Sign up for her new release announcement newsletter in either place.

She's hard at work on sequel to The Body in the Beaver Pond, which was recently presented with the Claymore Award.

New Way of Thinking

New Year, New Way of Thinking

By Cathy Perkins

I've been thinking about New Year’s Resolutions this week. Making them is ingrained in us, isn’t it? New year, new leaf, fresh start and all that. This year will be different! Everything is new and shiny!

Okay, confession: I only made a couple of vague resolutions. You know, “I’ll finish that online course I started, cough, cough, last year” ones.

So many people swear they’re going to change, to start doing the good for you stuff. Go to the gym. Eat healthier. And writers? This is the year you’re finally going to finish that, fill in the blank. Novel screenplay, memoire. You hear echoes of “work hard” and “sacrifice” and, if you really want it…

Why do our expressions for going after what we want to pursue—our goals, for heaven’s sake—come across as something negative? Why do we make them about things we clearly don’t want to do?

And what happens? Here we are, barely three weeks into January and mine are already headed for that big dump station in the sky.  

Then I stumbled across a post by Jennifer Crusie.

Jenny is a fantastic teacher. I met her several years ago when she taught a masterclass at the beach. I think my head exploded, I learned so much that week. So, when she says something, I tend to listen and think about it.

Her proposal is instead of choosing tasks that you know you aren’t going to carry through, focus on what makes you happy. Won't that be a better way to appreciate the good things in life? 

I’ve been thinking about happiness this week (instead of that class I’m not listening to). What makes me happy?

I love to travel, so I took advantage of Alaska Air’s sale and booked a few flights. And art. I’ve been playing with my kiln and fused glass for a while, but those pencils and watercolors are calling. There’s a shiny new book I want to write and this may be the year to screw up my courage and tackle the book that nearly made me quit writing.

So, what about you? How are your resolutions going? Did you make any?

Or would you rather jump on board my Happiness Train?

Image courtesy of Gross National Happiness USA organization. Find them here.


An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories.  When not writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.  Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com or on Facebook 

Sign up for her new release announcement newsletter in either place.

She's hard at work on sequel to The Body in the Beaver Pond, which was recently presented with the Claymore Award.

Resolution Failure

by Bethany Maines

I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions.

Resolutions always seem to be negative statements.  They pit the resolver against something.  I resolve to lose weight, spend less, give up every fun thing ever, etc.

I much prefer to make goals. Goals take aim and move toward a change. I want to write more, be more healthy, learn French, wake up later.  I don’t think that last one’s going to happen, but it’s more of a lifelong goal.

And then there’s the artificial time construct of the New Year’s that tricks people into waiting to start a change until January first actually rolls on the calendar.  Of course, if I were resolving to do something horrible, I’d put it off as long as possible too.  But if I want to change my life for the better, then why would I wait? Now is always the perfect time to start.

Which is not to say that the turn of the year doesn’t cause me to reflect and take stock of how things are and how I would like them to go. Like a lot of people, I like to assess, predict, and then I make goals.  At the end of December, I jotted down some notes, made some plans and felt good about myself.  I’m usually pretty good at sticking to my plans and I didn’t expect this year to be any different.  But then I didn’t expect to be struck by inspiration that would send me furiously typing down the rabbit hole of a new story.

And now here it is the end of January and I feel like one of those people who’ve managed to blow up their diet and their resolution two weeks after starting.  I mean, I feel guilty about not sticking to the plan, but not really that bad as a shove another chapter in.  In fact, that chapter was delicious and really would it really hurt if I had another? 

I can always get back on the plan later, right?

***

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, Wild Waters, Tales from the City of Destiny and An Unseen Current.  You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Writing Rehearsal

by Paula Gail Benson

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!

How do you get happily published? Submit carefully crafted writing.

And, how do you ensure that your submissions are carefully crafted? Write extensively.

Do you have to write every day? Some authors manage without, but I remember what happened when I tried to improve my piano playing and left off practicing until the day before the lesson. The result was passable, but not as polished as it could have been if I had built on a daily habit.

While music and writing may be inspiring to their listeners, they don’t emerge from the muse by someone simply placing their fingers on a keyboard. Music and writing have to be worked out in advance before you can sell tickets to the audience.

Acting is another creative activity that requires prep time. The first reading of a line may “feel” perfect, but once you’ve rehearsed it, you realize more subtle nuances, ways to play off fellow actors, or timed reactions that are funnier or more poignant than the original interpretation.

Pianists and writers are solo performers. Only by repeated practice do they learn the methods that will best charm and involve an audience. One of the greatest joys of a performer can be the private discovery of how a musical or written piece should be presented.

That joy is compounded when they hear the audience’s reaction. The true moment when the muse touches you is when you realize the perfect order and symmetry for your work. An actor or pianist may receive a more instant gratification in hearing applause, but what writer doesn’t relish listening to a reader tell him how his words and stories have changed a life?

Practice is necessary for performances because to act or play piano is an extension of self. The way we turn writing into that extension is to: (1) sit down to write with purpose, and (2) embrace the discoveries made.

By developing a writing habit, you can let the daily discoveries soak in until they become a part of your writer self. You learn to recognize those “tricks” that attract your audience’s attention. Then, you refine them in order to make them appear natural, so they become craft and your audience doesn’t perceive them at all, but is completely involved in the story and hates to see it end. This is the objective of every artist: to tell the story well and leave the listeners satisfied.

Walter Moseley said that when writing becomes a daily practice, the writer completes projects and his subconscious begins to assist him even when he’s not writing because the constancy of the task has become so strong. (Why does his concept make me think I hear, “May the force be with you,” echoing in my head?)

Linda Rodriguez has written some inspiring recent messages about becoming motivated to write and making the decision to be a writer. Both feature excerpts from her recent book, Plotting the Character Driven Novel, which is terrific.

If you’re still contemplating New Year’s resolutions, here are a few books that have recommendations to help you develop a daily writing schedule: 

The Divine Guide to Creating a Daily Writing Practice by Pernille Norregaard. This inspirational text includes many quotations from established authors (like Walter Moseley’s theory above) and emphasizes how to effectively build a habit.

Lifelong Writing Habit: The Secret to Writing Every Day by Chris Fox. By illustrating how he changed his entire life through developing consistent practices, Fox shows the path to more effective writing and offers exercises to achieve that goal.

The Eight-Minute Writing Habit: Create a Consistent Writing Habit That Works With Your Busy Lifestyle by Monica Leonelle. This guide offers a modified Pomodoro Method of timed writing. By limiting the writing period to eight minutes, Leonelle contends it creates a habit that is easy to incorporate into any lifestyle and capable of ensuring at least 250 per day, which could lead to 90,000 words in a year.