Just When You Need a Pep Talk...

Just when I think I can't love the Books & Writers Forum any more, something comes along and make it ever better. Last weekend, when a lot of the Forumites were attending (some as presenters) the Surrey International Writers Conference in Canada, Forum member Deniz hosted a Virtual Surrey Conference at good, old B&W. I feel like I got to attend the real thing only I got to sleep in my own bed. ; )

We checked in on Friday and had all sorts of workshops to participate in. If you don't have time to sample all of these, you owe it to yourself to check out Technical Topics with Jo Bourne.

I hope you get time to try them all. By the way, it's easy to join the Forum. We love new writers and readers of all types. ; )

• Adventures in POV
• Author-led Workshop: Kait Nolan
• Author-led Workshop: Talli Rolland
• Blue Pencil: Share Your Blurb for Critiques (I did share a new, bare-bones query blurb for FRIENDLY FIRE.)
• Genre and Voice
• Grammar Time
• NaNoWriMo Survival Tips and Hints
• The Doctor is IN: Troubleshooting Problems

There's a lot more there, but I thought this would be plenty to whet your appetite for all the goodness of the Books & Writer's Forum. And as a bonus, Dee-Ann, the lucky, who got to go to the real thing posted some of her notes. Enjoy!

• Complex Conflicts with Sam Sykes
• A Thematic Approach to SF with Robert Sawyer
• Intimately Human and Grandly Cosmic with Robert Sawyer

Musical Chairs

First, it was moving the living room and study furniture into the spare bedroom, dining room, solarium, and back bathroom so the new carpet could be laid. Once that was done, we moved some furniture back in its rightful places and rehung the doors. Then we moved the dining room chairs from the back bathroom and into the spare bedroom where the doors had been stacked. That makes getting to the toilet a bit easier. ; ) Now, we've moved the dining room furniture into the study so that floor can be tiled.

Someday, we'll be done with this wave of renovation, but don't hold your breath. It's going to take awhile yet.

Until then, the analogies of house renovation to writing will just be too easy to ignore.

Think about our musical chairs game with the furniture. It's a lot like rewriting.We shift scenes around to make the story flow and juggle sentences to make a paragraph smooth out. And even continue on down to word and comma level. Getting finished takes a lot of shifting, fitting, cutting, and moving. Then we still worry that we are not done. At least until that glorious day when we decide there's nothing else we can do and we send our 'babies' into the world for others to read.

Come to think about it, it's kind of like hosting an open house to show off a new renovation, isn't it?

Motivation

After a long drought--some of which is not my fault, but that I've made worse and more prolonged--I've found some truths to motivation that I think will help me get going again.

I’m going to try. It’s the least and the most I can do.

Something is better than nothing.

My journey is my journey. My progress is my progress.

Motivation is one of those nebulous concepts. It's something we know when we see it, but can't quite figure out how to manufacture. One truth that really hits me, is that it can't come from outside. Long lists of what must be done, or looking at others' progress and comparing what you're doing, or thinking you can recreate the wheel and skip over craft lessons can all be causes of decreased creativity. I know them all well.

At least now I have a few truths to turn to and measure the current stoppage against. I can ask, what is it this time, and with the answer, I plan to get going again without doubling down on the doubt.

What blocks you?
What helps you get started writing gain?

When It's All Said And Done...

No, I'm not done with a rough draft, but the study is nearly back together and I'm back at the computer. And it struck me how like writing house renovation is.

We have the first big project completed--new sub flooring, new carpet, and the trim painted--but we aren't done.There's still a door or two to paint, nicks to be touched up, and putting all the clothes and furniture back in place. But you can tell what we aimed to do this go around is done. Not to mention the fact that we want to continue with new flooring in the dining room. Ultimately we want to paint the bedrooms and gut the kitchen.

Writing is a lot like that. Once we have a rough draft completed, we aren't completely done. There's reading for holes in the story, word choice, consistency, and grammar. Then there's the query, synopsis, and more editing to do.

And even then, when we get a contract, there will be even more edits as our agents and editors speak up.

So, I'm celebrating a partial completion today. The study is usable again and that means I'll be able to get back to writing....At least until my hubby calls on me to hold a door, go get a tool, buy supplies, etc., etc., etc.  ; )

What about you? What interim points do you like to celebrate on this journey of writing?

And now a comic that says the same thing--only better.
Check out Writer Unboxed

Inspiration for Stories

I'm still in house renovation chaos. So, I thought I'd share this like with you. Enjoy these real life story starters.

15 Real Life Inspirations for Great Stories

What has inspired your stories?

Read Any Good Books Lately?

When we had to push all our furniture into less than half of our floorspace, I find I don't get much writing done. Guess what I'm doing? Yep, READ! ; ) So, here are some mini-reviews for you.

A Sound Among the Trees Susan Meissner
Must Read for honest, detailed characterization, pitch prefect dialog, and setting that lives and breaths.

Rowing in Eden Barbara Rogan
Must Read for how a professional weaves plot, 3-D characters, internals, and dialog into a wonderful story.

Paladin of Souls Lois McMaster Bujold
Must Read for the 3-D characters who portray what heroic really means and a universe that is as multidimensional as the people in it. This is a fantasy and the sequel to The Curse of Chalion. Read Curse first.

Matters of Faith Kristy Kiernan
An good read that provides an intricate story that investigates faith from many angles during a life and death health crisis.

The Scarlet Thread Francine Rivers
Good story in an older style. A CBA classic.

Now I'm reading Anne Tyler's Searching for Caleb.

What are you reading?
Do you have any suggestions for my massive TBR list?

What Can You Do About That?

What do you do if your computer is off limits most of the time and your workspace is disrupted? Can you shift to longhand for awhile? or will all your forward progress die?

I've had to answer these questions for the next couple of weeks.

The Situation:
We live in an "Old Lady House" that needs regular TLC. Check out this old blogpost for some more on the housework.  As you can see, it is always a work in progress.

And the time has come that we must refloor. We don't have a choice. We have to put down new sub flooring, carpet, and tile. The study is one of the rooms on the to do list.

The Solution:
I'm happy to say, I've figured out how to keep working. ; )
The writing desk I use to draft longhand has been moved to the solarium. I have a backlog of writing magazines I need to read and a book on parenting that I need to read for research for FRIENDLY FIRE. Add several other projects I've been putting off, and I'm being very productive while John paints, hammers, and works in the study, living room, dining room, etc.

So, what about you?
Do you have contingency plans for a "rainy day" of writing?

Writer's Block: Scientific Proof

We've all had a bout of Writer's Block--that dangerous time when no words come to mind and the page remains blank. Some prolific writers like Diana Gabaldon claim that there is no such thing. Her method for avoiding the problem is to have multiple projects open at all times. When one slows down, she just switches to the other and keeps on writing.

While I'll admit to having multiple projects--a devotional and 5 novels at last count--I do find that some days none of them seem to be open for business in my front brain. I do write down any idea that comes out of my back brain into the light of day no matter which project it belongs to, but still some days, the door between to two parts of my brain is closed, locked up tight. No amount of effort allows me to find the key.

Now there's scientific proof that Writer's Block exists in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. Check out the following article:
"The Unsuccessful Self-Treatment of a Case of  'Writer's Block' "
If you've every struggled with writer's block, you owe it to yourself to read this article.

Enjoy! ; )

ETA: For more fun with Writer's Block, try this A Word A Day entry. ; )