Marcia Thornton Jones's Blog, page 180
January 19, 2015
2015 Resolutions by Kristin Levine
I think my writing resolution this year is to tell the story I'm afraid to tell, the one that feels just a little bit too personal, but that I know holds the most emotional honesty after all.
I think that's my life resolution too: to call the friend I don't know that well, to tell the story that seems just a little bit too personal, to let others into the reality of my emotional life.
Yeah, if I can do those two things, it will definitely be a good year!
January 18, 2015
"The Perfection of the Present Day" (January Theme) by Claudia Mills
The best New Year's resolution I ever made was so wonderful that it's the same resolution I make every year. I'm offering it here to all of you:
Fill every day with creative joy.
I modified it a bit so that any kind of joy counts. When it comes to joy, I'm not all that fussy.
The guiding principle for this resolution is the instruction attributed to William Law: "Be intent on the perfection of the present day." Because that's all we have, really. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, not even the whole huge swelling total of the long unbroken line of yesterdays and tomorrows, but just the twenty-four hours of today. If I'm going to fill my life with creative joy, I need to start by filling my days with creative joy. That is to say, by filling TODAY.
As a dabbler in time management literature, I know that goals have to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Related. My joy goal is attainable and realistic, given that I have a generous threshold for what counts as joy and I'm willing to accept that some days are bound to be marked by unbearable sorrow, tortured worry, and the rest of the human condition. It's time-related: the time is TODAY. It could be more specific and measurable, though. What kind of creative joy? How will I know for sure that I've had some?
So I keep in my trusty little notebook a list of ideas for creative joy, in case I get confused on what it would look like. Here are a few:
1. Write. Just write. A day with writing in it is already, for me, a day with its full quota of creative joy. But to up the joy quotient of your day, read on.
2. Write somewhere interesting. Keep a list of places you would like to write. I keep making vows to take my clipboard, pad, and pen (I write by hand, which makes this easier) and go sit on a bench near a beautiful trail, or in the art museum in Denver, or the inviting reading room at the Women's Studies Cottage the the university. Maybe this is the year I'll actually keep those vows.
3. Write with friends. Make writing dates, as Natalie Goldberg suggests in Writing Down the Bones. Organize a write-in, as my friend Jeannie Mobley Tanaka (Katerina's Wish, Searching for Silverheels) does whenever her husband is off on a business trip and she has her house to herself (well, to herself and a bunch of other writers).
4. Eat a luscious little treat when you write. It doesn't have to be a healthy treat, either.
5. Go for a walk when you need a break from writing. Walk somewhere beautiful. Notice its beauty while you're walking.
6. Walk with a friend. Make a walking date instead of a lunch date (thus totally making up for the unhealthy treat).
7. If no friend is handy, call a friend from afar and talk to her as you walk. I'd almost forgotten how much I adore the old-school communication device of the telephone, not to text on, but to TALK on. It can be like junior high school again! Or at least junior high school for those of us who remember talking to girlfriends by the hour with the phone cord stretched as far as it could go so we could crouch in the laundry room for some privacy.
8. Go on a writing retreat. Go by yourself to a bed and breakfast in the mountains. Or by the sea. Or anywhere.
You get the idea!
The best part of this resolution is that you'll WANT to keep it. This isn't a dutiful pledge to force yourself to do something you don't down deep really want to do. It's permission to do the thing you love most in the most joyous possible way.
So do it!
Fill every day with creative joy.
I modified it a bit so that any kind of joy counts. When it comes to joy, I'm not all that fussy.
The guiding principle for this resolution is the instruction attributed to William Law: "Be intent on the perfection of the present day." Because that's all we have, really. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, not even the whole huge swelling total of the long unbroken line of yesterdays and tomorrows, but just the twenty-four hours of today. If I'm going to fill my life with creative joy, I need to start by filling my days with creative joy. That is to say, by filling TODAY.
As a dabbler in time management literature, I know that goals have to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Related. My joy goal is attainable and realistic, given that I have a generous threshold for what counts as joy and I'm willing to accept that some days are bound to be marked by unbearable sorrow, tortured worry, and the rest of the human condition. It's time-related: the time is TODAY. It could be more specific and measurable, though. What kind of creative joy? How will I know for sure that I've had some?
So I keep in my trusty little notebook a list of ideas for creative joy, in case I get confused on what it would look like. Here are a few:
1. Write. Just write. A day with writing in it is already, for me, a day with its full quota of creative joy. But to up the joy quotient of your day, read on.
2. Write somewhere interesting. Keep a list of places you would like to write. I keep making vows to take my clipboard, pad, and pen (I write by hand, which makes this easier) and go sit on a bench near a beautiful trail, or in the art museum in Denver, or the inviting reading room at the Women's Studies Cottage the the university. Maybe this is the year I'll actually keep those vows.
3. Write with friends. Make writing dates, as Natalie Goldberg suggests in Writing Down the Bones. Organize a write-in, as my friend Jeannie Mobley Tanaka (Katerina's Wish, Searching for Silverheels) does whenever her husband is off on a business trip and she has her house to herself (well, to herself and a bunch of other writers).
4. Eat a luscious little treat when you write. It doesn't have to be a healthy treat, either.
5. Go for a walk when you need a break from writing. Walk somewhere beautiful. Notice its beauty while you're walking.
6. Walk with a friend. Make a walking date instead of a lunch date (thus totally making up for the unhealthy treat).
7. If no friend is handy, call a friend from afar and talk to her as you walk. I'd almost forgotten how much I adore the old-school communication device of the telephone, not to text on, but to TALK on. It can be like junior high school again! Or at least junior high school for those of us who remember talking to girlfriends by the hour with the phone cord stretched as far as it could go so we could crouch in the laundry room for some privacy.
8. Go on a writing retreat. Go by yourself to a bed and breakfast in the mountains. Or by the sea. Or anywhere.
You get the idea!
The best part of this resolution is that you'll WANT to keep it. This isn't a dutiful pledge to force yourself to do something you don't down deep really want to do. It's permission to do the thing you love most in the most joyous possible way.
So do it!
January 17, 2015
My Resolution (January Theme - Sarah Dooley)
I only made one New Years resolution related to writing:
Write.
Every day. No matter what.
I've always been good about writing daily, but recently, with so many aspects of my life competing for attention, I've slacked off a bit. So these first few weeks of the new year, I've focused on renewing my writing routine. Surprisingly difficult when my desk is teeming with bills, and paperwork, and cats.
My daily writing routine looks a little something like this:
4:45 a.m Hit snooze.4:55 a.m. Hit snooze.5;00 a.m. Grumble loudly. Hit snooze.5:15 a.m. Get out of bed. Trip on cat.5:20 a.m. Hit start on coffee pot. Stumble into desk chair.5:25 a.m. Open Word document. Move cat off revision notes.5:26 a.m. Realize there's no noise coming from the kitchen. Check on coffee pot.5:27 a.m. Grumble loudly. Add water to coffee pot.5:28 a.m. - 5:31 a.m. Stare blankly into refrigerator.5:32 a.m. Eat one blackberry.5:33 a.m. Blink at Word document. Move cat off revision notes.5:35 a.m. Begin typing. 5:35 a.m. Stop typing.5:37 a.m. Begin typing. Remove cat from keyboard. Remove second cat from keyboard. Remove third cat from keyboard.5:38 p.m. Retrieve coffee. Trip on cat. Spill coffee.5;39 p.m. Clean up coffee spill. Get more coffee. 5:40 p.m. Move cat off keyboard. Move cat off revision notes. Move same cat off keyboard.5:41 a.m. - 5;45 a.m. Breathe in coffee fumes until it's cool enough to drink.5:45 a.m. Realize that it's time to get ready for work.
What I'm finding, though, is that the further I get into my routine -- as un-routine as it may feel -- the less I'm letting distractions interfere, and the more writing I'm actually getting done.
Also, my cats love the early-morning company.
Write.
Every day. No matter what.
I've always been good about writing daily, but recently, with so many aspects of my life competing for attention, I've slacked off a bit. So these first few weeks of the new year, I've focused on renewing my writing routine. Surprisingly difficult when my desk is teeming with bills, and paperwork, and cats.
My daily writing routine looks a little something like this:
4:45 a.m Hit snooze.4:55 a.m. Hit snooze.5;00 a.m. Grumble loudly. Hit snooze.5:15 a.m. Get out of bed. Trip on cat.5:20 a.m. Hit start on coffee pot. Stumble into desk chair.5:25 a.m. Open Word document. Move cat off revision notes.5:26 a.m. Realize there's no noise coming from the kitchen. Check on coffee pot.5:27 a.m. Grumble loudly. Add water to coffee pot.5:28 a.m. - 5:31 a.m. Stare blankly into refrigerator.5:32 a.m. Eat one blackberry.5:33 a.m. Blink at Word document. Move cat off revision notes.5:35 a.m. Begin typing. 5:35 a.m. Stop typing.5:37 a.m. Begin typing. Remove cat from keyboard. Remove second cat from keyboard. Remove third cat from keyboard.5:38 p.m. Retrieve coffee. Trip on cat. Spill coffee.5;39 p.m. Clean up coffee spill. Get more coffee. 5:40 p.m. Move cat off keyboard. Move cat off revision notes. Move same cat off keyboard.5:41 a.m. - 5;45 a.m. Breathe in coffee fumes until it's cool enough to drink.5:45 a.m. Realize that it's time to get ready for work.
What I'm finding, though, is that the further I get into my routine -- as un-routine as it may feel -- the less I'm letting distractions interfere, and the more writing I'm actually getting done.
Also, my cats love the early-morning company.
January 15, 2015
Resolutions? Nah, I’m good by Danette Vigilante
I never make New Year’s resolutions. Too much pressure, I think. Instead, I like to live each day with a little resolution here, and a little resolution there. For me, that is what works best. I don’t want my plate filled up all at once with things I hope to accomplish in the coming year. I like to picture myself skipping through a field of wildflowers picking whichever ones strike my fancy as I go. Tra-la-la-la-la— or maybe, I’m just afraid of commitment. Uh-oh …
January 14, 2015
Resolve: The Noun (January Theme) by Bob Krech
I like resolve as a noun. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the noun resolve as "a firm or unwavering adherence to one's purpose." Attributes like this make me think of characters.
Resolve is really a great attribute to have. When you think about it, resolve is almost always an attribute a successful main character has. As writers we usually give our main character a problem right out of the gate and then throw obstacles at them all throughout the story which they have to overcome if they want to reach the goal or solve the problem. If they don't have resolve, they aren't going to make it.
With a lot of characters, or real people for that matter, resolve can't happen until one discovers one's purpose and that is sometimes the hardest part. Once one's purpose is really known and understood, resolve often becomes a much easier enterprise and then so does the overcoming of obstacles and the solving of problems.
Resolve is really a great attribute to have. When you think about it, resolve is almost always an attribute a successful main character has. As writers we usually give our main character a problem right out of the gate and then throw obstacles at them all throughout the story which they have to overcome if they want to reach the goal or solve the problem. If they don't have resolve, they aren't going to make it.
With a lot of characters, or real people for that matter, resolve can't happen until one discovers one's purpose and that is sometimes the hardest part. Once one's purpose is really known and understood, resolve often becomes a much easier enterprise and then so does the overcoming of obstacles and the solving of problems.
At the Heart of Resolution – January Theme by Tamera Wissinger
The turning of each year offers a great opportunity to examine those behaviors that I’d most like to change and then go ahead and try to adjust. In analyzing my behavior, making resolutions, and taking the effort to see them through, I become executive editor in my own life. It’s an important role with an eye on a more desirable future for me, but there are just two problems: Deciding to change is hard. Changing is even harder. I think that’s what has made some resolutions so difficult over the years – I put impossibly big expectations on myself when maybe I’m not ready to make big-leap changes. And then if I don’t meet my grand expectations I feel bad, as though I’ve failed.
It’s such a disappointment to feel like a failure when my intentions are always worthy, so over time I’ve changed how I think about resolutions. At the heart of resolution is solution. A solution doesn’t sound so difficult – I like solving problems. Since I am executive editor in my life, I have resolved that although change is hard, my resolutions don’t have to be – it’s okay to simply solve. As a result, some types of change have become less difficult – true, the stakes and rewards of success are smaller, but so is the risk of failure and the resulting negative emotions. And the result: I’m happier and something actually gets done. And that’s what I’m after: the answer to a problem, the key to a puzzle – fine-tuning shifts that allow me to click some new behavior into place that will help me improve and be successful, no matter how small the change.
I wish you a Happy New Year and all best wishes on seeing through your resolutions, be they big or small.
~~~~~
Tamera Will Wissinger writes poetry and stories for children. She earned her M.F.A. degree in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. She is the author of GONE FISHING: A Novel in Verse (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children) and THIS OLD BAND (Sky Pony Press). Tamera is content with her approach to New Year’s resolution and will be celebrating the tiniest victories throughout the year. Connect with Tamera online through her Website or on Twitter.
It’s such a disappointment to feel like a failure when my intentions are always worthy, so over time I’ve changed how I think about resolutions. At the heart of resolution is solution. A solution doesn’t sound so difficult – I like solving problems. Since I am executive editor in my life, I have resolved that although change is hard, my resolutions don’t have to be – it’s okay to simply solve. As a result, some types of change have become less difficult – true, the stakes and rewards of success are smaller, but so is the risk of failure and the resulting negative emotions. And the result: I’m happier and something actually gets done. And that’s what I’m after: the answer to a problem, the key to a puzzle – fine-tuning shifts that allow me to click some new behavior into place that will help me improve and be successful, no matter how small the change.
I wish you a Happy New Year and all best wishes on seeing through your resolutions, be they big or small.
~~~~~
Tamera Will Wissinger writes poetry and stories for children. She earned her M.F.A. degree in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. She is the author of GONE FISHING: A Novel in Verse (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children) and THIS OLD BAND (Sky Pony Press). Tamera is content with her approach to New Year’s resolution and will be celebrating the tiniest victories throughout the year. Connect with Tamera online through her Website or on Twitter.
January 12, 2015
Resolve for Writers: by Darlene Beck Jacobson
R ead more middle grade books.
E njoy all the phases of writing and editing...really!
S it down and write something each day.
O pen my mind and heart to new possibilities and where they might lead.
L earn from criticism without letting it derail me.
V ow to silence the inner critic that keeps me from moving forward and growing as a writer.
E mbrace the unknown and the discomfort it brings for it may be where the next story dwells.
E njoy all the phases of writing and editing...really!
S it down and write something each day.
O pen my mind and heart to new possibilities and where they might lead.
L earn from criticism without letting it derail me.
V ow to silence the inner critic that keeps me from moving forward and growing as a writer.
E mbrace the unknown and the discomfort it brings for it may be where the next story dwells.
January 11, 2015
RESOLVE Has Another Name
by Jody Feldman
Artwork, Victoria Jamieson*
A couple months ago I was asked to speak at a gathering of writers. The other speaker that morning was a woman who successfully self-publishes. It was a casual gathering at a university bookstore, where we were asked to discuss our paths to and experiences with publishing. As usual, I spent a segment addressing exactly why it took so long (about 20 years!) from the day I decided I’d like to give this kidlit gig a whirl until I got my first book on the shelves.
During the Q&A segment, a gentleman asked his question. “How on earth did you hold out so long? Why didn’t you just publish the book yourself?”
Several different answers swirled in my head: issues concerning the monetary outlay, the intense marketing and sales efforts, the desire to be edited, the confirmation that a company with bottom-line responsibilities deemed my work worthy. And while I did mention those eventually, I lead with something altogether different.
“I put it in my mind that I wouldn’t stop improving myself and my work until I heard that YES. That’s the way it was going to be, all or nothing.”
You may call it resolve, but honestly? I’m just that stubborn.
*Depicted is Estella from The Gollywhopper Games: The New Champion
Artwork, Victoria Jamieson*A couple months ago I was asked to speak at a gathering of writers. The other speaker that morning was a woman who successfully self-publishes. It was a casual gathering at a university bookstore, where we were asked to discuss our paths to and experiences with publishing. As usual, I spent a segment addressing exactly why it took so long (about 20 years!) from the day I decided I’d like to give this kidlit gig a whirl until I got my first book on the shelves.
During the Q&A segment, a gentleman asked his question. “How on earth did you hold out so long? Why didn’t you just publish the book yourself?”
Several different answers swirled in my head: issues concerning the monetary outlay, the intense marketing and sales efforts, the desire to be edited, the confirmation that a company with bottom-line responsibilities deemed my work worthy. And while I did mention those eventually, I lead with something altogether different.
“I put it in my mind that I wouldn’t stop improving myself and my work until I heard that YES. That’s the way it was going to be, all or nothing.”
You may call it resolve, but honestly? I’m just that stubborn.
*Depicted is Estella from The Gollywhopper Games: The New Champion
January 10, 2015
January Theme: RESOLVEBy Marcia Thornton JonesMy story ch...
January Theme: RESOLVEBy Marcia Thornton JonesMy story characters don’t have the luxury of giving up. If they did, there would be no story. But the truth is, most of us do give up on our New Year’s resolutions. We can blame it on temptations, luck, schedules, or fate. But it really boils down to resolve. When we don’t back up our resolutions with resolve, or determination, we fail. Especially if our resolutions are based on external reasons (ought-tos and shoulds) instead of authentic/intrinsic desires.
This month’s theme of resolve and resolutions made me wonder:
1. What resolutions would my characters make?2. Why? Are their resolutions based on external pressures or authentic reasons?3. What external obstacles might challenge my characters?4. What character weaknesses will my characters need to overcome in order to succeed?5. What proactive strategies could my characters use to help increase their resolve?
Maybe focusing on my characters’ resolve will even teach me a thing or two about my own!
January 5, 2015
My Revolutionary Resolution by Deborah Lytton: January Theme
I was talking about the January blog theme of Resolutions with my daughters, trying to decide how I wanted to share my ideas about beginning a new year. My fifth grader, who is studying the birth of America, thought I said Revolution rather than Resolution. She is getting ready for her Colonial Faire, so it's not surprising really. But I realized that she was onto something. We, as writers, need to revolutionize our writing. We need to turn our systems upside down and try something fresh. A new storyline, a character so unusual that it can spark an entire manuscript, or even a string of words never before put together in just that way. So this January, I am going to revolutionize my writing by changing the way I work. For this entire month, instead of beginning my writing sessions by diving into my WIP, I am going to go back to something I did when I was first exploring writing. I am going to warm up with writing exercises. One day, I am going to prompt myself with a word, and the next with a quote from a favorite book. The third day, maybe I will just outline a character sketch without any plans to use it. I am going to stretch my creativity, challenge my imagination and hone my skills all at the same time. I challenge all of you to do the same. Revolutionize your writing and try something new. Share your ideas with me--I have 31 days to fill and lots of new ideas to explore.
Happy 2015!
Happy 2015!
