Beth Greenslade's Blog, page 85

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Writing Group

Joining a writing group can be hugely beneficial for writers looking to gain inspiration and confidence. They can provide invaluable support, keep you motivated even when you are finding things hard, and can help you shape and hone your writing to make it the very best it can be.

However, to experience all the benefits of being in a writing group, you need to ensure you are making the most of it. Understanding the rules and practices of your writing group as well as focusing on what you want from it will help you to make it more worthwhile.

Not all writing groups exist for the same purpose, and so it’s a good idea to understand how to run a writing group (if you are setting one up) or what you want from a writing group (if you are thinking of joining one) so you are clear from the outset.

Here are some things to think about:

Having a clear purpose

All writing groups should have a clear purpose, and everyone in the group should know what it is. Without a goal, it is all too easy for writing groups to fall apart, and become disjointed and challenging to manage. Is it about getting feedback and sharing work? Is it about just giving one another support and being social? Is it about working collaboratively or sharing ideas? Do you use the time together to write? How much work is expected from members outside the meeting times? All of these factors should be considered and agreed from the outset.

The size of the group

The size of a writing group does make a difference. Smaller groups can spend more time really discussing one another’s work, where larger groups might be better at providing motivation or a sense of community, they also might require more work! Deciding what size of group will work best for you is something you should think about before joining.

Writing goals

Does everyone in your group have similar goals and aspirations? If not it can make the group feel more disjointed and difficult to manage. If everyone is working on fiction novels, for example, this will be easier to work with than if some people are writing poetry, some are bloggers, and some are researching and writing non-fiction books.

Writing experience

It can also be helpful to ascertain the level of writing experience of those in your writing group. If some have experienced a certain degree of success while others are complete beginners, this can also cause some friction and make your writing group harder to manage. Getting together with people of a similar writing level will make it easier, more productive and less intimidating too!

Casual or professional?

Do you want your writing group to be a laid-back and social affair where you spend as much time chatting and socialising as you do work, or do you want it to be as productive as possible? You might get frustrated if you were hoping for the latter but instead get the former and vice versa so establishing what you are looking for and the work ethic of the group is also essential.

Making sure time is distributed evenly

If you are critiquing one another’s work it is so important to do so fairly. Otherwise some members will end up feeling put out. Make sure that you pay attention to this and that everyone has a set time for their work to be discussed.

Is there a leader?

In most cases, there will be someone who organises the group and facilitates discussion. This just makes good sense if you want your writing group to be organised and to make the most of it. You could take it in turns to lead if you’d rather not put all the responsibility on one person.

Rules of critiquing

Make sure everyone in your writing group understands and embraces the rules for critiquing each other's work. Most groups tend to prefer members to be helpful in their feedback, and positive - though it is essential to be able to be honest, so working out the best and most appropriate way to give feedback and making sure all members agree to it is crucial to the smooth and successful running of the group.

By considering all the factors above and making sure that all members of the writing group are clear on its rules and are on the same page, you can enjoy the significant benefits that joining or creating a writing group has.

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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How To Write Useful Chapter Outlines

Writing chapter outlines can be an incredibly helpful way of staying organised and motivated to write your story. Many writers choose to write chapter outlines before they begin their book. Doing so means they can see for sure that their story will work, get a more detailed overview of the plot down and help to ensure that each chapter drives the story forward.

So what sort of things are useful to include in a chapter outline?

Focus on the key plot points

Remember while your chapter outline should be thorough, you also want to keep it succinct. Focus on the key events that will take place in the chapter, note down the action points and make sure they fit into your story as a whole.

Describe how your character feels at the beginning and the end

Take some time to think about how your character is feeling at the beginning of each chapter and how the events that take place throughout it change them. Remember your character should always be growing and changing so make sure that you take their emotions into account.

How does each chapter flow to and from the next?

Each of your chapters should fit seamlessly into your story and flow from one to the other. When creating your chapter outlines make sure they fit into your overall plot, if they feel disjointed ask yourself if they are really necessary.

Does your chapter start and end in a way that grips the reader?

Make sure that every chapter in your book is gripping. It should start by immediately drawing the reader in and immersing them in the scene, and should end in such a way that they want to keep on turning those pages.

How does the chapter advance the story?

Every chapter needs to have a purpose. By the time the reader has finished the chapter, the story should have moved on. If the chapter doesn’t advance the story, it might need revision or removal from the book altogether.

Remember to review your chapter outlines frequently

Chapter outlines shouldn’t be rigid, they need to be flexible as when you begin to write your story you could end up going on a different track - and that’s OK Just make sure you review your chapter outlines while you are writing your book, and prepared to change them if necessary.

Spending time and making an effort to write chapter outlines that are really useful can make all the difference when you begin to write your novel, providing structure and allowing you to see your story as a whole. So whether you are just starting out or even if you are halfway through writing your novel, consider using chapter outlines to help you write more efficiently and make sure your story stays on the right track.

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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How To Make The Most Out Of Your Work Life Balance

A common question people have when they’re trying to become successful is, “How do I achieve work-life balance?” There is a clear answer to the question, you can’t.

There are periods when you need to work 80 or 100 hour weeks and there will be other periods when you work a few hours per week.

When you try to achieve a work-life balance, your life will become unbalanced. Your life isn’t supposed to be balanced. If you keep trying to achieve balance in your life you’ll find it’s impossible.

When you’re working on a big project, go all in with that project. Put in the hours, grind until you get it done. But when you’re done with that project, don’t go to the next project. Take a week off or perhaps a few days and let yourself recharge.

It’s no secret that your life will be out of balance. The quicker you accept that fact, the quicker you’ll achieve success.

Just because your life is out of balance doesn’t mean you can’t become successful. Only you will know if you’re out of balance. If you feel you need to spend more time with your family, then spend more time with them! No one is telling you that you can’t.

Your goal should be to incorporate your work into your life. If you love the work you’re doing, then it won’t feel like work at all. You’ll be showing up each day and having fun.

Do the people at the top of their industry get to where they are by having balance? Do you think Michael Jordan or Tom Brady would be as good as they are if they only sought out balance? Both gave themselves time to unplug but not before they gave their sports everything they had during the season.

Don’t think about how your life is out of balance, think about how you can improve your life in all areas.

 Trevor Oldham

 

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How To Make Each Day Effective

When you wake up in the morning, what do you plan to do with your day? Or perhaps you don’t even have your day planned. Millions of people wake up without a plan or even a goal set.

To make each day effective, you need to set mini-goals for yourself. When the sun goes down, and the day comes to a close, what do you wish you will have accomplished? Most people don’t get the life they want because they don’t live each day effectively.

The mini-goals you set for yourself should lead you to a bigger goal. The mini-goals will lead to your weekly goals which lead to your monthly goals which will lead to your yearly goals. What you do today will impact how your year goes. You only have so much time in a day why waste it?

When you’re setting mini-goals for yourself, set five of them for the day. Once you accomplish the five goals for the day, you’re done. You can do more but to keep yourself hungry, I’d recommend stopping at five before you burn out.

Five tasks per day might not sound like a lot but that’s 25 or 35 tasks per week. In a month you will have completed over 100 tasks towards your goals. Each task you complete gets you to a better life.

If you find that some goals take longer, maybe only set three goals for a certain day. Sometimes I only set one goal for myself because the goal is so big I know I won’t have any time to complete other tasks.

The purpose of setting mini-goals is so you have a direction of where you want to go with your day otherwise you will arrive at a destination you don’t want to be at.

When you set five mini-goals for yourself each day will be effective.

 Trevor Oldham

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A Valentine’s To Remember

Tina took a deep breath and opened the door to the Herald Tribune where she was instantly bombarded with cheery Happy Valentine’s Days. Smiling weakly and she hurried to her desk aware of the explosion of pink and red throughout the office. Balloons floated about bobbing their greetings merrily and the room was permeated with the scent of roses.

Reaching her desk, at last, she was greeted with the only barren space in the room. With a sigh as she threw herself into writing her article. She had just gotten back into the story about a single mother who had gone missing the day before when her boss’s secretary came in and announced that everyone was needed in the conference room immediately. Praying it was news and not more of the day’s festivities, Tina followed the rest of the reporters into the conference room.

‘Oh my God,” she thought helplessly as her boss entered, followed by his secretary pushing a huge pile of pink donuts formed into the shape of a heart.

“Happy Valentine’s Day! Please enjoy this along with your coffee this morning!” her boss, Tony, announced.

Smiling tensely, Tina slipped out of the room and needing a breath of fresh air, she leaned against the pillar at the top of the stairs and closed her eyes. After a moment she turned to make her way back inside when she noticed something on her car. Curious, she made her way towards it and saw that a red rose had been stuck under her windshield wiper. Unsure what this was, she pulled it out and was about to discard it when she noticed a note wrapped around its stem.

“Please meet me after work at the base of the stairs,” was all it said.

“Not what could this be?” Tina wondered as she made her way back to her desk carrying the rose with her. Laying it atop of her workstation, she resumed her writing glancing up at it occasionally and smiling.

Finally finishing her article, having it submitted and approved by the 5:00 deadline, Tina gathered her things picking up the rose last and made her way to the base of the stairs outside.

When everyone was pretty much gone, Tina sighed and dropped the rose to her side as she took a sad step towards her car. A voice rang out, “Wait! Tina wait, please!”

She turned to see where the voice was coming from when she saw Brad, the paper’s UPS man, jogging up towards her. “I am so sorry I am late; I had extra deliveries today …” his voice fading off. “I am so glad you waited for me,” he started again. “I have wanted to ask you out for so long yet was afraid to. Will you have dinner with me?”

Tina smiled, “I’d love to, Brad.”

Gallantly, he took her arm and threaded it through his guiding her to his waiting car and a beautiful new beginning.

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Why do I Love Thee

Why Do I Love Thee

     I heard a minister say this at a wedding. “Two people who are truly in love, love each other not because of but in spite of.”

     Here’s what I think he meant. You can love someone because he is handsome, has a lot of money, is fun to be with or because you have a lot in common with each other. Those things can change, however.

    This poem, with apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, expresses how I feel about the man I love:

I love thee for your kindness to animals.

I love thee though you are sometimes unkind to people.

I love thee for your smile and your laugh.

I love thee though you're sometimes grumpy in the morning.

I love thee for your patience.

I love thee though you sometimes get angry about petty things.

I love thee for your honest criticism.

I love thee though you sometimes criticize me when I feel I don't need it.

I love thee because you are neat and orderly.

I love thee though you are sometimes too neat and orderly.

I love thee because you are passionate about the things you love – like fishing

I love thee though you sometimes don’t understand why I’m not as passionate.

I love thee because you are so different from me in so many ways.

I love thee though you are different from me in so many ways.

I love thee because You are You.

I love thee “because of” and “in spite of.”

I love thee in a thousand different languages.

Je t'aime

Te amo

Ich liebe dich

Mahal Kita

Mi amas vin

I love you

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How To Learn From Rejection

Rejection is something that all writers go through. It’s almost a rite of passage! Rejection can be terrible, and there is no doubt that being rejected, particularly if it happens over and over again can feel somewhat disheartening (to put it mildly).

However, trying to review rejection in a different light is the only way to get over it. If we skulk into a corner and lick our wounds, or dramatically delete all our writing files and decide never to write again, we are hardly doing ourselves any favours. Instead, it is essential to look at rejection as an important lesson, to learn from everyone, and figure out what we can do better next time.

So what are the lessons that we should try to learn from rejection?

Luck is part of it, but not all of it!

We’ve all got to accept that getting a 'yes' from a publisher or agent has a little bit to do with luck. You might just happen to have written the right story at the right time, have caught the editor who reads your book in a positive mood, or just have something about your writing that appeals to their personal tastes. Try as we might it is challenging to predict how our writing will be received and it might be that had we sent it in on a different day the outcome may not have been the same. However, there is no point concentrating on the things we can’t control! So instead of feeling depressed about the ‘bad luck’, you are having, focus on the things you can do to improve and change.

Your writing needs more work

For many authors, the simple fact is that their writing is not yet good enough. While this may seem disheartening if you have poured your heart and soul into your manuscript, it doesn’t mean that your writing won’t be good enough in the future. Rejection is simply telling the author their book might need more work. If you are the kind of author who is willing to accept that and keep working at it, there is every chance that the next time you try, you might get the ‘yes’ you were hoping for.

Your pitch needs more work

Have you followed the submission guidelines exactly? Have you put all the effort you could muster into making your pitch as slick and exciting as possible? Have you tried to find other ways to boost your writing experience, get published in smaller publications, win writing competitions, gain a good following on social media? All these things count and can help make an editor or agent sit up and take notice of you. So make sure you have done everything you can to make your pitch stand out before you send it off.

You are pitching to the wrong people

If you are just blindly sending your manuscript to every publishing house and agent, you can think of you will undoubtedly receive many rejections because your book is of no interest to them. Not doing your research is just lazy and a waste of your and their time. Do yourself a favour and take the time to find the exact people who are likely to enjoy your book, and only send it to them.

You need to look at other options

It may be that you’d be better off trying to get your manuscript published via an alternative route. Perhaps you could look into self-publishing? Perhaps you could break it down into a series of blogs and release it yourself? Perhaps you could see if a magazine would publish it chapter by chapter. Remember traditional publishing is not the be all and end all and sometimes you have to get creative and think outside the box.

Remember, we can say it time and time again, but the truth is that when it comes to writing, perseverance is vital. Rejection isn’t pleasant for any writer, but by learning and improving each time, you will be one step closer to achieving your writing goal. Remember only one agent or publisher needs to love your work to completely change your life, and then all those other rejections won’t matter anyway!

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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The Best Rewards To Keep You Motivated

09As writers, staying determined and motivated is key to achieving one’s goals and feeling successful.

There are many things that can all too easily knock our confidence or mean that we get side-tracked and our writing suffers as a result. So it’s important to try to think of ways to incentivise oneself to remain motivated and keep persevering.

One of the simplest ways to stay motivated as a writer is to give yourself rewards!

Knowing the best type of rewards to keep you on track and determined to reach your goals naturally varies from person to person. However, if you are stuck for ideas try some of these:

Take yourself out for a meal.

When you’ve reached a significant writing goal why not reward yourself by going to that fancy restaurant you’ve always wanted to try? Even better get your partner or a friend to treat you instead!

Watch an episode of your favourite show.

If you need a break in your writing day why not allow yourself to watch an episode of that guilty pleasure tv series you love? If you are not a TV fan, listening to some great music or reading a book for half an hour can have the same effect.

Take a trip.

This is a substantial reward and should be reserved for one of your bigger and more significant goals. If you finish your book or get something published, then you could reward yourself with an epic holiday or weekend away to celebrate.

Have some retail therapy.

Sometimes nothing does the trick like a good bit of retail therapy. If you are feeling particularly pleased with yourself why not take a trip to town and buy yourself something beautiful? If you’ve been working hard you’ll no doubt have been saving money, so you deserve it!

Take a class

Sometimes rewarding yourself by learning more can be really satisfying. If you’ve got your eye on a class you’d like to take, why not have that as a reward for achieving one of your writing goals?

Buy yourself some flowers.

Something as simple as buying yourself some flowers can feel like a great treat and make you more determined to keep on writing!

Do something completely relaxing.

Take a stroll, have a bubble bath, book yourself in for a massage - whatever works for you. Doing something completely relaxing to recuperate and allow yourself to unwind can be so helpful to your creativity too.

Have the day off.

Remember, writers, just like anyone, deserve the day off from time to time! If you’ve been working hard and have gotten yourself ahead of schedule, then it’s time to put your writing aside and have a day just for you.

Spend time with family and friends.

It’s all too easy to for our social lives to suffer when immersed a big writing project. So when you want to reward yourself do so by spending some quality time with loved ones - it will be well worth it and remind you to stay on track to make sure you can balance your work and social life.

Remember rewards can be big or small, but it is essential to make sure that you only reward yourself when you have done something worthwhile. Be strict with yourself. If you don’t put the work in you don’t get the reward, but if you do, you do - that’s what will keep you pushing forward and making sure you stick to your writing goals.

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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Why Reading Everything Will Make You A Better Writer

When it comes to improving our writing, one of the most important things you can do is read. Reading is by far the very best way to get inspired, to learn, to experiment and find our own writing voice, and the more we read, the more our writing will improve.

Many famous writers have testified the same, speaking out about how reading can have a profound and exciting influence on the mind. As the great Stephen King said:

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” -

The great news is that reading is a brilliant pastime too! When you are truly immersed in a great book there is nothing quite like it, you are lost in another world, and you can truly let go of the stresses and strains of everyday life.

So just how does reading influence and improve your writing? Let’s take a look.

It inspires you

Reading as much as you possibly can is by far the best way to get inspiration for your work. That’s not to say you should set out with the goal of copying or pinching another authors ideas, but allowing yourself to be inspired by their work and purposely thinking about the elements of their stories that you love and how you could use them in your own writing just makes good sense!

It teaches you

When you read you are learning from the greats. Your favourite authors are probably pretty successful, and by reading their work and that of others, you will understand what it is that makes a great story. This knowledge is invaluable to any writer and the more you read, the more insights you will discover!

It helps you get to know a genre better and learn its rules

When you know what genre your book is it is a good idea to read as many books as possible that are in the same genre. Doing so will help you discover the various patterns that make a book fall into that category, and you’ll begin to understand the common themes and the rules which can help you make sure that when you write your own story, you are following these and are therefore more likely to make it appeal to the right readers.

It widens your vocabulary, improves your grammar skills and opens your eyes to new techniques.

The more you read, the more educated you become, not just around the topics you read but also the tools and structures that are necessary to make a story flow well. You will have a more extensive vocabulary, using language creatively will come more naturally to you, and the way to pull sentences together will also improve.

Think about it, do you know any painters who don’t love art? Any musicians who refuse to listen to music? All creative, artistic people are passionate about their art as a whole and use it to help them become better at what they do. The same goes for writers, without love and passion for reading it will be so difficult to come up with a story that other people love and enjoy.

So if you only take away one piece of advice as a writer, then it should be to read. Read anything and everything you like and the more you do, the more empowered, knowledgeable and creative you’ll become!

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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How To Gain Confidence In Your Writing

It can be tough to be a writer sometimes. For many of us, we face a daily battle with ourselves to try and keep going. Everything from rejection, procrastination to cringing as we read over our work can mean that we lose confidence as a writer, and for some, this means we eventually stop writing altogether.

Of course, it can happen in any profession, and even if we achieve a certain level of success, this doesn’t necessarily mean we will feel confident about our writing. But beating ourselves up about our mistakes and bullying ourselves into retreating is not the way we should live our lives!

Think about all the things you say to yourself that are negative, discouraging and downright mean? Would you ever dream of saying them to anyone else? We should start to change our attitudes about ourselves and realise that boosting our confidence and taking care of our happiness is a positive and helpful thing, not only for our self esteem and satisfaction but for those around us too.

So what can writer’s do to gain more confidence in their writing?

Tell yourself it’s not easy for anyone

When we aren’t feeling confident, we can feel quite isolated too. However, it’s imperative to try and put our feelings in perspective, remember that it is not that bad, and that pretty much every writer goes through the same thing.

Celebrate your terrible first draft

Everyone’s first draft is bad. But instead of focusing on that and wondering how you can possibly start to improve it, just take a moment to celebrate the fact that you actually finished it. Not many even get to this stage, and now you’ve got something, something exciting and real to work from - that is pretty awesome - so just take a moment to appreciate that.

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Take pride in being a risk taker (whatever the outcome)

Don’t be afraid to take risks in your writing. Even if you end up failing, knowing that you weren’t just following the crowd or copying someone else will feel great and should give your confidence a deserved boost.

Be passionate in everything you do

If you stay true to yourself and stick to your passions, this will come through in your writing, translate to your reader and feel good too. Remember that writing should be fun, it should be rewarding and satisfying so don’t be negative about it, instead celebrate that you are doing something creative and exciting with your time.

Remember that you don’t have to have anyone’s approval or permission to write

No one can tell you to stop writing, and no one’s opinion is important enough to make you feel you aren’t good enough. Remember not everyone can like the same thing, and it only takes one person to like your writing, to ‘get’ what you are trying to do to make all the difference!

Keep writing as much as you can

Writing is a muscle, and to make it stronger; you need to work it out! The more you write, the better you will become, and the better you become, the more confident you feel. It’s as simple as that. So just keep trying to write as much as you can, and you’ll soon see an improvement in your confidence.

To build confidence in writing, you need to embrace the unknown, to take risks, to stay passionate and focused and just keep going - even when you don’t feel like it. If you manage to do this, your confidence will inevitably grow, and you’ll feel so much better for it too!

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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