Michele Tracy Berger's Blog, page 54

Affirmations-366Days#67

Affirmations-366Days#67: Nothing changes without experimentation. I give myself permission to take risks in my writing.

For new readers, here’s why I’m committing to writing affirmations, about the creative process, during the next 366 days.

Affirmations-366Days#66

Affirmations-366Days#66: I befriend time. Doing so helps me to manage and enjoy my writing life.

For new readers, here’s why I’m committing to writing affirmations, about the creative process, during the next 366 days.

The Tally: The First Quarter of 2016 and Your Writing

During my Feb writing group meeting last Sunday, we discussed what went well in 2015 and what goals we had for 2016. We would have gotten to this in Jan, but due to bad weather and personal life disruptions, we pushed back this discussion.

March is a perfect time to both reflect and plan as it marks our approach to the end of the first quarter of the year. Unbelievable, I know!

In preparation for the meeting, I spent some time reviewing my goals and submission record of 2015 and thinking about 2016. Since I didn’t post at the end of last year about this topic, I thought I’d share with you some highlights and lessons learned.

Submissions:

In 2014, I submitted to 19 places. I vowed that in 2015, I would push myself to do better.

And, I did—I submitted to 34 individual journals, contests, anthologies or magazines. For many of these submissions, I submitted both poetry and prose.

What did that yield?

-1 publication (a poem, coming out this spring)

-4 very nice personalized rejection emails, encouraging me to submit something else soon. I’m keeping track of those outlets.

-3 places I’m waiting to hear back from

Although I almost doubled my submission record from 2014, it still only breaks down to about 1.5 submissions per month. This isn’t quite accurate, either, as I tend to send batches and batches of submissions at a time, so some months I sent more out and other months less.

As you know, researching places to submit, making sure you’ve read those publications before submitting, making time to submit, and tracking your submissions is a lot of work. In 2016, I’ve been devoting at least two days a month for submitting work. I also am trying to keep an organized list of upcoming deadlines. I love using Evernote for this task. I also have a full time career that requires its own care and attention.

One resource that helped me phenomenally last year was finding out about the group, Women Who Submit. Their website and Twitter feed is chock-full of great information about where to submit. Plus, they hold in person and online submission blitzes. I love the group energy that happens when a lot of people are submitting their work, talking about it on social media and encouraging each other.

Given that I have a full time career besides writing that requires its own care and attention, I need to be realistic in how much more I can up my submissions. I’m shooting for about 50-60 submissions this year. And, I want to be more selective in the places that I submit.

What Got Written in 2015:

-Finished several poems, my best work so far

-Finished some flash fiction pieces

-Started several stories

-Continued to revise my NaNoWriMo project

-Wrote weekly blog posts

-Asked several beta readers to provide feedback on my speculative fiction short story collection

I had one publication appear last year (it was accepted in 2014), my essay in A Letter to My Mom.  Although I didn’t have a lot of publications, my year felt like an extremely fulfilling and productive one across other areas:

Building Writing Community:

-In 2015, on the advice of a published writer, I went to several local sci-fi conventions. That led to meeting local authors, getting connected to the local and state wide scene, finding people to interview for my blog and getting invited to present at sci-fi cons this year. I’ve been really enjoying deepening my writing community.

-My writing teacher also invited me to participate with her at a wonderful event called ‘Love and the Lonely Writer’. I wrote about it here. It was an honor to share the stage with my mentor and teacher and read to a packed room.

There’s nothing like seeing a poster, in a bookstore, with your name on it!

-I participated in several open mic nights.

-I attended the A Room of Her Own (AROHO) Foundation’s week long women’s retreat in Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. It was truly a transformative experience. I left with a whole new community of women writers and friends. I hope to continue featuring some of their wisdom here. If you missed Li Yun Alvarado’s amazing post about the importance of a low stakes daily writing practice and how it can transform your year, check it out here.

Education:

A writer never stops learning about craft and storytelling. Last year, I redoubled my efforts to know more about the craft and the business of writing. I constantly listened to writing podcasts and combed through Poets & Writers.

I also took my first poetry workshop, a flash fiction workshop; and a week-long young adult literature and diversity class during AROHO.

First Quarter of 2016:

Submissions: I’ve submitted to 6 places, including a contest. I’ve heard back from 2 so far (rejections).

Writing: If you’ve been reading this blog since January, you know I committed to writing an original affirmation, about the creative process, once a day, every day for the entire year. For why I am doing it, see my inspiration here. I am loving this practice. But, a daily practice is demanding! And, some days, I feel more prepared to create than others. But, the feedback, about the affirmation project, has been great. It’s stocking my creative well.

2016 Writing goals:

-Continue to revise my NaNoWriMo project

-Place my speculative fiction short story collection with a press

-Continue to write a daily original affirmation

-Work on my secret ‘genius’ project

-Strive for 50-60 submissions

 

How are your writing goals going in the first quarter? Where areas (using the ones above) are you feeling ease in and what areas do you want to tweak?

Affirmations-366Days#65

Affirmations-366Days#65: I affirm that nothing from my creative flow is wasted. Ideas can combine in new ways that astound me.

For new readers, here’s why I’m committing to writing affirmations, about the creative process, during the next 366 days.

Affirmations-366Days#64

Affirmations-366Days#64: I am living in the expectancy that every good thing in my writing life is multiplied.

For new readers, here’s why I’m committing to writing affirmations, about the creative process, during the next 366 days.

How Doing Power Poses Can Help Your Writing Life & Affirmations-366Days#63

Affirmations-366Days-63: I use my body language to encourage a mood of optimism before sitting down to write.

For new readers, here’s why I’m committing to writing affirmations, about the creative process, during the next 366 days.

Have you ever thought about how changing your body language might improve your mood before you sit down to write?

If you’ve written for some time you’ve probably thought about your posture. There’s lots of biomedical evidence to suggest that sitting at a desk for long periods of time without a break is not healthy. Most writers I know do a lot of sitting. You might have also have thought about how the mood you are in when you sit down to write, can either be one that makes the writing easy or difficult.

Most of the time, you can overcome the ‘not feeling in the mood to write’. I keep a handy quote by author Barbara Sher near my desk: “Moods are very long, projects are very short.”

But what about those days when you are not feeling so confident about your abilities as a writer? What about the days when all your writing gremlins and inner critics have arrived at your house for a pop-up party?

I stumbled across a wonderful Ted Talk, ‘Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are’ by social psychologist Amy Cuddy. Cuddy studies how nonverbal behavior and snap judgments influence people. Her personal story is remarkable as at a young age she suffered a traumatic brain injury from a car accident. In this Ted Talk she shares some of that personal history and how it led her to research on studying movement, and nonverbal cues about power and dominance. She has done a significant amount of research on ‘power poses’ or poses that tend to express confidence. Power poses are ones that universally make our bodies feel good. Using specific postures can affect the testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain and can help us act confident, even when we don’t feel particularly confident. Understanding what will make you more confident is especially helpful for participating in group settings (e.g. classrooms, work environments, etc.).

As a yoga practitioner, I have thought about the importance of posture and body awareness. It is quite easy to see when someone is holding tension in the body or ‘collapsing’ (making one’s self smaller), or ‘propping’ (holding the body with rigid attention). But, her work really helps to make a connection between body awareness and social group dynamics.

I have started to use Cuddy’s suggestions for power poses (usually 2 minute exercises), before I go into meetings, teach classes and do public speaking. I’m not usually particularly stressed before any of those encounters, but occasionally I may be feeling low energy. After I do my 2 minute exercise, I feel refreshed and if I was feeling anxious, I feel much less so.

Cuddy’s work is mostly focused on how individuals can feel more confident within groups. But, I started to think about her work could apply to writing. Can doing power poses change one’s mood before sitting down to write? I think it can. OK, I have a small sample size of one—me! I’ve started to use some of the power poses before I write and they have definitely boosted my mood, making me feel more optimistic. And, what writer doesn’t need more confidence?

Writing gremlins are bound to show up and affect your mood at some point. It is great to have a different way to tackle fear, anxiety, and frustration in the writing process. I encourage you to check out her Ted Talk and play with the power poses before, during and after writing.

Affirmations-366Days#62

Affirmations-366Days#62: I value and respect my work. I make time to back up my writing in multiple places.

For new readers, here’s why I’m committing to writing affirmations, about the creative process, during the next 366 days.

Affirmations-366Days#61

Affirmations-366Days#61: I remind myself that every writer has impostor syndrome occasionally. I keep writing anyway.

For new readers, here’s why I’m committing to writing affirmations, about the creative process, during the next 366 days.

Affirmations-366Days#60

Affirmations-366Days#60: I accept help from established writers when offered. Help can come in many forms. My job is to receive it and feel deserving of it.

For new readers, here’s why I’m committing to writing affirmations, about the creative process, during the next 366 days.

Affirmations-366Days#59

Affirmations-366Days#59: Moods are transient. My writing life is here to stay. I consistently show up for it.

For new readers, here’s why I’m committing to writing affirmations, about the creative process, during the next 366 days.