Alice Orr's Blog, page 2

Family Fuels Fiction – Joy Writing

Family Fuels Fiction – Joy Writing. Pat Conroy is one of my favorite storytellers. He said this. “One of the greatest gifts you can be given as a writer is to be born into an unhappy family.”

Let’s Modify That. One of the greatest gifts you can be given as a writer is to be born into a conflicted family. In my experience that statement encompasses just about all of us. My family was conflicted. Sometimes explosive. Your family was most likely conflicted too.

Conflict is the Essence of Strong Storytelling. I prefer to refer to Conflict as Struggle in this context. Struggle is the essence of strong storytelling. Ergo. Look homeward angels. Family is where the fodder is. The storytelling fodder waiting for you to turn it into story magic.

Families Bristle with Serious Struggle. My family. Your family. Everybody’s family. Take a moment right now for this exercise. Make a list of the intense struggles you have heard about or witnessed or participated in from your family history. Each is a story throbbing to be told.

A Family Memory Patchwork. How do separate members piece that patchwork together? An incident occurs in your shared past. Important. Even traumatic. The details sear your consciousness. You compare notes. You discover that those details differ from one family member to another.

Test This Premise. Grab your list of intense family struggles. Choose one. The more fraught and traumatic the better. Take a moment right now for this exercise. List the family members involved in that struggle. Which do you think would agree with your recollection of the incident? Which do you suspect would disagree? Family Fuels Fiction – Joy Writing.

Discrepancies Can Be Benign. Like they often were with my late brother Michael and me. We would tease each other. Maybe even jokingly suggest a possible fib. But only with the not-so-touchy bits. Nostalgia rather than gut wrench. The dreaded stories we mostly did not mention.

Dreaded Stories are Danger Zones. We tiptoed around them like quicksand. One wrong step and we could be sucked down with no hope of rescue. Rescue from what? Rescue from the collision of my version of reality and his and from the powerful confrontation that might erupt between us.

Every Family has Dreaded Stories. Your personal list of family struggles is a catalog of danger zones in your history. Each struggle is a bed of quicksand. Each is also a potential collision of points of view about that struggle. A potentially bloody battleground. All possess story power.

This is Fertile Ground for the Storyteller in You. Who in your family do you tiptoe around for fear of your colliding truths? What conflagrations have you barely survived when one of those toes slipped into the memory mine field? Which would make the most dramatic story?

Intensify the Story You are Writing Now.  Hot emotions. Cold hearts. Hotter clashes. Colder calculators. You have encountered all of these somewhere in your life. Slide them into your story. Use them to bring your characters and your scenes to life on your pages.

This is Toxic Territory in Real Life. Tell these stories as fiction. Reimagine all of the physical details. Personal descriptions. Locations. Times and dates. Anything identifiable. Retain the emotions. They are where your intense and powerful and dramatic story material really resides

Struggle Boils through My Own Stories. Through roiling Riverton and the tempestuous families that collide and conflict there. How much of that has been inspired by real-life experience? Let me just say that I agree with Pat Conroy and I am grateful for the gift. Family Fuels Fiction – Joy Writing.

You possess storytelling magic. Keep on writing whatever may occur.   Alice Orr.  http://www.aliceorrbooks.com

Alice Orr. Teacher. Storyteller. Former Editor and Literary Agent. Author of 15 novels, 2 novellas, a memoir, and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells.

Visit Alice’s Joy Writing Blog. Whether you consider yourself a writer or not you have storytelling magic in you. Learn to shine in the light of that magic and make it your own at http://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Alice’s Novel. A Time of Fear & Loving. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5. Experience the joy of reading. Available HERE.

Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving. “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.” “The best one yet!”

Alice’s Suspense Novel Series. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. Five intense stories of love and death and intrigue. Available HERE.

Praise for Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. “Romance and suspense at its best.” “I highly recommend this page-turner series.” “Twists and turns, strong characters, suspense and passionate love.” “The writing is exquisite.”

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know? About your writer experience. About telling your stories. Ask your question as a comment following this post.

http://facebook.com/aliceorrwriter/
http://twitter.com/AliceOrrBooks/

https://bsky.app/profile/aliceorr.bsky.social/
http://goodreads.com/aliceorr/
http://pinterest.com/aliceorrwriter/

The post Family Fuels Fiction – Joy Writing appeared first on Alice Orr Books.

Family Fascinates – Joy of Writing

Family Fascinates – Joy of Writing. Pat Conroy is one of my favorite storytellers. He said this. “One of the greatest gifts you can be given as a writer is to be born into an unhappy family.”

Let’s Modify That. One of the greatest gifts you can be given as a writer is to be born into a conflicted family. In my experience that statement encompasses just about all of us. My family was conflicted. Sometimes explosive. Your family was most likely conflicted too.

Conflict is the Essence of Strong Storytelling. I prefer to refer to Conflict as Struggle in this context. Struggle is the essence of strong storytelling. Ergo. Look homeward angels. Family is where the fodder is. The storytelling fodder waiting for you to turn it into story magic.

Families Bristle with Serious Struggle. My family. Your family. Everybody’s family. Take a moment right now for this exercise. Make a list of the intense struggles you have heard about or witnessed or participated in from your family history. Each is a story throbbing to be told.

A Family Memory Patchwork. How do separate members piece that patchwork together? An incident occurs in your shared past. Important. Even traumatic. The details sear your consciousness. You compare notes. You discover that those details differ from one family member to another.

Test This Premise. Grab your list of intense family struggles. Choose one. The more fraught and traumatic the better. Take a moment right now for this exercise. List the family members involved in that struggle. Which do you think would agree with your recollection of the incident? Which do you suspect would disagree? Family Fascinates – Joy of Writing.

Discrepancies Can Be Benign. Like they often were with my late brother Michael and me. We would tease each other. Maybe even jokingly suggest a possible fib. But only with the not-so-touchy bits. Nostalgia rather than gut wrench. The dreaded stories we mostly did not mention.

Dreaded Stories are Danger Zones. We tiptoed around them like quicksand. One wrong step and we could be sucked down with no hope of rescue. Rescue from what? Rescue from the collision of my version of reality and his and from the powerful confrontation that might erupt between us.

Every Family has Dreaded Stories. Your personal list of family struggles is a catalog of danger zones in your history. Each struggle is a bed of quicksand. Each is also a potential collision of points of view about that struggle. A potentially bloody battleground. All possess story power.

This is Fertile Ground for the Storyteller in You. Who in your family do you tiptoe around for fear of your colliding truths? What conflagrations have you barely survived when one of those toes slipped into the memory mine field? Which would make the most dramatic story?

Intensify the Story You are Writing Now.  Hot emotions. Cold hearts. Hotter clashes. Colder calculators. You have encountered all of these somewhere in your life. Slide them into your story. Use them to bring your characters and your scenes to life on your pages.

This is Toxic Territory in Real Life. Tell these stories as fiction. Reimagine all of the physical details. Personal descriptions. Locations. Times and dates. Anything identifiable. Retain the emotions. They are where your intense and powerful and dramatic story material really resides

Struggle Boils through My Own Stories. Through roiling Riverton and the tempestuous families that collide and conflict there. How much of that has been inspired by real-life experience? Let me just say that I agree with Pat Conroy and I am grateful for the gift. Family Fascinates – Joy of Writing.

You possess storytelling magic. Keep on writing whatever may occur.   Alice Orr.  http://www.aliceorrbooks.com

Alice Orr. Teacher. Storyteller. Former Editor and Literary Agent. Author of 15 novels, 2 novellas, a memoir, and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. Alice blogs for writers and readers at http://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Alice’s Novel. A Time of Fear & Loving. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5. Experience the joy of reading. Available HERE.

Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving. “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.” “The best one yet!”

Alice’s Suspense Novel Series. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. Five intense stories of love and death and intrigue. Available HERE.

Praise for Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. “Romance and suspense at its best.” “I highly recommend this page-turner series.” “Twists and turns, strong characters, suspense and passionate love.” “The writing is exquisite.”

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know? About your writer experience. About telling your stories. Ask your question as a comment following this post.

http://facebook.com/aliceorrwriter/
http://twitter.com/AliceOrrBooks/

https://bsky.app/profile/aliceorr.bsky.social/
http://goodreads.com/aliceorr/
http://pinterest.com/aliceorrwriter/

The post Family Fascinates – Joy of Writing appeared first on Alice Orr Books.

Your Healing Story – Joy of Writing

Your Healing Story – Joy of Writing. “If one writes about oneself, the real motivation must be, I think, to give reassurance to other people.” Christopher Isherwood.

I Reassure You that Writing Can Heal. The first time I used writing to heal was after I lost my children. I was so deeply devastated that I believed I would never rise from the rubble of my life. I was certain I would never be able to heal what had broken inside me.

The Bad News Arrived when I was at Work. My job was to conduct intake interviews with mentally and otherwise challenged adults. It was my responsibility to determine whether or not those adults could fit safely into our facility which included a program for vulnerable children.

I was Good at My Job. I had a talent for reading people. I listened past their words to their motives and intentions. I noted every telling quirk and gesture. It was meaningful work. Children’s lives were at stake. Sweet and trusting and vulnerable children. Caseworkers are instructed not to get personally involved. My heart was never good at obeying that instruction.

I Loved Them All. Even Anthony. Especially Anthony who was nine years old. Anthony regularly bounded sideways full force into me or anybody else nearby and shouted “No like you ever.” I took my job seriously and did it well for Anthony and everyone. Yet I was unable to prevent what happened to myself and my own sweet and trusting and vulnerable children.

The Message Arrived by Special Delivery from the Court. It pronounced doom to my little family. My caseworker self would have risen with clenched fist and launched into battle. My loving mother self only managed to grip the edges of my desk and pray I would not to fly apart into a thousand pieces against the off-white walls. I had lost custody of both my children.

Flash Forward Please. I will spare you the details though I suspect you can imagine them. Miserable months of mental and physical deterioration. One of the most agonized periods of my life. Mercy stepped up in the form of a yoga ashram. It was the 1970s and such places were in vogue then as they are again now. Places to tell Your Healing Story – Joy of Writing.

At the Ashram I Began to Write. I found words to tell my own healing story. I learned to write those words in a way that breached my darkness and ushered in some healing light. The Guru taught me the secret. “Open your heart. Open your heart. Open your heart.”

My Frozen Psyche Listened. I opened my heart and spilled its sorrow onto the page. Healing came one word at a time through heartache and shadows toward light. Half a century later I am here telling you my story publicly for the first time. My heart is in my throat but open and comforted.

I Invite You to Tell Your Own Healing Story. We all have one. Open your heart. A liberating voice is there to carry you through your own shadows to your own bright light. Write your story. Make fiction of it if you wish. The hero will still be you. The miracle will still happen. Your Healing Story – Joy of Writing.

You possess storytelling magic. Keep on writing whatever may occur.  Alice Orr.  http://www.aliceorrbooks.com

Alice Orr. Teacher. Storyteller. Former Editor and Literary Agent. Author of 15 novels, 2 novellas, a memoir, and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. Alice blogs for writers and readers at http://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Alice’s Novel. A Time of Fear & Loving. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5. Experience the joy of reading. Available HERE.

Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving. “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.” “The best one yet!”

Alice’s Suspense Novel Series. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. Five intense stories of love and death and intrigue. Available HERE.

Praise for Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. “Romance and suspense at its best.” “I highly recommend this page-turner series.” “Twists and turns, strong characters, suspense and passionate love.” “The writing is exquisite.”

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know? About your writer experience. About telling your stories. Ask your question as a comment following this post.

http://facebook.com/aliceorrwriter/
http://twitter.com/AliceOrrBooks/
http://goodreads.com/aliceorr/
http://pinterest.com/aliceorrwriter/

 

The post Your Healing Story – Joy of Writing appeared first on Alice Orr Books.

Start Your Writer’s Day Right – Joy Writing

Start Your Writer’s Day Right – Joy Writing. “I simply got out of bed each morning, walked to my desk and put down any word or series of words that happened along in my head.” This is what Ray Bradbury says in his Introduction to Dandelion Wine.

How I Learned to Follow Ray Bradbury’s Example. My husband Jonathan and I had returned the night before from our camp in the New Jersey Skylands. Ordinarily those Mondays began with a long list of city life things to do and stress barreling back big time. This particular Monday was different.

My Post-Weekend List Loomed Over Me as Usual. Each item was about keeping our weekday world on a smooth track rather than a bumpy one. In other words – crucial to the max. I had better get busy pronto. That was what I typically told myself anyway – until that day.

That Day I Ignored my To-Do List. I got out of bed and went to my desk. I took out my writing notebook. I put down the words that happened along in my imagination where they had actually happened to be for some time. Just like the words in your writer’s imagination right now.

That Day I Started a Book. Not an adaptation like my previous two books had been. The first – a novel that was orphaned when I decided to leave my agent. The second – a re-imagined story from a previous publishing period. This book was neither of those and nothing like them. Amazing things happen when you set yourself free. Start Your Writer’s Day Right – Joy Writing.

This Book was a Brand-New Story. Fresh from my tiny gray cells it grew. Word after word into scene after scene. Appearing like a miracle on the page in front of me. It was magic and I was in its thrall. I had never experienced a day like that in my entire writing career. But by Monday evening I had convinced myself it was too good to be true.

Until Tuesday Morning when the Same Thing Happened Again. I was enthralled once more. Caught up in the world of my story. Following its fascinating trail. Idea by idea and image by image. Alive in a reality as real to me as my day-to-day down-to-earth one had ever been.

And Here is Something Else Equally Enthralling. After each of those writing sessions an aura of the magic remained. My mind felt less fettered. My worries pressed less heavily upon me and around me. The To-Do lists that dictated my days had lost a huge measure of their tyranny.

Life Changes When You Start Your Day Writing. I have to relearn this regularly. A lesson that actually is crucial to the max. Just like Ray Bradbury said. Bed. Desk. Notebook. Voila. Alice becomes Alice in Wonderland. Curiouser and curiouser. Try it. Start Your Writer’s Day Right – Joy Writing.

You possess storytelling magic. Keep on writing whatever may occur.  Alice Orr.  http://www.aliceorrbooks.com

Alice Orr. Teacher. Storyteller. Former Editor and Literary Agent. Author of 15 novels, 2 novellas, a memoir, and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells.

Visit Alice’s Joy Writing Blog. Whether you consider yourself a writer or not you have storytelling magic in you. Learn to shine in the light of that magic and make it your own at http://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Alice’s novel. A Time of Fear & Loving. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5. Experience the joy of reading. Available HERE.

Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving. “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.” “The best one yet!”

Alice’s Suspense Novel Series. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. Five intense stories of love and death and intrigue. Available HERE.

Praise for Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. “Romance and suspense at its best.” “I highly recommend this page-turner series.” “Twists and turns, strong characters, suspense and passionate love.” “The writing is exquisite.”

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know? About your writer experience. About telling your stories. Ask your question as a comment following this post.

http://facebook.com/aliceorrwriter/
http://twitter.com/AliceOrrBooks/
http://goodreads.com/aliceorr/
http://pinterest.com/aliceorrwriter/

 

The post Start Your Writer’s Day Right – Joy Writing appeared first on Alice Orr Books.

Start Your Writer’s Day Right – Joy of Writing

Start Your Writer’s Day Right – Joy of Writing. “I simply got out of bed each morning, walked to my desk and put down any word or series of words that happened along in my head.” This is what Ray Bradbury says in his Introduction to Dandelion Wine.

How I Learned to Follow Ray Bradbury’s Example. My husband Jonathan and I had returned the night before from our camp in the New Jersey Skylands. Ordinarily those Mondays began with a long list of city life things to do and stress barreling back big time. This particular Monday was different.

My Post-Weekend List Loomed Over Me as Usual. Each item was about keeping our weekday world on a smooth track rather than a bumpy one. In other words – crucial to the max. I had better get busy pronto. That was what I typically told myself anyway – until that day.

That Day I Ignored my To-Do List. I got out of bed and went to my desk. I took out my writing notebook. I put down the words that happened along in my imagination where they had actually happened to be for some time. Just like the words in your writer’s imagination right now.

That Day I Started a Book. Not an adaptation like my previous two books had been. The first – a novel that was orphaned when I decided to leave my agent. The second – a re-imagined story from a previous publishing period. This book was neither of those and nothing like them. Amazing things happen when you set yourself free. Start Your Writer’s Day Right – Joy of Writing.

This Book was a Brand-New Story. Fresh from my tiny gray cells it grew. Word after word into scene after scene. Appearing like a miracle on the page in front of me. It was magic and I was in its thrall. I had never experienced a day like that in my entire writing career. But by Monday evening I had convinced myself it was too good to be true.

Until Tuesday Morning when the Same Thing Happened Again. I was enthralled once more. Caught up in the world of my story. Following its fascinating trail. Idea by idea and image by image. Alive in a reality as real to me as my day-to-day down-to-earth one had ever been.

And Here is Something Else Equally Enthralling. After each of those writing sessions an aura of the magic remained. My mind felt less fettered. My worries pressed less heavily upon me and around me. The To-Do lists that dictated my days had lost a huge measure of their tyranny.

Life Changes When You Start Your Day Writing. I have to relearn this regularly. A lesson that actually is crucial to the max. Just like Ray Bradbury said. Bed. Desk. Notebook. Voila. Alice becomes Alice in Wonderland. Curiouser and curiouser. Try it. Start Your Writer’s Day Right – Joy of Writing.

You possess storytelling magic. Keep on writing whatever may occur.  Alice Orr.  http://www.aliceorrbooks.com

Alice Orr. Teacher. Storyteller. Former Editor and Literary Agent. Author of 15 novels, 2 novellas, a memoir, and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. Alice blogs for writers and readers at http://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Alice’s novel. A Time of Fear & Loving. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5. Experience the joy of reading. Available HERE.

Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving. “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.” “The best one yet!”

Alice’s Suspense Novel Series. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. Five intense stories of love and death and intrigue. Available HERE.

Praise for Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. “Romance and suspense at its best.” “I highly recommend this page-turner series.” “Twists and turns, strong characters, suspense and passionate love.” “The writing is exquisite.”

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know? About your writer experience. About telling your stories. Ask your question as a comment following this post.

http://facebook.com/aliceorrwriter/
http://twitter.com/AliceOrrBooks/
http://goodreads.com/aliceorr/
http://pinterest.com/aliceorrwriter/

 

The post Start Your Writer’s Day Right – Joy of Writing appeared first on Alice Orr Books.

Showing Up – Joy of Writing

Showing Up – Joy of Writing. Jean Rikhoff was my mentor. She taught me to Show Up. “Ninety percent of success is showing up,” she would say. She had a lot to say. Like in this picture with the 1980s hair. But Jean did much more than talk the talk.

Walk the Walk. Jean showed up. She was a young mother when the parking lot episode occurred. Home was so hectic she drove to a supermarket parking lot early every morning and wrote her novel there. Figure out how to do what needs to be done in your life. Jean did that. You can too.

Write Regularly. No matter what is going on in your life. Let the rich experience of creativity do its kick-butt thing to your writer psyche until you feel out of balance without a daily dose. One page or one hour a day minimum. Enough to make you crave another dose tomorrow.

Mark Your Territory. Carve out a place for yourself and your work. Virginia Woolf talked about “a room of your own.” Crowded circumstances may preclude that. A private corner can suffice. Put your stuff there. Notebooks. Laptop. Files. Pens. A lamp covered in story ideas.

Get Good Gear. Buy yourself quality equipment. If necessary – do so by cutting back spending on other things. If you have qualms about doing that – make yourself believe the following. You deserve what you need to succeed. This is your new mantra. Repeat it often and adamantly. Showing Up – Joy of Writing.

Value Your Time. Control your commitments. Ask yourself, “Can someone else do this? Does it have to be me?” Examine carefully new requests for your time and energy. Ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my precious self.”

Train Your Tribe. Post your work hours. The refrigerator door is a good place. Insist on no interruptions at those times. Tell family and friends how important your writing is to you. Make them hear you. Do not back down. They will come around. If they do not – keep on with your work. Do it anyway.

Train You Too. Identify your personal time-burners. Activities that contribute minimally to what you really want to accomplish. Do not indulge during your best brain time. Limit online play to your dim bulb hours. Use your online activity to build your public platform visibility.

Show Up for Your Story. These disciplines will carry you deep into your writing and keep you there. John Gardner called it “the dream of the book.” Write to inhabit that dream. Write from deep in your imagination where your very best stories are waiting.

Show Up for Yourself. Life stress can stop you in your tracks. Give yourself a break and a story boost instead. Powerful stories are intense like stress. Incorporate your personal intensity into a dramatic scene. Incorporate that scene into your current work. Feel it all. Adapt it all. You are a creator. Create.

Show Up for Your Tribe. Embrace your writer family by helping each other. Look around. Feel where you are needed. When someone is down lift them up. Let your generosity shine. Be grateful for the opportunity to give. Showing Up – Joy of Writing.

You possess storytelling magic. Keep on writing whatever may occur.  Alice Orr.  http://www.aliceorrbooks.com

Alice Orr. Teacher. Storyteller. Former Editor and Literary Agent. Author of 15 novels, 2 novellas, a memoir, and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells.

Visit Alice’s Joy of Writing Blog. Whether you consider yourself a writer or not you have storytelling magic in you. Learn to shine in the light of that magic and make it your own at http://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Alice’s novel A Time of Fear & Loving . Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5. Available HERE.

Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving: “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.” “The best one yet!”

Alice’s Suspense Novel Series. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. Five intense stories of love and death and intrigue. Available HERE.

Praise for Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. “Romance and suspense at its best.” “I highly recommend this page-turner series.” “Twists and turns, strong characters, suspense and passionate love.” “The writing is exquisite.”

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know? About your writer experience. About telling your stories. Ask your question as a comment following this post.

http://facebook.com/aliceorrwriter/
http://twitter.com/AliceOrrBooks/
http://goodreads.com/aliceorr/
http://pinterest.com/aliceorrwriter/

The post Showing Up – Joy of Writing appeared first on Alice Orr Books.

Show Up – Tell Your Best Writer’s Life Story

Show Up – Tell Your Best Writer’s Life Story. Jean Rikhoff was my mentor. She taught me to Show Up. “Ninety percent of success is showing up,” she would say. She had a lot to say. Like in this picture with the 1980s hair. But Jean did much more than talk the talk.

Walk the Walk. Jean showed up. She was a young mother when the parking lot episode occurred. Home was so hectic she drove to a supermarket parking lot early every morning and wrote her novel there. Figure out how to do what needs to be done in your life. Jean did that. You can too.

Write Regularly. No matter what is going on in your life. Let the rich experience of creativity do its kick-butt thing to your writer psyche until you feel out of balance without a daily dose. One page or one hour a day minimum. Enough to make you crave another dose tomorrow.

Mark Your Territory. Carve out a place for yourself and your work. Virginia Woolf talked about “a room of your own.” Crowded circumstances may preclude that. A private corner can suffice. Put your stuff there. Notebooks. Laptop. Files. Pens. A lamp covered in story ideas.

Get Good Gear. Buy yourself quality equipment. If necessary – do so by cutting back spending on other things. If you have qualms about doing that – make yourself believe the following. You deserve what you need to succeed. This is your new mantra. Repeat it often and adamantly. Show Up – Tell Your Best Writer’s Life Story.

Value Your Time. Control your commitments. Ask yourself, “Can someone else do this? Does it have to be me?” Examine carefully new requests for your time and energy. Ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my precious self.”

Train Your Tribe. Post your work hours. The refrigerator door is a good place. Insist on no interruptions at those times. Tell family and friends how important your writing is to you. Make them hear you. Do not back down. They will come around. If they do not – keep on with your work. Do it anyway.

Train You Too. Identify your personal time-burners. Activities that contribute minimally to what you really want to accomplish. Do not indulge during your best brain time. Limit online play to your dim bulb hours. Use your online activity to build your public platform visibility.

Show Up for Your Story. These disciplines will carry you deep into your writing and keep you there. John Gardner called it “the dream of the book.” Write to inhabit that dream. Write from deep in your imagination where your very best stories are waiting.

Show Up for Yourself. Life stress can stop you in your tracks. Give yourself a break and a story boost instead. Powerful stories are intense like stress. Incorporate your personal intensity into a dramatic scene. Incorporate that scene into your current work. Feel it all. Adapt it all. You are a creator. Create.

Show Up for Your Tribe. Embrace your writer family by helping each other. Look around. Feel where you are needed. When someone is down lift them up. Let your generosity shine. Be grateful for the opportunity to give. Show Up – Tell Your Best Writer’s Life Story.

You possess storytelling magic. Keep on writing whatever may occur.  Alice Orr.  http://www.aliceorrbooks.com

Alice Orr. Teacher. Storyteller. Former Editor and Literary Agent. Author of 15 novels, 2 novellas, a memoir, and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. Alice blogs for writers and readers at http://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Alice’s novel A Time of Fear & Loving . Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5. Available HERE.

Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving: “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.” “The best one yet!”

Alice’s Suspense Novel Series. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. Five intense stories of love and death and intrigue. Available HERE.

Praise for Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. “Romance and suspense at its best.” “I highly recommend this page-turner series.” “Twists and turns, strong characters, suspense and passionate love.” “The writing is exquisite.”

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know? About your writer experience. About telling your stories. Ask your question as a comment following this post.

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Show Up – Your Write2Thrive Story

Show Up – Your Write2Thrive Story. Jean Rikhoff was my mentor. She taught me to Show Up. “Ninety percent of success is showing up,” she would say. She had a lot to say. Like in this picture with the 1980s hair. But Jean did much more than talk the talk.

Walk the Walk. Jean showed up. She was a young mother when the parking lot episode occurred. Home was so hectic she drove to a supermarket parking lot early every morning and wrote her novel there. Figure out how to do what needs to be done in your life. Jean did that. You can too.

Write Regularly. No matter what is going on in your life. Let the rich experience of creativity do its kick-butt thing to your writer psyche until you feel out of balance without a daily dose. One page or one hour a day minimum. Enough to make you crave another dose tomorrow.

Mark Your Territory. Carve out a place for yourself and your work. Virginia Woolf talked about “a room of your own.” Crowded circumstances may preclude that. A private corner can suffice. Put your stuff there. Notebooks. Laptop. Files. Pens. A lamp covered in story ideas.

Get Good Gear. Buy yourself quality equipment. If necessary – do so by cutting back spending on other things. If you have qualms about doing that – make yourself believe the following. You deserve what you need to succeed. This is your new mantra. Repeat it often and adamantly. Show Up – Your Write2Thrive Story.

Value Your Time. Control your commitments. Ask yourself, “Can someone else do this? Does it have to be me?” Examine carefully new requests for your time and energy. Ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my precious self.”

Train Your Tribe. Post your work hours. The refrigerator door is a good place. Insist on no interruptions at those times. Tell family and friends how important your writing is to you. Make them hear you. Do not back down. They will come around. If they do not – keep on with your work. Do it anyway.

Train You Too. Identify your personal time-burners. Activities that contribute minimally to what you really want to accomplish. Do not indulge during your best brain time. Limit online play to your dim bulb hours. Use your online activity to build your public platform visibility.

Show Up for Your Story. These disciplines will carry you deep into your writing and keep you there. John Gardner called it “the dream of the book.” Write to inhabit that dream. Write from deep in your imagination where your very best stories are waiting.

Show Up for Yourself. Life stress can stop you in your tracks. Give yourself a break and a story boost instead. Powerful stories are intense like stress. Incorporate your personal intensity into a dramatic scene. Incorporate that scene into your current work. Feel it all. Adapt it all. You are a creator. Create.

Show Up for Your Tribe. Embrace your writer family by helping each other. Look around. Feel where you are needed. When someone is down lift them up. Let your generosity shine. Be grateful for the opportunity to give. Together we thrive. Show Up – Your Write2Thrive Story.

You possess storytelling magic. Keep on writing whatever may occur.  Alice Orr.  http://www.aliceorrbooks.com

Alice Orr. Teacher. Storyteller. Former Editor and Literary Agent. Author of 15 novels, 2 novellas, a memoir, and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. Alice blogs for writers and readers at http://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Alice’s novel A Time of Fear & Loving . Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5. Available HERE.

Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving: “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.” “The best one yet!”

Alice’s Suspense Novel Series. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. Five intense stories of love and death and intrigue. Available HERE.

Praise for Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. “Romance and suspense at its best.” “I highly recommend this page-turner series.” “Twists and turns, strong characters, suspense and passionate love.” “The writing is exquisite.”

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know? About your writer experience. About telling your stories. Ask your question as a comment following this post.

http://facebook.com/aliceorrwriter/
http://twitter.com/AliceOrrBooks/
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Let There Be Light – Our Dementia Story Segue

Let There Be Light – Our Dementia Story Segue. Today as I write this it is the Feast of the Epiphany in our faith tradition. This celebration is all about light. Light is graced upon all of us to shine everywhere. The catch is that we have to let the light in. Jonathan and I are determined to do  that.

Our Dementia Story Time. We have spent the past eleven months with our hearts and heads in Dementia Land. We have struggled to get what we need. We have allowed our new reality to sink into our shared consciousness. Meanwhile we waited for the next closetful of shoes to drop.

Now We Have Decided to Take a New Tack. We understand that our struggles will continue. We know that our new reality will mutate repeatedly. We accept that our mutual awareness will be forced to follow suit. What has changed is that we are no longer willing to wait.

We Have Decided to Travel a New Track. Earlier this year we spoke with some of you about possibly moving from New York City to Idaho. Your reactions were mixed. Our reactions were mixed also. We were afraid. We were intimidated by the magnitude of our plan. We are still afraid and intimidated. We have returned to our Idaho-bound itinerary anyway.

Eyes that Light Up When They See Us. We have friends there who are eager for us to join them. They fully understand our situation. They are committed to helping us. Actor and wise person Andre DeShields advises this… “Be among people whose eyes light up when they see you coming.” Our Idaho friends are those people for us.

We have failed to Find Such Eagerness Here. No one has committed to helping us in the hands-on manner we will eventually require. We understand the reticence and we celebrate the years we have spent here. But now we need more. We must go where we can find what we need. Let There Be Light – Our Dementia Story Segue.

We Understand the Trepidation. Some folks think we have lost our minds. On the surface this looks like a foolhardy choice. Jonathan is 75 years old. I am 84. He has dementia. I have serious heart problems. A cross-country move is a huge undertaking. Nonetheless we are thankful for the opportunity. And we intend to Do It Anyway!

Can-Do Will-Do Spirit. Adopting a Can-Do Will-Do Spririt is the beginning of all we accomplish in life. A close second to loving one another and ourselves and whatever faith we may follow. Embracing the Can-Do Will-Do Spirit is our New Year’s resolution for 2025. Along with spending next Christmas in Ponderay.

A Friend Poses this Question. “Is it impossible to be successful AND happy?” Which inspires me to think about how we measure success in our lives. Which leads me to conclude we succeed on the Can-Do Will-Do path by fighting back fear and taking some risks. I believe both of those to be happy prospects.

I am Reminded of Every Novel I have Ever Written. Each is the story of a woman who behaves heroically. She does not behave this way because she is unafraid. She understands what has to be done. She also acknowledges her fear. She does what is needed anyway.

This must be My Real-Life Story Now. We cannot escape the scary things in life. They are always with us. We will have to struggle. Like the heroes in a compelling tale. Who wants to read about people whose lives run smooth as glass? We all love stories where we  see the glass shatter and hear it crash to the ground.

My Life has Compelled Me into this Scenario. Sharp shards appear at every turn. I do not want them there. I would prefer for the life edges I encounter to be dull so we can pass through them unscathed. But that is not my reality. I struggle against fear of sharpness. I fight the fear. I tell our story.

We Will Move Toward Possibility. One step at a time. One step after another. Across the country. All the way to Idaho. Toward helpful hearts and open arms and smiling eyes. We pray for safe passage. Pray with us if you can. Let There Be Light – Our Dementia Story Segue.

You possess storytelling magic. Keep on writing whatever may occur. Alice Orr.  http://www.aliceorrbooks.com

Alice Orr. Teacher. Storyteller. Former Editor and Literary Agent. Author of 15 novels, 2 novellas, a memoir, and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. Alice blogs for writers and readers at http://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Alice’s Memoir is titled Lifted to the Light: A Story of Struggle and Kindness. At the beating heart of this moving story a woman fights pending disaster. All her life she has taken care of herself. Now she faces an adversary too formidable to battle alone. Available HERE.

Praise for Lifted to the Light: A Story of Struggle and Kindness: “I was lifted. I highly recommend this book as a can’t-put-down roadmap for anyone.” “Very, very well written. Alice Orr is an amazing author.” “Honest, funny, and consoling.” “I have read other books by Ms. Orr and am glad I haven’t missed this one.” “Couldn’t put it down.”

Alice’s Suspense Novel Series. Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. Five intense stories of love and death and intrigue. Available HERE.

Praise for Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. “Romance and suspense at its best.” “I highly recommend this page-turner series.” “Twists and turns, strong characters, suspense and passionate love.” “The writing is exquisite.”

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know? About Alice and Jonathan’s experience? About telling your own stories? Ask your questions in the Comments section following this post.

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Faith – Grandma – Christmas – Our Dementia Story

Faith – Grandma – Christmas – Our Dementia Story. Her name was Alice Jane Rowland Boudiette. She died when I was seven years and three days old but I remember her presence as if she were here with me now. Because she is here with me now. We gaze at the tree Jonathan and I decorated for Christmas this year and she takes my hand.

With Grandma I was Never Afraid. I remember how it felt to be with her. With Grandma I simply relaxed. Every instinct I possessed told me there was no reason to do otherwise. The angels in The Nativity Story reassure the shepherds. “Fear not.” Grandma reassured me back then. She reassures me now. She touches my hair and tells me not to be afraid.

Grandma’s Hair was Gray and Long. Mine is gray and short. She braided hers and wrapped it around her head like a halo. Her wore rimless glasses for reading and needlework. A housedress every day but Sunday and an apron and service weight stockings and laced-up shoes with chunky heels. She smelled like bath powder and wore no jewelry I can recall. Not even a wristwatch.

Grandma Taught Me to Live a Good Life. By example more than with words. She radiated faith and lived her faith by doing service for others. She knitted mittens and scarves and hats for the needy children of the neighborhood. She cared for the sick with homemade poultices and medicaments. I have some of those recipes still and I treasure them. As I treasure Faith – Grandma – Christmas – Our Dementia Story.

Grandma Served the Church. She prepared the coffee hour which was held after Sunday service in the reception hall. A grand place with lots of dark mahogany wood and leaded glass windows and the smell left behind by decades of wax and polishing. My memories are of Grandma in the church kitchen humming hymns to chords from the pipe organ above.

Grandma Believed Deeply in God. She passed that belief on to me. By the example of her good and giving life. By the kindness of her heart. By teaching me to pray. We prayed together beside her tall bed mounded in white linen edged with the tatting she had worked herself. “Now I lay me down to sleep.” I strung out the “God blesses” to keep kneeling next to her longer.

Grandma Brought Me to Faith. I have never needed it more than I do this Christmas. Jonathan hung . I arranged The Holy Family in their humble shed. Grandma was with us. Faith – Grandma – Christmas – Our Dementia Story.

LESSON LEARNED – Keep Faith Whatever May Occur. Have a Blessed Faithful Season.

**********

You possess storytelling magic. Keep on writing whatever may occur.  Alice Orr. http://www.aliceorrbooks.com

Alice Orr. Teacher. Storyteller. Former Editor and Literary Agent. Author of 15 novels, 2 novellas, a memoir, and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. Alice blogs for writers and readers at http://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Alice’s Memoir is titled Lifted to the Light: A Story of Struggle and Kindness. At the beating heart of this moving story a woman fights her own disease disaster. All her life she has taken care of herself. Now she faces an adversary too formidable to battle alone. Available HERE.

Praise for Lifted to the Light: A Story of Struggle and Kindness: “I was lifted. I highly recommend this book as a can’t-put-down roadmap for anyone.” “Very, very well written. Alice Orr is an amazing author.” “Honest, funny, and consoling.” “I have read other books by Ms. Orr and am glad I haven’t missed this one.” “Couldn’t put it down.”

Alice’s Suspense Novel Series – the Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. Five intense stories of love and death and intrigue. Available HERE.

Praise for the Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series. “Romance and suspense at its best.” “I highly recommend this page-turner series.” “Twists and turns, strong characters, suspense and passionate love.” “The writing is exquisite.”

All of Alice’s Books are available HERE .

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know? About Alice and Jonathan’s experience? About telling your own stories? Ask your questions in the Comments section following this post.

http://facebook.com/aliceorrwriter/
http://twitter.com/AliceOrrBooks/
http://goodreads.com/aliceorr/
http://pinterest.com/aliceorrwriter/

 

 

 

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