Meredith Allard's Blog, page 27

Decluttering for Writers: 5 Easy Tips

[image error]

I mentioned in this post that I’ve recently reread Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing[image error], and now I’m half-way through The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Guide to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify (Updated and Revised)[image error] by Francine Jay. Both books have a message I needed to hear, especially now that I’m serious about creating a career for myself as a writer. How much do you really need to be happy? Am I happier if I have more stuff? (Answer: no.) Did I really need those stuffed animals I kept in my classroom when I taught elementary school or those grunge rock CDs from the 1990s? Over the past week I’ve brought 12 bags and four plastic bins of clothes I no longer wear (some even with the price tag still on them), CDs I no longer listen to, books I no longer read, and DVDs I no longer watch to Goodwill, a charity organization that resells gently used items. I even tackled my garage, which seemed insurmountable but in reality took me about three hours on a Saturday.

I’m not sure if I qualify as a minimalist according to Jay’s definition since I’m not going for bare walls or getting rid of stuff simply for the sake of getting rid of stuff. There’s nothing inherently wrong in things if they are things you love or things you use. It’s the stuff that hangs out in plastic bins in our garages or shoved into the back of our closets, things that you haven’t looked at in years, that can weigh on our psyches. In my case, it’s been 7 ½ years since I moved into this apartment and looked at the things I had stashed away in plastic bins.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that the week I spent going through my belongings was a week I wasn’t writing. As a matter of fact, you would be correct. I didn’t get much writing done last week, but I would argue that it was still time well spent. I agree with Kondo and Jay that a cluttered home, or even a cluttered desk, can hamper our best intentions to sit, concentrate, and work. When everywhere you look is busy with things you don’t need and never use, it sucks up brain space (at least it does for me), making creating that much more difficult. As I was going through my belongings, deciding what to donate and how to organize what I was keeping, I realized that this tidying up was necessary for my writing process because I was creating room to work. Instead of my eye falling on clutter or my monkey mind thinking that I was going to have to tackle the garage one of these days, I attacked the problems head on, handled them, and now I can move onto other things. I was making sure everything was in order so I could spend my writing time thinking about—you guessed it—writing.

Of course, a writer’s brain is a writer’s brain, and while I was decluttering I discovered a few tips for writers who want to get their space together.

[image error]

Yes, the Dickens books had to stay, along with my Dickens and Shakespeare action figures. They’re silly, I know, but they make me smile when I look at them.

Pare down your books

Writers believe that books are magical and sacred, and they are. Many of us decided to become writers because we loved to read so much. I believe we can only ingest so many words before we feel compelled to start spilling words back out. I’m not suggesting that we need to get rid of every book we own, but imagine how much nicer our space would be, and how much more meaningful, if we kept only the books that were important to us. Like many writers, I had more books than I had space, some which I had never read (like most book lovers I tend to buy books faster than I can read them), and others which I read once and that was enough.

I let go of the extra books and kept only the ones that bring me joy, as Marie Kondo suggests. I still have books. I have my Dickens, books about writing, self-help books that have been meaningful, and of course I have my own books because it brings me joy to look at my shelf and see my name on the books I’ve written. I have a few knick knacks and a few photographs, and I have my coloring books because I love to color. Now when I look at my bookshelf I smile because I’m happy with everything I see.

I rarely buy physical books any more. I have my handy-dandy Kindle, which allows me to buy or borrow books, and instead of physical tomes that gather dust, I can bring all of my digital books wherever I go. I can read on the Kindle itself or on the Kindle app on my phone. I know there are people who still love having a book in their hands, and I get that. Part of my love for my Kindle is that I can make the text larger, which is easier on my progressive lens wearing eyes, so that’s a personal reason for my preference for electronics books. If you want to buy new physical books, by all means buy new physical books. If the book sings to your soul, keep it. If you read it once and that was enough, pass it on to a family member, friend, your local library, or another charity that accepts used books. Remember libraries? We can borrow books from the library, too, so we don’t have to spend money or find a place for everything we want to read.

[image error]

Here’s my new desk with the handy-dandy shelves for my coloring supplies. It keeps the desk itself free for my computer so I can think without having to push crayons or colored pencils aside.

Keep your desk clear

Desks are easy places to pile things. It must be something about the flat surface. But if your desk is messy or cluttered, it’s often the mess or clutter that captures your thoughts, not whatever it is you’re trying to write. It’s easy enough to get distracted these days by the Internet and Netflix without being distracted by our own belongings. I love to color, but my old desk had nowhere for me to put my colored pencils and markers. The coloring supplies were scattered all over my desk, taking up every square inch of space. There was no room for me to work. I donated my old desk to the Salvation Army and bought myself a nice, neat desk along with a nice, neat set of shelves (both courtesy of IKEA) with room for my coloring supplies. This left the desk itself clear for my computer so I have room to write. Having somewhere to sit and think without distractions makes so much difference.

A place for everything and everything in its place

Both Kondo and Jay talk about steering clear of expensive storage bins, and I’ve found this to be true. Finding a place for everything you’re going to keep doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. There’s a Dollar Store down the street from where I live, and I managed to organize my bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom closet with plastic bins that cost $1 each. This is where organization plays a role because you have to decide where you’re going to keep everything you need. Jay talks about the 80/20 rule—you use 20% of your belongings 80% of the time, so you want to keep that 20% of stuff you use frequently close to where you’ll need them. All of my writing materials are located near my desk so I don’t have to go searching for them. I know where everything is. Instead of scrambling at the bottom of a drawer for a paperclip, I know they’re in the plastic container. It’s the little things that make a difference when we’re searching for time and space to write.

Go digital

To stop the avalanche that happens when we have a lot of handwritten notebooks hanging around the house, I’ve become more digital. I used to keep spiral notebooks, but as I’ve become more aware of decluttering and staying decluttered I started keeping everything in electronic format. I keep whatever I’m working on on my computer and Dropbox and Google Drive help me keep larger files. I’ve started taking notes and journaling on my computer too. It took some getting used to since for many years I believed what Natalie Goldberg talks about in Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within[image error]—writing longhand in spiral notebooks helps create a hand to heart connection with what you’re writing. I do still believe that, and there have even been studies that prove the point, but this is the digital age after all and I can type a lot faster than I can write by hand. Plus, having all those notebooks around my small apartment became cumbersome. It was a hard decision to recycle years of my handwritten journals, but I realized that I never went back into old journals to read them. I wrote them, got the thoughts out of my system, and then I was done with them. Why keep that old energy around?

If you do comb through your old notebooks for story ideas, then by all means keep them. If you love to write longhand, then do. Find a container where you can keep your notebooks (you’ll probably need more than one), buy cute Mickey Mouse or Wonder Woman notebooks as Natalie Goldberg suggests, and do your thing. If you are interested in going digital, Scrivener is a great tool to keep your notes, research, and drafts in the same computer file. You can even import photographs. Here’s my post about my experience learning to write a novel using Scrivener.

Marie Kondo talks about getting rid of papers because papers never bring anyone joy. Lordy, is that true. I had two bins and two cardboard boxes of old papers in my garage, and I finally let them go. The papers were so old I found a coupon from a clothing store that expired in 2009. No joke. If they’re old papers, get rid of them. They will bring you no joy. If they’re papers you need, find a space for them and keep them all together so you know where everything is. One thing to keep in mind is that we don’t want to clog Mother Earth more than she already is, so please do recycle those old papers, but definitely get them out of your house.

Be honest about your goals

What do you really want to accomplish? This is an important question for both declutterers and writers. Why are you really keeping that high school memento? Why do you really want to publish that book? Often, we do things motivated by how the thing makes us feel than by the thing itself. The more honest we can be with ourselves, the more we can accomplish. I want to declutter so I can relax and feel more comfortable in my own home. I want to clear my writing space so I have room to move my thoughts around and flex my creativity. It’s hard to settle your mind to a creative task when there are things around the house that need seeing to, so take some time to see to the tasks.

The point with decluttering isn’t to get rid of things you use or love. The point is to be honest about what you use or love. If you don’t use it or love it, you have permission to recycle it or give it away. It is a freeing feeling. The only problem I’m having now is that I need fresh excuses about why I’m procrastinating and not getting any writing done…

Writing this post made me think of George Carlin’s classic bit about a house being simply a place for my stuff. If you’ve never seen it, give yourself a five minute treat and watch. Carlin was always ahead of his time, and this bit is particularly funny in this age of decluttering and minimalizing. For me, at least, decluttering has helped me become more aware of what I’m keeping in this place for my stuff.

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Writers Block Versus Readers Block

[image error]

I feel like I’ve become Chicken Little shouting “The sky is falling!” or, in my case, “Down Salem Way is coming!” I can hear fans of the Loving Husband Trilogy thinking, seriously, lady, how long does it take to write a novel based on characters and ideas you already know?

It’s true that I’ve had other things going on in my life, as we all have. Some of those other things have taken a lot of time, but even that isn’t really an excuse. I’ve always believed that if you want to write badly enough you’ll make the time. It’s true I had other books that were poking at me with pointed sticks until I wrote them down and set them free, but When It Rained at Hembry Castle was published over a year ago, and then there were no more excuses. What else was going on?

I’ve been stalled. I mean really, really stalled. For a while, I thought it was writers block that was stopping me. If you’ve spent any amount of time writing, you know about writers block. It’s where writers are so stuck for ideas that we spend hours or even weeks staring at a blank screen. It’s where writers think they will never have an idea again, the well is dry, and there’s nowhere to find the water you need to survive. That sounds dramatic, I know, but that’s what writing struggles feel like—like you’re searching for that one big idea that will help everything else fall into place, a figurative glass of water to soothe your thirst. To a degree, it’s correct to call my struggles with Down Salem Way writers block. The three books in the Loving Husband Trilogy came so easily. Once I settled on the historical periods for each book (the Salem Witch Trials, the Trail of Tears, and the Japanese-American internment camps, respectively), the plots took care of themselves. When I finished writing the last book in the trilogy, Her Loving Husband’s Return, I felt that the story was neatly wrapped up—all the odds and ends of the plot had been seen to—and in my mind the story was done. When so many readers asked for more James and Sarah stories, I thought, sure, I can do that. I love these characters and I love their story. I can write more.

It’s a different feeling writing a book in a series that is loved by readers than it is to write a book to entertain yourself. That’s what I did when I wrote the Loving Husband Trilogy—I wrote the stories for myself because I was eager to see what happened next. Suddenly, I was worried about the new story in a way I hadn’t been before. What will fans of the series think? Will they like the direction in which James and Sarah have gone? Will they like the twists and turns? I’m wondering if it has been readers block that slowed down my writing process; of course, readers block is simply an extension of writers block. Readers block is where the writer is so worried about what readers are going to think that it stops the writing process altogether. Writers block is where I’m unable to write because of what I think about my writing; readers block is where I’m unable to write because of what I think readers will think about my writing. It may be a minor distinction—both types of blocks leave me banging my head against the wall—but it was important for me to realize that I was worried about disappointing readers. I had to recognize that I was nervous about not recreating the magic of the first three Loving Husband books. I had to shine a light on my writing struggles and acknowledge them because otherwise I was full of excuses: I have other books that I had to write first; I had to take a break from the Loving Husband stories because I worked on them four years straight without a break; I have other life obligations that were taking too much time. You know the drill. When we’re in the midst of excuses it’s too easy to turn away from the truth that’s staring us in the face. I was afraid to write because I was afraid to fail.

So there’s my rationale behind my decision to write Down Salem Way on Wattpad. I’ve always believed that in order to overcome a fear, you have to face it head on. Rather than not write the story, which is how I had been handling the fear, or rather than writing the story while I was hidden away in the dark with all my worries making my monkey mind spin uncontrollably, I decided to write in the light of day so anyone who wants to can see. What you’re seeing on Wattpad right now is what you get because I’m posting an early draft as I write it, but I think this writing out loud is just what I need to help myself get past my readers block, or my writers block, or whatever this lack of progress is, so that I can get back to what I do best–writing.

The Importance of Being and Doing

I’ve always been a goal-oriented person. I’m always working toward something, which gives me motivation to keep on keeping on. The problem with being a goal-oriented person is that at some point the goal is achieved, and then there’s an awkward period since I’m not sure who I am without something to aim for. In his book The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment[image error], Eckhart Tolle warns against being too achievement oriented. It’s not that he thinks we shouldn’t accomplish goals, it’s just that he’s wary of how so many of us are always focused on the future to the neglect of our lives in this moment. When I do that I’ll be happy. When I have this I’ll be happy. When we’re consumed by thoughts of the future, Tolle warns, we’re not appreciating what we have in this moment.

I’m currently rereading The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment[image error], and I appreciate the message more now than I did when I read it years ago. I’ll always have plans for the future, that’s too much a part of who I am, but now I’m learning to be in the moment. Right now I’m thankful that I have this time to write. I find that I have to remind myself to be grateful. It’s all too easy for me to get caught up in the negatives (some real but most imagined) since I’m a worrier. I could blame it on my worrier of a mother, or my worrier of a brother, or I could say it’s just my overactive brain’s way of processing the oddities of this world. But then I remind myself, as Tolle says, to leave aside the memories of the past and concerns about the future and focus on this moment, and in this moment I am fine. I have to remind myself that I have permission to simply be.

I agree with the heart of Tolle’s message—that now is the most important time we have since now is all there really is—but I do think it’s okay to imagine the future I want. I can’t live in the future, but now, today, I can take actions that will help me create the life I want. In a moment of deep understanding, so sharp and bright it was like a blast of sunlight illuminating my thoughts, I understood my goals in a completely different way. The epiphany that comes with an important realization is much like Dorothy understanding there’s no place like home; in other words, what you really want has often been right in front of you all along. What do I want more than anything? What do I love more than anything? Writing. I love writing. I want to make my living as a writer. I think that’s what I’ve always wanted, but the desire has been pressed aside for one reason or another. Further introspection helped me realize that I’ve been scattered in how I approached my writing. Either I pursued writing relentlessly or I let it fall by the wayside. I did a little bit of this and a little bit of that, seeing some good results here, some great results there when I was lucky, but I was never consistent in a way that allowed for sustainable growth.

I am at a point now where I’m learning to stay focused on this moment, as in right now while my fingers press the letters on my laptop keyboard, searching for the words and the meanings I want to share with you. I’m learning to be grateful for what I have when I have it. Losing someone you love really hits that lesson home, hard. I had to say good-bye to my cute little red-headed boy cat, Chuck, who lost his battle with cancer about a month ago. I’ve been staying strong because I remember all the joy he brought me over 12 years, but those of you who love your pets know that their loss is no different from that of losing a family member because they are family members. I’m in the moment when I play with my three girl cats because they make me laugh. I’m accepting where I am in my life, and at the same time I’m doing things that will help me enjoy my life more in the moment. For example, I just finished rereading Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing[image error] and, again, the book resonates for me more during this second reading. I’m organizing all my spaces, donating clothing and books and recycling old papers and magazines. Marie Kondo is right: there is magic in tidying up! Decluttering not only frees up shelf space, but also brain space. I’m not sure how the two are connected, but they are. I’m decluttering financially as well, weeding out expenses I no longer need. I cut the cord with my cable company, something I had been considering for some time since they raised my rates yet again and I found myself paying for TV channels I didn’t even watch. I’m considering what’s really important to me and what I really want from my life. The more I declutter both my home and my brain, the more I’m able to focus on the moment instead of being distracted by this, that, and every other thing.

For me, it’s hard to be in the now and not at all consider what the future might hold. I’m not as evolved as Tolle, I guess. But I am learning to be at peace with where I am in the journey now. It’s not about being obsessed with the future at the expense of being with those, human and animal, I love, and it’s not about spending every waking moment with a telescope pointed with one gleaming eye only toward the future. It’s about accepting where I am right and then making choices that will help me steer my ship so that my future heads in the direction I want to go. I have learned, sometimes the hard way, that success is not about external achievements: I have this many college degrees, I’ve sold this many books, I’ve been on these bestseller lists. Success is about acceptance, gratitude, and making peace with the journey. I feel like I’ve come back to writing with a new vigor, a new purpose, and a new vision. All the wrong turns were worth it if I feel at peace with where I am now.

Follow Down Salem Way on Wattpad

[image error]I’m trying out something new this summer. As some of you may have already guessed, I was stalled trying to bring the new Loving Husband story, Down Salem Way, to life. For now, let me just say that it wasn’t writer’s block as much as reader’s block. I’ll explain what I mean by that in a post later this week.

It’s about time I completed the story and sent it out there for fans of the series. After some consideration, I decided to experiment and post my progress on the novel twice a week on Wattpad.com. This way fans can see that, yes, in fact I am making progress on the story, and posting it this way will hold me accountable to both myself and readers. Her Dear & Loving Husband has received some great attention on Wattpad, and just today I received two lovely messages from readers who loved James and Sarah’s paranormal story of eternal love. It’s a great feeling knowing that my characters have struck such a positive note with readers all over the world.

Sharing unfinished fiction is definitely something new for me. Normally, I show my unfinished novels to exactly zero people. I like everything to be in tip top shape before readers read it, which means a lot of work prior to publication. While I’m nervous at the prospect of sharing my work in progress, I’m also finding the thought of it liberating. I don’t have to make myself crazy before I post things on Wattpad. The point of the platform is to allow people to write and revise, and revise some more, and some more after that, and it’s not supposed to be perfect when you first post it. I didn’t post Her Dear & Loving Husband on there until after it was published, so readers were seeing a finished product.

One of the great things about being a writer today is that there are so many ways to share our work. Thanks to Wattpad, our work doesn’t even need to be revised or polished before we start sharing our ideas with the world. So rest assured, James and Sarah’s story is moving forward. Down Salem Way is both a sequel and a prequel since like the other Loving Husband stories, it’s set in the past and the present. Today I posted the prologue, so we’re already getting started. I expect to post twice a week as I complete this draft.

If you’d like to join me on this adventure, visit me at Wattpad. Follow me on Wattpad and you’ll receive updates whenever I make a change to the story. I’m looking forward to this new journey with characters I love.

Filed under: Down Salem Way, Her Dear & Loving Husband, Historical Fiction, Publishing, Writing Tagged: Down Salem Way, Her Dear and Loving Husband, historical fiction, Salem Witch Trials, vampire fiction

Health Matters—Not Perfection

[image error]

Spring in Las Vegas

Like some of you, I spend most of my days sitting at the computer writing something. When I’m not writing, I’m reading, which isn’t such a physical activity either. When I’m not writing or reading, I have an ongoing thing with Netflix. We’ve all heard the health experts—too much sitting is not good for our physical health, and I’m pretty sure it’s not so great for our mental health since being stuck in one place can become a strain on the brain. Whenever I’ve been working for a long time, I keep looking out the window where today the sky is crisp blue and the yellow circle flowers are blooming on the bushes.

I admit I’ve been feeling the blahs lately. The stress of having to pass my exam didn’t help. I watch the health segments on talk shows and I listen to health-centered podcasts, and I know that eating healthy foods and exercising helps us to alleviate stress and feel better generally, but maybe some of you can relate to the fact that the more stressed I am the more I tend to just sit and work and not eat particularly well. Cookies, candies, and sweet drinks all look more desirable when I’m stressed or under some time crunch.

I’ve become more concerned with my health than with losing weight. As the years have passed, I’ve become less concerned about what size clothes I wear. When I was younger, I was obsessed with the number on the label. One of the nice things about getting older is that, if we’re lucky, a little more wisdom comes our way. Besides, between us, I wear mostly stretchy pants these days. And who gets to set the standard of perfection anyway? We should be striving to be healthy, not skinny. It seems as though we’ve been wired to pursue some level of perfection that simply doesn’t exist, and the pursuit of that perfection only makes up unhappy and often more unhealthy. The other day I was watching Bill Nye the Science Guy’s new show on Netflix (that Netflix again…). By the way, if you’re not familiar with Bill Nye, he’s awesome! One of Bill’s guests said that whatever size you are when you eat a mostly healthy diet and get a reasonable amount of exercise is the perfect size for you. I wanted to kiss this woman through the television screen. Yes! I wanted to shout. That’s right. That’s what we should be striving for—health, not perfection. We want to eat healthy most of the time but allow ourselves pizza or ice cream on occasion—not all day, not every day, but sometimes. I know there are health experts who claim that they never eat a bite of bread or a grain of white sugar, but I often wonder if these people are truthful—or human. I can’t relate to people who claim to be perfect, so their messages about how to be healthy are often unhelpful to me.

I had to make a deliberate decision to be healthier since it’s so easy to grab a sugary drink or snack when I’m busy. I don’t start out well in the morning, sometimes skipping breakfast (I know, I know…), which means my eating schedule is thrown off the rest of the day, which makes a bagel look very appetizing when I get hungry. There’s nothing wrong with an occasional bagel, but every day? Probably not so good. I also had to make the decision to get out of my damn office chair. I’m the kind of person where once I get my focus on, I can keep going for hours. Granted, it takes me a while to find my focus. I’m a world-class procrastinator, as most writers are, and the Internet makes it too easy to shop for cat toys and coloring books. Once I get working, though, it’s all systems go and hours could pass before I know it. I’ve heard the tip to set a timer when you’re working. Every hour the timer goes off, reminding you to get up, move around, do a yoga stretch or take a walk around the block. I’ve been doing a better job of getting up. I work for a while, get up and play with the cats. I work for a while, get up and make lunch. I work for a while, get up and pop in an exercise video or hit the treadmill. I’ve eyed those standing desks and I’m curious, but not enough to actually buy one—yet.

I’m eating and drinking better too. I love fruits and vegetables, so eating more of them isn’t hard for me. Yes, I have to cook more, but I feel better afterwards so it’s worth the time and effort. The key for me as I’ve been making these changes has been not worrying about being perfect. If I decide I want a piece of cinnamon raisin bread, I’m not going to freak out about it. I’m going to eat the bread, enjoy it, and eat healthy the rest of the day. I’m focusing more on how I feel rather than pursuing perfection. I feel better when I drink more water, eat more fruits and vegetables, avoid too much sugar, and do my yoga stretches. The better I feel the more productive I am. When I sit too much or eat or drink too much sugar I feel lethargic and even simple tasks feel like they’re too much. And that’s not how I want to live. I want to have the energy to tackle everything I have to do in a day, and in order to find that energy I have to be healthy, not perfect.

Filed under: Health and Well Being Tagged: health, healthy eating, well being

Why I’m Writing About the Other Oddities

[image error]

This is somebody new in my life. Her name is Poppy and she’s 11 months old. Yes, she’s as cute and sweet as she looks!

I’m so happy to be back after a bit of a break. I had a particularly busy time in my PhD program this past semester, but the good news is I passed my Qualifying Exam, which means I’ve been given the A-OK to begin writing my dissertation. The light at the end of the tunnel of the PhD program is in sight, and I’ll be finished with everything in a year, Spring 2018. And then that will be Dr. Allard to you!

While I’ve been away I’ve been thinking a lot about this blog and what I could do to make it more connected to who I’m becoming as a writer, and as a person, and yet still keep it relevant for the friends who have been part of this blog for many years (you know who you are). Even before I took the hiatus I felt like the blog had become stale, and I struggled to find new topics to post about. I needed the distance to make sense of what I really wanted to accomplish here. What is my intention? When I started this blog in 2010, I did exactly what the blogging and publishing experts said I should. I stayed on message. I was a writer, and I had books I wanted people to know about, so I wrote about my books. I wrote about historical fiction, writing, publishing, and editing. And then I ran out of things to say. And then I got busy with my PhD studies, but that’s another story for another day.

If you know anything about me you know that writing is the way I make sense of the world, so I’ll never stop writing about my books or my writing. But now I want to talk about other aspects of my oddball life. I want to talk about what it’s like living as a teacher, student, and writer with hearing loss. I’ve developed an interest in writing nonfiction, and I’m delving into a genre I love to read but have never written—memoir. I’m also looking to start a career as a freelance writer. I tried freelancing about 12 years ago (I really do think it was that long ago) but I grew frustrated and gave up after a few months. I’ve gained more stamina since then, as well as more confidence. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that my novels have sold over 30,000 copies and Her Dear & Loving Husband, the free first book in the Loving Husband Trilogy, has been bought or downloaded over 250,000 times. So maybe I know a little more about writing now than I did then. And maybe I’m a little older (actually, I am definitely a little older) and a little more patient now. Maybe I have a clearer vision of what I want from my life. At the same time, I’m looking to become healthier, eating healthier, getting back into yoga and maybe an occasional jog on the treadmill. I’m definitely drinking healthier, turning to herbal teas instead of coma-inducing blended coffees or other sugary drinks. I’m working on myself spiritually, attempting meditation, learning to focus on my breath, doing everything I can to stop what Buddhists call the Monkey Mind from taking over my life as it has done on many occasions. In other words, I have different topics to discuss these days.

I know conventional wisdom says to have a different blog for each of your interests, but then again I’ve never been the most obedient person. Maybe at some point in the future I’ll have a different blog for health, a different blog for hearing loss, a different blog for fiction writing, a different blog for nonfiction writing, but for right now I want to write about what I want to write about. I think that will make this blog fresher for my readers and more meaningful to me, and that’s one thing I have been working toward lately—only doing what is meaningful to me and leaving the rest behind.

Filed under: News, Tidbits Tagged: blogging, health, hearing loss, nutrition, writing

When It Rained at Hembry Castle a Best Book of 2016

Hello everyone! Yes, I’m still officially on hiatus, but I wanted to drop a quick note letting you know that When It Rained at Hembry Castle has been named one of the best self-published books of 2016 by IndieReader in the historical fiction category. The article is currently on The Huffington Post. Thank you to the great people at IndieReader. It’s much appreciated!

Filed under: News, When It Rained at Hembry Castle Tagged: Best Books of 2016, IndieReader.com, When It Rained at Hembry Castle

A Blogging Hiatus

As you’ve probably already guessed, things are pretty busy on my end of the stick. My teaching and studies at UNLV are taking up all my time these days as I’m getting closer to finishing my PhD program. I’m finishing my required classes this semester, and I’m in the early stages of preparing to write my dissertation.

I’m lucky enough to have stumbled upon a topic that has really captured my attention. At first, I was going to study how new teachers learn to teach writing. Sounds good, right? After all, writing is my life. For reasons I’m not even sure about, studying the teaching of writing felt lifeless and dry. If you’ve been reading this blog you know that I discovered the joys of art journaling over the summer, and art journaling gave me the idea about the use of creativity in teacher education. Creativity has sadly been removed from education in nearly every way due to the emphasis on standardized testing. Yet creativity is a necessary trait for success in the 21st century. How can we incorporate creativity into the training of new teachers? This is what I’ve been doing lately, but it’s an endeavor I’m enjoying because it’s a topic I’m excited about. If you’re interested in the importance of creativity for teachers, I recommend the book Creative Schools by Sir Ken Robinson (he gave that fabulous TED talk about ‘Do Schools Kill Creativity?’ Yes, they do, Sir Ken. Yes, they do).

Since every waking moment is taken with teaching my classes, doing my work for the classes I’m taking as a student, and reading for my dissertation study, I thought it was best to admit out loud that I’m not going to be able to post here for a while. For now, the hiatus will definitely last until January. I’ll keep you posted about what’s going on through Facebook and Twitter (the links to my social media pages are there in the right sidebar).

All the articles about my novels, writing historical fiction, and creative writing are still here and available for your reading pleasure. Check the Categories link (also in the sidebar) to find the articles you’d like to read.

Thanks to all of you who have been here from the very beginning, and to all the new friends who have signed up to this website. Stay tuned!

Filed under: News Tagged: blog hiatus, creativity in teacher education, News

Charles Dickens Meets Downton Abbey

Here’s the interview I did for Many Books about my experience writing When It Rained at Hembry Castle. Enjoy!

Meredith Allard fell in love with Charles Dickens’ work when she was in college and after watching every Downton Abbey episode multiple times, she decided to create a work inspired by her favorite author and TV show. When it Rained at Hembry Castle is the perfect marriage between the humor and mystery of Dickens’ work and the upstairs/downstairs world of the English aristocrats. As our author of the day, Allard tells us more about what made her want to write a book set in the Victorian era, how she makes her characters come to life and how Hembry Castle has been brewing in her mind for 20 years.

Please give us a short introduction to When it Rained at Hembry Castle

When It Rained at Hembry Castle is set in Victorian England in 1870. It’s the story of American Daphne Meriwether, the granddaughter of the Earl of Staton. When the Earl dies, Daphne and her father Frederick return to England. It’s a challenge for Daphne, learning to live in the upstairs/downstairs world of her father’s family. And she may fall in love with the aspiring writer Edward Ellis while she’s there. Of course, obstacles get in their way. Hembry Castle is a love story at heart, though it has an interesting cast of characters who make life interesting for Edward and Daphne.

Why Victorian England? What fascinates you about this time period?

I fell in love with the novels of Charles Dickens when I was in college and I always wanted to write a book set in this era. The Victorian Era is interesting because it is a time that is both historical and yet in some ways it feels modern. I love learning about history, and writing historical fiction is a great way for me to do that.

Did it require a lot of research to keep your novel historically correct? Which part of the research did you find the most interesting?

This was one historical novel that I didn’t have to do a ton of research for because I already had a lot of knowledge about it from reading Dickens and reading books about the era. I did double check everything I wrote, but since I knew where to look for the information that made it a shorter process than usual for me. I was able to travel to London twice as part of my research, and I absolutely loved that. London is a great city. In fact, I’ve walked many of Edward’s walks through the city. I think being able to visit and see the places for myself make the story much more realistic.

What, would you say, makes the English aristocrats so interesting to read about?

When It Rained at Hembry Castle was partially inspired by Downton Abbey, and the popularity of Downton Abbey is largely based on the curiosity people have about the upstairs/downstairs world of English aristocrats. In America, the upstairs/downstairs world is not part of our culture the way it is in Britain, and I think that accounts for the fascination about that lifestyle. It’s an introduction to a world we knew nothing about.

Privilege and class division are recurring themes in When it Rained at Hembry Castle. Why?

Since Downton Abbey was such a big influence on Hembry Castle, it seemed appropriate that privilege and class division should play a part in the story. My love for all things Dickens also inspired the novel, and privilege and class division are often themes in his stories. While I love watching Downton Abbey and am fascinated by the lifestyle of the upper classes, I can’t imagine ever having to live according to such arbitrary rules and regulations. Daphne represents the way I would look at that lifestyle if I were thrust into that world—with a sense of detachment and maybe some humor about it all. The fact that Daphne falls in love with the butler’s grandson when her grandmother means for her to marry a duke allowed me to probe a bit deeper into what seems to be the pointlessness of class division, but, again, I’m American and would see it that way.

How did you manage to describe England’s countryside and other locations in your book so vividly?

Partially it was through reading, partially it was through photographs on Pinterest, but mainly it was my imagination. I was able to picture the scenery in my mind’s eye and I did my best to describe what I saw. And watching every episode of Downton Abbey many times helped!

Which classic author do you admire the most?

Charles Dickens, if you haven’t already figured that out. I read Dickens for the first time in college and knew that that’s what I wanted to do—write stories that were entire worlds unto themselves. I love his sense of humor, his spot-on observations, his way of pointing out things that were wrong in his world, many of which are still wrong in our world today. He’s the smartest, funniest writer I’ve ever read. Dickens has been the biggest influence in my own writing.

When it Rained at Hembry Castle contains many hilarious scenes. Why do you find it important to use humor in your writing?

This goes back to my love for Dickens. Dickens was a hilarious writer, and from him I learned that if you’re going to write truthfully about people then you have to include the light as well as the dark. People are funny. We do and say funny things all the time (sometimes without meaning to do so—which makes it even funnier). And besides, a sense of humor goes a long way in making a story fun to read.

Your book has a very Downton Abbey feel to it. Was that intentional? Are you a Downton Abbey fan yourself?

I love Downton Abbey and it was absolutely intentional to include the upstairs/downstairs feel of the show. In fact, Downton Abbey gave me an angle from which to tell the story. I came up with the original idea for Hembry Castle about 20 years ago (no joke) when I decided I wanted to write a story set in Victorian England about a writer who would be loosely based on a young Charles Dickens. I went on to write other novels and kept the Victorian story on the back burner for years. After I fell in love with Downton Abbey I realized that I could take elements from that TV show and use it to bring my Victorian story to life.

What are some tricks you use to create such believable characters?

Mainly, I use my imagination. It took me longer to write Hembry Castle than I thought it would because it took me some time to get to know all the characters. I can’t write about a character until I get a sense of his or her personality. Hembry Castle has a larger cast of characters than I usually write about, and it took me some time to get them all straight in my head. Really, it’s about not thinking too much during the first draft, allowing the characters to materialize in front of me, and then writing down what I see. Sometimes I’ll put a favorite actor in the “part” of that character and imagine that actor acting out the scenes. That helps me get a sense of cadence when the character speaks, the types of movements the character might do, and so on. But really, it all boils down to allowing my imagination freedom.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

Writing is my most obvious superpower, but when I’m not writing I love to read. I also love to cook, and I just started art journaling, which I really enjoy.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

The best place to find me online is my website, www.meredithallard.com. I’m also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/authormeredithallard/. My favorite social media is Pinterest, and you can find me at https://www.pinterest.com/meredithallard/. I could stay on that all day!

When It Rained at Hembry Castle





Missing Downton Abbey? Read When It Rained at Hembry Castle. A lush historical novel set in Victorian England, When It Rained at Hembry Castle is the story of an aristocratic family, secrets that dare not be told, and the wonder of falling in love.




Historical Fiction




$0.99





Amazon




B&N




Kobo




Apple





About the Author







Meredith Allard is the author of the bestselling novels The Loving Husband Trilogy, That You Are Here, Victory Garden, Woman of Stones, and My Brother’s Battle (Copperfield Press). Her newest release is the historical novel When It Rained at Hembry Castle, a great read for fans of Downton Abbey. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Visit Meredith online at www.meredithallard.com.



Author Links


Website / Blog




Facebook Page




Twitter Profile




Amazon Profile














Filed under: Historical Fiction, Interviews, When It Rained at Hembry Castle, Writing Tagged: Charles Dickens, historical fiction, Victorian fiction, When It Rained at Hembry Castle, writing

Wherever You Go, Go With All Your Heart

While I’m busy starting a new semester at UNLV, I thought I’d reblog this oldie but goodie about my decision to return to college after 20 years. Enjoy!

From Meredith Allard

I’ve been following Catherine Ryan Howard’s blog Catherine, Caffeinated for a few years now, and I love her insights into indie publishing, her sarcastic sense of humor, and I freely admit that I share her love for all things caffeine. Recently, Catherine posted an article about how the hardest thing about a decision is making it. In her post, Catherine talks about her long-time desire to attend Trinity College in Dublin, and how, finally, at the last minute she applied, and how, finally, she’s attending the university she dreamed about. I nodded as I read Catherine’s post because I had the same realization—that the hardest part about a decision is making it.

Like Catherine, I had university dreams for years. I knew from the time I was working on my BA in English that I wanted to pursue my PhD so I could teach at the university level, but you know…

View original post 1,190 more words

Filed under: Her Dear & Loving Husband