Theo Pauline Nestor's Blog, page 6

How to Write a Modern Love (That Stands a Chance)

The Modern Love column with its stories of love, loss, and redemption has become a staple of our Sunday reading over the last decade. We share our favorites on social media and keep bits of wisdom from those oh-so-personal essays in our collective memory. And a great number of us writers dream of seeing our stories spread out there in the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times right beside one of those lovely signature Brian Rea illustrations. In fact, 5000 plus essayists each year send their work into Modern Love. Yet, there are only 52 weeks in a year, and only just that many essays can make it into the column that has turned many a writer into an author with a book contract. So, what is it that makes a potential Modern Love essay jump out of the slush pile and into print? This is the topic of my upcoming teleseminar, “How to Write a Modern Love,” in which I will be interviewing Dan Jones and six Modern Love alums on this topic and giving my own insights as well.

Thanks to a bit of luck, an essay of mine was selected before the first Modern Love column went live back in November 2004, and so I avoided the heavy competition and can’t say that my own experience with writing my essay has been especially helpful in guiding others. But since then, I’ve read many essays of Modern Love aspirants who didn’t make the cut. I’ve also had several students who’ve had their essays published in Modern Love, and so I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about what makes a great Modern Love essay and how to write one that will catch the eye of the column’s editor, Daniel Jones.

During the How to Write a Modern Love teleseminar, I will be offering writing advice on how to take a Modern Love story from idea to submission and insights into trends in the column. Modern Love Editor Daniel Jones will be on the call sharing secrets of the editorial process and advice for writers, and Modern Love alumni Mandy Len Catron, Veronica Chambers, K.K. Goldberg, E. J. Levy, Peter Mountford, and Margot Page (see full bios below) will all do cameo guest spots in which they will share their experience and insights. The How to Write a Modern Love teleseminar will be held on Sunday, March 22nd from 1pm to 3pm Pacific Time.

During Valentine’s Day weekend, you can sign up for the How to Write a Modern Love teleseminar for the early bird price of $59.  (After Midnight on Feb 16, enrollment will cost $79). To register for the teleseminar, pay through Pay Pal here now:

During this two hour seminar, I will talk about some of the commonalities of successful Modern Love essays and tips for writing an essay that “feels like a Modern Love.” I will bring five Modern Love essayists for short 5-10 minute guest spots in which they will talk about some of what worked for them and the following techniques for writing a successful essay:

-Making the connection between your life experience and a timely topic

-Simplifying a complex story

-Making sure the modern is in your Modern Love

-Recognizing the cadence common to the Modern Love essay

-Using a central metaphor to give your story coherence (without, you know, extending the metaphor too far)

-Finding an angle or hook for your Modern Love essay

-Allowing yourself to be vulnerable on the page (without, um, TMI )

-Making the most of the 1600 words, writing a great lede, and following up with a well paced story

-Creating a satisfying ending (even when your experience was less than satifying)

-Discovering extraordinary Modern Love stories in your ordinary life

Want to read some insights into the Modern Love column while you’re waiting for March 22nd? Check out this recent essay by Daniel Jones.

How to Write a Modern Love teleseminar host: Theo Pauline Nestor is the author of Writing Is My Drink: A Writer’s Story of Finding Her Voice (And a Guide to How You Can Too) (Simon & Schuster, 2013) and How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed: A Memoir of Starting Over (Crown, 2008), which was selected by Kirkus Reviews as a 2008 Top Pick for Reading Groups and as a Target “Breakout Book.” An award-winning instructor, Nestor has taught the memoir certificate course for the University of Washington’s Professional & Continuing Education program since 2006 and also teaches at Hugo House in Seattle. Nestor also produces events for writers such as the Wild Mountain Memoir Retreat, Bird by Bird & Beyond, and the Black Mesa Writers’ Intensive, featuring talks by literary leaders such as Anne Lamott, Cheryl Strayed, Julia Cameron, and Natalie Goldberg. You can follow her on Facebook here and on Twitter @theopnestor. You can read her Modern Love essay here.

Guest Speakers:

Daniel Jones has edited the Modern Love column in the Sunday Styles section of The New York Times since its inception in 2004. His books include the recent bestseller Love Illuminated: Exploring Life’s Most Mystifying Subject (with the Help of 50,000 Strangers), two essay anthologies—“Modern Love” and “The Bastard on the Couch”—and a novel, “After Lucy,” which was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Award. He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts with his wife, writer Cathi Hanauer, and their two children.

 

Mandy Len Catron is a writer living in Vancouver, BC. She teaches English and Creative Nonfiction at the University of British Columbia. Her Modern Love column, “To Fall in Love with Anyone, Do This” was the most viewed and most shared New York Times article for January 2015. She’s currently working on an essay collection about the dangers of love stories. For more, check out her website  and her blog.

 

Veronica Chambers is a prolific author, best known for her critically acclaimed memoir Mama’s Girl and the New York Times Bestseller Yes Chef, which she co-authored with chef Marcus Samuelsson. In 2012 Yes Chef won the prestigious James Beard literary award and was a NY Times bestseller. In 2014, she co-authored a second bestseller, Everybody’s Got Something with GMA host, Robin Roberts. Her Modern Love essay “Loved and Lost?” It’s O.K., Especially if You Win” was published in the New York Times in February 2006.

 

A MacDowell Fellow and MFA graduate, K.K. Goldberg’s writing has appeared in the New York Times, and in numerous literary journals and anthologies, including The Sun, The Gettysburg Review, The Alaska Quarterly Review, and Best Women’s Travel Writing 2009. Her book, The Doctor and The Stork: A Memoir of Modern Medical Babymaking, is forthcoming in October 2015. Her 2011 Modern Love piece, “A Little Lint and Suddenly You’re Bridezilla,” is about how a lawsuit over her destroyed wedding dress brought her family together almost more than the wedding itself.

 

E. J. Levy’s writing has appeared in Paris Review, Best American Essays, and received a Pushcart Prize. Her debut story collection, Love, In Theory, won a 2012 Flannery O’Connor Award and 2014 GLCA New Writers Award (previously awarded to Alice Munro, Louise Erdrich, and Mary Szybist for their first books); she teaches in Colorado. Her Modern Love essay “After a Parent’s Death, a Rush of Courage” appeared in the New York Times in November 2013.

 

Peter Mountford’s debut novel A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism won a 2012 Washington State Book Award, and his second novel The Dismal Science, released last year, was a NYT editor’s choice. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, Best New American Voices 2008, Granta, Southern Review, and elsewhere. He is on faculty at Sierra Nevada College’s low-residency MFA program. His Modern Love essay, “How I Came to Live in the Chair Emporium” appeared in the New York Times on January 15, 2015.

 

Margot Page’s work has recently appeared in The New York Times, Brain, Child and the Huffington Post. She is the creator of the popular Dear Drudgery column on the Brain, Mother blog and the author of a memoir, Paradise Imperfect: An American family moves to the Costa Rican mountains (11/13, Yellow House Press). Margot lives, works and writes in Seattle. Her Modern Love column, “Labels of Married Life, in a New Light,” was a married heterosexual’s take on how marriage equality enriched her own vision of marriage roles.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions About my Teleseminars and Webinars:

How does it work? At 1pm Pacific on March 22nd, you will call in or log in to the GoToMeeting conference call number that you will be emailed after payment.

The logistics: Shortly after you pay via Pay Pal, you’ll be sent a confirmation email with a link to the register on the telesminar’ s GoToMeeting page. You will attend the teleseminar over the phone or online through GoToMeeting.com. As long as you can dial in, you’ll be able to hear the teleseminar. If you miss the class (or want to listen to it again), the recording will be available for you to listen to at your convenience.

What if I miss the class? The day after the teleseminar, you’ll receive a link to a recording of the teleseminar, which you can listen to at anytime over the next year.

What if I want to ask a question before I register? Email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com.

Can I pay by check or money order? Yes, email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com for instructions.

Next Memoir Essentials Webinar Starts Sunday, July 12th

Next Memoir Essentials starts Sunday, July 12, 2015. Register today!

“What happened to the writer is not what matters; what matters is the large sense that the writer is able to make of what happened. For that, the power of a writing imagination is required. As V.S. Pritchett once said of the genre, ‘It’s all in the art. You get no credit for living.’”—Vivian Gornick, The Situation and the Story

Want to get serious about writing your memoir this year?  Enroll in my February Memoir Essentials course, a four-class webinar focused on the fundamentals of memoir writing that also offers generative writing tasks designed to take you deeper into your story. We will discuss the essential elements of memoir writing—how to create scenes that move your story forward, how to use summary and reflection effectively, how to narrow your topic, and how to structure your narrative. This class will also include numerous material-generating activities that will help you hone in on the story you need to tell and develop the voice in which to tell it.

Register here:  Enrollment in Memoir Essentials (4) 1.5 hour-long classes that meet on July 12, 19, 26 and August 2nd at 110am Pacific Time.  Registration fee via Pay Pal:$149. 

(You will receive a confirmation email with instructions for entering the webinar after clicking the pink “Buy Now” link below and making your payment via Pay Pal or credit card).

Interested in taking both the Writing Is My Drink and the Memoir Essentials webinars for the discounted price of 225 dollars? Pay here before April 4, 2015: 

Course outline:

First meeting: Introduction to the memoir genre; understanding story structure and how to develop your memoir’s narrative arc, narrator transformation and the hero’s journey.


Second meeting: The three narrative modes of memoir: Scene, Summary, and Musing; the essentials of scene writing; the use of time in a memoir; how to write a scene that sizzles.


Third meeting: Developing the emotional preoccupation of your memoir; creating a narrator and a narrative readers care about; developing the universal elements of your story.
Fourth meeting:  Finding your voice as a writer; letting your personality show up on the page; obsessions; special memberships; creating a narrator who serves as your story’s “central consciousness.”

How does it work? During our meetings, I will be giving lectures on the various memoir topics listed in the course outline above and fielding questions from you on these topics. I will also be guiding you through in-class memoir writing exercises and giving you optional assignments to work on outside of class. Each week you’ll read assigned readings from our texts and short writing assignments.

The logistics: Shortly after you enroll, you’ll be sent a confirmation email with a link to the register on our class’ GoToWebinar page. You will attend our class meetings over the phone or online through GoToWebinar.com. As long as you can dial in, you’ll be able to hear the class discussion. If you are online, you’ll also be able to see me and the class blackboard. If you miss a class (or want to listen to it again), the recordings with audio and the class blackboard will be available for you to listen to at your convenience.

What if I miss a meeting? The day after the class meeting, you’ll receive a link to a recording of the meeting, which you can listen to at anytime.

What if I want to ask a question before I register? Email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com.

Can I pay by check or money order? Yes, email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com for instructions.

Theo Pauline Nestor

Who’s the instructor?  Theo Pauline Nestor is the author of Writing Is My Drink: A Writer’s Story of Finding Her Voice (And a Guide to How You Can Too) (Simon & Schuster, 2013) and How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed: A Memoir of Starting Over (Crown, 2008), which was selected by Kirkus Reviews as a 2008 Top Pick for Reading Groups and as a Target “Breakout Book.” An award-winning instructor, Nestor has taught the memoir certificate course for the University of Washington’s Professional & Continuing Education program since 2006 and also teaches at Richard Hugo House in Seattle. She holds and MA in English Literature from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the University of Washington. Nestor also produces events for writers such as the Wild Mountain Memoir Retreat, Bird by Bird & Beyond, and the Black Mesa Writers’ Intensive, featuring talks by literary leaders such as Anne Lamott, Cheryl Strayed, Julia Cameron, and Natalie Goldberg. She lives in Seattle with her family and their cat, Rory. You can follow her on Facebook here and on Twitter @theopnestor. Read testimonials from coaching clients here.

When do we meet? Our class meetings will be consecutive Sundays: February 1, 8, 15 and March 1st from 11:00am to 12:30pm PST. Please note that there is no class meeting on February 22nd.

How do I enroll? To enroll in the course, click on the “Buy Now” button for the course below to pay either through Pay Pal or with a credit card. After your payment has been received, you’ll receive a course confirmation with further instructions. If you prefer to pay by check or money order, email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com.

Can I get a refund?  Yes, until February 2nd at 5pm Pacific Time (24 hours after our first meeting), your registration fee is 100 percent refundable. To get a refund, send a request for a refund to theonestorprods@gmail.com. After February 2nd, the webinar registration fee becomes non-refundable.

What have past participants said about the Memoir Essentials webinar:

“Theo was well organized and used great examples to illustrate her points. It was clear that she was passionate and very knowledgeable about the subject. Homework was manageable and inspiring.”

“Some of the things like developing your narrator’s voice, learning what your character’s flaw is, and defining special memberships and obsessions. Also really learned a lot about how to move the story forward.”

“The lectures provided suggestions to help organize my life experiences into a coherent, interesting memoir. Writer’s block was not as much of a problem for me as in the past, because I felt like I had a way to structure my thoughts.”

“Definitely would recommend to friends and already have because Theo is able to explain things very clearly. She demystifies the process of memoir writing. Even though I’ve published three personal essays, I felt I learned a lot from this webinar. Thanks, Theo!”

“Having taken this class, I can only say that I highly recommend this series to anyone endeavoring into writing a memoir or is entrenched in one. Theo’s style and references to memoirs that she draws upon as well as providing simple worksheets that truly help structure your thoughts. She communicates very clearly and gets to the core of why we write in the first place. I was stuck in a spot where I felt I was just drawing upon memory and the story felt disjointed until I uncovered some tools she provides in this class.I highly recommend this course. Thank you, Theo!”

Next Memoir Essentials Webinar Starts Sunday, Feb 1

Next Memoir Essentials starts Sunday, February 1, 2015. Register today!

“What happened to the writer is not what matters; what matters is the large sense that the writer is able to make of what happened. For that, the power of a writing imagination is required. As V.S. Pritchett once said of the genre, ‘It’s all in the art. You get no credit for living.’”—Vivian Gornick, The Situation and the Story

Want to get serious about writing your memoir this year?  Enroll in my February Memoir Essentials course, a four-class webinar focused on the fundamentals of memoir writing that also offers generative writing tasks designed to take you deeper into your story. We will discuss the essential elements of memoir writing—how to create scenes that move your story forward, how to use summary and reflection effectively, how to narrow your topic, and how to structure your narrative. This class will also include numerous material-generating activities that will help you hone in on the story you need to tell and develop the voice in which to tell it.

Register here:  Enrollment in Memoir Essentials (4) 1.5 hour-long classes that meet on February 1, 8, 15, and March 1st at 11am Pacific Time.  Registration fee via Pay Pal:$149. 

(You will receive a confirmation email with instructions for entering the webinar after clicking the pink “Buy Now” link below and making your payment via Pay Pal or credit card).

 

Interested in taking both the Writing Is My Drink and the Memoir Essentials webinars for the discounted price of 225 dollars? Pay here before April 4, 2015: 

 

Course outline:

First meeting: Introduction to the memoir genre; understanding story structure and how to develop your memoir’s narrative arc, narrator transformation and the hero’s journey.


Second meeting: The three narrative modes of memoir: Scene, Summary, and Musing; the essentials of scene writing; the use of time in a memoir; how to write a scene that sizzles.


Third meeting: Developing the emotional preoccupation of your memoir; creating a narrator and a narrative readers care about; developing the universal elements of your story.
Fourth meeting:  Finding your voice as a writer; letting your personality show up on the page; obsessions; special memberships; creating a narrator who serves as your story’s “central consciousness.”

How does it work? During our meetings, I will be giving lectures on the various memoir topics listed in the course outline above and fielding questions from you on these topics. I will also be guiding you through in-class memoir writing exercises and giving you optional assignments to work on outside of class. Each week you’ll read assigned readings from our texts and short writing assignments.

The logistics: Shortly after you enroll, you’ll be sent a confirmation email with a link to the register on our class’ GoToWebinar page. You will attend our class meetings over the phone or online through GoToWebinar.com. As long as you can dial in, you’ll be able to hear the class discussion. If you are online, you’ll also be able to see me and the class blackboard. If you miss a class (or want to listen to it again), the recordings with audio and the class blackboard will be available for you to listen to at your convenience.

What if I miss a meeting? The day after the class meeting, you’ll receive a link to a recording of the meeting, which you can listen to at anytime.

What if I want to ask a question before I register? Email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com.

Can I pay by check or money order? Yes, email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com for instructions.

Theo Pauline Nestor

Who’s the instructor?  Theo Pauline Nestor is the author of Writing Is My Drink: A Writer’s Story of Finding Her Voice (And a Guide to How You Can Too) (Simon & Schuster, 2013) and How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed: A Memoir of Starting Over (Crown, 2008), which was selected by Kirkus Reviews as a 2008 Top Pick for Reading Groups and as a Target “Breakout Book.” An award-winning instructor, Nestor has taught the memoir certificate course for the University of Washington’s Professional & Continuing Education program since 2006 and also teaches at Richard Hugo House in Seattle. She holds and MA in English Literature from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the University of Washington. Nestor also produces events for writers such as the Wild Mountain Memoir Retreat, Bird by Bird & Beyond, and the Black Mesa Writers’ Intensive, featuring talks by literary leaders such as Anne Lamott, Cheryl Strayed, Julia Cameron, and Natalie Goldberg. She lives in Seattle with her family and their cat, Rory. You can follow her on Facebook here and on Twitter @theopnestor. Read testimonials from coaching clients here.

When do we meet? Our class meetings will be consecutive Sundays: February 1, 8, 15 and March 1st from 11:00am to 12:30pm PST. Please note that there is no class meeting on February 22nd.

How do I enroll? To enroll in the course, click on the “Buy Now” button for the course below to pay either through Pay Pal or with a credit card. After your payment has been received, you’ll receive a course confirmation with further instructions. If you prefer to pay by check or money order, email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com.

Can I get a refund?  Yes, until February 2nd at 5pm Pacific Time (24 hours after our first meeting), your registration fee is 100 percent refundable. To get a refund, send a request for a refund to theonestorprods@gmail.com. After February 2nd, the webinar registration fee becomes non-refundable.

What have past participants said about the Memoir Essentials webinar:

“Theo was well organized and used great examples to illustrate her points. It was clear that she was passionate and very knowledgeable about the subject. Homework was manageable and inspiring.”

“Some of the things like developing your narrator’s voice, learning what your character’s flaw is, and defining special memberships and obsessions. Also really learned a lot about how to move the story forward.”

“The lectures provided suggestions to help organize my life experiences into a coherent, interesting memoir. Writer’s block was not as much of a problem for me as in the past, because I felt like I had a way to structure my thoughts.”

“Definitely would recommend to friends and already have because Theo is able to explain things very clearly. She demystifies the process of memoir writing. Even though I’ve published three personal essays, I felt I learned a lot from this webinar. Thanks, Theo!”

“Having taken this class, I can only say that I highly recommend this series to anyone endeavoring into writing a memoir or is entrenched in one. Theo’s style and references to memoirs that she draws upon as well as providing simple worksheets that truly help structure your thoughts. She communicates very clearly and gets to the core of why we write in the first place. I was stuck in a spot where I felt I was just drawing upon memory and the story felt disjointed until I uncovered some tools she provides in this class.I highly recommend this course. Thank you, Theo!”

Patricia Carlisle’s 26-Minute Memoir

Hi Readers,

In 2009 I started a blog called 26-Minute Memoir and started publishing 26-Minute Memoirs–stories that describe the essence of your life written in 26 minutes–from students, friends, Facebook and blog followers. In my book Writing Is My Drink: A Writer’s Story of Finding Her Voice (And a Guide to How You Can Too), I encourage readers to write their own 26-Minute Memoirs and send them to me, and now they are! Below you’ll find Patricia Carlisle’s 26-Minute Memoir. Please feel free to write one of your own. You can find instructions and links to other 26-Minute Memoirs here: http://writingismydrink.com/26-minutes/

 
Patricia Carlisle’s 26-Minute Memoir
Dancing: it lasted less than 26 minutes
  by Patricia Carlisle

The music flowed out of the open car door. The night was starry and clear, the dry eastern Washington high desert waved in the moonlight. And we danced. Right there in the middle of the dirt road. Belly to belly, cheek to cheek. We danced.

The sultry voice of Anita Baker was reminding us of the purpose to our journey. This was it. Dancing under the stars in a world huger than huge and we were the only ones dancing. Our shadow was long and thinner than we. The bright moon was at one-third mast, outlining the low and distant hills to the east, not quite reaching the dark Cascades to the west. Our shadow pointed toward home, toward the mountain pass and we danced toward the light.

It was 25 years ago, or more. I do not recall why we were there or exactly when it was. I only remember the warm air and the hot cheeks. I only remember that the music pulsed deeply, slowing my heartbeat, commanding me to move with it, though I knew no steps. I am no dancer. Mostly our sneakers shuffled in the gravel and we swayed in the light breeze. This was no tango, no waltz, just a vague and slow two-step.

The moon applied the brakes to the everyday, stopped us in our tracks. The city life, where the music was dissonant and loud, didn’t make me want to dance. In that life the car door never stood open asking me to stand in the road. We never danced in the living room or in clubs. Our moments were spent walking from the closed car door to the next door of duty.

We dared a car to come by and interrupt and none came. So we danced, slow and just a bit awkward, and not giving a damn that we were too nerdy to be this romantic. Two lovers, partners, friends breathing the night air, asking it to refresh us. Letting the music set our minds free.

It only lasted a few minutes, that first song and then the next, but the shadow of our entwined arms still reaches across the mountains. We don’t dance much, never did. So when I was gathering the recycling and Anita Baker’s voice came out of the iPad, I was there, again, in the road, dancing cheek to cheek. And the friend, the partner, the lover, now wife, will be home soon and it will be time for lunch.

4 New Year’s Resolutions for Memoirists

Hi Readers,

I hope you’re having a good holiday season. I like to call this post-Christmas week “The Selfish Week,” as it’s a time when I enjoy a stretch of an unstructured schedule in between Christmas and teaching winter term. I enjoy getting back to my writing in the cozy hush that inevitably seems to follow Christmas.

I’ll be teaching two online classes on Sunday afternoons in the new year: The Writing Is My Drink Webinar starting January 4th and the Memoir Essentials one starting Feb 1. Interested in taking both at the discounted price of 225 dollars? Email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com and I’ll send you an invoice and links to enter the classes.

This post I wrote two years ago,  “4 New Year’s Resolutions for Memoirists,” still resonates with me so I’ve included it below.

I hope you’re having a selfish week!

Theo

4 New Year’s Resolutions for Memoirists

Want to finish  your memoir this year? Here are four resolutions to help you create an enduring memoir that transforms your individual experience into a universal one that speaks to a diverse readership.



1. This year I will make myself vulnerable on the page.

What’s the one quality that keeps me reading a memoir? The narrator’s willingness to make himself vulnerable. Most often in memoir the narrator’s vulnerability originates from sharing stuff most of us want to hide — our fears, our mistakes, our smallness, our regrets. Yet, big confession doesn’t always translate to instant vulnerability. We don’t really need more tales of simple carnality and depravity. It isn’t necessary to have broken nine of the Ten Commandments to earn the reader’s attention. I think most readers of memoir are compelled by the nuances of intimacy over the lap dance; we’d rather read a slow rendering of envy or avarice than yet another bald confession of adultery. We’re looking for insight, for subtlety, but mostly we desire the writer’s complicity in the problem. Before writing, ask yourself, “What was my part?” and then dare yourself to show that part.



2. This year I will share wisdom in my writing.

In Writing the Memoir, memoirist Judith Barrington describes “musing” as the memoirist’s skill of making an insightful observation about a specific situation or a more general human condition. In fiction writing classes, writers are admonished to “show not tell,” but in memoir, it’s perfectly okay — and in my opinion, advisable — to show and tell. And musing is the tell. Musing is the place in the story where you get to share your wisdom about grief or alienation or the price of success. For most of us, doling out wisdom can feel scary and unnatural. Writing about the nature of betrayal or love, we can be met with a rush of “Who am I to say?” But it is this type of wisdom — and the underlying boldness that generates this expression of wisdom — that readers of memoir hunger for. We want the author to own her authority (yes, the roots of the words are the same). We long for it. Dare to offer not just your story but the wisdom you’ve gained from it.

Here are a couple of examples of musing that demonstrate the type of conviction I believe readers of memoir crave:

From Terry Tempest Williams’ Refuge:

I could not separate the Bird Refuge from my family. Devastation respects no boundaries. The landscape of my childhood and the landscape of my family, the two things I had always regarded as bedrock, were now subject to change. Quicksand.

From Anne Lamott’s Traveling Mercies:

[Grace] is unearned love — the love that goes before — that greets us on the way. It’s the help you receive when you have no bright ideas left, when you are empty and desperate and have discovered that your best thinking and most charming charm have failed you. Grace is the light or electricity or juice or breeze that takes you from that isolated place and puts you with others who are as startled and embarrassed and eventually grateful as you are to be there.

3. This year I will not shun drama.



In real life, none of us want to be known as a drama queen, but in memoir, you need to embrace the drama of your own story and not be shy about playing it up here and there, especially in the opening and closing lines of chapters. While we might feel self-indulgent underscoring the drama of our own narratives, I think that it actually takes courage and humility to own the dramatic in your story. Why courage? Because being dramatic means fighting the conditioning that tells many of us to stay small, to not make a big deal of things, to not make ourselves “the center of the universe.” But in our memoirs, we are the center of the universe. As writers of memoir, being the center of the universe is our job.

I find tremendous courage in the way Cheryl Strayed uses dramatic repetition and foreshadowing at the end of sections and chapters in Wild. I think it is brave to write the words “I would suffer,” as she does in the book’s first chapter. This seems like a wildly courageous and fierce way to end a first chapter:

It took me years to take my place among the ten thousand things again. To be the woman my mother raised. To remember how she said honey and picture her particular gaze. I would suffer. I would suffer. I would want things to be different than they were. The wanting was a wilderness and I had to find my own way out of the woods. It took me four years, seven months, and three days to do it. I didn’t know where I was going until I got there.

It was a place called the Bridge of the Gods.

4. This year I will seek to illuminate the universal aspects of my story.

I’ve written elsewhere about how important it is not to believe that our own stories are inherently interesting just because the events are sensational. My favorite quote about this comes from V.S. Pritchett: “It’s all in the art. You get no credit for the living.”

As Claire Dederer, author of Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses, has said, “In memoir, the transformation of the self is the story.” It’s not enough to tell an exciting story; you need to tease out the story of transformation within your narrative. And the story of transformation is, in essence, the hero’s journey that Joseph Campbell wrote about in The Hero with A Thousand Faces, the cross cultural, universal story of a hero who is called to leave the ordinary world to journey into a special one. The hero — in a memoir, that’s you — heeds the call and makes his way through the special world over obstacles and through tests until, at last, he returns to the ordinary world. But he is no longer the same person who left pages ago for the special world; he is transformed.

And this universal story of transformation — even if it is transformation so externally imperceptible that no one but you might know it exists–this is the story of the most powerful memoirs. Read Strayed’s Wild with one eye to the hero’s journey and you’ll see what I mean. A woman is called into a special world; when she returns to the ordinary world, she is transformed. It’s the story of transformation your readers long for. Find it within yourself and give it to them.

Cyber Monday Only: Get Your Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Box for just $119

Hi Readers,

If you’ve been thinking of taking one of my webinars, you might want to mark this Monday on your calendars as it will be a rare opportunity to purchase webinar registration at the discounted price of 119 dollars PLUS you’ll get all the other goodies in the Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Box, which includes a coaching session with me, a signed copy of Writing Is My Drink, and a Moleskine notebook & a 4-pack of fine tip Sharpie pens. Sale starts Sunday November 30th at 9pm PST. The Writer’s Gift Box will be offered at the discounted price of $119 and the Le Grand Writer’s Gift Basket will be $179 until Midnight on Monday December 1, 2014.

See below for all the details.

Happy Holidays!

Theo

Whether you’ve been naughty or nice this year, you might want to get a boost up on your New Year’s writing resolutions with the Writing Is My Drink writer’s gift box, which includes admission to the Writing Is My Drink OR the Memoir Essentials webinar, a signed and personalized copy of Writing Is My Drink, a Moleskine cahier journal & a 4-pack of fine tip Sharpie pens, and an hour of writing coaching with me–all for just 179 dollars including tax and shipping (items individually valued at around $245) or 119 dollars on Cyber Monday. This fun gift box just might be the perfect gift to give yourself or the writer on your list this year!

When you order the Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Box before December 15th, the recipient will receive by December 23, 2014 a beautifully gift-wrapped package that includes:

-A gift certificate granting the recipient entrance into either the Writing Is My Drink webinar or the Memoir Essentials webinar and an hour of writing coaching*. The next Writing Is My Drink webinar starts Sunday, January 4, 2015 at 1pm PST, and the next Memoir Essentials webinar begins Sunday, February 1st at 3pm PST.  Recipients can attend the January or February webinars or later sessions. Multiple sessions of both webinars will be offered throughout 2015, alternating between Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons. All participants in the Writing Is My Drink webinar will receive a lifetime pass** to the Writing Is My Drink webinar. On December 26th, gift box recipients will receive a welcome email from me giving them easy-to-follow instructions for attending the webinar of their choice.

- A signed and personalized copy of Writing Is My Drink  

-A Moleskine XL Ruled cahier journal and a 4-pack of fine tip black Sharpie pe1ns

$179 or $119 on Cyber Monday

Buy the Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Box for yourself or a friend now for 179 dollars via Pay Pal:   $119 on Cyber Monday Only! Purchase between 9pm PST on Sunday November 30th and Midnight on Monday December 1st for the discounted price of 119 dollars.

Or buy Le Grand Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Basket, which includes all the items in the regular writer’s gift box with admission to BOTH the Writing Is My Drink AND the Memoir Essentials webinar for just 279 dollars via Pay Pal (valued at 394 dollars when items are purchased individually):  $179 on Cyber Monday Only! Purchase between 9pm PST on Sunday November 30th and Midnight on Monday December 1st for the discounted price of $179.

$279.00 via Pay Pal or $179 dollars on Cyber Monday

 

FAQ:

Who is the webinar instructor? Theo Pauline Nestor is the author of Writing Is My Drink: A Writer’s Story of Finding Her Voice (And a Guide to How You Can Too) (Simon & Schuster, 2013) and How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed: A Memoir of Starting Over (Crown, 2008), which was selected by Kirkus Reviews as a 2008 Top Pick for Reading Groups and as a Target “Breakout Book.” An award-winning instructor, Nestor has taught the memoir certificate course for the University of Washington’s Professional & Continuing Education program since 2006 and also teaches at Richard Hugo House in Seattle. She holds an MA in English Literature from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the University of Washington. Nestor also produces events for writers such as the Wild Mountain Memoir Retreat, Bird by Bird & Beyond, and the Black Mesa Writers’ Intensive, featuring talks by literary leaders such as Anne Lamott, Cheryl Strayed, Julia Cameron, and Natalie Goldberg. She lives in Seattle with her family and their cat, Rory. You can follow her on Facebook here and on Twitter @theopnestor. Read testimonials from coaching clients here.

How will you know where to send my basket and which webinar my recipient wants? After you pay through Pay Pal for your basket, I will email you at the email associated with your Pay Pal account and request that information.

What if I don’t want to pay through Pay Pal? Email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com for instructions on mailing checks or money orders.

What if my recipient can’t attend the webinars at the times offered? He or she can receive recordings of previous webinars or wait to attend a future session of the desired webinar.

What if the recipient decides she doesn’t want to take the webinar? She or he can instead receive an additional hour of coaching in lieu of the webinar.

What if I change my mind after I’ve placed my order? Within 24 hours of placing your order, you can receive a full refund.

How will the recipient receive their gift? After you place your order by paying through Pay Pal, I will email you for the recipient’s name and address and then ship their gift to their home address.

What if I want a slightly modified gift box at a slightly modified price? Email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com.

What if I want to give this as a gift for an occasion other than Christmas? The word “Christmas” is not printed on the boxes or any of the wrapping paper. If you’d prefer a birthday-themed box, I can provide one upon request.

What if I still have questions? Email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com.

* The Writing Is My Drink webinar admission includes a half hour of coaching; your recipient will receive a total of 60 minutes of coaching.

**Gift basket recipients who chose the Writing Is My Drink webinar can attend new sessions of the Writing Is My Drink webinar for as long as I continue to offer them. They will be able to access recorded sessions through downloadable audio files indefinitely.

Add the Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Box to Your Wish List!

Whether you’ve been naughty or nice this year, you might want to get a boost up on your New Year’s writing resolutions with the Writing Is My Drink writer’s gift box, which includes admission to the Writing Is My Drink or the Memoir Essentials webinar, a signed and personalized copy of Writing Is My Drink, a Moleskine cahier journal & a 4-pack of fine tip Sharpie pens, and an hour of writing coaching with me–all for just 179 dollars including tax and shipping (items individually valued at around $245). This fun gift box just might be the perfect gift to give yourself or the writer on your list this year!

When you order the Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Box before December 15th, the recipient will receive by December 23, 2014 a beautifully gift-wrapped package that includes:

-A gift certificate granting the recipient entrance into either the Writing Is My Drink webinar or the Memoir Essentials webinar and an hour of writing coaching*. The next Writing Is My Drink webinar starts Sunday, January 4, 2015 at 1pm PST, and the next Memoir Essentials webinar begins Sunday, February 1st at 3pm PST.  Recipients can attend the January or February webinars or later sessions. Multiple sessions of both webinars will be offered throughout 2015, alternating between Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons. All participants in the Writing Is My Drink webinar will receive a lifetime pass** to the Writing Is My Drink webinar. On December 26th, gift box recipients will receive a welcome email from me giving them easy-to-follow instructions for attending the webinar of their choice.

- A signed and personalized copy of Writing Is My Drink  

-A Moleskine XL Ruled cahier journal*** and a 4-pack of fine tip black Sharpie pens

$179.00 via Pay Pal

Buy the Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Box for yourself or a friend now for 179 dollars via Pay Pal:  

Or buy Le Grand Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Basket, which includes all the items in the regular writer’s gift box with admission to BOTH the Writing Is My Drink and the Memoir Essentials webinar for just 279 dollars via Pay Pal (valued at 394 dollars when items are purchased individually):    

$279.00 via Pay Pal

 

FAQ:

Who is the webinar instructor? Theo Pauline Nestor is the author of Writing Is My Drink: A Writer’s Story of Finding Her Voice (And a Guide to How You Can Too) (Simon & Schuster, 2013) and How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed: A Memoir of Starting Over (Crown, 2008), which was selected by Kirkus Reviews as a 2008 Top Pick for Reading Groups and as a Target “Breakout Book.” An award-winning instructor, Nestor has taught the memoir certificate course for the University of Washington’s Professional & Continuing Education program since 2006 and also teaches at Richard Hugo House in Seattle. She holds an MA in English Literature from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the University of Washington. Nestor also produces events for writers such as the Wild Mountain Memoir Retreat, Bird by Bird & Beyond, and the Black Mesa Writers’ Intensive, featuring talks by literary leaders such as Anne Lamott, Cheryl Strayed, Julia Cameron, and Natalie Goldberg. She lives in Seattle with her family and their cat, Rory. You can follow her on Facebook here and on Twitter @theopnestor. Read testimonials from coaching clients here.

What if I don’t want to pay through Pay Pal? Email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com for instructions on mailing checks or money orders.

What if my recipient can’t attend the webinars at the times offered? He or she can receive recordings of previous webinars or wait to attend another webinar I offer.

What if the recipient decides she doesn’t want to take the webinar? She or he can instead receive an additional hour of coaching in lieu of the webinar.

What if I change my mind after I’ve placed my order? Within 48 hours of placing your order, you can receive a full refund. After the first 48 hours, you can receive a full refund minus a 75 dollar fee for processing and the cost of the already shipped book, journal, and pens.

How will the recipient receive their gift? After you place your order by paying through Pay Pal, I will email you for the recipient’s name and address and then ship their gift to their home address.

What if I want a slightly modified gift box at a slightly modified price? Email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com.

What if I want to give this as a gift for an occasion other than Christmas? The word “Christmas” is not printed on the boxes or any of the wrapping paper. If you’d prefer a birthday-themed box, I can provide one upon request.

What if I still have questions? Email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com.

* The Writing Is My Drink webinar admission includes a half hour of coaching; your recipient will receive a total of 60 minutes of coaching.

**Gift basket recipients can attend new sessions of the Writing Is My Drink webinar for as long as I continue to offer them. They will be able to access recorded sessions through downloadable audio files indefinitely.

***If ordered by November 23rd, journals can be embossed for an additional cost of 15 dollars per 20 characters.

Add the Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Basket to Your Wish List!

Whether you’ve been naughty or nice this year, you might want to get a boost with your New Year’s writing resolutions with the Writing Is My Drink writer’s gift basket, which includes admission to the Writing Is My Drink webinar, a signed and personalized copy of Writing Is My Drink, a Moleskine cahier journal & a fine tip Sharpie, and an hour of writing coaching with me–all for just 199 dollars including tax and shipping (items individually valued at around $245). This fun gift basket just might be the perfect gift  to give yourself or the writer on your list this year!

When you order the Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Basket before December 15th, the recipient will receive by December 22, 2014 a beautifully gift-wrapped package that includes:

-A gift certificate granting the recipient entrance into the Writing Is My Drink webinar  and an hour of writing coaching*. The next webinar starts Sunday January 4, 2015 at 1pm PST. (Read all about the webinar here as well as feedback from past participants). Recipients can attend the January session or another session. Sessions will be offered five times in 2015, alternating between Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons. All participants have a lifetime pass** to the Writing Is My Drink webinar. On December 26th, recipients will receive a welcome email from me giving them easy-to-follow instructions for attending the webinar.

- A signed and personalized copy of Writing Is My Drink  

-A Moleskine XL Ruled cahier journal*** and a fine tip black Sharpie pen

$199.00 via Pay Pal

Buy the Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Basket for yourself or a friend now for 199 dollars via Pay Pal:  

Or buy Le Grand Writing Is My Drink Writer’s Gift Basket, which includes all the items in the regular writer’s gift basket above AND admission to the Memoir Essentials webinar (next one starts February 5th; additional sessions will be offered in Summer 2015) for just 299 dollars via Pay Pal (valued at 394 dollars when items are purchased individually):    

$299.00 via Pay Pal

 

FAQ:

Who is the webinar instructor? Theo Pauline Nestor is the author of Writing Is My Drink: A Writer’s Story of Finding Her Voice (And a Guide to How You Can Too) (Simon & Schuster, 2013) and How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed: A Memoir of Starting Over (Crown, 2008), which was selected by Kirkus Reviews as a 2008 Top Pick for Reading Groups and as a Target “Breakout Book.” An award-winning instructor, Nestor has taught the memoir certificate course for the University of Washington’s Professional & Continuing Education program since 2006 and also teaches at Richard Hugo House in Seattle. She holds an MA in English Literature from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the University of Washington. Nestor also produces events for writers such as the Wild Mountain Memoir Retreat, Bird by Bird & Beyond, and the Black Mesa Writers’ Intensive, featuring talks by literary leaders such as Anne Lamott, Cheryl Strayed, Julia Cameron, and Natalie Goldberg. She lives in Seattle with her family and their cat, Rory. You can follow her on Facebook here and on Twitter @theopnestor. Read testimonials from coaching clients here.

What if I don’t want to pay through Pay Pal? Email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com for instructions on mailing checks or money orders.

What if my recipient can’t attend the webinar at the times offered? He or she can listen to recorded sessions or attend another webinar I offer.

What if the recipient decides she doesn’t want to take the webinar? She or he can take the Memoir Essentials webinar instead or receive an additional hour of coaching in lieu of the webinar.

What if I change my mind after I’ve placed my order? Within 48 hours of placing your order, you can receive a full refund. After the first 48 hours, you can receive a full refund minus a 75 dollar fee for processing and the cost of the already shipped book, journal, and pen.

How will the recipient receive their gift? After you place your order by paying through Pay Pal, I will email you for the recipient’s name and address and then ship their gift to their home address.

What if I still have questions? Email me at theonestorprods@gmail.com.

* The Writing Is My Drink webinar admission includes a half hour of coaching; your recipient will receive a total of 60 minutes of coaching.

**Gift basket recipients can attend new sessions of the Writing Is My Drink webinar for as long as I continue to offer them. They will be able to access recorded sessions through downloadable audio files indefinitely.

***If ordered by November 23rd, journals can be embossed for an additional cost of 15 dollars per 20 characters.

Jan Child’s 26-Minute Memoir

Hi Readers,

In 2009 I started a blog called 26-Minute Memoir and started publishing 26-Minute Memoirs–stories that describe the essence of your life written in 26 minutes–from students, friends, Facebook and blog followers. In my book Writing Is My Drink: A Writer’s Story of Finding Her Voice (And a Guide to How You Can Too), I encourage readers to write their own 26-Minute Memoirs and send them to me, and now they are! Below you’ll find Jan Child’s 26-Minute Memoir. Please feel free to write one of your own. You can find instructions and links to other 26-Minute Memoirs here: http://writingismydrink.com/26-minutes/

26-Minute Memoir
by Jan Child

I drag my feet up the stairs to my study. It’s the trepidation and anxiety before you begin writing that makes me want to Stop. Before. I. Begin. I’ve got you under my skin. Words exist, are trapped under my skin. Writhing beings itchy for the light.

While I feed the animals in the morning, I imagine these brilliant words full of vim and dash that will find the light and appear on the page as soon as I get upstairs. I’m doing the regular circuit collecting bowls, cleaning them and refilling them with food. Max and Rupert wind around my feet, head butting me as I work, trying to wear the skin off my legs. To let the words out?

My world is full of potential during this time. I imagine everything unfolding perfectly, the universe in alignment with my wishes, powerful unseen forces at my bidding. I stand on a cliff in a storm, all cheekbones and eyelashes. Long hair and gown billowing out behind me in the darkness, and I raise my hands up to the clouds to make a connection. I let the lightning sear my fingertips and fill me with the inspired words I can’t make up on my own.

By the time the animals are fed, the tea is made, I’ve showered and dressed for the day – bright colors to keep me pepped up and perky – the words have already begun to retreat. I’m no longer on a cliff. I’m on the stairs in my house. And like a film running backwards, I see the clouds of inspiration disappear underneath the closed door of my study where they’d been billowing out from before, calling me like a siren when my fingers were far away from the keyboard.

I can feel the inner screams building. The sounds of words suffocating. I wonder if this is going to be another day of denial, of putting my voice aside. Please. I must speak. I must get the words out. But the tale is dark and sad, moribund, underneath the smiles. Will anyone believe me? And my sister is not the story. She has been, but there were five of us, and the rest of us have been silenced for too long. I want to speak for them.

And so the banter goes. Back and forth. Back and forth. Fear and bravery are not easy bedfellows. I weigh up the consequences of speaking with the consequences of keeping mum, and the cold fist of fear clenches my heart and stops my hands from doing what they need to be doing.

I’ve lived on the verge of promise my whole life. Being brilliant on other people’s paychecks, keeping the spotlight shining on faces other than my own. And now the baby is getting older. The cloak of invisibility is descending before she’s had a chance to get the words out! The inner screams get louder. Words squirming and writhing.

Will there be a breaking point? A point at which I stop and say enough is enough? I wonder as I scratch at my leg. Will I finally get the words out instead of hiding in the shadows, thinking I’m safe there?

All I want is to be able to hold my own at a dinner or brunch, when people ask that killer question, “What do you do?”, I’ll have answers that I’m proud of. I’m a writer. I have a publisher. I know how to put great words on the page that people I don’t know appreciate. I can avoid working in a cubicle and the ignominy of working with people full of metallic ambition that sears hearts and makes my teeth hum. I put food on the table with my words.

When the golden moments come and I get to the page in time, the words begin tumbling out. I catch thoughts in nets like butterflies. But I notice they’re not as syrup rich as they’d been in my head. Keep. Going. You can always edit later. Edit? Did someone say edit, and my hand drifts upwards over the lines of words sitting there like little children waiting to be saved or sacrificed. The pen hovers as I read and analyze. Analyze. Analzye. Always analyzing.

Give yourself a break. Keep going. But the golden thread that extends from that cloud of creativity that stalled out overhead this morning is unraveling, getting thinner by the second, gnawed away by my fervent editor’s pen, and then a new thought occurs to me. I need to check my email, I’ll just check Facebook, I’ll just check a few princess blogs and see how Catherine is doing, what she’s wearing, if she’s still struggling with morning sickness. It’s 11am when I next pull myself up out of the pit-of-no-words. The day is over, at least the writing part I think because I know I’m much better first thing in the morning. There’s only an hour of morning left, and we all know that’s not enough time to write anything of note.

The golden thread retracts, and even though the internet yawns in front of me, I am alone, brittle and lifeless, no animation. A ghostly promise of what I could have been. My only hope is for a parallel universe and while I’m not writing here, I’m working my ass off over there.

 

Getting More Writing From Yourself–Without the Use of Force

I am against forcing myself to do things that I supposedly enjoy doing. I’m against force, rules, and quotas because I reliably get terrible results every time I forget that “being disciplined” doesn’t work for me. When I tell myself I have to write x number of words a day, I quickly have an algebra problem that starts like this: “Let x equal 0.”

If discipline worked for me, I’d be the Jack LaLanne of quotas, jumping through quota hoops day in and day out and urging you in a panting voice to do the same. I’d be the Quota Queen, pounding out the pages with a dozen books to my name. I’d rename every day of the week Quota Day with a trademark sign. But, in fact, quotas and rules bring out the worst possible type of foot-dragging behaviors in me. I give myself a quota and 20 minutes later I’m driving across town to buy a coat I don’t need.

But I’m not here to dispute the worth of quotas. I know that they do work for some people. I know this because I’ve heard these people talk about quotas and have subsequently witnessed the mountain of work they’ve produced writing three pages or 1000 words a day or at some other measured rate.

My fundamental problem with quotas is that the mere existence of them suggests that writing is a thing to be endured like sit ups, that writing is something I must do instead of something I want to do. In the absence of force, though, I have needed to develop some reliable means to get myself going. Below are some of the methods to increase production I’ve used with good result. Each rests on two assumptions: 1) Writing is an activity that I actually want to do–even if I need a nudge to get started–and 2) Humans are actually good and can be trusted outside of the constraints of rules.

I invite you to try some of them yourself. Or better yet, develop a list of your own. Such lists are created by watching yourself and taking note of the conditions conducive to writing and making it a point to create those conditions more often.

1. Indulge my reading interests.

Because clicking on various links is how I usually procrastinate, I tend to feel guilty whenever I am spending an hour letting one article lead me to another. But I’ve realized that not all instances of clicking around are equal. Yes, sometimes I am wasting a bunch of time on click-bait articles that are poorly written, but at other times, I am following  a topic that interests me. One of the things I’ve had to develop as a writer (which I’ve written about here) is my sense of the importance of my ideas and interests. Even if I can’t see where it’s headed, I try to let my curiosity lead the way.

2. Notice ideas bubbling up and follow up on them ASAP.

Lorrie Moore once said something like this about being a writer: “Story ideas visit you and it’s up to you to decide if you’re going to make room for them in your life.”  This paraphrased quote revisits me quite often. I think it’s a great description of that moment of choice that occurs when an idea bubbles up. I can either get myself to a piece of paper or I can let the idea pass through me. If I don’t follow up on the idea right away, I can be sure that the next day the window of opportunity will have closed. It’ll be a “somebody I used to love” idea. Yes, I can see the appeal but the desire to pursue is  gone. But if I do make it to the page during those crucial few hours, I find the writing is often effortless. I don’t have to worry about writing a certain number of words. My only worry is whether or not I can get the words I do have down fast enough.

3. Go outside my writing comfort zone.

When I write stuff that scares me–that pushes me in some new way because of either its form or content–the writing magnetizes me, allowing me to stay on the page much longer than when I’m writing something that feels like well-trod territory.

4. Write with a friend.

I’m doing this one right now (Look! See friend in pic!). It’s pretty easy for me to stay on task when my friend is across the table from me typing away. Even though she’s writing a piece for the magazine she edits and I’m writing this, her presence makes me feel like I’m on a team called Team Writers. If I shut my laptop, Team Writers will lose the game to Team Enertia. Must not let down team. Must keep writing.

5. Walk somewhere pleasant to write.

Sometimes I walk to a cafe fifteen minutes from my house to write. On the way there I think about what I want to write. On the way back, I think about how I want to edit it. Usually when I get home, I get one more inspired writing session out of myself before calling it a day.

6. Create a deadline.

Julia Cameron says in the terrific book The Right to Write that deadlines create adrenaline and adrenaline helps us to override our censors. As our deadlines approach, we no longer have time to indulge in the voices that say our work isn’t good enough; we just have to bust out the pages. How can you create deadlines? Take a writing class with a workshop component. Join a writing group. Sell a book proposal. Find literary contests and circle their deadlines on your calendar and promise yourself you’ll submit.

7. Speak my mind.

This is related to #3. If you write about the things that make you angry, the things that you’re normally afraid to say, you’ll find that the words pour out onto the page like lava. No need for quotas. You can rely on ire to up your word count.

8. Offer myself freedom.

I’m not quite sure how or why this works, but when I’m in the middle of a chapter, a book, or an essay, I tell myself, “I can take this anywhere I like.” This sentence intoxicates me as if I’ve just been handed the keys to a magical kingdom of which I will now be sovereign. Drunk with power, I find it pretty easy to keep going.

9.Buy myself expensive art pens.

I write by hand a lot, and I find having the right pens (Faber Castell is my current favorite) makes me want to write more. Pens make me happy. When I’m happy, I work longer.

10. Set the timer for 15 minutes.

And when I really can’t get going, I circle back to the trick I learned from Virginia Valian’s essay “Learning to Work” twenty-five years ago. I tell myself I only have to write for 15 minutes. I set the timer and I write. When the bell dings, I often find myself thinking, “But I don’t want to stop!”

And then I tell myself I don’t have to.

———————-

You can read more tricks for getting increasing your productivity in the book Writing Is My Drink.