Heather Wright's Blog, page 16

The Gift of Time

photo by Jenny Kaczorowski WANA Commons

This week was the time for one of those palm-to-the-forehead “duh, how could I have been so silly” moments. On the plus side, I did figure things out eventually. What I figured out was that, thanks to a great teaching timetable, I had been given the gift of time to write this semester, and I wasn’t using it as much as I should be. I mean, am I a writer or not?

Well, “not” judging by my output. I’m very talented at wasting time on the computer, checking business email, LinkedIn, two school email connections, Twitter, RSS feeds, and too much solitaire. I have done quite a lot of brainstorming, but I haven’t sat down and actually cranked out the words. Typical fear of blank screens at play there. And I do mean typical–I do a lot to avoid LED-face time. And I was particularly effective last week.

However–

I will not be letting time slip away this week. Maybe it’s spring fever, but I feel energized and positive about moving forward–something that’s been missing for a while. Maybe it was getting my author copies of Sherlock Holmes and Orphanage Mystery and seeing how amazing the finished product looked with all the illustrations. Maybe it was coming up with a new story idea for the anthology.  Maybe it was getting excited about doing some research. Maybe it was having a lot of marking to do and having to put the writing aside to get that done–and finally realizing that I can write and mark and that that was no excuse. A lot of things.

The marking pile is lower now, and I’m going to sit down this week with my Alphasmart Neo to get some writing done. If you haven’t seen one of these great contraptions, here’s a link. It’s a sturdy plastic keyboard that runs on AA batteries (for 700 hours!) with a very small screen and no Internet connections. It’s robust, portable, and distraction free and with a fuss-free USB connection, it loads your work into a Word document on your computer. It solves 2 of my distraction problems at once –no Internet and no solitaire–and I can use it anywhere.

So onward to a busy week of marking, writing, house chores, etc.–but there will be writing. You’ll get my wordcount report next week!

So much fun getting my author copies this week from Caramel Tree/JLS Storybook Project

Filed under: writing

March 2013 Writing Prompts

The photo shows how February said goodbye in my part of the world. The snow looked very pretty yesterday morning, but once you’ve admired the view, the realities of shovelling the stuff lessen the glow a little. And after the plow has gone by and filled in the end of the driveway–again–the white stuff, now slush 2 feet high and weighting what seems like a ton, has definitely lost its appeal.

So, I’m more than ready to welcome March today. Though the temperatures will be registering in the minus 10s Celsius, the forecast holds no snow–and I and my very sore back are truly grateful.

Here are some writing prompts for the month to keep help you creative while you wait for spring.

1. Use one, some or all of these words in a story or poem.

a) milk, bulb, frame, grass, candle, brick. b) sack, nail cuff, page glass, leaf.

2. Try one of these opening sentences.

The noise was enough to wake the dead–except in Bill’s case.
Rainbows? And ponies? All I needed was a unicorn and all hope would be gone.
Helen shivered in spite of being dressed warmly for a late October midnight.
Whoever said “silence is golden” hadn’t heard the scream that preceded it.
Erik reined in his horse and saluted. “I’ve seen them.”
Light. Finally.

3. Try these pieces of dialogue and see what happens.

a) Pitir pointed to the east. “Sandstorm, sir?”

I followed his gaze. “I think I would prefer it. The wind’s coming from the west.”

b) Did you see that?

No.

Good. Then I’ll pretend I didn’t see it either.

c) Stop.

Why?

The price is too high.

d) Pass me that will you?

I can’t.

Why?

It’s stuck.

4. Here are some titles. What story or poem might go with them?

The Lion and the Lamb, By the Book, Table for Three, King’s Chance, In the Cards, Heart’s Winter, Counting Down, Clean Sweep.

5. Here are some things that are commemorated by their own day or week in March. Some were a suprise to me. Can you think of something that would be fun to celebrate in March? What kind of event would you host?

St. Patrick’s Day, Vernal Equinox, Easter, Passover, World Kidney Day, International Woman’s Day, National Frozen Food Month, National Peanut Month, National Bubble Week, National Crochet Week, National Pig Day, If pets had thumbs day, Be Nasty Day, Johnny Appleseed Day, Potato Chip Day, Chocolate Covered Raisin Day, Waffle Day, Something on a Stick Day and March 14 (3.14) is National Pi Day.

 

Filed under: writing Tagged: brainstorming, Heather Wright, lion and lamb, shovelling snow, snow, writing, writing prompts, writing starters

Work-in-Progress

Well, the brainstorming began in earnest this week. It was reading week, no classes, and my marking was finished last weekend, so no excuses either.

I kept a promise to myself and made sure that I found white space to create in. No cellphones, no computers, and CBC’s Espace Musique playing softly in the background. (I like listening to radio in French because I can’t understand much of what anyone is saying, so even the conversation washes over me with its own music.) The programs’ music choices are such a pleasure to listen to and never, ever boring.

And I’m pleased to say that all that white space worked! I bought a new journal (no suprise there to those who know me) and made a point of sitting with it every day until something emerged that resembled a story idea. I managed to come up with about 5 ideas that had a beginning, a muddle, and an end, and a few more with just beginnings and muddles but no endings–yet. I live in hope.

Of course, there is a lot of scribbling in my journal, too. Lists of places I’ve been, or places I should probably research, and settings of books I’ve read or am reading, anything really that I could think of that would keep the pen moving until something emerged. Last week, poet Patricia McGoldrick, suggested white paper and coloured markers and mind mapping. I’ve finally cleaned off the surface of my desk sufficiently to actually try that, so that’s my challenge this weekend. (And, also no surprise to my friends–I already own at least 2 sets of markers and more than enough paper. Please tell me that there are other writers out there who enjoy visiting Staples as much as I do!)

How do you brainstorm story ideas? Agatha Christie said she got her best ideas while washing dishes. I hope you find lots of creative ideas for your own projects that will keep you writing for a long time to come.

Filed under: writing Tagged: brainstorming, creativity, Heather Wright, journal, mind mapping, story ideas, writing

Let the Brainstorming Begin

Back in October Jean Mills, and I applied for a joint Writer’s Reserve grant through the Ontario Arts Council. Jean is a friend, but also an experienced writer and wonderful colleague. Among other things, we share two former employers, membership in PWAC and our sons went to school together for a while. We thought we’d make pretty good partners on a creative project. Receiving a grant doesn’t mean that a publisher will buy the finished project, but it does mean that a publisher thinks our idea and our writing samples are good enough to get some support to move ahead.

Last Wednesday, we received a letter from Dundurn Press to tell us that we received a grant. Yay!

And yikes!

Now I have to get writing. Our project is an anthology of short stories, and as thrilled as I was by this concrete gesture of approval, I’ve been stewing since Wednesday about whether I’d even come up with any ideas, let alone be able to write one–or six. It was one of those moments when you think, “it seemed like such a good idea at a time.”

Well, yesterday I got the idea for my first story. Yesterday I took time to create ‘white space.’ Here’s Sarah Selecky’s definition of white space: “White space: time spent doing nothing. Staring into space. Watching steam from your teacup, watching waves lap at the shore, listening to the wind through tree branches.” Selecky’s theory is that it’s impossible to be creative if we don’t give ourselves time to let our minds rest, to spend some time with no distractions. Here’s how she says it, “How can you have that gorgeous, rich feeling of having images come to you as you write, if you haven’t given your mind any time or space for insight?” Take some time to read her blog and then see what happens when you create some white space for yourself.

I am a to-do list maker from way back. If I’m going to reach my goals, ’white space’ will be on the list, too.

If you have any strategies for shutting the attention-grabbing distractions down so that you can create, please pass them along. I’d love to learn how others find creative time and energy. Hope you find some white space today!

Filed under: writing Tagged: anthology, brainstorming, creating, creativity, distractions, Dundurn Press, Heather Wright, Jean Mills, OAC, Sarah Selecky, story ideas, white space, writing

Writing Prompts for February

The Christmas poinsettia is thinning out, the fireplace mantle is empty of snowmen, musical snow globes, and the seasonal moose, the last of the holiday chocolate has been consumed, and I’m on week 4 at Weight Watchers. It must be February.

Today horizontal snow is flying by my window and the temperature feels like -17 degrees Celsius with the wind chill. Two weeks ago it was +12 and my daffodils were poking through the red stones on my flowerbed. This is winter in southern Ontario.

Tomorrow, our provincial prognosticator of the duration of winter, Wiarton Willie, groundhog extraordinaire, will be jarred from a nice sleep and asked to step outside his warm home and look for his shadow. If he sees his shadow, there will be an early spring, if not, expect six more weeks of winter. Either way, we’re pretty much programmed here to deal with winter as long as it sticks around.

To keep the creative fires burning, whether you have snow or not, here are some writing prompts for February.

1. Write a piece using one, some or all of the following words: snow, windows, night, candle, branches, waiting.

2. Try one of these opening lines:

Jim glared out the window as fat flakes of snow filled in the sidewalk he’d just shoveled. “Mary!” he called. “What did you say the temperature was in Las Vegas today?”
My boss was right. Sunday was the perfect day for a murder.
It was too damn quiet.
Outside the diner, a black pickup rolled to a stop.
Helen never looked good in red.

3. See if these lines of dialogue inspire a scene:

What’s that?

I don’t hear anything.

Shhh. Listen.

Oh. That’s not good.

How’d it go?

The captain was less than impressed.

But did he believe you?

Yes. We’re leaving in an hour.

What’s so interesting? You’ve been staring out that window for the past hour.

Bill’s late.

Wouldn’t he call if he were going to be late?

Yes, if he could.

Did you get what you wanted?

Yes.

Then let’s get out of here.

4. Maybe one of these titles will work for you: Wet Roads and Stars, Miranda’s Memory, Black on Black, Gateway, Red Light, Washed in Dreams, Sundown and Sam, Wild Winds, Empty Pages

Have a fantastic February!

Filed under: writing

Making a Commitment to Writing

Thinking of Spring

How are your New Year’s resolutions going? Did you decide that you were going to write every day? I hope that you are reaching your goals.

If you’re having a bit of trouble, here’s a link to a great blog by Kristi Holl at Writer’s First Aid: “Putting First Things First by Using Accountability.”

I tried my own 30-day challenge last year and made my commitment to daily writing on my Facebook page and here. That kind of accountability certainly worked for me. A long time ago, a writers’ group I belonged to created their own daily-writing accountability exercise. For one month, as soon as we finished our writing, we sent an email to the others in the group with one word in the subject line “done.” Seeing that simple word “done” in my inbox was a great motivator, and not just for me. I can remember members sending emails just minutes before midnight to make sure that they made their daily deadline. Have you tried anything similar with a writing group or with a fellow writer to keep you motivated and writing?

I hope you find the way that works best for you so that you can meet your 2013 writing goals. If you want to ‘like’ my Facebook page, I will happily join you there for a daily writing challenge, if you need an accountability buddy.

All the best — H.

Filed under: writing

Webcopy Writing Tips

I’ve just uploaded a mini white paper to my business site. If you’re thinking of reworking or refreshing the copy on your website to attract more clients, check out Five Tips for Creating Client-Friendly Webcopy at http://wrightwriter.com/?page_id=119.

Hope your 2013 is off to a great start!

Filed under: writing

Writing Prompts for January 2013

Kitchener bus station in December rain

Here are some writing prompts to give you a creative start to the new year.

1. Use these song titles to inspire a story or poem: What’s New, New Sensation, New World in the Morning, All Those Years Ago, Year of the Cat, 2000 Light Years from Home, Last Year’s Man, Reelin’ in the Years.

2. Here are some opening lines you might try.

“I’d wish you a Happy New Year, but I have a feeling it would be a little inappropriate at a murder scene.”
Jasmine held the small shell, looking at it closely for a moment before putting it carefully in her pocket.
The icy rain clattered on the windows like an endless chorus line of rhythm-challenged tap dancers.
Winslow put down his pen and read the note one last time.
Eyes that green were definitely dangerous.
Mike’s Saloon was usually closed in the morning.

3. Use one, some, or all of these words in a story.

cheer, light, shadow, photograph, branch, water
paper, glass, sand, flight, scent, mirror, bloom

4. See if one of these titles sparks a story: Close By, Amanda’s Wish, Consolation Prize, Run It By, Close Quarters, Light the Way, Last Candle, Jewel Box Mystery, Footprints in Snow, Quinn’s Destiny.

5. Have you ever wished you could travel back in time in your own life? What event would you love to relive? What would you wish you could do over? How are you going to make this new year one that you want to live over again?

I wish you all a creative, prosperous and healthy 2013! Happy Writing!

Filed under: writing Tagged: brainstorm, brainstorming, creativity, Heather Wright, inspiration, new year, New Years Day, stories, writing, writing prompts, writing starters

Looking Back

Inspired by Patricia Ann McGoldrick’s blog , I created a word cloud of what I’ve been writing about this year. I can’t use Wordle, because I can’t stop my computer blocking the software I need to upload to use it, so I used Tagxedo instead. You can make it more Wordle-like by changing the emphasis to 1. I warn you that playing with either of these programs can be addictive!

I thought that the word cloud was pretty informative actually. The words goals, writing, and time featured pretty predominantly. Obviously these are things I was writing about and concerned about last year. Did I set goals and accomplish them? Yes–and no. I finished my 30-day writing challenge, so that was a definite yes. Some other writing goals I wanted to pursue fell by the wayside.

So what about next year? What will my goals be? The writing challenge brought a few things into perspective about where I am with my writing and my writing business. Do I have a novel ahead of me? No. Some shorter pieces? Yes. Do I have some marketing plans? Yes. Am I still teaching? Yes. Do I have one major goal that I want to accomplish in the new year? Yes, I want to be a lot kinder to myself. Yup, that’s the goal I picked. And I think that if that is the starting point for any other challenges that I take on–writing, marketing, losing weight, exercising (oh yeah, the last 2 are definitely on my list)–I think I’ll have a better chance of succeeding.

I’m trying to turn the have-to’s and their accompanying moans of gloom into actions that I do because they are actually good for me, that come from treating myself well. It’s an effort to fix my head voices that are far more often negative than positive. I hope to end the year with them less eager to point out failure, and more inclined to shrug their shoulders and say, “Well, not everything works out the way you plan. What can we try next?”

What are your next steps for 2013? Have you set writing or health-related goals? Do you have any strategies for success that we should know about?

I’ll be back in a few days with your writing prompts for January.

Until then, be kind to yourself.

Filed under: writing Tagged: goals, Heather Wright, kindness, Marketing, planning, setting goals, Tagxedo, Wordle, writing

Writing Challenge Update

Two more days to go and I will have almost achieved my goal of writing every day for 30 days. Like millions of people shocked by the horrific events of Friday, I spend a day tearful, numbed and shaken. I wrote nothing, and felt very thankful to be able to hug my son. In the big picture, my goal doesn’t really mean that much.

I did do one thing that day. I had promised myself, when I had time, that I’d finally houseclean the list of the people that I follow on Twitter. I have become increasingly annoyed by the hourly promotions that are automatically generated by people that I have chosen to follow. Many of them are writers whose purpose on Twitter seems simply to sell books, rather than engage with other writers. We’re not fellow writers; we’re potential buyers. Yup, I’m that naive.

Anyhow, Friday afternoon, I scrolled through my Twitter feeds and simply ‘unfollowed’ a bunch of people. They were easy to spot among the many who posted personal responses to the events of the day. When I started using Twitter in its early days, I felt that I was connected with people who were actually in front of their computers at the same time I was. We sometimes had conversations! That seems to be gone. I realize that I was harsh to judge people on that awful day, but it did clarify an issue that I’ve been thinking about for a while.

Yes, I’ve done some promotion on Twitter, but if you check the history of my tweets @hwrightwriter, you’ll see that I don’t do it very often. And certainly not more than once a day. To many that means that I’m not using Twitter to its best potential. To me, it means I’m respecting my followers who have better things to do than read hourly book plugs from me. If you’re thinking that, if I don’t like it, I shouldn’t play in Twitter’s sandbox. You’re probably right. And when I’ve had a little more time to think about it, I may do just that.

How do you use Twitter? If you use it to drive sales, is it effective? Have you found other social media that you prefer to keep you connected to people in the publishing business or to key people in whatever field you are interested in?

Filed under: writing Tagged: Heather Wright, Marketing, promotion, social media, Twitter, unfollow, writing goals