Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 143

Creating an Ironic Tone in Your Fiction

Guest Post by Jack Smith

Let’s say you want to create an ironic tone in a story or novel—it’s just needed.

First off, what is tone?  On the one hand, we might say that it’s the apparent attitude of the narrator toward the characters and the world they people.  But it should also be said that everything in a fictional work relates in some way to the tone.  If every character in your story drives crazily and exceeds the speed limit, this will certainly affect the tone.  If all the clocks are off twenty minutes, this will too.

To create the right tone, you need to think about character actions, dialogue, and setting.  All of these will affect the tone of your story or novel.   But you also need to attend to matters of style. 

Being something of an iconoclast, I tend to go for irony.   An ironic tone is, of course, the right tone for satire—which is my usual medium.

And so when I’m thinking about creating an ironic tone in my work, I find myself—and this tends to happen as I write—depending on the following useful tools:

1. Diction—words that create a witty, humorous tone

2. Irony and Paradox—both deal with contradiction, the first with the gap between what you expect and what you get; the second with apparent contradiction.

3. Juxtaposition – placing two quite different things or details next to each other.  One thing is read against the other.

4. Character actions—the kind that are out of kilter with the normal, the expected

5. Plot—the outcome being at odds with the conventionally expected one

6. Dialogue—mine sometimes tends to the extreme—on the one hand, short, clipped speech; on the other, speech that’s excessive, long-winded, over the top.

Of course, it’s not like you can work from a list like this to get it all right.  It depends on the story needs. If you want to burlesque your protagonist, you will probably use dramatic irony.  If your character is an I-narrator, you will end up, most probably, with an unreliable narrator if you engage in very much dramatic irony—and with an unsympathetic character if your irony is too vicious.

Maybe you want to take a whack at a given social practice.  If you settle for a straight, serious tone, you may well come off as preachy. If you use irony, you will be much less likely to do so if you handle the irony well.

How do you handle the irony well?  Everything must work together as a piece: the style, the character, the plot, the ideas the work suggests.  Every technique in the story must achieve the level of irony that seems called for—without overdoing it.

Jack Smith is author of the novel Hog to Hog, which won the George Garrett Fiction Prize (Texas Review Press. 2008), and is also the author of Write and Revise for Publication: A 6-Month Plan for Crafting an Exceptional Novel and Other Works of Fiction, published earlier this year by Writer’s Digest

Over the years, Smith’s short stories have appeared in North American Review, Night Train, Texas Review, and Southern Review, to name a few. He has also written some 20 articles for Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market, as well as a dozen or so pieces for The Writer.

He has published reviews in numerous literary journals, including Ploughshares, Georgia Review, Missouri Review, Prairie Schooner, American Review, Mid-American Review, and the Iowa Review.

Smith taught full-time at North Central Missouri College for some 24 years, and  has also served as Fiction Editor for The Green Hills Literary Lantern, an online literary journal published by Truman State University, for over two decades. Learn more about Jack and his work in the November 1 edition of PIF magazine.

 

The post Creating an Ironic Tone in Your Fiction appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Twitterific

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Have a great week!

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The post Twitterific appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Approaching Messy First Drafts

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

One thing that’s nice about having older children is that they can take over household tasks that we’re either not excited about, or just don’t do well.  This is the way it works for me and Christmas decorations.

My daughter put up all the decorations inside the house.  They look amazing.  My teenage son ordinarily does all the lights on the tree and outside.  Unfortunately, since he had four wisdom teeth taken out over Thanksgiving, he was knocked out of the equation.  My husband was swamped with work, so I took on the outdoor lights.

When I pulled out the box from last year’s Christmas, I just stared at the jumble on the inside.  I’d put away the lights before the New Year last year (some Southerners are superstitious about not putting away Christmas stuff by Jan. 1) and I’d thought I’d done it in an organized way.  But looking at the lights (pictured above), I wondered if I might have been on drugs when I put them away.  What on earth?  Clearly, I’d tried to do something about keeping the wires separated…but tying plastic produce bags around groups of cords?  What?  And those rubber bands floating around in the mix…they weren’t actually providing any sort of function.

It took a while to straighten them out.  And quite a bit of muttering from me.  But finally, I spread them out on the front yard, methodically untangling the wires, and then put them on the bushes.  They aren’t perfect…but they’re done.

The disastrous jumble reminded me (sadly) of my current first draft.  I also wonder as I read it if I were on drugs when I wrote it.    I suppose what I was writing made perfect sense to me the day I penned it.  I suppose.  But now it resembles just as much of a mess as the lights.  I knew from the beginning, though, that this particular first draft was one to be reckoned with.

My approach-starting out with a time-consuming revision:

Read the manuscript straight through.

As I read it, maintain a second document that lists issues that need to be worked out. Mine are very brief, usually.  Here are a couple (shouldn’t be any spoilers, if readers are here): Page 33—Mentioned that Jason had left town 5 years ago. How many years ago was it?  What made him return?  Page 47—Martha mentions John approached her after the retreat in the parking lot.  Did this happen?  Did I write this in or only plan on writing it in?

I make minor changes to the document as I read through, but I’m maintain speed because I need a really cohesive assessment of where the problems and continuity issues are—and I won’t get that if this reading through takes too long.  Most of my changes have been for improved word choice.

After reading it through and making notes, I’m going to methodically work through the list of issues.

Then I’ll read it through again to make sure it makes sense with the changes.

After that, I’ll layer in my usual late-draft additions of setting, chapter breaks, character description, etc.

More reading through (checking for things like echoes of certain words, other continuity problems, characters who seem out of character, etc.)

How do you approach revising a messy first draft?

Listing Our Accomplishments

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Writer Lynda R. Young wrote a great post for the Insecure Writers Support Group: 4 Reasons to Celebrate Your Writing Milestones.  In it, she talks about the benefits of thinking back on past accomplishments.

I love looking back on past achievements. That’s because my to-do list is frequently so scary that it gives me a sense of security to see what I’ve finished.  I read once that to-do lists help us be more productive if we keep the crossed-off items on our list instead of making new lists all the time.  I can see why—it’s motivating to see how far we’ve come, no matter if the project is writing and promoting a book or cleaning out a garage.

This is particularly important, I think, during this time of year. That’s because it’s resolution time.

I’ve gotten so that I’d rather make to-do lists for my year and plop the tasks on my calendar than come up with a list of resolutions that might be lost or forgotten. Even then, the list seems unmanageable sometimes.  I knew, for instance, at this time last year that I’d have at least four books release in 2013 (if I didn’t, I’d be paying back some advance money).  I also knew I’d promised readers to put my self-published books in print. In addition, I wanted to explore going into audiobooks.  Plus, I knew that my blog—which had issues ever since Blogger had pushed through a major update—needed to migrate to WordPress.  It was a lot to do.

But—I crossed all those tasks off my list this year.  And instead of relentlessly moving forward to the next item, I slowed it all down a bit.  I stuck most of my accomplishments up on my website’s News page.  My news page is always a bit sad, anyway, since I don’t really do readings or signings anymore. What’s more, these accomplishments help alert readers that I’ve got print books and audiobooks available for sale now.

Even if you don’t do something as public as a website list, you might want to keep a note somewhere that you can look at when you get overwhelmed by what’s ahead. You could keep it in a Word doc or your calendar, on Evernote or on a sticky note.  These could be tasks as big as finishing a first draft, or smaller, important tasks like finding a cover designer or formatter, researching agents, reviewing self-publishing options, or learning social media and how to effectively promote.

Do you track your accomplishments?  Celebrate your milestones?  What did you accomplish in 2013?

Addendum–I should also mention that I had a book release yesterday! (Not sure where my brain is with promo lately.) Quilt Trip , a Penguin NAL book, is now available.

How to Make Your Entire Home an Office

Guest Post by Bryan Cohen

When my wife and I moved into our latest apartment a few years ago, we made sure to get a place with a second bedroom. I planned to use that room as an office for my freelance and personal writing. My success rate for finishing my writing has never been 100 percent in any room anywhere, but that office tops the list efficiency-wise. As important as it is to have a dedicated writing space, I wrote my first few books in a variety of places. Wherever I wrote was my office that day, whether it was the kitchen table or the bedroom. When I feel stuck on my writing in a certain location, I’m happy to move to the next room to see if it can get me past my temporary writer’s block.

Here are a few writing locations you may not have thought of.

1. The Kitchen

I’m fortunate that my kitchen counter comes up to the perfect height for me to stand and write. Whether I’m writing by hand, using my laptop or typing on my Neo 2 electronic keyboard, the act of standing helps to get the blood flowing to my brain. When I pushed myself to the limit with a 2,500 word goal per day (in addition to my 2,000 words or so per day of freelance writing), I would find myself getting too tired or anxious to write. Standing up seemed to help that problem for at least a few hundred words.

2. The Garage

I like to think of my wife’s car like a tiny writing pod. I’ll sit in the backseat, move the front passenger seat as far ahead as it can go and relax into my personal writing area. I don’t turn the car on or anything. I simply sink into the comfortable seat and write. This location was always great for scribbling out a blog post by hand when I simply couldn’t look at a screen any longer that day.

If your garage is off limits because of odor or clutter, this is a good excuse to brainstorm your next book while taking out a few garbage bags worth of junk.

3. The Laundry Room

Our apartment complex has a joint laundry room in the basement of the next building over. I love bringing down a portable work desk with me and hammering out a few hundred words while my laundry tumbles. There’s something about doing two things at once that heightens my sense of accomplishment. “I worked on a book and I finally cleaned those sheets? I’m a rock star!”

I’ve also heard stories of multiple authors who wrote their books in their laundry rooms. Maybe the smell of dryer sheets has something to do with creative productivity.

4. The Bedroom

Now, before you tell me that writing on your bed will put you right to sleep, I have to say that I agree with you. Writing while sitting or lying on your bed is a recipe for disaster if you’re at the beginning of a writing session. If you only have 200 words left as part of your daily goal, however, the comfortable and relaxing accommodations of your bedroom may be able to loosen you up enough to complete them. You know how good ideas always come to you right when you’re about to go to bed? There’s no reason you shouldn’t harness this power during the tail end of your writing sessions. Make sure to set an alarm in case you actually do hit the hay.

5. The Porch

I live in Chicago, which could mean my porch is off-limits about eight freezing months out of the year. At least, it would mean that if I wasn’t crazy. Sometimes, you just need a little oxygen to stir the brain. If that means sitting outside when it’s 20 degrees outside in all of your coats and gloves that are thin enough to let you type, you do it. Maybe not for more than 20 minutes at a time, but it’s a perfectly viable thing to do for a crazy person a.k.a. writer.

I fully recommend a thermal top and bottom if you plan to brave the cold and your writing at the same time.

–

A daily writing routine is one of the keys to becoming a better writer. If you have a hard time meeting your daily goals and you have to stay around the home, you should pull out all the stops to reach those goals. If you feel blocked, test out one of these five primo locations to get you out of your writing funk. You are the renter or owner of your entire home. You might as well use the whole thing to create your next piece of work.

About the Author

In honor of his new book, Cohen is hosting the “1,000 Prompts, 1,000 Dollars” Writing Contest on his website. Click the link to find out how to enter!

Bryan Cohen is an author, a creativity coach and an actor. His new book, 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, Volume 2: More Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More is now available on Amazon in digital and paperback format. His other books include 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, The Post-College Guide to Happiness, and Ted Saves the World. He has published over 30 books, which have sold more than 20,000 copies in total. Connect with him on his website, Build Creative Writing Ideas, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Twitterific

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Are you an unpublished Crime Novelist? Enter the Emerging Writers Getaway Contest of the Whidbey Writers MFA Alumni Association. Grand prize: $300 and 5-day residency at Northwest Institute of Literary Arts MFA program (tuition and lodging only). Final judge New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni. Comments on top three entries by Laurie McLean of Foreword Literary Inc. Submissions open Feb 14-May 23, 2014. Entry fee $25. Proceeds benefit Whidbey MFA Alumni Association programs and scholarship fund. http://www.whidbeymfaalumni.org/?page_id=1154

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Yes, being a good writer still matters: http://dld.bz/cY6mT @bizjournalism

Tips for a better author bio: http://dld.bz/ddtAq @janefriedman @writerunboxed

Best Practices for Getting Published: http://dld.bz/ddtAr @ajfinnegan

How to choose a writing style: Social validation, creative expression, or both? (Personality test for writers): http://dld.bz/ddtAw

Brand Yourself: How would you sum up your life in just 6 words? http://dld.bz/ddtHs @FirebrandTalent

What one writer learned from carving teeth: http://dld.bz/ddtH4 @KMWeiland

Publishing industry faces serious challenges, but is hardly ‘spiraling down the drain’: http://dld.bz/cVaRc @Porter_Anderson @MikeShatzkin

Great Scene: “Shakespeare In Love”: http://dld.bz/cUPPx  @gointothestory

50 Synonyms for Control: http://dld.bz/cUPPt  @writing_tips

Why autobiography is cursed by an unreliable narrator: http://dld.bz/cUPPU  @guardianbooks

1 writer’s list of writing mistakes: http://dld.bz/cUPRJ

10 great meals in literature: http://dld.bz/cUPRX  @TelegraphBooks

Can’t Take a Research Trip? No Problem: http://dld.bz/cUPSz  @carrieturansky

4 Ways to Reveal Your Character’s Personal Boogie Man: http://dld.bz/cUPTg  @niniehammon

Top 10 Clever Google Search Tricks: http://dld.bz/cUPTH  @WhitsonGordon

Basic Instinct: http://dld.bz/cUPTX  @bang2write

Track Changes is your friend: http://dld.bz/cUPUc  @EditorJamieC

Writing When You’re Tired: http://dld.bz/cUPU5  @jamesscottbell

10 Promotion Pitfalls to Avoid: http://dld.bz/cUPU7

Build Your Own Bestseller: 3 Formulas: http://dld.bz/cUPPN  @noreenmalone

8 Rules For Writing in Bed: http://dld.bz/cUPUF  @writersdigest

POV Issues in a Romance Opening: http://dld.bz/cUPUA  @janice_hardy

Keeping a Professional Distance From our Book

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig







I’ve been thinking a lot lately about
gaining distance from our books.  I
really feel that’s vital to both editing them effectively, gaining a critical
perspective of them, and learning from negative feedback.

One way to gain distance from our books
is to write another book.  The authors I
know who wrote one book (and were traditionally published), fell into this
“only child syndrome” with their book…they helicopter-parented it and were
genuinely hurt over poor reviews.  Hurt
to the point where they were immobilized and couldn’t move forward with writing
again.

Another way to cultivate this distance is
to adopt the most businesslike attitude we can about our books. Because, if
we’re sticking with publishing as a career…it is
a business.  I think that’s where writers
got off-track so many times in the past. 
We didn’t understand our contracts, we didn’t understand the nature of
the industry, we didn’t understand our responsibility to our book…which is to
promote ourselves as a brand and work on the next story.




As a business, there’s a research and
development angle.  Knowing what
resonates with our readers and what they dislike about our books helps us to
improve the stories and secure our readers’ loyalty to a series.  I’ve gotten positive and negative feedback on
all my books and keep track of it on very basic spreadsheets.  I think studying the reviews/feedback this
way helps us maintain distance from the work…otherwise, reading our reviews can
be extraordinarily painful.  But getting
something positive out of a negative review can help make my next book better.

I get emails and Facebook messages from
readers.  I read each book’s highlights
on the book’s product page (the text that readers highlight or comment on with
their Kindle device).  I sometimes
venture onto Goodreads—although you really do
have to be strong there because reviews can be particularly vicious on that
site. 

What readers like helps me, too.  They
frequently have suggestions about plot developments they’d like to see happen
in future books.  I’d be crazy not to
listen to these, but it does reach a point where I realize only I know what’s
best for my stories.  I’m not writing my
own fan fiction, here.  But I can see
trends, if many readers are interested in certain plot points.  Relationship arcs, story arcs…whatever piques
reader interest the most.  And it
frequently does influence my writing. 
There definitely seems a shift to me in publishing toward a sort of
crowdsourcing of ideas in writing.  Sites
like Wattpad, where authors release
stories chapter by chapter and readers give feedback are influencing this
trend, too.

If you go this route, I’d collect this
information over a period of time and probably not on days where we’ve just had
a rotten writing day or are feeling insecure about our ability.  One thing does help—keeping a Word doc with
copy/pasted positive feedback or reviews or emails.  This can really help, especially if you’re
dealing with a crop of bad reviews (sometimes they go in cycles).

How do you keep a professional distance
from your book?

And…Happy Thanksgiving to my American
friends.  I’m going to take the remainder
of the week off from blogging to celebrate the holiday—and be Doctor Mom to my
teenager who is getting his wisdom teeth out. :)  I’ll be back again on Sunday with
Twitterific.

Twitterific

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig



Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming)
which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It's the search
engine for writers.




Friend and fellow
mystery writer Margot
Kinberg has compiled a crime fiction anthology: In
a Word--Murder.  The ebook retails
for $2.99 and proceeds from its sales benefit Princess
Alice Hospice, in memory of Maxine Clarke, a supporter of and good friend
to the crime writing community.  One of
my stories is in the collection, too...my first attempt at short fiction.
:) 









I'm also included in
a newly-launched resource for self-publishing authors:

Wordpreneur
Peeps: 107 Successful Indie Publishers.
Eldon Sarte from the Wordpreneur
blog has collected advice from 107 self-published authors and compiled them in
this attractively-priced  November
release (currently at $.99).  His blog is also a helpful resource for
independent authors.




Have a great week!




7 Tips to Help you
Write More: http://dld.bz/cUmdu @RinelleGrey







3 Steps to Get Past Creative Speed Bumps:
http://dld.bz/cUmdx @emilywenstrom

4 Ways For Authors To Reach The Right
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@ebooksandkids

Crime fiction--finding ties between
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@mkinberg

Marketing Your Independently-Published
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Self-Publishing and Pricing: Rewarding
Loyal Readers vs. Luring New Ones: http://dld.bz/cUvrt
@CamilleLaGuire

Challenging Assumptions: Pricing
Frontlist Like Backlist and Backlist Like Frontlist: http://dld.bz/cUwYx

The Tension Between Startups and Trad.
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Examining PI/Police relations in crime
fiction: http://dld.bz/cU4CF @mkinberg

Keeping a Cozy Series Moving: http://dld.bz/cU4TT @ElaineOrr55 @authorterryo

Characterization 101: Anti-Heroes: http://dld.bz/cU84c @DefyingBlog @JulieMusil

“The Trap (for Many) of Self-Publishing”:
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@Porter_Anderson

Handling Continuity Markers Across
Chapter Transitions: http://dld.bz/cUmep
@JulietteWade

How to Use Mind Mapping in Writing
Memoir: http://dld.bz/cUmeG @Sherrey_Meyer

How to Create a Promotion Plan That Helps
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@ninaamir

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Freelancers--writing for free in a
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Becoming a Freelance Editor: Corrections
and Egos: http://dld.bz/cUvuS @indie_jane

Creating a Protagonist Readers Will Love:
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5 Reasons Authors Need to Use Social
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@janvbear

Timeline: A Brief History of Publishing: http://dld.bz/cUvv5 @galleycat

The New, Old Way to Tell Stories: With
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How To Write A Murder Mystery: http://dld.bz/cUvvN @susanspann @woodwardkaren

Write your character's passion: http://dld.bz/cUvvT @lindasclare

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How to Be Creative: It's All in the
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@pbs

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The figure of the chaotic champion--order
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Horror in literature needn't be about
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Why You Should Think Differently When
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@thewritelife

10 Tips for Writing Good Prose: http://dld.bz/cUxUk @Writers_Write

When is it Good to Self Publish? http://dld.bz/cUxUu @JordynRedwood

Screenwriting Advice, in Six Seconds or
Less: http://dld.bz/cUxU4

To "Self"-Publish, You Need a
Team: http://dld.bz/cUxUK @Bob_Mayer

Neil Gaiman: "I don't think there is
such a thing as a bad book for children http://dld.bz/cUzdj
@lucycoats

Screenwriters: Why Having Multiple
Projects Is Killing You and Your Career: http://dld.bz/cUzez
@indiewire

15 Tips From The Writers Of
"Adventure Time": http://dld.bz/cUzeJ
@andnowtothemoon @BuzzFeedGeeky

Question it All: Things to Ask in Any
Scene: http://dld.bz/cUzeV @janice_hardy

A common mistake for writers when trying
to focus on a task: http://dld.bz/cUzfh
@lifehackorg

Why Listening Must Come Before Writing: http://dld.bz/cUzfp @KeithFerrin @jeffgoins

Mixing Real People And Imaginary
Characters In Historical Novels: http://dld.bz/cUzft
@mwhiteauthor

Finding your writer's voice: http://dld.bz/cU23Z @Shirl_Corder

Remember You're Writing A Selling Script:
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What does branding mean to an author? http://dld.bz/cU24p @ventgalleries @

How Much Can Indie Authors Realistically
Make? http://dld.bz/cU24t @BadRedheadMedia

How to Pre-Plot a Series: http://dld.bz/cSWvM @plotwhisperer

How To Make Your Own Free Book Cover In
MS Word: http://dld.bz/cU24H @thecreativepenn

How To Fix A Plot That Feels Lightweight
Or Predictable: http://dld.bz/cU24U
@raindance

Emotional Elements of Plot: http://dld.bz/cU25a @scriptmag

How To Write A Murder Mystery: http://dld.bz/cU3rF @woodwardkaren

Why writers should use Google +...and how
to use it effectively: http://dld.bz/cU3rK
@annerallen @seowebdesignric

Interviewing Characters to Get to Know
Them: http://dld.bz/cU4Mq

Using Online Writing Workshops to
Skyrocket Your Creativity: http://dld.bz/cU4My
@livewritethrive @LesAnglesey

Crossing the (Invisible) Line Between
Poetry and Prose Poetry: http://dld.bz/cU4MH

Freelancers: Why Your Query Letter Gets
No Response: The Painful Truth: http://dld.bz/cU4MR
@ticewrites

Why agents say no to your project: http://dld.bz/cU4Nd @JanetKGrant

How to Write a Good Book in 30 Days: http://dld.bz/cU4Nm @ninaamir

5 Ways to Make Your Novel Inescapable: http://dld.bz/cU4Nv @victoriamixon

4 Key Book Publishing Paths: http://dld.bz/cU564 @janefriedman

Answers to writers' questions on Point of
View: http://dld.bz/cU56E @janice_hardy

An agent on re-querying after rejection: http://dld.bz/cU56N @Janet_Reid

Writing is Design: Eliminate 'That' Fat
From Your Writing: http://dld.bz/cU56Y

What Charlotte Brontë Taught 1 Writer: http://dld.bz/cU57z @BenisonAnne

7 Reasons You Should Write A Sports
Movie: http://dld.bz/cU57B @Bang2write

Dear Young Writer: http://dld.bz/cU57Z @susankayequinn

Business of Screenwriting: I Don't
Believe in Fate: http://dld.bz/cU58m
@scriptmag

4 Questions to Ask About Your Cozy
Mystery Character's Job: http://dld.bz/cU58s
@ChrystleFiedler

10 tips for better headlines: http://dld.bz/cU58G

Helpful books on revising: http://dld.bz/cU58W @Fictiffous

When to kill a character: http://dld.bz/cU58Z @lindasclare

Creating Perfect Solitude for Creative
Focus: http://dld.bz/cUCnB @99u

Saying goodbye to promo postcards: http://dld.bz/cUCrE @nicolamorgan

Reality doesn't have to make sense, but
fiction needs to: http://dld.bz/cUCrS
@janelebak

An essential question to keep asking your
character: http://dld.bz/cUCsb @LaurelGarver

Dos and Don'ts For Selling Your Book
Online: http://dld.bz/cUCsv @ZiggyKinsella

Not Ready for Publication? Not Even Ready
for Editing: http://dld.bz/cUCs3
@Porter_Anderson @tanyaegangibson

8 Habits of Highly Successful YA Authors:
http://dld.bz/cUCtK @theatlantic @nolanfeeney

7 Ways to Prevent Your Blog from Failing:
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Claiming Your Book to Your Author Central
Page: http://dld.bz/cUCup

Avoiding the "Saggy Middle": http://dld.bz/cUCuD

Dos and Don'ts For Selling Your Book
Online: http://dld.bz/cUCsv @ZiggyKinsella

To "Self"-Publish, You Need a
Team: http://dld.bz/cUxUK @Bob_Mayer

When is it Good to Self Publish? http://dld.bz/cUxUu @JordynRedwood

3 Steps to Get Past Creative Speed Bumps:
http://dld.bz/cUmdx @emilywenstrom

The query letter: Your manuscript's most
important page: http://dld.bz/cUd7U
@darlawrites

Novel Middles: From Sag to Super: http://dld.bz/cUE3q @lindasclare

Academic writing--scholarship in the
fantastic: http://dld.bz/cUE5n
@amazingstories0

5 Ways To Share Your Book Research With
Your Readers: http://dld.bz/cUE9P
@thecreativepenn

5 tips for better fiction: http://dld.bz/cUE9U @lindasclare

The Ultimate Story Checklist: Iron Man: http://dld.bz/cUE9W @cockeyedcaravan

Tips for writing locked-room mysteries: http://dld.bz/cUEA5 @MarkCN

Why Your Book Pitch Matters (Even If
You're Self-Published): http://dld.bz/cTqVy
@JFBookman

Top 10 writing fallacies: http://dld.bz/cUFgk @States50

Use Camera Angles to Supercharge Your
Novel: http://dld.bz/cUFgn @livewritethrive

5 Ways To Share Your Book Research With
Your Readers: http://dld.bz/cUE9P
@thecreativepenn

Passive vs Active Heroes: http://dld.bz/cUFtb @AlexBledsoe

The Ultimate Guide to Evil Cats in SF/F: http://dld.bz/cUFth @io9 @Krellitlikeitis

Ray Bradbury's unknown universe of
realist fiction: http://dld.bz/cUFtk
@guardianbooks

Thoughts on beginning a novel: http://dld.bz/cUFtq @sharonksouza

The Writing Life: Re-entry and Changing
Gears: http://dld.bz/cUFts @DeborahJRoss

Top Five Highs and Lows of Publishing: http://dld.bz/cUFtv @mpax1

Preparing for a Productive Writing Day: http://dld.bz/cUFtz

Developing characters organically: http://dld.bz/cUFt4 @BrianYansky

How To Summon Creative Presence: http://dld.bz/cUFt8 @OrnaRoss

2 Steps to Connecting with your
Characters: http://dld.bz/cUFtA
@AnthonyEhlers

Preparing for a Productive Writing Day

By
Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig







I’ve always been a big believer in being
prepared (yes, I was a Girl Scout all
those years ago).  I don’t like hectic
mornings, so everything is organized the night before to make sure the mornings
go smoothly.  My kids know that in the evenings
before bed, they have to have all their homework done,  essays printed out, homework collected in
their backpacks downstairs,  and have a
handle on what they want to wear the following day.  Lunches are made the night before.  The more time we invest at night, the better
and more stress-free our mornings are.




The Lifehack blog recently ran a post by
Timo Kiander: “Do
You Do This Common Mistake When You Start Working on Your Tasks?”  In it, the
writer gives tips for people who open up a document, daily goals firmly
in mind, and then basically waste their writing time through lack of
preparation.

I’ve never wanted to mess around in the
mornings.  I get up before five a.m. to
write, and I sure don’t want to waste that time…otherwise I might just as well
get more sleep.

At this point in my writing career, I’ve
got an outline to follow for each project. 
But that’s only been in the last year or so and only out of total
necessity.  Although I never fully
outlined with my previous books, I always
knew what I was going to write the next day. 
That way I could hit the ground running in the morning.  Get my coffee, open up my laptop, see my
little three sentence note to myself regarding what I wanted to write that day,
and knock out a good part of my goal.  I
used mini-outlines to keep myself on track.

For me, a good mini-outline should be
very concise, but very explicit.  I also
include a short summary of where I left off the day before.  That way I don’t have to read what I wrote
the previous day (which always makes me want to edit). Then I’ve got an
extremely brief sentence or two that explains the point of the scene.  If the scene doesn’t have a point that can be
summed up in about a sentence…that’s just not a great scene. Our whole book should have enough of a point that we can
sum it up in a sentence.

I also get into a writing mode by
thinking about the story before I even make it over to my laptop.  So, as soon as I wake up (gosh, this sounds
compulsive, as I’m typing it down), I start thinking about where I left off and
where I want to go with the story today. 
While I’m pulling on a robe and pouring the coffee, and letting the dog
out, I’m thinking about dialogue and plot points.  By the time, minutes later, that I’m finally
opening my computer, I’ve got a very clear picture of where I’m going next.

What happens when you sit down to write
each day?  How do you get into that
writing mode and keep your writing time productive? 

Image: MorgueFile: cohdra

The Ability to Single-Task

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig







The past few days haven’t been terrific
and the fault for this lies squarely with me.

So…I dropped my phone in water.  Apparently, this is not a good thing to do to
smart phones.  Not only did I drop it in
water, I didn’t even realize I’d dropped
it into water.  There was no quick
rescue, so the phone was submerged for quite a while.  Once I discovered it, I tried sticking it
into a bag of quick-rice, but boy, that thing was dead.

I have also broken a plastic container
that was full of leftovers (yes, this is
hard to do! But somehow…), chipped a bowl, ran into a doorjamb, and burned two
things I was cooking.  Even for me, this
is a long list of issues.

The interesting thing is that after my
phone was destroyed (it was actually the last in the series of unfortunate
events), I immediately stopped having these calamities.  I’m not going to blame my phone 100%, but it apparently
was a significant contributing factor.




A mom-oriented blog that I frequently
read recently warned
against the hazards of distracted living 
in a post by a mother whose child could have drowned in a tub while she
was distracted…the kind of cautionary tale to strike fear in a parent’s heart.

I do multi-task some things very
well.  If one of the things is completely
mindless…ordinarily housework of some kind or exercise…then I can do it and
write the next scene of my book in my head or plan a blog post or do any other
thoughtful task.

But if something requires
attention—whether it’s a conversation with someone or measuring ingredients for
supper—then I should just focus 100% on what I’m doing.  Plus, it’s just really starting to stress me
out to do too much at one time. I get a sort of a frantic feeling.

Not only that, I’ve noticed a distinct
problem with single-tasking.  I’ve gotten so capable at multi-tasking, that
my single-tasking abilities have taken a nosedive.

The phone’s accessibility and bright,
shiny icons mean that I check email and social media more than I intend
to.  And, when I check them, I’m usually
doing something else at the same time.

What also feeds into this is a general
restlessness that I have. It’s also present when I write. 

My top tip for combatting restlessness
for writing time is to:

 1)
Either close all the windows I have open, turn off email/Twitter/Facebook/other
notifications, unplug the modem, or go somewhere with no WiFi (increasingly
hard to do)

 2)
Then set a timer for myself for writing. 
Either use Online Stopwatch
or I’ll Google “set timer for ___minutes” and let Google count it down.

3) Get done what I need to get done in
the space before that restlessness strikes –for me, that will usually be about
twenty minutes— and then do something else for twenty minutes…ordinarily for
me, that’s going to be something active (if, obviously, I haven’t left the
house to write). 

4) Then write for another twenty minutes,
especially if I’m on deadline.  Repeat
until I hit whatever my goal is.

Now I just need to apply that approach to
the rest of my day and I should be golden. :) 
I get more done when I’m single-tasking, I feel less-stressed, and
whatever I’m focusing on is better-completed.

This is, for those of you who want to
adapt it for yourself, basically the Pomodoro
technique and I’ve been using it off and on since I heard about it. Michael Hyatt explained it well in
this post: How
to Use Batching to Become More Productive. 
It works well for me for task-completion.

When I single-task, I get more done,
faster. When I get more done, I have more time to stare into space and
brainstorm and form ideas.  I always know
I haven’t had enough quiet time in my day when I start getting tons of ideas
right before I fall asleep…it’s sometimes the only moment of the day when I’m
not juggling several things at once. 

How is your multi-tasking?  How does it affect your writing, if it
does?  If you multi-task well, how well
can you single-task?   

Image: MorgueFile: Seemann