What Do You Do When You're Not Writing?

I think that's an important question to ask yourself.

I mean, are you spending hours in front of the television set or are you out there in the world gleaning new ideas for your next book?

Are you reading a good book and learning something? I find that reading within my genre as well as without it, helps my own writing improve.

Are you spending time with those you care about? Are you leaving the writing for awhile just to soak life in? I find that many of my experiences later turn into a book idea, a character idea, or even - a plot idea. So keep your eyes open and a pen and paper handy for notes.



Are you keeping an open mind? A positive attitude goes both ways. When you're positive you'll continue to be successful, and act upon those things that will bring you success, God will help you to be successful. If you're constantly focusing on what you consider your failures, instead of taking these moments to learn from and move on, you'll continually be stuck in your writing life - yes, even when you're not writing.

When it comes to life when you're not writing, you really are writing (so to speak) because you're researching and gathering whether you know it or not. What you gather says a lot about you and what you want in your life.

Writing or not.

Keeping Your Writing Interesting

There's nothing like stale writing; sort of like stale toast that you cooked up an hour ago and forgot to eat. How to keep things fresh when it comes to writing takes some planning, a willingness to shift gears quickly, and guts when guts are needed.



Photo by John McCumpha, courtesy of Flickr

Allow me to tackle each fresh idea separately:

Planning.

Planning is one of those things that takes time. But I like to think of planning like drawing out a map and filling in the cities, states and so forth. When I plan I make sure I know the days and times that I'll be working and the projects I'll be working on. But nothing is en graven in stone. Some general planning for today includes:

1. Putting out 5 marketing items--I'm on 3 currently. I got my books put on BookDaily.com, got a video placed on YouTube, and I'm working on #3 here by putting out this blog. (I've learned recently that putting out 5 items a day keeps your work in front of your readers and helps them to remember what you do).

2. Working on my novel for at least two hours between 1 and 3.

Photo by: K. Tyler Conk, courtesy of Flickr

Shift Gears.

There's nothing worse than having a plan and then having your plan interrupted. But know this, it happens to all writers, whether they plan well or not. Shifting gears means putting down your edit so you can get your child a drink of water. It means taking that phone call or answering the door when you don't want to. Now I'm not suggesting you not take your work seriously--there are times I don't answer the phone or the door, but there are other times when I do. I am flexible about this because I know with grandchildren in the house, the need for help can be frequent. When I shift gears easily, instead of fighting it and forcing the outcome that I want, I usually find that I can get back to my writing that much sooner.

Guts.

It takes guts to keep writing when the house needs cleaning or the wash needs to get done. It takes guts when some of your family members don't understand that your writer is a career and not just a past-time. It takes guts to throw out an entire chapter that isn't working and start over, or chop out that favorite line or paragraph. But when you plan, you also plan to fail (at least sometimes) and you need to have enough courage to keep going even when it hurts.

It also takes guts to leave one project and tackle another or put one aside for two weeks before you go back and revise. 
Keeping your writing interesting takes more than writing every day. It takes planning for success, shifting those gears when necessary, and using your guts even when it hurts.

Especially when it hurts.

Ready, Set, Write!

I'm not one for races, either running in them or watching them, but I do like to read stories about athletes who have beat the odds; say they have lost their leg and now have a prosthetic one, or they fall on the track and still manage to finish the race.



Photo by: sophiea, courtesy of Flickr

Writers are really a lot like racers. They get ready for their event by doing some research and practicing their craft, they get set when they sit at their computer and get their computer screen on and their fingers reading to type.

Ready, set, write!

It's often easy to get distracted from writing, especially if you have so many other things to do, and who doesn't? But I'd like you to know something.



Photo by: vancouverfilmschool, courtesy of Flickr

Writing doesn't just take talent it takes movement. That means each and every day a good writer who wants to become great at what he/she does must get ready, get set, and write, even if he/she doesn't want to. Even if there doesn't appear to be enough time. Even if other folks, meaning friends and family, don't GET IT.

Especially then.

I write every day, without fail. Even if I don't feel like it. Even if my back hurts (and it's hurt a lot lately) even if others are telling me that I spend far too much time on the craft.

I do it not only because I LOVE it, but because with each experience, each writing opportunity, I get to know myself that much better, and I get to share what I love with you.

Ready, set, write!

Here's to your success!

Kathryn

Publishing a Christmas Book

If you're thinking about writing a Christmas book, now is the time, for next year's crop.

Unfortunately, Christmas books are looked at mid-year or sooner by publishers and if you're just starting on your book now, better plan for a release next year at the earliest. Many book publishers want your book near the first of the year, in spring at the latest--and that's if you can glean some interest--a tough cookie in this tough market. The good news is that if you plan to self publish your book before next Christmas, and your ideas are already pumping, you can use most of the year to write your book and plan out your marketing strategy.

Here's some suggestions to keep all your reindeer's or (book plans) in a manageable line:

My granddaughter makes some time for coloring fun

• This time of year, more than ever, you need to plan your writing time. It's easy to get focused on parties, gift buying and decorating and forget about your book. 
• Get up early. It's amazing what can be accomplished with just one hour a day of writing time.
• Keep your Christmas book short; around 150 pages or so. Folks will spend even less time reading a Christmas book than at other times of the year. 
• Make it inspirational or fun. Few people want the heavy, dark stuff at Christmas, unless it's a fun, cozy-centered Christmas mystery. Making your book light to carry as well as light on the eyes and heart will give you high marks.
• Set a date for your work to be finished. Mark out first and second draft times leading up to your final draft.
• Get some readers/writers to critique your work. Folks not in your immediate family are best.
• Study up on marketing techniques while your book is being read, or get some help from an expert. Even if your book is great, marketing makes up for about 90% of your sales.
• Don't be afraid to publish your own work. Amazon.com and their imprint CreateSpace will give you the help you need to publish your book with little or no out of pocket cost.

Don't forget to have some fun during your book writing and take the necessary breaks needed; even Santa makes some time to put his feet up.