Decision Paralysis as a Busy Momma Writer
May 16, 2023 by Renae Wrich in category Writing tagged as BusyMom, Mom, Momlife, VelrcoPuppy, WriterIt’s a quarter to seven on a Sunday morning. The house is quiet. I’m up before my family. It’s just me, my velcro-puppy, and the birds chirping outside my window. There are no sports today which is a STARK contrast from the daily rat race of fastpitch softball, dance classes, obedience training, talent show practice, Girl Scout meetings, birthday parties, house work, and the job that actually pays me.
But today I’m up early and this time is mine. Sure, I contemplate getting in a morning work-out, taking aforementioned velcro-puppy on a walk, or making a nice breakfast for my family.
Today, writing wins.
Which of my writing projects should I work on? Sometimes this decision is so easy, but today it is not. Typically, I select the book that is speaking the loudest to me. I can hear the characters talking to each other, just waiting for me to start typing their conversations. But today, no one is talking. That would be way too convenient!
I make my coffee and settle in on the loveseat in the living room. My favorite non-ergonomic writing spot. Velcro-puppy claims her rightful spot next to me.
Indecision joins too.
Should I open that finished children’s book (the one that I hadn’t planned to write) and work on edits?
How about Mac and Cheese, Please, Please, Please the sequel? Am I feeling like a rhyming qween this morning?
Oooh, maybe I’ll work on my romance novel?
Side note- Total rookie mistake but I not-so-accidentally wrote the second novel of my four-book series before writing the first novel. Whoops!
The second novel is talking. No! That one is done. It’s edited. It’s waiting on book one! Let’s write book one!
Moon rhymes with spoon! DUH! Of course moon rhymes with spoon! It’s a nursery rhyme ya dummy!
I finally click into book one of my romance series and I’m ready to write. I navigate to where I left off and place my hands on the keys, just as the door to my daughter’s room opens and small feet start padding down the hallway.
I tried, I lie.
Goodbye!
Damnit.
Alina K. Field May Featured Author
May 14, 2023 by Alina K. Field in category Featured Author, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Alina K. Field, Featured Author of the Month, Regency Romances
Award winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwest, after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California where she shares a midcentury home with two furry four-legged girls and keeps a dependable stash of lollipops for the munchkins in her life.
She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. She is hard at work on her next series of Regency romances, but loves to hear from readers!
Books by Alina K. Field
How NOT to Write in Twelve Hard Steps*
May 13, 2023 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley tagged as coffee, humor, Marianne H Donley, Motivational, writing
All the members of Bethlehem Writers Group are fast at work on the 2023 Bethlehem Writer Roundtable Short Story Award. (Winners will be announced soon.) So we’re rerunning a column from 2017 on How Not to Write in Twelve Hard Steps. We hope you enjoy it.
This was going to be a blog about how to write with a day job.
Unfortunately, writing with a day job is incredibly easy. You simply keep writing material with you at all time. Paper and pencil work as well as an iPad. Then when you find a block of time (like I usually have to wait for that student who never shows up for a scheduled appointment or arriving hours early for my appointment because the 60 freeway is completely and inexplicably free from traffic) you write. After dishes are done and the family is watching reruns on TV, you write. When you awaken hours before the rest of the world, you write. I imagined my whole blog would be one word long:
Write.
That would be the world’s shortest blog. In addition, I suspected I would be preaching to the choir. People who write and have day jobs know this. Who else would care? Maybe, I should blog about something else. But what?
Inspiration struck while I wandered the local bookstore and sipping my venti café mocha I noticed a whole wall of thick serious books on how to write everything from baby picture books to novels to true-crime police procedurals. Stuck in the middle of all this writing information were two thin books on How NOT to Write.
Heck, not even Nora can want to write all day every day. I would have thought there would be a bit more information on how not to write. Constant writing must be some type of mental illness or at the very least a nasty bad habit. Surely, there must be tons of books on breaking such a habit. I looked. There wasn’t. Just two tiny little books all alone in the vast sea of heavy writing advice.
Clearly, not writing was a topic few writers were comfortable discussing. I’m pretty brave. I can handle controversy. I’ll write a blog on how not to write. I could come up with a set of rules. Break new ground. Give out sage advice.
So here it is:
How Not to Write in Twelve Hard Steps. *
1. Pay attention, this is important. Not writing is the hardest work you will ever do. It is not for the faint of heart. Not writing takes planning, dedication, and a tenacity that many writers lack. Don’t try it unless you have the necessary backbone.
2. To not write you must get up early in the morning. The perfect time is 4:30 A.M. but for you sleepy heads 5:00 A.M. will work as well. If you sleep until 8, half the day is gone and you may as well just waste the rest by writing.
3. To not write you must have a full pot of coffee. Dedicated non-writers program their coffee pots so they can start their day with a fresh cup as soon as they leap out of bed. I suspect that tea drinkers can’t help themselves and start writing as soon as the tea bag hits the trash can, so if you really want to not write break your tea drinking habit immediately.
4. To not write you must have an outfit. You can write in your PJs and no one will care. Not writing takes more style, especially if you want to avoid pointed questions about your mental health. Your outfit can’t just be jeans and a tee-shirt unless of course, you’re male. Females must have a complete, color-coordinated outfit with jewelry, makeup, and styled hair. For women, I strongly advise pantyhose and two-inch heels as well. For men, not shaving is NOT an option.
5. To not write you must have a clean office or not-writing space. If your space is messy and cluttered, then you must take the time to make it tidy. Organizing it would be even better. I recommend categorizing all the bookshelves in your house by subject and author. Should you use the kitchen as your office, alphabetizing your spice rack while you’re at it is always an excellent idea. It wouldn’t hurt to get some of those cute little bins for all your rubber bands and paper clips. You should also consider sharpening all your pencils and testing all your pens to see if they still work. However, cleaning the bathroom or doing laundry is a bit excessive. Should you find yourself contemplating such work, just give up and write. Let’s face it if you’re going to work that hard you may as well get some recognition for it. Completing your manuscript and sending it out will, at the very least, get you an RWA Pro pin and a round of applause at the next chapter meeting. Only your mother will notice whether or not you clean the bathroom.
6. To not write you must play computer solitaire until you win. None of that two-game only nonsense; this takes a real commitment. You must win. Four Suit Spider Solitaire is an excellent choice for those truly dedicated to not writing. Less adventuresome types can try the Two Suit version or Free Cell. However, should you select One Suit Spider and not win in 30 seconds or less, well, just don’t tell me. I firmly believe everyone I know is smart enough to get an advanced degree in rocket science if only they had the time. Shattering my world view like that is just plain cruel.
7. To not write you must build into your schedule time for physical exercise. As I mentioned above, not writing is hard work. Drinking coffee, while playing Free Cell, in your spanking clean office, and keeping your outfit stylish is quite emotionally draining. If you are not careful you could actually get bored and open up your WIP. Your whole day of not writing will be shot to heck. Walking around the block, especially if you live on a steep hill should help.
8. To not write, I must caution you, taking two dogs for a walk as your scheduled physical activity will invariably set you right back on the writing path. How you may ask? Two dogs are not going to agree on speed, direction, or when to leave odorous land mines for you to pick up. This lack of coordination on their part will provide comic relief at your expense for your neighbors. If one of them says something like, “Martha, ya got to come see this” while you, of course, are in the middle of the street, tangled up in dog leashes attached to a white dog going North and a black dog going South, juggling three baggies of land mines, a pouch of special doggie treats, the training clicker that supposed to help train the dogs, but actually makes the black dog cry and the white dog sit until he gets to eat all the treats. Well, can plotting this neighbor’s death be far behind? If he’s going to die, you’re going to have to think of a better reason then laughing at you to kill him. Then you’re going to need several characters who also want him dead for equally good reasons, and finally, the proper sleuth and her love interest will just pop right into your head. The next thing you know a whole series will be in the planning stages and you won’t be able to not write for months.
9. To not write you must have a not writing buddy or sponsor. This buddy is someone you can call any time of the day or night whenever that uncontrollable urge to break out Chapter Four and fix it threatens. Your mother or sisters cannot be your not writing buddy. This is considered cheating as it is much too easy to get them chatting and waste valuable not writing time. No, your buddy must be trustworthy and kind and also dedicated to not writing. She must intuitively know when not to ask how you worked out that problem you accidentally but cleverly wrote into Chapter Eight. She should NEVER tell you she’s finished her WIP. She should always know when to invite you to Starbucks for venti mochas or to Nordstrom’s for a good day of shoe shopping. Shoe shopping is, by the way, the only shopping for which you can indulge without guilt.
10. All not writing writers should know that guilt free shoe shopping is a rule. I think it was left over from the Regan administration. Subversive media types, probably male, tried to kill this rule with cruel stories featuring Imelda Marcos and her shoe closet. (Can you imagine the press if she has attended a public event wearing pre-worn shoes? The press coverage would have rivaled the media frenzy surrounding a certain female prosecutor and her new hair cut.) More sensible wisdom prevailed and shoes are officially guilt free. I must point out that as a corollary to this rule, any other type of shopping is not only riddled with real stomach turning guilt, and it requires an actual paycheck. This will naturally require you finish that book, not a good situation for your not writing goals.
11. To not write you should avoid the Internet like the plague, especially emails. Some people think the Internet is the perfect not writing tool. They are sadly mistaken. Consider, if you will, the simple task of checking your emails. You are going to get them from your weak-willed friends who are writing. Those people are unfortunately smart. Good writing ideas follow them around like ants at a picnic and they SHARE. Read one email and you’re going to get enough ideas to keep you writing for the rest of your natural life and that of your youngest child’s. You’ll have to make a pack with the devil just to finish. Really, do you want to risk your immortal soul just for email? And if that wasn’t bad enough, they’ll answer your emails by says, “Gee that idea would make a great (pick one) book, novel, short story, article, online class, workshop.”
12. To not write you should also drop out of all your critiques groups. (See above for the primary reason.) Secondary reason: Every conversation will start with, “So how’s the writing?” You’ll feel guilty. You’ll write. That clever accident in Chapter Eight, they’ll not only fix it, they’ll give you enough material for three sequels, two novellas, and cookbook. You’ll feel guilty. You’ll write.
*This was originally titled Twelve Easy Steps, but someone recently complained that I say everything is easy. She pointed out that if I would just say things were hard she would feel heaps better when she figured out how the heck to do it. When I tell her it’s easy, she gets no sense of accomplishment. Heaven knows I want people to have a real sense of accomplishment when not writing.
Marianne H. Donley makes her home in Pennyslvania with her husband and son. She is a member of Bethlehem Writers Group and Sisters in Crime. When Marianne is NOT not writing, she might be writing short stories, funny romances or quirky murder mysteries, but this could be a rumor.
Books from Bethlehem Writers Group
The Brand Challenge; Adding Book Pages To Your Website
May 12, 2023 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Denise M. Colby, Marketing for Authors, The Brand Challenge, website marketingI talked about a brand challenge a few months back to encourage you to try something new on your website to help you build content and SEO to support your brand. In this post I’m going to dive deeper with my suggestion to add book pages to your website.
First, were you able to do anything on the list from the first brand challenge? I’d love to hear about it. Let me know in the comments below.
Whether you did or did not, let’s try again!
It doesn’t have to be a lot of something, just one thing. Sort of like taking a small bite of the elephant. You don’t need to eat the entire elephant at one time. Many successful websites were not built in one month. They started somewhere first. Then changed or added pages or content later.
Last post, I gave generalized ideas, including adding book pages on your website. For this post, I’m going to expand on this idea.
What type of book pages do you have on your website?
Similar to a blog post, having a page that is focused on one main idea, allows you to use it as a link in other content. This isn’t usually something we think about when building our website pages. Deep linking is adding links that direct the reader to a specific page, not just the front page of your website. The faster they click to the content they want, the happier they will be.
Ideas for pages on your website include a series book page and individual book pages on each book you publish. You can add where to buy for that specific book on the page, but there’s so much other content that can be connected to these pages.
Where to deep-link your book and series pages for brand building
Create a social media post or a blog post on any of the content below and include a direct link to the book or series page it represents.
- Make your characters come alive by talking about them outside of the story.
- Blog post or social media posts about the animals in your book (I have a rooster named Bert)
- Blog post or social media posts for your characters occupation
- Blog post or social media posts for the area or location in your stories (the one-room schoolhouse that was the inspiration to my story)
You can also add some of this content onto the book page itself to give additional context for your readers who choose to want to know more. It’s a way to connect with your readers or potential readers besides just the book.
Another option is to share research gathered for your stories. This could include research you weren’t able to add to your book but you’d like to share. Such when I learned about the first school-teacher who was trained from the school my heroine came from. So I wrote a blog post titled Harriet Bishop, First Public School Teacher in 1847
Frequent small steps add up over time
I know branding and dealing with your website can be challenging, I hope some of these ideas spark something for you to work with. Remember, your content doesn’t have to be perfect. It can even be something you decide to change later on.
I encourage you to do one thing on this list above to help build your brand. It may not seem much. It may seem overwhelming, or underwhelming. But if you do one thing this month, and then another thing next month. Pretty soon, you’ll have many months of blog posts and content that you didn’t have before.
Sometimes we feel this urgency to hurry up that adds extra stress we don’t need as we are busy writing our next book. I’m hoping these ideas help propel you forward in your Author career.
The Real Truth behind my upcoming Paris WW2 novel ‘SISTERS AT WAR’ by Jina Bacarr
May 11, 2023 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as #MeTooI never would have predicted when I sent my editor my latest novel SISTERS AT WAR on Tuesday (my heroine is a victim of sexual violence in Paris during WW2), that fellow writer E. Jean Carroll would win her sexual abuse and defamation case in Federal Court on the same day.
Bravo to E. Jean for her courage and fortitude in pursuing justice for women everywhere. I remember when we crossed paths back in the day. She was vivacious, charming, and gracious, taking time to give advice to this young writer. (I saved her business card… I’ve got it somewhere.)
And in our writing careers, we both faced unwanted sexual advances from men in power.
Let me explain.
I’ve had several experiences that formed me as a young woman… unfortunately, some were unpleasant sexual encounters and like so many women of my generation, I kept silent.
Until now.
What happened to me formed the character of my heroine in SISTERS AT WAR who is raped and assaulted by an SS officer and the effect it has on her and her sister. Guilt, damage to her self-esteem, loss of confidence, and a rift between the two sisters when she believes her to be a collaborator. I’ve done some hard thinking about whether or not to discuss the events in my life that still give me chills. To give credence to my heroine, I feel I owe it to my readers to let them know I speak from experience.
In this first post, we’ll go back in time to my early writing days. I had a few breaks in the biz and wrote scripts for various shows from children’s to daytime TV and dialogue for primetime TV. I worked with some great male writers who respected me… and my work. I have forty-three TV and cable writing credits. And three produced one-act plays in Malibu.
Then I interviewed for my dream job: assistant producer. I went for the interview and it went well… until the company executive groped my breasts. I was shocked. I ran straight to the agent who sent me for the interview and told her what happened. The agent told me to ignore it and take the job. (This was before the ‘Me Too’ movement.’
Oh, my…
I said no. Then the exec called me and to his credit, he apologized and offered me the job, assuring me it wouldn’t happen a second time. Still, I didn’t feel good about the situation, that my worth as a woman and as a writer was devalued.
Again, I said no.
To this day, I wonder what would have happened if I’d ‘looked the other way’ and taken the job, but I couldn’t live with myself if I did. In the end, I walked away with my dignity intact.
And that’s more important to me than any showbiz ‘break’.
In the months leading up to the September 25th release date of SISTERS AT WAR, I will discuss sexual assault encounters that I experienced in Paris, Italy, and Copenhagen… and a two-part account about the night I was kidnapped and assaulted when I was in graduate school.
Yes, the details remain vivid. Because you don’t forget.
Thank you for listening.
Jina
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