Articles in the Fiction Writing Category

What’s Your Core Strength?

“While at the flower store, ordering a nice bunch of orchids to honor the longest-term relationship I’ve ever had–with myself, I noticed that many people were more focused on what to get or do for their significant others, or what they were getting done for them, than how to celebrate their own selves.

“In fact, out of the 20 or so other people who were there, not one of them were wrapping up blooms from them, to them. When they found out I was, it was like a kitten had popped out of my jacket pocket. “Ohmigosh–That’s SO cute!,” they said, eyes wide with the sheer quaintness of it all.

“It struck me then, how weighted we can get towards our external offerings and relationships. It’s rare to see someone taking themselves out for dinner, and choosing the nice restaurant over the quick fix, or taking the time to appreciate themselves with a love letter, a kind remark or even the simple beauty of flowers. “ ~ Sadie Nardini

Loving Relationship

When I started reading Sadie’s recent article, “What’s Your Core Strength?” (Yoga Journal) I couldn’t stop. Her words are so fresh and inspiring – and true.

I mean, as freelancers, how often do we truly appreciate ourselves? Our talent? Our bodies? Our health? Our time?

How often do we skip meals, lose sleep, push ourselves through sickness, exhaustion, blood-shot eyes, headaches? More often than not, right?

Why is it that we throw all of our love, passion, time, strength, mind, body and soul into our words, stories, books, characters, work, and give ourselves so little? Why do we strive to please our editors and clients – yet don’t give a thought to the simplest pleasure that we might enjoy?

Freelance Relationships

We spend so much time working on creating, building, and nurturing the relationships with our editors, clients, fellow freelancers, and potential clients. Why is it then, that we find it so hard to have a relationship with ourselves? To be kind to ourselves? Take care of ourselves? Do something just for us?

Relationship Deprivation

Oh, yes, money is an issue. We give and give and give until we’re all written out and our bodies and minds are worn out. Our bank account may be growing and expanding but our once youthful, cheerful, well-fed souls may be withering away to nothingness!

Is it hard to imagine treating yourself to a bouquet of roses – just because? Does it seem impossible to spend your hard-earned cash on a massage, a new outfit, your favorite restaurant, or even just a stroll through the park or a leisurely day (or even hour!) spent watching a little TV, reading a book you’ve been meaning to read, or taking that yoga class you’ve been fantasizing about?

Rich Relationship

Life is so much richer when it involves vibrant relationships. But you don’t have to be in a relationship with someone else to know that you’re special. You don’t have to receive a dozen roses from someone else to smile. And you don’t have to be a freelancer to give yourself a little TLC.

If we can be as creative as we normally are without treating ourselves, imagine what a superhero we would be if we did!

You’ll have to excuse me, I have a date – with yoga and myself. After that, I’ll be refreshed and ready to greet my freelance life with a smile!

Do you having a love-filled, caring, sweet, thoughtful, compassionate relationship – with yourself? Do you think it’s silly? Do you think it sounds inviting? Do you love yourself enough to treat yourself better – or at least as well – as you treat your clients and editors, and expect others to? Have you ever written yourself a letter? Bought yourself flowers? Dined at a restaurant alone (on purpose)? If you could have any relationship with yourself, what would it be: spontaneous, encouraging, luxurious, simple? Can you be as faithful to yourself as you are to everyone else?

Photo credit: Michael Melrose

This month, for the AW Blog Chain we talked about birthday’s and “growing up”. Many of us remember growing pains as we grew through each of the life stages behind us but did you know that our writing experiences similar growing pains?

The Labor of our Love of Writing

It all began, years before it all began. We gestated our love of language and writing through our own growth stages. Many writers can remember the joy of written creations shaping childhood. We daydreamed of the creativity we would, one day, bring into this world.

Eventually, the nesting period culminated in the pain and loss of childhood innocence. We brought our writing out into the harsh light of day. No longer could we cocoon our inspiration and ideas in the womb of secret passions. And so, our writing was born into the world. For the first time, others admired the wonder. Our baby was beautiful, at least in our own eyes, and the real journey was just beginning.

Each idea, story, or article is born in the same way. It starts, nestled safely in our minds and hearts until we push through the anxiety and pain to bring it out onto the page.

Cutting our Writing Teeth

After those labor pains, writing wandered through weeks of sleepless nights. We would delve into it at a moment’s notice any hour of the day. Often, we were tired, sometimes a little sad, but we were also high on the joy and wonder of creation.

As our writing grows up, however, teething inevitably arrives with sore gums, misery, and sometimes tears. Frustration dampens the thrill. What was once easy and effortless became a chore.

In is in this stage too that we begin to truly judge our writing. Our critical eye develops and we start to see our babies as they really are.

The pain of teething makes us want to stop. Many would-be writers do stop at this point, unaware that we explore new wonders, new tastes, after our teeth come in.

Temper Tantrums, Trouble Makers, and Id.

Have you ever met a three year old that was an angel ALL the time? I didn’t think so. Because after teething, children come into their twos, threes, and fours. These are the years of discovery. They find their personality, their Id, their sense of self and belonging. And in discovering how they influence the world around them, and that they are a single cog in the wheel of life, they rebel and test their boundaries.

Our writing also goes through this stage. After it’s munched on a few crunchy husks and found it’s teeth it reaches a stage of discovery. It becomes curious, it explores, it takes chances, and it gets hurt and scared. It tests its boundaries and throws tantrums.

This age of our writing is a wonderful part of growing up. It is when we discover our true voice and come to cherish what is unique about what we have to share with the world. These years feel the longest and sometimes, no matter how grown up we become, we revert to those trouble-making three-year-olds. Fear builds and we need to test our boundaries. We need to be reassured that we are safe and protected.

Striking Out with Writer Independence

Around the age of ten, most of us went through a new stage, we discovered that we could do things on our own. We no longer needed permission, we could make choices and decisions for ourselves. But, we were insecure in making choices so sometimes we would get clingy, emotional, angry, frustrated, and scared.

Once past the tantrum stage, our writing goes through a few years where it wanders in the youthful enthusiasm of childhood before it starts to understand danger and risk. Before then, it acts without realizing that what it does might be hazardous but as understanding dawns it begins to question what is right and it realizes that its power to affect others can do as much harm as good.

This stage of development is one that is truly magical but often overlooked. It feels like an in-between, we often just think the ten year old is a ten year old. Not quite a child, not quite a teenager, still young, carefree, and without the worries of the world on their shoulders. But a ten year old worries, and our ten year old writing become concerned too. As the weight of those worries build in the coming years it leads into the next stage.

Responding to Responsibility – Teenage Rebellion

When that former ten year old now about fourteen realizes they’ve had enough of the sense of responsibility that comes with growing up they rebel. They toss off the shackles of responsibility. They want to be carefree again. They want to make bad choices and they don’t want to be concerned with consequence. They want to be three-years-old again, when right and wrong didn’t matter and when they were still oblivious to danger.

Our writing loves this stage. If you’re in it you won’t know it but your voice is dramatically different in this stage. It’s not even really “you” so much it’s the mask you put on, the face you show others. This is also the age where you’ll find your writing most mimics others. You wear the masks of other people as your writing tries to fit in.

You’ll often find in this stage you begin to harness the ability to put deep emotional ties into your writing. That angst you felt as a teenager is angst your teenage writing gives voice. Before your writing reaches adulthood it can bleed on the page, everything is intense, without filter. It often lacks direction and almost never has a plan. It also ignores consequence. But it’s only steps away from the balance, understanding, and grounding of adulthood.

Balance, Understanding, and Grounding

All of these stages eventually lead to adulthood. You’ve been reckless, you’ve abandoned responsibility, you’ve discovered your sense of being separate and distinct from others, you’ve taken a bite out of life, and become your own person. You step away from your family and begin building a place for yourself in the world. You’re still learning who you are, because none of us ever really stop, but you’ve got a firmer grasp of yourself and your emotions. You’ve learned that you have a place in the world and that, to some degree, you have the power to shape that place.

When our writing reaches this same level of maturity it too has learned that it has a place in the world and that it has the power to shape that place. We’ve learned to harness our raw emotions, to give them essence and strength on the page. But we’ve also learned that those emotions play a part in the greater whole of our story. They aren’t just there for the sake of being there, they, in their very being, have significance to the story and to the characters.

We’ve also learned through growing up that there are times when writing is hard and there are times when we can write from the core of our three year old, we can write from the minds of our ten year old, we can write from the heart of our fourteen year old, and that all of those things are within the adulthood of our writing. In this, maturity of our writing, we have greater command and control. We know how to manipulate language, and to put our influence on the page.

In adulthood, we’ve also learned the importance of having a message. Our writing is no longer aimless, it conveys, it transforms, and it brings value to those around us. We’ve learned to be giving and we’ve learned to use our strengths to make a difference for others, and ourselves.

What have you learned as your writing was growing up? Do you think you’re still in one of these other stages? Do you recognize any stages I’ve not mentioned? How has your own writing grown?

See what other Absolute Writers have to say about “Growing Up”:

• Aimee Laine – aimeelaine
• Claire Gillian – AuburnAssassin
• Night-Tinted Glasses – DavidZahir
• Life in Scribbletown – FreshHell
• The Gluten Free Food Blog – Simran
• Everything Historical – Proach *Thanks for the introduction.
• Escape Into Romance – *RomanceWriter*
• Filling in the Corners – Breddings *Thanks for the introduction.
• Writer’s Round-About – laffarsmith
• My Fantasy Life – Sneaky Devil *UP NEXT!
• Words Fail Me – leahzero
• South Asia Blog – razibahmed
• [Insert Title Here] – RavenCorinnCarluk
• Eclectic Thoughts – Collectonian

Do you find some writers “just lucky?” Do you look at colleagues who earn all the best gigs, find clients who always pay on time, write for your dream markets – and wonder what they’re doing that you’re not?

I hold the opinion that there is no such thing as luck. We all make our own luck (if you want to call it that). I hope that doesn’t sound elitist or unsympathetic. If you think you’re doing everything you can to build a career, but still see others achieving greater success, you may be missing an important element.

Do you believe you can be a successful freelance writer? Do you expect success?

Many people have never heard of the Law of Attraction. For others, their only exposure is through the movie or Rhonda Byrne’s bestselling book, The Secret. While the book is a quality introduction to the Law of Attraction, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

I can’t describe the whole process of manifesting what you want by believing you have it in one short article. But I’ve been using the Law of Attraction in my freelance writing career and I can share a few tips.

What is the Law of Attraction?

The Law of Attraction is simple. It’s a universal law, as constant as gravity, which states: Like attracts like.

Good or bad, whatever you are getting now, you are bound to get more of. Unless you change your thoughts and actions.

Freelance writers sometimes use the term “feast or famine” to describe this universal truth. When we have work, we have lots of work. We’ll get up early, stay up late, miss meals, and work around the clock. This, of course, attracts more work. We hate to turn down writing gigs, because we expect there will be lean times, as well. People consider it a rule of the freelance business, but it’s actually the Law of Attraction in action.

Similarly, when we struggle with writing, that feeling can go on for days and days, until we take action to change it.

Use the Law of Attraction to Keep Business Rolling

When things are going well, how do you maintain momentum?

Simply believe you deserve it, and expect more of it.

Don’t focus on, “What will I do if this streak of work ends? What if I lose this client?” Instead, focus on writing, getting your job done, and expecting more work. It will come – if you believe it.

The act of showing up for work everyday, or on the days that you have set as workdays, is very important. It keeps your mind focused on work. It’s not always easy to stay disciplined when we don’t have a boss forcing us to punch a time clock. But you owe it to yourself to keep whatever office hours you’ve decided upon, however flexible they might be. Keep producing, keep expecting, and work will keep coming.

Make Room for Good Clients

Work attracts more work, and good clients attract more good clients. Do you have deadbeat clients? Jobs you hate? People who are difficult to work with? Cut them loose.

It’s not always easy to find the nerve to do this, but only by getting rid of what you don’t want are you free to focus on what you do want, such as clients who:

• Pay on time
• Pay well
• Are easy to work with
• May be generous with their praise (if this is important to you)
• Will  refer you to colleagues

Focus on the Work You Want

Many writers want to write for glossy consumer magazines, but instead, answer ads for content writers. They get the work. They do it well. Soon, they are known as top-class Web content writers. But they haven’t sent out a query letter to a magazine in months.

Other writers get regular monthly magazine assignments, but they really want to write a book. Still, assignments keep coming in, leaving them no time to focus on their book.

I understand the necessity of having to pay the bills. But don’t expect what you’re not focusing on. Expect to get more of what you have.

Knowing this, you can make the choice: Do you want to take the chance and branch out to meet your true goals? Or are you content making a living as a writer, even if it’s not the writer you dream of being?

And if you’re settling: Why would you want to settle, if what you really want is there, just waiting for you to claim it? You’re worth more than that!

Visualize the Jobs You Want

One step toward making the jump to the writing work you really want is to visualize yourself doing it.

If you want to be in a consumer magazine, buy a copy of that magazine. Scan in the masthead and use a basic graphics program to insert your name into the masthead of your dream publication. Hang it in your workspace. Don’t have a scanner or graphics program? Write your name with pen. It’s your intention that matters.

If you want to write a book, create the cover (it doesn’t have to be fancy), with your name in big, bold print as the author. Put this near your desk where you’ll see it when you work.

To meet financial goals, place photos of money, along with a number that represents your goal, in a visible place. You can also print out a blank check from the “Secret” website and write it out to yourself, for whatever amount you’d like.

This may sound like “magic,” but it’s really about believing you can achieve your goals, visualizing yourself achieving them, and doing the work it takes to make it happen. Some people work with a Life Coach specializing in the Law of Attraction to help them. I personally recommend J. Sewell Perkins of the Success Coaches Institute and the Secret Abundance Files.

Note: I am a student of the Secret Abundant Files program, an advisory board member of its International Mastermind Group, and part of its affiliate program. The money I receive when you buy the course is a mere fraction of what YOU will receive when you master its principles.

Have you felt the Law of Attraction influencing your writing career? What will you do today to manifest the future success you deserve?

No matter what kind of fiction you write, you have to have a main character, a hero, with various traits. This is especially true in romance writing. Your characters are tall, dark, and handsome. They’re perfect….

Or are they?

Romantic heroes should have great qualities. Here are five qualities your heroes need to be well-rounded, believable characters:

1. Likeability

If you don’t like your hero, your reader won’t either. More importantly, neither will his intended love interest. No interest on the heroine’s part, no story regardless of how much your hero wants to be with her.

Even if he isn’t likeable in general at the beginning of your story, he has to have at least one likeable quality. He also needs potential to grow to be more likeable.

2. A flaw

Let’s face it: People aren’t perfect. Your hero shouldn’t be either. He needs to be flawed.

Give him a physical imperfection. He’s tall, dark, and handsome… with a limp. His face is badly scarred from being burned in a fire.

Give him a psychological imperfection. His uncle is a renegade vigilante who leads bands of clansmen to ambush rival clans as they travel. He’s a womanizer who has been told he has to get married or lose his title and position.

3. A love interest

While your hero could be narcissistic and love himself, he also needs to have an external love interest. What else is a romance but a story between two people, regardless of sexual orientation, as they fall in love and deal with the conflicts that arise as their relationship grows? Well, okay, it could also be a suspense, mystery, or historical, just to name a few. The lover needs to give the hero a reason to grow, to change. He can’t be the exact same person at the end of the story as he was at the beginning.

4. Other interests/events

Do you have one interest and only one interest in your life? I think the answer is no. You have more than one interest. Your hero should, too.

What else is going on in his life that takes his attention away from his one-and-only? War drags him away just as things are starting to get hot and heavy. Hunting takes him away for shorter times. Injury, and possibly near-death, keep him away for longer (but also serves for good growth in their relationship if his love interest is willing to act as his nurse). His job makes him travel cross-country. Football keeps him glued to the television on Mondays.

Give him something else to be interested in. Otherwise, you will have a flat character that no one – including you – cares about.

5. Motivation

What drives your character?

Other than spending time with his heroine, there is another driving force in your hero’s life. Perhaps it is protecting his people, getting a promotion, defending his family’s honor, or making enough money to live comfortably. Without motivation, your character is a dead-beat.

That’s not very romantic.

There are a lot of factors that go into creating a strong character. These five traits, while not exhaustive by any means, provide a good foundation for creating your hero. They are also not exclusive to men. Your heroines also need these qualities, which should complement the hero’s, at least in some ways.

Above all, your heroes and heroines need to be individuals and not cookie-cutter copies of previous characters with different names. Figuring out these main five traits will help develop their individuality. How else can you set your heroes and heroines apart from other characters?

Jen Nipps is a talented romance author and freelance writer/editor based in south-central Oklahoma, USA. She currently spends time in the hands of her love, the hero of her latest historical romance, “Trevor’s Triumph”.

Talented romance author, Kat O’Reilly, joins us today to share a little about writing romance.

Hey Kat, thank you so very much for joining us this month. As you know, we’re all about “Romance and Relationships” at Writer’s Round-About this February and with Valentine’s Day just last Sunday, love is still on many of our minds.

1. You’ve written a series of historical romances already, what inspired you to begin these novels and to write in the historical romance genre?

Honestly? I had a dream that started the first book, “Kiernan’s Curse”. Half of the dream is the opening of the prologue. The other half is later on in the book. That’s really pretty much why I started writing the books. From the way Kiernan was dressed in the dream, I knew it had to be historical, but I didn’t know what era, so I had to do quite a bit of research to find that out.

2. There is at least one key relationship in any romance, what is involved in developing the relationship between your hero and heroine?

Mutual attraction brings them together initially and that does remain, but there has to be something more. And it’s not always about chemistry. No relationship is without conflict, so a big part of why they’re together is how they work things out. It’s different for each one, but the key is that they grow individually and as a couple with each one.

3. What do you think is the most important aspect a character needs to truly connect with your readers?

Likeability. Even the antagonists need to have at least one likeable trait. You hear about characters people love to hate. That’s because there was something the readers identified with that they actually liked in the character even if they (thought they) hated them.

4. Do you find this aspect is also what brings your Hero and Heroine together?

Definitely! If the hero & heroine weren’t likeable, there’d be no reason for the story.

5. Although the romantic relationship between your Hero and Heroine is the most significant in a romance novel, do you think it is important for the characters in romance novels to have relationships with additional characters? How do these other relationships benefit the story?

Again, definitely! Without the other relationships, the story is flat and readers don’t really get to know the characters as people. That’s important to me in books I read, so I want to give the same feeling in my books.

6. Recently, you mentioned that your current work-in-progress, “Trevor’s Triumph might be the steamiest of the three…”, what makes a romance novel “steamy”?

I have a friend/mentor who would say the “smut factor” makes a romance novel steamy.

Sexual tension definitely contributes to the steaminess of it. Some romance novels stop there. I don’t. I actually go behind closed doors. In the beginning of the book, if Trevor lived in modern times and were a woman, he’d be called a slut. He meets the woman he’s supposed to be with and immediately gets the hots for her. He respects her father, the head of another clan, so he doesn’t try to get into her skirts (yet), but he goes back home and gives himself a hand-job. That’s in chapter two. (I’ve had another hero do that, but not until quite a bit later in the book.)

I do my best to keep from including such scenes gratuitously, but I can’t give a guarantee that all of them (usually 2 per story, if that many) are absolutely 100% necessary.

7. One of the aspects that make romance novels distinctive is the broad variation of “love scenes“, from the tender caress, to the no-holds-barred sex scene. What do you think is most important when writing these kinds of scenes?

Even with a no-holds-barred scene, you’ve got to leave some things to the imagination. Otherwise, it borders on porn. While I might write erotic scenes, I don’t do porn. Some writers do (and I’ve actually read some that has been done well). I try to be erotic without being too smutty.

The most important thing in these scenes, other than the imagination factor, is if the scene works. How does a love scene work? If you get turned on. At a conference one time, I heard a romance writer (I can’t remember who at the moment) said if you get turned on writing the scene, your reader will when they read it. And you know the scene works.

8. What do you think is the true purpose of “love scenes” in romance writing?

I think it varies. Sometimes it’s meant to show that the main characters are sexually compatible. Sometimes it’s to show some character development. I try to do a bit of both in the scenes I include.

9. Reflecting on the novels you’ve written yourself, which lines stand out the most in your own memory? Why do you think you’re drawn to those in particular?

Do you mean actual lines I’ve written? That’s a tough one.

In “Navajo Rose”, which is a contemporary romantic suspense, it’s during the second intimate scene with Paige and Ricky. The first one, she panicked and made him stop. Here’s the bit from the second one that stands out the most for me:

• She squeezed lightly and smiled when he moaned. She did it again and sat up to give him a lick.
  He stopped her then. “I can’t do that right now.” It sounded as if someone else spoke. He had never heard his voice so husky.
  “Then what?”
  “If I start, Paige, I won’t be able to stop.”
  She frowned and growled at him. “I’d kill you if you stopped right now.”
  His shaft jerked at her tone. “I don’t have a condom.”
  “I don’t care!” She squeezed again.

The key part of it is where he tells her he wouldn’t be able to stop.

10. Which book do you think has had the greatest impact on your romance writing? Why do you think it influences you so greatly?

I don’t think there’s one book in particular. There are four authors who do, though: Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan, Karen Marie Moning, and Katie MacAlister. Each of them have some aspects that I try to learn from. With Sherrilyn & Katie, it’s their immediacy. With Karen, it’s her description. With Christine, it’s the closeness to her characters. (They all have great closeness, but with her Ghost Walker Series, it’s even more pronounced since they’re all somehow psychically enhanced.)

Here’s a little secret: The first sex scene I ever wrote, I read one of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s intimate scenes (I think it was in Dark Side of the Moon) as a kind of guide as to how to structure it. *s*

Thank you again for your time, Kat. I truly appreciate having this opportunity to share in your experiences. Writing for the romance genre can be particularly challenging but it’s a very popular theme and it has universal appeal. We all want to experience a little love in our lives. Writing romance must be a wonderful way to be immersed in the sensation of new love and the roller-coaster of romantic relationships.

What do YOU think makes a romance “steamy”? Have you read a love scene that really turned you on? What do you think is the true purpose of “love scenes” in romance writing? Have you ever written any of your own?

Writing is like weaving
– from the beginning
to the end!

Our words glide across the page and then we hit enter and move down. We scroll back up and take note of what we’ve written; we scroll back down and finish our thoughts. We move all across the page: up, down, back and forth – all the while we are weaving a story. The pieces, colors, and vibrant picture are moving vividly through our mind, body, and soul.

As we gaze intensely at the computer screen – or our notebook – we are filling the blank page with words, ideas, wisdom, information; we are filling the blank page with our heart and soul.

Some of you weave with dark yarns (aka words), smearing mystical creatures, blood-spilled mysteries, and murderous intent on to the blank page. Others splash colorful hues of passion-filled romance, wild and dangerous affairs, and tug at the hearts of those craving love (or lust!) – leaving them satisfied, yet yearning for more. And there are those of us who choose to share inspiration, motivation, encouragement, and non-fiction information that will leave the reader a little wiser – and more optimistic- than they came.

We writers purge not only our creative minds with our readers, but our hearts as well. We ultimately give the world a piece of ourselves in every page, every word, every article, story, or book. With every word we type (or write), we are weaving…

Weaving When Words Won’t Wake

1. Begin at the end and weave your way back. If the first words won’t come to you for the beginning of your story, think about how you want the piece to end.
2. Start with the title. Take a few minutes to find a working title. Think about what you want to say in your piece and create a title from those ideas.
3. Jump in to the middle. Who says you have to start at the beginning – or even the end? Throw yourself in to the middle of the story and weave your way up and back down (or vice-versa)!
4. Go easy on yourself and weave an outline. Sometimes you need an outline. I find them especially helpful on most of my work.
5. Take a break and create a Wordle. They’re fun, and they’re sure to help you get your weave on!

There aren’t any rules set in stone of how you should weave your stories. Words usually come naturally if you nurture your creativity and treat your body well. Yes, there are dry spells in every writer’s life at some point, but if you follow the tips above, it will help you find inspiration once again.

Your work will be much richer, much more beautiful, if you allow yourself to be vulnerable enough that your heart and soul bleeds in to each and every word you weave.

Did you enjoy this article? Feel free to visit the other articles Michele has written for Writer’s Round-About–or contact her to write for you.

How do you weave your words? Similar to me, or different? Do you apply any of these techniques to your own writing? Do you have any weaving tips to share with us? We’d love to hear from you; please join in – or start – the conversation!

Reference: Wordle.net

Words, words, and more words…. They float around in our heads – until our brains feel like mush. At least, mind does (sometimes).

But there are also times that our brains look like a vast, white space. And no matter how hard we try to tap into our inner muse; no matter how many different techniques we use, we can’t seem to find those perfect first words. Sometimes, it seems, the only words that come to mind are: contract, deadline, SEO, or even bills.

I mentioned my lack of words on a social media media site a while back and got the following response:

“Start out writing your name, address and a description of the room in which you’re writing. I wrote a newspaper column for nearly 20 years. I’m very practiced in breaking up log-jams in the writerly brain. Just remember, there’s a torrent just behind that dam!” – K. C. Compton (Editor, at Ogden Publications)

Excellent advice, K.C.! (Of course, I guess that’s why she is one of the Editor’s-In-Chief for Ogden Publications, huh?)

It’s during the times that we’re grasping desperately for words – any word – that we can apply the following tips, as well as K.C.’s advice.

7 Surefire Ways to Find New Words

1. Grab a notebook and start writing a list. This list can be about anything: your dreams,  pros and cons of something you’ve been considering, maintenance or other projects for your house – even a grocery list.
2. Take a break and play Scrabble. What better way to enjoy some time – and company – than being hands-on with letters and words?!
3. Write a thank you note or friendly letter to someone. Think warm thoughts and share your heart with the recipient.
4. Email or IM a friend. If that friend is a writer, that’s even better. They can help lift your spirits and jog your memory about past times you’ve had abundant writing inspiration.
5. Read your favorite blog or a few pages from a book that’s nearby. Words from one of your favorite authors/bloggers will help get your creative juices flowing.
6. Get up from your computer and go in to another room or outside. It’s amazing how much difference a view makes. By simply stepping in to the next room or popping outside for a few minutes, you can refuel your mind. Look at old photos or sit on your porch or deck for a spell – absorb your surroundings and soak up the inspiration life brings!
7. Pamper yourself. Something like a cup of hot tea and your favorite magazine, a 20-minute soak in a warm bath sprinkled with lavender essential oil or bath salts, or a short nap can provide just the amount of rejuvenation your body needs to crank up your muse once again.

What do you do to find new words when your writing well has run dry? Do you stand beneath the idea waterfall? Or use any of the tips I shared above? Do you have a fabulous technique to share with us? Chime in!

Did you enjoy this article? Feel free to visit the other articles Michele has written for Writer’s Round-About–or contact her to write for you.

Photo Credit: Wordle, created by Michele Tune

There is nothing more dreadful to a writer than staring at a blank page on the computer. There is a sense of stage fright that hangs in the shadows, taunting your every attempt to begin writing the grand novel or article that has inspired your soul. The number of words looking to take that blank page to a completed piece scream in your mind as your heart begins to race. You are there, facing the firing squad in your mind. You are a writer. WHY CAN’T YOU WRITE?

First, take a deep breath. It’s only letters placed in such a manner as to form a word. That word will begin the sentence. The sentence will begin the paragraph and the paragraph starts a chapter. Beginning the chapter means you’ve officially begun the work you’ve set your sights upon. Congratulations!

Recently I had the privilege of chatting with a few writer friends online. As the conversation turned to beginnings, I chuckled at how I had begun writing this very piece, though unfinished. I had begun, something one writer was struggling with on her own. I mentioned at that point I was working an article tailored specifically to beginnings – and she couldn’t wait to read it for herself.

Having an idea is only one part to writing. To be a writer you must write.

Beginnings can be quite ugly. Especially if you have ignored that calling to sit down and write for any amount of time. It doesn’t matter what you do to start, what matters is that you’ve placed a word on a page and began expanding upon it to form a sentence; there go, writing.

What is incredible about writing – whether by pen or through typing – is the opportunity to edit that ugly beginning once the middle and end are complete. As a writer, you might produce one brilliant piece in your lifetime. That doesn’t mean that the rest of what you write is garbage. It just means the editor in you has to come out, but not until after you’ve written.

Taking the time to journal or free-write about the subject you desire to write about will help break the silence that sends you into a near anxiety attack. Journaling and free-writing also reduce the stress you feel by the editor that nestles inside. It is only when we are writing an article or a large work of art that the editor likes to cause a disruption.

Next time you are looking to begin an article, short story, or novel; begin first by writing in your journal and transfer that writing to your blank page to reduce your anxiety. After all, it matters not how you begin, but that you do.

Do you ever struggle with the blank page? What do you do to get past the anxiety and begin?

Peace: such a simple, short, one syllable word. Yet, this one word represents the difference between a calm heart, and a tortuous soul. Isn’t that the battle we freelance writers are always enduring?

We all yearn for peaceful lives, don’t we? The desire for peace unites many people who otherwise wouldn’t be in the same room together, right?

Peace (or Zen) is also something we writers desire. I don’t know about you, but I fantasize about waking up after a long, peaceful night’s rest, finding my way to the kitchen, grabbing an oversized hot mug of tea (sometimes coffee), heading to a giant chair that swallows me up, cuddling up with my laptop – and muse – and lounging around in my pajamas all day, while writing ’till my heart’s content. Ah, it sounds so very nice. Don’t you think so?

Okay, back to reality for me!

With the new year, comes endless opportunities for new beginnings.

I’ve decided that one (important) thing I’m going to focus on incorporating in to my life, is Zen. I actually started before 2010, but I feel like I cheated myself – and others – because I never really applied Zen living like I originally planned.

5 Ways 2010 (Can) = Freelance Writing Zen

1. De-cluttering my e-mail. I started doing this before 2009 ended, but I’m going to continue in 2010. (I had subscribed to a lot of stuff!) This includes unsubscribing from newsletters (or blogs) I never read, updates I subscribed to because of contests, etc. There’s no reason to waste time deleting e-mails every single day.
2. Practicing yoga often. This might not mean daily (although I’m going to shoot for that goal), but I’m definitely going to put forth more of an effort to make yoga a big part of my life. (Others even told me that my writing became much more prolific when I was practicing yoga daily!)
3. Reflecting on where my freelance writing journey began, so I can stay focused on where I’m going. What a blessing to look back on where I came from so I can encourage myself that I can make my writing dreams come true!
4. Staying organized. Organization is crucial for not only keeping stress down, but for maintaining a feeling of control – and a fresh (visual) sense of cleanliness.
5. Nipping procrastination in the bud. One of the worst things we writers can fall into is procrastination. Acting on thoughts like “Oh, I’ll just dive in to Twitter for a while until my muse visits again” or “I’ll get caught up on my blog reading” can prove fatal to your deadlines. It’s fine to reward yourself with social media or other Internet “play time” once you’ve polished off a chunk of your work, or met deadlines for the day/week, but don’t procrastinate until you hurt your business.

I’m also going to work on just being. Do you have a problem making that happen, too? It seems that even when I’m away from the computer, all of the unfinished “tasks” haunt me. It’s like a little devil sits on my shoulder, whispering: “You should be writing this” or “You could finish that.” Freelance work is always, always sitting there. We’re never finished are we? Work – even if it’s our own, personal projects -  is always calling our writerly soul.

So, yes, in 2010 I’m going to do my best to make time to just be, like the gal in the photo up there. It’s high time I actually stop to smell the roses!

Here’s to a successful, blessed – and very Zen – 2010!

Did you enjoy this article? Feel free to visit the other articles Michele has written for Writer’s Round-About–or contact her to write for you.

How are you going to bring Zen living in to your life in 2010? Have you already started? Do share; I might want to add it to my life!

Photo Credit: kudumomo



Are you wondering why your writing business is stagnant? Why you were zipping through article after article, word after word, cashing check after check, and were living high on the writing mountain – and now you’re not?

You look around your freelance life to see that clients have dried up, emails have waned, the phone is quiet. Editors and clients have simply quit contacting you. It seems like your business is as stale as package of crackers someone forgot to close up.

There are many reasons our writing, and our business, can become stagnant. If you’re looking for solutions, you’ve come to the right place because I’m going to tell you what the root cause is for your business’ stagnation. Are you ready to hear it? The answer is one small word: you.

That’s right. The root cause of your writing – and your business – becoming stagnant lies within you.

Are you a one woman – or man – band? If you’re like most of us freelancers, you create your own invoices, write for various clients and editors, do all your own marketing and networking, and so on. It can become exhausting. It isn’t hopeless, though!

Stagnant Sources and Solutions

Let’s see what we can do to change your stagnant situation….

Source:

Lack of exercise. When we stop moving and just sit all day, not only is our blood not pumping through our bodies to make us sweat the impurities out, but our minds aren’t pumping those endorphins that bring us inspiration, creativity, happiness, and peace.

Solution:

Get moving! Invest in a small trampoline and start rebounding. Even if it’s a couple of minutes here and there, at least you’re moving and it’s quite addictive. Once you start bouncing, you feel like a kid again and want to just keep going!

Source:

Lack of reading. Sometimes we writers need to walk away from the blank page, curl up with a good book and cup of hot tea, and just read, become lost in someone else’s mind.

Solution:

Start reading again! Since your looking at a decrease in income from your stagnant business, it’s not really feasible for you to be spending money you don’t have on reading material. There is a way to read without spending money, though. First, your local library is a fabulous resource. George Angus, from Tumblemoose Writing Services, is always reminding us how we should be taking advantage of such a precious treasure of literature: your library. And Google Books is a fantabulous resource for readers. SwapTree and BookMooch are two sites where you can sign up and list books you don’t want to keep. Then  you can trade books for books others have, that you’re interested in reading. From my understanding, the only cost to you is postage!

Source:

Lack of nutrition. Not eating enough – or eating the wrong things while tied to your desk – is a problem a lot of writers face each day.

Solution:

Make your health a priority. Don’t live on donuts, chips, fast food, sandwiches, pizza, ice cream, or any other processed food you can grab on a whim. I’ve already mentioned that fueling your body helps you fill the page. It’s amazing what keeping healthful foods within reach, and in your tummy, can do! So eat up on the healthy stuff! Prepare veggies and other healthy options ahead of time so when you reach for something, you’ll grab a healthy choice — at least most of the time.

Source:

Lack of joy. How can you crank out happy words if you aren’t happy?

Solution:

Don’t allow your joy to fade away. If you have, take it back! What used to make you happy and bring you joy before you started freelancing and lost yourself in your work? Did you have a hobby? Did you volunteer somewhere? Are you a painter? Did you take time to read or garden or spend time with family? Would you go shopping? Visit the gym? Would you see the latest movie with a friend?

Source:

Living a friendless life. Not having friends can make for a very lonely, sad life.

Solution:

Make friends or  rekindle friendships you used to have. When your writing business took off, did you leave your “Real Life” friends in your dust? Think about it. If you did, bring them back into your life. And if you didn’t have friends before freelancing consumed you, go out and find some.

Source:

Isolation. It’s hard to come by inspiration, motivation, and joy when you’re isolated.

Solution:

Force yourself to get out of your comfort zone! No ifs, ands, or buts. Just do it.

I hope these ideas and tips have helped you realize that when our lives become stagnant, our minds and creativity do as well. If we’re unhappy, isolated, alone, stagnant in our hearts and souls, our clients and editors will read that in our stale, lifeless words. Oh, you’ll be able to hide it for a while. Maybe for a long, long time. If you’re really talented, you’ll probably even fool yourself. But do you want to? Do you want to become a burnt-out-fried-to-a-crisp-mushy-brain kind of freelancer? I don’t. And I don’t believe you do either.

Do you suffer from any of these stagnant sources? Do you feel like your writing business is stagnant right now? Are you going to follow any of these tips to turn your business from stagnant to successful again? Have I forgotten anything? Can I glean wisdom from you? I know WRA readers (and I!) would love to hear from you!!

Photo Credit: bizior