Warm up your writing

How is writing like playing sports?

Your performance will be better if you take the time to warm up.

Ever have a tough time starting a writing project? You stare at the blank page, have a few false starts, and finally set it aside in frustration, only to come back a short time later and have the words just flow?

You just experienced the effect of a writing warm up.

I read about this recently, how warming up before writing helps the process of writing immensely. And I’m not talking about swinging your arms around or jogging in place (though that won’t hurt). I’m referring to doing some warm up writing.

You can warm up quickly and easily by simply sitting down and writing a journal entry first thing in the morning. It doesn’t have to be pretty or grammatically correct, and you never have to show it to anyone if you don’t want to. It only has to take a few minutes. But just the act of writing, a free-form mind-dump onto a page, will prime you for whatever you will be writing next.

Give it a try. You may be surprised with the results.

Happy writing!

Why I write

There are three reasons why I write:

1. Because it’s there.

2. Because I can.

3. Because I like to make stuff up.

Many people that know me well are surprised that I love to write. Why is that? Well, I think it’s because I’m not an incessant journalist. I was never the kid scribbling away in a diary, documenting every second of my life. Or writing down hopes and dreams, stories, to-do lists for my adulthood, or anything else that budding writers are supposed to be doing. There is no stack of volumes hidden away that will someday (long after my death) be bound together and sold as a record of my existence.

Nope, not happening. I don’t journal. Never have.

For me, it was letter writing. I wasn’t writing away in a notebook, keeping things hidden from view; I was writing long, thoughtful, news-filled volumes to my family and friends. Four pages of unlined paper in cramped script, both sides filled? No problem. I sent so many long letters that I know exactly how many pages of typing paper (now sold as printer paper, or 20 lb bond) can fit into an envelope and still need only one first class stamp. (5 sheets in a No. 10 business-size envelope, for your information.)

I love writing letters! But those fell by the wayside eventually. My friends and family preferred to talk on the telephone. Cheap long-distance rates put a serious dent in my letter-writing career.

Then came email, which I love, and cell phones, which I hate. Email meant I could still send my long, thoughtful letters with just a single click of a mouse, while cell phones (with unlimited minutes) meant everyone else still wanted to talk on the phone. I eventually gave up on letters altogether.

Fortunately, I discovered blogging, and all my creative energies were transferred online. I also found National Novel Writing Month, and will be writing my third novel this November. These outlets kept my writing habit alive until I finally got my courage up, quit my paid employment, and struck out on my own as a freelance copywriter.

Writing seems to be a dying art form. Most people I know can’t stand to do it…which works out well for me. Because no matter how much people get away from writing, and how much they dislike it, there are always letters, emails, web pages, and various forms of copy waiting to be written. So I am thankful for our digital age, and the decline of the desire to write. I love to write (and I’m pretty good at it), and therefore will always have job security.

But really, mostly, I just like to make things up…

Criticism, or 3 ways to deal with trolls

There's no way around it: criticism sucks.  No one likes it, no one wants to hear it, and no matter how great your day is going, one critical comment can ruin it.

It's true.

Criticism is always going to be a part of our lives.  Unless you live under a rock, there is always someone, somewhere, waiting to knock down something you worked so hard on.  It doesn't matter whether it was deserved, constructive, or done just out of spite.  Criticism hurts.

So how do you deal with it?  I have 3 methods that work for me.

1.  Ignore it.  (Okay, I didn't say they were the most emotionally healthy methods...) There are always going to be people out there who will tear you up just to be hurtful.  Sometimes, the best thing you can do is just ignore the trolls. 

2.  Cry.  No, wait, really.  Someone told you your clever idea was stupid, and it hurt your feelings.  Let it out (in private).  You'll feel better.  And if not, see # 3.

3. Grow from it.  Sometimes the critic says something that we don't want to hear, but we know is true.  This is often the case when I get feedback from others on my writing.  That's right, I actually ask for criticism!  I seek an opinion from a trusted source, and use it as a chance to improve what I'm working on.  But what if they aren't a trusted source, or they don't have anything constructive to say?  See # 1.

Now, I know that there are a bunch of good ideas out there on how to deal with criticism.  If you've got a great coping mechanism to share, please leave a comment below.

Three Tips for Time Management

Today's topic is time management, which is kind of funny if you realize that I was actually going to post about this yesterday, but didn't manage my time well enough to actually get it done!

Okay, well, I guess it's just funny to me...

Anyhow, work (and life in general) is getting a lot busier, so suddenly, time management matters to me.  A lot.

Here are three things that are helping me get a handle on my time.  Admittedly, I don't have my system refined down to a science yet (see my little snafu above).  But after the nice long break I had for the first few months of the year, these tips are really helping me get back on track.

1. Write my to-do list on a post-it.  I read this in an article from AWAI.  Basically, if it doesn't fit on a post-it, I have too much to get done in a day and I need to re-prioritize.

2. Write early.  Dang it, I didn't want this one to be true.  I wanted to wake up when the sun woke me, have some coffee, relax, plan my day, maybe do an errand or a chore around the house, then get going creatively.  But if I don't start working early in the morning, I don't get any real work done all day.  So now I roll out of bed, get my cup of coffee, and start writing.  Even if I move on to something else, I come back to the writing and my creativity flows all day.  (Dang it.)

3. Listen to music.  This one has helped a lot.  I love music, but I also love quiet.  One of the things that I relish about working from home is not having to listen to other people's phones, conversations, footsteps, and noise in general.  But I recently heard a recommendation to listen to baroque music while working.  Slow baroque music is supposed to have a positive effect on your brain waves.  I personally find it does have a positive effect on my concentration.  And I love baroque!  If I get tired of my Bach and Vivaldi CDs, I switch on a classical music station, and it has a similar response.  Although, anything that I can't sing along to works, too.  If you are new to baroque music, go to Sunday Baroque for a great playlist.

What are your favorite time management techniques?

My best inspiration for writing

The other day I read a blog article about finding inspiration for your writing. Called 3 Techniques to Coming Up With Great Ideas, it is by Jody Calkin, who has a great blog on writing.  Check it out, she has many great tips for writers!

After reading her tips (and trying out the first one) I remembered one of my own great sources of inspiration: Read something.  Read everything.  Read anything.  Just read.

I'm not claiming to have invented this, by the way.  I've seen in mentioned several other places.  But it definitely bears repeating.

When I write, I tend to get caught up in my own little world.  And that world, just like the big one around me, needs outside stimulus.  I find the best way to get that is to read what others have written.

Personally, articles are my favorite.  I love books of all shape, size and genre, but I tend to get caught up in them.  The next thing I know, it's dinner time and I haven't gotten anything done all day.  If I have a deadline, I need to stay away from the library!  But between my email inbox and the blogs I follow, I have an abundant supply of idea generating materials.

Short snippets of information, like articles, blog posts, even Facebook and Twitter, can really get the creative juices going.  Well-written pieces give me inspiration and help increase my own technical ability; pieces that are less well-written make me want to edit them, which is also a useful practice-writing exercise.

It doesn't matter what I read about.  I never know what's going to spark an idea.  For instance, the most interesting thing I've read so far today is Your Grandmother was a Neanderthal.  Now, I don't know if I'll ever use the topic of the article, which is about our DNA and the ancestral link to a now extinct species.  Not exactly what I write about normally...  But you never know when it will spark something. 

In a roundabout way, I suppose you could say that because that article made me think about how I could use it, and made me examine why I wanted to write about it at all, it helped inspire this blog post. 

Seriously, you just never know where those ideas are lurking...

Introducing Kismet Copywriting

Throughout the last few months I've been planning and studying and writing and practicing, and I'm finally ready to go public as a freelance writer.  It gives me great pleasure to introduce my new business, Kismet Copywriting!

I specialize in writing email autoresponders, blog articles, and social networking, as well as any other needs for web or print copy you may have.  My niche is the gluten free industry (of course!) and running/fitness.

Please feel free to check out my website at the link above, and contact me if you would like to discuss setting up an email campaign for your business. 

Recycled PS6 plastic pendants

I was surfing the Inner-Webs when I stumbled upon this:

How to Make an Imitation Painted Glass Pendant from Food Packaging: 7 steps (with pictures) - wikiHow

Recycled Shrinky Dinks!  How cool is that?

For the purists:  Shrinky Dinks

Remember these things?  They were so cool!  I'd really like to try making something out of recycled PS6 plastic, only I try to never buy anything that comes in that stuff.  Hmm, maybe I can get some from someone else...

What's my motivation?

Today’s post is about finding motivation.

Specifically: What do you do to make yourself do something you don’t want to do?

Huh?

Okay, I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m looking for a way to stop procrastinating. I have all these projects that are in various stages of being partially done, sitting on the metaphorical back burner, just waiting to be finished.

By the way, on my real-life stove, the back burners work better than the front ones. For realsies…

So I’m looking for a way to motivate myself to get some of these things done.

Just for clarification, a lot of these tasks are not being put off because I dread them. A few are, like cleaning the litter boxes. I have three cats and, well, yuck! But on the other hand, if I put that one off too long, life becomes unbearable. And I can sometimes con, er, I mean, ask my husband to do that one.

No, the things I’m talking about are ones that I actually kind of want to do, but just keep putting off. Like finishing my website and writing more spec pieces, both of which would be a good start toward drumming up some business for my fledgling writing career.

Not only do I want the business, I also want to get these things going so I can feel legitimate as a writer. You know, if I’m getting paid to do it, it must be official.

With the website and the spec pieces, my writing career is free to take off.

But what if it doesn’t?

I think that’s what is really scaring the bejeezus out of me. And hence the procrastination.

Oh, my.  What to do, what to do?

One thing I’ve already started to do is use the 15 minute timer trick. It works sometimes. And sometimes my left brain say, “Ha! I know what you’re doing! Nice try, but I’m not falling for it. I need a nap/snack/distraction.”

I can’t reward myself with food, because, well, I have a history of weight problems and that’s just not a good idea. Trust me.

How about running? I don’t think that would work because A) I’m injury-prone and can only run 3 times a week or I risk straining something and then won’t be able to run at all; and B) I’m going to go on my scheduled runs regardless of what I do or don’t get done, because I’m a total running addict.

One idea I had is to try using books as an incentive. If I get X amount of stuff done, I get to curl up with a book for an hour. That might actually work. I’ve been watching way too much television in the evening, anyhow. It would be good for me to get back on a reading kick.

Another thing I think will help is my productivity chart, which I wrote about in Time to Focus. I like to look back and see results (or not) of my actions, and the chart will be able to tell me where I need to spend more time. Plus, the idea of not getting a checkmark for the day will usually be enough to spur me into action.

Any other ideas out there on how to motivate myself and quit procrastinating? I’d love to hear them!

By the way, I used my 15 minute timer in writing this article. I wasn’t done yet the first time the time went off, and I didn’t feel like stopping, so I ended up writing for 25 minutes. I definitely need to keep using that timer.

Random musings

The hubby and I had a great run yesterday.  Not just a good run, but a great run.  One of those runs that when you're done, you want to turn around and do it again. 

Why does that happen?  Why is it that sometimes, something you do just feels so right...and other times, not so much?

I mean, I know the mechanics of it.  For our Saturday run, we got up early before the heat, but not so early that it was still dark out.  There was coffee (a little bit), water, and some food (not too much).  We did a distance that was longer than what we normally run, but not outside of our abilities.  And we kept the pace easy, so we could talk comfortably throughout.

In other words, we did everything right.  And it paid off.  We finished the run fresh, and recovered quickly.

But sometimes it doesn't work that way.  I've had several long runs where I thought everything was done correctly, and yet I was a mess at the end. 

So what's the difference?

Is it fate?  Karma? The alignment of the Universe?  Or just plain bad luck?

Often you can pinpoint the problem.  I stayed up too late the night before, didn't hydrate properly that morning, started out too fast, or didn't fuel properly throughout the run.

But sometimes, you just have a bad run, for no apparent reason.  It happens.

Same thing with life.  Sometimes it just doesn't go right.

Luck may favor the prepared, but every so often, shit happens. 

So what to do when things go wrong?

Analyze the situation.  Break it down.  What did you do that could have been different, could have been better?  Sometimes it helps to have an outside opinion.  Find the problem, and write it down, so you'll remember next time. 

What if you can't find anything?  What if it really is just random bad luck?

Accept it and move on.  Hey, things happen, remember?  Sometimes you'll have a bad run.  But that doesn't define you.  And if you keep at it, keep doing your best, and keep working out little problems before they become big ones, the majority of your runs will be good ones. 

Lessons in Organization

Hard to believe, but this whole organization thing is starting to click for me this week.

First, I started my productivity chart yesterday. (Which I already wrote about and posted on Wednesday, but Blogger ate it.) This will keep me on track to make sure I’m being productive in each of four categories, every day. Yesterday I scored a 75%, managing to do something in three of the four categories. (Poor ol’ marketing got neglected.)

Not bad for the first day.

But today, I scored 100%. I actually got a lot done on my website. Also, I implemented a trick that enabled me to do a lot more writing today than I have in recent memory.

Do you ever use a timer for your important tasks? I had tried this before, without much success. But today it worked great.

Basically, what you do is decide how long you’re going to do something, like write, clean the bathroom, read, or whatever. Generally it’s a short amount of time, like 5, 10, 20 minutes or so. Then you set a timer and start the task. When the timer goes off, you’re done. You then either take a break or move on to the next item on your list – whatever you decided in advance.

Simple, I know. I actually already do this with running, and love it. It allows me to run without thinking about it, because I know my timer will tell me when it’s time to take a walk break. I end up enjoying the run a lot more and not getting as tired in between breaks.

So anyhow, I don’t know why, but this whole timer thing for other tasks never really caught on with me before today. Maybe because I would try to work too long on something. I wasn’t breaking the task down into small enough chunks.

Well, today I got it right. I set a timer for 15 minutes, and wrote continuously for that amount of time. Then I got up and took a break, walked around a bit, got a drink of water. Then back to writing. I was working on another spec piece that I want my instructor to review. The last one took me 3 days to write (it was my first one in a particular format). Today I got a rough draft done in an hour. I still need to do quite a lot of editing, but the structure is there. With a few more 15 minute cycles, I should have it ready to go.

Hmm, maybe there’s something to being organized, after all…

Happy 2011!

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I do - I always have. I don’t always follow them, though. I used to stick with the general ones, like I’m going to lose weight or I’m going to do better in school or at my job. But somehow, those vague ideas would be forgotten by the end of March at the latest. So now I stick with quantifiable goals, which gives me something specific to shoot for. And announcing them publicly seems to keep me on track.

I was going to call this the Big Scary List of 2011, but really, only the first two items on it are big and scary, and I completed them (mostly) in 2010. What’s left is a bunch of fun stuff. So here it is, the Exciting, Exhilarating, and Super Fun list of 2011.

Quit my job. (First Big Scary one.) I did it! I turned in my resignation in December, and am now officially unemployed. Or at least, I will be by the end of January. (I’ve agreed to work part time until they hire a replacement.) Why would I do such a crazy thing, give up perfectly sound paid employment, in an economy like this? You’ll find out below.

Register for and run a half marathon. (Second Big Scary one.) I am already registered for the Miami Half Marathon in January, so now I just have to make it to the race in one piece and finish it.

Now the fun ones!

Read 50 books. I mean, really, how fun will this be? That averages less than one book a week. Even not counting audio books, which I sometimes listen to while running, I predict that I’ll have this one done by the end of September.

Edit my novels, find an agent, and become a published novelist. This one is huge, and is the reason why I quit my job. It has long been my dream to be a published writer, and now I have no more excuses. (Well, I’ll always have excuses, but I can’t say that I don’t have the time!) Currently I have two novels in first draft. I need to work on revisions, and then start the arduous process of trying to get them published. I know it’s a long road, so I’ll be absolutely ecstatic if I can get my novels revised and find an agent before the end of the year.

Write another novel before 2012. This will definitely happen in November, with National Novel Writing Month. Maybe I can even eke out another during June Novel Writing Month, who knows?

Run a half marathon every month. That means running 13.1 miles (or more) at a time, once a month. Seriously, I’m totally addicted to my running now. And I’ve done this in training 3 times so far. I know that I can’t run an official race every month without major travel, which is a little out of the picture right now. (I quit my job, remember?) But I’m counting training runs. This one is definitely doable.

Train for and run a marathon. This is about taking my running to the next level. I love the process of training, and I adore my weekend long runs. I’m just not sure I’ll be strong enough by the end of the year – it’s taken almost a year of steady training to get to the point where I’m comfortable with a half marathon. 26.2 miles is a totally different animal. Luckily there are several marathons held locally at the end of the year, giving me plenty of options. That means I can take my time training, and hopefully avoid injury. And if I don’t make it this year, there’s always the Miami Marathon in 2012!

Travel to South America. Yeah, I know. No job, no money. But David and I really, really want to go to Ecuador. And where there’s a will, there’s a way. I feel good about this one.

Do something creative every week. Okay, this one is a little vague. To be more specific, I’m going to spend more time writing in my blogs, knitting, crocheting, and trying out some of the other crafty-type things I’ve not had time for. No excuses!

Okay, I think that’s enough to start with. Happy New Year, all!

National Novel Writing Month

It's here!  Well, almost.  It's time for:

The fun begins November 1.  Is your pen ready?

Yes, running can be entertaining...

I became a runner this weekend.  When I started running, I had it in my mind that I could only be a jogger until I could consistently cover a 5K (or greater) distance while running continuously.  Finally, I did it.  3 times in a row, no breaks.  In fact, I blew past the 5K mark.  I am finally a runner.

Actually, I was a runner the moment I turned up the speed on the treadmill and pushed off.  But it took me this long to get over my mental hurdles.  Truly, it was a nonsense rule I had made up for myself.

Well, whatever.  I'm now a runner.  I run.  How cool is that?!

To celebrate, here are some vintage Adidas ads.  Note, this site is not safe for work.  Do not click on this link unless you can do so without repercussions!

Runners, Yeah We're Different

Epic fail is epic

April is over, and I didn't work on my novel at all.  Not once.  This isn't good.  Something has to change.

Writing goals for May:

1.  Edit the novel a little every day, or 7 hours a week.  Whatever works. I didn't write at all yesterday, but I put in 2 hours of editing today, so it's a start.

2.  Continue to post at least once a week on each blog.  This one has definitely been easier.

Monthly Writing Goals - April 2010

Okay, I'm writing this down and posting it in public, in the hopes that peer pressure (positive or otherwise) will force me into following through.

My writing goals for April 2010:

1. Edit my novel, at least 7 hours a week.

2. Write at least one post per week, per blog.

The blogs are coming easier than the novel. Gee, what a surprise! I'm finding it hard to be creative and focused at the end of the day. I've tried writing in the morning before work, but that's even worse. I don't really have any creative juices until, oh, 10am or so.

So I've rearranged my schedule started working out before work. That sucks. I'm not a morning person. At. All. But the benefit, besides actually making it to the gym instead of talking myself out of it while at work, is that I'm usually not thinking clearly enough in the morning to mind exercising. By the time I realize what's going on, and how much I dislike it, I'm already at the gym. And it's too late to go back to bed at that point.

That leaves the evening for writing. We'll see how it works out. I really want to work on the novel. My main characters keep whispering to me, telling me bits and pieces of their story. It's time I listened to them.

Upcycling?

Upcycling is taking something you would throw away, and making something of equal or better value out of it.

Huh?

Like recycling. Only more so.

For instance, when you recycle, oh, say, paper, you put your used paper in a recycle bin, where it will sit and eventually be carted away to be broken down and remade into, oh, I don't know, packing material. And that's good, because, hey, packing material is something we all use, and really, does it need to be made out of freshly cut trees?

But what if you wanted to upcycle that paper, instead of just giving it tosomeone else to recycle? You could shred it and make your own paper out of it. There are instructions here and here, or put your own Google-Fu to work. Then dig out that calligraphy set you bought years ago, and make your own cards out of it. Okay, you don't want to make paper out of paper...fair enough. How about jewery? Look at this, or this. Or what about yarn? Or...well, let your imagination roam.

Why is this something I think a lot about? Well, our landfills aren't getting any emptier, now, are they? Besides, it's creative and fun. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent happily making plarn or frogging thrift store sweaters to upcycle into new (and occasionally useful) items. And I'm dying to make the paper beads. Hey, it keeps me off the streets...

So that's upcycling. Gotta love it!

Choices

After an experience I had at work today, I was going to write about how many people there are out there that deserve to be killed. But that seemed pretty grim. So I thought about it for a while, and I decided to look at the glass as half full instead. So I’m going to write about why I don’t kill people. Much more pleasant, don’t you think?

Why I don’t kill people:

1. Love – the love for my spousal unit and my furry critter keep me in line. They might not love me as much if I started murdering. Well, the cat probably would. Until I went to jail and could no longer provide a lap for her to shnooze upon. Then she’d get over me pretty quickly.

2. Cooking – I love to eat, therefore I love to cook. Food used to poison me. Thankfully, I have figured out what I can and cannot eat, and now food is again a joyous event. I have a blog dedicated to my exploits in the kitchen; you can read more at Li loves David.

3. Laughter – I was blessed with a sense of humor. Don’t roll your eyes; a lot of people are born without the humor gene. I know this to be true; I work with quite a few of them. My sense of humor helps me to see that absurd people should be mocked, not murdered. See more at OMG! I LOL’d.

4. Fiber Artistry – my obsession began with knitting. Then came crochet. Now I’m branching into recycling and upcycling fiber, and trying new techniques. You’ll be seeing a lot of that here in the future. I'm completely addicted. It’s gotten so bad that when I'm surfing the net, my spousal unit knows I'm looking at yarn porn.

5. Writing – oh, my gosh, I love to write. Almost as much as I love to eat. Then why, you ask, don’t I keep my blogs up to date? Why isn’t my novel published already, instead of wallowing in endless revisions? Well, writing takes concentration, and time. A lot of it. And these days, time is a precious commodity. I’m working on organizing and simplifying, and hopefully will free up some time soon. Then I’ll see you all at my book signing.

6. Exercise – yes, you read that correctly. Exercise. I never, ever thought I would become one of those people who live to work out. And yet, I’m becoming one of those people who lives to work out! Seriously! I even get up an hour earlier, just so I have the time to go to the gym. (See? There’s that time thing again.)

Anyhow, the above list is why I don’t kill people. But what does all this have to do with simplifying and conservation? Well, I don’t think jail would simplify my life. Going off to live in a tiny space, with no possessions, a limited wardrobe, nowhere to go, no expectations, nothing to do but exercise and write…

Um, wait a minute, that all sounds pretty simple. But they might not let me cook or have yarn in jail. And there's probably not a lot of humor to be found. I don't want to take that chance. I’ll stick with my non-murdering ways.