One Task at a Time vs. Multi-Tasking

I have read a number of articles that say the multi-tasking that most of us do nowadays, whether we are writers or not, is really counterproductive. We may think we are balancing a number of task at once, but we really aren't. What we are really doing is hopping quickly from one task to another, which can be tiring and often useless, resulting in tasks having to be redone, or at least revisited. But many people, even the teenagers that I work with everyday, claim that they are able to multi-task successfully. I have to agree. I am happiest when I have several projects going at once, so I can work on the one I am in the mood for at any given time. This applies to my writing projects as well as other things. When I cook, I like to have more than one project going so I can make good use of my time in the kitchen. I unload the dishwasher and get my lunch ready in the morning while I wait for coffee. As a writer, I always have several projects in different stages of completion. Right now, I am working on promotion for my novel The Gate House, which is due to be re-released in a few months. I am also working on revisions of the sequel/prequel, tentatively titled Lydia's Story. And in addition, I am trying to finish another story in the series which I began several years ago, and would now like to complete. Obviously, one of the three takes a back seat at any given time, depending on what I see as most urgent, or what type of work I am in the mood for -- promotion, revisions or first draft writing. Of course we need to be able to see a task through to completion, otherwise there is no point in doing it. But for those of us who work that way, having several balls in the air can be fun. I feel less likely to get bogged down when I can take a break and work on something different. Take a look at your own work habits. Do you like to see one project through before starting another one? Or do you prefer juggling several tasks at once? Does your style work for you?

Writing Through a Headache

I have had a sinus headache since about 3 a.m. It's one of those headaches that hangs around in my forehead and nose and never quite goes away until it is good and ready. I am guessing it will be sometime this afternoon. But I don't want to waste a morning when I want to be writing. I have enough writing projects that I should be able to find one that I can work on through a headache. I don't think I have the energy to tackle the major revisions I want to do on my sequel/prequel to The Gate House. My other Nara story, Nara of the Islands, is almost finished, but an ending is hard to write with a headache. I love writing book reviews, and I have one I need to work on for Suspense Magazine. That's a "maybe" project. But for writing fun and relaxing, I think I will go back to what I call "My Real Story." This is a story I started writing just for fun a few years ago. I have abandoned it and returned to it several times. I don't know if it will ever be something I will want published. It is essentially a fantasy story, and I enjoy wandering around in this other world when I need a break from writing "work." For me, this story is play. I am not following an outline. I don't have any particular market in mind. I have no audience except myself. The story is set in the land of Three Rivers, so named because I worked in Tres Rios when I lived in Costa Rica. The land of Three Rivers is a place of pure imagination, and it's all mine. How do you handle those days when your energy for writing is just not there, but you don't want to miss your writing time?

Writing Negative Book Reviews

I write book reviews for a magazine, and of the twenty-five or so novels I have reviewed in the past year, most have been well-crafted, with appealing characters and story lines that kept me turning the pages until the end. Even if the book was not one I would have picked up by my own choice, if I was drawn into the story and could see where the author was taking me, I enjoyed the book. Reviewing gives me an opportunity to expand my own reading horizons and try a new sub-genre. (Most of the books I review are in the mystery or suspense category.) However, the novel I most recently reviewed, I found to be flawed in several areas. Although the story line had possibilities, and most of the characters were well-developed, the story lacked fluidity and some of the elements of the plot were too far-fetched to be believable. I felt bad when I wrote the review. I like to say positive things about fellow authors, but I felt that honesty was important. Of course this is my opinion. That is what a book reviewer does -- reads a book and then writes her opinion. But when the negative outweighs the positive, it is difficult to anticipate seeing the review in print, and wonder how the author will feel. I don't know how other reviewers feel, but this was a difficult task for me.

Tips to Make Characters Come Alive

Try these techniques to bring life to your characters, and find out who they really are.

1. Make a list of adjectives that describe your character. Use a thesaurus for words you may not think of off the top of your head.

2. Spend two hours "being" your character. Do whatever you are doing normally, but try to think like your character. Get inside his or her skin.

3. Write up questions and interview your character. Be "in character" when you answer.

4. Ask a friend or family member of the character to describe him or her, and write down the answers that come to you.

5. Describe your character on a typical day -- down to the underwear. Include hair, grooming, how many pairs of shoes he or she tries on before going out the door. Everything!

Spend enough time with you character and he or she will be real, and that is how you want it to be for your readers.

Do a Small Thing Each Day

Few of us have the luxury of being able to write for long, productive, uninterrupted stretches each day. And when life gets busy, it can be difficult to hold on to the belief that "yes, I am a writer."
I try to do some small thing each day, whether it is rereading and revising a chapter, sending out a submission, making a contact, writing a blog post. It may seem simple, but at the end of the day, I know I have accomplished a meaningful task. And the small things add up. A chapter a day, seven chapters a week -- in a month I have reread and revised my entire novel. And then on to the next step.
What works for you?

Can You Go Home Again?

I am planning a trip this summer to the small town in southern Illinois where I grew up. I didn't even live in the town; I lived on a farm seven miles outside of the county seat, a town of 3,000 people, not close to anything.
Most of my friends from childhood still live in the county where we grew up, or at most have moved within a radius of fifty miles. My family not only moved away, we scattered to the winds. We have moved about as farm from the rural Midwest as is possible, both physically and emotionally.
Now we are going back. We are going to stay with a friend and former classmate of mine who I recently "found" again after many years.
Somehow our past will touch the present,and in a sense we will come full circle.
We have all grown up, but I think the connection we had as children will still be there.
Have any of you ever had an experience like this? CAN you go home again?

My Novel is an Orphan

Just two weeks ago the publisher of my novel, The Gate House, closed its doors. It was a difficult decision for the group who have worked so hard over the last few years to keep a small company afloat, but consequently, I am looking for a new home for my novel. I have completed a sequel, and also have a half-finished manuscript of a prequel. I hope that the entire package will interest another publisher.
In the meantime, I am writing, writing, writing. I hope to keep my readers' interest through short fiction and some memoir pieces of the odd experiences in my life.
Hang in there with me.