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.

Taking Myself Seriously as a Writer

For all of us who still have a "day job," it is often difficult to take oneself seriously as a writer. As much as we might say, "I am a writer," it is easy to shunt the writing tasks off to the end of the day, after work, household tasks, family, shopping and even exercise. After all, I have to take care of myself to be a good writer, don't I?
I sometimes exhaust myself with multi-tasking. I try to find time to write and revise throughout my day as a substitute teacher. I respond to emails at my laptop in the kitchen while my husband does the dishes (Bless him!). But it all often leaves my exhausted to the point where I think, "Why am I doing this?"
But I keep doing it, and occasionally am rewarded by publication, nomination as a finalist for an award, or a request to join a mystery writers' panel.
I am fortunate that I can take a day off now and then to catch up and recharge my writing batteries.
How do other people do it? How do you keep up on the demands of your life, and still take yourself seriously as a writer? Is it all about money? Do I have to be making money at it to call myself a writer?

Different Kinds of Creativity

I am a writer. I get up in the morning and think about which of my projects I will work on today, since I always have several projects I am balancing in various stages of development. Currently, I am working on revising my latest novel, which is tentatively titled Lydia's Story. And I will be using my creativity and skills to draft a query letter to prospective agents. I am finishing up my third book review for Suspense magazine, a fun project that includes free books delivered to my door. I am finishing a short story I plan to submit to a midwest literary journal. Although I live on the east coast now, I grew up on a farm in southern Illinois, and like to return to those roots now and then. I am also "resurrecting" a short novel I wrote before my first novel, The Gate House, was published.
Although my present projects are all in the revision or revisiting phase, that is not to say I am not being creative. As a writer, the most fun part of what I do is when I am in the flow of a story, and I am able to allow the creative ideas to jump out, often surprising me.
Revision and revisiting are still creative activities. I look at them as getting dressed up to go out and meet the world. They must be at their best, and it is my job to polish them, take away what is superfluous and make them brilliant in their own way. I love this process because I have a chance to show that I care about what I write. It is different from the original flow of ideas, but not tedious. Every creative effort needs refinement: a cook improves a recipe, a musician practices, a film maker shoots a scene over and over. And a writer revises. It's not that we strive for perfection, but we strive for our best.

*************************************************************************

I am currently reading: Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter. This is the story of the library cat in Spencer, Iowa who canged a town and became a world-wide celebrity. I am about three quarters of the way through it, and am finding the story of the autor, who struggled with her own personal problems, as fascinating as the story of the cat. It is light reading, kind of a "rest book" between more challenging fare, but enjoyable.

Have you thanked an author today?

Some people read a few books a year, some about one a month, and some, like me,

devour books like they are daily nourishment, which they often are.
If you are a writer, you know the time, effort and sacrifice it takes to get the book in front of the reader, just like the effort of putting a good dinner on the table.
And just like you thank the cook, or compliment the chef, how about thanking the author? This is especially true of less well-known authors. I can tell you it is pure delight to receive an email showing appreciation of my writing. I feel like sitting down at my computer and getting right back to creating more enjoyment for my readers.
I am developing the habit of sending a note to authors whose books I enjoy. It is easy to find an e-mail address on the author's web site. And I have received some lovely notes back in reply.
So thank an author; you will make someone's day!

I am always wary of giving my books away for free because, of course, I want
people to buy them.
But recently I received a handwritten note in the mail from an elderly cousin of
my father, who had heard about my book from someone in the family, and wanted
to know where she could buy one. She is eighty-eight years old and I didn't know
if she uses the internet, so I broke my own rule and mailed her a copy as a
gift.
Today I received a message from her granddaughter who had seen the book, and
proceeded to order a copy for her Kindle and read it in one night. So the gift
led to a sale. Or maybe it's an example of what goes around comes around, but
there are times when giving away a book is the cool thing to do.

Cookie Candy

Sometimes the memory of a favorite childhood food is better than the reality.
My mom used to make something that I, as a child, dubbed "cookie candy." It is baked in a square or oblong pan and consists of a cookie layer topped with a meringue and brown sugar mixture and baked all together.
I remember the large oblong pan of this treat, setting on the kitchen counter cooling for dessert. When it was finally served, I relished biting into the two layers and letting the flavor combinations, mostly of sugar, explode in my mouth.
A couple of weeks ago, I pulled out the recipe and baked a small pan. First I forgot to beat the egg whites seaparately from the brown sugar for the topping, so it did not come out as thick as it should have. Second, I did not spread the topping all the way to the edge, which caused the cookie layer to sink in the middle and emerge from the topping around the edge of the pan. And last, my tastes have changed. As a ten year old, sugar was probably my favorite flavor. As an adult who tries to eat healthful food most of the time, "cookie candy" was just too sweet for my taste.
I may try the recipe again, and maybe not. Maybe it is better in my memory, or maybe my mom just knew how to do it better.

Here is the recipe, in case anyone wants to try it:

Cookie Candy


1st Layer:
½ c. shortening
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla
Pinch salt
½ c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder


Mix in order given. Spread ½ in. thick in shallow pan.


2nd Layer:
1 egg white
1 c. light brown sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
¾ c. walnuts, chopped


Beat egg white. Fold in sugar, add vanilla. Spread over first layer. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake in moderate oven (350˚) about 30 min.

Illicit Cultural Property: Shame on Sam Brownback

Illicit Cultural Property: Shame on Sam Brownback: "'Tragic Prelude', John Steuart Curry, in the Kansas Statehouse States which are not always able to lure arts organizations and touring com..."

Daydreaming

“Where do you get your ideas?” is a question writers are often asked. And while ideas burst into life anywhere from family stories to personal experience to newspaper articles, an idea does not become a piece of writing without silence and time to daydream.
Just like a seed, an idea needs to be left alone to germinate before it will grow. It is not so much a matter of figuring out the direction for a story or even a poem, as it is a matter of allowing the story to bloom on its own.
From childhood I have entertained myself by making up stories in my head. I amused myself this way while riding the school bus and doing chores on our family farm in southern Illinois. I have always enjoyed long walks, and I have daydreamed on walks in Chicago, Costa Rica, Colorado and London. There is something about the kinetic movement that stimulates imagination.
Lately, however, I find that I often have to purposely unplug myself to let my imagination go. I leave the iPod at home and I turn off the radio in the car (with the exception of the classical station). I avoid having the TV or radio on at home “just for background noise.”
Quiet time is essential for any artist, and this includes writers, because we are artists.
If you really are stuck for ideas, try some writing prompts. Every Friday, Mary Jo Campbell posts some great ones on her Writer Inspired blog. Other resources are The World's Newest Writing and Creativity Portal.
Play a game of pretend with your children, and stimulate their imaginations as well, with the TV turned off, of course.
Daydream – and it will carry over into your writing.

Starting Over Again on a Snow Day

I am constantly starting over, regrouping, reorganizing and trying to simplify. This applies to to writing as well as my life in general.
This morning I drove to my substitute teaching job, only to be told that the district had decided to close the school for students, meaning no work for substitute teachers.
I returned home with an unexpected opportunity to work on some of the micro-steps I have been thinking about. Since I work at a local high school most days, I need to break up my writing tasks into small manageable chunks. Finishing a "chunk" gives me a sense of satisfaction and the motivation to do more.
This morning I finished the first draft of a book review for Suspense Magazine. Ka-ching! Job done! I worked on a task from Julia Cameron's Artist's Way, to spark my creativity. Ka-ching! I wrote some more on a short story I am working on based on my memories of riding the school bus when I was growing up. Ka-ching! Not a bad morning's work!