Tag: Discipline in writing

Categories
Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Be Disciplined

After I hit my head earlier this year, it took me a few days to get back to my normal routines. Having stitches on my face threw me off mentally and physically. I couldn’t focus and my creative juices didn’t flow.

Living with a disability means you are better off sticking to your routines if you want to be more productive. Persons with brain injuries really need to understand the benefits of daily routines. Benefits like . . .

  • Easier to focus
  • Motor memory kicks in
  • Less stressful

Most of us as children, hated the daily chores our parents gave us when we were little. We didn’t understand what disciplines they were trying to instill in us. After my accident, I learned the importance of staying disciplined daily.

Because of my TBI, I pay closer attention to my surroundings and try to use all of my senses to compensate for my lack of feeling and limited eyesight.

I also learned to pay closer attention to my body and feelings, to be aware of any potentially negative changes that may cause further harm to myself. Persons with brain injuries are commonly hypersensitive for the rest of their lives.

Over the years I have learned other disciplines that help me feel and function much better. For instance, limiting my caffeine, getting at least eight hours of sleep each night, and staying hydrated are daily disciplines I practice.

Discipline

Growing up we didn’t like the rules or the discipline our parents gave us, but as adults, we better understand how both discipline and rules help us mature. Discipline is defined as, “Training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental facilities or moral character; instruction.”

Discipline isn’t just a consequence for bad behavior; it is also for encouraging better habits. Healthy disciplines are the practices we employ to be productive, safe, and have a strong body. Sometimes these practices may be routine or boring. However strong disciplines increase focus and productivity. These are especially beneficial for writers.

Writing Disciplines

Every writer knows writing isn’t as easy as simply sitting down at a computer and magically creating wonderful prose with little effort. It may take hours, days, or weeks to breathe life into our writing and get it where we want it to be.

We understand writing is a process that requires specific skillsets and disciplines to make our words shine, which take time to develop. We also must protect and respect the disciplines of the writing life.  Below are some disciplines from successful writers on how to stay healthy and productive.

  1. Maintain a dedicated workspace and routine.
  2. Writing is a business, not a hobby.
  3. Stay connected with other writers and editors.

Since every writer is different, we may need different disciplines or habits to produce our best work. The point is to find what works best for you.

Some people like writing late at night, but I prefer to sleep at night for at least eight hours. Some people like listening to music while they write, I prefer peace and quiet to help me focus. Some people eat while they write, I prefer to enjoy my food and words separately and view eating at my computer as a bad habit.

Habits

Habits can be hard to break, but bad habits can break us. This may surprise you if you have followed my column for a while, but before my accident, I wasn’t a health fanatic and I didn’t take care of myself. I had a lot of bad habits from childhood and some I picked up in college. I drank soft drinks and alcohol and never drank water. I ate more junk food than nutritious food. At most, I would get only four hours of sleep each night.

I read more comic books than I did actual books. I rarely exercised, except hanging out at the gym with my friends. And the biggest shocker is, I hadn’t ridden a bicycle in over a decade before my accident. After my accident, I realized I needed to grow up and be more health conscious. I stopped smoking and drinking alcohol. Ironically, now my normal adult bedtime is the time my parents taught me to go to bed when I was a kid, 9 PM.

Living with a brain injury has forced me to develop healthier lifestyle disciplines over the last 27 years, including . . .

  • Limit caffeine
  • Drink a gallon of water per day
  • Eat healthier
  • Get more sleep and rest
  • Exercise daily

I have learned “adulting” means developing better health habits and taking care of myself physically and mentally. As we age, most of us learn to make lifestyle changes to live healthier lives. Our fitness goals become survival goals. Most of us look back and wish we made better choices in life when we were younger.

What are some habits you can learn as a writer to be more disciplined?

Martin Johnson

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Categories
Building Your Creative Space

The Day After The Day

Building your creative space

“Each of us have moments when we are swept away by an inner sense of excitement about something we are doing or want to do.  In this state, whatever we are working on seems to come alive with significance and even necessity, and our contribution seems to validate who we are or, perhaps more accurately, who we can be.”

Martha Graham, dancer and choreographer

Say you have a truly perfect day. 

Your art sings with such passionate ease you feel it flowing with your breath.  Time becomes a measurement applied to mere mortals.  You become genuinely united with the creative moment.  The heavens open, the angels descend, and they sing with you.  It is, in a word, glorious. 

Then there is the next day. 

Because you have returned to the mortal realm, your first temptation is to review the previous day’s work.  But let’s be honest here.  You’re not doing this because you actually want to change anything. 

You’re after a cheap high. 

You want to feel that same incredible union, without the blood and sweat and tears.

But then you realize that the product of your intense experience is not quite perfect.  What you created has a flaw.  You pluck at this tiny imperfect strand, and gradually your beautiful work becomes shredded. 

The result is inevitable.  All the glorious emotional impact fades away.

You doubt it ever happened.  You become tempted to dismiss the entire experience as a passing illusion. 

There is a scene in my recent novel, Miramar Bay, when the main character goes racing off on his motorcycle in the dark with the headlights off.  How I happened to write it goes like this:

I was at the end of a very long day.  Tired, strung out, a lot going on, and I was running away from two half-finished scenes that I simply could not get right.  So I went to the gym.  And there in the middle of my workout…

The main character, a man named Connor, talked to me. 

It was just so incredible, hearing this guy confess his deepest secret.  I felt so moved.  I borrowed a pen and pad from the gym’s manager and scribbled out the entire scene, like I was listening to Connor confess.  Broken, afraid, totally uncertain as to what he should do next.  But it was this moment that propelled him to do what he did.  Take the midnight bus to Miramar Bay.

Connor raced bikes.  His own ride of choice was the fastest street-legal bike in the world, a Ducatti.  And while Connor had been rising up the impossible glass mountain of LA fame, his escape had been rides through desert hideaways with outlaw buddies. 

But that night Connor had been alone.

He pushed his bike up the desert cliffs north of Palm Springs, one switchback after another, and did so with his lights off.  The motor screaming, his blood pumping, illuminated by the moon.  Why?

Because he did not care whether he lived or he died. 

That was the confession he shared with me.  I wrote it down, and when I was finished, I felt as though I had been given an incredible gift by a guy who was a lot better, and far greater, than he gave himself credit for.

Welcome to Miramar Bay.

So why am I sharing this with you?

Because of the next day. 

When I sat down at my desk the following morning, I faced the same quandary as I had before I left for the gym.  The same two unfinished scenes.  The same imperfect structure that I had to get right.  The same doubts, the same fears, the same…

Do This Now:

  • The issue here, the crux to arriving at the point when inspiration happens, is this:  Work through the hours of drudgery. 
  • You need to fashion a means of maintaining this discipline when the hour is hardest.  Not when it comes easy.  You must do this.  You must.
  • For myself, the answer has come through not allowing myself to reread what I have written until the first draft is completed.  I want to go back.  I hunger to see what I am creating.  But I don’t give in.  I can’t, and maintain my daily productivity, my drive.  I just can’t.
  • You must design your own method for making it through the slog.  I suggest you start with my concept, and hold to it until you fashion your own. 
  • Whatever it is, however you make this work, consider this one of the most vital steps you will ever take as an artist.
  • Do this now.

Davis Bunn’s novels have sold in excess of eight million copies in twenty-four languages.  He has appeared on numerous national bestseller lists, and his titles have been Main or Featured Selections with every major US book club.  In 2011 his novel Lion of Babylon was named Best Book of the Year by Library Journal.  The sequel, entitled Rare Earth,  won Davis his fourth Christy Award for Excellence in Fiction in 2013.  In 2014 Davis was granted the Lifetime Achievement award by the Christy board of judges.  His recent title Trial Run has been named Best Book of The Year by Suspense Magazine. Lately he has appeared on the cover of Southern Writers Magazine and Publishers Weekly, and in the past three years his titles have earned him Best Book and Top Pick awards from Library Journal, Romantic Times, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus. His most recent series, Miramar Bay, have been acquired for world-wide condensation-books by Readers Digest. Currently Davis serves as Writer-In-Residence at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University. Until Covid struck, he was speaking around the world on aspects of creative writing. 

Watch an excerpt from his new book The Cottage on Lighthouse Lane here.

Learn about his new home at Blenheim Castle here.

Categories
Building Your Creative Space

The Day, The Hour

Building your creative space

“Each of us have moments when we are swept away by an inner sense of excitement about something we are doing or want to do.  In this state, whatever we are working on seems to come alive with significance and even necessity, and our contribution seems to validate who we are or, perhaps more accurately, who we can be.”

Martha Graham, dancer and choreographer

Moments of inspiration cannot be forced into being.  They cannot even be awaited.  Instead, for the artist to truly be an artist, the creative work must continue despite this inspiration being absent.

But why bother?

There are so many other demands upon our time and energy.  Why put up a fight against the incoming tide?  I mean, let’s face facts here.  There is so little chance we’ll succeed. 

And another thing.  What about everything we have to give up in order to make this creative dream reality? 

I’m so glad you asked. 

The life well lived is a search for identity, priorities, peace, wholeness.  I’m not saying you’ll ever find them.  But having the courage to even speak the words, especially to yourself, is a victory in and of itself.

Then one day, we fortunate few discover something we can give our total allegiance to.  We identify a creative purpose that creates harmony from all the impossible elements and all the past pains.

Even speaking this new intent to ourselves is terrifying.  What if we’re wrong?  What if we get halfway down this road, and discover that we don’t have what it takes?  What about the sacrifices?

The risks are huge.  Of course we’re confused.  And scared.  We’d have to be nuts not to feel terrified.

The only answer I’ve found is to be honest about the alternative.  Which is to coast through life. 

Taking the easy road does not mean giving up on the creative dream.  At least, not immediately.  Instead, we tell ourselves that we’re simply waiting for that perfect solution. 

Taking the easy road means, we expect – we demand – an opportunity that ties our sense of calling to the commercial realm.  We want it to arrive risk-free, tied in a lovely blue ribbon. 

Until that happens, we have a safe little excuse for not taking the leap and committing fully. 

The problem is, you never grow beyond the delusion that life should deliver your dream on comfortable terms.

Don’t make that mistake.

You can’t attach a dollar value to this truth.  If you go with the easier alternative, if you give into whatever stress life pummels you with, sooner or later you will be confronted with the sorrowful absence of what you gave up.

Okay, so now you have committed.  Your creative efforts, your compass heading, are now part of your daily existence.  How do you rise beyond this struggle.  How do you find…

Bliss.

We cannot declare when the moment shall arise, when we cast off the chains of mundane existence and rise up to that incredible, exalted state.  We can’t fashion the hour that our wings will unfold, and we fly off, and glimpse a brief fragment of creative bliss.  We can’t, we just can’t.

But we can most certainly name it.

“Everything flows and nothing stays,” said Heraclitus, the fifth-century BCE Greek philospher, speaking of how time constantly moves us forward, and change is life’s only constant.  But these days there is another meaning given to this word.  And it is by this term that we will begin to take aim.

Flow.

Why call it this?  Well, we need to call it something.  And naming that moment when we become one with the practice of our art is sort of like trying to name a vacuum.  In that instant, we simply are not there.  So in naming it, we instead need to look at the process that brings us to that point.

Flow.  It works as good as anything else.

I am not alone in this choice of a name.  A number of sociologists, medical doctors, and psychologists are now studying the process by which an individual rises above themselves.  Firsthand accounts of such experiences—from sports figures, martial arts experts, artists, and many others—say the same:  It is marked by intense focus, heightened involvement in the action at hand, and two other elements.

First, the experience comes when the practice of this craft or art is so regular that it is natural.  It is a disciplined component of every day.

The second factor is derived from the first.  Because it is natural, we are able to gradually reduce our iron-clad grip upon the work, and through the very intensity of the creative act, we…

Flow.

In his book The Life We Are Given, George Leonard uses the term ‘focused surrender’ to describe the paradox of flow.  Again, the term works as well as any.  The aim is to both try and not try.  To focus intently and at the same time surrender the will. 

Remember what I said in an earlier Concept.  The aim is not discipline. 

The aim is balance. 

The only reason discipline is mentioned so often is because for many creative types, this is the muscle that most needs work.

In achieving a personal sense of balance between the passion and the discipline, the artist can begin to let go.

And flow. 

Flow where, you ask?  Well now.  That is for you to answer.  Not me.

DO THIS NOW:

  • Take careful aim at your creative dream.  Commit.  Grab hold with both hands. Get ready for the fight of your life.
  • Visualize this commitment as a portal.  And through this you can enter into that moment of true creative freedom.  Sometimes.  Not often enough, of course.  But still.
  • On your idea board, place a new card or slip of paper.  On it write the one word: BALANCE
  • Sometimes taking aim is, in itself, a magnificent achievement.

Davis Bunn’s novels have sold in excess of eight million copies in twenty-four languages.  He has appeared on numerous national bestseller lists, and his titles have been Main or Featured Selections with every major US book club.  In 2011 his novel Lion of Babylon was named Best Book of the Year by Library Journal.  The sequel, entitled Rare Earth,  won Davis his fourth Christy Award for Excellence in Fiction in 2013.  In 2014 Davis was granted the Lifetime Achievement award by the Christy board of judges.  His recent title Trial Run has been named Best Book of The Year by Suspense Magazine. Lately he has appeared on the cover of Southern Writers Magazine and Publishers Weekly, and in the past three years his titles have earned him Best Book and Top Pick awards from Library Journal, Romantic Times, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus. His most recent series, Miramar Bay, have been acquired for world-wide condensation-books by Readers Digest. Currently Davis serves as Writer-In-Residence at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University. Until Covid struck, he was speaking around the world on aspects of creative writing. 

Watch an excerpt from his new book The Cottage on Lighthouse Lane here.

Learn about his new home at Blenheim Castle here.

Categories
Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Just Do IT

Recently, I started writing a passion project. It is a twist on a favorite film of my childhood. I’ve wanted to do this project for three years, but for some reason, I’ve kept putting it off.

Although I was excited about it, I always seemed to find an excuse not to write it. It wasn’t until I had to force myself to go outside and exercise in the miserable wet winter weather that I found inspiration to start writing it.

Maybe it was because most of this project takes place in snowy settings. Maybe it is just that I wasn’t as passionate about the projects I had been working on at the time. Perhaps, it was the fog lifting from the state of S.A.D. I experience.

I remember the days after my accident when I didn’t feel like doing anything. The simple things in life (walking, changing clothes) were just too difficult. It wasn’t until I got tired of doctors telling me what I couldn’t do, that I became determined to prove them wrong. I found my motivation in the challenge of relearning everything. I learned a lesson that I apply to my life now.

If I can force myself to do things when I don’t “feel” like it, it’s easier when I do feel like it. 

Staying motivated can be difficult for people living with a disability.

  • It’s hard to focus sometimes.
  • We don’t have the physical strength or ability.
  • Depression is stronger than motivation.

All we can do in times like these is just press on and do our best. Because trying and failing gets us further than never trying at all.

I believe we need to apply this thinking to our writing lives as well. If left to our own devices we would never get any writing done because we don’t feel like writing. That’s why we have to just do it!

Just Do (Write) It!

Once I sit down behind a computer and start writing, I get an adrenaline rush and the creative juices start flowing. Sometimes all it takes is that first step to get us motivated and we wonder why we procrastinated in the first place.

Before beginning my new project, I decided to rewatch my childhood favorite for the first time in over thirty years. I had my notebook and pencil on the coffee table but got lost in the childhood nostalgia of the moment.

I’ll probably watch it again just for note-taking. It wasn’t long before I was online and doing research. I was so excited I went to church and talked to some friends about it; surprisingly they offered to help me with the technicalities of the subject matter.

My enthusiasm spilled over into an email to a screenwriting friend who is a thirty-year Hollywood veteran. In a few hours, he emailed me to send him a draft once I felt it was ready for a readover! I am still stoked about the project now as I am writing this article while there is a cold rain outside my office window. 

In high school, I heard a professional athlete from my area share with the local news, the difference between athletes and spectators.

 “The only difference between athletes and fans is athletes make up their minds to do the work needed to excel in their sport. They don’t just sit on the sidelines dreaming and talking about it.”

The same principles apply to writing. The difference between successful writers and those who never achieve publication is successful writers do the work it takes to be successful.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, writers write, and dreamer’s dream. This means a few things need to take place:

  1. Get serious about making it a career and not a hobby.
  2. Get the education and training you need to write correctly and be professional. This could be a formal degree or it can be taking a professional writing program. The best writers are always honing their craft; whether through conferences or online seminars and classes—you only know how much you have learned.
  3. Be willing to make the sacrifices needed to get your writing where it needs to be.
  4. Learn the importance of time management. Just because you’re getting training doesn’t mean you can’t be writing.

It took months after my accident before I learned what I was able to do physically, I learned through trial and error, not lying in a hospital bed feeling sorry for myself. All of these years later I am still learning the limitations of my abilities. I keep learning and growing. When the going gets tough, dig in and learn.

The struggle is real, but it is good!

I don’t like working out all the time. If I only worked out when I felt like it, I’d never work out. So I force myself to go and struggle through it. I’m not there to have fun or socialize. I don’t want it to be easy anyway, because I like a workout that challenges me.

Our muscles only grow when they are tested. I would’ve never relearned how to walk, dress, talk or even smile if I never made myself use those muscles. Writers need to use their writing muscles (brains, hearts and extremities.) Below are a few benefits of flexing your writing muscles.

  • Improves memory.
  • Builds a writer’s voice.
  •  Refines communication skills.

These can benefit people even if they’re not aspiring to be a writer.

But only if they “just do it.”

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at Spiritual Perspectives of Da Single Guy and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Categories
The Intentional Writer

The Benefits of a Writing Ritual

The intentional writer

Writing rituals are something I come across whenever I look into advice for how to be a productive and consistent writer. I never paid them much mind. The basic concept made sense, but they didn’t seem like something I wanted to bother with. Routines and rituals are not what make me tick.

Then I began reading the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. The book explained the why behind rituals (specifically what he calls motivation rituals) and I realized they were more powerful than I had thought.

What is a motivation ritual?

Forming and keeping good habits can be hard. Motivation by itself is not enough to overcome our brain’s natural resistance to creating new habits. People who study habits have come up with various tricks to make it easier for us to succeed. When it comes to motivation rituals, the main concept at work is this:

You can make difficult habits more attractive by training your brain to associate them with a positive experience. A motivation ritual is a way to associate the habit you want to grow (such as clearing your brain to focus on writing) with something you enjoy (a cup of coffee in your special writer’s mug, perhaps). Over time, the ritual becomes your brain’s cue that will help you begin the habit.

In the book, the author describes how during his years as a baseball player, he developed a pregame stretching and warm-up ritual. He intentionally went through the sequence the same way every time. It prepared him physically, but at the same time it prepared him mentally. He goes on to say:

I began to associate my pregame ritual with feeling competitive and focused. Even if I wasn’t motivated beforehand, by the time I was done with my ritual, I was in “game mode.” James Clear in Atomic Habits

Aha! So that’s what a writing ritual is all about. When done correctly, it can help us clear our heads and get into “writer mode.”

How to design a writing ritual

I am not suggesting that you can invent a ritual and it will magically boost your writing focus. I am suggesting a well-designed ritual can help you form and keep a good writing habit. Here are some key points to keep in mind if you want to create a helpful writing ritual.

  • The ritual must associate something you enjoy (like a creative writing prompt) or a series of easy steps (like the baseball warm-up) with the habit of focused writing.
  • The ritual is not likely to work if that action is already associated in your brain with bad habits. (i.e. creative writing prompts = daydream for the next hour)
  • If your current writing space is full of cues that distract you, you may need to change up your environment in order to create a new ritual that will point you to new habits. This could mean choosing a new place in your home or office to do focused writing. Or it could mean creating a ritual where you put certain distracting items away to clear your physical and mental space for focused writing. (Sort of like Mr. Rogers changing his shoes.)
  • The ritual needs to be repeated consistently, and the specific cues in the ritual should be only for that particular habit. The idea is to train your brain to think something like: “when I put on those brown headphones, it’s time to concentrate.” Or “When I put on my favorite writing sweatshirt and sit in my desk chair, I am Lisa-the-writer, not Lisa-the housekeeper or Lisa-the-cat’s-servant or anything else.”
  • Try to adopt a attitude-based mindset instead of a goal-based mindset. The ritual is not about meeting your daily word count. The ritual is about becoming the sort of person who can sit down and focus on writing on both the good days and the bad days.

Ready to give a writing ritual a try?

I am continuing to ponder how I can tap into the power of a writing ritual. How about you? Do you have a writing ritual that helps you get in the zone?

Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a story to tell the world. She loves to encourage fellow writers to be intentional about their craft and courageous in sharing their words with others. Lisa shares her words through dramas, Bible studies, historical mysteries, and her blog about intentional living. You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter and Twitter @LisaEBetz

Categories
Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

I’m a Superstar!

Living with a disability is never an easy thing, but there are times when it is more difficult than other times. I’m wired to be an outdoors person and try not to let my disability keep me from being active.

I learned years ago that I can’t live a life based on my feelings or limitations. To be honest, if I lived that way I would never accomplish anything. Especially this time a year, the shorter days and cooler temperatures sometimes suck the energy out of me.

The last few months have been particularly difficult this year. I’ve had a lot of writing projects I’ve been working on. Then the weather in the South decided to skip fall and go straight to winter in a matter a few days.

I’m not sure if it was shellshock or winter shock, but one morning I woke up to a cold winter rain pounding against my roof and windows. As I lay in bed, the thought of tackling my projects almost sent me into hibernation.

When I finally pulled myself from the black hole of my bed, I was sucked into the currents of a hurricane as I sat at my desk and tried to write. For almost an hour I sat there motionless as I stared at the blank monitor and I wondered if I actually had what it takes to make it as a writer. The endless fears and thoughts paralyzed me more than my brain injury.

  • What if I never get an agent and I’ve wasted all these years chasing a selfish dream?
  • What if I lose my passion for writing?
  • What if I am too old or too young to write what I write?
  • What if I’m pursuing the wrong kind of writing and I never sell anything?
  • What if I run out of ideas to write about?

I know we all have doubts at some point and many give up on pursuing a writing career. However, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and work with a number of outstanding writers who managed to break free from the black holes and hurricanes to become not only professionals but superstars in their own right.

Superstars

In 2013 the Huffington Post noted 145,900 American “writers and authors” counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.[i] That’s almost a quarter of 1 million Americans who make a living as a writer. But what does it take to be a writing superstar?  I spent some time talking to some of my writing friends to get an idea of what disciplines they practice.

  1. Keep writing.
  2. Keep learning the craft.
  3. Network (writers conferences, social media)
  4. Be consistent and meet deadlines.
  5. Be a fierce self-editor or get a professional one.
  6. Manage your time wisely.

One of the luxuries of being a writer is making your own schedules for the most part. We still have deadlines to meet. A schedule is still a schedule. Get things done when they need to be done.

Get it done!

As 2018 comes to an end have you accomplished everything you set out to? I know I haven’t, I’ve spent this last few weeks focusing on other projects when I really wanted to be working on rewriting my screenplay.

Perhaps it is just my brain injury that gives me tunnel vision, but here are six mindsets I’m learning to help keep me focused and encouraged for the new year.

  • Expect rejection.
  • Write, even if you don’t feel like it.
  • Timing is everything.
  • Our timing isn’t God’s.
  • A roadblock isn’t the end of the road, just a detour.
  • All writers have to start somewhere.

As the holidays interrupt our writing schedules and plans, disappointments will come and I hope you return to this post to find some encouragement on your path to becoming a superstar.

[i] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-dietrich/the-writers-odds-of-succe_b_2806611.html

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Truamatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at Spiritual Perspectives of Da Single Guy and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Categories
Time Management

Get Ready, Get Set, Go! It’s NaNoWriMo!

As most of us know, this month (November) is known to writers as “NaNoWriMo” or “National Novel Writing Month.” I’m actually giving a NaNoWriMo workshop at my local library on Nov. 6 so I thought I’d tie it into my time management blog here and share on the subject since the two are integrally related – and help you (whether or not you participate in NaNoWriMo, or would just like to start, finish or publish your next book as soon as possible) focus on churning out some pages and getting them published!

First a Little History

NaNoWriMo is a creative writing project and was started in July, 1999 by freelance writer Chris Baty in San Francisco Bay with 21 participants. It was moved to November in 2000 to “to more fully take advantage of the miserable weather” and launched an official website. Participants attempt to write a 50,000 word manuscript between Nov. 1-30. By the 2010 event, over 200,000 participants wrote over 2.8 billion words. In 2013, January and February were deemed NaNoWriMo’s “Now What?” Months, designed to help novelists during the editing and revision process with a goal of getting published.

It’s All About the Numbers

To win NaNoWriMo, which focuses on quantity or length and awards those who finish, participants must write an average of approximately 1,667 words per day in November to reach the goal of 50,000 words.  Let’s see, my newest novel, The Jealous Son, due out next year, is 80,270 words (before editing). I actually was working from home primarily as a full-time author during the time I wrote it (between Jan.-April 2017). I was lucky, I had quit my day job and I could focus on my writing. I learned that a “system” that worked for me was to write during my “prime time” of day – from the time I woke up, coffee in hand, at 7 am until I felt worn out from writing and needed to work on my other “jobs,” (marketing my other books, teaching writing at my local college and as a book coach) – which was typically around 1-2 pm. I figured I could write 3 pages in 2 hours…which meant about 9-10 pages a day. One day at a time I got it finished, edited and submitted to a literary agent by July…and it’s being published in June, 2019!

When you focus and concentrate your best time to a project, you achieve the quickest and best results. Of course you can only do what you can do. But the bottom line is to schedule writing time into your week and stay focused!

Decisions and Deadlines

Organizers of the event say that the aim is to get people to start writing, using the deadline as an incentive to get the story going and to put words to paper. As a former news reporter, I’ve always worked best with a deadline. But you also have to make some choices in advance of putting pen to paper.

Make those choices as soon as possible so you can be free to write. Come up with a good catchy title (narrow your selection to two or three and Google said titles to see if they are unique (or close). Come up with your character outlines too so you “know” your characters and they can flow along with your plot (see below). Do as much research up front as possible. Also devise a timeline for your narrative so you don’t lose track of your characters’ ages, birthdays, etc. And know your readers (or audience) which will help determine your genre.

Put the Finish Line First

How does your story end? You need to know before you start! Decide on your storyline or plot and write it down in a chapter outline. I am a firm believer (as a marketing expert) in the need for a plan. If you have a chapter outline, you will have a road map to get where you’re going much faster and easier than if you don’t.

Do you know where you want your novel to end up? In the hands of friends and family? On the New York Times Bestseller List? In the hands of movie producers for adaptation? This will be important when it comes to making more choices down the line such as finding a publisher, marketing your book and setting goals for yourself. Finally, what message do you want to leave for your readers? (I also believe the best books and movies leave a message – be it educational, informational, inspirational or transformational – behind. Decide what you want your readers to get out of your book so you stick to the main message.

Save the Editing for Later…but Still Use Good Style

You don’t want to have writer’s block too soon in the game, which is why you want to edit your work at the end – after you’re finished writing. If you get too bogged down in word choices and proper grammar, you may lose your motivation, creative genius or writing zest – and it may take ages before you’re done. BUT, do use all of the recommendations of those who know the craft (and if you don’t know, read books on it like “Elements of Style” by Strunk & White, take a writing course, go to a good writers conference or email me). Show not tell, use strong nouns and verbs, don’t use clutter, etc. etc. The more effort you spend in writing well up front, the less work you’ll have to do later.

Now go forth, write, write, write! And make sure you celebrate when you’re all done – let me know and I’ll celebrate too!

Michele Chynoweth is the award-winning author of The Faithful One, The Peace Maker and The Runaway Prophet, contemporary suspense/romance novels based on Old Testament stories in the Bible that get across God’s messages to today’s readers through edgy, fast-paced fiction. Michele is also an inspirational speaker, college instructor on book writing, publishing and marketing, and book coach/editor who helps writers become successful authors. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, she and her husband have a blended family of five children.

Social Media/Website Links:

Website: michelechynoweth.com

Blog: michelechynoweth1.wordpress.com

Facebook Author Page: ModernDayBibleStories

Twitter: AuthorMichele

You Tube: MicheleChynoweth

Categories
Writers Chat

When Writing and Fiction Collide with Jolina Petersheim

Jolina Petersheim attracts stories like mint draws butterflies. Enjoy this episode of Writers Chat when she shares how each of her novels have been drawn from a personal, painful yet poignant thread of real life. You won’t want to miss it!

Jolina Petersheim is the critically-acclaimed author of The Alliance, The Midwife, and The Outcast, which Library Journal called “outstanding . . . fresh and inspirational” in a starred review and named one of the best books of 2013. That book also became an ECPA, CBA, and Amazon bestseller and was featured in Huffington Post’s Fall Picks, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and the Tennessean. CBA Retailers + Resources called her second book, The Midwife, “an excellent read [that] will be hard to put down.” Booklist selected The Alliance as one of their Top 10 Inspirational Fiction Titles for 2016, and it was selected as a Christy Award finalist. Jolina’s nonfiction writing has been featured in Reader’s Digest, Writer’s Digest, and Today’s Christian Woman.

She and her husband share the same unique Amish and Mennonite heritage that originated in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, but they now live in the mountains of Tennessee with their two young daughters.

Join us!

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET
on Zoom. Participants mute their audio and video during the filming, then we open up
the room for anyone who wishes to participate with our guests. The “After Party” is a
fifteen-minutes of off-the-record sharing and conversation.

Additionally, you can grow your network and add to the conversation by joining our
Facebook Group.

Categories
Create. Motivate. Inspire.

Focus (Or Lack Thereof)

With an incredible sense of purpose, I opened the window blinds and faced the morning sun.

Today, I thought, I’m going to make something happen. My keyboard will soar in the hands of a skillful writer. I will conquer the screen and many will be blessed because of my courage.

As I completed morning chores, my thoughts ran ahead to the words I wanted to whittle and shape with vision and imagination. A glass of Diet Dr. Pepper close by, I sat at my desk, fingers poised over the keyboard. A pen and legal pad were on standby. Oh, yeah. This was going to be good.

But wait, this screen is dusty. Where’s my super-duper lint-free cloth?

What a lovely day. Maybe I should write outside…

Did the dryer just buzz?

I need some music.

Uh-oh. Need a refill on soda.

This music is annoying.

Okay, here we go. Once upon a time… Brilliant, just brilliant.

Um…Once upon a dark and stormy night…

Maybe it’s time for a break.

I would love to say that mornings like these are few and far between. But all too often, the hours can slip by with few words on the page. Good intentions get lost in a lack of self-control and I accomplish very little. I’m guilty of having the attention span of a puppy—my thoughts jumping from one distraction to the next.

The Apostle Paul taught the Corinthian believers of the need for discipline and self-control.  “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air” (1 Cor. 9:24-26).

When we approach our writing time with a careless attitude, we are “running aimlessly” and “beating the air.” Paul knew that ministry without Christ-centered focus would ultimately fail, and his witness would suffer. “No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (V.27).

A fruitful writing ministry is grounded in discipline and in the relentless seeking of the heart of God.

And the joy from such a ministry will spill over and change the world.

 

Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control (Prov. 25:28).

 

As we consider our writing life over the past few days, are we plagued by a lack of discipline? How can we be better stewards of our time?

 

[bctt tweet=”How can we be better stewards of our writing time? #amwriting #writertips ” username=”@A3forMe @lthomaswrites”]

[bctt tweet=”A fruitful writing ministry is grounded in discipline and in the relentless seeking of the heart of God. #amwriting #writer” username=”@A3forMe @lthomaswrites”]