Tag: writing habits

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History in the Making

Behind the Doors of the Grocery Store: The Early American Era

History in the making

For writers, opportunities wait behind the doors of the grocery store!

A plethora of plots. Character reveals. Centuries of setting choices.

Plots or sub-plots—romance, thievery, espionage, even murder—hope to be chosen for a writer’s next work. Love blooms on Aisle 4.  A desperate mother shoplifts. Dollar bills go missing from the money box. Who poisoned the produce?

Character reveals or characters revealed? There’s a place for both in the grocery store. The helpful or bitter proprietor. The responsible cashier. The jerk of a clerk. Or the unexpected, welcome or dreaded, encounter at the meat counter.  

Along with plots and characters, a variety of grocery store settings are available for the picking. From as far back as the infant years of the United States, shops afforded goods to consumers: Trading Posts. General Stores. Mom-and-Pop shops. Full-service grocery stores.

Spanning four centuries, 17th through the early 20th, customers could make purchases at the TRADING POST, GENERAL STORE or a MOM-AND-POP shop. Demographics, architecture and technology might change, but the overall model of these establishments remained during this era.

TRADING POSTS arose and scattered across the United States as adventurous folks moved westward to explore the land. Initially, the trappers who operated the posts traded guns, ammunition, cloth and trims, and cookware to the local Indian tribes in exchange for furs and food. Bartering was common as opposed to a fixed-price system. Extending credit was common, luring customers to return.

Over the decades the face of the Trading Post morphed according to the increase in population and the changing landscape as more people moved west to settle in communities. Farmers, ranchers, travelers by stagecoach or rail, Pony Express riders, along with the Indian tribes might do business at the Trading Post. The proprietor would keep busy stocking shelves, bartering and selling, and cultivating working relationships and friendships with customers.

GENERAL STORES

The locale of the store would determine much of the product offered to the customer. For example, if the General Store is the only shop in a tiny town, though they provide mostly dry goods, at times they might have eggs, fresh fruit or vegetables brought in by a local farmer in exchange for credit or product. They may also stock items that are unique to the needs of those area residents. Specialty items were likely ordered and took a long time to receive. The post office might deliver mail to their facility and the customer would pick it up when they came by.

If the General Store is located in a large town or city where numerous specialty businesses operate, dry goods would be their main stock,  

 A day in the life of the proprietor might include unloading a shipment of goods or stocking shelves. Customers, both men and women, would hand him a list, or simply tell him what they needed. The requested items would be placed on the counter. After calculating the cost, the owner would load them in the customer’s sack or wagon to take home.

By 1883, proprietors might have set aside their pencil and paper and used a cash register which was invented by James and John Ritter circa 1878.

MOM AND POP shops are distinguished from General Stores in that they are usually family-owned and often a specialty store such as butchers, bakers, pharmacists, or shoemakers, etc.  

Mom and Pop stores were likely flanked on either side by other stores in a string of buildings on the main street of town. Owners often lived on the second floor.

Progressing into the 20TH CENTURY

In 1916, Piggly Wiggly opened the first self-service establishment. Customers could walk along the aisles and pick out what they wanted to purchase, then take them to check-out for tabulation and bagging. Regional chain stores, as late as the 1920s, continued counter-service for procurement of dry goods.

Shoppers still needed to visit the specialty shops for meat and produce.

Circa 1937, King Kullen opened the first grocery store featuring an onsite baker, butcher and a large produce department.

Shortly after King Kullen’s opening, the shopping cart was introduced. This made shopping easier for the customers, but also, the sale of more merchandise increased profits for the owner.

These early 20th century advancements in grocery services paved the way for the shopping experiences enjoyed by 20th and 21st century consumers. But that’s a story for another day.

As for creative writers, fodder for meaningful and exciting stories waits behind the doors of any Trading Post, General Store, Mom and Pop shop, or Full-service Grocery Store.

One just needs to look to find them.

Jeannine

Jeannine Brummett lives in South Carolina with her husband of nineteen years, Don, who shares his three adult sons and three grandchildren with her. Reading is big on her list of things to do, but she also thrives on TV crime dramas, NBA basketball, and marvels at the critters and fowl life that live at the pond behind their house. She loves to sing praise songs, attend Bible Study, and help at a local food pantry.

Categories
Building Your Creative Space

Comfort and Creativity: Making Your Writing Space Work for You

Building your creative space

When you finally get time to write, you want to work in a space that is conducive to clear thinking and creativity. Few things are as frustrating as trying to produce poetry or prose while sitting in an uncomfortable chair or working in a distracting, noisy space.

However, the exact nature of your writing space is entirely up to you. Screenwriting Dalton Trumbo wrote much of his best work in the bathtub, while non-fiction author Michael Pollan built a bespoke writing hut in his Vermont garden.

Regardless of where you decide to write, you will need to ensure that you are comfortable and properly supported. As an author, you’ll likely spend thousands of hours at your desk every year while crafting your next novel or exploring compelling ideas in your upcoming memoir. That means you should at least invest in a writing setup that supports your health and well-being.

Ancillary Spaces

Many modern writers choose to create an ancillary space separate from their home life to write in. Icons like Virginia Woolf produced some of their best work when they were given access to a room of their own to write in. Woolf likely wrote literary classics like Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse while working in her writing lodge at Monk’s House, East Sussex, while authors like Maya Angelou favored a blank hotel room when composing volumes like And Still I Rise.

If the idea of an ancillary space is appealing to you, consider converting existing structures — like garages or sheds — into writing rooms. This will help you stay on budget and will give you a space independent from the rest of your home to write in. Being able to “leave” the house can help you form a stronger writing habit, too, as you’ll start to associate your shed or cabin with writing.

Before you commit to writing in an ancillary space like a garage, you’ll want to make some modifications. Start by installing a mini-split system to keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Mini-splits are more economical, too, meaning you won’t feel bad about switching on the heating on a cool spring morning when you want to write. This is key, as you want to work in a space that has minimal distractions when you’re trying to work.

Clutter-less Writing Rooms

Every writer is different. Mark Twain produced his best work while hidden between stacks of papers, while Jack Kerouac wrote On the Road on a giant 120-foot-long scroll. However, if you’re struggling to maintain your productivity and clarity of thought when you sit down to work, you may want to declutter your writing space. Get the ball rolling by decluttering:

  • Your Workspace: There’s nothing wrong with leaving out yesterday’s draft, but you probably don’t need to keep half a dozen unused highlighters on your desk 24/7.
  • Virtual Storage: If you write on a PC, clean up your documents to ensure you can easily find old drafts and research quickly when you log on.
  • Unfinished Projects: Keeping old drafts at hand can give you a jolt of inspiration when your creative well is running low, but that 3-month-old scrap of paper with a few lines of prose can likely be filed away.
  • Books: Having a few of your favorite books to hand can be helpful if you like to read while you write. However, you should at least keep these shelved to ensure you are fully focused on your own work when writing.

Decluttering isn’t just good for your productivity — it keeps your space clean. This is crucial if you work in a writing shed, where pests can easily find their way in. Nothing will put you off writing like an ant infestation or a few mosquito bites.

You can keep your space clean and pest-free year-round by sealing off entry points, removing old cups of water, and regularly cleaning down your workstation. Screen your windows in warmer months and use a few natural repellents if you discover the signs of larger pests like mice.

Conclusion

Writing in a space that is conducive to creativity can be transformative if you struggle to get into the flow when working. Simple changes, like creating a more ergonomic setup and decluttering your desk, can spark a period of sustained creative production and may help you achieve your writerly goals sooner. Just be sure to keep your writing room clean to ensure that your writing isn’t interrupted by pests or poor air quality.

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.

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The Intentional Writer

Declutter Your Writing Life

The intentional writer

In my blog about living intentionally I often talk about decluttering—not just in our homes but in all areas of life. My definition of clutter is as follows:

Clutter: any thing, activity, expectation, or task that is non-essential and gets in the way of doing what matters most. Clutter is everything that is not meaningful, useful, or beautiful. 

So then, decluttering is the removal of all that is non-essential so that we can focus on what matters most—in our case, writing and promoting our books and our message.   


Areas where you might need to remove some clutter

  1. Your workspace. Does your workspace encourage productive work or does it contain objects that distract you? Are the tools and information you need readily available, or is your workspace filled with other stuff that doesn’t help your writing but happens to “live” in that space? Can those non-essentials be moved elsewhere?
  2.  Virtual clutter. When you sit down to write, are there virtual things that distract you? Perhaps you need to turn off social media notifications, close internet tabs, or even disconnect with the internet altogether while you write. Perhaps you need to leave your phone in another room. Or perhaps the weight of unprocessed emails has gotten so heavy it hinders your focus. Would an hour spent sorting your inbox and dealing with simple tasks declutter part of your brain and give you more bandwidth to create well?
  3. Unfinished projects. Do you have unfinished writing projects lurking in the back corners of your mind that make you feel guilty? Perhaps you need to declutter them from your to-do list. Life happens and your priorities change. It’s OK to change your mind about a project and decide something else is a better use of your time, but when you do, put the old projects completely away—physically and mentally. They do not need to be fed or watered. You can ignore them completely, and they will still be there if you ever want to revisit them.
  4. Too many spinning plates. Are you trying to keep up with all the big social media platforms, blog weekly, promote your new book while working on two others, and fill up every weekend with speaking engagements? Perhaps you need to declutter your schedule. Return to your Why and your career goals for this season. Identify which writing activities are essential and which are not-so-essential. Thinning out your schedule will help you become more productive and do your best work on what is left.
  5. Other people’s methods. No two writers are the same. Therefore, no two writers follow the same writing process or find the same promotion techniques helpful. I know many writers who have tried Mr. Expert’s method for writing only to give themselves a major angst-filled case of writer’s block. By all means, try any method that sounds like it might work, but also know when to discard that expert advice and do what works best for your unique brain. If your process is working, declutter any guilt you might feel for not following the experts. If your process is not working, perhaps you need to jettison a method that doesn’t suit your creative style.
  6.  Expectations. This is a huge area for all of us (and not just in regard to writing). Unhelpful (or unsolicited) expectations can sabotage our self-confidence, creativity, and willingness to share our words with others. What expectations do you need to declutter from your writing life? Comparing your writing to a best-selling author? Listening to friends who think you should have several books published by now? Beating yourself up for once again failing to hit your five-thousand-words-per-day goal? Your success is based on who you are as God’s child, not on what you write, how much you write, or how well it sells.
  7. False Aspirations. Every now and then I go through my bookshelves (both the real ones and the virtual ones) looking for titles of books I aspire-to-have-read but I don’t particularly want to actually read. Sometimes we face a similar issue in our writing. We may aspire to write literary fiction (because it proves how masterful and intellectual our writing is) or crime thrillers (because they sell well) while what our heart and God are actually calling us to is a different genre. Perhaps you need to declutter some unhelpful aspirations and come to terms with what you are best suited to write (in this season of your life, anyway), even if it’s not as glamorous, as spiritual, or as saleable as you think writing ought to be.

I hope these decluttering suggestions will help you write with better focus, more contentment, and greater creativity.

What other kind of writing clutter have you discovered in your life? Let me know in the comments.

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

Categories
The Intentional Writer

Is “Write Every Day” Good Advice?

The intentional writer

Write Every Day

It’s oft-given advice for aspiring writers. If you want to become a good writer, you should write every day. Sounds like simple, practical advice. But is it?

That depends.

I know writers who work best when given concrete goals. For them Write Every Day might be exactly the kick in the butt they need to keep motivated. I know other writers whose creativity shuts down when faced with an inflexible goal like Write Every Day, because sooner or later (probably sooner) life will get in the way and they will miss their daily quota. Guilt will set in and before they know it they have become disillusioned and quit writing altogether.

So, if Write Every Day is not always good advice, why is it given so frequently?

The intent behind the words

“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” – Jane Yolen

Writers are advised to write every day because, as the quote indicates, good writers know the benefits of developing a habit of writing consistently.

Three reasons this is important:

  • Practice makes us better. Like any skill, the more we practice writing, the better we get.
  • A consistent writing habit helps us overcome Resistance. We can find a million excuses to avoid writing. A consistent routine helps us get our butts in the chair and words on the screen.
  • Keeping our head in the project increases the flow of ideas. Creativity doesn’t just happen. Many factors come into play that increase or decrease our ability to think creatively. Tapping into our creative thinking regularly will encourage the subconscious linkages that lead to inspiration.

How can you develop the habit of writing consistently without the burden of Write Every Day?

By adopting strategies that help you make writing a priority while allowing flexibility to adapt to the realities of life.

Here are some to try:

Know your “why” and honor your passions

Joy is a stronger motivator than guilt, fear, or duty. Start by defining why you want to write. Keep your “why” fresh in your mind and let it motivate you. Also know what you love about writing. If watching characters come alive is your thing, forcing yourself to journal may not be productive. Neither will writing science articles if your heart is set on world-building or romance. It’s easier to be consistent when you are doing the kind of writing that feeds your soul and inspires your creativity.

Ease into writing

Starting is often the hardest part of writing. Many writers have discovered that beginning their time with a creative writing prompt loosens the writing muscles and gets things flowing. It’s less intimidating than jumping right into their “serious writing work.” (One writing friend calls this approach “sneaking in the back door.”) If you hate the idea of “wasting” time that could be spent on “real” work, here’s a trick: Use writing prompts strategically. Adapt a writing prompt so it applies to some aspect of your work-in-progress. Then you can ease into writing while simultaneously accomplishing something that directly impacts your current manuscript.

The percentage strategy

Instead of making specific time goals, one friend assesses each day to see how much time is available. Then she takes the available minutes and divides it between writing time and other work. For example, if she had three hours and she allotted 25% to writing, she would write for forty-five minutes. Some days she has more. Some days she has less. Some days she has no time for writing. Life happens. The percentage method allows a flexibility that has breathed grace and renewed motivation into her writing life.  Note: My friend has found that this system works best when she does her writing before she tackles other tasks.

Broaden your definition of writing

When I am working on a rough draft, I find a goal of writing two-thousand words a day keeps me chugging along. But what about the bulk of my writing life when I am outlining or revising instead of filling blank pages? I broaden my definition of writing to include all creative thinking that is connected to the writing process. Editing, rewriting, plotting, outlining, character sketches, doodling while dreaming up new ideas… All of it involves exercising my creative muscles, so I say it counts. This helps me remain motivated instead of frustrated at a perceived lack of output.

What about you? What keeps you from writing consistently?

Which strategies have helped you develop a more consistent writing habit?

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

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The Intentional Writer

Are You a Intentional Writer?

The intentional writer

Lots of people aspire to be writers. Not so many do the work to become one. The fact that you are visiting a writing website means you are serious enough to do something about your writing dream.

Good for you! Keep it up.

Writing, like any creative endeavor, can be a lonely, frustrating struggle. To move from daydreaming about being a writer to actually becoming one, you and I need to be intentional about what we do and why we do it.

Intentional: done with intention or on purpose; intended; deliberate

An intentional writer approaches writing with purpose

  • They know who they are in Christ.
  • They know writing is part of their calling .
  • They understand that they have a unique message and a unique voice—no matter how mundane the content or unglamorous the genre.
  • They ponder why they write and who they write for.
  • They choose to be courageous about putting their experiences and life-passions into words and then sharing those words with others.
  • They are wise stewards of their writing abilities, always learning, improving, and seeking new ways to share their words.

An intentional writer makes deliberate choices about things like:

  • Attitudes
  • Habits
  • Writing goals
  • How to spend their writing time
  • How they talk about themselves and their work
  • Every element of their craft, from overall theme to individual word choice.
  • When to follow the rules and when to break them
  • Pursuing critique partners who give helpful (and sometimes painful) feedback

An intentional writer knows success is not measured in dollars, fame, or total pages published.

  • They understand the ultimate goal of writing to honor God, whether that means writing an entertaining romance or a thought-provoking theology book.
  • They trust God to use their efforts to challenge, encourage, or otherwise touch people, wherever, whenever, and however he chooses.
  • They are generous with their writing and their knowledge, eager to encourage fellow writers.

Please don’t think this intentional stuff is way too serious for you.

Every aspiring writer can become an intentional writer. All it takes is a decision to be intentional about the how, why and what of your writing.

What one small step can you take to be more intentional about your writing today?

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
The Efficiency Addict

Practical Writing Habits

Practical Writing Habits to keep you writing all year long.

Welcome to 2016! I hope you’ve already begun your writing journey by creating a scene, outlining the bones of a new story, or just getting some words on the page. If you haven’t started this process or need some encouragement, here are three practical writing habits to get your 2016 year off to a smart start.

  1. Set Realistic Word Count Goals – We like to think we can write 5000 words in a session, but is this realistic for a daily word count goal? A professional, i.e. making-a-living writer I know, has a goal of 500 words a day. That sounds low considering she is contracted for at least two books per year. However, this author has learned that when she sits down to write 500 words, she frequently exceeds this count. By having a small goal, she sets herself up for success. On the rare days she barely passes this count, she has still met her goal, and she knows she’ll write more tomorrow. That’s what matters. So, choose an achievable word count goal (500, 750, 1000 words) and see what happens. Consistent writing, even with small word count goals, leads to completed manuscripts.

[bctt tweet=”Set yourself up for success with small writing goals. #AuthorLife #HowTo”]

  1. Know Your Writing Days – It’s easy to say, “I’m going to write seven days a week.” Then life happens. Maybe your weekends are booked with family errands. Perhaps Tuesday and Thursday mornings are your workout times and you just can’t get up any earlier to write. Whatever is happening in your life, don’t worry. Make your writing schedule something that works for you. Choose days that fit your needs and commit to that writing time. Then enjoy your off days knowing your next writing session is coming soon.
  1. Set a Standard Time – Have you picked up on the theme of this post? There is value in routine. Consciously doing things over and over creates a habit. Getting in the habit of writing at a specific time sets us up for success. Do you have to think about brushing your teeth in the morning? No. It’s a habit. You probably do it at the same time every morning. There’s no debate over whether you’ll do it. You simply pick up your toothbrush and start. You can create the same habit for your writing. Pick a time when you’re going to write and stick with it. Consider it as critical as brushing your teeth. Keep this practice going and soon it will be automatic. That time of day will arrive and your mind will go into “writing mode”—a very good place to be.

For more information on developing effective routines, visit my November post series Developing a Positive Routine at TheEfficiencyAddict.com.

Happy New Year and Happy Writing! ~ The Efficiency Addict

[bctt tweet=”Practical habits for developing a positive writing routine. #AmWriting #HowTo”]

Categories
Create. Motivate. Inspire.

Writers: Be Prepared for These Questions

The writing-life doesn’t look like other career-fields. A lot of what we do happens when we’re home alone or in a corner of the local Starbucks. We keep strange hours. We write every day for hours at a stretch or we work in snatches of time on the weekends. We write on the back of napkins and across the front of church bulletins. Our brains never shut down.

We’re an odd lot to those around us.

Here are a few of my favorite questions…

 

So, what do you do?

I had to take a sword to a few doubts and insecurities, but I got to a place where I could verbalize my life’s calling without stuttering, “Well, actually, um…I’m sort of like…a writer.”

I’m not sure why the journey to admitting writer-hood is so difficult. I mean, I’ve never asked someone what they did for a living and they came back with, “Well, um…I’m kind of a doctor.” Or, “I’m…well, I’m trying to be…um, an architect.”

So, let’s get this question settled in our minds. Are we writers? Great. Then we must be able to say it—with confidence.

I. Am. A. Writer.

 

When are you going to write a novel?

Now, if I’m a novelist, this is an easy one. I plug my latest work or give a teaser about my work-in-progress.

But I’m not a novelist. At this point, my brain doesn’t work that way.

For example, when I witness a child throwing a tantrum in the grocery store, my mind shifts into overdrive: Wow. That rascal is really pitching one. His poor mother. Hmm…kind of like me, huh Lord? I may look calm on the outside, but inside I’m throwing a tantrum—rebelling—against Your plans and purposes.

Or I see a drama sketch unfolding…what if the Pastor starts his message, and we have a child “pitch one” beside the pulpit. We could add scripture and talk about the condition of our hearts…

These are my writing instincts. What are yours? However you are wired, your role in the writing world is vital.

Novelists are real writers. So are those who write devotionals, skits, short stories, biographies, articles, etc.

No more feeling like we don’t “measure up.”

Practice this: “I write devotional material (or short fiction, or children’s books, or…).

 

Is it wonderful to stay home and not work?

Fantasy answer #1—“Yes, it is wonderful. I love, love, love it. The words flow, the publishers snap them up, and my bank account grows. Life. Is. Good.”

Fantasy answer #2—“Not work? Are you kidding me? I agonized over an article for hours yesterday. I edited until my eyes crossed. I woke up at 2 a.m. with an idea that I had to get on paper. I’m under two deadlines and want to finish a proposal…”

Better/safer answer—“Actually, I’m a writer and I work from home. I am challenged and fulfilled and I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

 

What’s your favorite writer-question? How do you respond?

 

[bctt tweet=”However you are wired, your role in the writing world is vital. #writerlife #amwriting”]

[bctt tweet=”Are we writers? Great. Then we must be able to say it—with confidence. #writerlife #amwriting “]