The Unintended Break

Things happen. That's life, right? When you're a writer and things happen there's a good side and a bad side. The good side will take months or even years to come about; the bad side presents itself right away. What in the world am I talking about? This;

Dad got sick - critically so. I went into hyper-over-drive. It's the same thing you would do. You do what needs to be done and fall apart later. The good thing is that all events in your life, have the potential to become something important in your future writing. But for now, that doesn't matter one bit.

The problem, with me anyway - is that anything that takes me away from the physical act of writing also takes me away from the mental act. It's like you're on the writing train; as long as you keep that momentum pushing you down the track, you're fine. You're getting things done. You're writing, editing, blogging, marketing -- and the list goes on. But then something happens. Life happens. And that train jumps the tracks. Sometimes it jumps with such force that for a time the train is stalled. But usually, it jumps the tracks and hops, grinds, and bumps in the gravel beside the smooth track you once knew so well.

The trick is to do whatever it takes to get yourself back on track. With the mental concentration broken, you have to purpose yourself to begin again. One baby-step at a time, it comes back. The momentum once again reaches homeostasis. It's time for me to get back to my writing life. It's time to purpose myself back to the routine of the life of writing.

Does life ever get in the way of YOUR writing? What do you do to get back on track?

And remember; no matter what is going on in your life - Write Now.

Time for a Change?

I went to my monthly writer's group last night. Maureen McQuerry did a presentation on websites. It was a great discussion, complete with a power point thingy(see how techy I am) where we were able to look at websites live on the web and analyze them. We also discussed blogs a bit. I've decided mine needs some work. Does it represent what I want it to represent? I thought it did. I mean, the book background and all. But as we talked, I realized that reading isn't what my goal is.

My goal (this is off the top of my head right now) is to get people motivated to write down their own personal history, or that of their family. Of course, my book is important to me. And hopefully, by fall, it will be important to a lot of people. But what I hope to accomplish with the book (and the blog) is to get people writing. We don't get advance notice when one of our loved ones is going to leave us. And once they're gone, their stories can no longer be told...unless they are written down. So, my goal for the book and for the blog is to encourage people to start writing...now.

I'm just thinkin' aloud here. I see big changes in the future for my little blog. Look out!

Because the Editor said so

photo: winter comes to washington state

Hello, friends - The editor at the publishing company I am working with is really great. I'm not a new writer, but I am new to publishing. This will be my first book to be published - hopefully among many to come. I am a researcher by nature and a lifelong learner. I've always said that if I could figure out a way to be a professional college student, I would spend the rest of my life in classes. But even with all the research I've done over the last few years, I still have a lot of questions.

Blogging is one of those things that you hear all kinds of advice on. It runs the gammut from, it's just a waste of time, to, every writer should have a blog. I like blogging. Even if nobody is reading this - but I know you are, I like writing. But with this new publisihng contract, I didn't want to do something that might have unintended consequences that I hadn't considered.

Since I don't have the publishing, marketing, and publicity knowledge that my editor does, I decided to run it by him. I asked Peter if there is any problem with me blogging about my experiences on this journey toward publication.

And here's what he said, "Blogging is great, no problem at all."

I guess that means he'd better be nice to me, or I'll blog about it. I wonder if all editors and agents feel the same way?

Blog Viewing Habits

Photo: taken by Karen Alaniz on Safari in Sri Lanka, 9/2010. Caption: make your point before the whole herd decides to move on.

I'm just curious. I wonder if anyone has these little subconscious rules about viewing a new blog. I've noticed recently that there is a criteria I have for blogs, especially when viewing one for the first time. They are as follows;

1. Name That Post: Like a good book, I like a good title and a good first two or three lines. Grab my attention--quick!
2. Photo-op: I like to see a photo on the page, preferably one taken by the blog author. And I want a little caption too. Relate it to what you wrote. Don't worry--you can strrrreeeetch if you need to. I just want the photo, OK? It makes the page interesting to me and gives my eyes a place to rest to ponder what you've written.
3. Personality: I like to see your blog personality. Are you funny? Serious? Introspective? Fun-loving? Theological? Illogical?
4. Leeeength: Unless you are incredibly funny and I really, really like you, keep it short. I don't want to scroll down more than once or twice. Really! I'm just there to visit, not move in with you.

I have lots more to say, but I'll save that for another time. I mean, you will be back, right? Right? Do you have any until now unspoken blog rules swirling around in your head? Do tell.