Abundant Advice for Aspiring Authors

There are some great tips here – not only for aspiring authors, but for those of us that have been writing for a while too.

Four Foxes, One Hound

This week: What advice would you give to an aspiring author?
I actually have a list. There have been many who talk to me about writing. I also have had many young writers around or in touch with me, so here is what I tell anyone who asks for advice:

Read, read everything.
Know and delve into the genre in which you want to write, but don’t limit your scope. I’ve heard editors, publishers and agents say that the first question they ask potential clients is, “What do you read?”,  and if the would-be writers  say that they read little or even none, they know that the person’s work will not  be good before they read the first paragraph. I had it happen with a potential interviewee; he said that he didn’t read much and never read others in the genre of his book. He said that his wife/co-writer…

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Does a Deadline Count? #IWSG

Today I’m writing for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group’s blog hop. The first Wednesday of each month, we write in inspiration to a question posed by the group’s administrators. We don’t need to write in response to the question posed, but I like to use their query as the springboard for the monthly post.

This month’s question is:

Do you have any rituals that you use when you need help getting into the ZONE? Care to share?

The awesome co-hosts for the The awesome co-hosts for the May 6 posting of the IWSG are Feather Stone, Beverly Stowe McClure, Mary Aalgaard, Kim Lajevardi, and Chemist Ken!

Does a Deadline Count?

Alas, I have no fascinating ritual that I can call to mind and share to inspire others with. I read the question and had a huge moment of silent space.

Upon further reflection, I realized that my greatest motivator when I need to ‘get in the zone’ is simply having a deadline. That propels me forward like nothing else.

I’ve also discovered since the Coronavirus has invaded our world and our lives, that having a finite time period to accomplish a writing task is most effective for me. When I have a specific open time slot – Tuesday afternoon when I’m not working, or Saturday after the newsletter is done, or Sunday morning before I call Mom – that is when I’m most productive at juggling writing with other real-life activities.

Since Coronavirus, when I’ve been home with very few working hours over the past five weeks…ehhh…I’m not so good at it. With all these extra writing hours available to me, I should have been pumping out the articles and finishing up the half-completed projects.

That hasn’t happened – possibly reinforcing that I do really require that deadline.

Yet, in a way I’ve been more at peace with myself since life hasn’t been as frantic. I’m learning to be easier on myself if I don’t accomplish all my active brain thinks I should get done. A happier, more relaxed me is also a healthier me – in body and spirit.

So maybe I haven’t been in the ‘writing zone’ as much lately, but I’ve been in the ‘life-zone’, and I think I’ll count that as a good thing.