A Milestone

 Today marks a special day in my writing journey.  

Today is the 500th day in a row that I've written either fiction or creative non-fiction (column is one example).

To my knowledge, this is the longest writing streak I've ever maintained.  It has meant writing when I was tired, writing when I was grieving, writing when I wasn't feeling well, and even writing when I just plain didn't feel like it.

I've written on vacation.  I've written well past midnight some days.  I've written during the day.  I've written when I wasn't sure what the story I started would be about.  I've written when other things tried to tempt me away from the keyboard.

Currently my minimum word count for a day is 500 words.  Beginning next year I plan to up that to 750 words.  Later in 2022 my goal is 1000 words a day.  Baby steps.  But I'm getting there.

Along with this I've been writing a short story a week.  I'm up to 45 short stories done - the goal is 52, or one year's worth.  Seven to go.  I think I might pull it off.

But I admit I'm proud of that 500.  It represents a lot of words.  A lot of exercising my creative brain.  And while it hasn't always been easy, it's been fun.  And I've learned a lot from it.

So now?  Let's aim for 600.  Wish me luck.

A Realization

A couple of weeks ago, something hit me.  It is, in retrospect, a fairly obvious observation.  But for me, it was an epiphany.

In case you are new to this blog, I am a caregiver to my mother-in-law, who requires a lot of hands-on care.  I am also a wife, a mother of grown sons and grandmother to the cutest little girl on the planet.

I suffer from some chronic health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and ADD.  I use a CPAP at night.  And yes, I need to lose weight.

I am also a writer who is struggling right now with getting writing things done.  There never seems to be time or energy for that part of my life.  I have been frustrated with how it is going.

Something hit me a couple of weeks ago, which made me look at things differently.  What was this surprising thought?

My life isn't going to change for me.  At least, not anytime soon.

I am going to continue to be a caregiver for the foreseeable future.  I am going to have family obligations.  My health may improve (indeed, some recent changes have helped), but overall I am going to have issues.

None of that is going to do me the favor of making things easier. 

If I'm going to be the writer I want to be and successful at this, I can't wait for my life to make it easier.  In fact, when you get right down to it, there is only one thing in the equation I can change.

Me.

I can change how I look at things and how I deal with them.  I can change my priorities and put the writing where it belongs.  I can stop looking at things as impossible obstacles and search for workarounds.  I can be creative.

It's time to stop waiting for things to change, and start working on the one thing I can change.  Me.

It's a little scary.  I don't know if I can change.  I'm not by nature a disciplined or organized person, and any changes will require a measure of both.

But something has to change.  Because I want to write.  I want to put my work out there for you to read.  I want to tell stories and make you laugh, cry, or think.

So, I have to change. 

Wish me luck.

Shore Leave!

Hey readers!  Letting you know I will be attending Shore Leave this upcoming weekend (July 6-8) in Maryland.  As a guest author (how cool is that?) I have a bio listed in the site here.  Below are the panels I'm a part of.  I hope I see you there!

Solo: A Star Wars Story (Fri. 7-8 pm, Salon F)
This prequel depicting Han Solo as a younger man hasn’t met expectations
at the box office. Why not?
Laura Ware (M), David Harten Watson, Susan Olesen

Meet the Pros (Fri. 10 pm - midnight, Hunt/Valley Hallway)

Avengers vs. The Justice League (Sat. 12-1 pm, Salon F)
It’s the end of the world. Whom do you trust to save it? The panel will cover comic books, cartoons and movies.
John Coffren (M), Peter David, Laura Ware, Derek Attico, Michael Jan Friedman, TA Chafin

Outside In by ATB Publishing (Sat. 2-3 pm Salon E)
Meet the contributors to these essay collections on the likes of Doctor Who, Star Trek, Buffy, and more.
Laura Ware (M), Bob Greenberger, Amy Imhoff, Derek Attico, Lorraine Anderson, Kelli Fitzpatrick, Joseph F. Berenato 

Heinlein's Five Rules of Publishing (Sat. 4-5 pm Salon E)
Robert Heinlein wrote five basic rules of writing that are easy to remember but hard to actually carry out. A discussion of said rules and their application.
Laura Ware (M), Phil Giunta, Jim Johnson, Lorraine Anderson, Dayton Ward

Indie Publishing 101 (Sun. 10-11 am Salon F)
The basics of indie publishing and why you should give it a go.
Jim Johnson (M), Laura Ware, TJ Perkins, Andrew Hiller, Valerie Mikles, Kim Headlee 

Monday Musings...a brain meltdown

So I was going to wait and post tomorrow but this IS supposed to be "Monday Musings."

The problem is I just returned home from a week of being inundated with information.  I attended a writer's workshop on the Oregon Coast for a week.

This wasn't about craft, though we were constantly reminded that the writing was important.  This was focused on the BUSINESS of writing, something a lot of writers don't pay a lot of attention to.

My husband Don was with me and managed to take more notes than I did.  I typed my fingers off and it will take a few days to process it all.

But already I'm making some changes.  I'm working on a production schedule.  I'm planning to get up early in the day (ugh!) to get the writing done first off.  And I'm looking at what kind of a writer I want to be.

A great week.  But man, I'm tired.  Talk to you later!

Monday Musings on Tuesday: Out of Town

I meant to post yesterday, but I am currently in Lincoln City, Oregon attending a writer's conference and ran out of time and energy.

I will be here until early Monday, when I will return to Sebring and what passes for normal in my life.  I expect to be a lot smarter when I get back then I am now.

It's great to meet new people and renew relationships with old friends.  And Don is with me, getting a glimpse of this aspect of my writing life..

I'll have more to say about all this next week.  Until then, back to the workshop!

A new tactic: Dedicated writing computer

I had heard for years that a great thing for a writer was a computer totally dedicated to writing.  Take a computer, strip off anything remotely distracting, and poof!  Your writing production would improve before you knew it.

I resisted this advice.  I had one laptop which I did all kinds of things besides writing on.  I couldn't just strip everything off it - it was also my travel computer and I needed it for Internet and other things.  My desktop computer is a gaming computer and there was no way I was converting that.

But I kept hearing, "get a cheap computer and convert it."

After hearing this advice yet again two weeks ago in an online workshop I'm taking I decided to bite the bullet.  My two conditions: it had to be very cheap, and I had to be able to pay for it using money from my business - no taking money from household funds.

Well, I cheated a little.  I have a line of credit associated with my business account.  I tapped a portion of that to use towards the purchase of a laptop I found locally for under $250.  It was new and it did have the drawback of having Windows 8.1 on it, but it would suit my purposes.

I also bought a cheap copy of Microsoft Office and an inexpensive case.  Total expenditures came to just under $400.  (This did not include anti-virus software I was forced to put on the thing even though it would rarely if ever go online.  Let's hear it for unexpected expenses)

After downloading the few things that needed downloading, I disabled the wifi and made sure it would be a pain to turn back on.  I checked to make sure there were no games on it.  I didn't even put my music on it, though I occasionally like to listen to music while I write.  I figured that's what my iPod is for.

So I've had it about 10 days.  What do I have to say about it?

Well, I don't know if it's the only factor, but I've written every day since then (except the day I got it - I spent that time setting it up).  Granted, sometimes it's only been a few hundred words, but this week clocked out to be my best in terms of word count in a while.

And my brain is starting to figure out that when we fire up THAT computer, it's to play with words.  Not to surf the net, go on Facebook, or play Minecraft.  That's our writing time.

So I think so far it's been a rousing success.  I'm looking forward to all the words I'm going to write on it.

If you're easily distracted, think about getting a computer just for writing.  It's helping me - it might help you too.

In the meantime, happy writing (or, if you aren't a writer, happy reading!).

Falling down and getting up again...

I posted about falling down and getting up back in 2011, but something happened last weekend that brought that thought back to mind.

Aubrey is an adorable 10-month-old girl whose parents attend my congregation.  It was my turn to man the nursery we run during services, so I was in the conference room we use for that purpose when Aubrey's dad brought her back because she was making a lot of noise during the sermon.

He put her down on the floor and I watched as she began to toddle around the room.  She has just started walking, so her movement involves a lot of falling on the floor.

I noticed that falling down never bothered her.  Sometimes she'd find a way to get right back up; sometimes she stayed on the floor for a couple of minutes.  But she didn't cry or fuss, in fact she was quite cheery the whole time.  And she took joy in her newfound ability to walk, and her delight was catching.

It made me think about this year, and how often I feel I've "fallen" when it comes to the writing.  I didn't write as much as I wanted to this year, and recent attempts at a new schedule were less than stellar.  Looking back, I'm not quite sure what went wrong except that I didn't give the writing the priority it needs or deserves.

But I want to be like Aubrey, and get back up when I fall down.  I don't want falling down to discourage me and just sit there and cry.  I want to get back on my feet and keep going.  And I want to take joy in the journey I've set for myself as an author.

So here I am, planning to get up again.  And if I fall, I will do so again.  And again.  Falling down is not failing.  Failing is not getting up afterwards.

So here's to getting up for the umpteenth time.  Let's see how long I can walk this go round.

Why I don't quit

Before you go much further into this piece, I suggest you read my friend Brad Torgensen's excellent post titled "When Is It Okay To Quit?"  Go ahead.  I'll be here when you get back.

The post was strangely encouraging to me.  Not because I'm giving up the writing (though there are days I'm tempted to toss it all aside and become a professional video game player instead), but because it reminded me of why I CAN'T.

One thing about writing that many people don't understand - it is hard work, especially if you want to get anywhere in this business.  It takes hours of butt in chair, fingers on keyboard, whether the muse is firing on all cylinders or off somewhere on vacation.  It takes being able to hear the word "no" again and again and not taking rejection personally.  It takes practice, which is more butt in chair, fingers on keyboard.

And sometimes, a writer will look up from her laptop, bleary-eyed and frustrated, and whine, "Is it worth it?"

For me personally, yes, it is.  Here's a few reasons why:

• I believe any talent I have in this area is a gift from God.  To not use the gift He gave me is an expression of ungratefulness on my part.  We are given our gifts to use, not to put up on a shelf somewhere and forget about.
• I know I've gotten better.  I have been seriously writing fiction for nine years now, and the difference between Laura the writer in 2005 and Laura the writer in 2015 is staggering.  Moreover, I know I can continue to improve as long as I keep on learning and not settle for where I am.
• There are people out there who actually like what I write.  Whether it's the weekly column in the News Sun or a short story or even one of my novels, people have told me they enjoy what I've written.  Such statements make my day.  And it tells me I'm doing something right.
• I know that the "secret" to succeeding in this business isn't knowing the right people or even having talent.  It's persevering, sticking with it through good times and bad, getting up after getting knocked down...just not giving up.
• And in the end, this is something I enjoy.  Yes, there are times I enjoy it less than others, when it's really hard to get the words down or I can't seem to get arrested, much less make a sale.  But even so, I love sitting down and making up stories.  Even if I never saw a penny from this I would probably still make up stories, because it's how I see the world and figure it out.

And the cool thing is I'm getting there, to that place where the writing makes a nice chunk of change.  I'm not there yet, and I don't know when I'll get there - but I'm on the right road.  And stopping just when I'm on the verge of arriving?  That would be tragic.

So I'm not quitting.  And if you feel the same way I do, you shouldn't either.  Tell me about it, and we can walk this road together.  Who knows?  The success we seek may be just around the bend.  Let's go find out.

What a week and a day!

Got back this week from attending an amazing Mystery Workshop.  Learned a lot about mysteries and how to write them, as well as the differences between the various flavors of mysteries, from cozy to noir.

It was an intense time of attending sessions, working on assignments, and writing.  I wrote over 9,000 words last week, quite often under the gun of a looming deadline.  (I can type very fast when I'm motivated, and I was very motivated).

The course was taught by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, an amazing writer and editor in her own right.  Her husband Dean Wesley Smith also stopped by to offer his take on things in the writing business.

All in all it was a great if exhausting week.  I got to meet or see again some very talented writers who wrote great stories that I look forward to seeing published in the future.  We had a lot of fun bonding over breakfast and during breaks.

So now I've (hopefully) caught up on my sleep and can get back to work.  I'm currently working on some writing and also hope to have some things ready to be published before the end of July.  I will keep you posted!

On Falling Down and Getting Up

This month I'm coming back from a real poor couple of months writingwise.  I didn't get a lot of new words written, and barely sent out anything to publishers.  While I did upload my first ever short story collection ("Decisions, Decisions") I didn't do much with epublishing either.

There were a lot of reasons for this, some of them personal.  The bottom line is, when it came to my writing career, the past couple of months were not good.  I blew it.  Period.  End of story.

The question at the end of August was: What do I do now?

I could, of course, have let the inertia I'd built up continue.  I could have quit writing altogether, decided the dream wasn't for me, and gone on to consider a career in video gaming.

I could have beaten myself up over the fact that I blew it this summer.  Told myself I wasn't going to cut it. 

I could have had a pity party about poor me and felt sorry for myself.

I did beat myself up some about not writing.  I'm a writer.  I should be writing.  And there was a short pity party to go along with it.

But mainly I decided to try to make September different.

This meant getting back to work.  So far, that has meant focusing on the writing, even though I know things need to be sent out and uploaded.  I plan to get back on track for those things as well, but the important thing for me at the beginning was getting back into the habit of daily producing new words of fiction.

I've slipped up 3 days this month so far.  But I'm working on getting my daily groove back.  It helps that I am working on a new project with a fellow writer that I am enjoying.

And I remember what Kristine Kathryn Rusch says, "It doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down, or how long you stay on the floor.  What matters is you get up again."

That's what I did.  I got to my feet, dusted myself off, and started walking the writer's road again. 

There's no guarantee I won't fall down again.  But when that happens, I plan on getting up - again.  It's the only way to keep doing what I love.

Maybe you're working on a dream, and you've fallen down on it.  Maybe you're lying on the floor like I was, wondering what to do now.  If you aren't, at some point you probably will.  And if you're like me, you'll do it more than once.

Get up.  Get back on track.  Don't give up.  Falling down isn't failure.  Staying down is.

A look at April

April was not a good month when it comes to writing.  I'm not sure fully why.  I do know I was out of town two weekends in a row, which did cut into the writing time.

I only wrote 5,799 words in April.  That is the lowest for April in all the years I've been keeping track.  No short stories written, though I did start a novel.

I admit my performance is depressing.  But I am determined to pick myself up and go on.  May can be a better month if I don't let April drag me down.

Do you ever have a bad month when it comes to meeting your goals?  What do you do when that happens?

Writing and Learning

Please forgive the two-week silence.  I was away at a writing workshop for 10 days and busy this week resting up and catching up with things on the home front.

The workshop, run by Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch, was about marketing.  We discussed the state of the current publishing market and ways to better market ourselves and our work.

It was quite interesting.  I got a lot of tools for my writing toolbox and information that is encouraging and exciting at this time.  I even put up my first e-pub - a short story.  You can check it out here if you have a Kindle, and here for other ereaders.

But I want to focus for a moment on writers learning their craft.  Yes, what we do is art, but there are still a lot of things to learn about that art.

When I started taking writing seriously, I could tell a story.  But my craft flaws kept readers from getting to and enjoying the story.  So I had to learn the craft of writing - and learn it well enough it went into my subconscious and came out my fingers.

My craft is a lot better than it was five years ago.  It still needs work - I just put aside a book I was working on because I realized I don't have the skill yet to write it.  I'll try it again next year, and learn more in the meantime.  Learning is an ongoing process - no good writer will say they know it all.

So how do we learn?

•  Books.  There are some good books about writing out there.  I recommend Stephen King's On Writing to anyone interested in getting serious about the craft.  Look for other books written by successful writers. 

• Workshops.  A good workshop can help your craft along and speed your improvement.  Conversely, a bad workshop can set you back and teach you stuff that'll slow down any progress.  Do your homework when it comes to workshops.  Find out who's running it, and what their qualifications are.  Ask good writers you know what workshops they would recommend.

• Practice.  I don't know why we writers shy away from the word practice.  But it's something we need to do.  Use a short story or novel you're working on and practice something - maybe this time it's getting in the 5 senses every two pages, next time you're working on character voice, and another time you're focusing on cliffhangers.  But pick something and work on it.  And realize every word you write can be practice, so write a lot.  The upside?  Sometimes we can sell our practice sessions to an editor.

That's all about learning for now.  Is there a topic in writing you would like me to talk about?  Leave me a comment.  I look forward to hearing from other writers about these things.  Good luck, and don't be afraid to learn!