Motivation and the Writing Life

Quick Writing Can Still Result in Quality Writing:

October 3, 2016September 30, 2016Motivation and the Writing Life

Isn’t Elizabeth brave and gracious to let me borrow her blog for the day? Give her a hand by commenting at the end of this post, will you?

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” – Oscar Wilde

Let me tell you of some sensational reading that I am asking you NOT to read. Yes, this is my first stop on my DON’T BUY MY BOOK Blog Tour!

I mean, if you buy it, you’ll just encourage me.

You know how many thousands of Indie Books are published EVERY month?

As Midnight, my kitten, says, “More than the grains of litter in my box, and most smell as bad, too!”

That is the fault of those writers who do not hold themselves to the fire of doing their best with every sentence.

We can write good novels faster than we think we can. The past has shown it.

“If you’re going to doubt something, doubt your own limits.” -Don Ward

We can do more than we think we can.

James Horner was given TWO WEEKS to compose the soundtrack to ALIENS.Continue reading

The Story Always Comes First

September 26, 2016September 22, 2016Motivation and the Writing Life

by Mike Martin, @mike54martin

In some ways it’s easy to write a series. You already have a frame in which to sketch your story. Usually, that means you have a general location or part of the country and you have a cadre of characters that accompany the main character on his or her journey. There’s a familiarity, a comfort in that. It makes both the writer, and hopefully the readers, want to come right in, sit in that nice, comfy chair and slide into the story.

I always have that feeling when I start a new Sgt. Windflower Mystery. Like I’m home. Then I start writing and all the characters come streaming into my head at once. It’s exhilarating and frightening at the same time as my brain tries to process both the story that is starting to unfold, and all of the voices of the characters who are asking for my attention. Sometimes it feels like the old woman in the shoe. So many characters, I really don’t know what to do. And mostly I just feel stressed and crazy.Continue reading

Creative Challenges Within a Single Genre

September 16, 2016September 14, 2016Motivation and the Writing Life, Uncategorized

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Whenever I talk to anyone about my writing, the question usually comes up: would I like to try writing anything other than mystery?

Then I explain that I actually have written something other than mystery. But it was a one-off, a ‘cozy zombie’ book (yes, I did make that genre up). But that was what’s called an ‘attack book.’ The story had been bothering me for years to write it, and finally I did to get the story to shut up.

What people seem most surprised about is that I don’t get bored writing my genre. That I’m not tired of writing the same types of stories.

I’ve always said that I found it a special creative challenge to work within the confines of genre and series.

In lots of ways, it’s much easier to write in a series. For one thing, it’s a good deal faster. You’ve already got your main/recurring characters. The setting will likely be the same. You put these characters into new situations in the same setting and have them respond.Continue reading

Writing in Busy Times

August 26, 2016August 21, 2016Motivation and the Writing Life, Uncategorized

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Usually I think of summer as a lazier time when I can leisurely get peripheral writing-related chores completed. I’d put all kinds of things on my calendar to do this summer: Facebook ad experiments, slideshows for LinkedIn, website stuff. There was no time to do any of the extras I wanted to try. I did write a book, though, and promoted one that came out in May. There was a lot of writing on the go.

So what do we do during frantically busy times to stay on track with our writing goals? I’ve got a few tips: Continue reading

Productivity and Intentional Free Time

August 5, 2016July 24, 2016Motivation and the Writing Life

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I mentioned in April that I was trying a new approach to my free time. I actually had very little free time and found that the little time I did have was quickly used up as I’d check emails and social media.

Even the longer breaks at the end of the day weren’t being maximized. I’d be trying to remember what great book I’d heard about and look online for books until I fell asleep in the middle of searching. Or I’d be aimlessly looking for something to watch on Netflix or PBS.org or Amazon Prime movies (we’ve mostly unplugged, so channel surfing doesn’t really happen anymore, but it’s still a long browsing process).

After reading a post by Emily Tjaden called “4 Reasons to Be Intentional With Your Free Time,” I decided to be more thoughtful about my approach to free time. Whenever heard about an interesting title, I’d either buy/download it then, or I’d add it to my wish list on my account at the local library.Continue reading