If you've had trouble writing by yourself--and it is such a lonely job, isn't it?--consider team writing. I've just finished Dixie Cash's I Gave You My Heart, but You Sold it Online. Dixie Cash is the pen name for sisters Pamela Cumbie and Jeffery McClanahan. http://www.dixie-cash.com/. Those girls know Texas!
One of the devotionals I turn to from time to time, God Calling, was edited by A. J. Russell but written anonymously by "two poor, brave women [who] were courageously fighting against sickness and penury. . .facing a hopeless future" when they heard God's encouraging promises spoken to their hearts. They wrote together and have blessed many. (Quote from the introduction, "The Two Listeners")
Brock and Bodie Thoene are a husband and wife team who write historical fiction (http://www.thoenebooks.com/). Dave and Neta Jackson publish historical novels for young readers (http://www.trailblazersbooks.com/). Albert Hackett and wife Frances Goodrich have been described as one of the top husband wife writing teams in cinema.
I like the description about writing alone Ashton Applewhite shares in "About Me" on her blog, http://www.sowhenareyougoingtoretire.com/: "In the past, I've banged my head against the keyboard in solitude. . ." Isn't that the truth? In her book in progress, Applewhite is networking. Sounds like a good idea.
Just a thought. If you can't stand the idea of someone else taking your characters down a road you never intended, then you might find a quiet place you can write together independently, you on your work in progress, she on hers. That might work. Then you can share your work with your partner for critique and brainstorming.
11/10/08
Monday, August 10, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Reason Enough
When I told my friend Barbara I'd just ordered Mary Pipher's book, Writing to Change the World, she asked, "You want to change the world?" Is there any better reason to write than to find some dark corner and turn on the light?
I turn to the written word for encouragement, comfort, education, advice. I am swayed by the words I read, so I know my words can sway others. I want to leave a little kindness when I'm gone -- and maybe a smile, maybe an "ah-ha" moment. I want others to know they are valuable, that their lives are purposeful. I can do that with the written word. And hugs. But those are best delivered in person.
I don't have to write volumes for my words to find their mark or to be effective. "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver" (Proverbs 25:11). This is true for words aptly written.
Mother Teresa said, "We can do no great things, only small things with great love." May my writing endeavors be from a heart of love.
11/29/08
I turn to the written word for encouragement, comfort, education, advice. I am swayed by the words I read, so I know my words can sway others. I want to leave a little kindness when I'm gone -- and maybe a smile, maybe an "ah-ha" moment. I want others to know they are valuable, that their lives are purposeful. I can do that with the written word. And hugs. But those are best delivered in person.
I don't have to write volumes for my words to find their mark or to be effective. "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver" (Proverbs 25:11). This is true for words aptly written.
Mother Teresa said, "We can do no great things, only small things with great love." May my writing endeavors be from a heart of love.
11/29/08
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Writers and Publishing, a Response to An Interview with Markus Zusak
"Being a writer, I think, has nothing to do with being published--in a lot of ways." Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief
In the following clip, Markus Zusak discusses his motivation for writing The Book Thief and talks about the act of writing. He says if he knew he'd never publish or make a cent on his next work, he'd write anyway. Isn't that the truth? We write because we have to write. We can't help it. Give us a used envelope, a 3x5 card, the edge of a newspaper article, a napkin, a scrap of toilet paper. Where there is a pen and a fleeting thought, we'll find a way to record workable ideas to flesh out later. Now if we could only find a way to keep up with all those scraps of paper.
In the following clip, Markus Zusak discusses his motivation for writing The Book Thief and talks about the act of writing. He says if he knew he'd never publish or make a cent on his next work, he'd write anyway. Isn't that the truth? We write because we have to write. We can't help it. Give us a used envelope, a 3x5 card, the edge of a newspaper article, a napkin, a scrap of toilet paper. Where there is a pen and a fleeting thought, we'll find a way to record workable ideas to flesh out later. Now if we could only find a way to keep up with all those scraps of paper.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
The Other Shack
On a recent trip to the Ozarks, my husband and I took a walking trail along Mill Creek near Jasper, Arkansas, to visit a home built in the 1800's and rebuilt using the same wood in 1930.
It had rained recently and the not quite half-mile trail was muddy and sometimes slippery, but we enjoyed the walk to get there.
While visiting friends the day before in southeast Missouri, my friend Gayle asked if I'd read The Shack. No, I hadn't heard of it. Her Sunday School class had read the book together. She thought the book was "a little strange." She wanted me to take the book and let her know what I thought of it.
The first thing I did was read the reviews on the back cover. A well-known recording artist read the book with his wife, and cried. Another reviewer said, "If you read one work of fiction this year, let this be it."
I showed my husband the front cover. "Look at this. The #1 New York Times Bestseller. Over three million copies in print."
"This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good!" Eugene Peterson.
I must have missed it. The Shack was difficult for me to read. In fact, I couldn't get through it. I had trouble getting started. As a writer, I wondered how the book got published. If Wm.Paul Young had been in our writers group, someone would have suggested he cut much of the first matter, start in the middle of action with a good hook. Show, don't tell. I kept trying to read as we traveled. If my friend hadn't asked me what I thought of the book, I wouldn't have stayed with it as long as I did.
I found an interview with the author on Youtube. He wrote the book for his children, he said, as "a metaphor for the place we get hurt and stuck." Maybe I just don't get metaphors.
This week I visited my friend Betty and noticed a copy of The Shack open on the table by the sofa where we sat. "Oh, The Shack," I said. "What do you think?"
"Have you read this?" she asked. "Ive been trying to read it for about a month, and I'm on page 100. This is just so disturbing," she said.
I know. I made my way to page 122 before passing it on to my granddaughter, an avid reader, at her request. This child who read the Twilight series in record time is still working on getting through The Shack.
Not everyone will like what we write, but some will. This is an encouragement to keep writing.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Dressed for Success, in Flannel
This morning I finally figured out why I do most of my writing in my pajamas. On my best writing days, I wake with a word or thought in my head that begs to be committed to paper. I know how fleeting good ideas are, so first things first. Whether I wake at 4 a.m. or sleep in till 7, I stumble to the computer to capture those words in print before they vanish. No trip by the bathroom or to the kitchen to make coffee.
I try to flesh out the idea as fully as possible. If I don't, what seemed so brilliant when I woke is a muddle by 8:30. Perhaps the fuzziness is because of my age or my hormones or the fact I drink too much caffeine or still eat sugar. As long as an idea is flowing, I keep writing. I'm usually through by 10:00 a.m. or 11:00 -- and still wearing my pajamas. Then I'll break, have something to eat during the transition, take a shower, tackle other things. I have been known to write till 3:00, then put myself in high gear to get myself and the house presentable before my husband comes home from work. I'm often trying to make it to the post office before they close at 4:30.
My writing days aren't always like this. I have been known to write in regular street clothes. But not often.
I try to flesh out the idea as fully as possible. If I don't, what seemed so brilliant when I woke is a muddle by 8:30. Perhaps the fuzziness is because of my age or my hormones or the fact I drink too much caffeine or still eat sugar. As long as an idea is flowing, I keep writing. I'm usually through by 10:00 a.m. or 11:00 -- and still wearing my pajamas. Then I'll break, have something to eat during the transition, take a shower, tackle other things. I have been known to write till 3:00, then put myself in high gear to get myself and the house presentable before my husband comes home from work. I'm often trying to make it to the post office before they close at 4:30.
My writing days aren't always like this. I have been known to write in regular street clothes. But not often.
When my kids were young, there were no computers, just quills to write with and candles for light. (I hope you know I'm joking.) My mind worked better then, I think. I can't really remember. Single words and phrases jotted on paper made sense then. Now, when a brilliant idea strikes when I'm away from home, I'll jot a note or two on the back of a gasoline receipt or the edge of an envelope. When I find the notes buried in my purse days later, I generally have no idea what they mean. What seemed like the outline for an article on parenting jotted in the car now makes no sense. For example:
- Preface: Diane.
- young mom's in gr.
- Siolder women. (Soilder women? Sc: older women? I can't read my own writing.)
- HS teach you.
- This is something.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
In Defense of Blogging
A few weeks ago I had lunch with writer friends. While we were waiting for our orders, "Nancy" asked what I’d been writing.
"Blogs," I told her.
"Oh. Well, that’s nice," she said. Then later, half-way through her sandwich, she said she never had time to read blogs and certainly had no time to write them. How could she possibly write something every day? That would be too much pressure. Had my one-word answer put pressure on her?
Then this past week I attended a writers’ group meeting where the topic for discussion was blogging. One woman said, "I don’t see the point of blogs. Why spend time writing something that maybe only ten people might read when you could spend the same effort on an article for a magazine that might have a circulation of several thousands?"
Good questions. My thoughts, for what they’re worth:
I have a friend who writes romance novels. I know a man whose wife writes westerns. I watch made-for-TV movies. My husband prefers reruns of Seinfeld. Some people read blogs. Others don’t. Different strokes for different folks.
The rule for blogging is to make entries on a regular basis. Some people blog daily, some weekly. Some of us break that rule by writing when the Spirit moves us. I blog when I have something to say. I can do that because I’m over 50. You can get away with a lot if you’re ancient.
Writing regularly, like in a blog, is a good discipline. It’s evident I’m discipline-challenged, but I’m working on it. I love to write. Blogging gives opportunity for writing.
In Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg tells about one writing practice she followed. She’d set up a table, someone would give her a topic, and she’d write a page for a dollar. Some of what she wrote she thought was very good, but she let the writing go. There were more words, she said, where those came from. Blogging is good writing practice. Words held on to have little influence. The more practice we have in letting our words go, the easier it is to overcome self-consciousness and seek print publication.
I don’t know if this has ever happened to you, but often when I get on the internet, I end up at sites and have no idea how I got there. Many of those sites are blogs. One blogger last posted in 2005. I didn’t even know about blogs in 2005. The photos on the site were beautiful, his words inspirational, words sitting in cyberspace four years waiting for someone to take a stroll down a side-street off the super highway. Surely I’m not the only person in the past four years who found his piece of the internet. If I write from my heart and ten people read it, if one is encouraged, then I’m gratified. I understand regular posts produce regular readers. I get that. But that’s not why I write. I write because I have to write. I’m a writer. A blog gives me a place to do that.
I have three blogs. The first I started because I attended some meetings where a leader was publicly criticized by people who weren’t even there. I felt the need to speak up to let those who were interested know what happened from the perspective of someone who had been there. I started this blog because I have a heart to encourage writers. My third blog is somewhat unfocused. I need to work on that.
The woman at the writers’ group who questioned the value of blogs made me consider I could have more influence if I sought publication in periodicals. I agree I need to more actively seek print publication. And I will, thanks to her encouragement.
"Blogs," I told her.
"Oh. Well, that’s nice," she said. Then later, half-way through her sandwich, she said she never had time to read blogs and certainly had no time to write them. How could she possibly write something every day? That would be too much pressure. Had my one-word answer put pressure on her?
Then this past week I attended a writers’ group meeting where the topic for discussion was blogging. One woman said, "I don’t see the point of blogs. Why spend time writing something that maybe only ten people might read when you could spend the same effort on an article for a magazine that might have a circulation of several thousands?"
Good questions. My thoughts, for what they’re worth:
I have a friend who writes romance novels. I know a man whose wife writes westerns. I watch made-for-TV movies. My husband prefers reruns of Seinfeld. Some people read blogs. Others don’t. Different strokes for different folks.
The rule for blogging is to make entries on a regular basis. Some people blog daily, some weekly. Some of us break that rule by writing when the Spirit moves us. I blog when I have something to say. I can do that because I’m over 50. You can get away with a lot if you’re ancient.
Writing regularly, like in a blog, is a good discipline. It’s evident I’m discipline-challenged, but I’m working on it. I love to write. Blogging gives opportunity for writing.
In Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg tells about one writing practice she followed. She’d set up a table, someone would give her a topic, and she’d write a page for a dollar. Some of what she wrote she thought was very good, but she let the writing go. There were more words, she said, where those came from. Blogging is good writing practice. Words held on to have little influence. The more practice we have in letting our words go, the easier it is to overcome self-consciousness and seek print publication.
I don’t know if this has ever happened to you, but often when I get on the internet, I end up at sites and have no idea how I got there. Many of those sites are blogs. One blogger last posted in 2005. I didn’t even know about blogs in 2005. The photos on the site were beautiful, his words inspirational, words sitting in cyberspace four years waiting for someone to take a stroll down a side-street off the super highway. Surely I’m not the only person in the past four years who found his piece of the internet. If I write from my heart and ten people read it, if one is encouraged, then I’m gratified. I understand regular posts produce regular readers. I get that. But that’s not why I write. I write because I have to write. I’m a writer. A blog gives me a place to do that.
I have three blogs. The first I started because I attended some meetings where a leader was publicly criticized by people who weren’t even there. I felt the need to speak up to let those who were interested know what happened from the perspective of someone who had been there. I started this blog because I have a heart to encourage writers. My third blog is somewhat unfocused. I need to work on that.
The woman at the writers’ group who questioned the value of blogs made me consider I could have more influence if I sought publication in periodicals. I agree I need to more actively seek print publication. And I will, thanks to her encouragement.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The New Pup
Having a dog is a distraction.
My husband called at 7:15 a.m. from India. Had I fed the dog?
The dog. Oh. I tiptoed past Annie's crate, peering in her direction while whispering into the phone. "She's still asleep." I knew once I let her out, that's all I'd get done.
My husband called at 7:15 a.m. from India. Had I fed the dog?
The dog. Oh. I tiptoed past Annie's crate, peering in her direction while whispering into the phone. "She's still asleep." I knew once I let her out, that's all I'd get done.
Sure, maybe a person can write with a pup nipping at her ankles, eating her baby airplane plants, making a game of shredding her paper trash, but I find that distracting. I've been at the computer for a little over an hour, just like old times, and frankly, it feels good to be back in the saddle. I'm hesitant to leave the computer to take on my new business of dog sitting.
"She'll need to go out soon," my husband said.
"I'll go up and shower while she's sleeping, then take her out," I promised. And I will. But just let me write one more paragraph. It may be the only paragraph I'll get to finish today.
"She'll need to go out soon," my husband said.
"I'll go up and shower while she's sleeping, then take her out," I promised. And I will. But just let me write one more paragraph. It may be the only paragraph I'll get to finish today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
