When We Wish We Had Superpowers

Do you remember when you were little? Remember playing superheros and coming up with all sorts of crazy super powers you had? I usually went with the drastic side and just said I had the superpower to defeat all other superpowers... Huh. Made for an interesting game with my brothers anyway.

I've outgrown so many of those games now, but I realized that I sometimes wish I could go back... It would be so nice if I could pretend, or better yet, actually have, the superpower to overcome that infernal thing called 'writers block'....

Seems like I wrote a post somewhere on how to tackle this little problem.. but, as is usually the case with 'professionals', we can be wrong! After exhausting all my 'brilliant' ideas, I find myself at a standstill with my writing. For me, this is especially frustrating because I no longer have control over my story. Rather difficult to write when you can't think of anything to write down.

Here is where it, once again, turns into a life lesson for me... It is actually rather interesting to see how many times the Lord has used my writing to teach me something. Probably more times than I would care to admit, but it's true.

This time He seems to be teaching me that, even if I have this 'schedule' in my mind of how this will all work out, even if I make myself sit down and write to 'train myself', even if I rack my brain for every possible idea that would fit in my story, He still has control. I guess He must be using this current writers block to teach me something, but I'm not exactly sure what just yet... however, here is something that I seem to have to learn over and over again....

See, sometimes there is a little thing that creeps into my writing... it's just a small thing, really, but it can make BIG problems. It's name is Pride. Ever heard of it? It can be rather frustrating, indeed.

When I was younger, I had dreams of being on Oprah and the Good Morning show for being the youngest novelist out there. The youngest novelist that actually wrote a good story, I should say. One that stunned adults with its complex plot twists and amazing conclusion. Yet, the years slipped by and nothing of the sort happened. If anything, I think it steered me away from actually reaching those goals. What happened instead is that nothing was perfect like I planned. My sentences sounded silly and unpolished, my storyline too plain. Therefore, I just didn't write. What was the point if it wasn't *perfect*?

Well, now that I'm 20 and only one book published so far (and not even an adult book, at that!), I've learned a lot. For one thing, it doesn't have to be perfect. That's why you edit. Yes, editing is a pain in the neck and really annoying, but it is something that has to be done in the writing process. Then, of course, you have to break it up into two different types of editing. What?!?! Yes, I know. Terrible. It's like multiplying the enemy by two. You have grammatical editing and then structure editing. The grammatical editing is probably the easiest because, when you are in the middle of a thought, it's hard to remember how to do your punctuations and such. The structure editing, however, is the toughest.  This is the part where you literally get your baby, er, I mean manuscript torn apart. It is extremely painful.

When I first started writing, I couldn't stand a single word of criticism against my writing. It cut me to the core if anyone made a suggestion on how I should change something. You may think I'm over exaggerating, but just ask any one of my family members.

However, here is an amazing thing I've learned. There is a way to disconnect yourself from your manuscript. See, when people criticise, we tend to think it reflects back on us and that they are criticising us. This is, of course, not true, but we feel it all the same.

As a writer, I think this is probably the most critical in your writing career. It doesn't even matter if you're good at telling a story at this point. What's important is learning to disconnect at the appropriate times.

So how do we do this? Because obviously you can't be emotionally disconnected when you are writing an emotional scene in your book. It wouldn't have that push and shove you're striving for if you did that. It would be bland and boring. In fact, in all of your writing, you have to have emotional connections. Yet, when it comes to editing, how do we pull that plug?

First thing you need to do is realize that your critics are *not* your enemies. They are not out to hurt or kill you, they really simply are doing their job: critiquing. You do your job of writing and they do their job of critiquing. Simple as that. Realizing this, now, will help you move beyond feeling like they are trying to stab in you in the back just because they 'don't like you' or wish they were published, too, so now they are going to slam you down with hate. True, there are some out there who do that, but for the most part, the ones critiquing your book are not like that. They truly want the best for you and only want to help polish up your book to make it shine.

Once you've got that fixed in your head (and it might take a while! I know it did for me.) you can now move on to step two. Try to have most of your critiquing and editing done via email. Don't have someone read part of your book in front of you, and don't ask for their opinion right away. For one thing you *both* need time to process. The reader needs to process what they've just read before they can give an honest opinion, and you need time to process what they say. With email, you can each reply at your leisure. They can come up with more tactful ways to critique/edit and you have time to read the email, process the information, then get back to them.  Even when I send things to my mom or sister to edit, I ask them to please reply to the email. It doesn't matter that we live in the same house and see each other every day. We don't even talk about it unless I bring up the subject. They've learned that sometimes I'm just not ready for a discussion because I'm still processing.

Here's something for you, the writer, to consider as well. If the editor says something is confusing. Don't explain it to them. If the storyline needs personal explaining because the reader didn't understand, *you* are the one that needs to change something. It's not the editor who is too stupid to understand.. you, friend, have not portrayed it correctly. Change it.

Hard blow, yes.. but see why I'm telling you this on my blog? =) Haha.

So what does this have to do with my pride anyway? Well, those were just a few things that I had to learn myself not too long ago. I realized that if I ever wanted to become a truly good writer, then I would need some training. Just like any truly great artist, they took hours and hours of practice time. Now, writing improvement may not show up as grandly as an amazingly painted portrait, but it will show and people will notice the difference.

Now with pride, I think it is good to keep ourselves humble by recieving critiques and maybe even an occasional bad review here and there. We aren't perfect therefore we can't expect our writing to be perfect. However, when you receive bad feedback via editor or reviewer, don't take it personally. Let it slide, listen to that they say, consider it and, if you think you need to, make the changes.

Just remember this... Only the best and purest gold has gone through several intense refining processes.

Giveaway!

I'm very excited to announce that, in honor of the CAPE Homeschool Convention (happening this month), I'm doing a giveaway!

I'll be part of the convention again this year selling books with several other local authors (You might recognize one from an interview I did here). I'm really looking forward to this year. It is exciting to think that a whole year has passed and so much has happened in that time.
Check out the website and come participate! We'll have free chocolate at our table, too... Not that I'm trying to get you to come or anything....

Onto the giveaway. I will be giving away a free, signed copy of "On Grandpa's Knee". All you need to do is follow my blog to enter.

For extra entries:
~"Like" My Facebook Page
~Add me to your circles on Google+
~Spread the word by linking to this post on either blogger, Facebook, or G+

Giveaway ends Sunday, April 20th at midnight (MT timezone)

It's the Writing Biz

It feels like I've come back from a rather long trip and arrived home to a familiar place.... Basically, I have, since my lack of posting here could count me as 'missing' or "gone fishing"... hah!

In any case, I'm back again! Hello, nice to see you all once more. I have taken such a lovely break from writing. It truly was wonderful. Now, I can't say that I got to relax entirely, but I was able to accomplish so many different things during this break (First and foremost, getting my life back on somewhat of a routine!).

However, vacations can only last so long... and so, here I am again.

I'm so very excited because my book cover designer, Jeremiah Hoppman, has been working hard on my cover (and the results are simply A.M.A.Z.I.N.G, I might add). I can't wait to give an official 'release' and such.

Now, on a slight side note, I've recently been learning that personalities come into play for writers.. I didn't think it did before but boy oh boy was I wrong! My 'personality' type ("I" on the DISC profile) "needs deadlines and needs to realize that they need to meet those deadlines..." It doesn't sound pleasant to read something like that about yourself. Still, it's very true. I work best with deadlines because it motivates me to get done. Doing NaNoWriMo last year was one of the best exercises for actually 'meeting deadlines' I have ever done.

So my newest deadline? To get my book published by this summer. I'll keep you all posted on an official 'release' date and such, but for now, I'm just excited to say that I'll actually be getting it done! It has been a lot of work and stress, but I'm ready to get back in gear and embrace my writing like I used to. =)

Although I don't consider myself a 'professional' writer, I do realize that I need to treat myself as one. Meaning, set deadlines and goal, meet those deadlines and goals, and reward your self accordingly. I'm not perfect and never will be, but I'm still striving towards becoming a better writing. And that's what is important I think.

I tend to over analyze and expect everything to be perfect. I want my books to be perfect. I want my other projects to be perfect. I don't want any mess ups and I certainly don't want there to ever be a reason for a critic to not like my book. However, in the grand scheme of things, it will happen. I've slowly been learning to come to grips with that. In fact, whenever I do get my first negative review, I hope that I will keep an optimistic attitude about it. Funny thing, actually, I rather look forward to getting my first 'negative' review. Why? Because it means someone was honest. Sure, negative reviews might hurt your sales and such, but remember, I'm not a professional writer. I write because I love to write. I don't write for other people, I don't even write for myself, really. I write because God has given me a story, and I want to get it out on paper. If people enjoy my stories, then wonderful. If not, that's fine, too. Everyone has a different view and opinion of things.

So, for you other writers out there, remember that no negative comment or review will ever hurt you so long as you don't allow it to. As soon as you let yourself start feeling down or upset by it, you've begun to lose the battle. Take the criticism that was given with positive attitude, then step back and really consider if what they said was true. Because if it is, then you just might want to work or change it...

Perhaps this is a random ramble, but then again... writers do tend to be random. To end the post, here are a few funny/true things for writers:

When You've Reached Your Limit

I sometimes think that the purpose of this blog is to show how imperfect a writer I am. However, I also hope that perhaps it will be an encouragement to other writers that we *don't* have to be perfect!

The last month or so I have been feeling extremely overwhelmed. I really couldn't put a finger on what it was in my life that was stressing me out so much, but I definitely knew it was there. When I woke up sick on Sunday morning with a 'stress and lack of sleep' migraine, I knew that I really needed to reevaluate my schedule and life.

I began looking at what I had been doing the past couple of months. I have just started directing a drama group all on my own, and, a couple weeks into the semester, I was pulled in as a 'fill in' actor for another group. So directing and acting (thankfully a small part on the acting side, but still acting nonetheless). Then we just started up our busy season for the ranch- bull sales. Went to Oklahoma, and we have Tucumcari, Belen and Montana still to come. Then, we're also still in the middle of calving (which doesn't include me all that much, but I still feel involved). Oh, and to top it all off, I was trying to write over 50,000 in about two weeks.

Huh.

I just couldn't figure out what was going on! I mean, I knew I had lots going, but seriously? I can handle this. Right?

Wrong. After an emotional breakdown last night, and a wonderful, wisdom filled conversation with my mom and, later on, my dad, I realized what my problem was. I simply had too much going on. As my mom and I talked, I realized that one of the things that was stressing me out the most was trying to finish this book in time for CAPE convention this April. I knew that I would really be straining to get it done, but one of the things I realized and what scared me the most? I wasn't enjoying writing.

In fact, I pretty much hated it. I wasn't getting inspiration for my story, and I had gotten into the 'writer's block rut' where I was simply writing just to get a word count in. Not a wise idea. And it has always been the biggest pet peeve to me. I used to say (and still do, sometimes) "forget the word count and just write a story!"  Who cares if it passes up the 50,000 word count in order to qualify for a 'novella' or what have you. Write the story, write it well, and be content. I told my mom that if I were to get my story published by convention, I wouldn't be proud of it. I wouldn't be satisfied with the way it turned out because I would know it was slapped together.

That's when I realized something.

I'm not a professional author.

I thought perhaps that idea might alarm me, but actually, it brought a lot of peace. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I don't write because I want to make money with my writing skills. I write because I love it. I love the thrill of developing characters and the shivers I get when I construct a great sentence. I love it when I feel proud of the story I wrote. It's even better when I know that I did my best and that it turned out well.

Most importantly, I love being able to write to the Glory of God. However, if I am writing just to write and become famous, or churn out so many books a year with no inspiration from Him, what sort of a writer am I? I fall into the common writer's category of folks who just want to make a living off of writing. Now, before I go further, I do want to say that there are several authors that I enjoy that know how to write a book, but they also know how to write several books in a year. I admire them for it, and I praise the Lord that there are authors out there like that. However, I have realized that it isn't my dream to be famous. It used to be, yes (yeah, I was determined to go on Oprah Winfrey and on all major news stations as being the youngest writer who could write an amazing book.. oh, and let's not forget the New York Time's best seller.). However, that dream has been changed into something else. I want to write because I love it. I don't mind if people don't like my stories. That's ok. If I get a 2 star review, it might hurt for a bit, but it really won't bother me in the long run because I don't want to make it a business to write.

A wise 'Titus 2 woman' friend of mine once told me, "Yup, once I started doing such and such for a business I really didn't enjoy it anymore... so be careful what you turn into a business". Of course, there are lots of people out there who have turned a passion into a business and, more often than not, you have to have a passion for what you do in order to keep it thriving.

I guess I'm just one of those people who need to learn how to keep a business while still having the passion for what I do.

So, all this to say that I have decided I won't have a book ready for convention in April. I will go to convention with my one book that I published last year, and I will be proud of it. Then I will just tell other folks about the new book coming out in the summer. Then, I'll have more time to get it done, but I'll still have a deadline (I do better with those). =)

Now to all you new authors (and perhaps 'older' authors who have been doing this for a while). Don't be afraid to admit when you've got too much on your plate. It's better to back out of a few things than to do a bunch of things halfheartedly or to realize that you didn't do a good job on all of the things you signed up for. I would much rather do a few things in life and be proud of how I did and feel satisfied and content than to be overloaded and burn out way too quickly.

I'm off to enjoy a less stressful, more enjoyable month of writing. Feeling very much at peace with the decision the Lord helped me to make (I think He has probably been telling me to do this for a long time, and I just haven't wanted to admit it...). I'll just look forward to releasing a book in the summer.

Toodlepip and Cheerio, my author friends!

And the Countdown Begins!

I've begun to think that the month of March is going to be very similar to November, if not worse.

Last year when I participated in NaNoWriMo, I didn't think I'd be doing it again in March. However, as deadline for book publication draws nearer and I still have tons to do, I realize that it will be another writing-like-crazy sort of month. The problem? I'm having a hard time staying motivated. Somehow, with NaNo, I was able to accomplish what I did with (the Lord, first off) the deadlines, the competition, knowing that if I failed, lots of people would know it. Yeah, I tend to work better under pressure, I guess. =)

So, now, without anyone else joining up in a challenge with me, I'm having to challenge myself! Not going to be as fun, but I've figured out a couple ways to keep myself going.

1.) Setting daily goals. Daily, not weekly. Weekly seems to be too much because I procrastinate all week and then I have a ton of words to write in just one day. Not a good idea.

2.) Music! I seriously cannot write without music. It just don't work for me, y'all.

3.) Late nights... um, yes. Unfortunately I have this thing called "late night hour writing syndrome'. Pretty terrible. Most of my inspiration comes when I am up late. I think it actually has more to do with the house being dark, quiet, with a general spookiness. hah!

4.) Drinks. I'm not a huge coffee fan, but I do enjoy tea, water, Dr. Pepper, etc. However, I've found that whenever I have tea or coffee (sometimes I do drink it), it tends to get cold because I don't drink it fast enough. So, out comes the cold water and soda! Although, water is usually my staple. Soda is a treat.....

5.) Frequent breaks. Not too many, but too few can be detrimental to your writing. I have to get up and walk around, see what the fam is up to, go take a walk, eat lunch, take out the trash... you name it. Just getting up and walking around, breathing deeply, helps wake up my brain and keeps my creative 'juices' flowing.


So that's what I do. What do you do to keep yourself going? I'd love more suggestions!

The Big Announcement!

So, I'm here to finally reveal what my 'big project' is... If you've been on Google+ or Facebook, you understand what I'm talking about. If not, I'll just say that I have something up my sleeve and I'm now about to reveal it.

Drumroll please!...........

I've got some novellas/short stories that I will be publishing this Spring! Yay!

Alright, its out. I can breathe now.. hah!

So, yes, I've got some short stories/novellas (not sure yet which one they classify as since I don't have a final word count yet) getting brutally ripped apart edited and patched back together to form some semblance of a story fixed up so it sounds nice. (Any other authors relate to how this feels?) Haha.

In any case, I thought I had better get on here and share. I'll keep you posted and just can't wait to get these done! For now, here's a short clip from one of the stories (still unedited, y'all, so this is in the raw form). Also, this is COPYRIGHTED. You may not use this in any form without my permission. Thank you!

**************

Cold. It was so cold. That was the only thing that kept running through her mind. That and the fact that if she was to stay alive, she had to keep moving. One foot in front of the other, each step more painful than the last. The wind made the rain splatter across her face like tiny flying rocks.  She wrapped her arms around herself and squinted her eyes to try to see further than the few feet the weather was allowing her.

“Hello?”  She called out in vain. The wind carried her words straight behind her and lost them in the growing darkness.  Looking up at the sky, she blinked hard to keep from crying.  Escaped tears joined the trails of water left on her cheeks from the rain.

She continued stumbling forward.  Her dress, soaked from the rain, hung heavily on her shoulders. Her hair no longer resembled anything of a neat appearance, but instead remained plastered over her face and hung in limp, dripping locks. She paused for a moment, trying to catch her breath.  Hugging herself to contain some warmth, she tried to ignore the reaching fingers of the tree’s branches. They looked like hideous monsters in the dark. Each branch seemed to grow long and reach out to her, wanting to snatch her up and hurl her into the wind.  She shut her eyes to close out the image.  It was too much to bear.  At that moment she suddenly felt could care less if she were dead or alive.  It wouldn’t matter in a few moments anyway.  They were sure to find her.   Perhaps she would be dead by then, and her worries would be over.  She opened her eyes and looked around at the desolate forest.  It would be a lonesome place to die. 

Keep It Real

Lately I have been learning so many confusing things about social media and your business. One site says that you need to keep it strictly professional and don't ever mention anything about your personal life while another site that you should share posts about things you would like to read while still keeping a somewhat professional front (in other words, don't be posting about what you had for lunch, but post about other activities besides your business), while another site says something entirely different.

WAH!!

It's so confusing! However, have no fear. I'm determined to get over this hurdle and make it across the finish line.... yeah, you can tell I've been watching Olympic re-runs. ;-)

In all seriousness, though, I would deeply appreciate your opinion on this matter. As my faithful readers/followers, I want to know what you think. What do you like seeing most from your favorite authors (not just me in particular). Should we do pictures or posts about our personal life or should we keep it strictly professional and only post about updates on our writing, what books are coming out, and the newest discounts?

You can either drop a line, or vote on the poll on the sidebar!!! Thanks!!!