"Ideal" Life vs. "Real" Life: Where Does the Time Go?"

As Mary Ann mentioned in her last post, we received an Ask the TeachingAuthors question regarding time management. Pam T. of Illinois asked for advice about how to allocate time between actual writing, reading, improving your craft, etc.

Like Mary Ann, I don't feel I really have "the answer." My ideal writing day (when I'm not teaching) would look like this:

• 1 hour -- meditating/praying/spiritual reading
• 3-4 hours -- writing/revising
• lunch break
• 1 hour -- historical research (I'm working on a historical novel.)
• 1 hour -- walking/exercising (preferably outdoors)
• 1 hour -- emailing/blog writing and reading/Facebook
• dinner break/family activities/meetings
• 1 hour -- reading other historical YA or adult novels (before bed)

However, in real life, my day looks more like this:

• 0-.5 hours -- meditating/praying/spiritual reading
• 0-.5 hours -- writing/revising
• 2-3 hours -- historical research
• lunch break
• 4-5 hours -- emailing/blog writing and reading/Facebook
  
• 0-.5 hours -- walking/exercising
• dinner break/family activities/meetings
• 0-.5 hours -- reading other historical YA or adult novels (before bed)

It's obvious that two activities are absorbing much more time than I intend: historical research and email/blogging/Facebook. Both are forms of procrastination. I know that the procrastination is triggered, at least in part, by perfectionism. The historical novel I'm working on is set in 18th-century Italy, and since I can't time-travel, I worry about getting the details wrong. To compensate, I over-research. And I waste time. After all, if I never finish the project, no one will know if I get the details wrong.

I have yet to "cure" myself of this problem. However, I have found some things that help:

1. At the start of my work day, I set a timer for 2 hours and make myself focus on writing/revising until the timer goes off. I don't allow myself to read email or do anything else during that time.
2. I now track email time separately from blog-related time. Using the same timer technique as in #1, I allow myself only 1 hour of each per day. That's still more than my "ideal" but it's better than what I was doing before.
3. I try to remind myself: "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." To read more about this concept, check out The Happiness Project blog.
4. I set monthly goals for my writing progress that I share with a group of fellow writers. We periodically report our progress to each other. Shame can be a great motivator.

I could say much more on this topic, but I'm running out of blogging time for today. :-) I'll leave it to my fellow TeachingAuthors to continue the discussion. And if any of you have time-management tips you'd like to share, do let us know. Meanwhile, here's a time-management Writing Workout.

Writing Workout: Where Does the Time Go?

For a week or two, keep a log of how you spend your time. I do my record keeping in a small journal or notebook. When I start a task, I note my start time and a brief description of the task. For example:
1:15 Blogging.
You can't see it above, but I leave space next to the start time. Later, when I switch to a different task, I note the end time in the blank space. So my sample line now reads
1:15-2:15 Blogging.
I then repeat the process for my next task. At the end of the day, I total up how much time I spent on each task.
1:15-2:15 Blogging 1 hour
2:15-3:00 email 45 minutes
3:00-4:30 writing 1 hour 30 minutes, etc.

Note: I lump my tasks into broad categories so that record keeping itself doesn't become too time-consuming. As you can see above, I don't list individual emails, just the total time spent reading and sending emails.

When I first began logging my activities, I was surprised at how little time I was spending on writing/revising. And I was appalled at how much time I had invested in email and surfing the Internet. While I believe correspondence and networking are crucial to success, I don't want them to take priority over my writing. By regularly tracking and reviewing where my time goes, I'm getting closer to making my "ideal" day look more like my "real" day.

By the way, keeping an activity log is also a good tool for finding more writing time. In Time Management from the Inside Out, Julie Morgenstern suggests creating "time maps." You can read an introduction to the process at Lifehacker.

Time = Money; Writing Time = Priceless

Were I well qualified to post on the topic of time management, I would not be composing this post on the fly, the morning it’s “due.”

In school, I was never one of those write-my-term-paper-at-the-last-minute types of students. My first drafts always suck, and I know I need to budget most of my “writing time” for revising.

In fact, I started this post in the quiet hours of Sunday night -- the kids finally in bed, my workout complete, a sweet glass of red wine in hand. Of course the wine was my undoing, as I wrote a half a page (all now consigned to the recycling bin), then realized I was too tired and would have to start fresh in the morning.

At the moment my husband and I retired for the night, my two-year-old (who has either supersonic hearing or ESP) decided it was time to get up. Thus followed many hours of futile attempts to persuade him that it was, in fact, night.

Now bleary-eyed and far more tired than I was last night (but at least with tall mug of coffee in hand), here I sit. For each sentence that I have typed (and just as many that I have erased), my “writing time” has been punctuated by requests for two cups of milk, two fruit snacks, one spilled bowl of cereal, one diaper change, one request for “help wiping,” two outfit changes, six demands to “look at this,” four requests to “help me with my puzzle,” one desperate shout of “He’s biting me!,” one prolonged meltdown over hair-brushing, two kisses, three hugs, and one phone call.

One of the first pieces of advice most professional children’s book writers will give is, “Don’t quit your day job.” Excellent advice, indeed. For Mind Games, I earned an advance of $6000 – roughly the equivalent of $.02/hour. I freelance for some local quarterly publications, typically netting about $50 per article. Teaching at a community college earned me $2000 for one semester. And of course, my other day job, mommyhood, is paid in a wage of kisses -- and I just collected two more as I typed this paragraph.

My full-time day job, soap opera writing, is a blessing. I work from home; it pays well; and, most important, I love it! It also affords much practice at writing very, very quickly. Right now, I am a breakdown writer, which means that I spend three days per week on conference calls. Typically we have 24 hours to write one show; in some weeks, we have 48 hours to write two.

At the beginning of the year, my then-three-year-old was in half-day preschool, and my toddler was home with me. One fall day when I was on a conference call and my daughter should have been napping but of course was not, I removed to another room and desperately ordered the children to play nicely and be quiet. Suddenly, I heard shrieking emanating from the next room and ran in to find my daughter pulling an ipod cord tight around my son’s neck. “I’m wrapping him up as a present for Daddy,” she said sweetly. She now goes to preschool all day, for which I feel no guilt on most days because she loves it, and this is clearly the arrangement that works best for all of us.

Life is easier, but it is still crazy. Many days my husband comes home from a long day of wrangling middle school children to watch our two little ones so I can get work done. My own writing projects have suffered much in recent years, but, now that both kids are sleeping through the night (most nights), I am finally, joyfully writing again.

Because soap opera writing is a precarious business with little job security, I am always considering my prospects for a second career. My husband knows I am a little crazy about applying for jobs (part-time editor here, tutor there) and overextending myself. If I just focused on my writing and trusted, how much easier would our lives be?

It is hard to ask for time to write something on spec that may never sell. In the time-versus-money calculus that we are always weighing, difficult choices must be made. Hire a nanny and let someone else care for my kid? Keep our biweekly housecleaner and have more writing time, or clean toilets myself? Get sleep?

There are huge, tangible financial rewards to having a “regular job” – and I am not frugal and not a budgeter, so these are important. But I recently interviewed a job coach who reminded me that work is also an important avenue through which many people socialize, identify themselves, and maintain their sense of dignity. The honest truth is, it is hard to trust that I can make a “career” of writing books when I have always had a job job.

I wrote a piece a few months ago about a local bookstore that is owned by the husband of romance novelist Nora Roberts. The New Yorker did a recent (excellent) profile on Roberts, in which I read with much interest that when Roberts was a single mother to two young boys and writing prolifically (how??), she laid down the law that she must only be interrupted in the event of arterial blood or live fire.

If my husband hadn’t told my daughter that my job was to write “silly stories,” maybe this tactic would work for me someday? But, knowing my daughter, probably not.

My time management advice? Do as I say, not as I do. Make time. Read. Write. Live. Trust. Enjoy!

My Typical Writer's Day

We had LOTS of great entries in our latest giveaway contest--see the end of this post to find out who our winner is. 

As Jill shared last Friday, for our current TeachingAuthors topic we're talking a bit about our daily lives/routines as writers. Before I discuss my routine, I have a confession to make: I don't want to be writing this blog post right now.

It's not that I mind the topic, or that I dislike blogging, because I enjoy these posts and the opportunity to connect with you, our blog readers. It's just that I've been working hard, keeping "butt in chair" for the past few weeks, trying to finish the revision of my young-adult historical, and I'm almost done--"almost," as in, to start this blog post, I had to stop at page 274 of a 280-page manuscript! I really wanted to keep plugging away without interruption until I reached the end AND worked through Chapter 1 again so I could send it off to my Beta readers.

Ironically (given today's topic), I would easily have made it through those last pages if regular life hadn't intervened with a minor household crisis this afternoon. But that's a topic for another day.

However, since I'm being brutally honest here, I should also note that these last few weeks have really been more "fun" than "work." That's because I FINALLY got through the revision of Chapter 12--the pivotal chapter where the two formerly antagonistic main characters realize they're falling in love! Once I had that chapter working to my satisfaction, I was on a roll: tweaking scenes, pulling threads, deepening sensory details, adding imagery, polishing language, etc. The stuff I love to do!

If you've been following this blog for awhile, you know it's taken me a LONG time to get to this point with this current work-in-progress. In fact, I've been ready to give up on this novel countless times. Back in June 2011, I blogged about how having a "writing buddy" turned out to be the key to my getting a finished draft. But that draft still needed a lot of work--work I hope to have finished by the end of this week. Hooray!

[By the way--my blog post about having a "writing buddy" led me to write a freelance article on the topic for the 2013 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market (Writer's Digest Books), edited by Chuck Sambuchino. The book was just released on September 21, and is also available in ebook form.]

So, what IS my typical day like? I blogged about my "ideal" day back in June, 2009, and that ideal hasn't changed much, though I rarely live up to it.

I find I'm most productive if I get up around 6-6:30 in the morning and get to work as soon after breakfast as possible, without checking email or Facebook. Since I have a hard time resisting email, I set a timer and don't allow myself to look at it until after I've put in 2-4 hours of work, depending on what else I have going on that day. After email and lunch, I work another 2-4 hours, though I take an exercise break in the middle of the afternoon on most days. (If you haven't read about the recent studies citing the dangers of prolonged sitting, you may want to read this Forbes article: Why Sitting at Work Can be so Deadly.]

I should clarify that "work" varies depending on my teaching schedule and my work goals for the week. I'm not currently teaching any classes, so the "work" time these days may include:

• writing/revising my current historical YA novel-in-progress (that's almost done!)
• researching/planning where to submit a novel I recently finished co-writing with another author
• writing a blog post, like this one, or planning future blogging topics
• pitching/querying new freelance writing projects
• writing/researching freelance writing projects
• updating my website with information about upcoming classes, publications, etc.

Weeks when I am teaching, my "work" time includes lesson planning, publicizing classes, and reviewing student work.

Depending on how much time I spend on email and social media, my typical work day is usually 5-8 hours long, Monday through Friday, plus 4 hours or more on Saturday. (I often teach on Saturdays.) If I'm on deadline, or on a "roll" as I have been the last few weeks, I may put in some extra time after dinner. But I can't do that for an extended period. I agree with what Jill said on Friday, that we need to have time away from our work to gather the material that will enrich our writing.

I know many of you have full-time jobs that make it pretty much impossible to spend 2-4 hours per day writing. The good news is, many writers who have much less time to devote to their writing are still able to have successful careers. Esther recently mentioned a new blog by Carol Coven Grannick called Today I Am a Writer. In one of her first posts, Carol talks about how productive she's been by following the simple tenet of devoting the First, Best Hour to her work. As Carol has discovered, knowing we have a limited amount of time can sometimes help us stay focused. I'm a believer in Parkinson's law--work often does expand to fill the time allotted for its completion.

But even if an hour is more than you can muster, you may be surprised at what you can accomplish by writing simply fifteen minutes a day. Every August, award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson hosts the "Write Fifteen Minutes a Day Challenge" on her blog. Here's an excerpt from what she posted on the last day of the challenge::

Life happens whether you are writing or not. You don’t have to wait for the right time, or that Muse-blessed idea or a fellowship to a writing colony or a winning lottery ticket or anything. You just have to give yourself permission to take seriously your writing dream.

So I hope you'll give yourself permission to take your writing dream seriously. Why not start today, by setting aside some regular writing time?. Even if you missed Anderson's Fifteeen Minutes a Day Challenge last month, there's nothing stopping you from using her posts to work through your own month of writing fifteen minutes a day. Day one begins here.  

And now, time to announce the winner of Lisa Cron's Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence (Ten Speed Pess). Our winner is:

Mary Jo Campbell

Congratulations, Mary Jo! (Please respond to my email so we can get the book in the mail right away.)

If you didn't win, never fear--we have more giveaways coming SOON!

And now, I'm going back to my novel.
Happy writing!
Carmela

Student Success Story Interview with Author Allan Woodrow and Book Giveaway

Hooray! Today I'm pleased to share a Student Success Story interview with author Allan Woodrow. His path to publication was a relatively short one, but that's due not only to his great writing talent, but to his dedication and discipline. (I think aspiring writers will find his responses especially interesting.) After reading the interview, I hope you'll enter our drawing for an autographed copy of Allan's debut novel, The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless (HarperCollins). And a special note: if you've had trouble posting comments for our previous contests, see below for information on our NEW option for emailing your entry.

For my "summer fun" this year, I treated myself to a self-directed weekend-long writing retreat offered by SCBWI-Illinois. I used my time at Words by the Lake to revise the latest draft of my young adult historical novel set in eighteenth-century Italy.  While there, I had the pleasure of catching up with my former student, Allan Woodrow. Seeing him reminded me that I wanted to interview him to celebrate the release of his humorous middle-grade novel The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless (HarperCollins). Here's a hint of the book's plot: Zachary would do anything to join the Society Of Utterly Rotten, Beastly And Loathsome Lawbreaking Scoundrels, the world's most horrible gang of super villains. So when Zachary hears SOURBALLS is looking for someone to join their nefarious gang, he jumps at the chance. Bwa-ha-ha!

If you read Esther's post about the First Time Authors' Panel at this year's Printers Row Lit Festival, you already know a little about Allan. And here's a bit more from the bio he sent me:

Growing up, Allan Woodrow was cursed with a boring, happy, and loving family, giving him nothing interesting to write about. He resented it for years. Allan eventually harnessed his feelings into his new children’s series, The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless (HarperCollins, ages 7-12) about the world’s most evil kid. Allan is also an advertising writer and Creative Director, and has written for TV and the stage. He currently works at the Chicago Tribune. Learn more at his website, and be sure to also check out his blog.

Following the interview, you'll find instructions for how to enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless. And for a good laugh, be sure to watch the book trailer at the end of this post.  

Allan, you were a student in my one-day workshop, “Introduction to Writing for Children and Teens,” back in 2008 (or was it 2009?) What inspired you to sign up for that class?  Do you recall any specific ways the class helped you?

The class was in February or March 2009 and Zachary Ruthless didn’t exist yet, not even as a germ. I decided I wanted to try to write a children’s book (but no idea what the book would be), only a month or two earlier. I was trying to write while also gathering as much information as I could about the process, the industry, and looking for inspiration anywhere I could. It was the first class I took in kid lit writing. I remember absorbing a lot of the basic info, in terms of word length and structure and format, and so on. I still have all the handouts.

In your interview on Cynsations, you talk about your unusually quick route to publication. Can you share a bit about how you landed your agent? You’d already done several  revisions of your manuscript before you began querying. Did your agent or editor ask for more revisions?

Yes, I did all sorts of revisions before I sent it out to the world. Some revisions took a couple of days; some were more severe. My first draft, however, has almost nothing in common with the finished manuscript, except maybe a small handful of jokes and the names of the two main characters.

Even with so many revisions, when I decided to find an agent, I wanted an editorial agent. Since it was my first book, and I didn’t have a lot of industry knowledge, I looked for someone who could give it a critical eye and make my manuscript even better. When I made my list of initial agents, that was one of the requirements.

I ended up with quite a long list – about 60 agents. I picked five to send to first; somewhat randomly, to be honest, but figuring it would be just the first group of many. Fortunately, I received an offer from that initial query and, after a phone call and an offer I was hooked. Regarding edits, I did one more draft with my agent, and then another draft with my editor. Both processes went fairly easily, although my editor’s revisions had more dramatic changes, such as adding a major character who didn’t exist before then, which changed the beginning and ending. However, despite that fairly significant change, I had only that one editorial revision. She loved it and then it was just very minor copyediting (which I guess counts as a revision, but only sort of).

On Cynsations, you also explain that you didn’t have a story idea when you first resolved to write and publish a children’s book. Can you tell us a bit more about the daily writing routine you established: How did you decide what to write about each day? What kinds of things did you write before hitting on the idea for Zachary Ruthless?

I’ve read – and can verify from my own experience – that writing works best when 1. Done every day and 2. Done at the same time every day. They are somewhat related, because ideally you block off a set writing time and keep to it. If it moves around, it’s harder to make it predictable, takes too long to ‘get in the mood’ and becomes easier to blow off. I did not blow off days; I made it a priority. I had/have a full time job, so I put aside the only time I knew I had: after the kids went to bed. They were young, so bedtime was a convenient 8:30. My writing time was exactly one hour, 8:45-9:45 (now, it’s a different time, and ranges from 60-120 minutes/day, but still a predictable time slot).

I was inspired by the Dan Gutman “My Weird School” series, by its humor mostly, and the first thing I wrote was roughly based on a true experience when I was in 1st grade but had a similar bent to his books: a school story written first person centered around a trouble-making boy who didn’t love school. I have girls, so my next book was with girl main characters. But I wasn’t writing for publication yet. I vowed that I would write for at least one year before I submitted anything. I was merely writing to get better. I started Zachary Ruthless a few months after I started writing. Even with only writing an hour a day I got a lot done.

When you finally did come up with Zachary Ruthless, did you envision it as a series from the beginning? Did you create an overall plot plan for the series?

While I wrote the first book I knew the character could be a recurring character with many more books, and as I was finishing it I “saw” a much longer 12-13 book story arc that I was excited about, but kept to myself. My agent wanted to sell it as a series, so she asked me if I had any ideas to expand it — I did! — and she requested a synopsis of the next three books. Nothing was written down, but it was relatively simple for me to jot down those book ideas based on the bigger concept I had (I actually jotted down the next 12 books although I only shared those next three). My story arc has changed, actually, but I do have ideas for the next 8 books should anyone want to see them/should I be lucky enough to have anyone ask me to pursue them. And the story arc is less tight than it was; I could expand or shrink it. At least, I know where all my characters are headed, regardless of how long it takes them to get there (if ever).

You have a full-time job in advertising. Has your advertising writing influenced your children’s writing at all? Is it draining to write all day for work and then come home to write more? Have you been able to continue the daily writing routine that led to Zachary Ruthless?

I've wanted to write books forever, and always told myself I was too exhausted from writing all day to write after hours; it was an easy crutch. But the truth is, once I started actually doing it, it wasn’t draining. Mostly. Sure there are some days when I’m exhausted but I try to fight through them (I don’t always win), but those days are the exception not the rule.

They say most advertising should be written at a 3rd grade vocabulary, so I like to think I’ve been writing for my audience for years! Advertising is about creativity but also about revisions, and being concise. A TV commercial should be between 75-80 words depending on the visuals/concept, for example. So you learn to get to the point and not dance around things, and to cut copy when needed, which is helpful for any writing. Also, you present a script to your boss, who presents it to his boss, and then presents it to the advertising client, who then discusses it with his wife and his kids … you’re constantly revising, and much of the time you get 3rd hand feedback. You learn to read “between the lines,” not just react to every change but try to uncover WHY the change is being requested and come up with solutions that are true to your idea. It has helped a lot in making editorial revisions, or responding to critique group thoughts. If someone has a problem with something, it’s not his or her job to solve it; it’s mine and I’m able to step back and look at my work objectively to find the problem (sometimes its simple; sometimes not). Advertising also helps teach you that it’s a team effort. Advertising is about me writing, the sales team selling, the client accepting. Same thing with books. I’m the writer, but the editor is putting her time into it, the publisher is putting their money down. It’s teamwork. I’m definitely not a ‘my every word is sacred’ prima donna.

Advertising also helps you get a tough skin. I might have to write a dozen completely different TV scripts before one is bought, and I might get strong criticism or rejection from many. I’ve had my writing called “trite and banal” (once, years ago). You learn not to take it personally; so I’m a rejection expert – a good thing to be in this industry!  Advertising is also about deadlines, and meeting them whether or not you’re in the mood to write, which, when I have such limited writing time, is a great trait. I don’t have the luxury of saying “I’ll relax now and write in an hour.” For me, it’s right then, or not until tomorrow. And “until tomorrow” is not acceptable to me. At least, usually.

Has your advertising background influenced your approach to promoting Zachary Ruthless? If so, how? Would you share a bit about some of your marketing activities for the book, such as creating the Evil Bad Guy website?

OK. Sure, you would think that as a life-time marketer and advertising agency writer I’d have a million great promotional ideas. Yep, you’d think that. The fact is, I think the best way to promote middle-grade books is with school visits and, with a  full-time job, that’s difficult. I haven’t done many, although I’ve got a great presentation (should any teachers be reading this blog … hint, hint). Blogs (like right here!) are great, because I can do that on my own time. I thought it was important to have a web presence, so the illustrator of the books, Aaron Blecha, and I wrote and designed the book website, evilbadguystuff.com (that URL is an intrinsic part of Book 1); we add a new super villain of the month every month, to keep it fresh. I’m fortunate my publisher (HarperCollins) paired me not only with a great illustrator, but someone I’ve become friends with. My wife, a graphic designer, created my book marks. I have a blog and a personal website as another way for readers, or prospective readers, to find me. I have four books, at least, for Zachary Ruthless coming out. So I‘ve created these things not just for Book 1, but so that as people discover the books they can get more information, and as a way to stay top of mind between books coming out. I also created trailers for the book, and a YouTube page. And an Amazon author page. I guess, as an advertiser, I understand the value of having your name out there, somehow, in as many places as possible. All these things are somewhat easy because I can do it on my time (but NOT on my writing time. Writing time is for book writing and editing. It’s too easy to waste the time on other writing, and I try not to). I don’t want my book to fail and for me to think, “Oh, if only I tried that.”

That said, I haven’t done as much as I should. I’m constantly keeping my eyes open for new opportunities. I’ve yet to say no to any opportunity, but not that many opportunities have found me yet.  I’m hoping more do. I’m still just starting my journey; I hope it is a long one. But I only have so many hours in the day to walk it. Sigh! 

I, too, hope you have a long and successful writing journey, Allan. Thanks so much for sharing your Student Success Story with us today. And Readers, I hope you'll be inspired by Allan's discipline and dedication as you pursue your own writing goals.

Now, as promised, here are the instructions for entering our giveaway contest:
To enter our drawing for an autographed copy of The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless, post a comment to today's blog post giving us your real name and your "personal super villain name alias." Bwa-ha-ha!  Be sure to include an email address (formatted like: teachingauthors at gmail dot com) or a link to an email address. We're also announcing a new option for entering our giveaways: Instead of posting a comment, you can email your comment to  teachingauthors at gmail dot com with "Contest" in the subject line. Entry Deadline is Wednesday, Aug. 3, 11 pm (CST). You must have a U.S. mailing address to win. The winner will be determined using the random number generator at Random.org, and announced on August 4.

You can watch the trailer for Zachary Ruthless below. And if you'd like to read more great interviews, head over to the Kidlitosphere roundup at Anastasia Suen's Chapter Book of the Day blog today. Readers there can enter to win a free one-hour college counseling session for their favorite high-schooler.

Good luck and Happy Writing!
Carmela

Staying Motivated: My Buddy and Me

After recently celebrating our Second Blogiversary, I asked readers to submit questions they would like us to address. In response, Sue Ekins posted this comment:

"I have trouble motivating myself to write. How do you do that, especially when you are (or were) working a day job?"

I've struggled with this same issue even though, technically, I don't have a "day job" because I only teach part-time. As one of my students likes to say, "writing is hard." And some projects are more challenging than others. A few months ago, I shared a bit about my difficulties finishing a historical young adult novel that required a great deal of research. I'd tried to motivate myself in a variety of ways with mixed success. Then in January my co-blogger April Halprin Wayland posted about how she is inspired by her "tribes(s)," and she shared a brilliant Writing Workout. Here it is again:

April's Writing Workout: Working with Someone in your Tribe

1. Grab a buddy from your writing tribe.
2. Both of you write three commitments for the coming week. Don't set yourself up to fail. Don't commit to writing a novel in a week. Start out easy and see what you can realistically accomplish in seven days.
3. Set a deadline.
4. Select a "salary" you will pay yourself. The important thing is to pay yourself every week whether you've completed all three commitments or not. Don't business execs get paid even when they've had an unproductive week? It happens. This is not about whipping yourself. This is encouraging yourself. Put the whip away and take the paycheck.
5. Read your commitments to each other.
6. Check in with each other at the end of the week.

After reading April's post, I solicited a member of my critique group, Leanne Pankuch, to be my Writing Buddy. Unlike me, Leanne has a full-time "day job," so she has to be creative when it comes to finding writing time. Leanne and I followed April's guidelines with one minor modification to step 5: instead of reading our commitments to each other, we email them at the beginning of the week. In that email, we also set a time to connect by phone the following weekend.

I found it very motivating to put my goals in writing and to know I'd have to be accountable to someone at the end of the week. I didn't want to disappoint Leanne by not living up to my goals. That is precisely what I'd hoped would happen. But the rewards didn't end there. April's strategy also taught me how to set realistic goals that truly motivate me. For example, this was my first week's Commitment to Me:

1. Spend at least 6 hours revising my young adult novel—this includes thinking and planning time, but not research time.
2. Get to bed by 10:30 pm at least 3 nights so that I can get up early and focus on my writing before being distracted by other things.
3. Consistently log how I spend my “work” time.

While making this first commitment to myself was helpful, I wasn't as productive as I'd hoped that week. After discussing the results with my Writing Buddy during our check-in, I modified my goals for the following week to include one that read:

1. Add at least 500 words/day on at least 3 days for a total of 1500 additional words. (Current word count is: 61,022.)  

For me, a specific word count goal was much more motivating than a time-oriented goal. When Friday afternoon rolled around and I hadn't reached my word count, I resolved to get up early on Saturday to accomplish it before my check-in with Leanne. And I succeeded!

Another surprising plus: our weekly phone conversation ended up being more than simply a time to report on our progress. Leanne and I also talked about our process. We shared not only the day-to-day challenges that threatened to derail our writing goals, but also the difficulties we faced with the writing itself. Talking through my plot and character dilemmas with Leanne led me to finding solutions to those problems.

Partway through drafting this post, it occurred to me to ask Leanne how having a Writing Buddy has influenced her. Below is what she wrote. (Keep in mind, she had no idea what I'd already written about our relationship.)

My Writing Buddy and What She Does for Me

Carmela isn't judgmental.  She isn't cruel.  She also isn't a cheerleader and she doesn't give gold stars.  She is my equal--my colleague.  She encourages me to choose realistic and attainable goals and I--quite simply--don't ever want to tell her that I couldn't accomplish goals that were definitely within my reach.  For example, if I set a goal that I will add 1000 words a day to my new novel--that would be a very unrealistic goal and, consequently, I would have plenty of legitimate reasons for missing my total.  However, if I think about my week--as Carmela tells me to do--and figure out how much quality time I can realistically make for writing, I might set a goal of 1000 words for the entire week and then add a couple of supporting goals and  "voila!" there is no reason why I can't make all three goals.  So, I write on the train/bus rides during my commute from Aurora to Chicago and back, and I write during my lunch hour, . . . . And when I write, 20 words at a time, 30 words, 10 words, then I can make my goals.

And, if the week is winding down and I still haven't made my goal, then I'll sometimes even--gasp!--leave the shirts at the cleaners, tell my husband to make us some cream of wheat for dinner, leave the dishes for tomorrow and knock out those last few hundred words--Just so I can tell Carmela I made it!

Having a Writing Buddy is like the push you need from your friend to get your toboggan going down the hill. It makes the ride so much better.  It's so good you're willing to climb back up the hill--legs burning--and let her push you again.

Thanks, Leanne, for sharing your side of the story, and for being my Writing Buddy!

With the extra "push" Leanne provided as my Writing Buddy, I finally finished the draft of my historical young adult novel on May 23! Hurray! Of course, the work doesn't stop there. Leanne and I and two other writers have exchanged copies of our completed manuscripts. Later this month, the four of us will get together for a self-directed whole novel critique session.

Meanwhile, Leanne and I continue to set goals and check in with each other on a weekly basis. I am SO grateful to Leanne for agreeing to be my buddy, and to April Halprin Wayland for sharing her Writing Workout with us. I think EVERY writer could benefit from having a Writing Buddy. If you need help choosing yours, see the Writing Workout below.

Blogosphere Buzz

• Today kicks off a new feature in the Kidlitosphere: "Interview Wednesday." If you have a link to a Kidlit-related interview, or you enjoy reading or watching such interviews, visit today's post at Tina Nichols Coury's blog.
• Speaking of Kidlitosphere round-ups, the May Carnival of Children's Literature is posted at the Playing by the Book blog.
• It's not too late to sign up to participate in this year's 48-Hour Book Challenge being held this weekend, June 3-5, at the MotherReader blog. After watching from the sidelines for two years, I've actually signed up to participate. I'll be posting my reading log on my website blog.

Writing Workout:

Choosing a Writing Buddy

Here are some things to consider when choosing your Writing Buddy:

• Would the person you have in mind be willing and able to make a serious commitment to April's 6-step approach listed above (or something similar to it)?
• Would you be comfortable sharing your writing struggles with this person?
• Would you enjoy chatting with this person once a week, or every other week, about your writing progress?
• Would being accountable to this person help motivate you, either because you wouldn't want to disappoint her or him, or because you'd be embarrassed to fail in front of this person?
• On the flip side, would this person be understanding and encouraging even if you didn't achieve your goals, for whatever reason?

If, like me, you're lucky enough to be part of a critique group, I suggest you look for your Writing Buddy among your critique group members. If you're not part of a critique group, are you part of any writing organizations, such as SCBWI, where you might find a compatible buddy? Still no prospects? Consider friends who may need motivation sticking with creative goals in areas other than writing, such as illustrating, knitting, cooking, etc.

I encourage you to read April's original blog post on the topic. Then, if the idea of having a Writing Buddy appeals to you, give yourself a goal of finding one in the next week or so, and report back in the comments below.

Good luck and happy writing!
Carmela

Getting back into the writing groove

For whatever reason – illness, a move or job change, family crises, or other circumstances beyond our control – most of us fall out of the writing habit at one time or another. And getting back into the groove can be tough. Confession:  Right now, I'm having a little trouble with it myself. Okay, a lot of trouble.

A few Decembers ago, I was chasing my tail, trying to steal writing time from the holiday-related hoopla on my calendar. But with all the cleaning and decorating, shopping and party planning, baking and visiting I wanted/needed to do, I felt really guilty every time I sat down to write. So I made what, at the time, felt like a drastic move:  After more than 10 years of keeping my nose firmly pressed to the grindstone, I gave myself permission to take December off from writing. Wow, was I a happier camper that holiday season (and those since). I could immerse myself in holiday prep/events without that constant nagging feeling that there was something else I should be doing (don't we drive ourselves crazy sometimes?!)

January-March have traditionally been my favorite writing months. And that month-long December break spring-boarded me into them, big time. I was raring to go. Outta my way! Lemme at the keyboard! I have a story to get to!

*sound of squealing brakes*

Not this year. Granted, it's only January 4, so I'm not panicking. But sadly, I'm just not feeling an urgency to get back to my writing. Maybe it's because the mg novel project I was enthused about a year ago got pushed to the back burner by a couple of work-for-hire projects. I've definitely lost momentum on that one. And it's a story I need to get back to, because I have a terrible if-I-don't-write-it-somebody-else-will feeling. But after a year of thinking about it only sporadically, I now have so many questions about my plans for the whole project that I'm doubting my ability to even pull off writing the thing. Ugh. That's not a great place to be.

So how am I going to regain that enthusiasm, retrain myself to get back into the writing habit? I've searched the internet for wisdom, and everything I've read boils down to these 3 steps:

1.  Stop fretting. Worrying about not writing is a time waster and certainly won't free you to create.

2.  Schedule writing time. I'm about as sharp as I'm going to get in the mornings. So right after my time on the treadmill, a quick shower, and breakfast, I'm heading to my office, where I will plop my rear into the chair and begin. I'll answer e-mails, check out the few blogs I follow (and maybe work on my own next post), then reread what I wrote the day before, which always jumps starts my mind.

3.  Give yourself permission to write (excuse me, Mother) crap. I don't know how, after writing for more than 16 years, I can STILL sometimes forget that writing is a process. Nobody sits down and bangs out The Perfect Story on the first try. Revision has always been my favorite part of writing. If I have to remind myself of that every day by taping a big note to my computer screen, I will.

My next post won't be until later in the month, but I'll let you know how I'm doing. Looking forward to a productive month!

*knocks wood*
*crosses fingers*
*rubs the troll*

Jill

Have you entered our current book giveaway? You won't want to miss this one. Read the entry details in Carmela's Wednesday's post.

My So-Called Writing Life

This past week, the Teaching Authors have been visiting the subject of best practices when it comes to our writing schedules.  Anyone looking to this post for tips on how to lead a productive and/or well-organized writing life had best look elsewhere.  If you'd like to make yourself feel better about your own work habits... read on.

I am an unabashed night owl.  My dad says that I was born in California four decades ago and never quite got my body clock on EST.  My most productive writing time (even when I lived in California, I must admit) has always happened between the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.  However, when I got married, I began waking with my husband at 5:30 a.m.  Our children are also early risers.  Bye-bye productive writing time.  Some nights I will try to take a brief nap at my kids' bedtime and then get up and work.  More often than not, given the busy-ness of our days, I wind up sleeping straight through.

My day job is a writing job, so there's always the matter of getting my paid work done first.  Typically I get up, get the kids ready, and drive the morning carpool before I get down to business.  On a good day, I will then spend half an hour on the elliptical with a book (or at least a few Days of Our Lives outlines -- there's always soap reading to get out of the way).  Then I plop my laptop in my lap, snuggle with the puppy, and start writing -- or at least make a stab at it.

My current job function is "scriptwriter," and I usually write one complete script each week.  (Every few weeks, there will be two.)  I have seven days to complete the week's assignment(s), so if I write and edit an act per day in a typical week, I'm in fine shape.  In practice, I usually spend at least a day reading and a day at the end of the process on editing and polishing.  We write from detailed outlines, and some scripts go much more quickly than others.  Also, if I could force myself to ditch my habit of Internet surfing every time I get stuck (approximately every five minutes), I would add an additional two hours of productive time to each day.

Afternoons are for kids' activities and homework.  This semester I also teach three mornings of the week, as well as one evening.  Besides the scriptwriting, I have to squeeze in time for lesson planning and, of course, grading essays (for example, 40 this weekend).  Every other Sunday night I also remember in the nick of time (at least so far) that I have a blog post to write.    

Now, scriptwriting is by far the least onerous and time-consuming paid writing job I've had in a decade.  But it has been so long since I've made my own writing a regular practice, I am having a hard time finding my groove again.  While in theory I think it would be better to work for an hour every day, I seem to do much better with larger chunks less frequently.  I had a vacation week a few weeks ago and did pound out lots of pages.  That felt good.  But it's like exercise -- the feel-good result is only so motivating in comparison to the difficulty and discomfort of the undertaking.

A fellow scriptwriter told me that she spends four hours every week working in a quiet room with a friend who's studying.  I have noticed that I am much more productive when someone in the room can see how much I'm goofing off. :)  I do think Carmela's on to something with her writing buddy idea.  Now I just need to find mine! -- Jeanne Marie
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Don't forget to enter our Guest Teaching Author Book Giveaway to win an autographed copy of FORGET ME NOT by the fabulous Carolee Dean.
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This week's reading recommendations:
Patrick (grade K): anything Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
Kate (grade 2): The Bell Bandit by Jacqueline Davies
me: Capture the Flag by Kate Messner

Resolution Wrap-Up and Hurray for New Year at the Pier, Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner

I'm the last TeachingAuthor to announce my resolution for this New Year. (I hope you're not sick of the topic by now.) My fellow bloggers have already shared five wonderful resolutions, and many of our readers have contributed their own inspiring six-word goals. (If you haven't shared your resolution yet, be sure to read to the end of this post to see how you could qualify to win an extra-special prize!) I want to do just about everything that has been suggested: evict my inner heckler; have more fun; start the day with my stories; take time to read, rest, and relax, etc.

However, I already came up with my six-word resolution before reading all these terrific ideas.  Here it is:

"Match my activities to my priorities."

This resolution came from being frustrated with my own behavior. I've been working on two projects for a LONG time: a historical novel set in 18th-century Europe and a nonfiction biography of one of the women who inspired the novel. Despite the fact that I'd really like to finish these projects, I would often find myself spending my designated writing time checking email, surfing the Net, and reading my friends' Facebook posts. With the start of the New Year, I was ready for a change.  

I like this resolution because it's general enough to apply to my personal life as well as my career as a teacher and a writer. However, it is rather vague, which could make it hard to carry out (and measure). Lucky for me, an article in the January 3, 2010 issue of Parade magazine provided specific suggestions for how to turn vague resolutions into lasting changes. The article's number one tip:
Give yourself crystal-clear directions. 

So I translated my general resolution, "Match my activities to my priorites," into three steps:

1. Create a daily plan or to-do list
2. On that plan, block out the first two hours for writing/revising. (This means NO blogging, email, Internet surfing, or Facebook until AFTER I've put in my two hours.) 
3. Also use the plan to set aside specific, limited, times for email, Facebook, etc.

Well, one advantage to announcing my resolution almost halfway through the month is that I can report on my progress to date. So far, I've stuck with my first-two-hours-for-writing commitment. [That's why this post is up much later than my usual 7 a.m. publication time. :-) ] In fact, my dedicated writing time has stretched to close to three hours on several occasions. Hurray!

I wish I could say I've been as consistent with limiting my email/Facebook time. But I'm definitely doing better, and I hope to keep improving.

I'll share another suggestion from the Parade article in today's Writing Workout. If you'd like additional tips on how to turn your resolutions and goals into lasting changes, I encourage you to read "Make Changes That Last" by Chip and Dan Heath for yourself.

Before I present today's Writing Workout, I want to share some news that has all the TeachingAuthors jumping for joy. Yesterday, Kathleen M. Bloomfield announced the 2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winners on her blog forwordsbooks, and the winner of the 2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Younger Readers is New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story by our own April Halprin Wayland! Hurray for you, April! You really are "on fire"!

And hurray for you, our readers! If you posted a new or revised resolution here per the guidelines April announced on January 1, you have been entered for a chance to win your very own autographed copy of New Year at the Pier. If you haven't shared your six-word resolution yet, don't worry, there's still time. (U.S. residents only, please.). Don't forget:

1. Entries must be posted by 11 p.m. today, January 13, 2010 (Central Standard Time).
2. Provide your e-mail address or a link to your blog in your comment so we can contact you.

We initially said the winner will be announced by 11 p.m., Friday, January 15, 2010. However, tomorrow I'll be posting about a brand new contest especially for teachers and homeschoolers. I hope to be able to announce our New Year winner at the same time. So be sure to check back with us!

Finally, before I leave you with today's Writing Workout, I want to extend a special welcome to all the new readers who found us through the 2010 Kidlit Comment Challenge. We're pleased to have so many of you participate in our New Year contest and we hope you'll keep coming back. I also hope you enjoy our first Writing Workout of 2010. It's rather unusual, as it may require a bit of drawing instead of writing. Or, if you're like me and feel uncomfortable drawing, you can use your computer to copy and paste appropriate images.

Writing Workout: Create Your "Destination Postcard"

In "Make Changes That Last," Chip and Dan Heath recommend creating a “destination postcard” to help you stay focused on your goals. They describe a "destination postcard" as follows. It's a:

". . . vivid image from the near future to show you what’s possible. If your goal is to work out three days a week, find a picture of yourself from a year or two ago in which you look fantastic, and use it as your screensaver. Or hang up the dress or suit you’d love to wear if it weren’t so tight. Just keep the destination reasonable. You’ll be setting yourself up for frustration if you tape up a photo of an Olympic athlete or display jeans you last wore in college." 

I created two "destination postcards" for each of my two writing projects. One is a black and white representation of what the cover page of each manuscript will look like when it's complete. The second is a full-color simulation of the cover of each of the books after they're published.  I look at both postcards right before I sit down to work. The images remind me of my short-term and long-term goals.

For your Writing Workout, come up with your own "destination postcard" to represent your writing goal(s). If you're a teacher, have your students do the same. When you're done, be sure to report back here with a description of your "destination postcard."

Happy New Year, and happy writing!
Carmela

Wednesday Writing Workout: Befriending the Revision Monster

Today I'm happy to share a guest Wednesday Writing Workout from Illinois author Shirin Shamsi.

Shirin was born and raised in the UK to immigrant parents from Pakistan. She moved to the United States where she raised three wonderful human beings who are doing great things in the world.
Shirin always wanted to write stories in which her children would see themselves. Living on three different continents gave her a global perspective and she dreams of writing stories that inspire empathy. You can read more about her at her website and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Shirin's most recent book is the middle-grade novel Laila and the Sands of Time (Spork). Here's a brief summary:

Thirteen-year-old Laila, still grieving over her father's death, goes on their planned pilgrimage to Mecca with her aunt and uncle. While on pilgrimage, Laila is transported back in time to 7th-century Arabia. There she faces the dangers of the desert, takes on a disguise, and saves a baby's life. But will she ever return to her own time?


Here's Shirin's Wednesday Writing Workout.

Wednesday Writing Workout:
Befriending the Revision Monster
by Shirin Shamsi

I began writing Laila and the Sands of Time when my eldest daughter asked me to write a chapter book. At the time I considered myself a picture book author only.

The journey has been a long road. I learned much from it. I was a total "pantser" before and now try to be a plotter, so hopefully I am becoming a bit of both.

I feared revision before. In fact, I believe it was the fear of revision that made procrastination much more palatable to me. My fear of revision grew and grew until it became a monster.

Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

Let’s face it, if you love writing then revision is going to be your companion for the duration of your writing career. It has taken a lot of time, patience, and perseverance, but I now come to revision with the same excitement I bring to writing a rough draft. Revision and I are now best friends.
From the time I signed the contract for Laila and the Sands of Time to the moment when I held it in my hands, it took two whole years. During that time I went back and forth with my editor. Without my amazing editor, I feel my book would not have been as good. It was a learning process for me, being my first middle grade novel. I was impatient to see my story in print, but even when I thought my story was perfect, my editor made it shine. Our constant back and forth conversations and revision made my book the best it could be.

I feel so passionate about revision that I would like to share a few ideas here with you:

1. When you feel your story is complete, put it away. Let it rest.
2. When you read it again, ask yourself if every fact has been researched. For Laila, I had to research a lot about 7th-century Arabia. I feared getting the facts wrong.
3. Also ask yourself: Does everything make sense? Is every page interesting?
4. Each time you revise, approach your work with a new goal, such as word choice, tone, factual details, story arc, plot.
5. Go through each page to cut out the “widows” and “orphans” at the beginning and end of each page. It will make for a cleaner and tighter story.
6. Read your story as though someone else has written it. Does it still excite you? If your answer is “YES” then you are ready to share your story with the world.

Revision is a lengthy process. I think of it as excavation. We have to dig deep, cut through hard obstacles to get to our gem of a story.

Image by PaulaPaulsen from Pixabay

Good luck. Keep writing. Keep revising.
_____
Thank you, Shirin, for today's Wednesday Writing Workout. Readers, I hope you'll try her suggestions. If you do, please let us know how they work for you.

Posted by Carmela

3 Insights Into Improving Writing Productivity

Our current series is about beginning a new writing career or jump-starting a stalled one. Carla shared 5 things she wished she’d known when starting out as a writer and JoAnn talked about coping with a lull in her enthusiasm for writing. My post today focuses more on the latter, but I think it's also of value to beginning writers. Before I get to that, I'd like to share two bits of news:

• The revised edition of my middle-grade novel, Rosa, Sola, (originally published by Candlewick Press) is now available in both ebook and paperback, and includes a new "Discussion Questions" section for classroom use. I'm currently sponsoring a Goodreads giveaway, which I invite you to enter on this Goodreads page or via the widget below:  

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Rosa, Sola

by Carmela A. Martino

Giveaway ends October 05, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

• Also, for those of you who live in the Chicago area: it's not too late to register for my class on "Finding Your Writer's Voice," which begins Tuesday, September 13, at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. See my website for details. 

Now for today's post.

Like JoAnn, I’ve been stalled in my writing lately. The problem started back in April, when I was sidelined with a repetitive stress injury to my dominant hand. The injury has not only interfered with my ability to type and to write longhand, but it has also caused me to lose my enthusiasm for writing. Fortunately, though, I'm currently leading a small, private class on Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. The timing of the class is perfect, as it’s helping me examine my writing process and the causes of my current lack of productivity. Here are three insights I’ve been led to recently, via Cameron’s book and other reading I’ve been doing:

1. “In order to do something well we must first be willing to do it badly.”

These are Cameron’s words in The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (Tarcher Books), but they convey a concept I've found in other books on writing and creativity--think the “sh**tty first draft” in Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird (Pantheon Books). Elizabeth Gilbert also touches on the topic in her book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear (Riverhead Books) when she talks about the necessity of accepting imperfection if we want to lead creative lives.

I’ve always been a perfectionist, and now that I’m a published author and a writing teacher, part of me thinks that I should be able to produce a polished draft right off the bat, with little or no editing. And when I don’t do that, I feel like a failure. So I was shocked when, in Big Magic, Gilbert confesses to publishing a novel she’d written without revising a major flaw that her beta readers had pointed out. I listened to the audiobook, so I can’t quote Big Magic directly. But I did find an interview in The Guardian where Gilbert is quoted as saying:

“Perfection murders joy. You cut yourself out of the game before you even start. You cut yourself out of the game because you’ve decided it’s never going to be as good as your ideal.”

I also found the following image, which I’ve printed out and posted in my office as a reminder that I will always be a beginner. I’m hoping that trying to keep an open, “Beginner’s Mind,” will help me overcome my perfectionism.

found here with caption "Image Source: Facebook user Elizabeth Gilbert"

2. If I can’t “find” time for my writing, I need to “make” the time.

My students often complain about not having enough time to write, and lately I’ve been using the same excuse. Julia Cameron addressed this recently in a blog post:

"Most of us think, 'If only I had more time, then I would work.' We have a fantasy that there is such a thing as a 'good' creative time, an idyll of endless, seamless time unfolding invitingly for us to frolic in creatively. No such bolts of limitless time exist for most of us. Our days are chopped into segments, and if we are to be creative, we must learn to use the limited time we have."

That's how I worked on this blog post, in little segments of time stolen between physical therapy appointments, lesson planning, household chores, etc. If I can make time to blog, I can make time for my own creative writing, too.

When I explain this to my students, they often reply that they can’t just sit down to write. They need to feel “inspired.” But, as M. L’Engle says in Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art (Crosswicks):

“If the artist works only when he feels like it, he’s not apt to build up much of a body of work. Inspiration far more often comes during the work than before it, because the largest part of the job of the artist is to listen to the work, and to go where it tells him to go.”

3. My attitude has a profound effect on my productivity.

It’s not enough for me to “make time” for my writing. I need to bring the right attitude with me when I sit down to write. I’ve shared before about how research is showing that happy people tend to be more productive. But this is a lesson I need to constantly remind myself of.

In an excerpt from The Artist's Way posted on her blog, Julia Cameron says:

“Over any extended period of time, being an artist requires enthusiasm more than discipline. Enthusiasm is not an emotional state. It is a spiritual commitment, a loving surrender to our creative process, a loving recognition of all the creativity around us. 

Enthusiasm (from the Greek, 'filled with God') is an ongoing energy supply tapped into the flow of life itself. Enthusiasm is grounded in play, not work. Far from being a brain-numbed soldier, our artist is actually our child within, our inner playmate. As with all playmates, it is joy, not duty, that makes for a lasting bond.”

Hmm. There’s that word again: JOY.

For years I’ve been signing my posts here with “Happy writing!” I think I need a more expansive catch phrase. What do you think of this:

For more joy and inspiration, head over to this week's Poetry Friday round-up at The Poem Farm.

Carmela

An End and a Beginning, for Teachers and Writers

Here in the United States, the school year is drawing to a close. Around this time last year, we received an Ask the TeachingAuthors question about end-of-the-school-year writing activities. Unfortunately, we weren't able to address the question in time. To make up for that, we'll be providing a series of end-of-the-year Writing Workouts this week and next. If you're a teacher, you'll find the first below.

If you're a writer, this may be the time to look ahead and think about how summer will affect your writing schedule. Summer is a very productive time for some writers. Many of my adult students are teachers and librarians who look forward to summer vacation as a time to catch up on their writing.

Not for me. Maintaining my writing routine during the summer months is often a challenge. When my son was young, the challenge was not to let my writing interfere with his summer activities, and vice versa. Now that he's grown up, that's no longer an issue. But teaching has become one of my summer activities. I teach several week-long writing camps for young writers, along with adult classes. I love teaching, and I'm always revising and fine-tuning my camps to keep them fresh and fun for my young students. That takes creative energy, as well as time. I'm not complaining. It's just something I need to allow for when I set my summer writing goals. 

I'd love to know how other writers deal with this seasonal transition. Will the end of the school year affect your writing schedule? Does taking a vacation refresh you as a writer or do you feel you've lost your momentum and have to start over? Do you have any tips on staying creative during the lazy, hazy days of summer?  Please share your ideas via our comments.

And don't forget: today is the last day to enter our giveaway drawing for an autographed copy of April Pulley Sayre's picture book Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! See JoAnn's last post for details.

Blogosphere buzz:

• How much can you read in 48 hours? Why not sign up for the MotherReader: Fifth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge and find out. It's a great way to kick off the summer reading season, and maybe even win a prize!  I'm hoping to participate for the first time this year myself.
• Want to read an authentic, compelling teen voice? Check out Steph Bowe's Hey! Teenager of the Year blog. Bowe is a sixteen-year-old whose debut novel, Girl Saves Boy, will be published in Australia and New Zealand this September and by Egmont USA in 2011. If you are a young author, or know someone who is, you'll be interested in her post  "Does Age Matter in Publishing?"  
• If you need help with issues related to social media, be sure to visit Greg Pincus' The Happy Accident blog. This week he blogged about "Three Ways to Help Protect Your Facebook Privacy."

Writing Workout
End-of-the-school-year activities

I found a helpful list of ten end-of-the-year story starters on the abcteach website. These all involve looking back on the past school year. But we can also invite students to write creatively about the future. Here are two writing ideas you can use for your students (or yourself):

1. Create a 5 x 7" postcard from your fantasy vacation destination. On one side, draw a picture of the fun activities you're enjoying on your vacation. On the other side, write a description of your amazing vacation. 
2. Write a letter to yourself that begins: Next fall, one thing that will be different is . . .  If this is for your students, you can have them bring in self-addressed stamped envelopes for their letters. Then be sure to place the letters in the mail on the first day of fall, which is September 22 this year. If the letter is for yourself, attach it to the September page of your calendar, and don't read it until then.

April and Jeanne Marie will share additional end-of-year Writing Workouts in their upcoming posts. If you have an activity that works well with your student, please share it by posting a comment below.

Happy Writing!
Carmela