Early Mornings From My Window

Spring and summer are my favorites.
Sunshiny  days.
Early mornings on my patio.
A cup of coffee,
my journal,
and a smooth writing pen
completes my morning ritual.

By Gwendolyn Hooks

Wednesday Writing Workout: Pick a Tip, Any Tip

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Howdy, Campers, and welcome to another TeachingAuthors' Wednesday Writing Workout!

Today's WWW is based on last Friday's post, offering writing tips via under-one-minute videos.

Well, how 'bout it--are you dressed in your spiffy new 2016 workout clothes, ready to go?

from morguefile.com

Then let's get going!

 

LESS-THAN-ONE-MINUTE Video Writing tips 

from UCLA Extension's Writers' Program Instructors

Look--we know all these tips, we've heard most of them before...but personally, I need to hear ideas over and over and over—and, more importantly, I need to try them over and over and over--before they stick.

My assignment to you: watch these videos for no more than ten minutes (they're addictive), then sit down and write for ten minutes, using one of the tips which reinforced what you already knew but had forgotten to take down from the shelf and dust off.

from morguefile.com

If you're a teacher, watch them with your students and discuss which tips spark a desire to write the most.

And here's another idea. Mary Lee, from the blog, A Year of Reading, says she's thinking that her students could create their own under-a-minute writing tips. What a great idea, Mary Lee!

I especially like this 49-second tip by poet Rick Bursky in which he says "Poetry doesn't require narrative...so if you don't know what to do, what comes next, simply change the subject"

https://www.youtube.com/watchv=toc3UDtDICU&index=12&list=PLkKIvCE07OixfANAD9ZQWKFE9n2qIipDb

I also like the way instructor Wendy Oleson suggests pushing the way we explore the senses...using synesthesia. My favorite of her examples:  "The dormitory bathroom smelled like a Jackson Pollock"

https://www.youtube.com/watchv=F_vys1u9Huw&index=13&list=PLkKIvCE07OixfANAD9ZQWKFE9n2qIipDb

Now--off you go! Make that smelly dormitory sing!

posted with nose plugs by April Halprin Wayland with help from Monkey

Summer Writing - with Kids

While the official start of summer is still two weeks away, writers with kids newly freed from school may already be wondering if they'll ever write again. At least that's how I felt every June about this time. I was fortunate to stay home with our kids, and there were a couple of really frustrating summers early in my writing career (and boy, am I using that term loosely). I drove myself crazy trying to follow the old "write every day" advice. Why wouldn't my kids cooperate?!

But my dad had his own advice:  Enjoy your kids. They won't be little forever.

So I gave myself permission to take my own summer breaks. Play with the kids. Enjoy life. Store up memories. 

Back then, I was specializing in rejected picture book manuscripts. But I also submitted lots of poetry to kids' magazines, much of which was accepted (Thank you, Carus!). Oddly enough, I wrote MORE poems during those summers than at any other time ... usually after getting the kids to bed. We'd say our nighty-nights, then I'd spend an hour or so deciphering odd snippets of rhyme from the sticky notes I'd been slapping onto my desk throughout the day.

So if you're ankle deep in Legos and Play-Doh and soap bubbles and sidewalk chalk right now, relax and enjoy. But keep your eyes and ears and hearts open. And take notes.

If you're more determined than I was to keep your writing front and center through these summer days,  here are tips and advice from others who have found ways to make it work:

http://thinkingthroughourfingers.blogspot.com/2013/01/writing-with-children-afoot.html

http://fantasy-faction.com/2011/how-do-you-write-with-kids-in-the-house

http://booksbywomen.org/writing-with-children-by-clare-kirkpatrick/

http://thegracefuldoe.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/finding-time-to-write-3-tips-for-writing-with-kids/

In the end, you have to do whatever works for YOU. Good luck!

Jill Esbaum

P.S. Enter our Rafflecopter giveaway to win a copy of Joan Bransfield Graham's The Poem That Will Not End:  Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices.

P.P.S. Two books I've written are part of a new series from National Geographic especially for 3-6 year olds. Hitting shelves June 25th are Explore My World:  Penguins, and Explore My World:  Snow Leopards. Watch for them!  :)

My Writing Rituals

Confession time: I'm the one who suggested we do a series about writing rituals. So I've read my fellow TeachingAuthors' posts with great interest. I didn't know that JoAnn likes to start her day writing in longhand before turning on her computer. Or that Jill tries to exercise first thing, even before breakfast. (Now that's what I call discipline!) Or that Laura, our newest TeachingAuthor, works best when she writes in short, intense bursts. But I was especially surprised to learn that none of them practice what they consider to be true writing rituals.

I'm surprised for two reasons:
1) I've read so many articles about the quirky rituals practiced by writers, such as those mentioned in Debra Eve's article that inspired this series, that I assumed nearly all writers had some sort of ritual.
2) I have several rituals of my own.

There. I've said it. I may turn out to be the only TeachingAuthor with regular writing rituals. If that's the case, so be it. Since I'm the one who suggested the topic, I feel obligated to be honest. Even if it means confessing that my ritual includes prayer, something I don't typically talk about on this blog.

I still remember the first time I heard an author admit that prayer was part of her daily routine/ritual. It was at one of our Vermont College residencies, and someone asked a highly-acclaimed visiting author about her writing routine. I was floored when she told the crowded room that she started every day with prayer. I'd been doing the same for years, but I'd never dreamed of admitting it in public, or hearing a fellow writer admit it. I guess I'd been raised to believe prayer a private matter. Even now, I feel a bit uncomfortable discussing it here. Oh well.

My writing ritual, which has evolved over the years, currently goes something like this:

• I light a candle and say several short prayers, including one that my work will be a blessing on the world.
• I pull up the music files on my computer and play some classical music to drown out other sounds/conversations going on in the house.  
• I open my Daily Tracking Log file on my computer and record my start time.
• I set a timer for however long I want the current writing session to last.
• I write until the timer goes off.

courtesy of ferguweb at morgueFile

I recently added another step to this opening ritual after starting a 100-day, one hundred words a day (OHWAD) writing challenge. I read about OHWAD on a friend's Facebook page. The challenge is to write at least 100 words every day for 100 straight days--I'm currently on Day 36. If you miss a day, you have to start back at Day 1. So I've added a step to my writing ritual that includes looking at my previous day's ending word count in my Project Log and calculating my goal for today's writing session. (While my minimum is 100 words, my goal is often for 200-300 words/day, or more.) 

My closing ritual includes recording my ending word count in my Project Log, noting my end time in my Daily Tracking Log, and blowing out the candle, if I haven't already done so earlier. (Don't want my office to get smoky.) 

Interestingly, I don't close with a prayer. However, I might add one now after reading about this closing ritual in Eve's article:

"J.D. Moyer jots down ideas for the next day’s session and says a prayer of thanks (even though he’s an atheist)." 

If an atheist is willing to publicly admit that he prays as part of his writing ritual, I guess I have no reason to feel embarrassed. J
____________________

Addendum at 10:30 am Monday: I recently started reading Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction (Abrams), by Jeff Vandermeer and this morning I checked out his "Chapter 1 Extra" about Discipline on the book's companion website. Vandermeer advocates giving up writing rituals, what he calls "fetishes," because they may actual give you an excuse not to write. You can read what he says on this page.

Happy Writing!
Carmela

Writing Rituals--Or Not

Hi! I’ll introduce myself more in a future post, but I’m Laura Purdie Salas, a temporary Teaching Author. I’m so happy to be here!

Rituals. Hmmm…I was treadmilling the other night, listening to a lovely episode of NPR’s Backseat Book Club featuring Lucy Dahl, Roald’s daughter. Start at 3:40 for a fascinating glimpse into Roald’s writing setting and rituals. I wish I had such definite, comforting rituals. But I don’t.

I do have a few elements I return to, though: light, movement, and time.

Photo: Ikea

1) Light – Sometimes I light a little candle before writing. A flickering light sets my mind at rest, somehow. I have a lantern given to me by a dear writer friend that I love to write by. 

When I’m lazy but still want that flicker, I light my little febreze fake candle:>) Excuse me: Febreze Flameless Luminary.

And when I’m super-busy, I just write by a window, with the blinds slatted upward so I get glimpses of trees and sky, but not distracting cute bunnies in the yard.

2) Movement: When I’m frustrated with my writing, I move. Can’t think of the right word? I’ll pace around the kitchen/dining room circle, or go walk Capt. Jack (when it’s not 20 below zero), or even just stand up and do 30 squats.

Photo: DuBoix,
courtesy of Morguefile

3) Time: Deadline-setting is really my only consistent ritual. I learned to be a writer in tiny bursts while blocking out life stresses. I still write best in small, intense chunks. No matter what kind of project I'm working on, I start the same way. I look at the clock. I look at the project. Panic shoots through me at my day's to-do list. Then I breathe and set a timer. “Rough draft of this poem. 20 minutes. Go.” Even if I have 3 straight hours of writing time, I probably work on 3-5 different projects during that time, each with its own deadline.

So, there you have it. Three sort-of routines. It would probably be simpler if I just started with a mug of cinnamon tea every day or something:>)

--Laura Purdie Salas

Writing Rituals/Calling Up the Muse

I’m the second one to post on the topic of writing rituals. Like JoAnn, I really don’t have any. I do have a habit, which is to hit the treadmill first thing every day, then shower and eat breakfast before sitting down to write. But that's only because if I don't exercise first thing in the morning, I probably won't do it at all. The surest way to call up my muse remains putting my buns in the chair and beginning something. Anything.

Calling up the writing muse isn’t my problem. My problem is that I have trouble settling in to actually, you know, WRITE until I deal with all the writing-related stuff that comes with being an author – jotting thank you notes, replying to kids, adding an accounting entry, creating a blog post, responding to author visit requests, taking action on something that came in the mail, sending and answering important e-mails, keeping current on the few blogs I follow, etc. Once the decks are cleared, I tell myself, I’ll be free to create. But as I’ve learned over the years, those other things are never finished. Never. I'm not complaining; I enjoy the business (and busyness) of being an author.

Often, though, I get so caught up in putting out every. little. fire. that, before I realize it's happening, I've allowed them to hijack my entire day!

Confession:  I've been struggling with this lately. A lot.

Last weekend, though, I attended the SCBWI Midwinter Conference in New York, and hearing Jack Gantos talk about his strict writing routine gave me a needed jolt of fresh inspiration. (You can read about his talk here)

So now, taking a cue from my buddy (I wish) Jack, I’ve created a new schedule – and hung it near my computer – that compartmentalizes my day in a way I haven’t tried before. I’ll be putting out fires first thing in the morning and again late in the afternoon. But I have plenty of writing time in between. I need this to work, as I have three book deadlines marching ever nearer.

Discipline – my new middle name.

Wish me luck.

Jill Esbaum

Habits, Patterns, Rituals, Whatever Works

Today, I’m starting a new series of Teaching Author posts on a topic I hadn’t previously thought about much: writing rituals. An article by Debra Eve, “How to Create a Three-Phase Writing Ritual,” is our inspiration.

Eve begins by making the distinction between habits and rituals. Rituals include things like lighting a candle or saying a prayer—making a conscious effort to separate from everyday activities—in order to transition to a different reality to write before returning to normal life.

My pre-writing routine definitely falls into the habits category. First thing in the morning, I fetch a cup of coffee and sit at my desk. I try to write by hand for awhile before I turn on the computer. When I’m in the middle of a project, I plunge right in, scribbling on the draft I printed at the end of the previous day’s work. Between projects, if I’m not sure what to work on next, I write Morning Pages to try to discover where to focus my attention. Writing Morning Pages also helps when I'm stuck. Sometimes they are all I can do; sometimes they help me let go and move on to more productive work. Some days I also read or do a writing exercise.

I just submitted the monarch butterfly manuscript that’s been on my mind for more than four years and my top priority for several months. So I’m in that In-Between Phase right now. I’m writing Morning Pages, recycling old drafts, and catching up on mundane tasks. This clean-up process helps me let go and move on to the next exciting possibility. (I think I might have it! I started my preliminary research on my last trip to the library.)

That clean-up step doesn't qualify as a ritual, either—it's just what works for me. And that's what matters, right? But now that I've put some thought into writing rituals, I'll consider developing one. Who knows? It might be just what I need.

Stay tuned to find out what the other Teaching Authors have to say about habits, patterns, and rituals. We’d love to hear about yours!

JoAnn Early Macken

New Beginnings--Welcome Back, JoAnn Early Macken!

It's the start of a new school year here in the United States. Many students have been back to school for several weeks already, and almost all will have returned by the end of this week. Below, I share about a writing challenge some of you, our readers, may be interested in. But first, I want to announce our own new beginning here on the TeachingAuthors' blog. Jeanne Marie posted a few weeks ago that she's stepping away from blogging with us for awhile. We will miss her unique perspective as a working writer and teacher who is also the mother of young children. We hope that she'll be able to rejoin us again in the not-to-distant future. Meanwhile, we're happy to welcome back JoAnn Early Macken!

If you're a new reader here, you may not know that JoAnn was one of the founding TeachingAuthors. She is the author of the nonfiction book, Write a Poem Step by Step (Earlybird Press). Her most recent picture books are Baby Says, “Moo!” (Disney-Hyperion), Waiting Out the Storm (Candlewick Press), and Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move (Holiday House). JoAnn's poems have appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies, and she has also written more than 125 nonfiction books for young readers. If you'd like to know more about how JoAnn became a TeachingAuthor, check out this blog post. You can also read more about JoAnn on her website.

With JoAnn's return, we're modifying the posting schedule a bit. JoAnn will return to her former Friday posting spot, which will allow her to participate in Poetry Friday. And Jill will take over Jeanne Marie's Monday spot. We hope you enjoy our new rotation!

Now, for a "new beginning" opportunity for you, our readers: Today I discovered that award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson has shifted her annual Write Fifteen Minutes a Day (WFMAD) challenge from August to September. If you've slacked off in your writing over the summer, or you've been in a slump and you'd like some help getting back into a writing routine, I recommend you join the challenge. You can work on a project of your choosing, or write responses to one of two prompts Anderson provides each day. She also provides bits of inspiration each day. In today's post, Your Abundance of Time, she shares a link to an interesting article about why we allow the Internet to absorb so much of our valuable time.

But wait! Before you head off to write your fifteen minutes for today, be sure to enter for a chance to win a copy of Lisa Morlock's terrific rhyming picture book, Track that Scat! (Sleeping Bear Press).  

Happy Writing!
Carmela

Poetry Friday, Tea with Monkey, and Seasons...

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Howdy, Campers! Welcome to Poetry Friday at TeachingAuthors!

Please add your link to Mr. Linky below and then say a bit about your poetry post in our comments.
Thank you kindly.

Now, pull up a comfy chair and have a cuppa tea with me.

Monkey is having a cup of tea...

...and reading poetry.  Join him. 

We TeachingAuthors have been discussing our writing routines...or lack of them.  Carmela kicked it off, posting about being "writerly" even without a regular writing routine.   Mary Ann talks frankly about an untidy schedule while she's the caregiver of two family members (I can relate!); Jill wonders if routine can save the day (and shows us the quilt she made), and Jeanne Marie knows exactly what will fall by the wayside so that her writing gets done.  In between, both Jeanne Marie and Esther posted Wednesday Writing Workouts, a new TeachingAuthor feature.

For me, writing routines are seasonal--as in the seasons in one's life.  The routines I stick to in this season of my life (sans kid, with a husband who works many hours) are: 1) romp the dog twice a day, 2) exercise, and 3) write a poem a day.  I send my best friend Bruce Balan an original poem each day and he sends one of his back.  (Last night his poem informed me that as of December 26th I had written 1000 poems!)

I just finished working on a nine-month political campaign; it was wonderful having one purpose, one thing to strive for.  And when my husband was in the hospital in November, that, too, gave me a single purpose.  But right now, I am teaching, writing, critiquing, taking care of 92-year-old Uncle Davie.

Despite my routines, I'm in the hallway of unopened doors...
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BETWEEN
by April Halprin Wayland

In this hall of fear and doubt,
open a door and let me out.

Hear that eerie violin?
Unlock a door and bring me in!

Spirit, goddess, hear my prayer
any door will do, I swear!

What? A door at hallway's end
opens, through it sunlight bends?

I am running to escape
thank you for the door-sized gape!

Whoa! This place is way too squarish…
might I view a room less garish?
poem(c)April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

In which season of life are you?

What?  No more tea?  

No, Monkey, but luckily there's more Poetry below...
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I'm visiting as many of our wonderful kidlitosphere poets as I possibly can (starting right below these three lines), but please also check the Mr. Linky links far, far below AND the comments to see who's posted what...
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Renee Latulippe is the first one in with a catnap poem for two voices, reminding me of this form and encouraging, instructing and inspiring us to write more!
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Charles Ghigna--aka Father Goose--is in with Valentine Poems, teaching us how to write his four-line If You Were poems.  Charles also links to a comic book, and his book of love poems for adults!

Jama of Alphabet Soup jumps in celebrating Langston Hughes' 111th birthday (happy birthday, LH--let the rain kiss you ~) with poems (including, appropriately enough for Jama, Hughes' poem titled, "Dinner Guest: Me") and foodie tidbits, of course!
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Laura Shovan's post at Author Amok unveils the Academy of American Poets' 2013 postcard-themed National Poetry Month poster and shares a kitten-and-hot-pink-gloves poem based on a postcard--(I love her comment about Poetry Friday's icon: "Army green is so last year, but Poetry Friday is always in style.")
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Catherine Johnson's in with her poem, "Anne of Green Gables meets Lady Shalott"...I love her line,
"hair spilling over like seaweed"
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Laura Salas shares an elf poem translated from the Danish.  I wish I'd imagined this itty bitty man and his pockets packed with mice!  Laura also, as always, challenges us to write a 15 Words or Less poem, this one about her photo of a glass ceiling.
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Diane Mayr, of Random Noodling joins in with a link to an article by author Anita Diamant, about Richard Blanco's poem for the inauguration and how our poetry and our times have and have not changed (note this quote about poetry by Anita Diamant);  Diane also offers us two short videos of a Richard Blanco interview--what riches!
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Diane, in her other guise as Kurious Kitty, recently read an article on memorizing poetry, which reminded her of the poem she memorized long ago: Rudyard Kipling's "If".  I particularly love these lines: "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster/And treat those two impostors just the same"...
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Feeling a little lonely or the need to get away and BE alone?  Check out these snippets of poems on solitude at the Write Sisters' blog.
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And...oh, my goodness...I completely forgot about Groundhog's Day!  Luckily, Amy, aka Mrs. Merrill, reminds us with this Groundhog's Day Poem ~
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Violet Nesdoly's in with an original fog poem and photo...I love when she says fog finally "weakens under/distant globe/like consciousness/after a coma/colour seeps back/into earth-corpse..."
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Dash over to Robyn Hood Black's blog for the metaphor of doors and books and see her glorious collage of a book-door! 
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Tamera Will Wissinger, like Laura Shovan, loves the Academy of American Poet's poster for National Poetry Month and has an interesting interpretation of its design.
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Joy Acey teaches us how to write a Minute Poem, and then shares her own, "Moon Minute" (try writing your own Minute Poem--I did)...

...and Matt Forrest shares an original mud pies poem (yum!)

At Supratentorial (look up the definition--I did), Alice and her kids are reading and memorizing poems about colors from the classic, Hailstones and Halibut Bones. 
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At Fuse #8, Elizabeth Bird reviews Jack Prelutsky's Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems.  Jack once again smashes two words together to come up with new animals; illustrator Carin Berger's shadow box pictures are out of this world (stay for the 2:09 minute video tour of Carin's studio). 
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Tara, at a Teaching Life also writes about memorizing poems, sharing a 2:59 NPR story about "Poetry by Heart" in the U.K, a poem she memorized in fourth grade, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson himself saying his poem.
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Our dear Linda at TeacherDance helps us say good-bye to January with Wallace Stevens' "The Snow Man".
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Margaret, of Reflections on the Teche opens pages of the new edition of The Mysteries of Harris Burdick and the ensuing discussion triggers students' idiom poems.
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Fats Suela from Gathering Books shares one of the amazing reverso poems from Marilyn Singer's Cybil-award winning book, Mirror, Mirror.  Have you ever tried to write a reverso?  SO HARD!!! 
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Amy at The Poem Farm has written a wonderful poem about meeting someone who you feel so connected to it's as if you've known them for years.  And she has great news regarding Mr. J. Patrick Lewis and her soon-to-be-published book, FOREST HAS A SONG--woo-woo! 
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Greg Pincus of GottaBook is in, of course.  He's always concise and always clever...today he ties us in knots!
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And M.M. Socks (aka Alvaro Salinas Jr.) has the hiccups in his post's poem.
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Tabatha Yeatts on her perch at The Opposite of Indifference shares five short Richard Brautigan poems; some are mind-blowing...
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Mary Lee, at A Year of Reading, shares a wonderfully concise poem about getting into a writing rut or losing one's focus.
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Doraine Bennet, at Dori Reads shares an incredibly personal original poem about a stillborn child.  Sharing grief--or any difficult emotion--is an act of generosity.
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Katya at Write. Sketch. Repeat. shares Robert Service's "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" which she recites around the fire on camping trips.  I'd heard of it but never read it all the way through. Thanks, Katya!
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Bridget Magee at wee words for wee ones posts an original poem a day.  For Poetry Friday she writes about that song that will not stop singing in your head.  Yes, that one.
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Liz Steinglass, who also writes a poem a day, shares two original silly poems, "The Sparrow at the Store" and "The Secret of the Cat."
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Andromeda Jazmon Sibley, of wrung sponge, reviews Joyce Carol Thomas' new book, The Land of Milk and Honey. 
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Steve Peterson at inside the dog considers, in his original poem, the testing his 8 and 9-year old students are facing and isn't sure whether to accept it or not...
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Bright light in our poetry universe, Sylvia Vardell always has good news at Poetry for Children ...
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...while Sylvia teams with author/poet Janet Wong in their Poetry Friday Anthology blog--a poem a week is all they ask!
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Little Willow offers a poem from The Australian Girl ...
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...while Ed DeCaria at Think, Kid, Think! is calling all classrooms to pick words with which to torture the participating poets in March Madness.  (The application deadline for poets has passed.)
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Lorie Ann Grover gives us a brother and sister haiku.  Why not try writing your own?
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MsMac at Check it Out writes a tender poem about when to say good-bye to her old dog, inspired by a William Stafford poem.
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Janet Squires' posts at All About the Books are short and to the point.  Wish I had that skill!
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Kort's family at One Deep Drawer has good news: baby #3!  She posts (HOW CAN SHE POST?!?! SHE JUST HAD A BABY!!!) a poem by Christina Rossetti and photos of her three chicks...congrats, Kort!

 

Can routine save the day?

Today I'm supposed to write about how sticking to a writing routine can save the day. Or not. That ties in perfectly to my January 4th post, in which I vowed to set a writing schedule for myself in an effort to find my way back into a middle grade novel project. I'd like to shout, "Yes! A schedule was exactly what I needed! I'm well into Chapter 5! Hallelujah!" That would be inspirational, wouldn't it? It would also be untrue.

For the first time in my writing life (16 years), I entered a new year feeling overwhelmed by the number of projects awaiting my attention. Hmm. Could I work on the novel for two hours per day, fitting other writing in around it? No. Turns out that, like Mary Ann, scheduled writing time makes me itchy. Plus, I'm much happier and more productive when focusing on one project at a time.

For a few weeks there, I just avoided my office. That led to many late-night struggles with monkey mind - our pastor's apt description for when you can't sleep because your thoughts keep jumping from one problem to another. Especially worrisome were three picture book projects editors were waiting for (no rush, but still). Throw in the same real life chores/business/family stuff we all deal with and you have enough stress to set anybody's teeth to grinding.

What finally worked to get me back on track was my old friend, list making. Prioritizing. And, hold the phone...what was that hovering down there at #6? Yep, the novel. So I've put it aside and begun chipping away at those projects higher on the list. And I've seen actual results.
                    1) A nonfiction picture book proposal is almost ready to go out the door.
                    2) A fiction pb has been tweaked per an editor's suggestions.
                    3) My messy pile of writing-related receipts stuffed into a drawer and ignored through most of 2012, otherwise known as "important stuff my husband's  going to ask for any minute while he gets tax info together," is now collated and  duly recorded and in perfect order. (He may faint.)

And I'm feeling much, much better about the situation. As are my jaws.

Routine has saved the day, at least in part. I spend most mornings in my office, chipping away at that list. For me, though, balance is imperative. So I opened another creative outlet. Months ago, I picked out fabric* for a quilt I wanted to make. I finally sketched a design, calculated the pieces I'd need, and got to work. Piecing a quilt, unlike writing, lets me see results quickly. I think - no, I know - that those afternoons in my basement sewing studio have been therapeutic.

                                                       *the centers of the squares look black in this pic, but they are 
                                                         actually a dark coffee brown.

And, #6? Don't worry, I see you down there. Hang tight. I'm on my way.

Jill Esbaum

Who, Me? Schedule?

     My good friend Carmela wrote such a lovely post on the subject of writing routine last Friday that there really isn't much left for me to say.

     Like Carmela, I am the caregiver for two family members. I know any number of writers who tote their laptops to bedsides and waiting rooms and are perfectly productive.  I am not one of those people. I am unable to isolate myself emotionally from the situation. I cannot write while I am worrying about finances and medication and contingency plans, should I not be available.

     In his autobiography, Rewrites, playwright Neil Simon writes for months and months with his wife dying of cancer in the next room. Simon describes his ability to enter another world peopled only with characters of his own invention, a world where no one was dying of cancer. I wish Mr. Simon could tell me how he so neatly compartmentalized his life.  It would be a valuable skill. But alas, he does not.I have been able to "write through" short term illnesses and crisis before. However, my situation for the past year has been one of ongoing issues and worries with no end in sight.

     Upshot...I am too emotionally wrung out to write with any depth. I can edit, teach, research, even write blogs (although not as well as I would like to.) Trying to create something new takes heart and soul that I do not have on hand at the moment.

    OK, back to the subject of routine/schedule, etc. Even when I am firing on all cylinders, the word "schedule" makes my skin crawl. I was raised in a home where every day of the week had a particular function (Wash Day, Baking Day, Shopping Day, Yard Work Day) and every hour was accounted for before the day began.  Whether I was wired differently from my parents or just a rebellious kid, I did not take well to all that regimentation. I grew up to be a person who wrote term papers in two days (hey, anybody can write a good paper if you have a whole semester!) and mailed my tax returns at 11:59 p.m. April 15th.

    I am a militant night owl. Left to my won devices, I would happily work graveyard shift. I loved being a school librarian, except that I had to be at school by 7;30, after a 40 mile drive.  Add becoming a mother to my disorderly life, and one of two things happen. You either stop writing, or you write when you can.

    I write when I can. Until this past year, I was pretty proud of my ability to write in ten minute chunks, wherever I happened to be. In the carpool line at school.  On commuter trains. During boring sermons. Wherever. A good chunk of my day was spent at the skating rink, as my figure-skating daughter skated upwards of 20 hours a week.

    I know there are writers who manage to carve out consecutive BIC hours (Butt in Chair) to stare at a blank computer screen, waiting for the Muse to arrive. I envy you. Even when my life unknots itself  and I regain my full creative energy again (someday), I don't anticipate tidy "office hours" or outlines or schedules.

    That's just the way I roll.

    Don't forget to sign up for our latest giveaway, a copy of Brenda Ferber's The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever. Check Esther's last post for details.

    Posted by Mary Ann Rodman

 

Being "Writerly" Even Without a Regular Writing Routine

Happy Poetry Friday! To celebrate my inaugural post in this, my new Friday slot, I've included a poem at the end of today's blog post. You'll find a link to today's Poetry Friday round-up there, too.

First, though, I need to talk about our next TeachingAuthors topic. Jill, Jeanne Marie, and April started the year by discussing ways to "get back into the writing groove" after being away from it for awhile. As a follow-up, today I was supposed to talk about the pros and cons of having a writing routine.  By "Writing Routine," I mean a specific, preplanned time set aside for writing and/or writing-related tasks, such as research.

 

I figured this topic would be a no-brainer for me. I thrive on having a regular routine. Last fall, I blogged about my "typical" writing day: how I try to get up around 6-6:30 in the morning and start working as soon after breakfast as possible, without checking email or Facebook. And how, since I have a hard time resisting email, I set a timer and don't allow myself to look at email until I've put in 2-4 hours of work. [By the way, my favorite timer is online, at the Mindfulness Bell site.  You can use the site to set a chime that sounds periodically, for example, every 15 minutes (perhaps to remind yourself to blink while staring at the screen), or you can set the chime for a specific time by using the "reminder" option at the bottom of the page.]

As luck would have it, though, I'm currently unable to follow my normal writing routine. Instead, I'm helping my husband care for his 87-year-old father, who is staying with us while he recovers from pneumonia. I'm still setting timers, but now they're to remind me to give Dad one of his meds, or to wake him from a nap so he can get ready for his therapy appointment. I love my father-in-law dearly, and I'm happy to be able to help him this way. Now that he's starting to feel better, I'm hoping to get back into some sort of writing routine again soon. Meanwhile, I've been stealing moments to catch up on some reading, and to participate in the Annual Blog Comment Challenge. The challenge is a great way to discover new blogs, and it's not too late to sign up, if you're interested. 

I'm also beginning to realize that poems are something I can write in small snatches of time. Actually, I was inspired by something Dad said the other day to scribble a few lines. Thanks to April's brave example of sharing her poems-in-progress, I'm sharing the following poem with all of you even though it's far from polished. I hope you'll be as kind to me in your comments as you've been to April. :-)

Before sharing my poem, I want to remind you to read Esther's Student Success Story interview with Brenda Ferber. You're sure to be inspired by Brenda's persistence, despite 70 rejections!, to finally sell her wonderful picture book, The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever (Dial). And be sure to enter for a chance to win your own autographed copy.

Okay, I won't put it off any longer. Here's my poem. As I mentioned, it was inspired by my father-in-law, who has been a widower for a little over a year. I had noticed he often stared off into space, and I feared he was beginning to lose his faculties. Then, out of the blue, he explained that he sometimes missed out on parts of the conversation because he was actually deep in reverie.

          Daydream Rememberings

          Sometimes,
          I miss what you say
          because I'm daydreaming,
          remembering happy times
          with Ramona.
          Our long bike rides,
          camping trips all over the country,
          ballroom dancing in matching outfits.

          Fifty-seven years of memories.
          I miss my wife.

poem ©2013 Carmela Martino. All rights reserved

For more poems, check out the Poetry Friday Roundup at Violet Nesdoly/poems.

Got to go now. My chime just went off. Time to get Dad up from his nap. Maybe Mary Ann will talk about the pros/cons of writing routines when she posts on Monday. :-) Meanwhile, you can find some tips on developing your own routine in this post at poetryNprogress.

Happy Writing!
Carmela

Inertia? Shoo!

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Howdy, Campers!  Welcome...or welcome back to TeachingAuthors' cozy winter cabin!

"All things are possible until they are proved impossible--

and even the impossible may only be so, as of now." ~ Pearl Buck

First order of business...the winner of TeachingAuthors' first book giveaway of 2013 (see Carmela's January 2nd post) is Pam Courtney, who follows our blog via email.  She's won Luke Reynold's book, Keep Calm and Query On. Congratulations, Pam!

We TeachingAuthors have been talking about how to get back to writing after a break.

Jill's found it liberating to give herself the holidays off from writing...and then to stop fretting, schedule writing time and give herself permission to write dog doo (I'm paraphrasing here). Jeanne Marie  has found it useful to take a nap before leaping into her most productive writing hours of the day.

For me, there is something sneaky-guilty and oddly energizing about avoiding writing by, say, running a political campaign, taking care of my aging uncle or preparing for a class. I can defend the barricades in the name of the French Revolution if I'm thereby avoiding working on my picture book manuscript.

After the Revolution...or, less excitingly, after driving 92-year-old Uncle Davie to the doctor, my inertia sets in.

  Eli has graciously offered to demonstrate inertia for you:

I asked two friends in two different professions, how do you get back to work after the holidays?

They both blurted out "FlyLady!"  In this post, Fly Lady suggests setting a timer for 15 minutes and doing 15 minutes of WHATEVER (clear clutter, take out the trash, or...hmmm...here's an idea: write).  

It's like breaking through the fear of writing by keeping a One-Minute Journal; I can do anything for one minute.

Another way I make writing a top priority is being accountable to a Writing Buddy.  Oh, and getting off the internet.  :-)

So, go on...get off the internet. Set a timer. Pick out a half-completed story or start a new one.  Start 2013 feeling that all things are possible.

And last but not least, thanks to Renee at No Water River for hosting Poetry Friday today!

Uh...Eli wanted to show you another position for inertia, for extra credit:

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

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

My Writing Life

This post is in response to reader Tara, who wanted to know more about the writing life.

Before I was a writer, here's how I pictured the job:  A wild-haired writer sits at a desk, typing madly, interrupted every now and again with a call from her agent, who wants to know how her book is coming along or report sales figures or discuss her upcoming book tour. Sometimes she removes her glasses and taps them against her teeth while gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling. She stands to stretch and yawn, looks out the window, maybe goes for a fresh cup of coffee or a contemplative walk before settling in for another few hours.

Confession:  I still think this is what life is like for blockbuster authors. Alas, I am not one of them (knock wood and never say never).

My writing life, by contrast, is very sporadic. I might write three to five hours one day, then not at all for two or three days. Or more. For years I felt guilty about that non-schedule. After all, a Real Writer would follow Steven King's advice (in his On Writing), which was basically:  1) have a writing space with a door you can close, 2) set daily writing goals, 3) don't come out until you've met them. I do have novelist friends who pretty much stick to this model.

But I've made peace with my own jackrabbit writing style because of two things:

1) I wholeheartedly believe that every bit of our lives away form writing – every book we read, every person we speak with, every place we visit, every hobby we enjoy – soaks into our beings and feeds our writing in ways big and small. Maybe some of us have wells that go dry faster than others? *shrug* So what might I be doing when I'm not writing? Lately, there's quilting, a hobby I'm just getting back into after years away. My latest project, a wall hanging:

I might be running errands. Seeing a relative. Dining out with friends. Reading. Traveling. Baking. Taking a class (right now:  Basic Drawing - loving it!). Participating in a church function. Watching a video or catching up on Facebook. Writing for this blog. Enjoying a writing retreat. Sitting in a board meeting. Answering e-mail. Visiting a school. Teaching a workshop. Walking the dog.

2) I am primarily a picture book writer. Writing picture books is very much a process, and parts of that process work best if you take mental breaks. Every story needs a cooling off period, followed by a lot of revision. A lot. So the fact that I'm not in my office 24/7 doesn't mean my mind isn't still grappling with whatever story problem has me stumped. Some (most!) of my best ideas and aha moments come to me when I'm away from my computer.

All that said, I have had a totally different routine lately, thanks to a couple of short-deadlined projects. Here's the first, due out in mid-November from National Geographic:

I'm working on a companion book now, which means I'm researching or writing or exchanging e-mails with editors pretty much all day, every day. Truthfully I've felt more like a Real Writer, working on these books, than I have for a long time. I'm loving that.

Does that mean I'll be changing my usual writing style when I go back to working on my own projects?  Um...probably not. At least not for picture book writing.

But I do have a novel in my head, so when I tackle that after the holidays, I'll be following Steven King's advice for as long as it takes to pound out that first draft:

1) Close the door.

2) Set a daily goal.

3) Write my brains out to meet it.

Look into my office. I'll be the one tapping my glasses against my teeth, gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling.

Jill Esbaum

Reminder:  If you haven't yet entered to win a copy of Lisa Cron's Wired for Story, there's still time! Missed Esther's two-thumbs-up review? Just scroll down of follow this link to Esther's post.