Beating Time

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It’s so tricky to squeeze in enough time for it all, isn’t it? Seems like there aren’t enough hours in the day! I try to carve out about an hour a day for pure writing, and at least an hour on one weekday and on weekends for other miscellaneous writing things like blogs, queries, etc. It’s not a perfect system but works pretty well for me.

How about you? How do you manage your time?

How Often Do You Write?


How Much Do You Write in a Typical Day?


I’m between "At least a little everyday" and "Multiple times a week," and I usually get to 500-1000 words. No matter where we fall though, the best we can do is try to move even the teeniest bit closer to the dream each day. That's all any of us can ask.
 

Top Instrumental Inspirations

There are so many wonderful songs, across so many styles and genres that can spark inspiration. The coolest part is that the same song can hit each of us in different ways, or we seek inspiration for the same writing mood from entirely different types of music.

Today, though, I want to highlight my favorite instrumentals. Songs that move me, heighten my emotions and leave me inspired without saying a single word.

Honorable mention: Love Actually Prime Minister’s Theme
I don’t think I could ever write to this one because it is always and forever associated with Love Actually in my mind, but it sure brings a smile to my face!



5. Boondock Saints Theme
Love this one for fast-paced scenes, where I’m trying to capture coordinated actions and close camaraderie on the battlefield.



4. Prince of Egypt: The Burning Bush
As close to the music of Heaven as you can get with mortal instruments. I've never heard wonder captured more beautifully in a song.



3. Lord of the Rings: The Breaking of the Fellowship
This has a “take me a away” quality that makes me think of starting on a grand adventure. Even though it conveys high stakes, it also makes me think of friendship. And I always envision running over green hills.



2. Requiem for a Dream
If I’m on a tight writing deadline, and I need to get in the mindset for a battle scene ASAP, this is my go to music. Awesome! (And, yes, the video is LOTR...again. But how can you not love it?!)



1. Last of the Mohicans: Promentory
The subtle building tension in this song cannot be outdone. Last of the Mohicans has been my failsafe writing soundtrack for years, and this song is simply incredible. It plays so well for so many different emotions, and for those moments where your characters are getting oh-so-close (to what they want, to each other) but they just can’t seem to touch. Also, for battle scenes, right in that moment when the good guy and bad guy first face each other across the field.




Hot Stuff!

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So, it’s been hot lately. Like really hot. Especially in my apartment…where I’m on my laptop basically every waking moment I’m not at work. And, you know, heat is not a laptop’s friend. I was dutifully checking blogs the other day when…

Me: Ah, lovely blog friends. What have you been up to this week? A new book deal, a cover reveal, a launch party! Huzzahs all around!

*Happens to touch the side of the laptop as fingers fly across keyboard in a fit of glee*

Me: Hmm…that’s a little warm. I actually think my finger just burned on the metal. Um, yikes. We need to fix this pronto!

*Looks around. Spots window fan humming away in mid-summer bliss.*

Me: Of course! The perfect solution.

*Stands in front of window fan holding the laptop like a crazy person while still trying to read and type.*

*Tests laptop heat level*

Me: Back to normal! My suuuuper-genius plan worked. Resume blogging and…..Action!

*Two minutes of frantic blog hopping later*

Me: *sniffing* Wait. Is something burning? …is that…oh crap, it better not be my laptop.

*Lunges for window fan again. Stands there for 10 minutes, effectively frightening a poor woman out walking her dogs who happened to look up and wonder why this strange person was standing in the window hunched over some weird object that was blaring music and typing like a one-handed fiend.*


Luckily, all is well in laptop land, but the window fan is not my first-ahem- creative solution. I used to freeze a damp hand towel and place it under my laptop’s cooling pad for a double-cool effect. And, yes, I do have one of those laptop pads with the built-in fan that is supposed to help keep it cool. I just use it waaay too often.

How about you? Have you ever had a feverish laptop? Any tricks to helping it beat the heat?

What Kind of Fan are You?

Have you guys seen this? It’s been deemed the “totally awesome epic universal fandom” quiz and is supposed to give you your fan match for just about every book, movie or TV show in fantasy.

I, of course, had to test it!


That Klingon answer has me slightly worried. :)

Try it for yourself here.

More fun questions...


A few weeks ago, Georgina over at Diary of a Writer in Progress gave me a blog award shout out, plus some questions to answer. Here we go!

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Wisconsin

IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Bright or teal blue

LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Tangled

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
A Memory of Light, Robert Jordan

THE POWER GOES OUT.  IT WILL BE OUT FOR SEVERAL HOURS. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOURSELF?
Read…and possibly write. Dark nights are great for inspiration, and I always have a flashlight, lantern or candle at hand.

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Get Your Shine On, by Florida Georgia Line

GREATEST STRUGGLE AS A WRITER?
Learning what NOT to put on the page. And finding time...yeah, that one!

WHAT IS THE ONE BOOK YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD READ?
If you’re holding me strictly to one book (vs. a series), it’d be The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye. If I’m allowed a series it’s, of course, Wheel of Time.

IF YOU COULD BE ONE OF THE GREEK GODS WHO WOULD YOU BE AND WHY?
Ooh, fun question. Probably Artemis or Athena.

WEIRDEST THING YOU'VE EVER BEEN TOLD BY A FORTUNE COOKIE?
 Um…I don’t remember. I’m usually too busy enjoying their tasty goodness.

SEVEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:
  1. I’ve done a mile-long ocean swim
  2. Tornadoes freak me out
  3. So does walking into a pitch dark woods at dawn, but I do it anyway
  4. My eyes water when I hear or see anything eerie. It is different than crying, and my friends make fun of me for it all the time. They’re always trying to get them to water.
  5. I am a die-hard Bon Jovi fan. When I was little, I sang on my kitchen table with an air guitar made from a kiddie broom.
  6. I interviewed Christina Schwarz (Author of Drowning Ruth) when I was in high school. She’s from my hometown and a fellow alum from a few years back. It was so great to talk with her! She’s very down to earth – I remember her asking me, “Where do you keep your WIPs? All of us writers have a special place for them, don’t we?” So true! And I loved that she asked about it.
  7. I love honey!

Instincts

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Instincts. Animals have ‘em, uber-incredible paratrooper ninjas have ‘em…and writers have ‘em.

It’s something we all develop over time, and they become essential in crafting your unique voice and characters. The subtle nudge that tells you to use this plot twist instead of that one, the savviness to know when to let your MC take off and do her own thing versus when to rein him in.

Even if we’re lucky enough to have a few born-with-it author instincts, none of us are experts in all areas. The trick is to keep building them and, more often than not, the best way to do that is to READ.

Pay Attention: When you’re reading, make notes of places where you admire what the author did. Then, go back and figure out why you liked it and how the author set it up. Study those same writing techniques until you’re confident enough to put your own twist on them.

Narrow Your Focus: Pick the two or three areas where you really want to improve over the next few months—dialogue, pace, writing believable characters? Now, go find authors who are at the top of their game in those categories. Read A LOT. If you’re focused on pacing, for example, pick one fast-paced and one slow-paced book and read them in parallel. You will quickly see the different approaches each author employs. Write down those differences, and it becomes your guide for tightening your own pace.

Do a Subtlety Exercise: Go find your favorite scene in your favorite book. Re-read it, put it away and write down these things:
  1. A description of what happens and why it’s important to the story
  2. How you felt after reading it
  3. What makes you love it so much

Using what you just wrote down, go back through the scene and see how much (or how little) of that is included word-for-word by the author. If you like the scene because the characters are just so madly in love and worried about each other, does the author actually say that? Or is their emotion shown through something else entirely, like a tense argument about which one of them must go into danger?

You might have liked it for the “romance,” but what you actually read is an argument. The key is that a powerful writer can imply emotion without ever scripting it directly. You’ll be amazed how much authors leave off the page, allowing readers to fill it in on their own.

One of the hardest and best lessons in writing is learning what NOT to put on the page. If you can hone your instincts here, it usually means lower word counts and seat-riveting scenes where every word is packed with power and meaning.


Over time, you’ll develop a gut sense of the best approach and learn to trust YOUR instincts.

Wicked & WIP Polls



Wicked is back in Milwaukee!! And, in honor, I thought I’d throw out one of my favorite quotes as it always reminds me a bit of writing.

Getting your dreams, it’s strange but it seems a little, well…complicated.
There’s a kind of a sort of a…cost


(Long hours spent typing, editing, banging your head against a keyboard)

There’s a couple things get…lost

(Sleep, sanity)

There are bridges you cross you didn’t know you’d cross until you crossed

(I wrote a query! I pitched an agent in person!)

But then you reach the end, and you really and truly “Couldn’t be happier!”

If you've seen Wicked, what's your favorite part? If you haven't, do you want to?

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