Hey guys, please leave your comments and choice of which point of view you think is better here. I’d like to know your opinion of which I should be writing in. If you haven’t read it before, please go here to read both of the quick scenes and cast your vote.
Tags: Dual Melodies, Musing About the Words, Writing
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It’s been a bit of a long week for me. I went from writing for myself in my spare time and not worrying about much to having four full projects that I’m behind on and getting both acclaims and declaims at my day job. It’s a good sort of busy in my opinion. The only thing stopping me from writing to my heart’s content is my hand. My tendinitis is acting up, almost as violently bad as it was the first time it started hurting. I lost one weekend having to let it literally do nothing. Now however, I feel like I need to start writing again. Fortunately about a year and a half ago I bought Dragon NaturallySpeaking. This software allows you to go from talk to text and I can literally say that it’s been a lifesaver.
I must admit that I was very slow to start off using it. It does take a lot of getting used to and even now I don’t really have the same satisfying feeling of cracking keys under my fingers. However, I have been working on it and it’s a lot more natural now than it was when I first started. Using it still isn’t usually my first thought, but it is coming more frequently and easily. The really nice thing is that it understands almost everything I say, from character names to social media words like twitter. This means that I can use it for pretty much everything and just let my hand rest. And trust me I wish I could use it at my day job. If I could do that I could probably get my hands completely cured. As an update for all of you, I am going to be going to a doctor about it later this week so that I can see if there’s anything more I can do to start the healing process and actually have it stick.
As a final update, I wanted to let you all know that I have been saying the words, “I am a Great Writer” and that it has been getting easier. My husband insists that when I say around him I also have to include that I’m a great chef, a great wife, a great GM(Game Master) and other things that he thinks I don’t give myself enough credit for. Having done this for a few days now but I can see the value of it. Just as you need a writing space that suits you and that will make it better for you to write (remembering that it’s just as much about your of mindset as it is about your physical space) you need your mind to work with you instead of making it more difficult to do the simplest things. While I’m certain that there is a moral lesson in there about the value of positive thinking I’m just happy it’s working and that now I can finally get back to writing.
Are you working on your writing still? What completions or setbacks have you experienced? And what mindset you have to be in or rituals do you have to do to get you into writing? As always leave a comment at the bottom! I love hearing how all of you deal with the craft and occasional setbacks of writing.
Tags: Blog, Dragon Naturally Speaking, motivation, Nanowrimo, Novels, Tendinitis, wrist pain, Writing
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I have a confession for all of my readers out there. I am afraid of quite a few things… and I think one of them might be writing. Or more precisely, I’m not afraid of writing; I’m afraid of being a writer. The idea that I can do this has been a dream of mine, and one that I’ve been trying to attain.
I write, almost every day and I study the craft of writing. I have written one full novel, wrote a second one, which I didn’t finish (I realized it was broken) and now I’m about 65% done the first draft of my third novel. I have to admit, each work has been heads and tails above what came before it. I am improving quite a bit each year. I’m hoping that I’ll have the book I’m currently working on finished in time to take to this year’s SiWC with me. I have defeated my inner editor and gotten him to work with me (I write, he edits as we go, which means I do delete a lot of words, but he only gets a few moments to make corrections. Once I’m past that line, I’m not going back until the editing phase begins). I am well on my way to being able to say that I am a professional author, someone who writes for a living.
Yet somewhere in the back of my mind, hiding further than my inner editor and past even that part of me that loves a good supernatural romance, something sinister is hiding. I suppose it could be the sacrificed soul of the inner editor or perhaps it is a completely separate part of my personality. Regardless of what it is I know what it does. It makes me think that I can’t do this. It makes me look at the paragraph above and want to rip those accomplishments to shreds.
‘Yes, you wrote one book,’ it says, ‘but it was hideous and didn’t even have a villain or a plot.’ ‘You never finished that second book, so it doesn’t count at all’, it reminds me. ‘You don’t write everyday… You can’t even blog correctly and that’s only on a twice a week schedule.’ It continues and finishes with, ‘Your hands always hurt, you’re always playing stupid games on your computer, wasting time and pissing around on the internet. Come on, you know it, even if you don’t want to admit it.’
Then I was listening to the Storywonk podcast and it said something that took my breath away in terror. “You need to say it out loud every day,” Lani Diane Rich implored, “I am a Great Writer.” I tried to think the words and though I agreed with them, the words caught in my mind. “Say them out loud, even if there are people around you.” she continued. I looked around. I was alone in a stairwell. I attempted to say the words out loud and they got caught in my throat.
I told my husband about this and he laughed, at me I’m annoyed to say. “I’m a bad writer” he told me, “You are a great writer, if you could just accept the fact that you’re allowed to be good at something.”
It fit, though as they say the truth hurts. Also, I think it may not be writing that I’m afraid of, but I may be afraid that success will be forever beyond my grasp. Somehow hearing it from my husband helped to remind me that bravery (or is it stupidity) is my middle name. That means that even if I’m afraid I go on. I will say those words and I will say them every day if I must to convince that voice that I am a great writer.
And while I finish my book, and begin editing and working on writing the new book, I’m going to remind myself, that what sells more than anything else, is good writing. And I am a Great Writer.
Tags: Blog, fear, I am a great writer, motivation, SIWC, storywonk, Surrey International Writers Conference, Tendinitis, wrist pain, Writing
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Today, I have to apologize for no update earlier this week. I was trying to get my lair finished in time so that I could show you all pictures of it. Fortunately, even though I got very busy, I was able to finish it yesterday, just before I had to leave for a bit of gaming. So, here is my lair, so that you can know how I write best.
Here is the overarching view of my room.
It’s a bit light for a lair, but above all, it’s my lair… and trust me, when it’s dark, it gets really dark.
Here is my largest bookshelf and altar.
Here is my plant and smaller bookshelf.
And now for the final perfect shot, my actual writing chair, my side table for mousing and my actual new side table for holding my computer and of course, my assistant, Minkers(He keeps my toes warm when I’m writing).
Since, I’ve gotten this changed around, I’ve noticed that I am in my room more often, in front of my computer, writing. It is all based on my motivation and my motivation is much higher when I don’t feel like I’m in an office forcing myself to work. So, what do you guys think of it?
Tags: Blog, Writing
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I have been finding a lot of awesome new podcasts recently, and I thought I’d fill you in what I’m listening to.
This is a podcast by Nimlas, a self-proclaimed geek. For years she was known as the podcast ninja since she appeared on other peoples podcasts but never had her own. She talks about what is awesome during the month (and this woman has good taste for what’s awesome), has “nutty debates” where she and a few of her friends discuss the pros and cons of the hard questions (like “most useless character in Sci Fi” and “Startrek cast member that you would want to serve under”). I’ve been listening to her show eagerly for the last few months and if I have any complaints, its that she only puts out one show a month. Definitely one to add to your listening list.
This is a Podio Book, with full cast, told about a world in which Zombie Outbreaks are common, the government doesn’t mind taking away your rights to better “protect” you and a vampire just may be your boss. Fetidus itself is an acronym, standing for “The Foundation for the Ethical Treatment of the Innocently Damned, Undead and Supernatural”. As silly a premise as this sounds, the novel is told in a Noir/Dick Tracey type of style which suits it quite well. I find that sometimes the main character jumps to conclusions and refuses to think of other solutions, but that is really more of a character flaw than a story flaw. Worth the listen.
This is a new podcast that I haven’t gotten to fully listen to yet. It’s put on by Lani Diane Rich (of Nanowrimo fame for publishing more of her nano-novels than anyone else in the world) and Alastair Stevens (self-proclaimed “scribbler for hire”). From what I’ve listened to thus far, it’s pretty darn good. I’s goal is to delve into the how’s and whys of writing for those of us still learning the craft. It’s a daily podcast, one episode posted from Monday to Friday each week. I’m enjoying it, and Alastair’s “word of the day” is always instructive and entertaining.
This podcast has only been around for a few months, but it’s become a staple of mine in that amount of time. Hosted by the talents of Sarah Eden, Robison Wells and Marion Jensen, this podcast is another on the craft and business of writing. It’s released every Wednesday morning and is as entertaining as writing excuses, although they tend to talk about the business of being a writer more than they do the craft of writing. Very useful info and it has very quickly become one of my staples that I don’t want to miss each week. Listen to it. I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.
Tags: allastair stevens, fetidus, lani diane rich, nimlas, Nutty Bites, podcast, podcasts, podio books, storywonk, the appendix
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I started writing seriously in early 2008. I was living in a small 600 sq ft, one room apartment in downtown Calgary, by the Mac’s everyone refers to as the “Crack Mac’s” (you get three guesses why they called it that, and the first two don’t count). At the time, I was sharing that home with my husband and our cat, Minkers. As I’m sure you can imagine, space was at a premium. Most of the time I wrote sitting on the couch or occasionally at our kitchen table. Usually my husband was sitting in the same room playing video games. I finally decided that I wanted an actual office to work at in, namely so that I could get away from being distracted by the hubby’s activities. I was originally thinking of setting up a table and chair in the bedroom, when my husband came up with an even better idea. We had two walk in closets and my husband helped me to convert one of them into a tiny room. That first office was only 4 feet wide by 5 feet long and we fit into it a desk, a large chair and a small DVD stand that doubled as a bookshelf. I couldn’t even shut the door when I was in it.
I’ve come a long way since then. My husband and I moved into a much larger home and I was able to steal one of our new rooms to use as a writing office. Needless to say it’s much bigger than 4′ x 5’. I have an actual bookshelf now as well as shelves covering one wall again filled with books. I used to have an actual desk in it but I found that no matter how clean I kept it or how much I tried to convince myself to start using it I never wanted to. And it wasn’t just when I was having trouble writing. Starting mid-December I was doing 750 words and making my words almost every day. Yet even so, most of those words were written in my front room. I used my office in November for Nanowrimo but only when I couldn’t use my hand any longer and I’d have to start using my Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
Finally it occurred to me what the problem might be. All day I work in an office, as insurance agency here in Calgary. I sit at my desk, working on my computer and looking at the clock hoping that they will be over soon. I was subconsciously connecting my desk working at my day job and does avoiding my office as much as possible. I was feeling like I was working two full-time jobs no matter how much or how little I was getting done. So I decided to try something completely different. I took my comfortable chaise from our front room and moved into my office. My productivity jumped amazingly. I really enjoy being in my office now. I haven’t been writing an insane amount more since I started but I have been in here more. The more I’m in here the more I find myself looking at my writing and opening it up when I get bored.
To make the split complete I don’t even refer to it as an office now. I call it my Writing Lair. I’ll include pictures after I’ve finished moving everything into its final place. It’s nice to not only have the place that suits me better but also to be constrained by how I think about something. I learned about this was that it’s not just about having the space, it’s about how you think about your space and what your mindset is in that space.
So where do you write? Do you have a preferred spot? Also what’s your mindset when you’re in that spot?
Tags: Blog, D & D, D&D, motivation, Nanowrimo, Writing, Writing Office, Writing Space
Posted in Blogs by B.A. Matthews | 2 Comments »
