Monthly Archives: November 2015

25 Books I’m Thankful were Written

. Books I am glad were written, Uncategorized . , ,

Inspired by the Thanksgiving holiday which you may be en route to celebrate, I offer the 25 books I’m thankful were written.

bookshelf

  1.  The Bible
  2. Freedom Train by Dorothy Sterling
  3. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
  4. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
  5. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
  6. This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti
  7. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
  8. The Monster at the End of the Book by Jon Stone
  9. I am a Frog by Mo Willems
  10. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
  11. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
  12. The Cat Who … by Lilian Jackson Braun
  13. House Arrest and Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt
  14. I Funny: A Middle School Story by James Patterson
  15. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
  16. Unglued by Lysa Terkeurst
  17. Marley and Me by John Grogan
  18. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
  19. Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
  20. The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns
  21. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
  22. Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
  23. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
  24. The Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
  25. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer

 

That was hard.  Really hard to stop at 25.  I’d love to hear about the books you are thankful were written.

And the three that I’m truly grateful for are not published yet, but they have taught me oh so very much.

Happy Thanksgiving

Eat Well!

Make Memories!

And when you come out of your turkey coma, your keyboard will be ready for you.

 

Confession

. Author Moments, Uncategorized . , , , ,

I have a confession to make.

I broke the cardinal rule of writing a rough draft.

I’m ashamed to admit it, but I had to do it.

I read my entire MS.

I know, I know.

Full steam ahead.

No looking back.

But I had to do it.

Another confession.

I haven’t written in a week.

Yes, I gasped too.

So, you see,

I had to read it.

I’d lost the flow,

was loosing my MC,

ran out of steam,

while my daughter was sick.

So, you see,

I had to read it.

And I’m glad I did.

It was pretty good,

I’m on the right track.

And I’ve found the fuel

to keep writing.

5 Ways to Unlock Writer’s Block

. Writer's Craft . , , ,

Ever find yourself . . .

Reading and rereading a scene and not knowing where to go next.

Staring at your computer and letting your focus go in and out, in and out.

Typing anything, just to get the momentum going.

Playing a mental tennis match where no idea seems right.  Even your eyes bounce left to right as you discard bad idea after bad idea.

These are symptoms of . . . dum dum dum . .. WRITER’S BLOCK.

Road_Block,_

You are not getting through here!

Yes, it’s NaNoWriMo and you have no time for waste on writer’s block.  So here are five quick fixes to get the engine going again.

  1. Rewrite (but do not erase) the previous scene.  Perhaps that is the culprit. Perhaps the story needs to go a different direction and your muse refuses to work until you realize you made a wrong turn.  Try a completely different path in your last scene and see if that feels better and opens up where the story needs to go next.
  2. Turn off your computer. (after reading this brilliant article of course). and
    1. Go for a drive
    2. Walk the dog
    3. Fold the laundry
    4. Take a shower
  3. Talk it out with someone.  Anyone.  They might not even have to contribute.  Thinking out loud may be all you need.  I find my dogs to be quite attentive listeners sometimes. If you have a writing buddy, they may offer suggestions.  They may offer one that you like.  Or more likely, that argumentative side of your brain will negate their idea and come up with what you were looking for.  Healthy debate gets brain juices flowing.
  4. Draw it out.  I’m a terrible artist.  But my oldest sister who is a talented artist recently told me, “When writers are stuck, visual creating can help unstick. And verbal helps to unstick the visual creative.” Doodle.  Get out your kids’ crayons.    Even more fun: Finger Paint! Don’t consciously think about your story.
  5. Play! Jigsaw puzzles.  Legos! Scrabble.  Have some fun.  You have gotten yourself all worked up with the stress from writing, the pressure to be perfect, to get your word count in.  Play!

Writing a story is world building and magical.  If it has stopped being that, take a break for a while.  It’s going to be okay.

Fast and Furious Bonus 5:

  • Dance
  • Read
  • Pour a drink
  • Change your playlist
  • Write a blog!

Got a tip? Leave it here!

Random Brain Babble during NaNoWriMo

. Author Moments . , , ,

You’re cute and your sweet, but your not getting my meat.  (Words spoken to my begging dog. Yep, I’ve been dabbling in rhyme during NaNoWriMo).

Which led to this thought:

What was it like to live with Dr. Seuss? Could he just not help himself but to speak in rhythm and rhyme?

This stuff is crap!

If my dog has to go out one more time and not do anything . . .! thinking brain

Wow! I think that was actually pretty good!

I really need a dictaphone that’s waterproof.

I might have to ask a person to switch tables at the cafe.  I was really in the groove at their table.

Can’t forget the Flintstone vitamins for the kids because they better not get sick during NaNoWriMo.

I wonder how much a personal chef costs.

I can’t let my mom read this.  I don’t want to make her cry.

Please let the school bus be ten minutes late today.  I just need ten more minutes!

This is getting really serious.  It needs levity.  How do I be funny again? Crap, I’ll have to go back and add humor and levity.  Right now my brain is stuck in emotional.  Where’s the chocolate?

I’ve been sitting a long time, but I can’t stop now.  Better do some butt clenches.  It’s exercise, right?

Fellow writer,

Keep at it!  It’s only the tenth.  It is the tenth right?  I’m not even sure what day of the week it is.

It’s OK, I’m behind too.  Just keep writing, writing, writing. (Can you hear Dory singing?) I love to write! but . . . NO EDITING!  Resist! Resist! Resist!

I’d love to hear your random thoughts.  Unless I’m the only who whose brain seems to be splitting into several personalities as I write.  Maybe it’s just me. Or me. 😉

OK – quit procrastinating.  That was a good brain break.  Yep, absolutely nothing of substance here today.

Bookmark These Pages

. Pearls Along the Path . , , , , , , , , , , ,

Whether you are participating in NaNoWriMo or not, these sites will make helpful resources for your writing. bookmark

  • Got a grammatical question? Try Daily Writing Tips.
  • Ever use a word cloud? It can be a great way to keep a visual reminder of your character’s traits or a fast way to see if you over use a word.  Word Clouds for Kids worked best for me.
  • You know about thesaurus.com, but sometimes a rhyme is what you need instead.  Try Rhyme Brain.
  • An app that identifies what age range you’ve written to and offers suggestions on how to tighten.  A great little editor for the cost of a couple cups of coffee: The Hemingway Editor
  • If you just want to make sure you are writing appropriately for your target age, Readability-Score is free, but doesn’t offer the editorial options available in Hemingway.

Bonus: If you are looking for good reading about writing, Kristen Lamb’s blog always offers something worth reading.

I received some of these from fellow writers in my critique group, Six Pens.  If you’re not in a critique group, find one ASAP.  Nothing sharpens your writing better.

If you have any websites to bookmark, please share!

Now, back to NaNoWriMo