Break Down Big Projects

After finishing my last novel, I decided to not start the next project until after the first of the year. Instead, I revisited my someday list of household projects. While going through my list I realized how much I’d put my best practices of GTD (Getting Things Done) into my writing projects. For those familiar with the masters of productivity (David Allen, Franklin Covey, and Merlin Mann to name a few), then you’ll understand how any task that requires more than one step becomes a project when adding it to your task list. It’s easier to complete large, time consuming projects if you break them down into easily accomplished steps.

How does this help writing a novel? Break down goals into small chunks. Chapters, scenes, word count. Don’t go by telling yourself you’ll finish a whole chapter in a day. If it’s too much, choose to write 1,000 words, or just a scene. Maybe the goal is to sit and write for two hours before bedtime. Finish that small step and then go for the next. When I was writing the last book, every time I sat down, I took a look at where I was in the story and what needed to come next. Then, I picked an obtainable goal. One of my writing friends thinks that I’m a fast writer. Maybe. Or maybe it’s because I look at finishing a writing project as if it were a job that I love.

Series Or Single Title?

While I read both single titles and series, I tend to write books which lend themselves to series even though I try to write each ending so that it can stand alone if needed. So far, I haven’t written the second book in any of the series I’ve written, although I have a basic outline or concept of them. With two series, I’ve gone as far as book three.

How do you write? Are your ideas more series orientated? Which do you prefer to read – series or single title?

New Places, New Perspective

I just returned from a week long trip to western North Carolina. It’s been a favorite vacation spot for me for several years now. Every time I’m there, it’s a major detox. Not only is the scenery breath taking, but the people are refreshing as well. The areas I visit most often are Lake Lure, Chimney Rock, Bat Cave, Black Mountain, and Henderson. There, the people seem to have a stronger sense of community, of people. It’s like a modern day Mayberry for those old Andy Griffith fans.

The people are from all over – the eastern seaboard, out west, and the midwest. Some have lived there all their lives. What I’ve noticed in all of them is how much more laid back they are even though they work very hard. They aren’t slow. They’ve learned to pace themselves. And more importantly, I think they’ve found what is most important – they take the time to enjoy the moment and the things they have. I say this because, here in Atlanta, everyone is in a hurry. Here, fancy houses, cars, and gourmet food rules. In my vacationing corner of the world, it’s not so much about what you have, but how content you are with your lifestyle.

This always brings a fresh perspective on characters and personalities. It’s easy for me to sit in tiny coffee shops (one of which is also a real estate office), and talk to people who treat me as though I’ve been sipping brew with them for years. It’s easier still to come up with personalities and traits to combine and alter for more fictional characters – ones I hope readers will find as enjoyable as I do.

Is there a place where you find the people and the environment so enjoyable that it inspires you, not only in soul, but in your craft?

Using photos to build on description

I recently changed my desktop photo to a small, wooden bridge draped with summer leaves. When I took the photo, I didn’t remember seeing all the things I see when I look at the photo now – the breathtaking way the light shines on the surrounding foliage, or the way the bark is so smooth on the railing in sections. What I do remember is that it was a little walking bridge leading to somewhere unknown. I remember the way the creek under it chattered across the rocks, and how inviting the bridge was – calling for me to cross it, to venture into the leaf-strewn thicket on the other side which lead to a picnic area near a ten-foot waterfall.

How about you? Have you ever looked at a photo and seen things you didn’t when you took the shot? Have you ever considered using that photo to build on your description and sensory writing?

A Place to Write

I spent the past couple weeks trying to move my writing ‘office’ down to the basement. While I had more room to put and organize things, and it was much easier to print with the printer connected directly to my Mac rather than dealing with my impossible print server and aging printer, it didn’t work out. After three days, I moved back up to the dining room where things remain cluttered, my power cord stretches from the table to the nearest wall outlet, and I have to run downstairs whenever I print something. While I could use a tea cart to hold the printer, it clutters things even more.

I’ve written three books from the dining room table. I like the view out into the backyard. Here, the dogs often keep me company. I have a dog bed next to my chair. There’s room on the table for a dictionary and thesaurus, a couple drink coasters, my cell and home phone, headphones, backup drive, and a pencil/pen holder that’s really an empty glass candle container. At this point, I don’t know why I care about adding the printer back into the mix. I don’t even know why I just don’t move the dining room table closer to the window so my laptop’s power cord isn’t in the path of dogs, humans, or the vacuum cleaner. Maybe I could even empty out one of the china cabinet drawers and put my office supplies in there.

Hubby has wanted to get a second-hand desk for some time and put it in the front formal living room we’ve converted to a library. It’s airy and has all of our books there. But, the view is to the front of the house. It’s just not as tranquil or inspiring. Maybe I’ll move into that room… someday. But, I just don’t have an interest in watching my neighbors come and go, and I really don’t relish the idea of them looking in at me. It’s a gorgeous room – solid wood floors and a black oak bookcase. But it’d feel almost like a fish bowl. But, maybe I’ll move into it for a week and see how it goes. I can always dust off our hand-me-down card table and set up shop there for that long to see how it works out.

Where do you write?

The Future of Books

I’ve been reading Publisher’s Weekly lately about the price war between Amazon and Walmart. I’ve also read about B&N’s new eReader, the Nook.

So, here’s my question to all you readers and writers out there: how will eBooks and eReaders change the way you read or buy? What effect do you think it will have on publishing? What effect do you think it might have on the writer?

The only think I can say is that music survived, and so will literature. I do think the profit margins are going to drop, but more from the economy than anything else. People without jobs don’t buy anything, much less books. Buy an eReader? Not the unemployed. They’ll go to the library. Those with better funds? Sure. It’s new, and it’s trendy, it’s an easy way to carry more than one book on vacation, etc. I have a friend and a relative who own a Kindle and they love them. I have more friends and relatives that prefer a real book. Me? Real. As geeky as I am, give me a real book. My friend and relative with the Kindles? They’re always talking about how cheap book titles are. I suppose. But, the device is expensive enough to make up that difference unless you’re more than an avid reader. You’d have to be a rabid reader. Prices of print books have dropped. Seriously, nearly the same price for print as an eReader title? Still, eReaders are pretty cool. Just not for me.

Now, about authors: I think the tried and true money makers will be fine. It’s the writer trying to break into the biz that’s going to have a hard go of it all. With profits tight, I don’t think there will be as many debut authors over the next few years.

A Love of Words

From my earliest memories, I can remember Mom reading to me every night before bedtime. I went to sleep dreaming of the characters in the stories and wondering… what if?

During dinner, she’d listen to me as I read books out loud, helping me whenever I got stuck on something. When her health began to fail, she moved in with us. She read something I’d written and believed in me so much, that she took on cooking and laundry so I’d have time to write.

I owe my love of words, my love of reading and writing to my mother. This month we would have celebrated her birthday. But, Mom died a few years ago, and although she never saw me make it to print, she believed in me. This post is dedicated to her. Thanks, Mom. I always believed in you, too. Always will.

Is there someone who forever changed your life? Who was it that first got you into reading or writing?