Recommendations and Inspirations - Tracy Krauss

I always find January to be a very inspiring month for me in terms of my writing stamina. Maybe its all the talk of 'goal setting' and 'resolutions'. Or maybe my batteries are recharged after Christmas break. In any case, I look forward to January each year and the sense of excitement I feel about what the year holds.

Last year, I told you about an excellent book called Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love  by Rachel Aaron. I read a lot of other good books on writing and marketing, but this one still stands out. One of the things I discovered after reading the book was Scrivener, a software to help you organize your manuscript. I used the trial version and subsequently bought it for $40. The best forty bucks I spent last year, I'm sure.

Another wonderful 'find' was the Emotion Thesaurus by Ackerman and Puglisi. It is basically a list of emotions with various physical and psychological manifestations for each. (Like a thesaurus, as the name implies.) What a wonderful tool. I currently have an e-version, but I think I may invest in a hardcopy as well, so it can be right at my fingertips!

I had a very productive year last year in terms of writing, but I didn't actually get a lot published. One play called HOOK'S NEMESIS released just under the wire on Christmas day, as well as an anthology that I contributed to called TASTE AND SEE Volume 2. 

However, that means I can look forward to multiple releases in 2014. (I hope!) I have a devotional and a children's book waiting on US tax documents; two finished novels with my agent; and it looks like I will be writing several serials under contract - one contemporary stand alone series and one as a contributing author to a Sci-fi series. (I'm a huge Sci-fi nerd so I am especially excited about this one!)

It is all a bit scary but also quite exciting. Good thing I work well under pressure. *smile* With everything I have on the table at the moment, I think I really will be hibernating this winter...

Tracy Krauss is a teacher, artist, author and playwright living in Tumbler Ridge, BC. She currently has four novels and six plays in print. For more, visit her website at tracykrauss.com , her blog at tracykraussexpressionexpress.com , or sign up for her monthly newsletter.

Weighing in Your Writing by Pamela Mytroen

A while back I decided I needed to lose some weight. I stepped on the scale the next morning and took note of where I was at. The next morning I did the same thing. I carefully followed my ritual every morning for a full year, fully expecting to see a change in the numbers. I did manage to wear two perfect footprints into the rubber pad, but alas, I did not lose a single ounce.

The other routine I followed religiously was that I continued to eat all my favourite foods, especially my hot buttered popcorn and potato chips. Yet I kept hoping that I would see a new mark on the scale. What is the definition of insanity? Doing something the same way repeatedly and expecting different results every time? If I expected to see a change, then my routine needed to change.

So it is with writing. If we are not progressing, something needs to change. The same old routine is not going to magically produce results. I would love to wake up a writer with a published book and several more writing credits to my name but I have discovered it’s not enough to think, talk, and dream about being a writer. Strong desire does not equal amazing results. It’s not enough to ‘weigh in’ every morning and see if I have magically written anything in my sleep. Something has to change. Something needs to be sacrificed.

My writing strategy this past year was to write first and THEN check my email and facebook. It worked. I was able to have many non-fiction pieces published. Funny how just that one little sacrifice had to be made. My writing plan for this year is to give up that first golden hour after supper – from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. when the couch is calling after a day at work. I have started this routine and have discovered that once I get writing it is often 8:30 or 9:00 before I need a break. I am also part of a small facebook writing group. We write for 30 days and then choose our best rough work and send it out to each other for editing. We have had a few stalls but we’re still going and I find I am motivated to write just knowing that they will be waiting to see a piece.

These days when I weigh in my writing, and on the scale too (the popcorn machine doesn’t come out as often) I am seeing a new balance with more credits to my name.

What are you willing to give up to see change?

Pam Mytroen

Stay Close to the Source by T. L. Wiens

How many of you have read something and thought this is a very interesting theology? Sometimes I’ve read things and thought, wow, someone else sees the same thing in scripture that I see. Then I continue to read and find there it is, the false teaching that so many times contradicts the very thing the author has set out to point out to other believers.

Why does this happen so often? It discredits everything—the truth is lost. And I live in fear of being that author. How do we avoid something that seems like a very basic human weakness? The Bible.

We all need to study our Bibles, not with a devotional manual but with the Holy Spirit guiding us. Sometimes this means putting down a lot of preconceived notions put there by our own thoughts on issues, church background and denominational lines. This is not easy but must be done to make sure we’re not sabotaging our own faith. We all want to honour Jesus Christ in the words we write. The only way to do that is by making sure we know His Word first.

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Hibernate to or Hibernate from - Connie Inglis

To Hibernate (from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary):

1. to pass the winter in a torpid or resting state
2. to be or become inactive or dormant 

Do you ever feel the need or desire to hibernate from your writing--to become inactive and dormant?  With all the Christmas and New Year's activities this past month, I feel like the opposite has been true. While I love the holidays, I also do like returning to routine and writing calls me back like a long-lost friend.  However, it is also true that even in routine I get pulled in different directions and writing gets put on the back burner more often than I care to admit. And thus I must fight to be able to hibernate "to" writing rather than hibernate "from" writing. Is there anyone else out there that has this same dilemma?

Julia Cameron's book, The Right to Write, has some excellent thoughts and exercises for writers. I recently read the chapter entitled, "Loneliness" and felt it spoke to this "hibernation" subject. Here's a quote from the beginning of the chapter:

"So much has been written about the loneliness of the writer's lot that it feels like heresy to report the truth as I know it: in my experience, not writing is a lonely business. The minute I let myself write, everything else falls into balance. If I get a dose of writing in my day, then I can actually socialize with a clear conscience." 

Her words got me thinking--maybe my issue is that I'm NOT writing and thus easily pulled into other things, things that sometimes are of no value. Part of my problem is that I feel like I need a big chunk of time in order to write, which isn't true. Half an hour here, 15 minutes there. Even if it's just a quick writing exercise, it's still writing. When I've done this is the past, it rejuvenates and refreshes me and yet I seem to easily forget that. Needless to say, I am still working through all this. 

Cameron also goes on to say that writing is a "balm for loneliness"--that it connects us to ourselves and then to others. I would agree but I would also like to add to that. As a follower of Jesus, I also believe it connects us to God. He is our Creator and He created us to write. He put in us this desire, this need, this "gift" (If I may say) to write. So when we write, we are glorifying God and praising Him for the way He made us. 

THAT'S the right perspective--and THAT'S the way I need to view writing.