Toronto Writing Examiner

Although I do have to try to do as many of my articles as possible with a Toronto-specific focus, my favorite article this week was more generic, but I really loved writing it. 

As writers, I think we can all use a little help from time to time, and for some of us, it's also fascinating to read about the processes of others. So, my piece this week on brainstorming techniques may have been my most popular one so far, but I also hope it will be beneficial to other writers who need some tips to refresh their writing process.

Toronto Fashion Arts Examiner

Although I've only just started writing the Fashion Arts column, I really like this piece. It was great to get some feedback from Adriana, who is running The Bazaar of the Bizarre, and it was also nice to put my print journalism background to good use!  I really enjoyed the interview process and I plan to do longer interviews of local indie designers in the near future.

Adriana also has a totally cool, modern-yet-futuristic line of industrial-inspired clothing that I lovelovelove, so I was glad to be able to get to know her a bit better.

The Challenge of Freelancing

Now that I'm working on two columns, I really need to be more organized than ever. I'm still juggling the columns with all my other work, and still haven't found the perfect mix of work and play (my fiction writing).

But I'm determined to get things sorted – whether I try to do a bit of everything everyday, or set certain tasks for specific days of the week. Because, as my fellow writers know. strange things sometimes happen when it's all work and no play…

Wasn't it just last week that I went on about how we need to stick to our guns and do the 'responsible thing' by working on the task at hand, no matter how feverishly our Muse whispers story ideas into our ears late at night?

Well, I admit it. I caved. My Muse planted the seed of a story in my mind and now, I've dropped my other WIPs like they are hot potatoes.

If there were a scarlet letter for falling prey to literary whimsy, I'd be sewing it onto my sweater as we speak.

But then again, who am I to ignore my Muse? I've done it before and she paid me back by propping her feet up on the table for a long….long….long while without passing on any of her pearls of wisdom.

It's official, folks. I'm on a short leash.

My Current WIPs (works-in-progress)

- WIPs 1, 2 & 3: I've made no progress on these, I'm ashamed to say.Still stuck on 1; still waiting to hear if 2 has been accepted; 3 is stalled

- WIP #4: I know, I can't believe I've got these 4 stories on the go. It kind of annoys me that I'm working on so many stories at once. Maybe the Muse will award me for my obedience by allowing me to make quick work of this idea while it's still fresh in my mind. Because it's actually pulling at me (like most story ideas do…in the beginning, at least). Let's just hope this one doesn't end up a stalled project like the ones above

If you’re a writer participating in WIP Wednesday, post a link to your blog in the comments!

Fellow WIP Wednesday participants:

• KV Taylor – WIP Wednesday Indulges in Worldbuilding
• Aaron Polson – WIP Wednesday: I Can't Handle the Truth
• Jeremy Kelly – WIP Wednesday: The Gift Horse

WIP #1 (for lack of a better title since I haven't thought of one yet)is one of the pieces to come out of my NaNo'09 short story collection project. At the time, I was a dutiful little NaNo soldier. I put my pen to paper, kept my head down and wrote.

The good news? Now I have the luxury of stepping back to take a look at the bigger picture. The bad news? I've looked at the bigger picture and it needs some tweaking.

'Tweaking' is putting it mildly, to tell you the truth. I think I need to do the grand-daddy of all revamps and switch POV characters.

Yeah…you heard me right. I said it. I'm going to axe my leading lady and make her a man.

Know how I know it's the right move? I feel nauseous. I'm nervous about it. I'm afraid of falling flat on my face. I'm afraid of doing all that work only to realize I was right the first time around.

You might think I'm a masochist but I enjoy the fear. Because it shows that I'm willing to take a chance. The fear excites me. Bring it on.

See, the Muse knows how to tempt us writers. She knows which buttons to push, and when to push them. And right now, she's got me wrapped around her little finger.

I'll let you know how it goes.

As for you – what do you do when you find yourself in this situation? Do you hold back or face your fears? What little tricks does your Muse do to torment – and titillate – you? And how do you one-up her?

Sure – you'd think that not having enough ideas would be the worst case scenario for any writer. But I think that it's the more manic, all-the-voices-shouting-at-once dilemma that is much more maddening.        

Sometimes it feels as though our ideas are The Other Man (or Woman, as the case may be) and we find ourselves fantasizing about all those as-of-yet unwritten worlds that we long to get lost in, if only we had the time.        

But between life and work, often we are left to wax romantic for our unrequited, not-yet-told tales.        

Sure, sometimes we should allow ourselves to be the dreamy teenagers to our ideas.      

But if we're ever going to make any progress at all, sometimes we do have to be adults about it and get down to business.

My Current WIPs:

• WIP #1: Okay – I'm stuck. I've printed out a hard copy, because sometimes it's easier to see where it isn't working on the page rather than the screen. Hoping to get this one finished in the next week or two
• WIP #2: Finally got a little feedback on where the story might not be working (thanks Ryan!) so I'll work on this when WIP #1 is too maddening. Hopefully it won't require too much shredding
• WIP #3: that piece for#fridayflash that I mentioned on Monday. Jasper TX is on repeat…(meaning…still polishing it up)

• Aaron Polson – WIP Wednesday: Monsters Everywhere
• Barry Napier – Recovery
• KV Taylor – WIP Wednesday Isn't Groundbreaking
• Mercedes Yardley – Kill Those Darlings DEAD, Baby. WIP Wednesday

#writerwednesday Book Tour
Fellow writer W.J. Howard has started promoting the work of other writers with her #writerwednesday book tour. This is a fantastic idea, and a great way to network! Wendy's looking for a few good writerly links (related to books, writers, writing, literary blog tours and in Horror, Fantasy, Paranormal, Sci-Fi and Comedy genres) – so head over to her site and spread the love!

If you've got a great link to share, book news to announce, or anything else book/writing related, get in touch. We'll talk, you know, no big whoop

Somehow the melodies seem to unlock certain parts of my brain that are at slumber or at the very least stubbornly hiding themselves and making me dig and grasp for every single word.

But when I discovered this track from Jasper TX, and I listened to it for the first time on a sleepless night when my insomnia was keeping me awake doing nothing in particular, for whatever reason an image immediately came to mind and I began scribbling furiously.

Inspired by both the music and the fact that I had been planning on doing an article on Virginia Woolf (it would have been her birthday yesterday), it's a moody piece that I started working on in bits and pieces last week. But it isn't finished yet. And although it would have been great to post it today, maybe I'll share it for #fridayflash (providing it's finished by then).

I'm sharing the track here. Feel free to write something if you feel inspired as I did.

Music: Jasper TX: I Will Be Birds When I Die from In A Cool Monsoon

click below to listen!

Jasper TX_04_I Will Be Birds When I Die.mp3

It's interesting to see how music, for me at least, can help me get to the words that are just below the surface.

My insomnia is back. And although I harbor the illusion that on nights like these, I'll get thousands of words down or 10 articles pre-written, the reality is I often surf, play FreeCell, watch MTV melodrama and generally fall victim to ABS all over again.

But for once, my ABS has been fruitful.

I was trolling through my old files, curious to see what little gems I could unearth, if any…and then I found it.

An old novel on the go.

I can't believe I forgot about it. I think I started it in '98. I've plotted up to Scene 22, and have written just over 15,000 words so far (I just took a quick glance at the main file. There was a 2nd file that may be edits of the first few scenes, so I'm not sure how much it differs from the original draft…) It's a supernatural thriller based around twin brothers. I took a quick read – and I don't hate it!

Of course, I'm sure my skills as a writer have improved since then (I'm hoping!), so there will probably be lots of tweaking and a reworking of the plot and all that.

But that's the fun stuff. The reworking. The piecing together of the puzzle. The bending and shaping and sculpting of this malleable lump of characters and plot and conflict into something tangible.

Could it be that I have my NaNo 2010 project?!

For now, however, it's staying put on the back burner. As i start to remember the nuances of the story, I'm going to need to let it brew a little while longer as I think of what I want to do with it.

This weekend, I'm hoping to pick up my NaNo edits. I still feel like I'm on the outside looking in on the current piece, so if I can't make it work, I'm going to shelve it for now and move on to one of the other ones.

The thing that sucks is I know how I want this story to be. It's kind of similar to those mornings you wake after having a strange dream and you don't quite remember it but the residual strangeness seems to remain with you the rest of the day. I feel like it's just out of my grasp. I know eventually, I'll be able to push through the gossamer veil between the dream and reality. But right now, I'm still waiting…

I am dazzled by its sweeping curves; smitten by its smooth surface. But some days, I just can't bear the thought of sitting at it.

Last week I wrote about how I seemed to be stagnating under piles of work and forced schedules. That's the thing about routines. Often, they run the risk of transforming into a rut. The good thing is I learned my lesson and did something about it.

I know, one of the tips for being a productive writer is to breed creativity by getting into the routine of it all. Whether its the same time everyday, the same music, the same treasured pen or the lighting of that same scented candle, there's no denying that those little tricks can have a Pavlovian effect.

So, the moment I found myself becoming bored with my story, I knew it was time to try something new, or else risk the onset of ABS – Anything-But Syndrome.

C'mon. We're all friends here. You can admit falling ill to ABS before. Dusting, vacuuming, alphabetizing your CD collection, tackling that dreaded pile of laundry or – heaven help you -  paperwork. Anything-But working on your WIP.

For me, the solution this time was music. I'm the type of writer who needs music playing while I write. Nothing with lyrics, mind you, but a musical soundscape that drowns out the little anoyances, like ringing phones and honking cars outside, but still doesn't distract me from my writing.

All I needed was a loaded MP3 Player, an ambient playlist and my favorite pen and suddenly, words were spilling out onto the page with renewed urgency.Know what? I'll take it. Anything to keep my Muse on her toes. Even if it takes me 10 pages to really get into the groove of things, I'll take that over writer's block (aka boredom) anyday.

Current WIPs

• still whittling down one of my NaNo pieces, while adding a bit of flair. The idea is there, in my head. Now of I can just find the twisted words to translate the idea into something tangible
• working on a piece for #fridayflash! Finally! I've only ever done it once, but have always wanted to make it a habit. Two pieces in progress – one at 348 words, the other still waiting to be transcribed from handwritten notes. Hopefully one will be polished enough by Friday
• As noted above, almost there with my 500 Words A Day Challenge for today. Sadly, I haven't been putting as much time in as I would like, what with the freelancing and all. Better luck next week.
• still have to get to my task from last week of going over upcoming subs and deciding which ones I want to submit to. I know shouldn't complain…but so many great markets, so little time…

How's your writing day going? Making progress? A little behind? How do you woo your Muse?

If you’re a writer participating in WIP Wednesday, post a link to your blog in the comments!

Fellow WIP Wednesday participants:

• Aaron Polson – WIP Wednesday: Brain Splatter
• Cate Gardner -  WIP Wednesday: When There Were Words
• Jeremy Kelly: Back to the Book

Words Written - Today: 348 | January: 973 | 2010: 973

Working from home takes a certain kind of person. One with the drive to get out of bed every morning; one who can both set and meet goals with no Boss Man or Woman looking over their shoulder; and one who, when starting out on that path to the desk, can muster up the gumption to sidestep the landmines of daytime television, irresponsible snacking and the draw of the daily nap.

I am not necessarily that person. I try. Even if I do sneak in a siesta now and then.

Last year, I made myself a schedule. Sure, the planning out of my day was, in part, an exercise in procrastination. As I color-coded each chunk of my day in Google Calendar, I quickly fell into routine and damn, if I didn't feel like I was accomplishing something when I was able to, for the most part, stick to it.

But now, I find myself faltering. I ignore those handy-dandy daily reminders in my inbox. I sneakily hit snooze on the ReminderFox pop-ups under the illusion that if I can't see 'em, they aren't there. And slowly but surely, my productivity has taken a nosedive.

Today, I said enough. New year, time for a new plan of attack. It's obvious I can't do everything I want to do in a day. Time to go with the flow and do what I can.

I've got my freelancing to attend to. My copywriting website to update. My shopping site to revamp, and its corresponding blog to update. Not to mention the 7 or 8 short stories I started as part of my NaNo collection (plus another 8 to 10 half-finished pieces whispering at me from the bottom of my WIP pile).

Seriously, I had pretty much plotted out a space for every one of those tasks on a daily basis. I'm talking "from 10 to 12 will be my Morning Writing Session, after which I'll take an hour for lunch while I conceptualize, write, edit and post a fashion blog, followed by an hour of seeking out new copywriting projects, then depending on the day I either source new markets or promote or market or network all 3 websites, then squeeze in another 2-hour writing session before quitting and starting dinner/laundry/chores/going insane".

Yeah. Do you see what I mean? No wonder I lost momentum. It's a dizzying schedule. And I don't even have any kids (though the cat could rival a room full of toddlers any day of the week).

So, although I'll still be my own personal carny, of sorts, where I must juggle my day-to-day life with my entrepreneurial and creative aspirations, I've come to realize that I can only do so much, and as long as I'm doing what I love, I've already accomplished my goals.

Even if there's always another load of laundry waiting to be done.

WIPS:

- after a month and a half of no fiction writing whatsoever, I finally got back to work on my NaNo 2009 WIP. Story 1: boring. Now i know why I've been putting it off for so long. So, I've taken a new approach, started working on a new intro and I think I'm getting excited about it again

- Looked at upcoming fiction deadlines to see what interests me, where I want to submit pieces to, and came to the realization that I need to clone myself if I want to do it all. Doing it all well is another story. Either way, I've got the remaining NaNo stories to pick through – hopefully at least one will match with an upcoming deadline to give me some sort of direction on which one to work on first

- As part of my personal challenge to do the 500 Words A Day Challenge, I actually managed to get just over 1K today. Woo! Can we say "icon upgrade"?

If you’re a writer participating in WIP Wednesday, post a link to your blog in the comments!

Fellow WIP Wednesday participants:

• Cate Gardner: WIP Wednesday: Dead Pearls Floating

• Mercedes Yardley: WIP Wednesday: Whoomp! (there it is)
• Barry Napier: Hurry up and wait
• Jennifer Tatroe: WIP Wednesday: The Voice
• Aaron Polson: WIP Wednesday: The Big Feelings About Genre
  

I knew this already. I learned this when I used to run an online shop selling beaded jewelry & knitted/crocheted items that I made. You wear different hats when you work for yourself. Designer, marketer, sales, technical support, website developer, etc. You have no choice.

It's the same with freelance writing. If I don't tell anyone about my pieces, no one will know. At the same time, no one wants to hear me only talking about myself. 

So, this week, I found myself trying to balance the workload with networking, as well as keeping in touch with my writing friends and doing a little personal writing on the side.

I did alright. I feel like my online life – blogging, Tweeting, interacting – has suffered a bit, which may seem like a good thing productivity-wise, but those relationships are about more than just screwing around online all day. I'm hoping that once I get into a good groove, I'll be able to balance everything better.

On that note, regardless of how busy I've been, I'm still having fun writing for Examiner! I've been getting positive feedback and it's great that people are enjoying my work.

Here's a quick recap of my articles for the week. Don't be scared – most aren't too long

I'd love it if you could take a peek, maybe post a comment or vote in a few of the Lunchtime Polls!

• The Great Varsity Cut & Paste at UofT this weekend
• Lunchtime poll: what aspect of your writing needs improvement?
• International Festival of Authors gets cash influx
• Submission Tracking from Writer's Database
• Lunchtime poll: what’s your genre?
• Lunchtime poll: How do you write?
• Submission Tracking from Duotrope’s Digest
• Lunchtime Poll: What form(s) of writing do you do?
• Submission Tracking from Writer’s Market
• Science Fiction writing workshops at the Toronto Public Library

Thanks again for reading! I should also have some exciting news to share soon – just waiting for it to be official!

My word count on fiction projects for 2010? Zilch.

So far, most of my time has been spent getting into the routine of writing articles for Examiner, promoting said articles, and working on my other websites (Indie Collective, styleFLASH & Outstanding Ink) as well as giving this one a bit of a facelift.

At the end of 2009, I toyed with the idea of re-opening my online boutique (I was a jewelry designer/knitter/crocheter for a long time). Who am I kidding?! I barely have time to sleep these days.

I'm starting to discover that I may very well be a workaholic. I can't seem to turn my brain off at night. The cogs keep turning, going over article ideas, stories I want to write, emails I need to send, etc.

So, the fact is, I haven't written anything new, other than articles. But at least I'm still writing. Unfortunately, the perfectionist in me isn't happy with that!

So, I've decided to take part in Inkygirl's 500 Words A Day Challenge!

The good news? I've been here before. Last year, I started my Writer's Accountability Chart and this week, I've been slowly getting back into the routine of not only using it, but using my blank board as motivation to work toward checking off some of the categories daily.

500 Words was one of my targets, and although I'd like to do more (told you…workaholic/perfectionist), I need to be realistic. With everything else that's going on, 500 words of fiction (on top of whatever daily articles I produce) seems like a good fit for now.

So, what are your writing goals for 2010? Or your life goals even? Besides reading and writing more, I'd like to write some letters, spend more time with family & friends, and continue to strive for my dreams.

If you’re a writer participating in WIP Wednesday, post a link to your blog in the comments!

Fellow WIP Wednesday participants:

• Jeremy Kelly – WIP Wednesday: The Driven Snow
• Katey Taylor: WIP Wednesday slides in under the line