Merry Go Round

I had plenty of ideas on what I wanted to do with this blog and I’ve failed on all of them. DOH! So rather than just say great things about what I want to do with it, lets just say I have ideas but because I’m busy with kids and life I haven’t been implementing them.

I’ll get around to writing good stuff at some point. Today I gave some advice to a young student about how to create a presence online. I said be consistently putting stuff out there. And I am going to use my own advice and put something on my blog. (And the next thing I was ABOUT to say was consistently.) I’m gonna catch myself before I say that though, I know that the best intensions are there but not the habits.

SO I will post a blog that says… I’M AT LTUE 2014. If you see me walking around, come say hi! I’m all by myself usually. I come here to be lifted up by all the awesome that is in one room. Or under one Hotel. This place bleeds talent and some really talented people come here yearly to give us all a boost. Which is why I come back year after year. It’s my fill my cup weekend.

Anyhow, I’ve been going to this conference for 5 years! This is my 5th year. Oh my goodness… I can’t believe I’ve been this many times. I’m really gonna need to explain to myself WHY I haven’t gotten anything published yet.

I’m really empty right now. And yet as I say that, I’m here at LTUE trying to fill it. And there are many online friends giving me words of encouragement that are also filling my cup up too.

Being creative is fueled by filling that cup for me. And it’s not all by the stuff others do to fill it. Sometimes it’s just finding a quiet corner in my house to sit and gaze at the clouds as they go lazily by. Sometimes it's getting hugs from my boys, cause they give really great hugs.

To tweet or not to tweet...

I tweeted about this today and I thought it was a good idea to write about this on my blog. I started my own twitter account @writtenvein to start getting into the tweeting world and when I did this, I barely tweeted a thing for a while. I started following and watching what other people tweeted about and why. And I started to notice that I followed some strange individuals for the strangest reasons.

It wasn't about the information and knowledge they had or the causes they supported. It was just about their person voice! Now as writers we are always hoping we have personal voice, and I think twitter is a great way to find LOTS of examples of personal voice because how does one have a personal voice on twitter when you only have space for 140 or whatever characters? That takes work and it takes talent and it takes *GASP* being yourself?!

Eureka!

The sad thing is that not everyone gets this. Certainly there are some uses to being professional and only putting out tweets with specific information. But I can tell you that I find more human beings on twitter who give me both and I follow them rather than the ones who just give me information. And the thing is, I want to be that person who does both… I give information and I am a human begin and my voice is not only unique but people are interested in what I have to say because I'm myself. This isn't a new concept but it is most definitely a difficult thing to communicate. It's taken me a few years on twitter watching, for me to finally get it. So I hope that as new writers (and those unfamiliar with twitter and it's uses) explore the new aspects to the internet, and its THOUSANDS of outlets, you'll discover! Not just how impersonal it is, but how amazingly connected you are to real human beings! People who have found a way to BE real with so little space. And hopefully as you venture out and try it yourself, you'll exercise your voice and find the "IT" too that invites people to listen to what you have to say.

It's almost a specific exercise in finding your demographic or audience, and meeting exactly what you need as well as what they need too. Kind of a sly thing BUT, this is what we do as writers. We have information we want to convey and we want to give it to our audience in a way they way they will be willing to receive it. But not just receive, continue to listen and maybe even do something with it? Like share it with others...

And because of all this... I probably will only continue to follow accounts that have that voice. Cause ultimately that's what I'm out for myself.

My Blogging Mission

I've been getting two strong senses of what I've been wanting to do with this blog. I have two major loves that have been standing out to me for the last few months as I've contemplated what I wanted to put into my blog account.

The first is this… anyone who's a writer, or even a creative in general, knows that it's hard to do this job. I mean yeah, you are passionate about what you do but sometimes it's just so hard to continue with a positive attitude when so much is stacked against you. One of the things that I've tried to do to combat this is putting together an inspiration file. When I was in school for illustration, one of my favorite teachers said in one of my classes that you have to surround yourself with the things that inspire you. "Keep those things and throw the rest away." And I took it more literal at the time. I had a thick file of things that inspired me consisting of various art and quotes and things. And I've since not really replaced it and started a spot for it in my current life. Because that's the thing about inspiration, you have to replace it. It doesn't come on it's own you have to fill that cup up when you have it for the times when you don't.

But the point of having inspiration where you can get to it quickly, especially when it's one of those times in your life where you need a pick me up, means that it's also shareable. Especially if you want to keep it nearby. And since I do a lot of work on the computer it will most definitely be nearby. And I want to share stuff that motivates and inspires me, so readers can add to their inspiration file as well. If I come up with a snappier name I'll rename it but for now "INSPIRATION FILE" it is.

The other, Art. YES! As I mentioned before I was an illustration major at Brigham Young University. And it was also a very competitive career path, one that I've set aside for now because I honestly want to be writing right now. (That's really my first love to be honest.) It doesn't mean that I can't do illustration or that I wouldn't do it well. Now I'm not the expert on art but I'd like to think that I'm well trained to know what makes good marketable art as opposed to poorly constructed art that isn't very marketable at all. And I see a lot of writers who struggle with choosing the right kind of art for their book covers… especially self published book covers. Now add the fact that the publishing market is changing right now where even a self-published author can do very well for themselves. And it's just going to continue to bloom. Which means unless writers train themselves on how to pick the "right" art, the problem is just going to get worse unfortunately.

But it doesn't stop there. Because of my art/illustration/design training I know what the artist aspires for as well, or what they SHOULD aspire to. This information needs to be taught or it's going to disappear like every other classically trained discipline. (And I will address what I mean further by that in future posts on this topic.)

So I'll be labeling those entries: "ART AND DESIGN CORE." Core because it will be focused on the core importances of picking smart art and design. I'm hoping that I can train writer eyes to pick the art and artists that know what they are doing and have the appropriate skill level for their equivalent skill level. If you plan on taking several years and classes and going to all the trouble to make a really well told story, you OWE it to yourself to get an artist or designer who's done EXACTLY the same thing. And if you can't recognize that skill level. These posts will help you to see that. (And just to warn you, it also might make you an art snob too.) But I guarantee that you will pick SMARTER art to cover your story and it will only benefit your ability to sell it.

First Order of Business:

Updates! I haven't been keeping this blog up very well. And I intend to do better at that this year. I was busy all of 2011 doing lots of things; podcasting, reviewing comics, getting interested in writing comics, and doing the ANWA Newsletter. AND on top of all that being a mom and a wife! So, two full time jobs.

Yeah, superwoman couldn't cut it if she were me and a few things had to give.

I've stepped back from a ton of podcasting ventures. I started a comic book writing class (which is excellent) and then I went to "Life, The Universe, and Everything Symposium" and realized that I comic book writing, while interesting, fun, and I might actually enjoy doing, isn't where I want to be right now. Mostly due to a keynote address that I attended at the LTUE symposium, just really hit me that I'm distracted with comic book writing and not focusing on my one real love. (And novel writing has been my focus since I was a kid.) Kinda an expensive thing to realize now, in light of the comic class, but still not a total loss as writing stories which ever medium still involves meeting at a blank screen/page and putting something there. And I'm definitely learning its the same process regardless what format you write.

And then the big hit that is happening in all this… I won't be the ANWA newsletter editor much longer. I have extremely mixed feelings on this as I've really enjoyed being editor and I wanted to continue for another year at least (if not longer). (If I could pick the one job I'd excel at and would find myself perfectly suited to perform, it would be designer and inspirer. Two things I have a LOT of training in. And something I never tire of, nor out of ideas.) I won't go into much detail or opinion about it other than to say my leaving does not come without me fighting for the position and still losing. And no, it's not an amicable departure. I guess I wouldn't be as upset about it if I hadn't been 100% vocal for the last few months about intending to stay on and being told the position was mine for as long as I wanted it. (Like I said, I fought and worked hard for this position.) I've put a lot of hours, thought, and spiritual effort into creating a positive and uplifting forum that all members could enjoy and be inspired to write from. I've gotten a lot of feed back from ANWA members who've been inspired by it. So how things have turned when so much positive has come out of it… It's a big slap to the face. And I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm really hurt by this.

So February has been a ball of both positive and negative outcomes… It's been intense… traveling, drama, all out battling for something I've invested a lot of time and effort into, doing an online comic writing class, more traveling, then being inspired by a symposium… by other writers who've battled their own wars on their path to success… It was exactly what I needed when I've been so low and in the dumps. And then comic reviewing side of things… suddenly the stories are out of this world as well… so all around the lowest lows of my year and the highest highs to help me through them. It's been very emotional across the board.

So what's in store for Aimee then?

More time to write is on the horizon. Although I'm still working through emotions as so many ups and downs, consequences of being one of those people that fully invests herself in her endeavors, just play havoc with my ability to work on the page. If I'm not gushing about a story I read I'm ranting about my frustrations for the last two weeks. Yay for being an emotional person! And I highly sensitive one at that. (Which I find is one of my strengths rather than a weakness. But it too needs its place to breathe in my life...)

So, goal time… March is my pick up and move on month. Where I expect that I'll buckle down and get back on my writer track and do what I was born to do. This blog post is a note to my subconscious that whatever happened in February happened, don't let it get you down. There's your mourning time to work through things both ups and downs… but come March 1st, you get back in the game. I'm a fighter. Fighters take on wounds at times and they need to heal. Do that, but don't let it keep you from jumping back in the ring.

"Look me in the eye.

It's okay if you're scared. So am I.

But we're scared for different reasons. I'm scared of what I won't become, you're scared of what I could become.

Look at me.

I won't let myself end where I started. I won't let myself finish where I began.

I know what is within me. Even if you can't see it yet.

Look me in the eyes. I have something more important than courage.

I have patience.

I will become what I know I am."

- Michael Jordan

Mormon Artist Magazine

Why am I just NOW finding out about this resource??

Mormon Artist

Holy COW! Where has this been all my life! And then on top of that why hasn't this gotten out there more? Why haven't more of the people in my circles mentioned this and how cool it is?

And when will they be putting out another issue because I'm SO THERE!

OKAY, okay... backing up here and taking a breath! WOW. Um... I'm really excited to say that I found this, but I'm kinda sad because nothing has come out for months. And I'm honestly interested in what this project and magazine are doing.

And I'm blogging about it so you can find out about this too! Click the link, check it. If you are interested, as well as myself, they have free digital downloads. But I'm honestly thinking about purchasing a hard copy of this magazine. Cause WOW, I'm in for supporting causes I believe in. And this is something I think I can get behind!

Blogging Curve

I've been away from my blog account long enough... I plan to start posting regularly again. So any new readers out there that are interested... please feel free to start following me again.

I've learned a few things about comments... like I was receiving a ton of them while I was inactive with my blog. The majority of them were spam, but a few weren't. I thought I'd get email alerts. Well, turns out I hadn't set that up right. DOH! So now I've figured out what I did wrong, everything is working the way it should now and I'll keep up to date with the comments as they come in again!

One of the comments I received was from one of my friends in ANWA and she was impressed with my blog design ENOUGH that she gave me this award! And I'm thrilled to have it! SO, here's my award! And here is her blog: A Story Book World

Well, that's about it. Stay tuned for my furthering adventures in writing land!

Oh My Goodness!

I have not written in this blog for most of this year. Not that it is a bad thing... just been busy with everything. Whether it was with my ANWA responsibilities, family, or writing don't have time to do anything else... it was something.

So I will try and be better about this. I got a new faster computer this fall and I'm enjoying it. Still transferring stuff from the old one to the new one and all that fun stuff. Go me!

But I'm still writing. In fact, I did NaNoWriMo this month... half the month was great. Then I hint a block... not sure if it was because I was trying to make the text too perfect or I just couldn't find my happy place? For about a week, I suddenly was too tired to do anything by time the evening rolled around I wanted to just go to bed. And I did. Then Thanksgiving hit and I had guests at my home and I think worry and a racing mind killed the muse there.

SO, NaNoWriMo... the point is to make you write and to develop good stable writing habits right? So it was a success if it got me to write 10K words this month. And that makes me a happy camper.

This evening I opened a twitter account:

twitter.com/writtenvein

Yep, I tweet now.

And at the end of this year I will no longer be the President of American Night Writers Association. Yep. My two years is over. I'll be back though. It's been fun! I've learned so much and it really helped me to gain the confidence that I was lacking at that point in my life. I can say with confidence I feel more like a writer today then I ever have been in my whole life. And I'm certainly writing more than I ever have before too. All thanks to ANWA and attending conferences!!

Which reminds me... LTUE anyone? Gonna be here in February! And then of course the wonderful ANWA conference the following weekend! Yep that's right readers, February is gonna be really crazy fun with conferences and stuff!

The ANWA Conference "Writing at the Speed of Life" is a two day conference this year with pitch sessions and a workshop the Friday before. You can register for the conference here. It's gonna be really fun so register now all the details are at the website. You can also follow the conference tweets as well at:

twitter.com/ANWA_LDS

ANWA Conference 2011 is also on facebook too!

Okay well, now I gotta go write.

Month of Conferences:

February is my month for writing conferences. I'm leaving tomorrow at the opening of the morning to travel to Provo Utah for the first one this month.

http://www.ltue.org/

It's FREE! At least to attend but since I'll be driving and needing food, staying with friends, it isn't completely free.

I'll let you know how it was when I get back.

The next one will be Saturday February 27th all day. The Annual ANWA Conference, which I am hosting. Well, not me alone. ANWA is putting it on, but I'm the President so I'll be the one introducing and welcoming everyone to the conference. It'll be fun. You should come, we've got lots of great speakers and presenters. It's going to rock! We have some nice stuff planned and you'll be sorry if you miss out! Go to the following link to register!

http://anwa-lds.com/conference.html

I'm also the one who created and designed the new ANWA logo. Yeah, I've been meaning to post some stuff about it but I just have been busy. So I'll post more later!

In progress!

It isn't because I'm ignoring my blog, I'm just devoting all my time to writing. Why? Because I can quite literally see the end in sight and that always motivates me to write, write, write.

I have a ton of stuff to share really I do. But I'm writing. If I hit my goal early I'll spend the end of the month putting some wicked posts in my blog. I swear!

Sharing the totals of my hard work!

December is now over with. So is 2009 too. And here are the accomplishments of my long hard work since I started writing in 2009.

In December I made a goal to hit over 12,000 words. I wrote a total of 21,393! I didn't plan that. I didn't push myself either. So I'm really happy that I can say I can write that many words! My goal is to practice every month so next November when I do NaNoWriMo, I can do it! As it stands, practice really does help me work up to stuff that seems out of my reach.

For all of 2009, I wrote a total of:
61,127 words. Cause that is how far into my story I am.

NEW GOALS:
Well, for January I want to hit 20,000 words. So I'll report all of that on my tracker along the sides of my blog. You'll have to scroll down to find it. (It's on the left hand side, in pink.)
For 2010, I want to continue to hit my monthly goal and practice for NaNoWriMo. And of course, finish my WIP. And once that one is done I see no reason why I can't start on the next one.

I can honestly say my future feels so bright I have to wear sunglasses. YAY!

Comments:

I am always thrilled to get comments and I wouldn't normally delete them unless they are really mean, nasty, random, or generally unable to decipher. But lately I've been getting ones that are in a completely different language. I speak english, everything on my blog is in english so unfortunately since I can't read in any other language I will be deleting any comments that fall under the following description:

Comments with swear words, that are mean, nasty, crude, random (with no explanation), generally unable to decipher, or are in any language other than English (with no translation) will be deleted.

I want this blog to be appropriate for any reader at any age and have a general uplifting nature. Sometimes this means that you've got to put your foot down.

Notice how I didn't say you couldn't promote your own blog here. I'm cool with that, only if it doesn't contain anything offensive on it. Like I said, I want any one from any age to be able to come to my blog and not have to worry that they are going to run into a swear word or some crude comment. This also means if you promote yourself here I hope you can understand if I feel uncomfortable about what is on your link I'll ask you to not promote here.

G rating! Thanks!

Working...

I have had a few projects on my plate this month. I'm getting more readers and I wanted to post something quickly so I don't let any of you down who are looking for inspiration or just want to something encouraging to read.

ANWA... I made a new logo for American Night Writers Association. I've been working on it for a little while. But finished it and shared it with the rest of the Executive Board and they put their stamp on it. It will be featured in the newsletter for January 2010. So stay tuned!

Writing Goals... Remember NaNoWriMo last month? I only wrote 12,000 words during the whole month which is the most I've ever written in any one month in 2009. Well, I beat it this month. I hit 12,000 words half way through December and I'm not done yet. Again another stay tuned to see how many words I get to. (I'm practicing to see just how many words I can write in one month. Without killing myself or wanting to kill myself. eheheh)

Okay, so that's it. Those are the two big ones I've been so focused on when I'm not running around the house putting out fires and keeping the kids from injuring themselves or each other. I have been contemplating on what I will continue to write about in this blog... hopefully something that gets everyone excited to write more in 2010!

Confessions of a Amateur Writer #2: You gotta love it forever!

I've been writing on my current WIP (Work In Progress) since June 2009. It seems like forever! But I'm still insanely focused on it. Which is good. There are days when I think "Am I done yet???!"

I confess there have been times when the only accomplishing thing I did to add to my word count was to open all my files and run a word count on everything I've written so far to check how far I am. Making absolutely sure I hadn't missed something somewhere. Am I indeed at the word count I confess to be at?

I thought I was more than half way through by now, but alas I am not. I'm starting to think this obsession is going to be a life long thing. Will it ever end?

I happened to talk to one of my writer friends the other day. I'm reading her story and I haven't finished it yet. This is the second version I've been reading. She had a confession to tell me when I told her how far I was into her novel. She's rewriting it again. This makes it her third rewrite. We both laughed sheepishly.

The reality of what she said hit me afterwards. I'm in this for life. There won't be a day that goes by I don't think about what I'm writing about. And the first draft is just the first of many rewrites to come. When I finally do get picked up by someone to publish it, I'll be rewriting it yet again.

Insanity just doesn't cover this level of strange. I think you just gotta love it forever. Just like you love your kids even though they drive you crazy sometimes too. Hey, I've heard novels compared to kids. Maybe that is the reason why. You will never be free of your kids, just like you'll never be free of your story.

So the moral of this post is... If you're gonna write it you better love it forever. Because chances are you will write it once and then rewrite it until your eyes are bleeding and you want to stab it to death. Or you want to stab yourself to death? There will be days when it is purely delightful to be in the pages of your novel writing, discovering, plowing through, making the magic happen. And then there will be days when you are ready to rip all the pages to shreds, kill all your characters, and burn every word you've ever written.

Caution to the wise... before you light a match, remember to make the commitment before you start writing to love your story no matter what. It's like a marriage commitment.

HEY, did I just do that... compare writing to marriage and family? It's the story of my life!

Once Upon A Meter...

"When there are no words speak from the heart and you shall surprise yourself."
~ Unknown

Because of NaNoWriMo, I have written approximately 11,000 words on my WIP (Work in Progress) bringing my total amount over 33,000 words! It took me 5 months to get to roughly 28,000 words. (About 5,600 words a month?) So in terms of what I've written in a month that is amazing! I've doubled what I have normally writen in a month. Maybe some of the big writers put in more than that, I'm still learning and I've got little kids to contend with. I'm just excited about my strides!

And let me tell you it has taken a ton out of me to get that far. I feel like I've been obsessed with words. It's always on my mind every day to try and plug further. But it has really done great things in terms of my word count. I will definitely come back and do this next year if I'm not insanely obsessed with something else. And even if I am, I'm still going to try and do it. (Yes, I am a nut. Hey, I'm a writer! I refuse to be normal!)

Hopefully by then I'll be done with this story and on to the next one after that, which I believe I'm really going to have to do at this point. (I'm starting to come up with the plot of the next novel already. Er... I'm seeing it start to take form.) It's all good.

I've really enjoyed having a little word meter to track my progress while writing. Because of this, and the fact that Nanowrimo will be ending soon, I am going to place a word meter on my blog. I don't know if the Nanowrimo meter works the rest of the year? Keeping a meter though, it's just because I want to make myself keep to goals and sharing those goals. When you write them down and tell others about them, you have to keep yourself up to the standard. Everyone will be watching and waiting and hoping you do what you set out to do then.

I will be keeping a word meter on my blog, so everyone knows I'm working even if it is slowly. You can come back and check my progress, make sure I'm still working! My goal is to have this story finished by June 2010, the same month I started it in 2009. Then I'll start the next one. Then there is the whole editing thing... oh the possibilities!

Here are the word meters I found if you'd like to add one to your blog:
NaNoWriMo Word Meter (I'm assuming this was before they had their own.)
6 Word Meters and Trackers from Spontaneous Derivation
Writertopia Writing Meter
Leigh's Word Meter
Wordmeter by Svenja

Requiring a log in/account sign up to track:
The Life Literary - Writing Counters
Word Count Widgets - National Novel Writing Month
StoryToolz
Luminary Writer's Database
Margaret Fisk's Word Advance Progress Meter

Now I just have to decide which one I'm gonna use!

Writing Excuses Podcast is where it's at!

"A real friend helps us think our best thoughts, do our noblest deeds, be our finest selves."
~ Anonymous

As I have mentioned before, I recently discovered the wonderful world of podcasts. I said if I found one that focuses on writing I'd say something about it if I LOVED it? Well, I found one. I've listened to SEVERAL months worth already in the last few days and I simply just LOVE this cast!!!! It has just spoken to me, quite literally, on so many levels after just discovering it I'm ready to blast off exactly what I feel about it.

"WRITING EXCUSES" PODCAST! It ROCKS!

I can't say it any better than that. If you know how to listen to it, DO IT NOW! If you don't, LEARN HOW! It's hosted by three artists, Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells. Their catch line is "Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart." It's catchy, humorous, and frankly these guys are entertaining. Audible is their sponsor. And they end with a writing prompt! How great is that?! I'm gonna let these guys speak for themselves though so...

bask in the wonderfulness:
http://www.writingexcuses.com/

This podcast is definitely become my new BFF!

Take that linear writing!

"The woman who work with her hands only is a Laborer. The woman who works with her hands and her head is a Craftswoman. The woman who works with her hands, her head, and her heart is an Artist."
~St. Francis of Assisi

So for the last two weeks I've struggled to write the way that I have been for the last six months. Nothing has been coming as easily as it has been. And then I discovered two things:

1. I'm not listening to the voice within that says "Write from this point today." Which means that yes I'm jumping around in the novel but the more I try to make myself write from Chapter 1 to 2 to 3 and so forth, the less able I feel to write at all. I just end up writing and laboring on the piece maybe even doing a job of craftswoman a bit, but it isn't fun, it feels like a job. And I have a hard time making myself sit down and do it. Not what I want to be doing right now.

2. I'm trying TOO hard to make it perfect. (Especially first go around.) Again, another issue I've had in the past that has made me stop writing altogether.

Okay so number 1 is easily fixed. I just stop trying to be linear here and I start jumping around again. No problem. I know exactly where I need to be writing then today. I got to listen to that. But number 2? Pulling a blank? Maybe if I go with number 1 it will remedy itself because I'll be writing from the heart and that's a pretty big pull for me. This whole learning your writing process thing can be both fun and perplexing. But you gotta love it right? And telling yourself to not be a perfectionist, yeah, I've been saying that to myself for years and has it ever helped?

*laughs and looks around with shifty eyes*

A Come Back?

So I've pooped out on my blog lately. But I'm making the rounds and getting at least a post up to get back on the wagon today. Just a goal and goals are good because they keep us going. Especially wonderful when you feel like you just don't wanna. And this week writing in my free time... I just don't wanna. Bleh.

(See I knew I shouldn't have signed up for NanoWriMo!)

But alas! The week isn't over yet.

So I had to do a shout out here about podcasts. In the last 3 months I've become a fan of podcasts. I've found some fun entertaining casts, not about writing, that have hooked me into the fun that podcasts are.

Today I started browsing around for podcasts for writers and writing topics. I found a few. And once I've found a few that I like I will definitely add them here. If I don't find what I want, who knows maybe I'll start my OWN!

For those who aren't very familiar with what a podcast is... basically it is like a radio show but on the internet. (It's so easy to produce your own podcast that those who do them usually aren't paid or trained professionals who have had a long career in media production.) You don't have to have a iPod or other similar device to listen to it. Some can be listened to right on your computer/laptop or via iTunes. Or you can download the file and burn it to a disc and listen to it in your car. So don't worry just because you don't have an iPod you won't enjoy the same show that I may talk about here. You most likely will if you have a computer with audio capability.

Some Links:

Just found some articles that I read and liked. I wanted to share them and remember them, so I'm posting them into my blog.

Overcoming Writers Block from an Amateur Writer

A Passionate Amateur Almost Always Beats a Bored Professional

When Does an Amateur Writer Become a Real or Professional Writer?

An Amateur Writers Checklist

Amateur Writer Misconceptions that Should be Punished!

Are You A Real Writer?

My Stages of Writing:

CREATION STAGE:
Where I contemplate plots, characters, what the point of the story is, what drives it, why should I care, why other people should care, and why it's worthwhile to write it if at all. I may in fact write a chapter or two and then lose interest. I may write out long background on each character, getting down every little detail so if I actually decide to sit down and write the story someday, I'll have all of my notes and summaries to fall back on.

Up until 4 months ago... this was where I honestly went to. I really never got past this stage until now.

SPEW STAGE:
I'm actually writing my first rough rough draft. IF I have more than 20,000+ words dedicated to this story by this point, I am now officially spewing real work, potential publish-someday-material, and I'm not just thinking and making IDEA STAGE fodder. The work is consistent. I can even say how many words I'm writing on a week to week basis. YAY!

EDITING STAGE:
rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite... everybody now...

(A stage I have not had to privilege to really KNOW as of this day in 2009. I've had my brush with a rewrite but it isn't a real rewrite for me, in my mind, unless I have a complete story to rewrite. That is all 80K to 100K completed size of it. And that mile mark is yet to be accomplished in this amateur writer's list of accomplishments. Don't worry I'll get there... It's on my bucket list of things to do before I die.)

PUBLISH STAGE:
I've heard other people talk about this stage... It sounds cool... I have no idea what it will be like. SOOOO, I oogle at it, raise an eyebrow in its general direction, consider myself at pre-published stage, and contemplate what I will do when I actually cross this finish line. How will it feel? Will I cry? Will I scream?! Will I buy a huge TUB of ice cream and celebrate brain freeze style?

Will my kids still consider me their mom and not that "strange person who talks to herself sitting in the corner, in her pajama attire writing" by then?????

That will definitely be a confession time...

Maybe even therapy?

LOL!

*****

AND... that is about the extent of my writing "stages" at this point. I'm sure as I actually write and write and write some more, move on in my knowledge and experience of writing I'll have more stages. I'm just enjoying the point in my life where I'm writing consistently. As in, every day I look forward to the kids being in bed and having 3 to 4 hours of real writing time. I look forward to it EVERY day!

There is so much about writing I have not yet experienced. The whole journey and repeating it.

It's a ride!

Confessions of a amateur writer:

I have a love hate relationship with writing.

Yes that is right, I fully admit and confess I sometimes want to pull my hair out at the ends because what I've written sounds so awful...

Then again there are days when it is SO exciting I can't stop and everything is flowing great and I'm so passionate about getting it all down, and it sounds so good...

Yes, I am very conflicted.

You would think I'd just throw in the towel and realize the love hate relationship is so twisted. But do I?

Just when I'm sure I will throw in the towel forever, I have one of those really awesome writing days.

See where this is going?


Now I understand what it means to be considered insane. It is also why I finally broke down and bought one of those shirts that says "The voices won't let me stop writing." It's absolutely true! I will wear that shirt as a badge of my insanity.

Now I know what you are thinking, "what kind of a writing day is she having today?"