Chasing Dreams

Hello!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! As you may have noticed I haven't been able to post as frequently as I did.  I've recently been running in too many directions trying to accomplish a great deal, but in reality accomplishing very little.

I am an Independent Writing Consultant and am working to build my portfolio so that by the time I graduate, I will have some work waiting for me.  It's always a good idea to try and get work in your field of interest.  Somehow technical support did not seem to fit into those plans.  I also realized that this transition would require a tremendous change and an equal amount of risk.  With that thought in mind, I made the decision to try and focus on my "true" job.  Being a newbie is difficult.  There is no word-of-mouth; no one to give you references.  Everything hinges on the kindness or faith of someone unknown to you, someone to give you that first opportunity.  It is also a wonderful challenge because it fosters excellence. A person just starting out has everything to prove and much to lose if they don't succeed.

I am gradually updating my site (www.crampedwriting.com) to include my new job which entails a variety of duties:  proofreading, copyediting as well as substantive editing.   Eventually my site will have the details about the different tiers and the costs.  I'm also able to offer assistance with writing-related questions, and make suggestions when appropriate, for certain aspects of marketing.

This is a very exciting time, but as you can see, does not allow for the upkeep and maintenance of two blogs.  Therefore I will be discontinuing this blog and using strictly the www.crampedwriting.com one.  I apologize for any inconvenience this change creates, and I hope you will all continue to visit me at my "new home".  I prefer the variety of options for the wordpress blogs and look forward to being able to help and touch-base with everyone a bit more efficiently.

Thank you for all your patience and understanding!  I'll be running a promotion next month as well, so please don't forget to check out the new site.  I want to make sure as many people as possible have the opportunity to submit an entry.

Have a great day!

Learning From NaNoWriMo

It's been a while.  I've neglected you for a couple weeks now.  I promise it was not intentional.  I just decided to take the craziest ride of my life, and bit off more than I can properly chew.  I reached a critical point, not long ago, where my synapses went into overdrive.  I realized that if I kept working full time, catering to family, and attending school, I would have no time to actually write.  For an aspiring author, this is obviously distressing news.

Not distressing, that term is not strong enough.  I'd probably say it was catastrophic news.  This came after many other issues had decided to make their way to me and plop themselves onto my already full plate.  The only available answer was to quit my job and NOT get another one.  Crazy?  Yes, very.  Necessary in my case?  I think so.  The true question is what happens from here?

As things stand, I'm not finished with my B.A. in Creative Writing.  I wanted to have my degree before I was in this position.  We all know how plans are though; they never go where they are supposed to.  I'm still taking my classes (I actually only have a few semesters left, which will no doubt fly by) and trying to make my way through the possibilities of earning income, which is in some way related to my field of study, rather than throwing away my time at a job which will not build a portfolio.  Somehow, "I can help fix your internet", does not seem to garner points on a writing resume.  Weird.  It has been a long couple of weeks crammed with various duties.  Things are beginning to settle down, so the real struggle begins.  Oxymoron, I know.

I've been doing NaNoWriMo this month, a very valuable exercise in writing insanity, which will hopefully produce something of quality.  In addition to this, I need to edit another manuscript (my first edit!).  It is probably time to drag out all those nifty writing links I've been saving up for the future.  As they say, it is "go time".  I've already learned that this journey is not for the scared, or the faint of heart. It is not for those who dream of a "someday".  NaNoWriMo is teaching me that every moment is THAT moment, every day can be a step towards "someday".  I've always been able to write without worrying about writer's block (this may be due to my ADD-esque writing style), but NaNoWriMo challenges this.  To meet my goal, I need to write a certain amount of words per day.  If I fall behind, I have to write more during the following days to catch up.  The writing lags and it can be depressing watching the spillage of word junk accumulate on the screen.  I can understand the desire to stop at that moment.  To go hide from the manuscript you are writing and which seems to mock you and your dreams.  Don't hide though!  Keep going, press onward! Truly, it is a pain in the butt, yet it works.

Writing is a sport. You heard me...(figuratively speaking).   A sport requires intense training, dedication, perseverance and practice.  Sound familiar?  I thought so.  Writing takes skill, but if you have the determination, you can learn to acquire the skill.  If you want the "trophy", you have to do the work.  No one ever expects to have a perfect sprint, or three-point shot, without first working towards the completion of those goals.  As writers, we cannot expect to write the perfect book, or even the perfect scene at the first draft.  NaNoWriMo is teaching me the value of pressing on, though the work might be substandard, to reach the end goal of completing the first draft.  Once the first draft is done, I'm able to go back and edit.  More practice.  You can always rewrite once you finish, but if you get distracted or depressed about the work, you may never finish.  Remember to allow your writing to suck.  Don't look back, keep going.  Whether you're doing NaNoWriMo or other writing, keep going.  There's obviously times to take a small break, but if you find yourself avoiding your story, you'll probably just have to plunk yourself down and continue to write.  Then make sure to give yourself proper credit, no matter how crappy you feel your writing is, for the dedication and perseverance you exhibited in finishing a manuscript.  That is a HUGE accomplishment, whether you were able to do it in a month or ten years.

It starts with just the dedication to write something each day.  Perhaps writing thoughts in a journal, or creating a poem would be a good start.  If you dream of writing, it is NEVER too late to begin.  Minutes a day.  I wish you all the best luck and will continue to share as much as possible of this crazy journey.  If you've never done NaNoWriMo, or are not sure what it is, check it out!

I want to know about NaNoWriMo!

Writers And Other Sedentariness

This year I decided to do NaNoWriMo.  The decision happened rather unexpectedly. It is something I have known about for a while now, but this is the first year I really wanted to look into it.  I view NaNoWriMo as a valid writing excercise, but beyond that as a way to force myself to really plan out a novel and complete it.  

Strangely enough, things have coordinated in my life to require me to quit my job with nothing but faith in the hope that I'll be successful (with God's blessings).  It's very scary and I may end up working at a retail place, which as long as I can make enough to live is fine.  I'm rather tired of being literally tethered to a cubicle.  There is something so disheartening and inhumane about that.  What's even more odd is that humans do it willingly.  If we chained animals to a post for eight to ten hours a day, animal rights activists would be working hard to get special breaks and longer tethers and any number of things.  Humans?  Eh, whatever.  So what if the risk of heart attack increases for men by 64% with a sedentary job?  No one gets fired up about that. 

You can check about the article about the potential health effects of sedentary jobs here: http://www.npr.org/2011/04/25/135575490/sitting-all-day-worse-for-you-than-you-might-think

The article by Patti Neighmond at NPR.org interprets the effects of stress, solely on men.  While men and women are different, women also may have increased risks as well.  Percentages may be different, but it is obvious that our current mode of office-related work is a health hazard.  You sometime used to hear people saying, "a little work won't kill you".  With these numbers we have to consider that unless there is a drastic change in how the workplace is managed, there could be significant health issues and a general decline in overall health.  Work takes up increasing amounts of daily life which does not leave much time and/or energy for trying to exercise.  

Why does this matter?

Well, as I mentioned above I recently quit my job.  I'll be pursuing writing in addition to some other sedentary work.  Writers, who sometimes sit for hours furiously typing or scrawling, also need to be mindful of these statistics.  This is a timely reminder for me to take breaks from writing and other work to get a bit of exercise.  I know that I feel more alert and tend to get more ideas when I'm walking around, so I'm happy to try this out.  I can definitely see how it would be so easy to just sit for hours, especially when I get engrossed in the material I'm writing.  Last night I wrote until around 4am before I realized I should go to bed.  I'm probably going to have to set an alarm and force myself to jog in place or do jumping jacks or squats or something.  If I can squeeze in ten minutes every hour or something like that I'll be getting more exercise than normal.  I'll have to see how that works.  

Happy days everyone!  More crazy ruminations later!

Is Writing Glamorous? Take a Peek!

Today I wanted to share with you a humorous video about the life of a writer.  Obviously this varies from person to person, but there are still granules of truth in this video which I found amusing.  

Too Tired To Ponder Much

Today, my "What If" ponderings were absolutely simplistic.  There was no grandiose scheme or plot in my mind.  I simply wondered "What If" I didn't have to go to work today?  "What If" I actually had the right number to contact my work and call out?  I'd be able to stay at home getting some much needed sleep but mostly likely nothing else of consequence.  I'd probably barely get my homework done, but honestly the sleep factor is looking pretty good right now.  Since I have neglected the relevant work information though, I have essentially forced myself to come in to work.  It's just as well I suppose.  I'll probably get a lot more done anyway.

I've got a new post up at my other blog http://crampedwriting.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/autumn-enticements-why-i-love-autumn/.

The title is self explanatory...it's why I love Autumn.  It's a somewhat indescribable feeling for me, an excitement that steals into my bones and seems to move me like a marionette towards an unseen goal.  It's a feeling that tickles down to my soul and reminds me to be alert, to watch the wonder of the world around me and to see the magic in every day.  That's an amazing thing when you think about it.  Not often do we have the opportunity to escape the dreary realities of this world, mostly hearing about everything that is unworthy. Attention which should be heaped upon the good and noble rarely holds the spotlight as it should leaving us with a lopsided view of the world.  Autumn reminds me that there is good, there is new, there are choices I am free to make. Today I am grateful for mint chocolate cookies.  So simple, but they evoke great memories and make my taste buds dance.  Now, I think I want to go play outside. I guess I'll have to do that later.  After I have some more caffeine.

My Tips For Showing In My Writing

Whoops! Sorry, didn't quite get this in last week.  In all fairness I did start a lengthy post about showing instead of telling.  I think it's fairly easy to notice when you have a sample of one writing which "tells" versus a sample which "shows".  I think we can also agree that a lot of writing combines aspects of both showing and telling.  In essence they key is to know when to show instead of tell, in addition to be able to determine what "showing" will look like for your story.  Here are a few things that I'm using to try and help me deal with this aspect of writing:

1) If I can't think of a way to "show", I change my POV (point of view, sorry)
I either write it from the perspective of a completely different character, or change the actual POV to first    person, etc.  Even if this is only a temporary change, it has been well worth it in the end.

2) Vocabulary.  Let's face it, there is only so much one can do with "rippling muscles".  Those are the kinds of "cliches" that I want to avoid.  Use an odd comparison suitable to the tone, or look up a completely different word.  Variety adds spice.

3)  Try mildly mimicking some of the actions if you're having trouble and notice a few things, how your muscles feel when you clench your hand into a fist, how the tendons in your wrist stand out out.  Make a mental or regular note about that so you can include it in your writing.  (Note:  this does not mean you should grab a sword and jump into the street trying to engage in combat) Sure I may look like an idiot now and then, but it's no different than any other day really! :)

4) We take a lot for granted. As writers, it is up to us to make things "new" again.  The feeling of first love, unrequited love, anger.  Even just the wonder of waking up to a day that is so incredibly sunny you can't help but smile.  Maybe the way you stand almost on tiptoe when you stretch in the mornings. It's writing "alive".

Here's my new philosophy on the subject:  if we can feel our writing, and there is a sense that it lives and breathes on its own, then we've done a good job. Does that even make sense or is that just a horror story waiting to happen?  Eaten alive by my own manuscript...

Tell me what you think!  Agree?  Disagree?  Have an idea I left out (there should be lots)?

I'd love to hear from you!

Showing Your Story or Boring Your Readers

Happy Tuesday! The other day, I have to tell you that I was really excited to find a better grasp of "show don't tell" than I have had.