Writer's Wednesday: Doing what we can

Well what do you know? Here it is, Wednesday again, and time for another writer's update.

I have sadly little progress to report, on either my writing or editing my photos (and I haven't done my taxes yet, either). I think there's no getting away from the truth: I'm goofing off, procrastinating, and not working very hard at much of anything.

I've not been completely idle, though. I *have* been working on my book. I'm not sure it's productive, but I've been producing a very lovely multi-colored outline of the book, tracing the clues leading to the perp, all the red herrings, the distractions, and the secondary mystery. Why? Well, for one thing, it's pretty :D  For another, I'm hoping that seeing how all the bits fit in will help me see where to fit in the bits that got left out. It might even be working.

Meanwhile, I'm 1/3 of the way through one of me 2 beta reads, with the second queued up. In fact, I've decided that it's probably more to the point to work on other peoples' books right now. I feel more responsibility to them, for one thing. For another, I can actually do it. And finally, I have found in the past that editing for others helps me get my brain going to edit my own work.

So that's how the Ninja Librarian is coping. That, and chocolate.

How's your Corona life going? Share your triumphs and frustrations!

Oh, yeah. And pretty pictures, because I can. Today's bonus is atmospheric water and bergs. But first--I finally found the (obvious) way to add a video. So here's one of a penguin.

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All images and text ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2020, unless otherwise indicated.
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!

Writer's Wednesday: Time evaporates

In the interests of putting things back to normal, at least as a writer/blogger, it's time for my regular "Writer's Update." As my title suggests, this might be a little embarrassing this week.

Seriously, how can it already be a week since last Wednesday and the IWSG post? Based on the amount I've gotten done (of anything productive, not just writing), it's been about 36 hours, and I've been asleep most of it....

I'm not going to beat myself up over that. We've been readjusting our household, not to mention going through the mental lag I always experience after extended travel. But I am going to use this to hold myself accountable for the coming weeks.

That's right: I'm setting some deadlines.

By the end of the week:

• edit and prepare my WEP post
• edit an additional story I worked on aboard ship
• edit 3 more chapters of the new Pismawallops PTA mystery, Death By Donut

For a larger deadline, I want to have DBD ready for Beta readers by mid-May. That will require some intense work, which is the point.

I have some other thoughts about marketing things I need to do, but I think this will do for now. Next week I'll post the goals for the following week (and the WEP story!). If I start meeting goals, I can add more.

So, if you see me over on Facebook... Can you chase me away? :D

PS--don't forget to check out the latest from the IWSG Anthology Blog. The release date for Voyagers is coming up fast!

VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost 
will be released May 5, 2020
Preorder now!

Print 9781939844729 $13.95
EBook 9781939844736 $4.99
Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure / Fantasy & Magic
Dancing Lemur Press/Freedom Fox Press


Amazon - Print https://www.amazon.com/dp/193984472X/ Kindle https://www.amazon.com/Voyagers-Third-Ghost-Yvonne-Ventresca-ebook/dp/B083C4WPR5/

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/voyagers-yvonne-ventresca/1135912991?ean=2940163430857

ITunes - https://books.apple.com/ca/book/voyagers-the-third-ghost/id1493413956

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/voyagers-the-third-ghost

Welcome to the Procrastinatortium

When I'm shooting for a daily word count, it's not the final thousand or so that cause trouble. It's words 1-100, sometimes 1-200. In other words, getting started.

This is not a post about how to fix that problem. This is a  post about how not to.

For those of you wondering how to do it right, here's how to accomplish very little writing:

Step one: Read the paper over breakfast. All of it. Pause occasionally to play Word With Friends.

Step two: Check all your social media sites. Remind yourself that this is really working, because your social media presence is important. Go back and check Facebook again, because important things might have happened to someone while you were reading about the effects of climate change in Greenland.

Return to other sites to read a few trip reports. Drift off into a fantasy of loading up your backpack and hitting the trail.

Step three: Open your computer files. Set up the desktop how you like it. Look at the clock.

Step four:  Read a bit from some book on writing. That's important, after all!

Step five: Look at the clock again. Realize it's time for your coffee break. Pick up a book to read while making your coffee. Read a couple of chapters.

Step six: Work on your current writing project for at least five minutes. Remember you were supposed to do laundry this morning. Go put a load in the washer. Go to the bathroom. Pick up that book again.

Step seven: Oh, now it's lunch time! Fix and eat lunch.

Step eight: Time to go to the gym. Fitness is important. Add to the workout by kicking yourself repeatedly for wasting the morning.

Step nine: Now you're too tired to write. Writing requires a clear head. Take a nap. When you wake up, seven other tasks will demand your attention, unless they clamored for attention while you were trying to nap and prevented any sleep.

Step ten: Late in the evening, try to salvage something from the day by penning a blog post about procrastination. Let sit for a week or two before getting around to posting it.

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2016

Progressive Book Club

Progressive Book Club #4: How to Write Good, by John Vorhaus


On the last page of How to Write Good, John Vorhaus gives us the three things he thinks we should take away from his book.  But long before that I had my number one choice for the catchphrase that's going up on my wall, my fridge, my computer, and (ideally) my spouse: Procrastinate Later.  It will go right below Don't make liars of those kids.

You have no idea how tempted I am to stop right there with this review/discussion.  I really don't need anything more!  But the book has more, lots more that you'd expect from 101 small pages.

First, what is Vorhaus doing with the grammatically offensive title?  Well, for one thing, he made you look, didn't he?  He doesn't talk about that, just about the way he's conveying a sense of whimsy that will attract the right kind of readers.  I thought about the way he makes a writer look at his book a second time, because what kind of guy would title a book on writing How to Write Good instead of How to Write Well?  But see?  Totally different book.  That one would be about spelling and punctuation.  This one is about getting words on paper, and recognizing that even though many (most) will be drivel, the only way to get to the ones that aren't drivel is to keep writing.  That, of course, ties back to my new motto, Procrastinate Later.  And I'm taking that advice, because I just finished the book this minute, and I'm pretty trashed after the longest bike ride since my foot surgery in January, but I decided that I should write this post while the book is fresh.  (Reaches over and slaps the book.  Don't get fresh with me!).

Okay, as you can see, whimsy works for me.  But there's more to the book than that.  For one thing, Vorhaus particularly gives the brand new writer (would-be writer) what she needs to get going.   I'm not that brand-new, but his understanding of the process is still helpful.  He includes exercises, some of which I'll try (I won't be writing a 10,000-word work to show myself I can, because I've already shown myself I can write 40,000-word kids' books and an 80,000-word mystery).  But I'll be thinking about pivots, and messing around with writing a "story" that's just a page of pivots.  That's helpful.  So are those three bits of advice highlighted on the last page:
Have a theme (know what you are writing and why)
Serve the work (as opposed to serving your ego, which is pretty much a dead-end street)
Keep giving them you until you is what they want.  I take this one to be a reminder that I am me, and no amount of faking it is going to make me J. K. Rowling or John Steinbeck.  And that I wouldn't want to be,  because me is pretty good anyway.

Thanks, John.  I needed that.

T: Ten Things I Didn't Do

 

Today's topic is talk about tasks that time has taught me thorough types tackle (but I didn't, both during the A to Z and more generally about my writing).  (I thought about writing about taxes, but I've finished with that annoyance, and don't want to think about it--nor do I particularly want to risk sharing my dubious decisions).

These first five are about the blogging thing:

1.  Because you already figured this out, I didn't write a post for today.  Or even figure out what it was going to be (I don't consider a vague note of "something about Tess?" to be a plan).

2.  Housework.  Blogging is a great deal more fun than housework.  Oh, I've kept the laundry done and fed people most days, even swept the kitchen and dining room a couple of times.  But please don't look too closely at my dust bunnies.  They are getting large and savage.

3.  Talk.  I haven't made enough time this month to talk to my friends.  It's very easy for an introverted writer to crawl into a cave with the computer and not emerge.

4.  Visit.  I'm guilty of failing to visit as many blogs as I'd like, though I think I've hit everyone who's left me a comment.  Where do people find the time for this?!

5.  Prepare.  Next year (and yes, I'm already planning on doing the next A to Z!) I want to prepare more posts in advance.  Prepare, plan, and execute, so that I can spend more time reading.

Six through ten are about writing, and publishing:
6.  Plan ahead.  I wrote the book, then I started thinking about covers, formatting, etc.  The sad thing is. . . I did it again with the second book, which is why instead of it coming out in Feb. as promised, it's still not out.

7.  Invest.  Spend a little to make a little.  In other words: hire a cover artist.  Maybe an editor, but especially a cover artist, because without a decent cover you just don't sell books.

8.  Build a platform before you publish.  Everyone says to do it.  Unfortunately, for many of us, once we've published THEN we start reading about how to promote our books.  But you know what?  Since my indie-published book is not under the gun to reach a certain level of sales by the end of six months, that's okay.  I can take my time and learn the ropes and get there by and by.  Or not.

9.  Perfect my record-keeping.  After figuring out the taxes, I noted that I now knew how to keep my records (what categories to use, etc.) to make it easier next year.  I can't help noticing that I haven't changed my record keeping yet.

10.  Pick an age and genre and stick with it (in a particular book).  The Ninja Librarian  grew organically out of stories I wrote for my co-workers, and only when I had about a dozen did we start to think it was maybe a kids book, maybe YA (turns out not).  So the poor Librarian hovers between the children and the adults, and no one is quite sure where to put him.  So I'll clarify: the Ninja Librarian  books are completely suitable for kids, and adults will get even more out of them.  Some of the humor verges on slapstick, some is more subtle.  I think the story works either way.   But, from a purely marketing standpoint: don't do this at home, kids!


On the up side, there are a few things I've done and want to keep doing: I've read a lot of books this month, after a bit of a slump where I was just noodling around on line.  And I've been finishing books.  That's something to be proud of.

We have a winner!

I'm a day late and a dollar short with my Wednesday post (School Board meeting last night ran late, so I bagged it and went to bed).  But that makes me just in time to share the winners of the Valentine's Day raffle from Love Middle Grade, Actually.

Just a big shout-out and congratulations to Dorothy, Christine, Dixie, Shawna, Andrea, Melody, Cindy, Steve, Jill, Michelle, Deanne, Malcolm, Annie, Tessa, Pawel, and Renee!  Enjoy your books (Dorothy, enjoy that Kindle!) and we all hope you enjoyed our sample chapters!

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In other news. . .
Today is international book giving day.  I just learned this from a couple of bloggers this morning, but it looks like a great idea!  Here's a link back to one of my fellow bloggers and writers to tell you more.  And of course it doesn't just have to be today.  Books are great to give any time, to people you know and people you don't!

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I'm working on a new series about writing, starting from the beginning of the process.  I hope it gets some discussion going, because I sure as heck don't have all the answers.  At the most, I am starting to get some idea what works for me.  But because all writers like to talk about writing, I'm jumping on the bandwagon.  Besides, putting my process into writing requires really thinking about what I do. . . and that is always a good thing.  The first post in the series will go up later today.  Tomorrow at the outside.

Do I need to link back to my post about procrastination?