Writers Unbound

Everyone’s talking about goal planning, and I had to get on board when I was invited to post my goals on Writing-Goals. I dashed off a set of 4-5 for that posting, but I’ve been thinking much deeper, and came up with a more comprehensive list for 2008.

My advice is to have a sounding board. My husband, of course, has a personal stake in seeing my writing business thrive. Luckily, he has a head for business, a business degree, and works in finance. However, a fellow writer or independent business person will do just as well.

Secondly, I feel that just listing abstract goals isn’t enough. I’ve broken my goals into ways to achieve them- step by step.

I also wonder about having date ranges for these goals. This will keep you on track in general. However, for me personally, I’m worried about my Masters program starting in the Fall of 2008. I’ve taken some of the classes in the past and I know how they can suck you dry. I’ll want to have the majority of my goals done before August.

Last, I feel that you have to be willing to bend. Let’s say, for example, that you suddenly sell your first novel. There’s a lot of work involved in getting that draft onto the shelves. I assume it will change your entire life and direction. There would be no shame involved in letting some of your goals go in order to focus on The Great American Novel. ;}

 Feel free to post your goals or your tips for creating goals in the comments.

Thank you kindly to those who followed our markets series that wrapped up yesterday. 

Moving on, I am currently reviewing “The Anti 9-5″ for my freelance writing site at About.com. It’s about leaving behind the cubicle farm for the “freedom” of freelancing.” Haha. While I adore the book, I do have a shot of reality I’d like to share!

For all those considering freelancing as a career, hoping for some of that “freedom,” I’ve decided to share with you a rundown of a day in the life of a full time freelancer:

• 7:30 Up and out the door. Since we’re down to one car for the next couple days, I have become the official chauffeur. Drop off child #1, drop off husband, drop off child #2.
• 9:00 Stop at Office Max and pick up ink for the printer that decided to suddenly die with no warning at 11:30 last night.
• 9:30 Back home. Let dog out, feed cats, print grad school applications and etc to get into the mail by 10a. Yeah, um, the deadline is Friday.
• 10 Time to “start work,” although I’m not sure what that means I’ve been doing since 7:30.
• 10 to 12 Work on editorial management of regional magazine. I have a meeting today at 4:30 with the magazine’s publisher. I showed up at the last meeting with not enough done, and the guy’s flying to Guatemala for a month on Thursday! Needless to say, he’s a bit antsy about the issue’s MLK print date.

So, this two hours of work consists of: managing his magazine, managing my email and other projects who are poking me for attention, researching for a subject interview for this afternoon, and researching for a client call also coming up this afternoon. In addition, I haven’t done any subject interview for over a year, so I have to cough up my recording equipment and digital camera.

• 12:30 Shower and prep for the interview
• 1:40 Leave
• 2:00 Realize I forgot my laptop, which I need for my 4:30 meeting with my publisher. Crap.
• 2:10 Arrive at interview. Early. Hoping he will be ready. Early.
• 2:40 Subject arrives…late.
• 3:10 I should leave the interview right now. We arranged a half hour, which should be enough for a half a page with the research already done and a stock bio covering the first paragraph.
• 3:15 Ok, I really should leave now.
• 3:30 Finally leave. Call my daughter’s school and let them know I am on my way to pick her up.
• 3:45 Pick kid up, 15 minutes late.
• 3:50 Coach kid not to make a peep during 4 pm phone interview.
• 4:00 Potential client calls. Did I mention I’m still in the car?
• 4:10 Arrive home, gather laptop, get back in car to head to next appointment. Yup, still on the phone interview with client.
• 4:30 Pick up hubby. Still on the phone interview. Yes, we still only have one car. But at least now he can drive while I talk.
• 4:34 Phone interview over.
• 4:35 Dropped off at meeting with publisher at local internet cafe.
• 5:15 Publisher has family emergency. Is called away. I eat dinner alone while waiting for my family to pick me up. They are finishing up their dinner down the street.
•  5:30-8 Family time.
• 8: Children to bed, back to work.
• 9: Conference call with About.com’s fellow channel guides.
• 10-11: Back to work (typing this post, among other things.)

A time breakdown:

1. 4 hours family time
2.  7.5 hours work time
3. 3 hours ”other”- shower, travel time, pets

;-} So that’s my life…not that I’m complaining! Hope I’ve infused some reality into your view. Best of luck!

Directly before the passing of acclaimed novelist and journalist Norman Mailer, I happened upon an article about him in Playboy’s current magazine. (I won’t say WHERE I happened upon this, but needless to say, it wasn’t at the library or anything!)

Anyway, it’s honestly a really prolific article/interview and I’m glad I got to read it. Mailer’s death wasn’t entirely surprising, according to the blogosphere, but it’s still a blow for writers and readers everywhere.

Meanwhile, I am anticipating the movie release of my NUMBER ONE FAVORITE BOOK of ALL TIME by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Love in the Time of Cholera, due out this weekend.

I’ve heard that fans of the book will be a wee bit disappointed by the movie, but I’m just happy to relive one of my favorite stories of all time, good movie or bad. I have been looking forward to it for quite a while.

If I can pattern my fiction writing after one novelist, it would be Marquez. He captures setting like no one else. In fact, I haven’t read Cholera in almost two years.

The last time I read it was in the summer of 2005, while in the mountains of Mexico, and while I cannot even begin to tell you much about the characters, I could probably describe the town/setting in intricate detail. It’s his ability to capture place as a writer that has always pulled at me. If only I could do the same. It’s really place, not people, who seem to inspire my own writing.

How about you? What is it that inspires/inspired your novel?

Will you be seeing Cholera with me this weekend?

Any thoughts on Mailer’s passing?

Norman Mailer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Gabo, Love in the Time of Cholera

 

I spend so very much time on the internet. Given that my work is 90% virtual, that’s probably obvious & expected. Since I tend to surf a lot, I’ve noticed that there’s a million writer’s websites out there. Any info you want can be had, and quite easily.

With that said, I really am wondering how I can help readers of WritersUnbound. I know you’re out there! SiteMeter told me you’re visiting!

If you’ve happened along here looking for something in particular, would you kindly let me know what it is? Potential markets, jobs, advice, a peek into another writers world, maybe? I’d really like to help ya out!

As you can see, my last couple of blogs have spanned many topics and resources. I hope you’ve found them usable!

So, leave me a message. What do you  need out of a good writing blog?

Meanwhile, so that I can be the best blogger I can be, I’ll be following up on this story about blogger blindness.

So you wanna be a travel writer? (Me too!)

While updating my bookmarks, I’ve dug up some some potential markets for your latest travel copy. All of the following sites are currently accepting submissions or queries. I wish you the BEST OF LUCK!

The Cultured Traveler is currently accepting reprints of any travelogues to which you have full reprint rights. Although this won’t work for new writers looking to break into the market, those with previosuly published articles, or perhaps even old blog posts will benefit.

Adventure Journey is looking for the “soul” of your trip. Only features are paid, though.

The Matador Bounty Board is consistently updated, and I can personally vouch for David, one of Matador’s editors- a great guy with a great little addition to his workload ;). The Bounty Board includes postings from Matador and from other travel sites looking for writers. I check it weekly, you should too!

Literary Traveler wants to know if you’ve ever taken a journey inspired by literature. As usual, it’s recommended that you read their current articles to get a feel for tone.

Brave New Traveler isn’t interested in reading your travelogues, but instead seeks current news, travel related reflection and tips. Since they are specifically blog-based, be sure to follow their length and style guidelines.

Looking for a little writing inspiration before you tackle all those queries? Be sure to check out Write Anyway.

writing markets, writing, travel, travel writing

Don’t we all have an excuse for that unfinished novel on our hard drive and in our heads?

I do, anyway, and I like company. 

Over the summer I stumbled onto an August issue of O Magazine where Walter Mosley, author of 47 and multiple other books in several genres, tells you that This Year You Write Your Novel. That article was singlehandedly responsible for getting my novel out of my head and at least halfway on through my fingers (I’m still working on it). 

Mosley addresses a couple of my novel writing fears:

1) Similarity of my characters to real life
2) Lack of an ending. I didn’t know the ending.

Mosley helped me both via this highly recommended article in the August 07  issue of O Magazine.

Another way to go about getting your novel out would be to join National Novel Writing Month. For all the would-be NaNa novelists out t here, I wish you the best of luck! Keep us updated!

Happy writing!

Please don’t discount this post by the title of it if you are a hobbyist writer, or a novelist who is simply looking to let the novel out, and not looking at this here writing thing as a career, job or etc. Don’t worry, you’ll find a bit of inspiration here, too.

As child, I had two dreams. One that I articulated, and one that I held in. The one that I articulated, and the one that people liked to hear around me, was to be a veterinarian. This always made people happy, as I’m sure they envisioned higher education and job security.

But you know what I really wanted to be all my life, don’t you? I wanted to be a writer. I just wanted to write. Anything, really: books, reports, poetry, journal entries.

In fact, I kept a journal from the time I was in 6th grade until…well.. the present day, really. That’s 20 long years of journaling. In high school I would fantasize that someday my journal, the story of my life, would be published, like Anne Franks. Of course, what kind of story did I have, other than the normal angst of teenagehood? But still, writing was my dream.

Where am I going with this? How cliche is it for me to write that “you need to follow your dream.” I can barely bring myself to tell you. I hate cliches!

What I can tell you, though, is that I ran into this post at Women on Writing’s blog. And in it, they’d embedded the short, 8 minute lecture below from Randy Pausch.

How many times a day do you run into “watch this”, “read this” or “click on this”? I know it’s a lot. I do it myself, and I apologize.

However, watching this short clip was the most productive 10 minutes of my life in the past month. I am urging you, here, practically begging. Click on that triangle. Just do it. You won’t regret it!

After moving to Florida, I set up my home office in our sunroom. My former home was an old one, with lots of nooks, crannies and excess space. I had a large room that was perfect for an at-home freelance writing business.

In our newer home here, there wasn’t a great place for a workroom. I didn’t think we had much of a choice.

Then we decided to do extensive remodeling. As the contractors ripped up old floor tile, I studied a room off our back entry way. Technically, it’s a supply room. Technically, it’s a former laundry room. But I realized it was plenty big enough for a home office, especially now that I work on a laptop instead of a desktop computer. With everything moved out of it, ‘everything’ being defined as an obscene collection of clutter and cleaning supplies and tools, I can tell the room is actually bigger than I realized.

The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.

I’ve always joked to friends I have an office Stephen King might envy. There’s a view of our backyard and deck area. We have old oaks, Sago Palms and a big oleander that blooms dark pink slightly lethal blossoms each year. I catch glimpses of hawks, songbirds and an occasional turtle. Butterflies and hummingbirds feed on the Lantana right by my corner window. The sunroom has seven windows in all. Very inspiring. But there are also drawbacks.

I get distracted very easily. For one thing, we have this chicken that showed up two years ago and decided she’d stay. She flew over the back fence and adopted us. She’s still basically untamed; try to touch her and you will feel the wrath of her beak. But she likes attention. She’ll show up at the door and peck on the glass until I go out and talk to her.

Then there’s the glare. I end up closing all the blinds in the afternoon because the sun is so bright it drives my eyes straight to the nearest bottle of eyedrops.

There’s also the traffic. My daughters and their friends always use the sunroom door when they head to the pool, despite the availability of a very good exit door in the family room.

Things are topsy turvy here with all the house renovations—one fellow fell through our garage ceiling not long ago, sustaining no serious injuries—but I’m planning my new workspace with enthusiasm.

It’s a lot smaller than the space I have now. But what’s important is that it’s more private and there are no windows.

Every writer needs a place of her own. Whether it’s a corner or a full room doesn’t matter. It’s what you do with the space that counts.

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, home office, writing, freelance, writing business, home remodeling

Not long ago we were cleaning out our very messy garage. We came across a box of old photographs. We were on a roll until we found those pictures. As soon as I opened the box, all activity halted. My husband and I strolled down memory lane, recalling days when we both had long hair, big dreams and near-empty pockets. A bonus from that memory walk came in the form of inspiration. Thumbing through those photos inspired a new poem and an essay. Sometimes, we find inspiration not by seeking it but by accident.

It’s hard for a writer to gauge her own work, but one of the poems I consider my best occurred quite by accident. I was facilitating a Community Poetry Series for our local Barnes and Noble here in Jacksonville. Poet and author Steve Kowit emailed to tell me he’d be in our area, and we set up a poetry workshop for him.

Of all the workshops I’ve ever participated in, Kowit’s stands out for the remarkable experience every attendee had. Suddenly I found myself on the other side of the table. Instead of conducting a workshop, I was participating in one.

Kowit used several prompts to encourage us to pen an off-the-top-of-your-head poem. I chose, “I remember.� Within 15 minutes I’d sketched a draft of a poem about my youngest brother who died when he was a baby. Until that moment, I had never been able to write a poem about him. Ultimately, the poem “Sibling Blue� was published in the afterword to my memoir Killing Earl. It will also be included in my new poetry collection ‘Notes from a Florida Village.’

What made Steve Kowit such a great workshop leader?

He was kind and encouraging. His attitude towards poetry was very democratic because he likes many different kinds of poems. He wasn’t one of those, “Do NOT rhyme your poems!� types. In addition, his knowledge of poetry is extraordinary. He was able to listen to each participant’s poem and offer solid suggestions without intruding on the rights of the poet. I suppose those are a few of the reasons Kowit’s book ‘In the Palm of Your Hand’ is a wildly popular poetry handbook.

We all have dry spells where writing is concerned. So next time you have one, thumb through some photos, or use a prompt like, “I remember,� or “I regret.� The results may amaze you.

RELATED LINKS:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780884481492&itm=1
Book page for ‘In the Palm of Your Hand’ by Steve Kowit at Barnes and Noble online.

http://www.flagstaffcentral.com/bookfest2000/Authors/kowit.html
Page about Steve Kowit from Northern Arizona Book Festival.

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Books, Poetry Handbooks, Kowit, Poems, Inspiration, Writers, Book Festivals, Writing Workshops

This video features one of the only live interviews with author Philip K. Dick who achieved well-deserved fame too late. Dick died in 1982, but his remarks are still timely.

Over the years I’ve accumulated hundreds of links to useful writing sites. I’ve learned about everything from digital cameras to building my own Web site. I got a great education in college, but most of what enabled me to work in the writing biz occurred after college. Here are five of my top writing Web site picks. (more…)