Writers Doing Social Media in 7 Minutes

The 7 Minute Rule  -  so says David Henry Sterry, other half of The Book Doctors and Arielle Eckstut.

     ‘How to build your social network/platform without getting lost in the time suck’

The 7 Minute Rule for Social Media

How to build your social network/platform without getting lost in the time suck

That’s what he says.

And for those who have met them, heard them, at the James River Writers Conferences [in Richmond, Va.], you know how smart they are.

And I Think they are coming back to the Conference this October too!

Just saying you might want to sign up and come.

The Conference registration opens in June — so coming up soon.

I do admire David and Arielle both, they are savvy and smart, and dynamic.   

[Not to mention raising a Great daughter.]

I also have bought both a print version and an e-book version of their book, 

The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published - How to Write It, Sell It, and Market It…Successfully

And my print version is marked up and filled with post-a-notes.  And resides in stack of books on my night table.

Doesn’t mean I still won’t whine about all this.

I mean I Do Try to do everything!    And know I should be doing more.  But if I get less sleep than I do now I believe my husband just might revolt.  Not that he’s not somewhat right that I should get more sleep.   [No, he is not correct that we do not need more books, have no room for more books.]   But there just seems to be so much that Needs to be done, Should be done [you Know those are the Awful voices in your head], Has to be done, and then of course, there’s the ones you want to do.   Sigh.

There’s the whole of that list that applies to the personal part of life, as well as the whole of that to apply to the professional side of trying to be a writer.   Double sigh.

And I’m behind on things that I have to get done before Thursday’s James River Writers June on the James.   If you are in the Richmond, Va. area buy a ticket and join us.  Fun event.  And helps JRW bring all the great things to writers.

For more casual meeting of your tribe as David talks about in his post, come to the JRW casual meet up of Writers Wednesday, June 12.

For more info’ on Thursday’s June on James and / or Writers Wednesday next week, or even the JRW Writing Show at end of month — not to mention information on the great Conference in October, be sure to check the JRW web site.

And now I think that's been more than 7 minutes, so gotta go!

Find us.  Find your tribe.  Come out and connect.   We can all whine about David’s 7 Minute Rule for Social Media

Social Media Carnage

How do we keep all the social media from devouring us - and all our time?

Daunting, Difficult, and…and....  Dastardly !

Especially as writers we Try to find time to keep on writing.   [Or like Some of us - work on getting back to it.]

We are told we Have to establish a social ‘identity’ and …. Blah, blah, on and on.   Most of us are familiar with the rest of that refrain.   [if not, comment below, and I'll fill it in for you]

What is never quite clear is how we are supposed to integrate it / shove it / shoe-horn it into our probably already over-crowded time-pressed lives.

Not whining.  Really.  I’m well aware I am Very blessed, and don’t have it as difficult as some.  But that also does not mean my life is dripping roses skipping down a bucolic lane to a mansion.  Totally efficient and spotlessly clean of course.   With clean, and folded, laundry.    [Hey, I can still dream.  Course I might add a cook to that dream also....]

Life doesn’t always turn out the way we expect.   Or maybe, like, Ever turn out way we expect.   So we get creative and write our happy endings.  Right?   

Okay, so we don’t have our happy endings. Yet.  We can still hope and dream.  And see what we can work on in the meantime.

Which means working out the Social Media kinks in our time lines / lives.

I came across this, that might help a little.  

20 Tips to Tame the Wild Social Media Beast

Has some interesting tips that you might find useful.

Even as Writing Helps they can be useful -

# 1    Don’t expect to be Perfect.        Enough said.   Even as Writing Advice.   Keep Working toward it, but don't expect it.  Especially on your first draft.    ...maybe even your second one.

And some of the others are worth mentioning --- and applying to a Writing Life as good Writing Advice.

Take care of yourself.    

Know your audience.

Prioritize what Really matters.    Or my add to it - what really matters to You.

Realize you can’t do everything at once.   

Like Writing and Social Media and Everything else.

Yeah, you’ve heard / seen about all the studies about multi-tasking, right?   Myth.   We - None of us are very good at multi-tasking.  No matter What we think.   And according to what I saw recently those that believe they Are really Good, are the worst.

But since I'm not going to convince you with that on this post, on to next advice point ....

And most of all, take #19 to heart.      Connect With Like Minds

James River Writers in Richmond, Virginia gives a great opportunity with its programs for writers in the area.   From the Writing Show - Tomorrow Night, Thursday, January 31^st - and each month through August on the last Thursday of the month.   To Writers Wednesday the 2^nd Wednesday of Each and Every month, where everyone casually mingles and shares ideas and commiserations on such things as this.   And the Conference in October.     Not to mention several things along the way, so keep check on the JRW website for more ways to Connect with Like Minds!

There are other interesting links and info’ on the post so feel free to go check it out….. It Would be nice if you came back here and shared what caught your eye.  That I might need to take a second, or third, look at.

And since I still have ‘reality’ of laundry to take care of and the rest of it, I have to go and attack it right now.  Before it attacks me.

And if I am not at the Writing Show tomorrow night send a search party.    Bring chocolate.

Writers Want

Or at least the ones that come to James River Writers Writers Wednesday and remind me I haven’t posted this yet.

So Marina - and others - this is for you!  **Grin**

And Denise - you and others might find some interesting things here also. **Grin**grin**

First this site is Terrific to search for … well, more things than you’ll have time for in one sitting, or more, I think.

I might have mentioned in a previous blog post, but it’s so GREAT it’s worth putting out again :

This great site to show you to other Great sites!

http://hiveword.com/wkb/search

For getting - understanding - ways to put emotion into your stories…. And HINT, that’s what Every story could use.

Great info’ Emotional Thesaurus … with a free download of companion to the book offer!

http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/

Denise - you might find interesting  - Starting Erotic Stories: Two Things That Work, and Two Things That Don't

http://www.writesex.net/?p=416

Marina especially, here’s the site you’ve been asking for - with the facial expression changer thingy -

http://grimace-project.net/

And here’s couple sites I discovered while hunting these down that I found interesting and worth exploring :

https://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/body-language-an-artistic-writing-tool/

Sticky Note Cheat Sheet -  http://midnightwriters.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-four-one-word-writing-prompts.html

So — I’ve shared these … what have you got to share?

Getting Time

Time is something that most of us seem to have in such short supply.  Yes, some are busier than others.  But then again, is it simply the choices we make?  Or that make us.

With money we all have different amounts we have access to, but then a lot of it is the choices we make about how we handle it.

Is time the same thing?  After all, we all have the same amount of time to start with.  24 hours in a day.  It’s what we choose for those hours that make a difference.

I mentioned in previous blog post about taking a class on how to control clutter.  Yeah, well, I have wrestled some to ground, so to speak, but is still a work in progress.

But there is some progress.  Which is a good thing.  As was mentioned in blog post, seeing progress encourages us to keep going with our projects.

And to encourage everyone Debbie has created something extra to help us, 

12 Month Clutter Clearing Community

www.clutterclearingcommunity.com

Recently she sent out to her 12 Month Clutter Clearing Community 10 steps to start getting what you really want from your time. 

 [See below.  Especially the First one.  Okay here it is in case you might miss it - 

Focus on what you really want in life and remind yourself daily that tending your time carefully is the only way you’ll get it.

I thought it was interesting timing since last night was JRW’s monthly casual get together, Writers Wednesday.  Yes, despite the dreadful weather there were several of us that turned out.

We all made time to gather together and talk writing.  And since as writers we Must also be readers, we also talk reading and books, as well as writing.  [Not to mention Other things.] So don’t ever feel like you would never fit in.

Good Times!

Which there never seems to be enough of.  

Especially as writers, that have lives to manage, and jobs to do.

We often wonder how other writers get so much done - Talking about Maggie! - which as she has told us, and told us in her blog, she makes choices….. So these steps from Debbie are something interesting to look at and think about.

Especially when we are ready to get serious about our dreams.

If that is writing then we are pretty good around here at encouraging that.

In the meantime you might go take a look at Debbie’s blog and sign up for her emails as well.

After all as we get our time, and our life, under control, there’s hope that it will help us get our writing under control right?

Recently sent out to Debbie Bowie’s Clutter Clearing Community -

12 Month Clutter Clearing Community

www.clutterclearingcommunity.com

Ten Steps to Adding More Time in Your Day 

Focus on what you really want in life and remind yourself daily that tending your time carefully is the only way you’ll get it.

Identify the tasks that are the best use of your time (your frogs).

Identify the tasks you are doing that aren’t the best use of your time.

Delegate or hire outside help for tasks that aren’t the best use of your time.

Schedule time on your calendar for tasks that must get done by you. Don’t leave essential tasks to chance – just get them done and be done with them.

Identify YOUR time robbers and commit to eliminating them.

If you know you are not good at estimating how long it will take to get something done, double or triple your best guess and act as if that’s the time it will take to do tasks.

Embrace the freedom of saying NO to obligations you don’t really want to do that will eat your time.

Set simple, realistic task goals every day and give yourself time to work on your goals. Remember the number of goals you set for yourself is always your choice.

Step 10 QUICK TIP: if you have a task you know will take less than one minute to do, get in the habit of doing it immediately. This will give you a huge sense of relief and eliminate the mental stress that comes from tasks building-up. Get it done and let it go.

YOUR SPA (SIMPLE PLAN OF ACTION):
Where can you make time this week to take action? Below, list ways you

can make this happen.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

I’d love to hear anything that this TIP SHEET has stirred up for you. I invite you to post your questions and comments or start a

© 2012 Clutter Clearing Community | Tel 804-730-4991 |www.clutterclearingcommunity.com

And if you need Debbie to help you with your clutter, and / or your feng shui, here’s her info’

Debbie Bowie

12 Month Clutter Clearing Community

www.clutterclearingcommunity.com

debbie@rockscissorspaperinstitute.com

tel 804-730-4991

Meeting Writers and Gaining the World

For most writers the world we live in is small in so many ways, we live in environments in our heads with characters we create, while we go from day to day duties as trudgers in the worn rhythm of everyday life.

But it doesn’t have to be a lonely misunderstood existence, at least not unless that’s what you choose.

Especially with the existence of the internet and instant access to all kinds of information and people. Some you’d rather not, but that’s a different talk.

You can find and access all kinds and sorts of writers on the internet, and that can be great, but it doesn’t help you with the personal training in talking and getting used to interacting with people in person. And face it, at some point you are going to have to do that.

Or we all certainly hope for that, right?

We all want to be successful and be best-sellers. And sometimes that’s going to mean talking and interacting with Real people.

Not that our characters aren’t real to us, of course, but you know what I mean. Right?

If you live anywhere in the Richmond, Virginia area, James River Writers offers you all kinds of opportunities to haul yourself from your chair and imaginary world and learn to interact — in a good way - with others, and most will understand at least some of what you are going through.

You get to practice your people skills with real people, and which of us introvert writers doesn’t need that.

And some of the writers will even have some solutions, or suggestions, or options to help.

Even if you don’t see a need for them now, trust me, you never know where that next story is going to come from, or go. So it helps to have a list of resources handy.

And here’s a great site for that!

[You'll be sorry if don't check it out. I'm telling you. Really.

Be sure to come back and tell me your fave….]

And tying into the JRW February Writing Show that talked about food in writing, here’s a great place to explore.

Yes, looks like some of the links are broken or something, but there’s still some great working ones.

Thanks to Mike for sharing these.

Thanks to The Bookshelf Muse for the Great site.

Thanks to James River Writers for the Writing Show - the last Thursday of each month.

And the casual meet-up of Writers at Writers Wednesday - the 2^nd Wednesday of each month.

The new JRW website is up - as is the schedule for Writers Wednesday for the rest of the year! [A Special Thanks to the Wonderful Writers Wednesday coordinator, Denise!] So you won’t be confused as to where to go to mingle with all us great writers.

Do check the website for current info’ - just in case.

So I’ve offered you several ways to know the world.

And you can always hang out here with me.

Hey, where else are you going to get links to a Zombie Generator!

***Grin***

Reasons to Be

A Writer? A Good person? An organized on-the-ball dynamo?

Those are things you have to answer for yourself

But some things we can help you with:

Rejections & Resilience – Fueling Creativity on an Empty Tank

That’s what’s going to be talked about tomorrow night at James River Writers Writing Show.

You can sign up in advance and get a bit of a break on the money.

If you want to know what the Writing Show is about you can check out the great illustrator / writer Troy Howell’s sketches and recap of February’s Writing Show here.

You might also want to check out the recap of the Writing Show on Get Your Word On, JRW’s e-newsletter.

What? You don’t get that! Well, you can go right over to the website and sign up for it. While you are there check out the NEW website. It’s always going to be changing so you’ll have to come back to look often. So be sure to check it out.

And you can come to Writers Wednesday each month for free and hang out with us cool people.

We can help with with all the above, with or without a drink.

If you do come to Writers Wednesday come to the Writing Show tomorrow night and let others see you and talk to you. That way they know someone when they come to the next Writers Wednesday.

So all you Writers Wednesday-ers come to the Writing Show tomorrow night and stand up and be counted.

Okay, so we aren’t really going to count you, but we are going to recognize you for showing up at Writers Wednesday and encouraging us all. Thanks.

So you All have a reason to be at the Writing Show tomorrow night.

If you want another reason, there’s a donut shop just down the street aways, so you can go after the Writing Show and get a HOT donut right off the line!

They’ll even let you get more than one!

And that should be enough of a reason right there! Just saying’ ….. Good talk. Hot Donuts. Will get you through the end of the week nicely.

How to Come Back from the Edge?

When you are on the edge of throwing up your hands and giving in to your doubt of ‘is this worth it’ - how do you come back from that?

Or do you?

Whether it’s a manuscript or writing languishing dusty in hidden drawers, or just being tired of the struggle and self-doubts, how do you pick it up and keep going? Or do you?

For those of us that don’t have the ‘love of writing’ but have the whatever it is that compels us to write, is it even a choice really?

How do you keep believing in yourself and your writing, when it is often easier to do the opposite?

And why is it easier to believe the negative things about yourself and thus your writing, than it is the positive?

Which is why our choice of readers is so very important. Yes, we need Honest readers. But we need honesty as pertains to genuinely caring about both the person and the writing, not petty ….well, whatever it is that causes people to say horrible things to people about their writing. And yes, I’ve seen first-hand the damage that causes. Especially when writing, like any kind of artistic endeavor is just a matter of personal opinion. Even as readers we don’t all like the same things. [Thank goodness, would make books I want to read even harder to get hold of from library now wouldn’t it. ]

So it makes sense we all wouldn’t like the same writing. Or do the same writing. Horrors!

That doesn’t mean I’m saying that you have to only have readers that write the same as you, or only read the same things you do. I know some people do believe that, and that’s fine with me. It’s all a learning experience, some good, and some….well, I’ve already done a blog post about critique group difficulties.

So how do you keep believing in yourself as a writer?

The next post I will do - hopefully tomorrow… yes, yes, I know, lagging….a Lot… I will Try to post more often… like tomorrow I plan to post on Raising writing or a manuscript from the dead.

But if you are feeling empty, especially with your writing, then you’ll want to put Thursday, March 29, 2012 on your calendar for the James River Writers Writing Show -

Rejections & Resilience:
Fueling Creativity on an Empty Tank

If you’ve missed the Writing Shows, well, you’ve Really been missing great advice and information. [Not to mention mingling with other writers that probably understand a whole lot more than you think and might even have some helpful suggestions. Or at least commiserations. Chocolate might be involved. All I’m saying.

If you need something stronger than chocolate with writer commiseration, then don’t forget JRWs Writers Wednesdays at Capitol Ale House, Innsbrook Wednesday, March14, 2012. If you still want chocolate, try the chocolate ale. Uh, I Heard it was really good. ;) …all I'm sayin' ]

January’s Writing Show had great advice on how to be the best author for Bookstores.

I’ve been meaning to, and will try to get my notes transcribed soon on the Writing Shows, if you want. But since they are my notes, of what spoke to me, it’s really better if you come and take your own you know.

Finding Your People

I’m not talking about relatives or people you are related to. Or probably not. But it is the South, and those of us raised in or around the South know how those things go. [If you don’t, you’re obviously not from around here. ‘nuff said?]

What I’m really talking about is finding people you can relate to. And as a lot of us know, Especially in the South, that’s not necessarily your relatives.

It’s nice to have someone to talk to. That understands you. And hopefully respects you and your work. [See above South comments]

It’s Especially nice to have all that when you are a writer. Especially a ‘beginning’ writer. Or maybe just a struggling one, no matter how ‘beginning’ you are.

It’s what a writer friend refers to as finding people from the same planet so you don’t feel like such an alien.

And haven’t we all had enough of Those experiences!

Some writers get that understanding from on-line communities and groups.

Luckily in the Richmond, Virginia area, there’s James River Writers. And all the opportunities they offer to meet up with writers, of all kinds and types.

Every month, the second Wednesday of every month, there’s Writers Wednesday, a casual get together where writers can come and feel like a part of the same planet. No matter how alien their writing and characters really are.

That’s the Second Wednesday of the month. Like February 8^th is the 2^nd Wednesday. Yes, Tonight!

Writers Wednesday is rotating around the Richmond area so all writers have an opportunity to come and meet others that understand. Feb., Mar., April will be at Capital Ale in Innsbrook, you lucky West End people you.

Sign up for the JRW e-letter for updates and notices of all the writerly happenings in the area. And check out the old JRW site for now, but get ready to check out the New one that will be launching the end of February.

Something to look forward to. Just like the JRW Writing Show that is the Third Thursday of the month.

Every month gives you opportunity to meet your alien…..er, your relatives in the writing world. Just like being on the same planet.

Sometimes a weird writing planet, but at least you know you aren’t alone.

Holiday Writers Party / Get Together

Hey, it is the Holidays. And tomorrow is the 2^nd Wednesday of the Month. That means Writers Wednesday.

Where James River Writers Members gather to talk all things writing.

Or, since it’s the Holidays, talk writing and holidays.

Or just enjoy the atmosphere at the Capital Ale House downtown.

Of course that’s what we do. ;)

And if you show up it Could be a Party!

Come toast the holidays with us. And encourage the writer within us all.

NaNo Numb?

Brain gone NaNo numb already?

Take a break and get some help from fellow writers at JRWs Writers Wednesday casual gathering.

You might learn things like, if you get stuck in NaNo, it helps to blow something up.

Sometimes with pirates.

If that doesn’t help just come and give your brain a break with a fun bunch of characters.

Writers Wednesday

Capital Alehouse in downtown Richmond, 623 East Main Street, Nov. 9 from 5:30 till 7:30 p.m. When you enter, look for the friendly crowd with the stick-on name-tags. Free parking in the Lanier Parking Systems deck at 6th and Cary Streets.

JRW Conference Momentum Continuing

For those that attended the Really Great James River Writers Conference this past weekend and want to get back that energizing whump of energy that comes with associating with great writers -

Or for those of you that Really wanted to attend, and couldn’t for whatever reason,

Or you just want to put off daily dampening and escape as long as possible.

[We’re okay with that.]

Join us at Writers Wednesday October 12, 2011 - that’s Wednesday, of course [it is Writers Wednesday]. And Tonight - at Capital Ale House Midlothian - not far from 288.

Come before it changes locations!

After - Conference Musings

Isn’t everyone’s mind in a jumble? Crammed Full of great things learned at the Conference. Trying to sort everything out and get it in useful order. Or maybe that’s just me. ;}

Okay - so my Best after-Conference advice — Keep the Momentum Going!

That’s a hard thing to do as ‘real’ life swells back in to wash over the hours exclusively spent hanging out with writers of all kinds.

A Really good way to do this and keep the energy going — come hang out with us at Writers Wednesday!

THIS Wednesday! ... day after tomorrow.... October 12th.... got it? ;)

Check the James River Writers website for location.

So now I’ve helped you with a suggestion to keep the momentum and energy going.

I’m helping myself with something that came out of the creative environment of the weekend.

Hey, indulge me, it’s my birthday.

Also humor me, and cut me some slack…. Okay, a Lot of slack… cause it Really is my birthday.

And this as brave as I’m likely to be for awhile with this part of my writing life.

But those of you that missed the Poetry Workshop at the Thursday Conference day missed a Great session.

Disclaimer here — any failings in anything I write here have no reflection on the fabulous Hermine Pinson and her great workshop. My brain was just fried out and filled with lots of things to do and all and …well, a Lot of Other things… enough said.

I write ….something…. not sure I even really consider it poetry, but whatever it is it has become my tool to get back to my creative side. Especially to my writing side. It opens the door to begin to walk in to the writing part of me. The fantastic Adriana Trigiani told me she also does that. So I’m not totally out in left field here. Well, at least I’m not out there all alone. ;) And that’s what all this is about. Not being alone as a writer.

Anyway, so I have promised to be more active on here. Okay, so I really promised to post some of the great information that came to me at the Conference, but I really don’t have time to do that right now - you did read above reason, right? ;)

Hopefully you will indulge me here for this one post, and add your own little poem, or what I call concise snippets of thought.

JRW Conference 2011

Frenetic forward movement ceases

But rest still eludes at the corners

Mind racing against time

Circles beyond reach

Days within grasp

Who can judge the success

For it is not within numbers

but of resonances and awakenings

inward turnings of mind.

And I have to go — enough stated above about the reason.

Be brave as I have been and post something,

And no, I have no idea why all this is spaced the way it is — one of the items on my to do list to do after the Conference - figure out Scrivener. and Twitter... and.....whatever....

Keep the energy going.

Pitching and Wooing

Pitching and wooing. What dating used to be called in the ‘old’ days. Or so I’m told. Hey, I’m not That old!

I wonder if pitching and wooing were a part of courting? Yes, that is another old term for dating. And again, I am Not That old either. Really.

I assume ‘dating’ is still an appropriate term nowadays. Things are quite a bit different than when I was growing up. Some might be due to the time period I will admit, but I think mostly due to circumstances. After all, look at all the changes in everyone’s lives that social media has brought on.

But some things do stay the same. Whatever you would call it, pitching and wooing, (although I’m not sure if that was part of courting or not), courting, dating, the sentiments are generally the same. And apply to all close relationships, in some way. Like the close relationship most writers want to have with their agents. You can start on your way to pitching and wooing an agent at the upcoming James River Writers Conference in October.

Well, we help you with the pitching part, the wooing part is up to you.

For those of you needing extra help on the pitching part - and who doesn’t need refresher thoughts and ideas - check out the James River Writers blog for a bunch of great pitching tips or reminders of how to do it.

Especially if it’s been a long time between dates. Uh, with pitching an agent, I mean we enjoy your company and all but not sure we want to get in that business. But you never know I suppose, so you might want to keep an eye on the website and the blog. Just in case.

**Grin**

But we do like hearing about your successes and accomplishments so do come to the James River Writing Show next Thursday and tell us about them.

And put the casual meet Writers Wednesday on your calendar to come tell us All about it.

We might even want to hear about your pitch and woo stories.

You never know. ;)

Writers Wednesday Wisdom

For those out there in need of Writing Wisdom, start making it a point to come to James River Writers casual gathering of writers that is Writers Wednesday. Since it was tonight you obviously missed it for this month, but I'm sure you'll want to put it on your calendar to come next month once you hear some the of witty-isdoms that are uttered, such as tonights....

Most writers have heard the wisdom uttered 'kill your darlings' .... and if you don't know what that is come to next Writers Wednesday and we'll talk about it.

I was talking to Writers Wednesday wonderful coordinator Denise about completely revamping my current work and talking about killing the darlings, etc...

To which she replied, yeah, but just remember that doesn't mean it's supposed to be a massacre!

Wise advice. Thanks Denise.

See you wantta come now don't you?

Growing as Writers - Mingling and Meeting

It's Late, I'm in a Hurry. I admit it.
I'm still trying to figure out where all the time is going, let alone that White Rabbit. Maybe he's taking it.....hmmmm.....
But that's for another time. When there is more time. dratted Rabbit.

But one thing Everyone should spend their time on - is the gathering of yourselves together. Does anyone Ever feel comfortable being alone All the time?
I don't think that's how most people are made. Or sewn up anyway.

And one thing a Writer can be doing for themselves is mingling with other writers. As agent Chip MacGregor gives advice below. If you notice #2, #3, and even a bit of #5 if Kris and others manage to talk you into doing NaNo in November, can all be covered by being a part of James River Writers. And coming out and meeting and mingling all the great people, great writers, at Writers Wednesday, Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - that's today by the way. Later this evening but today none the less.

And while you're at it, put down the Writing Show on Thursday, August 26, 2010. Will be talking about using social media. And since that's probably not a lot of mainly-mingle-with-made-up-characters writer's strengths, thought I'd mention so you can get it on your calendar in time.

Not to mention the great James River Writers Conference, in October. So you have lots of opportunities to take the advice below, and mingle up with us.
And add to your growth as a writer.

For more information on the Writing Show, and Writers Wednesday, as well as the Conference, check out the James River Writers site -

http://jamesriverwriters.org/


And do check out this great advice that you should be taking ;) -

http://chipmacgregor.typepad.com/main/the_writing_craft/

March 20, 2010

Growing as a Writer

Sue wrote to me and asked, "What is the one thing I can do that would most help me grow as a writer?"

May I offer more than ONE thing, Sue?

1. Write a lot. Most writers are really wannabes -- they talk about writing a lot more than they actually write. But if you wanted to be a better pianist, would you TALK about playing the piano, or would you sit and PRACTICE? The same goes for dance, or painting, or singing, or baseball. Or writing. The best thing you can do to improve is to write more. (You want real-world advice? Set a goal of 1000 words a day, 5000 words a week, and get busy.)

2. Find experienced writers. For some, that means joining a writing group, in which you all write something and share it with each other every month. The critiques of others will hurt, but they will often help you improve. For others, that means finding a mentor -- someone who may not have hit the bestseller lists yet, but he or she is a bit further down the path than you are. A mentor can offer advice, perspective, and wisdom to help you grow. For still others, it means simply making friends with a writer who is more or less on your own level and asking him or her to be your accountability partner, reader, and sometime counselor/shrink/psychic/motivational speaker.

3. Hang out with writers. We all get better by spending time with a diverse group of people who share our interests. Here's a suggestion: If you're a novelist, consider signing up for the ACFW conference in Indianapolis this September. ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) offers some of the best training in craft outside of personal coaching or college classrooms, and spending a week with them is a great investment. If you're a nonfiction writer, consider going to one of the big summer conferences like Write to Publish at Wheaton College. You'll find good instruction, lots of friends who share your passion for writing, and one of the few remaining chances to be face-to-face with editors and agents. (And while I've taught at both of those conferences, they're not paying me anything to plug them.)

4. Read widely. Don't settle for the same stuff all the time. Introduce yourself to new, young writers. Check out a bestseller. Pick up classic books. Try your hand at Twain or Dickens or Austen. If you're a fiction writer, read a great nonfiction book (try Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm or John Krakauer's Into Thin Air). If you're a nonfiction writer, buy yourself a great novel and dig into another genre (have you read Lisa Samson's Quaker Summer yet?). Stretch your reading boundaries this summer.

5. Do one thing to improve your craft. Buy a book on writing and try the exercises. Take an online class, or sign up for a writing workshop at your local community college. Check out one of the software programs designed to help you get going on your novel. Enter a contest. Give yourself an assignment to write an article for your local paper. (If you need suggestions for books on craft, I recommend Carolyn See's Making a Literary Life, Patricia O'Connor's Words Fail Me, and Les Edgerton's Finding Your Voice.) And yes...I've recommended all of these books in the past. I'll start recommending new things tomorrow!

So get thee to a James River Writers gathering. While there's still time.

And there goes that Rabbit scurrying off with my time again......