I'm not actually going to Disneyland, but I used to love the commercials where the football player who made more touchdowns in a Superbowl or a baseball player who made more hits in a World Series was asked by a reporter "where are you going after this" and he would say excitedly "to Disneyland."
Well if you ask most writers where they want to go after they've sold there first novel they will probably say Oprah. After all who wouldn't want their book to be read by millions of readers.
Well recently I was told a story about a young girl who wrote a book and optioned it to a well-known production house for a million dollars. However she didn't scream "I'm going to be on Oprah!" She said she wanted to be on the Daily Show.
After all, being on Oprah would be wonderful for any writer. I mean she's great and I adore her and I think she is fabu. But for me, if I had to choose a talk show to be on, I would choose Ellen.
Ellen is so enjoyable to watch and she makes me laugh each and every time. And believe me with the struggles of writing, including the hours of isolation, the many rejections, not to mention the 9-to-5 pressures, what I will need to do the most when I sell my novel is to be up on stage dancing and chatting away with Ellen.
So Ellen, try to stay on the air as long as you can, because I'mma commin'!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Something Old, Something New
I love going through stories that I've written years ago and seeing how my writing style has changed. I like to think back on where I was mentally when I wrote a certain story or poem. Often I'm amazed how some of the words are almost lyrical and I can't believe they actually came from me or sometimes I read them and wonder what the heck I was thinking.
Although I'm a big believer in leaving things in the past, I don't agree when digging up old writings. I'm sure there are many of you who may have written a short story, a great essay, a poem or even a novel and thought it wasn't good enough so you tucked it away. Or maybe you did send it to a few writing contests, agents or even a publisher and it got rejected. But so what?
Just like in any other business, writing is ever-changing and people's taste are often fickle and vary with the times. A story that might not have been interesting a few years back, may be exciting today.
So don't be afraid to dust it off, make a few edits or add a few more characters. Start sending it out again. Hey you never know!
To find out more about writing contest, check out these great links!
http://www.writersdigest.com/contests/
http://www.pw.org/
http://newpages.com/npguides/litmags.htm
http://fictionwriting.about.com/
Although I'm a big believer in leaving things in the past, I don't agree when digging up old writings. I'm sure there are many of you who may have written a short story, a great essay, a poem or even a novel and thought it wasn't good enough so you tucked it away. Or maybe you did send it to a few writing contests, agents or even a publisher and it got rejected. But so what?
Just like in any other business, writing is ever-changing and people's taste are often fickle and vary with the times. A story that might not have been interesting a few years back, may be exciting today.
So don't be afraid to dust it off, make a few edits or add a few more characters. Start sending it out again. Hey you never know!
To find out more about writing contest, check out these great links!
http://www.writersdigest.com/contests/
http://www.pw.org/
http://newpages.com/npguides/litmags.htm
http://fictionwriting.about.com/
Sunday, September 9, 2007
A Writing Process...What's That?
I love reading suggestions from established authors on the processes of writing. Recently, while sitting under a very hot dryer at my hairdresser's salon, I came across an article by Walter Mosley. It was a great article and after reading the small excerpt, I decided I would buy it.
Walter's book discusses the avenues of novel writing and I would love to comment about each one of the steps, however one of his steps really stuck out; he suggest writing every day. I've read other articles or books on writing, and that is a common statement. Could this be possible, I wonder? Is that how they were able to have a career as a writer?
Mosley states that the first thing he does in the morning is write and he writes 3-hours a day. Wow, 3 hours a day? That would mean that I would have to start writing at 4:30am before work and that would be hard for me 'cause I loves gettin' my sleep on!
Then I start thinking about these authors and their lives and I wonder how they were able to pull it off. Did they have a full-time job, do they have kids and were they able to work at home? Did they have a husband or wife or significant other who let them take time off to write or were they financially able to write full-time? Or did they have daily struggles and obstacles, but still had the drive and the passion to write daily?
Even though Walter Mosley mentions the circumstances that might keep you from writing daily, he states that he doesn't have an answer for how to get around them and how could he? We each have our obstacles.
I don't think there is one single writing process. I believe it's different for each author. I've written short stories, poetry, screenplays and am now working on my novel. For each story I've written, I was always at a different stage of my life. I've been out of work and written. I've been working full time and going to school and written and I've had the opportunity to work at home and written. But I've also had all those things and never wrote a thing.
Do I agree with the many authors who say you should write everyday? Possibly, especially if you are trying to finish that novel or screenplay. Especially if you feel that if you work one more 9-5 job you're going to loose your ever lovin' mind. Especially if you want to see the fruits of your labor come into fruition. And especially if you want to be able to make a living as a writer.
So I will try to write daily and if I can't, I won't stress myself out. But what I will do is try not to miss more than 2 days because for my own mental state, how can I afford not to write?
For more information on writing see links below:
Walter Mosley, This Year You Write Your Novel
The Writer's Digest
Walter's book discusses the avenues of novel writing and I would love to comment about each one of the steps, however one of his steps really stuck out; he suggest writing every day. I've read other articles or books on writing, and that is a common statement. Could this be possible, I wonder? Is that how they were able to have a career as a writer?
Mosley states that the first thing he does in the morning is write and he writes 3-hours a day. Wow, 3 hours a day? That would mean that I would have to start writing at 4:30am before work and that would be hard for me 'cause I loves gettin' my sleep on!
Then I start thinking about these authors and their lives and I wonder how they were able to pull it off. Did they have a full-time job, do they have kids and were they able to work at home? Did they have a husband or wife or significant other who let them take time off to write or were they financially able to write full-time? Or did they have daily struggles and obstacles, but still had the drive and the passion to write daily?
Even though Walter Mosley mentions the circumstances that might keep you from writing daily, he states that he doesn't have an answer for how to get around them and how could he? We each have our obstacles.
I don't think there is one single writing process. I believe it's different for each author. I've written short stories, poetry, screenplays and am now working on my novel. For each story I've written, I was always at a different stage of my life. I've been out of work and written. I've been working full time and going to school and written and I've had the opportunity to work at home and written. But I've also had all those things and never wrote a thing.
Do I agree with the many authors who say you should write everyday? Possibly, especially if you are trying to finish that novel or screenplay. Especially if you feel that if you work one more 9-5 job you're going to loose your ever lovin' mind. Especially if you want to see the fruits of your labor come into fruition. And especially if you want to be able to make a living as a writer.
So I will try to write daily and if I can't, I won't stress myself out. But what I will do is try not to miss more than 2 days because for my own mental state, how can I afford not to write?
For more information on writing see links below:
Walter Mosley, This Year You Write Your Novel
The Writer's Digest
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Spring Forward or Fall Back
Spring Forward, Fall Back is a cute way to remember what time to set your clock to when DST (Daylight Savings Time) sneaks upon us. My mother taught it to me when I was younger and I still remember it to this day.
September always reminds me of this little saying especially when I wake up around 6:00am and it's still a little dark or if I'm driving home around 7:00pm and the sun is setting.
However, this time it made me think of another popular saying my mother used to say... make sure you have something to fall back on.
In school, I sang in the choir actually winning an award in music when I graduated high school. As I got older, I used to perform at weddings and other functions. I loved to perform. But after graduation and it came time for me to go to college, I settled for an easy major; secretarial science. Who ever even heard of secretarial science? Regardless, I took my mother’s advice and learned how to type so I would have something to fall back on.
But fall-back wasn't just a phrase my mother created because I would hear it from others. I remember having a long conversation with my best friend's husband about his parents making that comment in regards to him wanting to be a drummer. For him the word fall-back meant giving up his passion and settling for a nice respectable job. No one had ever broke it down for me like that. But even after that conversation, I still went on to use my fall-back for 12 years.
The phrase "Fall-Back" means that you've given up and now you can "fall-back" to the safe and familiar. Don't get me wrong. I definitely believe that while you're working on your writing or whatever your passion is and if you're like me and you need to pay the bills, then by all means get that day job.
However, don't fall-back on it. The problem with that advice is that if you’re not careful, you’ll look twenty-years down the line and realize you used that little valuable tool as a crutch.
Working at a 9-5 job can definitely turn into a fall-back. It's familiar, a steady income, most have benefits and it provides a stable environment. Unless you already have a stable career as a writer these attributes are very attractive.
But when I have to work full-time I make sure I keep the word temporary in my mind. I stay focus by writing as much as I can in my spare time so it will help me keep my eye on the prize...a career as a full-time writer.
So instead of looking on what I can fall-back on, I concentrate on springing-forward. After all, isn't that what us writers are supposed to do?
Do you have any Fall-Back Stories?
Please share...
Happy Writing!
SMB
September always reminds me of this little saying especially when I wake up around 6:00am and it's still a little dark or if I'm driving home around 7:00pm and the sun is setting.
However, this time it made me think of another popular saying my mother used to say... make sure you have something to fall back on.
In school, I sang in the choir actually winning an award in music when I graduated high school. As I got older, I used to perform at weddings and other functions. I loved to perform. But after graduation and it came time for me to go to college, I settled for an easy major; secretarial science. Who ever even heard of secretarial science? Regardless, I took my mother’s advice and learned how to type so I would have something to fall back on.
But fall-back wasn't just a phrase my mother created because I would hear it from others. I remember having a long conversation with my best friend's husband about his parents making that comment in regards to him wanting to be a drummer. For him the word fall-back meant giving up his passion and settling for a nice respectable job. No one had ever broke it down for me like that. But even after that conversation, I still went on to use my fall-back for 12 years.
The phrase "Fall-Back" means that you've given up and now you can "fall-back" to the safe and familiar. Don't get me wrong. I definitely believe that while you're working on your writing or whatever your passion is and if you're like me and you need to pay the bills, then by all means get that day job.
However, don't fall-back on it. The problem with that advice is that if you’re not careful, you’ll look twenty-years down the line and realize you used that little valuable tool as a crutch.
Working at a 9-5 job can definitely turn into a fall-back. It's familiar, a steady income, most have benefits and it provides a stable environment. Unless you already have a stable career as a writer these attributes are very attractive.
But when I have to work full-time I make sure I keep the word temporary in my mind. I stay focus by writing as much as I can in my spare time so it will help me keep my eye on the prize...a career as a full-time writer.
So instead of looking on what I can fall-back on, I concentrate on springing-forward. After all, isn't that what us writers are supposed to do?
Do you have any Fall-Back Stories?
Please share...
Happy Writing!
SMB
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