A New Beginning

I did it. I made a plan today and started working on it. So far I've tackled the first thing on the list, finishing the project that is most complete and finding an agent to sent a query to. Also started to write the query.

Am I proud of myself? Well, yes, because after not writing for a week it was very hard to get back into it. I did everything else possible first, like making the bed, doing the crossword, etc. you get the idea! But I finally started and I have the feeling that tomorrow won't be as hard. Maybe!

Back to work!

Tomorrow I go back to writing. My intentions were to spend an entire week without thinking about writing and, while I didn't exactly take a whole week off--I wrote a book review and an article for the magazine I work for--I did not touch any of my many projects in progress.

Am I ready to tackle them again? I don't know and won't know until I start writing.

The first writing I will do is to make a plan of action. I work much better with a plan and I think my writer's block was due in part to my trying to do to much with too many different projects. Now that my novel is complete (and already rejected by one agent), I need to compile a list of agents for it, write a better query letter, send the query out, and go on to another project.

There are a lot of decisions to be made here.
How much time can I realistically commit to writing daily, preferably at the same time of day?
Which nonfiction project is nearest completion? (That's the one I will start on because it won't seem as if I have ages and ages to go before I finish.)
Which projects are complete enough for a proposal? Make a list of agents who handle that kind of nonfiction. Put together a proposal package and send it out.

Aside from my plan, I may not do any writing for a while, but just thinking about being organized revitalizes me. It's kind of like cleaning off the desk, getting the pencils sharpened, and starting with a clean slate.

In my nonfiction workshop, I stress organization as being the key to writing successful nonfiction and I have ignored my own advice. But I'm getting back on track. Here goes!

The Dark Side of Writing

I am in a writing dark place. No will to write. No desire to write. I have so many unfinished projects and I am convinced I will never finish them. What a waste of my time to have started them at all. I could have been out have fun instead of slaving at the computer for another incomplete manuscript. So what now?

Instead of fighting this bad feeling (I think it's called writer's block), I have decided to take a week off. No thinking about writing, no worrying about getting an agent or a publisher, I'll use the computer to check e-mails and blog and that's that. I've set a date (Monday, September 29) and I will go back to writing on that day and work for at least an hour. Never mind if all I write is drivel--I will write. Period. And I will write every day from then on until I complete one project.

There-just having set my date makes me feel better as does giving myself permission to take a break. My optimism is coming back. I know I will write again--not writing is like not eating to me. It's part of who I am. I will write and I will find a agent and a publisher who love my work, but, for now, I will enjoy this week of relaxation.

Editing and Letter-writing

I just read an article about editing to get rid of non-essentials. Some I knew and regularly adhere to; another I need to work on.

Adverbs are taboo to me. I have learned to let descriptive words and verbs take their place. For instance: Sarah's whole face drooped. "Do I have to go?' she asked instead of Sarah asked glumly, "Do I have to go?"

I also try to leave out the parts that I know I wouldn't read if I were the reader and not the author. Sometimes whole passages have to go. After all, if they don't drive the story forward what use are they?

One thing I never gave much thought to was overuse of forms of "to be." Sarah was on top of the table. They were going to the store. I'm going to look through my work and see if I overuse those words> if so, out they go!!

I wrote a letter to the editor and saw it in print yesterday. I was so incensed by a columnist's tongue-in-cheek portrayal of Sarah Palin, ridiculing the names of her children, the fact that she breast fed her children and other items that are private and not pertinent to the national election, that I dashed off my letter. Let me say that it's good to see your name in print wherever it is. Letter-writing is a great way to express yourself and get your name out there.

Looking over the above paragraph I realized that I unnecessarily used forms of the verb "to be." Here are the corrections: "A columnist so incensed me with her....." ".....other private items that are not pertinent....." I may have my work cut out for me!! If you look over your writings and find out that, like me, you need work in this area, I'd love to hear from you. We can commiserate.

By the way, you may remember my apprehension about my first hot rocks massage. Let me say that there is nothing like it I'm hooked!