Showing posts with label mothers who write. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mothers who write. Show all posts
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
For All The Tired Novelists Out There: This One's For You
I have been some combination of mother/teacher/grad student/small business owner/designer/maker/writer/novelist for a while now and let me tell you, I'm beat.
Sometimes, I fall asleep as I'm writing and yet somehow keep typing, resulting in some interesting dream transcriptions (though it isn't so interesting if you are trying to finish a term paper or a novel).
I have found a certain system to help beat back the drooping eyelids that I thought I would share with you, especially since this is November and National Novel Writing Month is now in full swing.
1. Eat well and drink lots of water during the day. Seriously. Common sense and yet a lot of us skip meals or get dehydrated at work. Avoid this at all costs.
2. Around 5 PM, ingest something that will give you a boost. A banana, a cup of coffee, whatever works for you but do it around sunset.
3. Vary your liquid intake at night. Don't just drink coffee. Mix it up and you'll get better results.
4. Go for a walk. Not a long walk, but about a 15 minute brisk walk.
5. Take a shower and scrub your body well. Gets the blood flowing.
6. Stretch or do yoga. Try to include a little something aerobic in your routine.
7. Don't eat the same snacks every night. Chocolate will help you stay awake only if it is new to your system. So rotate your snacks, particularly those sweets you might rely on to keep you going.
8. If all else fails, go to sleep. And don't feel bad about it. Sleep is necessary for recharging your mind and body. You might get some good ideas from your dreams or be able to figure out a plot problem when you wake up with a fresh brain. Feeling guilty about your slumber will only drag you down and, guess what, make you more tired. You don't need that.
I hope this helps those of you who struggle like me to get as much done in the hours around midnight. If you have anything you would like to add to the list, please share in the comments. I am always looking for new tricks.
Sometimes, I fall asleep as I'm writing and yet somehow keep typing, resulting in some interesting dream transcriptions (though it isn't so interesting if you are trying to finish a term paper or a novel).
I have found a certain system to help beat back the drooping eyelids that I thought I would share with you, especially since this is November and National Novel Writing Month is now in full swing.
1. Eat well and drink lots of water during the day. Seriously. Common sense and yet a lot of us skip meals or get dehydrated at work. Avoid this at all costs.
2. Around 5 PM, ingest something that will give you a boost. A banana, a cup of coffee, whatever works for you but do it around sunset.
3. Vary your liquid intake at night. Don't just drink coffee. Mix it up and you'll get better results.
4. Go for a walk. Not a long walk, but about a 15 minute brisk walk.
5. Take a shower and scrub your body well. Gets the blood flowing.
6. Stretch or do yoga. Try to include a little something aerobic in your routine.
7. Don't eat the same snacks every night. Chocolate will help you stay awake only if it is new to your system. So rotate your snacks, particularly those sweets you might rely on to keep you going.
8. If all else fails, go to sleep. And don't feel bad about it. Sleep is necessary for recharging your mind and body. You might get some good ideas from your dreams or be able to figure out a plot problem when you wake up with a fresh brain. Feeling guilty about your slumber will only drag you down and, guess what, make you more tired. You don't need that.
I hope this helps those of you who struggle like me to get as much done in the hours around midnight. If you have anything you would like to add to the list, please share in the comments. I am always looking for new tricks.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Indie Writer Role Models
So, this new indie ebook publishing world has a slew of great authors. A few of them have stood out for me (and the general public) for their success. I wish I could just say this was for the pleasure of writing, but with little ones to support and my soul feeling all dingy teaching full-time, I want to follow in their particular footsteps.
There is the young star Amanda Hocking, who brought the possibility of e-publishing to the mainstream media's attention.
Read more about it here: Authors Catch Fire with Self-Published E-Books
Hocking is young and had a lot of time on her hands and no dependents so as much as I cheer and envy her success, it is hard to compare what she has accomplished to what I can accomplish with my particular situation.
When I look for writing role models, traditionally published or otherwise, I look for mothers, particularly working mothers with multiple noses to wipe. My favorite one so far is Darcie Chan, whose best-selling novel has generated much acclaim due to the merit of her story alone. She works during the day writing environmental legislation then writes really good fiction at night after bedtime. Chan makes for an excellent role model and is an inspiration to literary fiction writers who want to support themselves.
Of course, with Timeless, I am following Hocking more, writing for a cross-genre loving audience more than for myself. Yet once I am finished with Book One and Two (and hopefully experience a portion of the success Hocking has experienced), I will be afforded the time to slow down and be more careful with my writing. I hope to strike a balance of pleasing my readers and writing stories that I would want to read. It is the dream of most indie writers, I am sure, and having at least two good role models encourages me to continue. Who are your indie writing role models? How did you choose them?
There is the young star Amanda Hocking, who brought the possibility of e-publishing to the mainstream media's attention.
Read more about it here: Authors Catch Fire with Self-Published E-Books
Hocking is young and had a lot of time on her hands and no dependents so as much as I cheer and envy her success, it is hard to compare what she has accomplished to what I can accomplish with my particular situation.
When I look for writing role models, traditionally published or otherwise, I look for mothers, particularly working mothers with multiple noses to wipe. My favorite one so far is Darcie Chan, whose best-selling novel has generated much acclaim due to the merit of her story alone. She works during the day writing environmental legislation then writes really good fiction at night after bedtime. Chan makes for an excellent role model and is an inspiration to literary fiction writers who want to support themselves.
Of course, with Timeless, I am following Hocking more, writing for a cross-genre loving audience more than for myself. Yet once I am finished with Book One and Two (and hopefully experience a portion of the success Hocking has experienced), I will be afforded the time to slow down and be more careful with my writing. I hope to strike a balance of pleasing my readers and writing stories that I would want to read. It is the dream of most indie writers, I am sure, and having at least two good role models encourages me to continue. Who are your indie writing role models? How did you choose them?
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