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Keeping it creative

Date: April 22, 2013
Author: Ane
Ane
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“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.”

― Colin Powell

Recently, I took a class about keeping your muse satisfied, keeping your creativity in tip-top shape, and trying new things to keep the good ideas front and center.

There is a lot that goes into the care and feeding of a reliable muse, and for those of us who pursue the writers life, we want to at the top of our game when it comes to keeping creativity fresh.  After all, it’s our lifeblood, right?

This course was all too brief, and very reasonable in terms of cost, as are most courses offer by the savvyauthors.com.  The ability to improve any aspect of craft is available there and for those of you who aren’t sure about the craft, this is a wonderful venue for learning craft.

We talked about a number of ways to keep yourself active, positive and successful in the long-term writing life.  For some, this is never a problem.  There are many authors who write in multiple genres for multiple publishers and have no difficulty, providing they are allowed to have input to deadlines.

Of course, there are others who cannot sit down and produce a viable page during designated writing time.  No creativity on demand.  Because they feel creativity doesn’t work like that.

Wrong.

Writing is a job.  Ask anyone with any other type of job about the loss of enthusiasm for the job they hold other than writing.  It happens.  Some days no one wants to go to the hospital and deal with sick people.  But MD’s and Nurses don’t call in sick themselves with Medical Block.

So there you have it, writers block, not real.  You’re just too lazy to do your job.

But if you’re not writing due to a lack of creativity, that’s another thing entirely.  What can you do to improve your situation?

Enhance your creativity.  First, try doing something else.  Have some fun, try another art form, read for pleasure, take a walk, have lunch with a friend.

Energy sapped so low you need a real jump-start to get back to writing?  Try rearranging your furniture.  Maybe the energy flow is negative, how about some Feng Shui?

How about inspiring quotes?   You know, I really like them.

I have more than one positive reinforcement on the walls of my office.  Some I chose for myself, and some were gifts from others, writers who know how long and hard I’ve worked to call myself a writer.  I’m going to share a few with you, in hopes that you will respond by sharing with me, too.

In no particular order,

“Home is where your story begins”

“Create something everyday”

“Don’t judge a book by it’s movie”

“Now is your happily ever after”

But I did save my favorite for last.  It’s a little girl pointing to her left and the sign reads, “Complaint Department– 200 miles that way”

Share with me what makes you smile, gets you going, or gets you back to work.  And Thanks for stopping by.

You are what you write. . .

Date: April 15, 2013
Author: Ane
Ane
Categories: Uncategorized
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“Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy.”

― Brian Tracy

No, no, no!

I’m not saying if you write Romance you’ll be magically transformed into a romantic couple, but it could happen.  I’m not saying if you write children’s stories you’re childish, but maybe you are –in a good way.  I’m not saying if you write horror, you’re a horrible person, Oh God, I hope that’s not what I’m saying!

What I am saying is sometimes we need to change our attitudes and expectations in order to make positive changes in our lives.

Sounds simple doesn’t it?  Think that’s going to be easy?

No, it is not.

Simple does not equal easy.  If you’re expecting to do one little thing and have your life change without the attendant difficulty, you are so wrong.

Change– real change– takes work, commitment, focus and the right attitude.

You have to want the change.

And you must be willing to work for it.  But changing your attitude first is the right way to tackle big life changes.

Start with a positive environment, and add hopeful, positive encouragement from yourself and those around you.  In fact, I’d go so far as to tell you you need to lose the negativity around you as a good first step.

I am serious when I say, anyone who brings a “you can’t do that or shouldn’t even try” attitude with them is quickly deprived of my company.  Often, we doubt our ability to try new things, and new ventures, while often exciting are also difficult.  Why would you make these things more difficult by dragging a naysayer along on your personal journey?

Seriously, I’m not suggesting that you won’t get things wrong, or require the help of others, but a gentle push in the right direction or a correction with intent to improve are far different than those who are quick to jump in and tell you to “let change go.  It’s just not good for you.”

So, tell me why you find it hard to make changes.  Tell me what works best for you. Please share a story which shows us why things that are difficult are often worth the effort.

Building character

Date: April 8, 2013
Author: Ane
Ane
Categories: Uncategorized
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“People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.”

― Eleanor Roosevelt

Meeting the challenges of life and career will certainly build character, but for the aspiring writer, it’s important to remember that building fictional characters is accomplished in exactly the same fashion.

What builds more empathy for a character than the opportunity to learn and grow, to overcome adversity as the character advances through the plot?  Nothing else will engage the reader with such intensity as a character who meets and overcomes, or recovers from, adversity without giving up.

This is what the NYT bestselling author is trying to tell you when she says “write what you know“.  She doesn’t mean write about the day job you are so desperately  seeking to ditch for a writing career. Of course, you can do that if you have an interesting day job.  But the advice she’s giving you, and everyone else, is to write about the changes in your life which engage you on an emotional level.

What the bestseller is telling us all, is we need to engage our readers on a visceral level, with a core connection.

We all know we are best understood when we speak in the language our audience understands, but when we speak from the heart–from our emotional core– we’ve tapped into a connection which engages our readers and touches them where they will remember our story and how it affected them.

The translation of emotion into written language is the writers gift.  What makes a good storyteller a great writer is the ability to make this connection with others.  The translation of feelings to words for readers to share in the belief that we, as writers, understand who they are and can identify with their life trials.

Making this connection will keep any writer at the forefront of popular fiction, especially for women readers.

What really works best for aspiring writers. . .

Date: April 1, 2013
Author: Ane
Ane
Categories: Uncategorized
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“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.”

― Leo Tolstoy

I’ve been writing a lot lately about the hopes, dreams, aspirations and desires of the aspiring writer.  We all know who we are and how hard we work to make those dreams come true.  But Leo Tolstoy–a writer himself– had it exactly right.

Most of us believe we are patient people.  I don’t even attempt to kid anybody about what I’m not, which is patient.  Anyone who’s ever met me will tell you I have the patience of a gnat in heat.  Not good.

I have good intentions though, and we all know how those are used.  Oh, and I do have time.  As the old song says, “Time is on my side. .  .yes it is.”

That’s because I’ve been writing, and consequently learning to write for the last ten years.  I’ve studied craft in every aspect.  I’ve learned from masters in the field, experts in every genre, and mentors as well as writing coaches.

All that’s left is to just do it.  After another round of editing, professional this time.  If I learned nothing else, I learned you always need a pair of professional eyes on the final manuscript.  So that’s where we are now.

The blog will continue and I will continue to share what I learn each and every day.  I do know truly successful writers never stop learning.  They work on improving their craft every day.  So that’s the plan.

I will continue to blog on Mondays about all things writing and reading.  About storytelling of every kind.  Occasionally I will do a movie review, because to me it’s simply a different sort of storytelling.  I will be happy to share some serial stories throughout the year along with my blog mates, and even on occasion a little flash fiction.

Now all I need to know is, what interests you?

Leave a comment and tell me what you’d like to hear about.

Aging gracefully

Date: March 4, 2013
Author: Ane
Ane
Categories: Uncategorized
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“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road.”

- Henry Ward Beecher

There are any number of things we learn in life, and few lessons we need as much as learning to age gracefully.

With age comes wisdom, or so they say.  I like to think that’s the case, but you never really know until you have some age under your belt.  Then you find there’s a lot you don’t know and some things you should have paid better attention to along the way.

People generally arrive in your life for a reason, so pay attention, especially while they’re present, since they may not be with you for very long.

Every time someone leaves, it’s not necessarily abandonment.  They may be needed somewhere else and you shouldn’t take it personally.

Every rejection is not a “never” but sometimes the “no” may be a simple “not now” and you really do want to try again, especially if it’s something you want and are willing to work towards.  After all, how much can it really be worth if you’re not willing to work for it?

If you’ve been on the down side most of your life, never having enough, never getting what you want, never in the spotlight, rarely rewarded and overworked and underpaid, maybe it’s time to see about taking the high road.  In other words, is your glass always half empty?  Maybe, just for a short time, take the opposite tack, and pretend it’s always half full.  See what starting a day on a positive note can bring into your life.

I’ll bet there is more of everything you ever needed and you just didn’t notice it until now.  Isn’t it nice to have so much for a change?  So much more so you can share the abundance in your life with others?

Remember, the good times are multiplied when we share with friends, but sorrows are reduced in the same sharing.

And these few secrets are those that help us to age gracefully.