Daily Blog 20: Top 10 Reasons Why I Write

Today's post is going to be short, philosophical and focus on one question - why do you write?

Isn't there a joke? Paraphrased it goes: Why do you write? I write because I can't sing or dance. ha!

1. Well, I also write because it's a habit; a habit honed from years of writing nonfiction and then adding fiction.

2. I write because I enjoy it. (Sometimes). At least when I like the story and when it's working.

3. I write because I can't "Not" write. I have to do it. Only other writers can understand that.

4. I write when I'm not playing. I find it hard sometimes to split my creative energies. I have to write or create in miniature. But I can work on small miniature projects if I'm doing a big writing project. It's good to do something that lets you be creative and lets your mind wander at the same time.

5. I write because it's more fun than cleaning house. ha!

6. I write because it's the best way I know how to make money.

7. I write because it's better than doing nothing.

8. I write because the words have to go somewhere.

9. I write because there are still things I want to accomplish and they won't get done unless I pursue them.

10. I write because I can't think of anything else that I enjoy doing more.

** Your Turn: Why do you write? Share your top 5 or 10 reasons.

Daily Blog 19: Going for the Gold

Watching all the athletes at the 2008 Olympics doing their best to win gold, you can't help but think how going for the gold can apply to almost every area of your life, including writing.

Unless you write purely for your own enjoyment, the goal of writing is publication and payment. It may be fun to write some things free for promotion or exposure, but writing also is a commodity that should increase in value with practice, effort and over time.

To become a gold medal writer means putting in the work - writing, learning, polishing, rewriting. It means taking the time and putting in the extra effort required.

A few thoughts on becoming a Writing Olympian:

1. Train

Some writers say they can't write daily. But write as often as possible. The best athletes put in hours of training to reach possible gold. Don't shirk your preparation.

2. Be challenged

Any athlete or writer can get stagnant by not challenging themselves. Don't be content, thinking that with this book or this story, you've "made" it. I read somewhere that you "never arrive." Even Stephen King continues to try new things and push the envelope.


3. Be Positive, but Don't Put on Blinders

Be positive, but also be realistic. If something isn't working, don't be afraid to try something different. A certain approach may not work in your area or might not work for you. Everyone is different, so don't get discouraged and find what marketing, writing, promotion, etc. tips work for you.

4. Find a Good Coach

Even the best writers sometimes can't see the forest for the trees. Ask another writer to give your material a pre-read to catch those things you often overlook.

5. Be Proud of Your Efforts

Athletes do get disappointed when an error or something causes the gold medal to slip from their hands. Sportsmanship means congratulating the person who did win gold and being proud to have won the silver or bronze medal for your team and country.

No matter which level your writing is at, be proud of your accomplishments and continue to work, train, and strive to reach gold. Reaching the next level will not only help you improve your skills, but reach the real gold - a whole new audience of readers.

Daily Blog 18: Just the (Character) Facts

For fun, today I decided to play off a past post on 50 Memes that Dani wrote about at BlogBookTours .

To make a character real, you need to know their likes/dislikes, habits, quirks, tastes, favorite music, and more of the facts besides just their eye and hair color.

It's those kinds of details that make the character appear real to you as a writer and more importantly, make them real to the reader.

So for today, I've adapted one of those memes that can be used to better know your characters.

A short eight to 10 question list can help you round out your characters before you write. To keep track of the facts and descriptions for later use, you can use a character worksheet (download in PDF format) or do a detailed character profile log as described by author Marvin D. Wilson.

Examples in this exercise are based on my characters, Sam and Lita, from Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery.

Feel free to use your own characters and share some of their quirks and personalities.

Eight Character Facts

1. Your Character's Favorite Word:
Sam likes to say 'holy cow' a lot.

2. Your Character's Favorite Pastime:
Lita likes to read. Sam is a dabbler and hops from one project to another.

3. Your Character's Oddest Thought:
Sam tries to picture she, her mom and her pal Lita in a pillow fight.

4. Your Character's Favorite Food or Snack:
Sam likes chocolate and Starbursts candy. Lita likes Banana Laffy Taffy candy.

5. Your Character's Worst Memory:
Sam hated when she and Lita were mad at each other in grade school.

6. Your Character's Likes or Dislikes:
Sam hates spiders. Lita doesn't like ghosts or spooky stories.

7. Your Character's Favorite Dessert:
Both girls like ice cream.

8. Your Character's Worst Moment:
Sam doesn't want her mom to know they got scared of some noises outside.

** Your Turn: Copy and tell us about your character. Other categories that can be added include: favorite sport, clothing, hairstyle, music, etc.

Daily Blog 17: Gambling and Writing

This post is super late today. Decided to take off.

This was a first-time visit to the casino in Milwaukee, Wisc. Interesting, though the noise and smoke got to me.

Funny as I'm competitive; I love a challenge and love the chance to "win." But poking a button on a slot machine wasn't much fun to me. It became more interesting once the game became more interactive, requiring me to pick something on the screen, but that didn't happen often enough. Overall, it didn't hook me.

Here's the writing analogy: stories obviously have to hook the reader. You have to have a good "prize" - a good story, a chance to see who the villain is, etc. - to have the reader continue.

Writers are gamblers in a way, aren't they? They write a story or book, send it out, taking a gamble - hoping that someone will like it and purchase it. You keep sending it out - putting more change in the slot (money for postage) on the hopes that it will eventually pay off.

We played the 2 cent slots mostly. Big gambler I'm not. I can't see throwing money away. In writing, it's different. You can put in a few pennies worth of effort, but why waste your (and everyone else's time?) You learn, you improve, and then you raise the stakes.

Put in the big stakes worth of effort and expect to get back what you put in. Play to win - (write to get published).

Daily Blog 16: Words

At the halfway mark of this blog challenge, I find myself at a loss for words. Funny thing for a writer to say.

Maybe the loss is that I've also spent time this week working on my other book and making good progress. I mentioned in a previous post about not talking a book out so you don't feel like writing it; maybe putting all your energies in one thing also depletes your energy for another.

Well, not really. I'm a multi-task writer, used to changing formats, - nonfiction to fiction - so that's not really the problem. I'm used to working on different things.

But it's Saturday. I need to finish a couple other stories and I'm going to the fair later. It's a good day to play.

I think sometimes the best thing a writer can do is, unless they have a deadline, or even then, take a break. Step away. Rejuvenate. Relax. The words will flow much better next time.

** Your Turn: I seem to be on a theme here - rejuvenating, taking a break. How do you recharge your batteries to get back to writing?

Daily Blog 15: Writing Inspiration

Today I decided to do something different.

Inspiration comes from different places, your Muse, a song, something we hear or read, from others and from our hobbies.

Sometimes, it's a good idea to take a break from writing and let your brain work on a different form of creativity. For me, that means working in miniature.

I get inspired coming up with new ideas, challenging myself to tackle a building or other project. Working on something like painting or planning a miniature room lets my mind roam. I'm not writing, but subconsciously I'm still mulling over the book or story I've been working on.

I also get inspired by the work of others. I'm presenting some photos of the miniature gourmet shop made by a fellow miniaturist in Holland. Kitty Balke, and I often share ideas and projects. Talking over the Internet or via Skype, we enjoy sharing photos or our latest work and often inspire each other.





I think what keeps me interested in the hobby is the detail and realism you can achieve. To me, it's the same as writing, except it's creating with objects and images instead of words.




The best thing? Making this kind of food is calorie free! (The food is made of polymer clay.)

** Do you have a hobby or other pastime that you enjoy to take your mind off of writing for a while?

Daily Blog 14: Writing & Finishing that Book

As of this writing last night, I dreaded doing this post. Could be because I'm tired and was going out again to gather story ideas at the county fair.

The month is about half over. Yay! I've never been one to have problems coming up with ideas; it's the doing them that gets me. And blogging daily is a challenge. But it's one I'm glad I took. Will I continue it later? I'll likely do more than I did before, but maybe not daily. We'll see.

Just random thoughts on writing today:

I've been stuck on my adult mystery I've been writing. Procrastinating, maybe, Feeling like it's not worth continuing, sometimes. I'm an outliner so have it all pretty much figured out. Things do change as I write and as I see things to fix, but that's okay. I at least have a starting point.

That's been the problem - starting. I'd do a little, then nonfiction stuff would interrupt me. It'd take weeks, months, to get back to it. Problem is I'd get stuck rereading where I was to get back into it.

I usually know when I am close to writing - I get crabby. I think about the book - a lot.

With Searching For A Starry Night, I had to finish; I had a deadline and a publisher interested. I like goals. Working on your own with no deadline is much harder. But what really got me writing this week was being off the Internet.

Having to store-sit a business, I'm somewhere for five hours daily, four days this week without the Internet. No endless email checking. No checking the blog or website repeatedly. Just set up the laptop and write.

Sure, I'd stop a bit, walk around, read the paper a few minutes, but I WANTED to write. I had to make the time productive. I made myself sit and type. 1,100 something words Weds. Hopefully I'll do the same or near that today and Friday.

My goal was to have this book finished this month. I'm only a quarter way through. But maybe, just maybe, I can get far enough and have enough done that I like to accomplish my next two goals soon: get a critique and look for an agent.

And that's all I'll say about it. Like I said in a previous post, I don't want to talk about the story too much for fear I get tired of it. So far, I haven't.

** Your Turn: Have trouble getting back into a book you're writing? What do you do?

Daily Blog 13: Fading History

Admittedly, I think my growing up was somewhat different, and I'm glad of it. My parents were a little older, mom achieving motherhood for the first time in her late thirties.

There were disadvantages to having slightly older parents, but one thing I always enjoyed was the family stories. Growing up in the Great Depression, mom and dad had experiences that even then seemed quaint and old-fashioned - reading by kerosene lamp, oilcloth-covered tables, putting a penny in the electric meter to "cheat" the meter. Photos revealed other links, a grandmother wearing high button shoes, mom as a teen in the 1930s looking cute and as fashionable today in jeans and a peasant top.

I seemed to soak up those old stories and developed a big interest in earlier decades. Forties music was a favorite. I still love Glenn Miller. I was fascinated by 78 records. I wondered what it was like growing up in the Roaring Twenties.

Not surprisingly, that love of past history makes it into my writing. For instance, Lita, Sam's best pal in Searching For A Starry Night, comments about her mother's favorite 70's song by Tony Orlando and Dawn, "Knock Three Times."

The group and title drew a big blank when I talked to a group of kids at a recent event. I'm sure some parents are getting asked who that is when their kids read the book.

When a group of middle grade girls recently asked what other books I was working on, I mentioned my adult mystery, which is set in an old vaudeville theater. That also drew blank stares, as did the name of comedian George Burns.

Ancient history? Maybe. But it's sad that with passing time, cultural history is fading away. Maybe I knew more than most, given I had an interest. I enjoyed different music and films from different eras. I knew tidbits of history. I knew and could enjoy watching Charlie Chaplin or silent film star Clara Bow.

It made me sad reading that the last US survivor of the Titanic had died. The last World War I veteran died at age 108. World War II soldiers are dying every day.

History passes, but as these generations die off, so goes that living link to the past, to what we were. That part of history becomes relegated to dusty old history books and unrecognizable faces in old cabinet photos left to the second hand or antique store.

Those people of past generations, their actions and their part in our ancestry, made us, and our country, what it is.

Sad to think that they are being forgotten; that present generations aren't learning more of their cultural history beyond what Miley is doing or which Jonas Brothers is cuter.

Sad that maybe the government's insistence on testing and pushing teachers to teach to the test is making cultural history nothing more than a footnote.

Or maybe in the rush of 21st century life - with demanding jobs, family activities, sports, etc. - there isn't time any more to talk, to remember grandma's favorite sayings and stories, to pull out the family photo album and talk about the "good old days". Don't families take time anymore to acquaint kids with the games mom and dad grew up with, or share those funny family stories about times before TV and modern conveniences?

Maybe there's not enough time, but there should be.

Why not take one night a month and reminisce, dust off the photos, write down those old stories? Maybe work on a family history project. It'll give the kids a solid foundation, a cementing of who they are and help them realize that the past really isn't so boring. And it'll make those rapidly fading parts of history less likely to vanish forever.

Daily Blog 12: Budding Writers

My first visit to a group of Girl Scouts in E. Troy, Wisc. has made me a believer in Scouting.

Yes, I was a Brownie and did my stint in Girl Scouts growing up in Chicago. I don't remember much beyond a fuzzy recollection of a talent show and my singing Herman's Hermits' "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter." (I don't know why, though I do still like the song a little.)

I was impressed to find 16 middle grade girls, excited to meet a writer and talk books. When I asked who wrote stories, nearly all raised their hand. When I asked who read, again, the response was overwhelming.

After some questions and comments, we talked out a potential mystery story. It was interesting to get their take on ideas, despite their love for talking animals. :>)

Funny thing is when they asked about other books I was working on after Searching For A Starry Night, I mentioned my adult mystery set in an old vaudeville theater. Blank stares. They had no idea what vaudeville was, or even who George Burns was. Even if it's super-ancient to them, I found that surprising that no one recognized him, either, and a bit sad. (I'll be continuing this thought in tomorrow's post.)

We met for nearly two hours, which was probably a bit long as by the end they were getting a bit bored and antsy, so I'd probably do something different next time, though I'm not sure what. Any suggestions?

Despite the moaning you hear in the industry and online about people or kids not reading, that's not what I witnessed. These girls loved to read. They read more than one book a week (several even!) and read in different genres. They loved to write, too. Who knows if the next Eudora Welty or Debbie Macomber may come out of this group?

So, don't despair. Readers are out there.

Daily Blog 11: The Name Game Meme

Meme : A thought, an idea, and a real easy post.

I'm copying Dani's meme at BlogBookTours for some fun word play. Who says writing always has to be, well, about writing?

But even if you're not doing any "formal" writing, words should be fun. Doing crosswords, playing Scrabble(TM) or spending time on other online word games are good ways to keep your word skills sharp and loosen up the brain cells. See? It has a purpose. It really isn't procrastinating or wasting time.


Here's a fun meme to try out some new monikers for your characters. Copy and try it out yourself.

1. Your real name:
Christine

2. Your Gangsta name: (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle)
Chrizzle (Hmm?)

3. Your Detective name: (fave color and fave animal)
Yellow Wolf (ooh mysterious!)

4. Your Soap Opera name: (your middle name and street you live on)
Anne Kimball (Sounds like a librarian? I used an old street; my current street is a number.)

5. Your Star Wars name: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
Verch (Makes me think of Lurch?)

6. Your Superhero name: (your 2ND favorite color, and favorite drink)
Pink Tea (Pink tights of course. Well, forget the tights)

7. Your Iraqi name: (2ND letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your middle name, 2ND letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of your dads middle name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, and last letter of your mom's middle name)
(What?) Oh - Hraaesa

8. Your Witness Protection name: (parents' middle names)
Maria Steve

9. Your Goth name: (black, and the name of one of your pets)
BlackMac


** Your Turn: Share a few of your new names for fun.

** You're it! I TAG:
Camille Minichino (Margaret Grace) and Karen Kennedy