Writers in the Storm

Aimie K. Runyan

Ah, summer. The season of calorie-dense cookouts, crowded swimming pools, board shorts in obnoxiously loud prints and mismatched flip-flops. Despite the need to coat myself in SPF 200 every fifteen minutes I love summer. Love it. My writing career, less so. I am very, very fortunate that I get to stay at home and write full-time. I’m living the dream. Unfortunately, in that dream it didn’t fully occur to me that when summer comes around, the word counts drop dramatically. Some of the reasons why:

Kids are home. (Obviously the biggest one.) My children aren’t just off school for the majority of the time from late May to mid-August. They want to be outside and active (huzzah!). However, this is not 1981 and I can’t let my kids roam completely unsupervised. While I have a fantastically situated office, I can’t count on them playing within view of my window. And I certainly don’t want to keep them cooped up inside when the weather is so gorgeous.

I want to be outside. Colorado winters are long, and there are generally 90 days of weather that are more or less bullet-proof (says the girl who had an indoor Memorial Day cookout due to thunderstorms) in which to get your fill of Vitamin-D heavy outdoor play. Trying to make plans with a Coloradan in the summer is almost impossible because we have hikes, pool trips, and park visits planned months in advance.

My muse prefers the rainy moors of Scotland. Picky woman. I find it much easier to eke out words while wrapped in a fleece blanket while the rain beats against the window pane. Summer is simply too *bright* to spend that much time focused on a computer screen.

In my very first post to WITS, I talked about the challenges of writing over Winter Break, and they’re similar. The advantage to Winter Break is that it’s shorter. I try to let the writing pressures go over the holidays because it’s a time for family and togetherness. And while deadlines can make this hard, it’s often possible to budget in 500 extra words a day for a few weeks to allow for a vacation. While summer is precious family time too, it’s just too long to take off entirely. Full-day summer camp, while appealing, isn’t really an option for my kids at this age, and I find a ton of value in giving kids chunks of unstructured time. So, that leaves me with full-time Mom Duty. And deadlines looming. What am I doing to survive?

Waking up early. This is painful, but it does give me a couple hours of quiet time before the sun is beating hard through my windows and calling us all out of doors. Working after the kids go to bed is another option, but I tend to be in Netflix Mode after 8PM. The reverse may be true for you.

Setting aside some downtime for the kids. Depending on the day, I set aside an hour or two where they have to come in out of the hot sun to relax with cold beverages and cartoons. They know this is Mom’s Working Time and they have to respect it. Not fool-proof, but it’s a window to at least do some social media stuff that doesn’t require the same concentration as new words.

Planned activities. For a few weeks, my kids will have half-days in summer school and/or day camps. It’s an opportunity for them to socialize with friends and learn some new skills. And you better believe my trusty laptop, noise-cancelling headphones, and I will be heading to the nearest Starbucks to get in words for the 3.5 hours they’re occupied.

A few hours with a Mother’s Helper. Full-time child care is expensive, but I’ve found that enlisting the help of a young babysitter-in-training can be an affordable way to manufacture productive time. Since I’ll be home the whole time, so long as this young sitter is responsible, it works out well. Their job is to keep the kids entertained, safe, and out of my office. Period. In the event of an emergency, I can be there in seconds, and it gives the young babysitter the chance to earn some experience for their resume. I take breaks to make lunch and check in, and for less than the cost of a full-fledged babysitter, I get some writing time.

It’s always an adjustment. What worked last summer may not hold to the next, but that tends to be true of anything related to parenting. And writing for that matter.

Tell me, parent-writers, what are you doing to make your way through the long days of summer?

About Aimie

Aimie K. Runyan writes to celebrate history’s unsung heroines. She has written three historical novels, including the internationally bestselling Daughters of the Night Sky and Promised to the Crown. She is active as an educator and speaker in the writing community and beyond. She lives in Colorado with her wonderful husband and two (usually) adorable children. To learn more about Aimie, please visit www.aimiekrunyan.com.

 

Sarah Cy

According to the old adage, "practice makes perfect."

For a writer, reading and writing is practice. So the more you do it, the better a writer you should be, right?

In reality, reading and writing every day does not a great writer make.

Not if "reading and writing every day" means browsing news or fashion magazines over your morning coffee and scribbling memos to yourself in your notes app.

Not even if "reading and writing every day" means devouring blog post after blog post and then dumping out your stream-of-conscious thoughts in response.

Because it isn’t just practice that turns a mediocre writer into a great writer.

It’s deliberate practice.

What is deliberate practice?

According to Geoff Colvin, author of Talent is Overrated, deliberate practice is constantly trying to do a thing one cannot do comfortably. Therefore, daily reading and writing won’t help you improve if you’re only doing it leisurely.

When Benjamin Franklin was learning how to write, he didn’t just read a few articles and then begin writing Poor Richard’s Almanac. Instead, Franklin found the best writing available, dissected it, summarized it, and rewrote it. Over and over again.

If you want to write as well (or better than) Benjamin Franklin, you must do the same. You might not do exactly what Franklin did, but there are certain aspects to deliberate practice that will help you significantly improve as a writer if you use them wisely, such as:

Getting feedback

Without proper feedback, you can’t really tell if you are improving, or how much you are improving.

You need feedback from two sources: writers and readers. Feedback can come in many forms: statistics showing how many people read your articles, “likes” and “claps” on social media or blogging sites, etc.

But the best feedback is specific.

To receive specific feedback, you need to reach out to some trustworthy writing mentors, friends, and readers and ask them specific questions. Instead of “What do you think about my article?” you can solicit particular advice by asking questions like “What do you think about the [length, introduction, headline, etc.] of my writing?”

Use a mix of open-ended and targeted questions to get a broad range of feedback. And once you have the feedback, immediately implement it, either by revising your piece, or incorporating the best advice into your next piece.

Finding (the right) teacher

It is totally possible to improve your writing skills on your own, but if you truly want to speed up the process, and avoid many dead ends and common mistakes, it’s best to find an experienced teacher.

Today, finding a teacher is easier than ever — there are plenty of classes, both in person and online that you can choose from, no matter where you live.

But the key is to find the right teacher for you: What is the teacher’s background? What kind of work have they produced in the past? What kind of work have their students produced? Is this the kind of work you want to produce? If so, congratulations: you’ve found the right teacher for you.

Learning from a good teacher or mentor is more than worth the investment. Teachers not only have more experience writing, they can see your work from a different perspective and recognize common errors and methods of helping you be the best writer you can be.

Find writing peers

Writing can be a fairly solitary activity. But in order to improve, you need to become part of a tribe of peers.

Look for fellow writers who are a little ahead of you — they will inspire you to work harder so you can reach their level. Look for writers who are a little behind you — you might be able to give them a hand sometimes, and teaching is the best way to learn new concepts. And look for writers who are right at your level — you can be critique partners and inspire each other to improve together.

Read strategically

There is an endless amount of reading material out there, and needless to say, you don’t have time to peruse them all, and not all reading material will help you improve as a writer.

Instead, look for skilled writers and books/articles/writing that have stood the test of time. Find out what makes those particular writers and their works timeless, what attracts you to them. Then practice deliberately by trying to incorporate what you’ve learned into your own writing.

Don’t read strategically

The mind is like a muscle and needs to rest and wander now and then. Sometimes the greatest insights and most creative works emerge after you’ve allowed your mind to experience new things and read some not-necessarily-high-caliber books.

After all, reading disappointing writing may inspire you to create your own, higher-quality rendition, and reading a variety of random but interesting works gives your brain material to work with.

There is nothing new under the sun. Rather, novelty comes from making interesting connections between two or more previously existing ideas. So let your mind play once in a while. Immerse yourself in various life experiences and take time to explore other art forms.

Finally, you don’t always have to read strategically — just read whatever you have in front of you, and let your mind create unexpected connections.

And finally...DON’T read and write (every day)

Reading and writing in the form of deliberate practice can be draining. Don’t do it every day.

Rest, sleep, and play are crucial for creativity and productivity. It is during rest and sleep when your mind is allowed to wander and make interesting new connections. And play (whatever that means to you —either literally playing games, or exploring new places, watching movies, etc.) helps to refresh your body, mind, and spirit, giving you motivation and inspiration to buckle down and practice hard when the time comes.

So don’t read and write every day (unless part of that is leisure reading and journaling for fun). Rather, balance hard work with recovery time, and you will not only avoid burnout, you will find your skills improving much faster than you ever anticipated.

Being the best you can be at anything takes time. But it also takes intention.

Everyone reads and writes nearly every day (emails, texts, anyone?) But few of us reach our full potential as writers. Only those who read and write in order to practice deliberately will become great at writing — and more importantly, great at communicating important messages.

As a writer, you have an important message (or several) to share with the world — messages that only you can share, based on your unique understanding and background.

So read and write wisely, not just daily. Be the best writer you can be so that you can communicate those messages to us.

We’re counting on you.

Which of these tips have you struggled with? Getting feedback? Finding the right teacher or writing peers? Reading strategically, or not reading strategically? Or taking breaks from reading and writing?

About Sarah

Sarah Cy is a writer, tutor, and perpetual learner who writes serious, silly, and sundry posts while striving to help other writers improve their skills and find their purpose.

Sarah is on a mission to promote powerful, life-changing writing. For more information, get the free Write Purpose Manifesto and learn what it means to be a purposeful writer!

To connect with Sarah, say hi on twitter or email her at sarah@thewritepurpose.com.

 

I chose this entry to crit this month because, at its core, it sounds like an interesting story, and it could be a compelling beginning. But it's buried in adjectives, adverbs and asides. I can tell this author slaved over this. But believe it or not, we can try too hard. 

Black = original

Red = my thoughts/comments

Purple = text I added/altered

Sickly  Sunbeams muscled through the grime-streaked window, nudging nine-year-old Georgie from a precarious sleep slumber. She peeked through the holes of her soiled pink and white blanket. and reached up to scramble the dust motes dancing within the muted shafts. All was quiet—not often always a good sign.

We are well anchored — we're getting hints of what Georgie's life is like. Well done. But I've cut the clutter — things we don't need. The reader wants to move along, especially in the beginning, so they can settle into your world and find out what the story is about. Playing with the dust motes is unnecessary. Be sure every word in your beginning is essential. Also, 'slumber' isn't a word a young girl would think.

 

            Georgie never knew who or what awaited her on the flip side of sleep—a landlord banging on the door forcing her to grab her backpack and skedaddle out the window, or worse, one of her mother’s smelly dates, staring at her like she inherently knew they shouldn’t be. 

See how 'inherently knew' is the author's voice, not a 9-year-old's? You want the reader to relate to Georgie — so put us in her skin by showing us how this makes her feel — in a little kid's voice, like, '...or worse, one of her mother's smelly dates staring at her like she was breakfast,' or something like that.

            If she couldn’t sneak away while her mother was doing 'entertaining' otherwise occupied, she’d jam the ragged easy chair into a corner, hide behind it and curl up like a basement bug. It blocked the sights—unfortunately, but not the sounds.

'Otherwise occupied' is the author's voice — and I know 'doing entertaining' isn't grammatically correct, but it's how I think a young girl would use the word she heard from her mother. LOVE 'basement bug'!  I think pulling the adverb from the last sentence and making it simpler makes it more stark — more brutal.

            Georgie pulled her blanket over her head for a few beats, trying to will herself back to sleep so she could fly across the night sky with Peter Pan to Neverland where the Lost Boys welcomed her—after all, she was a lost girl. 

Love the 'lost girl' (should it be capped? Not sure). But the reader will get it before you think they will, so I don't think you need the last part. Once a reader understands, anything after that, they'll skim. And skimming is the beginning of a reader putting a book down.             

            She peeked from behind the chair—no boyfriends leered back at her. Her mother lay sprawled completely naked half-on and half-off the tattered couch. Georgie crept toward her. A fart ollowed byf and a couple of snorts let her know mom that Carol was indeed alive. She plucked the bright pink kimono from the floor and covered her mom before dashing out to face another day.  

Wait — she's not in bed — she's behind the chair? I didn't get that from the earlier paragraph. Thought that was something she did some nights, not last night. Easy fix: go up to that paragraph and edit to — 'Last night, she couldn't....' then make the rest of the sentence past tense: 'She'd jammed,' 'hid behind it and curled up.' See what I mean?

Okay, this paragraph. She wouldn't think 'Carol' — she'd think 'mom'. A subtle author intrusion — trying to slip in a detail you think the reader needs to know. At the end, give us a few details. I assumed she was in pj's, but apparently she slept in her clothes — that's a detail you may want to put earlier. Even if she did, I doubt she'd sleep in her shoes, right? Also, you mentioned her backpack earlier, and I assume it's for school —  wouldn't she grab that?

 

            Georgie had made friends up and down the streets of the South Bronx. Besides Mr. Ahman, the owner of the local bodega, there was the hawk-faced lady who stood on a box reading from the bible. Mrs. Toradelli ran the corner newspaper stand and Officer Ken and Officer Lee were two of the beat cops who patrolled her neighborhood during the day.

This is good — it anchors us as to where we are, and gives us a picture of what the neighborhood is like. You say, 'officer,' and 'patrolled,' so we know they're cops. 

Tom Robbins says, “Challenge every single sentence for lucidity, accuracy, originality, and cadence. If it doesn’t meet the challenge, work on it until it does.”

This is never more true than in your first pages.

What do you think? Anything I missed? Does this make you want to check your first pages for adjectives and asides?

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Laura’s next book is available for preorder! (You know how much preorders help authors, right?) Just click on the photo to be taken to retailers.

This cowboy’s got one last chance to prove himself

Carly Beauchamp has loved cowboy Austin Davis since first grade. Ask anyone in their dusty, backwater New Mexico town of Unforgiven, and they’ll say “Carly and Austin” the way some say “big trucks and country boys.” But after years of waiting for a wedding ring, Carly’s done with being a rodeo widow . . .

Austin never meant to put his career on the circuit before Carly. She’s always been his future, his one and only. But now that she’s moved on, he’s beginning to see where he went wrong, and he’ll do anything to win her back. The only thing is, Carly’s suddenly acting differently, and she’s definitely hiding a secret—one that will test the depth of their love and open up a whole new world of possibilities.