Writers in the Storm

First, I have a confession. I had another post planned. Then life happened. You know, that moment when you look around at the clutter in the house and think it would just be easier to move? Or stare at your email and have that momentary, “if my computer ‘crashed’ right now, and I got a new one, would any of these emails matter?” Or look at the TBR pile and wonder if you should just put a piece of wood on top and call it a coffee table?

For me, that happens every year around this time. Some people get Spring Fever, I get Fall Nesting. And. I. Have. To. De-clutter.

Yup, I’m doing it at home. Room by room. Everything comes out and only select things go back. This is one of those times I’m happy my husband bought that SUV. Hello, city dump! And I have an appointment for a charity organization to come pick up clothes and toys and small electronics. See ya!

But I’m also doing it with my writing. And this might just be the best de-cluttering operation of all.

Email
Most of us have multiple accounts—professional and personal. It’s easy to let emails pile up (or maybe that’s just me) in the in-box and that can become a very distracting clutter.

I have multiple accounts—my “professional” writing one, two for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and two personal accounts. I’m an email pack rat. Really. One of the personal accounts has emails dating back to 2004 (yeah, I gasped at that one too) and my professional account has emails back to 2011.

Email triage! I sort by sender then delete the obvious ones. Do I really need 32 saved emails from Pottery Barn? Why am I keeping 68 emails with new twitter followers from 2013? What’s the point of having 227 emails from a yahoo group I haven’t been involved with in over a year? Will I really read the discussion from an online workshop that took place three years ago?

(Told you I had a problem.)

Delete. Delete. File. Delete.

Blogs and newsletters
So many awesome blogs, so many fabulous writers to follow. But not all remain relevant and not all need to drop into your inbox.

For example, a few are from my “previous” life in the space industry. I’m still a die-hard space junkie so a few I’ll keep just because. But really, do I need the announcements from companies I haven’t kept up with in almost three years?

There were blogs and newsletters I signed up for early in my writing career. A few I still refer to, but not all. Some are just not relevant for whatever reason. Those are a quick unsubscribe.

I’ve also noticed a few newsletters dumping into my account lately that I didn’t subscribe to. Not only is that a major faux pas by the owner of that newsletter, but it pretty much ensures I’ll be unsubscribing, unfollowing, unliking that person.

Twitter
I’ve been a bit lazy with my twitter account over the last year, I admit. It’s one of the things that’s fallen through the cracks in the chaos of 2014.

Jenny Hansen wrote a great post last December (holy poop, people, that’s 11 months ago! *fingers in ears, lalalalalala, it is not almost the end of the year, lalalalala*) on cleaning out your twitter account.

I’ll be following her advice in the near future. It’s time to update the lists I’ve made and create new ones. Check out who I’m following and why.

Commitments
This is a tough one. I’m part of two group blogs; founding President of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and as part of that group, also oversee a number of programs and member benefits. I also volunteer at my son’s school and recently agreed to help out with a climbing team event. Add family, house, exercise, and … what am I missing … oh yeah, writing.

Every so often, you need to evaluate where you’re spending your time and whether those activities are in line with your end goal (if you don’t know what the end goal is, declutter those thoughts first). It’s not easy to say no and some of us have a harder time with that than others. But stretching yourself too thin doesn’t do anyone any good either.

Are you contributing to a blog that isn’t getting the reach you’d like or that’s taking more time than you have to give? Bow out gracefully and professionally.

Consider your volunteering commitments. If you can’t give the level of commitment that’s expected (by the group—personal or professional—or that you have for yourself), then consider backing away, again, gracefully and professionally.

Are you in a writing group that isn’t giving you the level of support you need? Thank everyone for the knowledge they’ve shared and walk away.

Yes, I’ve been doing that myself. And yes, I’ve agonized over every decision. But you know what, that extra bit of time, the less daunting number of emails, the twitter stream of people I really WANT to keep up with, all equal a less cluttered mind. And that means I can now cozy up to the revisions and shiny new WIP without the distractions. The other decluttering exercise—my office no longer looks like a tree threw up in it. Oh yeah!

Decluttering done, you can now focus on those end goals—remember those?

So, if you’ll excuse me, I’m ready to hunker down for the winter and write!

Okay, WITSers, I want to hear from you—are you “tidy” with your emails, twitter accounts, commitments or do you find yourself waking up one day with that “gotta do something about this” feeling?

About Orly

After years of pushing the creativity boundary in corporate communications, Orly decided it was time for a new challenge. Three women’s fiction manuscripts later (plus a handful of picture books), it’s safe to say she’s found her creative outlet.  When she’s not talking to her imaginary friends, she’s reading or at least trying to ignore everyone around her long enough to finish “just one more paragraph.” Orly is the founding president of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

You can find her on Twitter at @OrlyKonigLopez or on her website, www.orlykoniglopez.com.

NaNoWriMo is here, which means my birthday is coming and our American Thanksgiving is at the end of the month. In other words, the holidays are upon us, which often leads to stress for writers.

I reserved my organic grass-fed turkey yesterday. (Yes, I know. I'm from California, okay?) As always, the minute I reserve that glistening gobbler, my stress-meter cranks to high.

My holiday confession: I am deathly afraid to take responsibility for the bird. Really, really afraid. Like heart-pounding-faster-than-a-caffeinated-writer-on-deadline afraid.

Obviously, I have a whopping case of the dreaded "Turkey Block."

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this malady, it's like writer's block...only instead of a fear of the page, it's a fear of the bird.

My big brother (we call him the Bag Whore), talks about his Thanksgiving Bird like it's his holiday love muffin: rubbing it with butter, seasoning it...BRINING it, for Pete's sake. I can't listen to him. And right now, at William's Sonoma, there's a whole freaking wall dedicated to the bird. An. Entire. Wall.

It's wigging me out.

I can't take the responsibility of being in charge of the main event. I just can't. So I pawned it off on Hubby. I even got him a "brining kit," although I'm not exactly sure what it is.

Hubby is tasked with The Bird and I have everything else. I'd rather make sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry fluff, mashed potatoes, stuffing and three pies than do ONE turkey.

[See? Turkey Block.]

I saw a post with the five main symptoms of writer's block and I have ALL FIVE when it comes to The Turkey. I'll put them below so you can see what I mean, and heap sympathy upon me in my time of need.

Symptom #1: No Ideas

If you are stuck and have no ideas, it is probably because you started in writing, prepping your bird, without doing the ground work of brainstorming and planning.

Remedy: Give the job to your spouse. If you're single, invite someone like The Bag Whore to your feast.

Symptom #2: Boredom

Either you have chosen a topic turkey you are not particularly interested in, or you've been assigned a topic bird you just don't care much about. Either way, you are stuck because you are bored with your topic turkey.

Remedy: Give the job to your spouse. Or run to the internet. Pray if you need to.

Symptom #3: Lack of Confidence

If you feel you aren't qualified to do the writing turkey, you will be stuck from the onset. You may worry that your grammar gobbler technique isn't good enough or you have poor spelling basting skills. You may be hearing criticisms in your head from previous attempts at writing turkey-making.

Remedy: Give the job to your spouse. Or open wine. Lots and lots of wine.

Symptom #4: Anxiety

When you are full of anxiety about something, you feel agitated, fidgety, jittery. Your mind goes in every possible direction except to the task at hand.

[Yesssss.]

Remedy: Sit or lie comfortably in a quiet, dimly lit space. Close your eyes and settle your breathing. Then picture yourself doing the required writing turkey. Don't think about the content bird that needs to be written conquered, only see yourself writing conquering said gobbler. Notice details surrounding you and the turkey...Then notice how you feel about the image and how the person you see feels. Sit with this image for as long as you can.

[I'm pretty much calling crapola on that "remedy."]

Symptom #5: Stress

When stress has its grip, you can't think straight. You can't even begin to sit still and do some writing turkey-wrestling.

Remedy: Have a pre-writing pre-bird ritual that helps you to slow down and relax. Know in advance where you plan to write cook and prepare your space. Make it free of clutter and get out your supplies and materials. Then do some physical activity to relax your muscles and clear your mind. Take several deep breaths and do some long, slow stretches.

[So really, they're saying: "Have some sex instead of worrying about your turkey."]

Addendum: Nope. Not working. I'm still thinking about having to look my guests in the eye and apologize for a dry pitiful turkey.

Remedy: Give the job to your spouse. Make TONS of gravy. Drink more wine.

 *  *  *  *  *  *

So there you have it...the five symptoms of Turkey Block and my remedies. Whether you're thinking about your bird or your manuscript, I promise you will break through to the other side.

Have you conquered the Turkey Frontier? What are your secrets? Enquiring minds (and my husband) would love to hear them!

About Jenny Hansen

By day, Jenny provides training and social media marketing for an accounting firm. By night she writes news articles, humor, memoir, women’s fiction and short stories. After 18+ years as a corporate software trainer, she’s delighted to sit down while she works.

When she’s not at her personal blog, More Cowbell, Jenny can be found on Twitter at JennyHansenCA or at Writers In The Storm.

 

What is Cadence?

To me, it’s Like Porn, in that it’s not easy to define, but I know it when I see it.

Webster did manage to define it though (which makes me want to look up ‘porn’):

• The beat, rate, or measure of any rhythmic movement
• A slight falling in pitch of the voice in speaking or reading, as at the end of a declarative sentence

Though Webster wasn’t talking about writing in the above definition, he came close. To me,

Cadence = rhythm

This is a writer’s tool that is often overlooked, which is sad, because it’s a powerful one. It’s not just the words, but how they’re put together that can convey a mood. To the reader, it’s subliminal – they feel it subconsciously. It’s a way of layering your message – and it can work like glue to stick readers to your pages.

Examples:

“I was also a shrimper’s son in love with the shape of boats.” Pat Conroy, Prince of Tides

Yes, there’s alliteration there (repeating ‘s’ words), but there’s also cadence. Read it out loud. To me, it rises and falls with those ‘s’ words, making the sentence wave-like. Which is brilliant, because it ties to the subject – water. Have I mentioned that Conroy is my hero? ;)

“A nimbus of black curls overwhelmed her deathly pale, sharp-boned foxy face.” Laura Drake, The Sweet Spot

See how the stops of ‘sharp’, ‘foxy’ and ‘face’ help convey the hard planes of her face?

“Judy was a big sturdy woman, without much softness. Hers was the handsome, hard-chiseled face of a Western woman: strong cheekbones, wide mouth, hooded eyes.” Barbara O’Neal, The Secret of Everything

The sentences above convey hardness in the words, but in the cadence, as well. Read it aloud, and see how the beats are stops. Jerks. The ‘h’ words make a tiny pause.

You can also use cadence to speed up the action and convey fear or panic:

"My hand was on the door handle when for a split second out of nowhere I was terrified, blue-blazing terrified, fear dropping straight through me like a jagged black stone, falling fast. I’d felt this before, in the limbo instants before I moved out of my aunt’s house, lost my virginity, took my oath as a police officer: those instants when the irrevocable thing you wanted so much suddenly turns real and solid, inches away and speeding at you, a bottomless river rising and no way back once it’s crossed. I had to catch myself back from crying out like a little kid drowning in terror, I don’t want to do this anymore." Tanya French, The Likeness

See how the run-on sentence emulates your thoughts when you’re afraid? The hardness of “jagged black stone, falling fast.” Almost batter you.

“The bean bag chair had been slashed -- tiny styrofoam peas shifted in a line across the floor, dancing in the breeze from the broken windows.” Laura Drake, work in progress

The cadence and word choice in the above is at odds – ‘shifted in a line’ and ‘dancing in the breeze’ is lyrical, but ‘slashed’ and ‘broken windows’ foreshadows that something bad is about to happen.

“This is how it feels when you realize your child is missing: The pit of your stomach freezes fast, while your legs go to jelly. “

“There’s one single, blue-bass thud of your heart. The shape of her name, sharp as metal filings, gets caught between your teeth even as you try to force it out in a shout. Fear breathes like a monster into your ear: Where did I see her last? Would she have wandered away? Who could have taken her? And then, finally, your throat seals shut, as you swallow the fact that you’ve made a mistake you will never be able to fix.” Jodi Picoult, The Tenth Circle

Wow. “Blue bass thud. Sharp as metal filings. Breathes like a monster into your ear.”

All very well and good, but how do you do that?

• Word choice. I use the Thesaurus. A lot. Say you’re trying to convey softness. ‘S’ words do that. Words like: silky, sultry, soft, spongy, smooth, supple, serene. I’ve been known to spend ten minutes looking for a word beginning with an ‘G’ to convey abruptness.
• Read aloud. You may not catch the cadence reading silently, but I promise you will when you read it aloud. My final edits for any book I turn in involves reading it aloud to my cat (who is a tough critic; she sleeps through most of it)
• Be aware. Don’t expect that this stuff will just flow out of your fingers. I get the scene down first, then go back and layer this in. it takes rewriting to get it perfect. And you need that quality to hold your reader. This will seem hard at first, but the more you work with it, the more it becomes ingrained.

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.” Seems a daunting task, I know. But if you want to grab readers, and sell well, that’s what it takes.

Tom Robbins, has been known to rewrite a single sentence 40 times. Yikes, right?

But cadence is worth the work, because this is the sentence he ended up with as the last line of Jitterbug Perfume.

The lesson of the beet, then, is this: hold on to your divine blush, your innate rosy magic, or end up brown. Once you’re brown, you’ll find that you’re blue. As blue as indigo. And you know what that means: Indigo. Indigoing. Indigone.

So what do you think? have I convinced you to work on cadence? We'd love to see some of your 'before' and 'after' samples in the comments!

About Laura:

Laura Drake is a city girl who never grew out of her tomboy ways, or a serious cowboy crush. She writes both Women's Fiction and Romance.

She sold her Sweet on a Cowboy series, romances set in the world of professional bull riding, to Grand Central. The Sweet Spot (May 2013), Nothing Sweeter (Jan 2014) and Sweet on You (August 2014). The Sweet Spot won the 2014 Romance Writers of America^®   RITA^® award in the Best First Book category.

Her 'biker-chick' novel, Her Road Home, sold to Harlequin's Superomance line (August, 2013) and has expanded to three more stories set in the same small town. The Reasons to Stay released August, 2014.

In 2014, Laura realized a lifelong dream of becoming a Texan and is currently working on her accent. She gave up the corporate CFO gig to write full time. She's a wife, grandmother, and motorcycle chick in the remaining waking hours.

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