Friday's windstorm knocked me offline for about 15 hours, including when I would have normally been composing this post. Sorry that it's going up late. (And, yes, I did manage to write yesterday evening despite the power outage. My netbook was charged, so I was able to write on it, sitting by myself in the dark!)
Every Saturday, I'll be highlighting one link -- it could be a blog post, a book, a website, or anything else -- and explaining why I think that link is useful for writers trying to develop and maintain a daily writing routine. Unlike my Sunday Links posts on my general writing blog, I won't restrict myself to brand new links. Whatever I find that I think is worth sharing will be fair game.
This week's link is the Online Etymology Dictionary. This site has tens of thousands of entries about the history of various words and phrases. It's useful for understanding where certain terms come from and also the general time they came into usage. The latter is especially helpful if you're writing something set in the past and want to ensure you're not creating anachronisms in your work.
As far as it helping people write every day, I also view this site as being a source of possible writing prompts. For example, the entry for "jubilee" reads in part: "The original notion was of a year of emancipation of slaves and restoration of lands, to be celebrated every 50th year..." That concept seems ripe for a science-fictional (or fantasy) story where that original meaning of jubilee is revisited in an alien (or fantastical) society.
It's a fascinating site and a fantastic resource. If you haven't checked it out, I'd encourage you to do so. Just try not to get lost browsing it!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Writing Prompt: Friday June 29, 2012
Every Tuesday and Friday, I'll
be posting one or more writing prompts as possible starting points for
stories or poems. I'll be mixing this up as much as possible and will
sometimes utilize quotes, photos, music, and anything else I can think
of which might help get your creative inspiration going.
Today's writing prompt is this photograph:
Come back next Tuesday for another Writing Prompt.
Today's writing prompt is this photograph:
I hope this prompt inspires some of you to write something amazing. If you end up writing a story, poem, or anything else based on this prompt and it gets published somewhere (including your blog or personal website) please stop by and leave a comment so I can see what you came up with.
Come back next Tuesday for another Writing Prompt.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Upcoming Deadlines: Once Upon an Apocalypse & Descant
One of the tools I've used sometimes to help myself get started on
writing is writing towards prompts or themes for upcoming publications,
either anthologies or themed issues of periodicals. Every Thursday, I'll
be posting two or three such submission calls which I find of interest.
There may be a somewhat heavy speculative fiction bent to these lists,
but I'll endeavor to mix it up a bit for those who write mostly in other
genres.
A two volume anthology, "Once Upon an Apocalypse" is looking for stories "with the undead and otherwordly mythos crossing into the realm of fairy tales, nursery rhymes and other timeless stories." They have somewhat specific guidelines, so I would highly encourage you to check those out as well as the list of things they've already purchased since they're aiming not to have duplicated tales. This project's call runs through July 31st, 2012 or until filled and they will be paying 3 cents per word for stories of 2,000-4,000 words.
The second submission call for this week is from "Descant." They are looking for "Essays, poems, fictions, memoirs, and art work which show the ways in which the Indian peoples connect with one another worldwide and also differentiate themselves from and yet are still linked to modern India." This submission call runs through August 15th, 2012. They pay a $100 honorarium for published works.
Since I don't represent any of these publishers, please make sure to read the linked guidelines pages closely to ensure that you understand details of the submission guidelines, terms, payment information, etc.
Stop back next Thursday for more Upcoming Deadlines!
A two volume anthology, "Once Upon an Apocalypse" is looking for stories "with the undead and otherwordly mythos crossing into the realm of fairy tales, nursery rhymes and other timeless stories." They have somewhat specific guidelines, so I would highly encourage you to check those out as well as the list of things they've already purchased since they're aiming not to have duplicated tales. This project's call runs through July 31st, 2012 or until filled and they will be paying 3 cents per word for stories of 2,000-4,000 words.
The second submission call for this week is from "Descant." They are looking for "Essays, poems, fictions, memoirs, and art work which show the ways in which the Indian peoples connect with one another worldwide and also differentiate themselves from and yet are still linked to modern India." This submission call runs through August 15th, 2012. They pay a $100 honorarium for published works.
Since I don't represent any of these publishers, please make sure to read the linked guidelines pages closely to ensure that you understand details of the submission guidelines, terms, payment information, etc.
Stop back next Thursday for more Upcoming Deadlines!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Writing When You Don't Feel Like It
Wednesdays on this blog I'll post about something which relates in one way or another to writing every day. Sometimes, like this week, the connection may be very obvious. Other times, it could be more tenuous.
Would you believe there have been plenty of days during the daily writing chain I've built up over the past 10 or so months where I would have just as soon not written? I haven't kept track of those days, but I'm sure there's been at least a couple dozen of them.
While working on building a lengthy daily writing chain, you're bound to end up coming across days when you really don't feel like writing. Ultimately, it's up to each individual writer to decide how he or she feels about pushing through on those days. If you've built appropriate options into the daily goal for your chain, then you may well be able to find a task that fits your mood such as critiquing a story for a fellow writer or preparing a blog post in advance. I've done that quite a few times.
Then there have been other days that I simply sat down and got to work on my writing even if I wasn't "feeling" like doing it. Some of those days I've ended up with good results. Occasionally I've even ended up writing a whole lot more than my goal once I in a groove. Other days I've checked my word count repeatedly until I saw I had those 500 words and then saved my work and gotten away from it as quickly as possible.
Is it worth it to fight through those days? For me, the answer is yes. Because even on plenty of days when I don't actively dislike the idea of writing sitting down and getting started isn't the easiest thing in the world. There could be games to play or a movie to watch. Fighting through the really hard days gives me motivation to make sure I have fingers-on-keyboard time during those other, less hard, days.
Not everyone will find writing on those really bad days to be worthwhile. There's really no substantial difference between building five 59-day chains in 300 days as compared to one 300-day chain. The latter might sound a lot more impressive, but ultimately you're talking one extra day of writing every month.
The key thing is to be honest with yourself. If you are the kind of person who can take a day or two off and then get right back to it and be productive in the upcoming weeks, then you should work however you feel comfortable. I fear that I'm not that kind of person, though, so I press on even through the bad days.
Would you believe there have been plenty of days during the daily writing chain I've built up over the past 10 or so months where I would have just as soon not written? I haven't kept track of those days, but I'm sure there's been at least a couple dozen of them.
While working on building a lengthy daily writing chain, you're bound to end up coming across days when you really don't feel like writing. Ultimately, it's up to each individual writer to decide how he or she feels about pushing through on those days. If you've built appropriate options into the daily goal for your chain, then you may well be able to find a task that fits your mood such as critiquing a story for a fellow writer or preparing a blog post in advance. I've done that quite a few times.
Then there have been other days that I simply sat down and got to work on my writing even if I wasn't "feeling" like doing it. Some of those days I've ended up with good results. Occasionally I've even ended up writing a whole lot more than my goal once I in a groove. Other days I've checked my word count repeatedly until I saw I had those 500 words and then saved my work and gotten away from it as quickly as possible.
Is it worth it to fight through those days? For me, the answer is yes. Because even on plenty of days when I don't actively dislike the idea of writing sitting down and getting started isn't the easiest thing in the world. There could be games to play or a movie to watch. Fighting through the really hard days gives me motivation to make sure I have fingers-on-keyboard time during those other, less hard, days.
Not everyone will find writing on those really bad days to be worthwhile. There's really no substantial difference between building five 59-day chains in 300 days as compared to one 300-day chain. The latter might sound a lot more impressive, but ultimately you're talking one extra day of writing every month.
The key thing is to be honest with yourself. If you are the kind of person who can take a day or two off and then get right back to it and be productive in the upcoming weeks, then you should work however you feel comfortable. I fear that I'm not that kind of person, though, so I press on even through the bad days.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Writing Prompt: Tuesday June 26th, 2012
Every Tuesday and Friday, I'll
be posting one or more writing prompts as possible starting points for
stories or poems. I'll be mixing this up as much as possible and will
sometimes utilize quotes, photos, music, and anything else I can think
of which might help get your creative inspiration going.
Today's writing prompt is in honor of my personal writing streak which reaches 300 days today!
The number 300 makes me think (No, not of gladiators...) about bowling. It's the score for a perfect game in bowling. Baseball has perfect games, too. And, of course, a game could be "perfect" to someone in any number of ways.
So, today's prompt is...
Come back on Friday for another Writing Prompt.
Today's writing prompt is in honor of my personal writing streak which reaches 300 days today!
The number 300 makes me think (No, not of gladiators...) about bowling. It's the score for a perfect game in bowling. Baseball has perfect games, too. And, of course, a game could be "perfect" to someone in any number of ways.
So, today's prompt is...
The Perfect GameI hope that it inspires some of you to write something amazing. If you end up writing something based on this prompt and it gets published somewhere (including your blog or personal website) please stop by and leave a comment so I can see what you came up with.
Come back on Friday for another Writing Prompt.
Monday, June 25, 2012
"Write Every Day" is Live on Amazon
"Write Every Day: Hints & Tips Towards a Daily Writing Routine" is live now on Amazon.com and other Amazon sites.
From Chapter 1:
From Chapter 1:
"How much writing do you think you could get accomplished if you had an entire year to spend on just that and nothing else?
And when you think of that year, don't think of several hours a day. Think of every single minute. That you've got the special ability to not require time to sleep or do anything else at all. You wouldn't get fatigued or burned out.
Think you could write a lot in that year? Then consider this: Anything you spend twenty minutes a day on every day is something that you'll spend more than a year of your life doing.
Increase that to an hour a day and you'll spend a year on that activity over the course of only 24 years. That's the amazing power of doing something every day. The time, bit by bit, adds up to a tremendous opportunity to accomplish things that excite us."
Monday Motivation: What You Can Control
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
-Reinhold Niebuhr
If there’s a remedy when trouble strikes,
What reason is there for dejection?
And if there is no help for it,
What use is there in being glum?
-Shantideva
I used both those familiar quotes to open a blog post several months ago. Monday on this blog will typically feature one or more motivational quotes for writers. These two fit, as writers are often dealing with things they cannot control (whether their work is accepted, whether they get good reviews) and need to try to move past stressing about those things and focus on the things they can control (writing more, writing better).
Getting frustrated can make it hard to feel like writing, though. Having a daily writing routine to provide a structure for your writing efforts can help you push through those rough patches. And it also helps with the "writing more" portion of the things you can control.
Speaking of things you can't control...
I had hoped that today's blog post would focus on the rollout of "Write Every Day." Alas, even though I uploaded it in the very early hours of Sunday morning and even though Amazon sent me an email claiming that it was available for purchase, it is not available yet in many parts of the world. (Edited to add: As of mid-morning Monday in the Eastern US, it was available on amazon.com as well as the other Amazon sites. Hooray!)
It is available on amazon.co.uk and other European sites. So, if you are a Kindle user from that part of the world, you may well be in luck. I'll post an update here as soon as the book is available for the rest of the world.
Thanks for your interest and your patience.
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
-Reinhold Niebuhr
If there’s a remedy when trouble strikes,
What reason is there for dejection?
And if there is no help for it,
What use is there in being glum?
-Shantideva
I used both those familiar quotes to open a blog post several months ago. Monday on this blog will typically feature one or more motivational quotes for writers. These two fit, as writers are often dealing with things they cannot control (whether their work is accepted, whether they get good reviews) and need to try to move past stressing about those things and focus on the things they can control (writing more, writing better).
Getting frustrated can make it hard to feel like writing, though. Having a daily writing routine to provide a structure for your writing efforts can help you push through those rough patches. And it also helps with the "writing more" portion of the things you can control.
Speaking of things you can't control...
I had hoped that today's blog post would focus on the rollout of "Write Every Day." Alas, even though I uploaded it in the very early hours of Sunday morning and even though Amazon sent me an email claiming that it was available for purchase, it is not available yet in many parts of the world. (Edited to add: As of mid-morning Monday in the Eastern US, it was available on amazon.com as well as the other Amazon sites. Hooray!)
It is available on amazon.co.uk and other European sites. So, if you are a Kindle user from that part of the world, you may well be in luck. I'll post an update here as soon as the book is available for the rest of the world.
Thanks for your interest and your patience.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Guest Posters and Interviewees Wanted!
Every Sunday, I'll
be featuring another writer for a guest post or an interview. If you're interested in either writing a guest post or being interviewed by me for this feature, please let me know either by making a comment below or filling out my "Contact Me" form.
These won't be particularly lengthy, in general. I'm figuring the average post/interview will be in the 400-1,000 word range. While they don't need to focus directly on writing every day, I'd like there to be at least some thought given to how the topic for a guest post relates to developing and maintaining a daily writing habit.
Thanks to anyone who is interested in being a part of this feature! Stop back next Sunday for the first in this series.
These won't be particularly lengthy, in general. I'm figuring the average post/interview will be in the 400-1,000 word range. While they don't need to focus directly on writing every day, I'd like there to be at least some thought given to how the topic for a guest post relates to developing and maintaining a daily writing habit.
Thanks to anyone who is interested in being a part of this feature! Stop back next Sunday for the first in this series.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Link of the Week: "Breaking the Success Barrier"
Every Saturday, I'll
be highlighting one link -- it could be a blog post, a book, a website, or anything else -- and explaining why I think that link is useful for writers trying to develop and maintain a daily writing routine. Unlike my Sunday Links posts on my general writing blog, I won't restrict myself to brand new links. Whatever I find that I think is worth sharing will be fair game.
This week's Link is "Breaking the Success Barrier" by Jay Lake and Ruth Nestvold, originally published in The Internet Review of Science Fiction in 2006.
The concept of the "success barrier" is that writers start out with limited command of their craft (competence) and significant confidence in their abilities. While they're on their learning curve, competence increases but leads to awareness of the flaws in their own work, decreasing confidence. If external boosts to confidence don't arrive soon enough, the temptation is strong for many writers to decide they aren't good enough and give up.
This article has some fantastic suggestions about managing that "success barrier" and it is well worth reading.
I know there were times early this year where I was running headlong into that barrier. But I had built up a daily writing chain stretching over several months and I didn't want to let that go. In fact, the way that I dealt with being a bit burned out on writing fiction due to the barrier was to switch my focus temporarily and write the first draft of "Write Every Day."
Being committed to a daily writing routine can help you push through some of the rough times in your career. It keeps you focused on producing new work which can help take some of the sting out of rejections from older work, particularly if you are also able to see the clear indications of improvement in your work.
Stop back next Saturday for a new Link of the Week!
This week's Link is "Breaking the Success Barrier" by Jay Lake and Ruth Nestvold, originally published in The Internet Review of Science Fiction in 2006.
The concept of the "success barrier" is that writers start out with limited command of their craft (competence) and significant confidence in their abilities. While they're on their learning curve, competence increases but leads to awareness of the flaws in their own work, decreasing confidence. If external boosts to confidence don't arrive soon enough, the temptation is strong for many writers to decide they aren't good enough and give up.
This article has some fantastic suggestions about managing that "success barrier" and it is well worth reading.
I know there were times early this year where I was running headlong into that barrier. But I had built up a daily writing chain stretching over several months and I didn't want to let that go. In fact, the way that I dealt with being a bit burned out on writing fiction due to the barrier was to switch my focus temporarily and write the first draft of "Write Every Day."
Being committed to a daily writing routine can help you push through some of the rough times in your career. It keeps you focused on producing new work which can help take some of the sting out of rejections from older work, particularly if you are also able to see the clear indications of improvement in your work.
Stop back next Saturday for a new Link of the Week!
Friday, June 22, 2012
Writing Prompt: Friday June 22nd, 2012
Every Tuesday and Friday, I'll
be posting one or more writing prompts as possible starting points for stories or poems. I'll be mixing this up as much as possible and will sometimes utilize quotes, photos, music, and anything else I can think of which might help get your creative inspiration going.
Today's writing prompt is:
Come back next Tuesday for another Writing Prompt.
Today's writing prompt is:
When I woke up, I didn't know I was beginning my last day in town.That's the whole prompt! I hope that it inspires some of you to write something amazing. If you end up writing something based on this prompt and it gets published somewhere (including your blog or personal website) please stop by and leave a comment so I can see what you came up with.
Come back next Tuesday for another Writing Prompt.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Upcoming Deadlines: UFO, Futuredaze, and The First Line
One of the tools I've used sometimes to help myself get started on writing is writing towards prompts or themes for upcoming publications, either anthologies or themed issues of periodicals. Every Thursday, I'll be posting two or three such submission calls which I find of interest. There may be a somewhat heavy speculative fiction bent to these lists, but I'll endeavor to mix it up a bit for those who write mostly in other genres.
I'd be remiss if I didn't make my very first such item "UFO: Unidentified Funny Objects." (Full disclosure: The reason I'd be remiss is because I'm one of the associate editors and this project is being run by my friend Alex Shvartsman. Note that any submissions which the associate editors see come without the writer's name(s) attached, so no worries that I'd be biased in my reading.) This call is for humorous speculative fiction stories and runs through August 31st, 2012 and the anthology will be paying professional rates (5 cents per word for stories of 500-4,000 words).
A call with a very close deadline is "Futuredaze: An Anthology of YA Science Fiction." This project's call runs through June 30th, 2012 and they will be paying $200 for stories of up to 6,000 words and $25 per poem.
The third submission call for this week is from "The First Line." This periodical has quarterly prompts where the first line of the story is provided and they look for the best stories growing out of that first line. Their current call runs through August 1st, 2012. The supplied first line is "A light snow was falling as Charlie Reardon left the diner and made his way down Madison Street." They pay $30 for stories of 300-3,000 words.
Please make sure to read the linked guidelines pages closely to ensure that you understand details of the submission guidelines, terms, payment information, etc. It's always possible that I misinterpreted something or that something would have changed since I researched the information.
Stop back next Thursday for more Upcoming Deadlines!
I'd be remiss if I didn't make my very first such item "UFO: Unidentified Funny Objects." (Full disclosure: The reason I'd be remiss is because I'm one of the associate editors and this project is being run by my friend Alex Shvartsman. Note that any submissions which the associate editors see come without the writer's name(s) attached, so no worries that I'd be biased in my reading.) This call is for humorous speculative fiction stories and runs through August 31st, 2012 and the anthology will be paying professional rates (5 cents per word for stories of 500-4,000 words).
A call with a very close deadline is "Futuredaze: An Anthology of YA Science Fiction." This project's call runs through June 30th, 2012 and they will be paying $200 for stories of up to 6,000 words and $25 per poem.
The third submission call for this week is from "The First Line." This periodical has quarterly prompts where the first line of the story is provided and they look for the best stories growing out of that first line. Their current call runs through August 1st, 2012. The supplied first line is "A light snow was falling as Charlie Reardon left the diner and made his way down Madison Street." They pay $30 for stories of 300-3,000 words.
Please make sure to read the linked guidelines pages closely to ensure that you understand details of the submission guidelines, terms, payment information, etc. It's always possible that I misinterpreted something or that something would have changed since I researched the information.
Stop back next Thursday for more Upcoming Deadlines!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Announcing "Write Every Day" by Michael Haynes
Late last summer I started a daily writing routine, based on motivational techniques described by Jerry Seinfeld. One of my first blog posts was about starting this routine, or chain, and it's still one of my most popular posts. The central concept is quite simple:
Earlier this year, Australian author Valerie Parv asked me when I was going to develop my thoughts around this way of establishing a daily writing routine into a something larger than several blog entries. I hadn't thought about that seriously before her suggestion, but soon afterwards I started working on the outline of a short book around the idea of writing every day and the tools I've used to help make it possible.
And now, that book is (almost) here. Next Monday, June 25th, I'll be launching "Write Every Day" on Amazon for the Kindle. You don't have to wait for the 25th, though! I'll select five people who sign up for my Write Every Day mailing list between now and 11:59 PM (EDT) on Thursday June 21st and send them a free pre-release review PDF.
Along with the release of "Write Every Day" I'll be publishing daily blog posts relating to helping keep your daily writing routine going. Most of these will be very short, such as a writing prompt or two for writers who are feeling stuck, but there will be at least one longer post each week.
Thanks for stopping by to read my announcement!
You get a big wall calendar (or some other visible equivalent) and a bold marker. Commit to some goal which you will achieve every day. Then, when you've met each day's goal, put an "X" in the calendar for the day. Quickly, you'll have a chain of "X"s and then all you have to do, in Seinfeld's words, is "Don't Break the Chain."I've been writing every day since I started my daily writing chain and I'm quickly coming up on a year since I started my daily writing chain. Along the way, I've learned quite a few things about how I write and ways to help keep myself into this daily routine.
Earlier this year, Australian author Valerie Parv asked me when I was going to develop my thoughts around this way of establishing a daily writing routine into a something larger than several blog entries. I hadn't thought about that seriously before her suggestion, but soon afterwards I started working on the outline of a short book around the idea of writing every day and the tools I've used to help make it possible.
And now, that book is (almost) here. Next Monday, June 25th, I'll be launching "Write Every Day" on Amazon for the Kindle. You don't have to wait for the 25th, though! I'll select five people who sign up for my Write Every Day mailing list between now and 11:59 PM (EDT) on Thursday June 21st and send them a free pre-release review PDF.
Along with the release of "Write Every Day" I'll be publishing daily blog posts relating to helping keep your daily writing routine going. Most of these will be very short, such as a writing prompt or two for writers who are feeling stuck, but there will be at least one longer post each week.
Thanks for stopping by to read my announcement!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)