Writing Prompt: Tuesday July 31st, 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.

Here's today's writing prompt:

"Deep in the forest, three children slept in a house they lived in alone."

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 on Friday for another Writing Prompt.

Monday Motivation: Hard Work, Hard to Surrender

The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.
- Vince Lombardi

This is one of the reasons that I, personally, write every day and why I think many writers benefit from some sort of structured approach to their goals, whether it be a daily writing routine or some other routine.

There were times in the past twelve months when it would have been really, really easy for me to get frustrated at a lack of visible success with my writing and give up. I could have gone back to watching more movies each month rather than writing. And, if I'd timed my giving up just right, I might never have known what was coming around the corner.

The thing that kept me moving forward each day was in large part having built up the long daily writing chain and the inertia that this gave me to keep on writing. Between that and the encouragement I received from friends I'd made through various social media and my occasional initial acceptances, I made it through that time when I could have easily given up.

I'm certainly pleased with how things have worked out in my case, but there also could be a dark side to this quotation -- it's the same reason that people press on sometimes with an absolutely futile effort, ignoring the concept of all the work before as a "sunk cost." Sometimes there's something -- maybe a specific story/novel, maybe something else -- that you simply have to let go of and acknowledge that it wasn't going to work out, at least not at that time. And, yes, the harder you've worked on that thing so far, the harder it would be to give it up.

Guest Post: Kasia James on Not Writing Every Day

Sundays on the Write Every Day blog, another writer is featured as a guest poster or interviewee. Today's guest is Kasia James. Kasia has an upcoming novel titled "The Artemis Effect."

The guest post which she wrote is one which I referred to in my own Wednesday blog post "Three Reasons NOT to Write Every Day."

"On Not Writing Every Day" - Kasia James

While I realise that the thrust of this blog is to discuss the philosophy of writing every day, I'd like to discuss NOT writing every day. I am full of admiration for anyone with the dedication and self-management required to write every day, but I have to confess that, as a writer, this is not how I have found I work best.

Link of the Week: Writing Digest Creative Writing Prompts

Every Saturday I highlight a link that I think is worth checking out for writers, particularly those who are working on developing a daily writing routine. Writers' Digest is a well-known publication and on their website they have a list of creative writing prompts. They tend to be very specific scenarios rather than the more general prompts which I run here a couple of times a week, so if you're looking for something that gives you an explicit starting spot, I think their archives of prompts might be very useful. And when I say "archives", I mean it -- it looks to me like there are well over 100 such prompts there.

One thing I would note -- the site suggests replying directly to the prompt on their site with up to 500 words. Personally, I would not do that for a variety of reasons. But there's no reason not to check out their prompts and see if something sparks your imagination.

Writing Prompt: Friday July 27th, 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 one of the wildest science-related stories I've read in a while:

"We took a rat apart and rebuilt it as a jellyfish."

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 on Tuesday for another Writing Prompt.

Upcoming Deadlines: Crossed Genres & California Cantata Anthology

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. Below you will find information about two such calls for submissions.

The rebooted magazine Crossed Genres is opening for submissions on August 1st. They will be reading on the theme of "Boundaries" first. Per the magazine's website: "Boundaries are physical, psychological, emotional, and imaginary. Who we are can often be defined by how we respond to perceived boundaries – accept them; ignore them; sidestep them; confront them. Where do the boundaries we encounter shape the boundaries of our selves?" This issue's submission call runs through September 30th, 2012 and they will be paying 5 cents per word for stories of 1,000-6,000 words.

The second submission call for this week is from Kazka Press for their California Cantata anthology. This is a fantasy anthology where the editors are intending to have (as much as possible) one story representing each county in California. From the guidelines, it reads to me as if a historical aspect is also desired in the stories. Since this is a somewhat specific theme, I'd definitely suggest reading the guidelines closely before beginning your story. Note that the publisher has also listed several counties where they have already purchased stories, so those counties would be off the table for further stories. This submission call runs through September 30th, 2012. They pay 1 cent per word for stories of 500-5,000 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.

Stop back next Thursday for more Upcoming Deadlines!

Wednesday List: Three Reasons NOT to Write Every Day

Seems like a funny title for a blog post on the Write Every Day blog, eh?

Well, first of all I've read a couple of really good posts recently about not writing every day, one of which I can share now (The Binge-Pantser of Doom from Anaea Lay's blog) and one of which you'll be able to read when it's published in several days. And secondly, I feel that it's important to make my own feelings about this clear, particularly given the name of the blog.

I've seen quite a few writers express a fear that they won't be taken seriously because they don't write every day. There's a sense that some writers look down on non-daily writers. All I can say to this is that anyone who looks down on another writer who is making progress towards their own personal goals is being presumptuous. They're imposing their idea of what that other writer should want to do and be ahead on that other writer. It would be just as silly as someone coming to me and saying "Why are you wasting your time on short stories? Don't you know 'real writers' write novels?"

That said, I think there are plenty of good reasons for writers to work on their craft every day. Speaking purely for myself, I'm confident that I've gotten a lot further in the last almost-year by having a daily writing routine than I would have otherwise.

But there are also good reasons for writers to NOT write every day. So, this week's Wednesday List is of Three Reasons Not to Write Every Day:

1. It doesn't fit your schedule. Maybe you work some unusual work schedule where you put in 15-hour days three days a week and only have energy to work, eat, and sleep those three days. Maybe one day a week you work all day and have class all evening or help out a neighbor in the evening by watching their child while they go to class. Whatever it is, there are one or more days each week where there simply plain isn't time to write. That is an excellent reason not to write every day. If you were trying to develop a regular writing routine, you might want to set some sort of weekly goal, but clearly writing every day would not be good for a person in this situation.
2. It doesn't mesh well with what you are trying to accomplish. Maybe you're a non-fiction writer and you spend weeks doing research before sitting down to write. Or you could be working on a piece of fiction but prefer to do a lot of plot-outlining, character-defining, etc. before you start actually writing prose. To my mind, that certainly could be work that went into a daily writing routine (at least as far as the framework I described in Write Every Day) but some people would feel like they couldn't call that "writing." Similarly, maybe you're fortunate enough to have a high-profile book release and you're doing a lot of promotional work with your publisher. At that moment, there may be very good reasons to spend your time on that work rather than on "writing."
3. You've tried it and it didn't work for you. Pretty much self-explanatory. You gave it a go, you really did. And you hated it. You've found another way to work -- whatever it is -- that gets you towards your writing goals at a pace which makes you happy. You're making good progress, you're happy -- why mess with a good thing?

There could certainly be plenty of other good reasons -- these are not "the only three reasons..." they are just "three of the reasons...".

The thing I always come back to is: Are you making good progress towards your writing goals? If so, then what you're doing is working for you. You can always try different ways of working to see if they help you make better progress, if you want, but there's no urgency to make a change.

Every writer writes differently. The key for each is to find, as best as they can, their optimal way of working.

Writing Prompt: Tuesday July 24th, 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.

Here's today's writing prompt:

Photo by Matt Trostle - Used under Creative Commons License

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 on Friday for another Writing Prompt.

Monday Motivation: Are There Rules?

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
- W. Somerset Maugham

Every writer has to find their own way to write, which this quote humorously illustrates. Though I would say that there is one rule -- "You have to put words on the page."

Guest Post: C. Bryan Brown - The Writuals

On Sunday's the Write Every Day blog will feature a guest post or interview. Today's guest post is by C. Bryan Brown.

The Writuals - A Guest Post by C. Bryan Brown

It wasn’t long ago that my daily writing ritual consisted of sitting at this keyboard staring at a blank Word document... and that’s what I did. That’s all I did.

The reasons why—some of which I’ll share—are many and varied, but I overcame them. You can, too. You just need a little discipline, a lot of passion, and the development of some personal rituals.

And no, I’m not talking about goat sacrifice on an altar of volcanic rock, but the principle isn’t much different. Besides, it’s wise to save the bloody stuff for when you need a sale.

Rituals are about comfort and they exist in all facets of life. We perform them to ease our conscious minds or, to look at it another way, to put us in the mood for something. For example:

Think about sporting events: the National Anthem, the team introductions, and the coin toss are all rituals designed to ramp up our competitive spirit...

Link of the Week: "How to Survive NaNoWriMo: Planning"

This week's Link is to a blog post about planning for NaNoWriMo. On the one hand, it does seem kind of early to be talking about November's event. On the other hand, this is about the time last year when I came up with the idea for the novel that I ended up writing a first draft of during November 2011. I think that the pre-planning I did for my writing was key to successfully writing nearly 60,000 words in those 30 days.

The post is:  How to Survive NaNoWriMo: Planning by Jason LaPier and while I'd done a decent job of planning the plot for my story before I started writing last fall, I wish I had seen this and the other things he had suggested planning out, especially in terms of character details, since I was rather vague on all of those beyond the things that were on the surface due to the plot I had constructed.

In Write Every Day, I talk about the pros and cons of using NaNoWriMo as a way of jumping into developing a Daily Writing Chain. In brief, there's a lot of great community support for the activity, but if you focus too much on "winning" NaNoWriMo while trying to also develop a daily writing routine, you might feel some stress. If you do decide to tackle NaNoWriMo, posts like Jason's will likely be a big help to you.

Writing Prompt: Friday July 20th, 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:

Sacrificing Music

That's the whole prompt -- let your mind go with it where it will! It could be someone having to give up a musical career to -- shudder -- music to sacrifice by.

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.

Upcoming Deadlines: Redstone & The Future Fire

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.

The Redstone Science Fiction Summer Contest anthology is looking for a story with "a hopeful future made better by scientific advancement." Submissions are due by August 15th, 2012 and they will be paying 5 cents per word for the winning story. Stories should be no longer than 5,000 words.

The second submission call for this week is from The Future Fire and their "We See a Different Frontier" project. In their words, this is "a colonialism-themed anthology of new stories told from the perspective of the colonized." The deadline for submissions is midnight GMT, September 14, 2012. They pay 5 cents per word with a preference for stories in the 3,000-6,000 word range.

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!

Three Reasons That I Blog

While most authors who are looking to write for publication would be well-served to have a web presence of some kind, if nothing else so prospective editors/publishers can easily contact them, not all writers want or need to have a blog. However, I have found that blogging has been a very useful part of my writing life. Here are three reasons why:

1. It provides an opportunity for communication with other writers and readers. This was the initial benefit to me when I was just getting into writing again last summer. My timing, in a way, was perfect. Rachel Harrie's Platform-Building Writing Campaign was just about to kick off when I started blogging; the events and challenges relating to that helped keep me motivated while I was getting used to being back in the writing world. The challenges, in particular, provided some early positive feedback on my writing. I also met some of my first critiquers through that Campaign. Since that time, though I've mostly declined blog tours/hops/etc., I've been able to continue to use my primary writing blog as a place to talk about my own writing journey and writing in general. The discussions which sometimes come from these posts are valuable and enjoyable.
2. It provides an option for my daily writing chain. This, in theory, could be considered a con rather than a pro. Ultimately, writing blog posts isn't going to earn me money directly and it seems likely that it would earn my very little indirectly. So when I write 500 words towards a blog post and that allows me to check off my daily writing chain box someone could argue that it's set me back a day where I could have been writing 500 words of fiction. Since I'm still accomplishing significant fiction productivity, I'm not terribly concerned about that, but it's definitely worth keeping in mind.
3. It provides motivation to think more deeply about some of my own writing practices and techniques. Some of my favorite blog posts are ones which have arisen out of my brainstorming around how to resolve certain issues in my own writing routine. It's also interesting to be able to look back over time and see how my thinking and my blog writing has changed.

Not every writer needs a blog. If the thought of having one makes you cringe for one reason or another, don't feel like you're skipping something important. If the idea of blogging isn't uncomfortable but you don't have one yet, perhaps it's worth giving it a try and seeing if you find it a helpful part of your writing life.

Writing Prompt: Tuesday July 17th, 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.

Here's today's writing prompt:

 A child has lost their way. But they are not as helpless as they might seem.

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 on Friday for another Writing Prompt.

Monday Motivation: Writing Garbage

It is perfectly okay to write garbage--as long as you edit brilliantly
- C. J. Cherryh

This quote feels sort of like "You can't edit a blank page" but with even more explicit "permission" to let your initial draft have rough spots.

Are you feeling like you're struggling to get the "right" words on the page? Remember this saying of C. J. Cherryh's and write on!

Sunday Interview: FLASHBACK

I've got guest posts and interviews lined up for the next several weeks, but the schedule didn't work out to have one today. Instead, I'll refer you to the four interviews up on my main writing blog. I've spoken with Dave Zeltserman, Carrie Cuinn, Emily Casey, and D. Thomas Minton in the past year and each of them had interesting things to say about fiction and their writing. If you haven't already read those interviews, give them a quick look! (One small warning: The Zeltserman, Cuinn, and Minton interviews came after Dissecting the Short Story blog posts, so there's the possibility of spoilers for the short stories which had been analyzed.)

The schedule calls for a guest post next Sunday, so I hope that you'll stop back then to see what wisdom my guest has to impart.

Link of the Week: K. M. Weiland Blog Post on Routines

This week's Link is to a blog post from earlier this year by K. M. Weiland. She talks about the pros and cons of having a routine for your writing.

"Can you name one thing that could harm your writing if you do it—and if you don’t? Writing "routines" might not be the first answer to pop to mind. But nothing affects our writing more than the routine (or lack of one) with which we implement our writing into our day. Unfortunately, if we don’t approach routines with just the right mindset, they can cause more harm than good." 

The post is:  How Routines Save (and Ruin) Your Writing by K. M. Weiland and I think it does a great job of looking at the benefits and risks to both options. Obviously, I'm a big fan of having a routine for my own writing and I think that for many writers having a routine can help them achieve greater productivity. But there are some people who work better in other ways, and K. M.'s post may help you figure out more about your own work style.

Writing Prompt: Friday July 13, 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:

Contrary to folklore, Friday the 13th was the luckiest day of [his/her] life.

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.

Upcoming Deadlines: "Urban Green Man" and "Deep Cuts"

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.

The Urban Green Man anthology is looking for "fantastic stories involving the mythology of the Green Man in any form (which includes the Green Woman)." They have somewhat specific guidelines, so I would highly encourage you to check those out. This project's call runs through November 30th, 2012 and they will be paying 3.5 cents per word for stories up to 5,000 words and $20 per poem.

The second submission call for this week is from "Deep Cuts." This is a horror anthology where women in horror are being honored by having each author selected for the anthology write a short note "honoring a short horror story written by a woman that moved you or influenced your own writing." That short note is part of your submission, so please check the guidelines carefully on this one as well. This submission call runs through August 31st, 2012. They pay 6 cents per word for stories of 1,000-5,000 words.

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!

Three Tips For Productive Writing Sessions

Before getting to today's post, I wanted to share that my science fiction short story "An Unsuitable Job for a Human" is live today on Nature's website.

One of the most important things for someone trying to develop a daily writing routine is time management. I've written a fair amount about this topic in the past, and there's a whole chapter about it in "Write Every Day." Something that you can do to help with your time management is to ensure that when you sit down for a writing session that you are ready to be as productive as possible in the time you can allot.

Here are three tips to help you get the most out of every writing session:

1. Know What You Plan to Write - For me, at least, if I just sit down and think to myself "Hey, it's writing time. Guess I'm going to write now." but I don't have some idea of what I'm going to write, it can get easy to spin my wheels. Having some idea of what you want to work on during your writing session should enable you to get off to a fast start. If you are working on an extended work in progress, this might not be too hard. On the other hand, if you're not in the middle of any projects, you might want to use some non-writing time to consider your next project. This sort of brainstorming/daydreaming activity is great for when you have a few minutes of idle time. Maybe you're waiting in a long line at the grocery store -- rather than perusing the tabloid covers or impluse-buying a candy bar, start rolling ideas around in your head for upcoming writing sessions.
2. Have a Goal for the Session - Many days my goal is easy to define: 500 words or more. If I was working on revisions during a session, my goal probably would be to revise an entire short story or a major portion of a longer work. Some days when I've had more time allocated for writing (like when I was going to NaNoWriMo write-ins last November) I would simply say that my goal was to get as far into the story as I could in the next time I'd set aside to work.
3. Minimize Distractions - This is both a matter of choosing an appropriate time during which to work (Maybe after the kids go to bed is easier than before.) and making sure that you aren't self-distracting. If I'm trying to do real heads-down intense writing, I close any browser windows that might entice me to go look at something different while I'm working. For me, it's also hard to focus on writing if there's a television show or movie on. So if I'm working while my wife or one of our older children is watching something I'll usually put in my headphones and turn on some music to help me keep my focus. (Film scores are a favorite, though I can also write to some vocal music as well.) Ultimately, this one is very much a personal thing as different people are distracted by different things. But if you want to get the absolute most out of your writing time, leaving yourself open to distractions can be a problem.

What tips do you have for getting the most out of your writing sessions?

Writing Prompt: Tuesday July 10th, 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.

Here's today's writing prompt:

 Three people walk into a building. Only two of them walk out of it.

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 on Friday for another Writing Prompt.

Monday Motivation: Writing Something You Love

If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.
-Toni Morrison

Of course, the word "book" could be substituted with "poem" or "story" or "play."

I think virtually every writer comes to writing because they love experiencing (typically by reading) what author writers have produced before them. And I also think that most writers will write at their best when they are writing something which they feel a connection with in some way.

Are you feeling stuck? Think about what you would love to read but haven't found yet and try writing that.

Sunday Interview with Author Kathleen S. Allen

On Sunday's the Write Every Day blog will feature a guest post or interview. Today's interview is with Kathleen S. Allen.


MH: Can you describe what your usual writing routine is like?
KSA: I write first thing in the morning before I go to my day job or late at night after I get home from my day job. I try and make more time for it on the weekends or if I have a day off. I don't watch much TV on purpose so I can write instead. I still make time for reading, though.

Link of the Week: Rahul Kanakia

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.

When I came across this blog post earlier today I knew that it had to be my link for the week. Rahul Kanakia is a science fiction writer whose stories have appeared in Clarkesworld, Apex, Intergalactic Medicine Show, and many other notable publications. As of today, he's "gone one full year without missing a day of writing." Some of his approaches are slightly different than the ones I use, but it's obvious that they are working phenomenally well for him.

There are lots of great, inspirational comments I could pick out of the post but, really, the best thing I can do is urge you to go read it. If you want a model of how to write every day, Rahul may have just what you're looking for!

Writing Prompt: Friday July 6th, 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:

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.

Upcoming Deadlines: "UFO", "Penumbra" and "...For All Eternity"

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 quick reminder that the anthology of humorous speculative fiction for which I'm an associate editor has had its submission period officially open as of July 1st. "Unidentified Funny Objects" is open through August 31st, 2012 and pays 5 cents per word for stories of 500-4,000 words.

The eMagazine "Penumbra" runs calls for themed issues. They have not updated the page recently, however the "Utopia" theme just opened on June 1st and historically their calls have been open for at least a couple of months. Since Duotrope lists the prior month's call "Exploration" as being open through July 31st, you should still have a bit of time here. They pay 5 cents per word for stories of 500-3,000 words.

The second submission call for this week is from "...For All Eternity." This is an anthology put out by the people behind Bete Noire. They are looking for stories based on one and only one of the Seven Deadly Sins. The anthology will have one story for each sin. This submission call runs through July 31st, 2012 or when filled. They pay a 1 cent per word for stories between 3,000 and 6,000 words plus a copy of the anthology.

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!

Three Ways To Keep Yourself Motivated To Write Every Day

Writing every day is not always easy. Now that I've been doing it for so long, there are many days when it isn't hard to allocate the time and energy for writing. But there are days when it's quite hard.

Here are three things I think about when trying to keep myself motivated.

1. Keep the Chain Alive - If you've read "Write Every Day" or some of my other posts about daily writing, you're already familiar with the idea of having a calendar with a visible "chain" made up of Xs where you've marked off days when you've reached your writing goal. To keep it alive, you have to meet your goal every day. On my absolute hardest writing days, this has been one of my major motivators and the visible feedback has done a lot to help keep other people in my household aware of my progress and encouraging me to keep at it.
2. Remember Why You Write - This will be somewhat different from person to person. For me, a major reason that I write is because I enjoy developing stories and being able to share them with other people. To get stories published in places where a large number of people read them requires writing great stories and to write great stories requires a mixture of talent and hard work. I've chosen to make sticking to a daily routine part of my "hard work." Thinking for a few minutes about the bigger picture writing goals I hope to achieve and remembering that writing today is part of those goals has helped focus my mind.
3. Give Yourself Permission To Write Something Different - If you're not facing a deadline of some kind, some days writing something totally different can be a great way to keep yourself moving forward. You could take a break from your novel to write several blog posts up in advance or maybe try writing a few poems. Or maybe it's a good day to hop out to Duotrope and look at themed anthology/magazine issue submission calls and see if something catches your eye. Mixing things up a bit without breaking my daily writing routine has made quite a few days easier than they would have been if I'd forced myself to work on one specific thing.

Writing Prompt: Tuesday July 3rd, 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.

Here's today's writing prompt:

 "The fireworks were only the first thing to wake Karen that evening..."

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 on Friday for another Writing Prompt.

Monday Motivation: Avoiding Discouragement

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
-Mark Twain

One of the greatest challenges many writers face is discouragement. And some of the most painful discouragement comes in the form of negativity from people when you talk about what you're doing with your writing. Even well-meaning friends and family members can take the wind out of our sails with questions and comments like "Is there really any money in that?" or "So, I went to Barnes and Noble, but they said they didn't have anything by you..."

Maybe you can't (or shouldn't) truly "keep away" from those people. After all, we all have our flaws. But you can try to keep their words away from your mind and heart. Seek out the people -- writers and non-writers -- who are encouraging and supportive. Let their words be the ones that take root within you.

Call for Guest Posters & Interviewees

I've got several people already lined up for upcoming weeks, but am still interested in being in touch with other people as well, so I'm repeating my call for guest posters and interviewees from last week.

The first guest post/interview will be coming up a week from today on July 8th.

As a reminder, 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 connection between the overall subject and developing/maintaining a daily writing habit.

Thanks to anyone who is interested in being a part of this feature!