Addicted to Writing

Manage Your Freelance Writing Career While Writing What You Love

To wait for inspiration? Or to chase it? That’s the question.

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waiting
Above: A writer waiting for inspiration to start writing. Image via kateevangelistarandr.blogspot.com

Some people love to chase. While I am not a big fan of chasing when it comes to dating, chasing inspiration is one of the best things you can do for yourself as a writer.

I love it when inspiration comes by itself.  When I have a magical A-HA! moment. When an idea comes by itself and not when I was brainstorming, forcing my brain to fix a plot problem. When it comes unannounced, unexpected and gives me the rush to start writing it right there and then. And even if I can’t start at that moment, I am smart enough to take enough notes so that I don’t let it get away.

Except this rarely happens to me. Especially when writing fiction. An exciting, entertaining idea doesn’t just come on its own. An idea- typically an ordinary one- comes when I think about what I want to write about. I know I want this ordinary situation or character in some way, but I don’t want it to be ordinary. No, I am not contradicting myself.

OK, think about it like this. You want to write about cancer. But you don’t want to go down the old, depressive, tragic, “what-have-I-done-to-deserve-this route”. Or the “I’m-already-dead-might-as-well-go-all-self-destructive route”.

Instead, your character decides to make the most of her life right there and then. She finds out humorous, practical and innovative ways to deal with her son and husband. She doesn’t care that much about saving money any more. She buys a red convertible – which will go to her son after he reaches a certain age. See how she lived for the moment, without screwing up anyone’s future? She also has workers build the swimming pool she always wanted. Impulsive? Yes. Irrational? No. If anything, this will increase the value of the house.

Did the plot sound familiar? Well, it is the plot of the comedy/drama show The Big C starring Laura Linney. Before watching it, I remember thinking        “Humor in cancer? Right. Like that could happen!” But it has, and the show turned out to be really good and unique.

Isn’t this more interesting than typical ways of grieving?

This happens to me a lot. I respond to my ideas by changing the core of the story, changing the sex of the main character, shaking stereotypes, or adding some unexpected traits to the archetype. Victoria Connelly did a wonderful example of this by creating a writer character in her book “A Weekend with Mr. Darcy”.

In the book, the main character is Lorna Warwick – a modern day, famous author of best-selling Jane Austen style novels. But of course Lorna is the pen name and the writer is actually a guy. And he is not gay or a nerd. He is a masculine, heterosexual, sexy guy who hides behind the persona – and does adrenaline-inducing outdoor activities with his friends while he is not writing. And best of all…his interest in Jane Austen, and his novels, is genuine.

A Weekend with Mr. Darcy may not be the best book ever-created but I really liked the male protagonist being a guy’s guy and loving Jane Austen, and her characters, as much as the next gal. And guess what? Connelly has been published many times.

Where did the inspiration for this article come from? It came while I was reading this Writer’s Digest article about how not to write a novel, and one of the best ways to do it was to wait for inspiration. I am trying to write a novel and yet after all this time creating stories, I still tend to make the mistake of waiting for inspiration. The article stroke a chord and I wrote about it.

So an article about writing inspiration came when I was studying writing (so I could write my novel better and I could get to know the magazine enough to pitch great queries.) Not when I was doing something totally unrelated, or not doing anything at all.

While inspiration might occasionally do the favor of dropping by out of thin air, it mostly loves to be chased with vengeance. So you can just start writing about anything in anyway…and spice things up later.

If there is something that bothers me than writing something ordinary…it is not writing at all. The name of this blog is not a coincidence. I truly am addicted to writing. And while ordinary can be changed into extraordinary through trial and error, extraordinary isn’t born from nothing.

Procrastination: Friend or Foe?

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One advertising teacher had told me there was a word for people who were addicted to deadlines, and the adrenaline that last minute rush created. I’ve not forgotten the definition. Yes, I was pretty guilty of it when I heard the word.

The easier a subject was to study, the more I procrastinated. Oh, I procrastinated for the subjects that were hard for me too- I just did it a little less and gave myself a little more time.

For some reason, I just couldn’t focus or worry enough until 2-3 days were left before the exam. And if I thought I could pull it off, I’ve been known to start studying as late as in the morning of the exam!

Of course I made exceptions for term projects, theses, grades I needed to improve and while I was studying to get into university.

I’m much more professional and careful now. I take my assignment deadlines very seriously, and start the project almost as soon as I accept it. I also make sure I finish it a couple of days before the deadline so that I am ready for last minute problems.

And although my sense of professionalism has made me procrastinate less, it hasn’t eliminated it completely. Let’s take my first novel for instance.

Since it is my first, I don’t have an editor/publisher pressuring me to finish 5 chapters in 2 weeks or something. It is not that I don’t try to write as much as I can whenever I can. But when I get stuck with a scene, I let myself suffer from the writer blues, and sometimes it is hard to take back the inspiration I need for fiction.

Then there are the blogs I run, but I don’t publish as often as I’d like to because in between gigs, other marketing efforts, market research, and trying to squeeze in a novel, I sometimes lose more time when resting than I intend to.

But is procrastination purely evil? Or is it a necessary tool for innovation? Does it always make our lives worse? Or does it really help with productivity and creativity?

The two posts I read on it made me wonder. The first one was Melanie Brook’s article on Freelance Switch “The Pull of Procrastination”, and the second one was the article that inspired Melanie’s post “Procrastination Is Essential to Innovation” on Harvard Business Review, written by Whitney Johnson.

I was amazed at how successful Melanie was at not procrastinating, and I did relate with Johnson’s tendency to delay things she wasn’t familiar with – even though she needed to do them to promote the thing she was familiar with-her book.

Both Melanie and Whitney seem to agree on the fact that a little anxiety about an approaching deadline might be necessary. Desirable even. But too much of it is bound to decrease productivity and innovation.

I agree. Below is a list of when I find procrastination a friend or a foe.

It’s a friend when:

  • It really makes you get off your butt. Yes, ideally we’d all start doing something about dreams and goals right here and right now. But this is where the saying “better late than never” comes in. Starting and rushing to finish is better than not finishing at all. But of course this goes more for first drafts you write for yourself and not for your clients.

 

  • It gives you adrenaline that was missing for a long time. I don’t know about you, but some adrenaline does fuel my productivity, speed of learning and creativity. I remember promising to a friend that a story would  be ready at a certain time. Guess what? It worked. She got the story – and a good one – at the promised time.  I just didn’t want to disappoint a reader, no matter how hard and fast I had to work to get it done.

It feels great to find yourself reaching a productivity  level you never knew existed.

It’s a foe when:

  • It creates extra stress that you could probably do without. As freelancers (and/or writers) we are under enough pressure and stress already about running a one-person company, responsible for all the aspects of our business. And even if you are collaborating with others, it is a lot different from just being responsible from one or two tasks and leaving the rest up to your boss.

 

  • It messes up your schedule and other tasks.

 

  • It makes you enjoy the project less.

 

Bottom line?

It all depends on what you are procrastinating against and how you procrastinate. How much damage are you doing to your work? To your peace of mind? To your career?

Or are you using your procrastination for inspiration?

Just like most things in life, procrastination lies in a grey area, and it is up to you to pull it to the white zone, or let it drag you to the black.

 

Novel Writing Challenges Get Crazier: From 30 Days to 3 Days!

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writer-computer-book-coffee
Image via institutechildrenslit.net.

How fast can you churn out a decent novel? 3 years? 3 months?

While I was hunting for a good resource on writing a good page-turner that would satisfy me and land me an agent (and later hopefully a publisher), I thought Writer’s Digest’s 90 Days to Your Novel was reasonable enough.

The book tells you everything you need to know from the beginning to outlining to writing dialogue.  And while I didn’t finish my book in 90 days (it is on me though – I also love to maintain a part-time career in teaching, as well as a career in non-fiction), I learned a lot from that book.

Then of course if you are ready to dedicate a really good portion of your available time, I do believe that even the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is not a far-fetched concept, especially if you do have a certain grasp of your main events and characters before starting. A novel- at least a reasonable first draft- can probably be written in 30 days. And a goal of 30 days, whether you officially join other writers in a contest or just set it for yourself, is a great and productivity-fueling idea.

But while I was reading an article on the Funds for Writers newsletter and saw the term 3-Day novelist, I thought it was a typo. A novel? In 3 days? Right…But then I read on to find out how the writer had used fundraising for her book and her proposed budget was $120….So I hit google.

Sure enough there it was: 3-Day Novel Contest. OK, to be fair, the novel is going to be about 100 pages but 3-Days? Seriously?

But short(ish) or not, I don’t honestly see myself sitting through one weekend and being able to finish a novel. But it is a challenge like I have never seen before. And if you win, your prize is getting published. But there is an entrance fee, and you must be ready for a true marathon.

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  • Have you ever joined the NaNoWriMo? Or the 3-Day Novel Contest?
  • Did you assign yourself a certain amount of time to finish your novel and stick to it?
  • What do you think is the most probable amount of time for producing a satisfactory novel, or its favorite cousin: the holy first draft?

I would love to learn about your experiences and insights.

How to Balance Fiction and Non-Fiction and Why Writers Need to Do Both

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writing fiction writing non-fiction
Image via iawtvawards.org.

Most writers in the 21st century have embraced both fiction and non-fiction. The reason can be money, promotion, the need to engage with readers, the need to connect with the world…You name it. But there are very few writers left who engage only in fiction or non-fiction.

I started creating stories when I was 9. I started writing them down when I was 12. And even though I didn’t try to get anything actively published until I was 24 (my bad, don’t follow this example!), my writing efforts never stopped. Whether it was finding the idea for a novel because of a true story my PR professor told me or passing from most of my courses (Human Resources, Organizational Theory…, etc) with flying colors because of the engaging essays that I wrote, I wrote. Non-fiction and fiction. Together.

In 2009, I realized that blogs were so much more than personal diaries (if you knew how to take advantage of this, that is), and Facebook was for so much more than just connecting with Friends. So my non-fiction journey started online.

I realized I loved writing for the web, while I kept researching about writing for magazines. I came a long way when it came to using blogs and social media, getting writing gigs and getting published on successful blogs and yet something was missing: My fiction.

My characters were still very much in mind, hardly able to wait to find their voice on paper and yet I hadn’t actively written fiction for 2 years. No wonder I was uncomfortable and was feeling that things were missing in my life.

But how was I supposed to balance fiction and fiction? How was I supposed to blog for me, others, keep my part-time job for stability and sanity, keep researching and have the time to write fiction? And did I mention I also happen to be very social?

Easy. I needed to be productive. I needed to stay focused. I needed to prioritize according to deadlines, my readers’ content needs and my inspiration levels. Some days I can have a blast writing movie reviews all day. Some days I can’t wait to go out there and market my writing, and sometimes it is the fiction that drives me.

And the best part is, these moments of pure inspiration and motivation can be managed, compartmentalized and different types of writing work can be done during the same day. Just keep reminding yourself the reasons you keep doing both:

I write non-fiction because:

  • I love it.
  • It gives me a platform to share my ideas and passions with like-minded people.
  • It gives me a platform to promote my writing and get more writing gigs.
  • It gives me a platform to connect with other writers.
  • Oh, and when my fiction is ready to be published and promoted, it will be a platform for that too.

 

I write fiction because:

  • I love it.
  • I wouldn’t be able to stop even if I wanted to. Remember how I said I hadn’t really written fiction in 2 years? I meant that I hadn’t sit by my computer for days trying to get the full story finished. It did however meant lots of scenes written separately waiting to be connected, lots of dialogue and different turn of events going constantly around in my head.
  • I do want to see my name on a paperback book. And I’ll have that, even if it means I go the self-publishing route in the end. I think I have wanted it since I read my first John Grisham book.
  • I want to connect with more people. I want my fiction to be read too.
  • Did I mention it is an addiction and no 12-step-program in the world could help me get over it?

 

 

 

How do you balance fiction and non-fiction?  Do you think the two can/should go hand in hand?

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