First Word

  What do you think is the number one challenge a writer faces? Is it writer’s block? No… although many writers deal with some form of writer’s block throughout their careers. It’s distractions! Yes, writers face too many distractions that break their focuses. Between social media, online activities, the real world, and nonstop demands on your time, it’s not that easy to focus. Then we have what I personally call “brain mush,” which in my definition goes like this: too much screen time and tired eyes. Brain mush leads to allowing distractions just to get away from the computer, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.   I bet many of you are nodding right now and thinking, “Yes! Distractions are always pulling me away from my projects.” Whether you work in an office or at your home office, distractions can often stop your progress. When I worked in an office with coworkers, the water-cooler talk caused distractions. Although I avoided it. I have been and am always ...

If you're struggling with getting your novel out of your head or even finishing it, here are some tips to get your fingers tapping on that keyboard again. Just do it - sounds like a Nike commercial. Just do this... well, just putting something into action helps create what? A verb called doing! Even if you don't know what you're going to write, grab your cup of Joe, plant your bum in the chair, prepare your hands, and start typing. Just write whatever comes to mind. Let your imagination run wild. You will be surprised if all of a sudden all of that so-called random rambling turns into a real story! Eight pages a day keeps your novel on its way - yes! Give yourself a page count goal. Stephen King has one - eight pages. He writes eight whole pages and then goes to do what he wants for the day. I'm sure he writes more if he's so inclined, but setting a goal is always good. So, set up your daily page count and make the goal before you move on. I personally write an en...

A novelist friend of mind mentioned she had writer's block. So I thought it was time to once more explore how to overcome writer's block. Before I discuss the subject, I do want to say something about accepting the "blockage" versus battling the clog. I didn't write anything major for two years after suffering some major losses in my personal life. Writing is a creative, intellectual and mind-intensive process. If your emotional house has been emptied of the furniture, so to speak, maybe it's time for you to sit Zen-like in that house and accept it. I wanted to say this because writer's block due to a pure emotional depletion isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's your mind's way of saying, "Whoa! Wait sister or brother give me a vacation. I don't have anything left to give." I just couldn't write anything major simply because I lacked heart and motivation. My distraction and life re-build took front and center. I was focused o...

I am sitting here staring at my desk. What do I write? Is anyone going to care what I write? Do I care what I write? The exercise is really this: sit down and write , which is how your overcome writer's block. It's a simple exercise indeed. I get asked all of the time, "How do you overcome writer's block?" My manufactured answer is always the same, "Sit down and write." You would be surprised what flows out of you. I can promise, though, that staring at a blank field will get you nowhere. Digging for ideas in your "blocked" brain ... nowhere. I wasn't sure what I was going to say when I started this blog. I just sat down and wrote something. Now I have a blog on writer's block. See how that works. Just let random ideas flow out of your brain. Some idea will hit you. Go with it and let the journey guide your work. See where it takes you and what you end writing down, and then rewrite and revise and reorganize if it's a bit random. Pr...

Writers are constantly citing writer's block as a reason why their articles, books or other writing doesn't happen. And bloggers especially complain and ask, "How do you come up with something to blog about every day?" 1. Sit down and just let the words flow ... don't think about it, just do it. I call this stream of consciousness writing. 2. If you're having trouble picking a word or even picking a title, use your thesaurus. The thesaurus is a magical tool for inspiration. Just pick an associated word and use it and see what comes up that works for you. 3. Do an outline of what you want to write about and then just do what I call "back fill" the content with related material. Then use the other subheads and signposts to where you want your writing to go.

So I need to revise the California Girl Chronicles script ... why haven't I done it yet? Well, let's see how many distractions can I come up with? Oh, yeah, I run 3L Publishing and have five books running in parallel. Okay, that is a serious distraction that has to be attended to. I'm plugging along yesterday and got an enormous amount of work done ... wait! A pile of laundry ... can't leave that be. And now my laundry room is across from my office so that is going to be a constant reminder to just pile it in. Now since I finally relented to the texting revolution every single of one of my friends texts me. Now I am answering emails AND texts. Did I tell you I pride 3L's reputation on quick response times? Yes, we guarantee a response within 24 hours and typically I keep my email open on my desk so I can respond within the hour. Customer service is critical, and my clients feel they have my full attention when I respond to their needs right away. Now what? All rig...

I don't know why being a writer invites so much curiosity along with some strange reactions from people. Over the years, I've told strangers about my profession and reactions typically fall across two categories: we'll call the first the "Really" reaction and the second the "Cool" reaction. Here are the responses under each one. REALLY "Do you really write?" What does that mean? I lied about it. I only write under my bed and it's just scribbling anyway and that doesn't count? "For real?" No, not 'real' just fake. I write to entertain the cat -- and that's not really 'real' is it? The cat bats my wadded up sheets around the kitchen so I guess that's not publishable . "You're actually published?" No, I call myself a writer just to say it. In fact, let's say it now ... w-r-i-t-e-r. See flows right off the tongue. Never published, though. I just like the word writer . And it make...

I bet many of you have heard this expression, "writing is like a muscle; you have to use it to become stronger." That statement is true. The more you write the more you exercise that mental muscle and the better your work becomes. I've noticed writers who spin in circles declaring their intentions to write and yet the actual time spent working on the task is nil. They talk about it more than they do it. Sometimes you just have to put your seat in the chair and just do it. Quit thinking about it. Just get to work. The other common idea is that the magic is in the rewrites. So, the first intention to just sit down should be to get it out of you. The second act should be the rewrites. One of the reasons I encourage writers to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is because the contest gets writers to move and write and just get it down on the computer screen. Also, if you think you have a "block" (which I don't believe in writer's block s...