 For Authors: July 22, 2009 Issue [#3159] |
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This week: Edited by: Cubby  
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Hello, everyone! Welcome to this edition of the For Authors newsletter.  This week's topic is focused on finding time to write, but first off, I'd like to share a few quotes with you. Enjoy!
Quotes:
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Time is making fools of us again.
~J.K. Rowling
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The time you think you're missing, misses you too.
~Ymber Delecto
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Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.
~~Henry David Thoreau
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Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of time which every day produces, and which most men throw away.
~ ~Charles Caleb Colton
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Day, n. A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent.
~ ~Ambrose Bierce
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Finding Time to Write
With longer daylight hours this time of year, it might seem there would be more time for writing. Wrong. At least for me! If the weather is nice, I'm outside weeding, hanging clothes on the line, adding bird seed to the feeders, biking, walking, dipping in the pond, or grilling out. Then there's vacation time. We use most of our vacation days camping and three weeks a year take up a good chunk of the summer. It seems like there is always something going on this particular season to take me away from writing.
So what do I do?
I've written more this summer than ever before! I feel like some sort of machine pumping out children's poetry and short stories.
How? What's my secret?
No secret at all. However, I have gained incentive and inspiration by sending out my manuscripts. Before I began doing this, it was like there was some big road block keeping me from excelling. I can't tell you why I never broke through it before this, but I am here to say, once I finally bursted forth, it's been hard to stop!
I think the hardest part for me were those stubborn cover letters, which by-the-way, are not to be taken lightly. But once I wrote the first one, I used it as a sort of template, leaving in my accomplishments, but replacing the first paragraph with a new title and why that piece is unique.
Another bump in the road for me was looking up marketable publishers that fit the genre I write in. With so many publishing houses making it hard for newer authors to send in manuscripts without an agent, it's frustrating. I tried (not very hard, but I tried!) looking for an agent, but the two I sent letters to, never responded.
The third hardest part of writing was finding the time. Like I mentioned early, this is a busy time of year. My husband is always thinking up things for us to do, and besides that, we are very close so it's not like he has his life and I have mine. 
Something that has really worked for me is looking at my writing as a second job. This has truly been helpful. When I get up early in the morning, I think about getting right to work at writing. When I get home from work and have a few moments to spare, I think Second job. If I'm ever going to be successful, I need to make a habit of writing and sending my manuscripts out. I think you will find once you start doing this, you'll fall into an obsession... or at least focus more on your writing.
I prefer writing for children. I have everything from four-lined poems to chapter books. I decided to start out small. As much as I would love to write a book of children's poetry, I decided to read guidelines for children's periodicals to start with. Reading guidelines is just the beginning. Next read past issues of the magazines needed to be studied. After sending out 17 poems and short stories to magazines, I started on a publishing house interested in children's picture books and Early Readers. I now have six childrens' book manuscripts out and another almost on the way. Since I figured it will take up to six months to hear back (if you send a SASE), I may as well keep writing and sending them out while I'm waiting.
How can I write all that in such a short period of time?
Sometimes the words just pour out of me, but I will confess, I've never in my entire life thrown anything away that I have written. I have notebook after notebook of jotted down poems, stories, and ideas that I've never done anything with. I've only recently gone through a few of these and worked on polishing these pieces up. I've also discovered a few chapter book manuscripts that I'd started but never finished. Yep, those unemployed characters are going to be so happy when I free them from their long and patient wait!
Finding time to write is more of a mind set, I believe. You can write without paper, pen, and/or computer. Many well-known authors have created stories inside their heads while stuck somewhere for hours. I remember thinking up a short story while on a walk one day. When I got back, I immediately wrote as much of it down as I could before I forgot anything. Carrrying a pad of paper and pen(cil) is a great idea, but not always possible. Use your mind when caught in situations to come up with ideas. Then get it written down ASAP. Look up some older stuff you've already completed. Polish it up, find a place to mail it to, and send it out!. I know this is not as easy as it seems, but ask yourself this: How bad do I want to be published? You are not going to be published if you don't at least try. Putting it off is easier than getting rejection slips. Saying you have no time is easier than taking the time to study the market and writing cover letters. I know these things because I've been in that rut for years.
But now I have a second job!
A few interesting books to check out:
 Time to Write: by Alyice Edrich
A Writer's Time: Making the Time to Write by Kenneth Atchity
And links...
http://www.poewar.com/finding-time-to-write/
http://www.ranunes.com/forWriters-FindingTimeToWrite.php
Now for a fun prompt... Make a list of all the reasons you can think of as to why you haven't enough time to write. Now make a list of possibilities of when you could actually squeeze in some time here and there. 
Happy Summer! and...
Keep on Writing!
Cubby ") |
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~FEEDBACK~
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sleepy 
Absolutely a great letter! I think this raised my inspiration level to a high for the day!!!
~ Thank you. Glad to hear it!
Vivian 
Ah, yes, Cubby, characters do live for us as authors, don't they. The trick is to get them to live for readers, too. Thanks for a good newsletter. ~~ Viv
~ Thanks, Viv! I always look forward to your feedback!
Doug Rainbow
You make some references to likeable characters. Not all good characters are good people. Despicable people make good characters too. Maybe the richest characters are the ones with both good and bad characteristics who may or may not be fighting a war with themselves. It might be fun to characterize a favorite character in 1,000 characters or less.
DougRainbow
~ You are absolutely right.! Thanks for bringing that up. Thank you also for the fun prompt. 
vaagartha
this is a lovely editorial with a rich collection of quotes. There are 3 ingrediants necessary for writing according to scholars : Pratibha (ability); Vyutpatti(creativity)and Saadhana (Constant Practice). The first one is innate, the second one can be learned through reading and observation but the last one should be done by the writer on his own. we should not loose sight of the fact that what we learn and practice regularly becomes our nature, an integral part of our 'self'. So is the case with vyutpatti (creativity) ... part of which appropriates to Pratibha. Even then, great work is not ensured, but the groundwork for a future great work is done. Saadhana (practice) is the ultimate tool which one day brings out the best in us.
~ I love this!!! Thank you so much for sharing these three ingredients. What sound advice for all writers.
Oldwarrior 
Great job!
This is one of the best and most informative newsletters yet.
Keep up the OUTSTANDING work!
Oldwarrior
~ Thank you so much. It means a lot to read feedback like this once in a while. Keeps the engine running, lol!
Coolhand
Hey Cubby, Great quotes and down-to-earth advice on building characters. A writer should know their characters better than family members. And thanks for the informative featured items.
Coolhand
~ Thank you and you are welcome. I'm glad you liked the editorial.
Shannon 
Cubby, this was a fantabulous NL! I am actually saving it for future reference. Excellent!
~ Thanks, Shannon! (((HUGS)))!!!
Puppycat
Well stated. I enjoyed this.
~ Thanks for the feedback!
Helen McNicol
Cubby I loved your quotations on characters, it really struck a chord with me...sometimes you think you're the only one who lives in another world with your characters and sometimes they control you, not vice versa. It's nice to see I'm not insane!
~ No, you are definitely not insane! Well... if you are, I suppose most writers are, too.  Glad you enjoyed the quotes!
Becky H. Snead
After reading this, I'm inspired to get right back to work on a few idle stories of mine. I started to get discourage, on fanfiction.net, when no one reviewed my stories and I stopped updating them. Now I will continue to update until i get the reviews i want! Thank you!
~ Good going! And good luck! Glad to send inspiration your way.
Sandy~HopeWhisperer
Thanks Cubby for such a wonderful newsletter. I have this character and novel idea and want to write it sooooooooooooo bad, but am having a difficult time getting it started.
Your newsletter will help so much!!
~ Good for you! And thanks! Sometimes we just need the right push, even if it's a little one.
sarahreed
Thanks for writing an in-depth article on characters. I never thought about writing a character sketch before having an idea of a story, but writing out a character would spark many ideas.
~ And character sketches do spark ideas! Go for it! Thanks for the feedback.
 Thank you, everyone, for all the wonderful feedback you send in!
As always...
Have a wonderful week!
AND KEEP ON WRITING!!!
Cubby ")
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