Friday 28 February 2014

Leah - February; What A Cracker!

Quill & parchment
Credit: Openclipart.com
For a short month it seemed really full. Lots of competitions to enter, letters to write and writing to do.

Phew!

And that doesn't take into account blogs, editing and other small projects I have on the go. You guys know about the April A2Z Challenge? I've signed up for that this year. Yep. I know. I'm mad. But it looks like fun! I'll be spending March planning posts and getting my titles sorted so I'm ready to write each one each day. *wipes brow* I know... I'd better have several gallons of tea on hand.

I hope you've all had as good a month as I have.

There have been a couple of falls and slips, but more than anything I've achieved writing-wise I've learned some interesting (and important things about myself). I'd like the share them with you.

~I'm never happy.
Not in the sense that I'm always miserable, but in that I'm always wanting more. Looking to achieve more. Looking to do more. I'm never satisfied would probably be more accurate.
This, in of itself isn't a bad thing, but it has lead to several days of burn out, in which I had no choice but to stop because I was so knackered. Oops.

~I'm more organised than I think I am.
Yes, I slip up every now and then, but my blog is testament to how organised I can be. Three posts a week, with a regular back and forth between my two pen names. Clear and structured blog posts with a sensible message. Goal lists that I generally stick to. Not only that, but I run my household too. I'm not going to win any prizes for cleanliness or cooking, but my house is habitable, my family is well fed and happy. That requires organisation.

~I don't pat myself on the back enough.
I've achieved a lot so far. I measure success differently to some (which, I firmly believe should be the case - success is a very personal thing), but I don't tell myself 'well done.' Linked to the first point I generally say 'right, you've done that... next!'

Why am I sharing this with you?

Credit: Openclipart.com
Because I know for a fact that a lot of you are the same. We writers are a funny breed. We write and write and toil and slave away at our words to make them perfect, but how often do we stop and look at back at what we have done, rather than what we haven't? How often do we take stock and realise just how much we've done?

Unless you're super-duper lucky, you probably have a day job to get through before you can even think about writing. Some f you will have families too. You take care of all of those things and still write, publish, blog, critique, submit, edit and support your peers in doing the same.

You're awesome.

Repeat that to yourself five times a day. You. Are. Awesome.

Trust me, it's the truth, and you deserve recognition for it.

Happy February, good luck in March and I'll see you on the other side.


Leah x
Twitter: @ileandraXraven
Blog: www.ileandraXraven.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/illyandraven

Saturday 22 February 2014

Maria - 7 Ideas To Find your Subbing Mo-Jo

Winners Never Quit! - Flicker Commons

It was good to take time out in December, then January arrived and I struggled to make a start. My focus taken up with getting back on my novel, to progress it far enough so that I can submit it for a professional critique. I'm not there yet.

My only other submission was for a writing commission, which I managed to get together before the closing date, although I've since heard I wasn't successful.  Rejection is something you get used to, even though its disappointing for a few days after it happens.

I've slowed down, and I got to thinking about how to get back on track.

1. Submit something, doesn't matter what it is, anything, be it a short piece of flash fiction, or the poem you wrote last night. After some careful editing of course. Something out there, is better than nothing out there.

2. Make it a habit, pick a day or evening, a time slot you can commit to on a regular basis and stick to it. Use the time to organise yourself. Select your writing, make it the best you can, read competition rules thoroughly. Get your work ready to send.

3. Scour writing magazines and websites for news of competitions and opportunities, immerse yourself in looking for opportunities for your work.

4. Buddy Up! Form a club of like minded individuals who all have the same aim, and want to get their work out there. Enthusiasm is infectious. Go on, you know you want to.

5. Set yourself deadlines. A commitment to sub two, three, four or more pieces of work. Find a competition with a tight deadline, and challenge yourself to reach it.

6. Vist old stomping grounds, dig out manuscripts that haven't seen the light of day for a while and revamp them. Change location, character names, and choose a new title. Give your work a new lease of life, and find alternative markets

7. Relax, you may be too tired? Make sure you get enough sleep, go to bed early for a few nights, then have one night where you stay up an hour later, and get those manuscripts sorted out.

How do you find your mojo? Do share any tips on getting back on the road to subbing...

Maria


Monday 17 February 2014

Wayne - Make Room For Your Writing

Inside my 'Writing Room'
Following my own advice from a previous post, I am still embracing rejection, having received confirmation that I have drawn a blank on all of my submissions so far. That's ok. I'm still learning. What isn't ok is the fact that January was the first month that I failed to submit anything - and I also had a pitifully low word count.

Not good enough.

Fortunately I am a member of a very supportive critique and submissions group, and our latest meeting was enough to spur me back in to action. Having reviewed my (lack of) progress, I decided it was time to shake off the post-Christmas slump and be proactive. As well as stating some new, sensible goals for February, I also realised that I needed to re-establish my old writing rituals, routines and - most importantly - I need to get back in to the habit of writing in my 'Writing Room'.

I am lucky enough to have a dedicated space, my own room, a 'man-cave', if you will, that is separate from the rest of the house, free of distractions and with everything I need to concentrate on my writing. Unfortunately, sometime last year, it became a dumping ground for all of our clutter and any items that were in that strange netherworld between 'useful' and 'rubbish'. In short, I could barely open the door - let alone sit down and let the words flow.

Yesterday, the sun was shining and my spirits rose long enough to motivate me to attack the mess and restore my room to its former glory. Ok, perhaps, it isn't quite back to pristine perfection, but spending any longer on it would've been classed as procrastination and it's good enough for me to get back in to the swing of things. I already feel more positive and have done more writing and editing in the past 24 hours than I have in the last couple of weeks.

Maybe you aren't fortunate enough to have a dedicated room of your own in which you can write, but it's still important to have a space you can settle in long enough to get creative and focus on your project. For some it's the kitchen table, for others their favourite seat in the coffee shop. The point is, we all need to clear a space - metaphorically and literally - and make room for our writing.

For the record, my goals for the remainder of this month, are to sub a piece of flash fiction and to finish editing my short story, 'Beach Hut Monsters' ready for submission to a teen Sci-Fi magazine.

I'll keep you posted as to my progress. Happy writing!

Wayne - Take a look at my blog, Kelly's Eye.