Victoria Schwab Does It

I’ve talked about tracking progress before, and today I saw Victoria Schwab’s tweet on keeping a calendar. She awards herself with stars for the number of pages she writes and the number of pages she reads, as well as the amount of exercise she gets each day. The magenta stars are for days she’s travelling or attending events.

As you probably know, I keep a calendar of my writing and submitting schedule. I set goals for the week, then record my progress as I go. But I know I’m not getting enough exercise. Victoria’s calendar has inspired me to keep track of my own physical activity. I truly believe in the importance of balance. We need to be aware of how we spend our time. So much of my life goes to household chores and tasks that have to be done every day. Having a calendar to prove that will force me to take action and reclaim some time for myself!

How do you keep track of where your time goes? How do you make time for yourself?

Not enough blue stars. Going to have to do better next month… pic.twitter.com/vPetVq2iF9

— Victoria/V.E. Schwab (@veschwab) November 28, 2015

Note: Victoria Schwab’s “A Darker Shade of Magic” is a current goodreads Choice Awards Best Book of 2015 nominee. If you’ve read and loved it, vote for it here: https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-books-2015.

My Story at HOBART

My story, “Forensics & You,” just went live at HOBART today! If you have a few minutes today, please give it a read. I hope you enjoy!

http://www.hobartpulp.com/web_features/forensics-and-you

image: Carabella Sands

For the Love of Art

Jasmine Kay Uy, “Art is Pointless…”

Yesterday on Facebook, I saw a post with this picture. This is part of an art installment by Jasmine Kay Uy at University of Texas at Austin Department of Art and Art History. (Click on the link below the picture to see her portfolio.)

Author Appreciation Day

Thursday was Author Appreciation Day in the Twitter-sphere. In his Writer’s Digest newsletter, editor Brian A. Klems said:

As writers, we all know how difficult this industry can be to breakthrough and find success. Some days it can be exhilarating while other days it can be so frustrating. Today’s the day we want you to show your support of other writers by finding a book you enjoyed (especially by an author trying to find success) and leave that writer a nice review on Amazon or B&N or Goodreads. When you have a book published, you’ll realize how valuable and uplifting those reviews can be (especially when you’re having a tough day).

Thursday was the perfect day for this because I had just finished reading Amy Lukavics’ Daughters Unto Devils in the wee hours of the morning. So, taking Mr. Klems’ advice, I logged on to Goodreads and left my first ever review:

“Daughters Unto Devils left me breathless. I mostly binge-read it, and found myself clutching my chair at certain points along the ride. I’m also a YA writer and often deal with paranormal themes in my writing, so I know the difficulty involved in achieving this level of reader interaction/emotional response. Amy Lukavics successfully balances the paranormal elements with the human factors (i.e. characters’ relationships, desires, fears, etc.) in this book. Aside from the sheer terror I experienced numerous times, there were tender moments between Amanda and Hannah, which showed a change of heart for the protagonist–a very difficult thing to capture this well in writing. Though I understand some readers’ frustrations from the parents’ choices, even this was a realistic depiction of the stubbornness common with pioneer mentality. Overall, it read like a realized folk-ghost-tale, as the author intended. A+”

5 STARS to Amy Lukavics, with her debut YA novel, Daughters Unto Devils.

Have you written a review? If so, please leave a link below. If not, consider writing one for a book you loved, especially for a new author. Who knows–when the time comes, maybe he or she will write a review for you!

Coloring: Stress Relief & Creative Inspiration

I recently saw an ad for Rachel Funk Heller’s, The Writer’s Coloring Book. If you click on the link to visit the website, it states: “Harness both sides of your writer’s brain with The Writer’s Coloring Book® and write better stories with less frustration.”

Donald Maass, author of Writing the Breakout Novel and founder of Donald Maass Literary Agency, said, “Rachel Funk Heller’s book doesn’t ask you to color between the lines. Instead, it gives you great worksheets and visual tools to draw your own unique story.”

I purchased the book in PDF format from the website for $10. However, if you can’t afford that (which I can’t, but you know…) you can find similar coloring pages with inspirational quotes by doing a simple search. Google “inspirational coloring pages for adults” or search Pinterest for “quote coloring pages printables.” Here’s one from ColoringShapes.com I plan to try: “Today is going to be awesome.”

The best part: coloring helps you deal with stress. Psychologist Gloria Martinez Ayala says, “When coloring, we activate different areas of our two cerebral hemispheres. The action involves both logic, by which we color forms, and creativity when mixing and matching colors.The relaxation that it provides lowers the activity of the amygdala, a basic part of our brain involved in controlling emotion that is affected by stress.” This isn’t new information, as Carl Jung was “one of the first psychologists to apply coloring as a relaxation technique.” (“Coloring Isn’t Just For Kinds. It Can Actually Help Adults Combat Stress,” Huffington Post)

So, take a break and color today! Then, come back here and let me know if it helped!

What Every Writer is Talking About

NaNoWriMo 2015

Today is November 1st–day one of NaNoWriMo. The goal: write an entire novel in 30 days. This is the first year I will be participating in the madness. If you want to join the fun, you can just do it or go to the National Novel Writing Month website and sign up. At this site, you can track your progress, get support, and meet other writers. Either way, come back here and let me know how it’s going. We can encourage each other along the way!

Let the games begin! And may the odds be ever in your favor!

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If this is your first attempt at writing a novel, here are a few resources to help you get started:

10 Simple Habits to Help You Write Your First Book (Life Hacks): Simple tasks to put your writing potential in action.

How to Write Your First Book (BuzzFeed): 21 successful writers share their stories about overcoming writer’s block, completing, and selling their first books.

How to Start Writing a Book, 1st Chapter (Writer’s Digest): A sampling of advice, tips, and guidelines to inspire your “first steps from blank page to finished piece.”

Toxic Journals

You just finished months of writing, editing, and perfecting this miraculous creation. Then comes time for submitting–a daunting task. You find lit mag listings on Poets & Writers, Duotrope, or NewPages. You write a beautifully crafted letter and attach it with your poem/story/essay. Then, you wait–checking every five minutes for a reply, logging in to various submission managers, hoping to decode Submittable’s mysterious status of “In Progress.” You hope for the best, but know those rejections are going to come in like dirty, shameful children, one right after the next.

But, alas! Some wonderful journal wants your piece! Someone really read your work, and they actually enjoyed it! Now they even want to PUBLISH it!

Hold on, honey! Before you accept, read this article from The Review Review. It’ll give you warning signs to steer you from a bad publication.

Toxic Journals: What to Watch Out For When You Submit Your Writing (Robert Boucheron)

~ Jennifer

**Feel free to comment on your experiences with ‘toxic journals’ in the comments. We’ll all benefit from each others misery.**

 

Thanks for the Rejections

Even the Greats receive countless rejections before they’re recognized as “great.” Stephen King, Sylvia Plath, Kurt Vonnegut and Gertrude Stein all used their rejections to drive them to keep working, and work harder. They didn’t let these stop them, and the world is better for it!

10 Painful Rejection Letters to Famous People Proving You Should NEVER Give Up Your Dreams (Distractify)

Joy & Sorrow: The Early Days of a Writing Career

Last week’s Prairie Schooner e-newsletter featured an interview with Adam Zagajewski titled, “The Border Between Sadness & Joy,” where Zagajewski discusses success:

I think success is the enemy of the poet. Poetry arises out of inner life; out of some contemplation, sometimes out of lament, and success creates an artificial reality. It’s not you− if you happen to be acclaimed. I haven’t reached this degree of success, luckily, but I can imagine there is a degree of success that cuts you away from real life, from real people.

Last time, I mentioned contacting fellow writers. In her response, Lisa Fay Coutley said, “It’s exciting, those earlier days of meandering and working your ass off. If that’s where you are, in a lot of ways, I think that’s the best part. It’s like new love. Enjoy it!”

For me, this adventure is like being a new mother. No one can possibly articulate how difficult it will be. On the same hand, no one can possibly describe how rewarding it can be.

As K.M. Weiland describes, “The magic ingredient in fiction is that special something that socks readers right in the gut and leaves them breathless with joy or sorrow (or maybe wabi-sabi, the Japanese term for that impossibly beautiful combination of the two).” (Outlining Your Novel, 66)

This July I will deliver my fifth baby. Because they arrive without specific care instructions each child is a beautiful mystery. Like Adam Zagajewski, I haven’t reached the degree of success that removes a writer from reality. I only know the magic of discovery involved with each new creation of poetry or fiction, and the overwhelming feeling of wabi-sabi that inevitably comes each time. And I will take Lisa Fay Coutley’s advice and enjoy it while it lasts.

~ Jennifer