Writing Tip Wednesday

     Since this is my first Writing Tip Wednesday post, I feel like I should inspire you with my great words of wisdom and incredible sense of wit. 

     Not to mention my charm. 

     And did I inform you of my humble nature? 

     No? Well then, I think we better skip that for another time and I'll just tell you the same basic tip you will hear from every single writer. 

     You. Must. Absolutely. Always. Forever. Without fail...

     Write All The Time 

     Or WATT for short. 

     How important is WATT? 

     It's the difference between wanting to be published and being published. It's the difference between writing stories that you hope no one ever sees and stories you want everyone to read.

    Even if it's only ten minutes before you go to bed or a page on your lunch break, it's vital to learning your craft. 

     You can learn all the rules of grammar and carry around a thesaurus like a loaded weapon but if you're not writing you won't refine your technique.

     You won't find your voice. 

     Now its time for my big confession....insert intense movie score here...sometimes I have to make myself write. 

    Seriously. And everyone who knows me can stop laughing now because they all know I like to write as much as I talk. Alot. Constantly. Without end. 

    But sometimes when my muse has forgotten that if she drinks a triple shot coffee drink thingy, they call a depth charge at the local coffee shop, that while the words will flow quickly and efficiently for a few hours...

    That suddenly and without warning her musing will be in peril and down she goes. 

    Caffeine crash. Urghh. 

    But this does not matter. You must write. 

    WATT. 

   It will become your new four letter word but your writing will improve. So to help with this I'm including five helpful hints. 

   1. Turn off your television. Throw it out. Give it away. At least limit yourself. Because you will survive the water cooler sessions if you don't know who was kicked off Dancing with the Stars or American Idol. 

   2. Start a journal or diary. But don't write, "dear diary, I had a blueberry muffin today." Really? Instead write about the quaint little coffee shop you purchased it from. Write about the characters that hang out at the coffee shop. Paint a picture. 

   3. Start writing down entire dialogues that you hear. Go to a coffee shop or restaurant and write down exactly word for word what is being spoken. Be discrete and don't use it for blackmail. That's rude. Use it to study patterns and rhythms of people's speech. 

    4. Need a starter. Try one of these sentences and write a few pages. 

             A. Fred was of average height with nondescript features and a handshake that could...

             B. If the cat hadn't stepped out into the road at that very moment I decided to throw the ball then...

             C. Kelly O'Reilly pushed the cold, stiff body of her husband into the...

   5. Clone yourself. Then you can write while the other you goes to work...If that's not an option, then commit to 30 days. Without fail. Because after that it's a habit and it will be easier to stick with it. 

     So there you have it. WATT. The one writing tip you will hear every time from nearly every writer. Why? 

     Because it works. :)

Monday Musings...

Why do We*  Write?

*(people compelled to pen their thoughts until eyes are strained and fingers are sore)

     The dirty dishes are stacked in the sink and along the edges and on the stove, they are all calling my name. 

     But I ignore their siren call. 

     My dog, Buddy, has left mini hairy versions of himself all over my house. If he doesn't care, I'm trying hard not to either. (I almost lose this battle and nearly pull out the vacuum.) 

     The living room looks like a toy store that has been hit by a tornado. Don't walk in there. 

    Yet, what am I'm doing...

    I'm writing. I can't stop and I think I'll growl if someones tries to interrupt me. But I'm nearly done with this short, sexy story I'm been working on for weeks now. I'm also wrapped up into my story of my old West horse rancher and big city singer. They're just about to overcome their fears to follow the dictates of their hearts and they're about to give in to the fires of their desires. 

     I don't even know if I'll be able to get it published but I write anyway. 

     Because I have to. 

     Sometimes I don't think being a writer is a choice. I think its something I have to do. A function akin to eating or breathing. 

     It's that serious. :) 

    I would simply shrivel up and die if I couldn't write. 

     Even if I don't reach my goal of being a published author, (although, I would cry for a while with the death of that dream) I wouldn't stop writing. 

     I simply couldn't. 

    Ask hero hottie. He knows. If I haven't had a chance to write in a while I become quite grouchy. 

    And no one likes grouchy me. :) 

    So let the dishes pile up a few extra hours and the living room be a mess but don't interrupt my writing. (Unless the house is on fire or you're hero hottie and you want to help research a scene with me.) 

To Challenge or Not to Challenge...

     Just the other moment I had a very good idea that my husband, we'll call him hero hottie in this blog, and I should take a day and hike an eleven mile trail.

      It was a grand idea, well planned and thought out because we have hiked many times before just not that many miles at once. 

     But seven hours later...

    I mockingly cursed the universe for putting the most dangerous part of the hike at the end of it. 

    My hero hottie laughed but I think he was questioning my sanity at this point. 

    Our eleven mile hike, already an exciting challenge, had turned into eighteen grueling miles thanks to government cuts at the forest service and trails that were horribly mismarked. 

     Inexperience of wild and unmanaged trails played no part in the extra mileage. :) 

     The last part of the trail was 'paved' with ankle breaking rocks and scenic drop offs. 

     No safety guards provided. 

     Deadly and beautiful. 

     And challenging. 

     We made it to the end, alive (obviously) and without any broken bones. 

    Sore and exhilarated though. 

    Sometimes a good challenge is the perfect prescription for the soul stuck in a rut. 

    Or to remind us that life isn't just about (or isn't at all about) paying bills, washing dishes, or crying over rejection slips. 

     It's about all the emotional stuff us writers and artists try to convey in words or pictures. 

     If we hadn't lost misplaced the trail a few times we wouldn't have seen an eagle with wings that seem to span the entire sky or a caterpillar so huge we could see the expression on his face. 

     A few times I wanted to quit, we had a cell phone on us, the temptation was there. 

     But then I wouldn't have seen or known or felt the things I did. 

     I wouldn't had been given precious time with hero hottie in this crazy, busy world we inhabit. I wouldn't have known that I make up silly, raunchy songs and sing them loudly for the forest critters when I want to give up and just live right on the trail for the rest of my life.

     And it's the same with writing my (third, unpublished) novel. I could have quit at any time. I could still throw in the desire to be published as I struggle to finish the whole 'becoming an author' process. 

     But what things would I miss along the way???? :)