Sometimes...it's easy.

I'm at the beach this week with some women friends, and we're all taking time to do what we love to do - read, nap, walk on the beach, and eat chocolate.  I'm writing uninterrupted, because I love to write until my legs fall asleep, and I can't move my neck.  I don't get days like that at home.

I'm doing homework for my publishing/marketing class, I'm writing blog posts, and I'm cleaning up my writing files.  It never ceases to amaze me how much time flies by while I'm writing.  I started about ten this morning after a fruit smoothie on the balcony.

I looked up half an hour later, and it was 3:30.

So, I got up and ate a piece of fudge.  Five and a half hours is too long to go without some brain food.  

I've never done this before - taken a week away to write.  It's the utmost luxury for me, and I could not have done it without my generous sister, my supportive husband, and my wonderful daughter.  They all contributed in one way or another to give me this break.  I am grateful beyond words, and so blessed to have a family who understands my love of writing and the need to take a break from the caretaking of my parents.  I'm soaking it all in.

As the waves pound through the open windows here, I am marveling at the gifts around me: the 75 degree weather, the warm butter cream walls of the beach house, the 'fridge that is stocked with veggies and desserts, the hot tub on the balcony, and the fellow believers with whom I am here.  I'm taking lots of pictures, so I don't forget.

Writing can be difficult at times.  It's a solitary venture.  Hours and days and weeks and months of time alone.  Sometimes, when I have a deadline, the words won't come.  Sometimes words come, but they're not right, they don't fit.  Sometimes I get tired of a project, and just want something new.  

But sometimes, like this week, when I'm free of responsibilities, and I'm surrounded by lovely things, and my heart is grateful, it's easy to put thoughts on paper.  I'm relishing the time to think and piece words together without time restrictions. 

On Sunday, I'll be back home, well rested and five pounds heavier.   Life is good there too, but every writer should get away once a while and capture a different view, breathe in fresh air, and let the words tumble out. 

Start Your Engines

- a post by Jeanna Mason Stay

It’s the middle of October, and for a lot of aspiring novelists, that means we’ve officially started the countdown. Not to Halloween or Thanksgiving or even Christmas. No, we’re counting down to NaNoWriMo. For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write 50,000 words in one month.* Even if you don’t finish, you may end up with far more words in that one month than you usually make. 

Do you like how my technological capacities never extended
to figuring out how to put my name and the title of my work
into this certificate? This is why I'm a writer, not a techie.

I have now participated for three years and “won” twice (winning means you hit 50,000 words). It is exhilarating (and you know you’re a geek when typing for hours gives you an adrenaline rush). There is no time for editing, for nitpicking, for worrying. There is only the writing, only the waves of words flowing onto the page. To be truthful, a lot of them will get trashed. But some will be gems. Some will get your story unstuck. Some will help you think about your characters and plots in new ways. Some will be deeper and stronger than anything you would have come up with if you weren’t so fully immersed for a month.

NaNoWriMo does require a bit of commitment, and it can be a completely crazy month, but it is manageable. Let’s do the numbers, shall we?

Let’s say you average 30–40 wpm (this is actually rather fast for writing your own prose, but also possible). That means you need about 21–28 hours to write during the month of November. Assuming you don’t work on Sundays or Thanksgiving, that really puts you around 1–1.5 hours per day.

Here’s how you manage it: You get up an hour earlier. After scripture study (because, hey, you still gotta do the most important stuff first), you go directly to the computer. You do not shower yet, you do not eat. YOU DO NOT CHECK YOUR EMAIL OR FACEBOOK OR ANYTHING ELSE. You write write write like mad. You never erase. When your kids wake up, inevitably earlier than they’re supposed to, you take a little break to take care of them (or make them fend for themselves for a few more minutes).

You send your kids to school and write. Or, if your kids are at home, you send them to their room to play on their own for half an hour. You can get at least 1,000 words done in half an hour, if you hurry. You write while they do their homework. You send them to their friends’ houses to play.

If you can, you have your husband put the kids to bed, and you DO NOT CLEAN. You write. You cash in on babysitting favors as often as necessary. You have friends who understand the need for alone time. They will watch your kids for a while. You will write. You will cash in on all accumulated good-wifey points.** You will explain to your husband why this matters to you so much—that writing is a talent, and you’re simply being a good disciple of Christ by embracing the parable about multiplying your talents. Your husband will take the kids out to a few more parks and playdates in the evenings, and you will write.*** Saturdays are great too—you can catch up and get ahead in only a few hours.

You will also take lots of extra vitamins. Because when you inevitably get sick in the middle of November, you will need to kick it quickly and get back to work. In the meantime, while you are looking miserable and pathetic, have your hubby or a good friend make you some soup while the kids play in the other room and you . . . you guessed it . . . WRITE! Then, after you’ve finished your quota for the day, you can lie pathetically on the couch and watch Pride and Prejudice and eat chocolate.

See all the good that will come from NaNoWriMo? So it’s time to start revving the writing engines. Is anyone else preparing for the madness?

* This is about 200ish pages of an average paperback novel.

** We don’t really keep track of these at our house, but I do certainly cash in. The month of October is for accumulating them: clean the house a little more, make some special dinners, do a little more . . .  whatever, so that your family knows you love them before you hide in your writing cave for a month.

*** My husband and kids discovered every park within a 20-mile radius during previous Novembers. Isn’t this great father/child bonding time? Or grandparent/child? Or neighbor/child? Aren’t you an excellent woman for giving them this wonderful opportunity?

The Magic is in You

 Winged Victory of Samothrace

 Photo by Amber Lynae 2009

Waiting for your fairy godmother can lead to a life of disappointment. For most of us, our desires do not just fall into place.  No matter how many times I wish to be thin magically, it will continue to be a wish and nothing more. The same is true for all my wasted time wishing for a cleaner house, more focus in writing, and a fuller bank account.

The quick fix mentality brings you nothing but disappointment. It can suck you into a pity party. This will only end in a grave under appreciation for all that you have.  This is not the way of the Lord.  We cannot sit idly by expecting the blessings to appear.

We need to shuck off the effects of our dreamers disease.  This does not mean we should give up.  But if you are looking for magic, you need to look within.  Our dreams and goals are what we put into them.  If you want to be thin, then you must take action, If you want a clean house, then put on the rubber gloves and start scrubbing.  Behind great success is great effort, and you have the power within you to get there.  Victory is yours if you are willing to be your own fairy godmother.

I am constantly amazed by the things people are able to achieve when they refuse to let doubt, fear, and idleness stand in their way.  There is so much truth in the phrase, "Where there's a will, there's a way."

So get out there are make your dreams come true.

I’m hearing voices again.

by Kasey Tross

Last weekend was General Conference for those of us LDS (Mormon) folks, and as usual it gave me a lot to think about. I find that spending 8 hours over a weekend listening to guidance on how we can better act as witnesses of God definitely changes my brain waves.

Case in point: One of those evenings after viewing conference I went on Pinterest. I was just looking through the fashion pages and I came across one of those stylized quotations/sayings that said (swear words replaced in parentheses): “Wake up every morning and tell yourself you're a bad-(bad) (witch) from (heck) and that no one can (mess) with you and then don’t let anybody (mess) with you.”

Well, at first I just scrolled past it, disturbed by the foul language. But as I continued perusing the pinned photos of cute boots and chambray shirts I began to think, Wow. What a contrast a ‘motivational’ statement like that is to what God would have us think of ourselves. I realized that it was a powerful statement of the devastating influence that Satan is having on women in the world today. I thought of D. Todd Christofferson’s talk (The Moral Force of Women) in which he said that the world is "pushing women to adopt more masculine traits—be more aggressive, tough, and confrontational.” He reiterated Margaret Nadauld’s words that, “The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined."

Those thoughts took just a brief second, and I frowned, but then I continued scrolling- ooh, nice scarf- where is that dress from? But I had this nagging in my mind. I couldn’t get those harsh words out of my head. I realized that they made me sad. I began to wonder, Who is this person who pinned this? Is this really what she has to tell herself every morning when she wakes up in order to get through the day? Has anybody ever shown her another way? Does she know she’s a daughter of God? Maybe she once knew but she has forgotten. And the kicker: What if I could remind her of who she really is? 

At that point I told myself to knock it off and keep scrolling. So I did.

But of course I couldn’t continue, because Arnulin Valenzuela started chattering in my head (Small and Simple Things): "As members of the Church, we are able, through our own small and simple things, to '[convince] many of the error of their ways' and help bring 'them to the knowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls’ (Alma 37:8).” He also said, "I testify that many of those who need our help are there waiting for us. They are ready for their valiant brothers and sisters to reach out to them and rescue them through small and simple means.”

Okay. So then I thought, How long would it take me to type something small and simple? Just a little something for her to think about? 

And of course, I tried to talk myself out of it. Again. I didn’t want to start a fight. I didn’t want to make her feel bad. I didn’t want to turn it into a Thing. But then apparently M. Russell Ballard didn’t want to be left out of the conversation because I remembered this from his talk (Put Your Trust In The Lord): "It is impossible for us to fail when we do our best when we are on the Lord’s errand. While the outcome is a result of the exercise of one’s agency, sharing the gospel is our responsibility. Trust the Lord. He is the Good Shepherd. He knows His sheep, and His sheep know His voice; and today the voice of the Good Shepherd is your voice and my voice.”

Aw, heck. Fine then.

So I went back to the pin and clicked on it to leave a comment. Here is what I wrote:

"Or you could tell yourself that you are a beautiful daughter of God, and that you will let His power shine through you such that no one will be able to bring you down. You might find that not only will you have a great day, but others will be drawn to you because you will radiate confidence, peace and joy. They will feel better about life just by being around you. Just a thought. :-)”

I would like to say that the person who pinned it responded with their own comment, begging me to tell her more about how she's a daughter of God, and that my comment changed her life, but alas, twas not so. Some other person did happen to respond and said, “Kasey, love your comment!” So that was nice.

But really, I wasn’t aiming to convert anyone, not really. My goal was to speak up with the Lord’s voice in this world where Satan seems to have the floor. It’s about time somebody challenged him and stopped letting him put these awful lies into people’s heads unchecked. And if I can stand up to him in my own small and simple way with a few words that take me less than 30 seconds to type, then it’s my responsibility to do it, because I have promised to be “a witness of God, in all times and all things and all places.” (Mosiah 18:9)

In short,

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do that which I can do.” 

- Edward Everett Hale

This is a lesson we must remember in all that we do, especially with our writing. As writers, we have the power to reach so many people. We must cherish that privilege and seek to spread God’s love in whatever way we can.

So, do you hear General Conference voices in your head too? What do they say? LOL!

P.S. I’d love to have you come visit me over at my blog, Making It Up As I Go. Just got a new post up there about how everyone has a story, and I share a story or two that may surprise you. 

Writing is a Marathon

By Dani Oldroyd

 

I am sure that everyone has heard many marathon analogies, but I think we can learn a lot from a marathon runner. My husband is a runner, I am not. He started running seriously in 2004, but ran his first marathon in 2005. He trained as best he could and did really well, but he knew that his time could get better. He studied running, learned what foods to eat, talked with other runners, and he trained really hard.

With writing you have to feed our minds, study writing, take classes and read everything from magazine articles, children’s books, to novels.

Then you have to know what you are writing about, know your characters. And know the road you are taking yourself down.

Like runners, writers should surround themselves with other writers. They can help each other and inspire you.

Lastly, write. Write anything and everything. Write in your journal, write short stories, articles, your novel. Just write.

People don’t just decide to run a marathon one day and then win. They work really hard beforehand. I asked my husband what is the biggest moment when he is running a marathon and he said his second most exciting moment is mile 21. In training he only runs 20 miles before the race. Once he gets to mile 21, he feels good he knows that he has gone a long way and has to finish. The last 5.2 miles he has more energy and excitement. Once he crosses the finish line it becomes his biggest moment. All his hard work paid off. He may not have come in first, but it is an accomplishment in itself. He finished. Not everyone can say that. He is exhausted and sore, but he ran a marathon.

My great grandma Viola Stout wanted to be a writer at a young age, I have read her journal several times and read a section and it really related to this concept for me. “Miss Leahman, my English teacher, used to enjoy my compositions. One thing, I always had interesting things to write about. My subjects, unless assigned, were experiences of Mexico or daily happenings I seemed to find humorous. I especially have appreciated this memory even though nothing developed from it, one day Miss Leahman asked me to spend our lunch hour together and this was her proposition:  She informed me that she felt that I had writing ability beyond my years, added to this, my life had been full of rich experiences that few children enjoy. She figured I could write, with some help and training, for a children’s magazine. Her proposition was for me to remain after school each day. She would help me in the things I lacked, plus would endeavor to sell my stories for me to some children’s magazine!! That is all I remember about it and needless to say I went home that night on a cloud! My dreams were short-lived, however. Mother refused to allow me stay after school as I would have to walk down Twelfth Street alone (about one and one-half mile) and of course she envisioned all the tragic consequences that could befail me. It was a sad little girl that told Miss Leahman the next day I could not accept her WONDERFUL offer. It may be this was the better thing, I may not have accomplished anything and became disillusioned. As it is, all these years I have dreamed that someday (always in the future) I would write, so my dreams have stayed alive. Yet, I have failed because I have not studied nor prepared myself as she told me I must do . . .  I have only waited.” (Viola Stout) 

I know a lot of people feel the same, they are afraid of failure, they keep the dream alive, but until you enter the starting line it is just a dream. Once you start the race you have to finish, or you will never know what could have been. I haven’t finished a novel, but I have worked hard for a really long time. I have attended conferences, joined a writers group, I constantly am reading and I write. I am almost to mile 21 and I know when I get that close nothing can stop me.