Category: on the writer’s life

Retreat Yourself

Andrée Levie-Warrilow 4 Comments
First arrivals at the retreat
First arrivals at the retreat

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to take part in something new for me: a writers’ retreat. I didn’t attend the first one the Ascribe writers’ group had organized because I figured, hey, I can write by myself at home any time, can’t I? But after listening to the comments made by members when the group met up after the retreat, I realized I had missed the point.

The point of a writers’ retreat is to get away for the sole purpose of doing nothing but concentrating on your writing. Seems fairly obvious, right? What I didn’t think about – until I took note of what I did in the same time the group was away, were all the interruptions that occur in the course of writing at home. Most of them are so automatic you don’t even notice them: making a meal, running to the store for something last minute, doing that chore on the weekend you didn’t have time to get to during the week, gassing up the car, returning library books. The list goes on, full of little weekend projects and chores that stop the flow of creativity before it even gets a chance to get started. All those little jobs that call out to be done, all those little snippets of time add up, and before you know it, the weekend is ending, and once again you never got to work on that blog, short story, or novel.

Here’s where a writers’ retreat is brilliant: you are not niggled by guilt to do any small jobs or quick chores; you have a space dedicated to work; and you need not stop for anything except when you feel like taking a break. Read more

Breaking up is Hard to Do

Diane Ferguson 2 Comments

unnamedWhen you’re between relationships, it can be hard when you start seeing someone new. You have such strong memories of the other person you were with. Perhaps a feeling of comfort because you KNEW them, really knew them. Whereas the new person is all exciting and shiny, a big mystery you have to discover. But it might not all be pretty, in fact, it probably isn’t.

I left those days long ago. Next month, my husband and I will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary and we’re not breaking up. What I am struggling with is starting a new novel and “ending it” with the old novel. I can’t commit to the new one because the old one isn’t published. So I drift between two stories: writing pitches, queries, synopsis on the old novel, and working up characters, plot and voice on the new one.

And each time I say I’m done with the old novel, nothing else I can work on, something else comes up. And face it, I’m struggling with the new novel. I was innocent and naïve when I started the first novel, happily going along not knowing what I was in for. I started the first novel right before I met my husband, so the breaking up metaphor is more like a divorce.

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A Simple Thank You From A Stranger Can Change Everything

Lori Twining 6 Comments
Raft - Sharks - Ocean - Lori
Image by Lori Twining (January 2016)

Being a writer is sometimes difficult. There are times when you sit at your writing desk and stare at your screen. No typing; just staring. The white blank page becomes a dark scary place with an evil black cursor blinking back at you, daring you to write something worth reading. It’s like being stuck on a raft in the middle of the ocean, with no paddles, hungry sharks are circling and no matter where your eyes focus, you see nothing. No land. No help. No words. Your inner voice is stalled. The fear envelopes you. You can’t think and you can’t write. Not one single word. And, if by some miracle you find it in yourself to write a sentence or two, five minutes later you are hitting the delete button. You are right back at the beginning: the blank screen, with criticizing readers circling, waiting to attack you with negative feedback. This is when you think about giving up. It would be so much easier. Maybe, you weren’t meant to be a writer?

And then, something like this happens…

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Unspoken

Bernice Connell Leave a comment

Bernice-sunset

The beautiful day beckoned us to the water and the boat.  November on Rainy Lake is usually blustery or foggy but this crisp, sunny morning was perfect for a run to Fawn and John’s cabin.  It felt like the four of us had the lake to ourselves, not another soul did we see.

Unencumbered with luggage and supplies, we cruised swiftly over the waves, our coffee thermos and wine bottles sitting alongside John’s portable oxygen tank.  It was to be a brief trip; just long enough to relax on the deck for a few hours and pick up guitars that shouldn’t be left there for the winter.

Picking up the guitars was a good excuse to take one more trip; to bask in the familiar comfort of best friends and let the ritual of heading up the lake mark the beginning of our goodbye to John.  Because what we all knew but no one said was that, short of a miracle, this would be the last time all four of us would be together.

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The Maybe Not So Lonely Act of Writing

Andrée Levie-Warrilow 1 Comment
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Photo by Lori Twining

Someone once wrote “writing is a lonely business”.

We all know the familiar cliché of the author sitting at his or her desk, coffee cups scattered about the work surface, dirty dishes with half-eaten food lying about, and wadded pieces of paper littering the floor and overflowing out of waste bins (ok, maybe only old people like me know that cliché).

The thing is, after all the lectures, grammar rules, tips and recommendations for better play/ novel/short story/ screen play/ writing, – well, the fact is, you’re the only one who can write your work. You. Sitting there, with your note pad, your tablet, your laptop, your desktop.

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How to Rev Up Your Word Count & Finish That Novel

Lori Twining Leave a comment
Lou-writing-1
Lori Twining writing her current thriller novel.

So, you are a writer and you are writing a novel, BUT you just can’t find the time to finish it. Are you procrastinating? Are you spending more time thinking about writing that novel, than you are writing it? Are you stuck at Chapter Three and you don’t know what should happen next? Are you wondering what could you possibly do, to make your fingers fly across the keyboard at lightening speeds to finish telling your story? What could you do that will inspire you and motivate you into finally completing your novel? Do you want to know the quickest way to rev up your word count and finish that novel? I have four answers for you:

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