Branching out with my writing
Feeling the need for simplicity and–sighhhh–a trip down memory lane, I called up an episode of Leave It to Beaver. [You do realize life was perfect back then.]
Beaver tells his family that he wants to be a writer.
Ward Cleaver (to Beaver): I think you should do what Somerset Maugham did.
Beaver: Was he a writer?
Wally: With a name like that what do you think he is? A linebacker for the Baltimore Colts?
Classic line, Wally.
Image credit: ABC Television [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
I’ve started my retreat and I just realized…with the power of an Internet-connected laptop, these speakers and experts can follow me all around the house. I can even do some cooking and not miss a beat.
From Jenna Moreci, I’ve learned:
1. the benefits of writing your characters’ dialogue straight through. Just write the spoken word. Don’t bother with tags or action or imagery. The exchanges will be more natural. You can fill in with the other stuff later.
2. the proliferation of online passive voice checkers
3. a YouTube teacher/speaker’s use of an ‘F-bomb’ feels tacky and lazy. Repeated use of it just feels forced. She has tons of good ideas and information. I’m guessing this whole F-bomb issue is generational.
More as the afternoon progresses…
4. Love that I can rewind video…multiple times when some point doesn’t ‘connect’.
5. With online instruction, I’m afforded [I need my passive voice checker, don’t I?] the ability to slice and dice, clang pots and pans, and curse my clumsiness as I spill wine that I’m glugging into the ribollita, without the speaker glaring at me and questioning my social graces, not to mention my kitchen skills.
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6. Scrivener is an ideal organizing and editing tool for my 50 Stepping Stones draft on my first year of retirement.
7. I could set aside whole afternoon retreats targeting just Joanna Penn videos and website content. Ditto Austin Kleon and Steven Pressfield.
8. Thanks to Joanna’s podcast will soon be buying Tim Grahl’s Running Down a Dream.
9. Most first novels are barely readable, so lighten up and finish it. [Joanna Penn, with my paraphrasing]
10. Sarra Cannon–For those who want to sell what they’ve published, release your work within a single series. [One of her videos auto-played at the the end of the Joanna Penn conversation with Tim Grahl.]
I’m down to 4% on my laptop and I’m using that to get my in gear to finish this post…
So, the more detailed plan for today…
1. Pep Talk on Paper [just a quick riff to get me going]
2. Inspiration from books:
Will try to include excerpts
3. YouTube/SkillShare/Podcasts
Productivity Sessions: [At least 10 minutes apiece; probably 15—interspersed between short inspiration and online skill development/refresher sessions]
Coffee and chocolate cake somewhere in the middle
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Gee what are the odds the results will look entirely different from the carefully crafted plan above?
Yep, get the cooking and other distractions out of the way.
Free up the afternoon
In preparation:
Other necessities:
Let’s see how it goes.
I really liked this post from Cynthia Morris [Rally Your Courage to Write Your Book] on productiveflourishing.com.
Points that resonated:
Added value to this post: It really does apply to any ambition to create.
One of my favorite pages from Austin Kleon‘s book Show Your Work ** encourages creators to become ‘documentarians of what you do’.
Whether you share it or not, documenting and recording your process as you go along has its own rewards: You’ll start to see the work you’re doing more clearly and feel like you’re making progress. And when you’re ready to share, you’ll have a surplus of material to choose from.
**Not an affiliate link. ;-]
Interesting thoughts from people much smarter than I am…
#Follow your curiosity and passion. What fascinates you will probably fascinate others. But, even if it doesn’t, you will have devoted your life to what you love…”
Diane Ackerman
http://www.advicetowriters.com/interviews/2012/7/25/diane-ackerman.html
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You must once and for all give up being worried about successes and failures…”
–Anton Chekhov
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Keep A Diary
Keep a diary, but don’t just list all the things you did during the day. Pick one incident and write it up as a brief vignette. Give it color, include quotes and dialogue, shape it like a story with a beginning, middle and end—as if it were a short story or an episode in a novel. It’s great practice. Do this while figuring out what you want to write a book about. The book may even emerge from within this running diary.
–John Berendt
http://www.advicetowriters.com/home/2018/6/2/keep-a-diary.html
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Jordan Rosenfeld @Jordanrosenfeld
Don’t let yourself become bored with your writing or practice. Take #risks. #WritersGuide2Persistence #create
Word Inventions