Clutter, Creativity & Helping Others







Clutter photo by kconnors

Facebook friend and author Heidi Nicole Bird who wrote the wonderful book "Through the Paper Wall", recommended a book today. "Clutter-Less! How to Declutter Your Life and Become Stress Free Forever" by Staci Summers is free for Kindle as of the writing and posting of this blog post. Although I haven't read Staci Summers book yet, it did set me to thinking. Especially after I looked at a basket full of things that I haven't touched in months. It sits there on my bathroom counter where it receives sporadic dusting but the items it holds remain unused.

 

Imagine how much easier life would be if we all decluttered our space. By removing the excess from our physical space, we throw open the doors and windows to allow clearer thoughts in, a cleaner space to live in and change our direction from stifled to passionate and colorful. Doing this will unlock the creativity that has been constricted by forces we did not even recognize were there. Let's strive to remove the stumbling blocks in our lives and live out loud, colorful and determined!

 

I'm a mother and grandmother with a house full of things belonging to other people. The question I have to ask myself, and I suspect others at my stage of life have as well, is this - why is it that I allow these things to stay boxed up or scattered about my home for years? Several answers come to mind such as; they aren't really in my way. After all, I don't use that one particular room for anything. The kids (all in the 30s at this point) may need the 'extras' that I have stacked around here - knick-knacks, dishes, clothing and even furniture.

 

Really? Perhaps the spare room is unused because it is filled with other people's things. What if I cleared it of the clutter? If I emptied out the spare room, I might find a use for it. One idea is to turn it into a cozy hideaway with bookcases, an overstuffed reading chair and sweet little lamp. Doesn't that sound lovely? What about those extra dishes taking up space in cupboards or boxed up in the pantry? Every time I reach into a particular cupboard, I have to move things around to get to the one piece I am searching for because I'm saving the other dishes for someone else. I frequently scold myself. Stop saving them! If they really wanted them, they would make an effort to come haul them away. 

 

If you don't feel comfortable throwing these things out, box them up and deliver the boxes to them. Set them on their porch, ring the bell and run away. Fast. Keep in mind, too, that consignment stores are happy to resale your gently used items. Typically, they add a percentage so you both make money. 

 

You may also find that you can clear out your space and help where you feel the need is greatest. Think about your town - which charitable organization is in need of the items that are cluttering your space?

 

• Domestic violence shelters are always in need of items to help victims begin a new life. 
• Homeless missions feed and house the needy. In my town, they also have a thrift store where items are sold - the money goes toward their work with the homeless population.
• Churches often have yard sales to raise money for their own community help projects. 
• Animal shelters make use of worn linens from rags and towels to blankets.

You may wish to make it even more personal. We all know of a family in the community who is struggling to make ends meet. Deliver some things to their home. You can also find a way to donate to the family anonymously if you would rather them not know who donated the items.

 

As is usually the case, when you help others it helps you. In this case, it clears your space and your mind, which makes life less complicated and a great deal more livable. 

 

As authors, clearing our space will not only brighten the space but open our minds to allow thoughts to flow more freely. That, my dear friends, will lead to a happier, more productive and creative you.

 

∞


.

Be Careful What You Say

 You will probably never know who is listening.

I read something on a social media site that caused me to switch gears in my post for today. It was something that bothered me - more for the person who wrote it than for the people it was directed at. I felt a little sad that the person couldn't seem to find the time to help others. Although, I did feel a little tinge of 'how dare you talk to them that way' simmering in my gut. I'll try to explain it without sounding like a nagging spouse or over-protective mother. 

My personal feelings about this hurtful post on an social media site have caused me to remove the author's book from my 'to read' list and send out three 'decline to read' emails to friends who were looking to read it along with me. I wish the author the best on their journey - an exceptional journey that has already reached heights that most authors dream of - sadly, I will not be one of this author's fans. Not because the book isn't a wonderful story but because of a hurtful statement made in an open forum to others. I feel I should state that the author was not speaking to me so, my thoughts are not about a personal interaction with said author or because I'm in a fetal position in the corner feeling sorry for myself after being bitten by unkind words.

As most of you know, I'm new to publishing and promoting/marketing. I've been writing since childhood but the business of writing is new to me, as I know it is to many of you. It is hard to know exactly how to promote your writing if you have not hired a team of experts to guide you through the process. Promoting your writing is in essence, promoting yourself. It is good to keep that in mind when we are speaking in public. All social media sites are public forums and our words are carried great distances on cyber breezes beyond where most of us are able to fathom.

We also want to be mindful at all times of being too invasive. Like us, other people are busy. I receive many invitations to events by authors from several sites around the web. There are countless new authors experimenting with various types of marketing in an effort to get their books in front of those who will read them. It's impossible to attend every event, which means that I must bow out of several each week. I also miss many invitations because I simply do not see them in time. That does not mean that I do not smile and say "Way to go, Author You!". I'm happy to see people grab onto their dreams and shake things up. We could do more than that, though. As authors, I believe we should help other authors promote even if it's only a tweet about their book or event.

Back to the post that I mentioned earlier. Sadly, not everyone is happy to see another author doing well or trying to do better. What is even more troublesome is to see someone climbing to the top of the field with the help of others and then pulling the ladder up behind them. When others help us climb to the top of the mountain, shouldn't we be thoughtful enough to hold the ladder for them? At the very least, shouldn't we be gracious enough to say thank you for inviting us to XY or Z, wish them good luck and send out a simple tweet, Google+ or Facebook post for their event? Something - anything that lets them know that you recognize their efforts in a seemingly overpopulated sea of authors. Statements about their efforts worded in a way that are meant to sting or belittle them in some way, are not helpful to anyone.

What can we do? Helping struggling authors or anyone in any field takes only a few moments out of your day. Sometimes, a kind word is all it takes. If you've reached the top, hold the ladder for those coming up behind you. Share your experience with them. There's no need to give away all your secrets but sharing what you've learned with others is a connection that they will not likely forget. The other side of that coin - being rude and sniping at others will also be remembered and probably for much longer. If you've read the author's book, write a review. Amazon makes it easy to write reviews. Reviews are a bright spot in the author's day. 

When a new author is having an online book launch party, giving away prizes, entered into contests and all number of things, stop by their party even if you can't stay but a minute. Say hi and wish them good luck with the book. If you have something to offer such as a free copy of your own book, share that with them to help build their prize packages for the launch. It has nothing to do with what we believe our work is worth, it is a marketing tool. The more your stories and name are out there, the more visible you are to the reading public. That's what all authors wish for, right? If they have a book trailer or story entered in a contest, take a couple of minutes to go over and vote for them. Now, I'm not saying that you should vote for every author in every contest. This is especially true if you haven't read the story, watched the trailer or if for some reason, you find their particular genre disagreeable. After all, if I don't care for red polka dotted, yellow crocodiles with pomegranates for heads, I'm not going to read about them or vote for them in a contest. 

Lest we forget, we were not born on top of the mountain of our writing careers. Everyone has to climb to the top. Very few have made that climb alone. For all of us who are still climbing the mountain; cinch up your harnesses, stock your bag with cams, chocks and hexes, get a good grip on your axe and remember to allow a little slack in the rope for the unexpected. It's time to dig in and make it to the summit. Pay no mind to those who are throwing rocks over the edge - tuck in tight and write!

Way to go, Author You!

 

 

∞

 

.

Be True to Your Characters & Their Story

There are times when we are writing and the story seems to go nowhere & everywhere all at the same time. I recently ran into this problem while writing the third book in the trilogy, Rough Hewn. I was struggling with the direction the characters had taken. I felt as though I was flapping in the wind every time I sat down to type out a paragraph. I ultimately realized the problem I was having was not with the story itself but with my interpretation of it. I was holding back. Trying to save the characters from the pain I saw coming, as it were.

You see, I was trying to guide my characters rather than allow them to guide my writing of their story. In that, I was telling their story from the point of a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wing for protection. What I should've been doing was being honest in the telling of their story. After all, it seldom happens in real life that we can protect those we love from all the bad in the world around us. Therefore, Carolyn and her friends will have to endure more of the bad while recognizing and celebrating the good - just like in real life.

As writers, we cannot be a buffer between our characters and the bad things that come their way any more than we can prevent our own loved ones from experiencing sadness in real life. We are not here to protect our characters; we are here to tell their story.

My advice to you would be to try not to absorb the hit for your characters. Write honestly and expose the entire story. The bad comes whether we want it to or not. If we are lucky, the good will outweigh the bad. Being that we are the ones writing the story, we can choose the ending - good or bad - and like in life, we strive for a good ending.

Last night I did one of the hardest things I've had to do as a writer. I went back and deleted approximately 20,000 words from Carolyn's story. That left me with 20,092 words in the third book of the trilogy and a feeling of defeat. I felt as though I was starting over, even though a third of the story remained intact. In the end, I realized that it was better to remove what was not working than to tell only part of the story. Besides, your readers want the whole story - not butterflies and blooms on every page.

 

How many of you have had to rewrite a large portion of your story or stories?

∞

 

 

.

Social Media, Passion, Goals, Restart

 
It is hard to believe the first week of March in nearly over. Where does the time go? Who else finds it hard to keep up with all the social media sites you've joined? Surely, there is a better way to keep track of what, when and where in the seemingly endless chasm that is online promotion and marketing. Admittedly, I am about as scatter-brained as they come these days. I make notes - many, many notes. I begin each month with very specific plans and notes - can't forget the notes - only to find myself thrashing about in the dark waters of the dreaded over-scheduled month. How did that happen, again? I did it to myself.

Does it seem impossible to write while trying to connect and keep up with that long list of social media sites you've joined? What happens when we can't keep up? As I see it, we doom ourselves to fail. I don't see this failure as some horrid dream-ending monster. No. I believe we can take a step back and look at what we have done to ourselves - self-imposed failure, as it were. The good news is that this type of failure is simple enough to correct. You see, if we do/did it to ourselves, we are the ones in control of the outcome. No outside entity has swooped in to steal our time away. We - YOU - are in control.

I would suggest taking a day away from technology of all sorts. Unplug from the world around you. Find a quiet spot where no one will interrupt you, grab a tablet and an ink pen and elucidate your goals. It is important that you know and write down your goals. I'm not talking about daydreams. I mean those goals that you intend to work toward with a burning desire fueled by your passion. Once you know what they are, you can set them down on paper and decide what you will do to realize them. The course is different for each of us.

For instance, let's say you'd like to write a short story by the end of next month. That is doable, right? Of course it is, until you are swamped with work from your day job, bombarded by requests from volunteer groups or family members who have decided this is the month they'll find something to fill your every waking moment. On top of this, you have normal home/yard chores to complete. Oh, you almost forgot the the promotion you need to do for your last book. Exhausted yet?

Now back to your goals list. It can be as short or as long as you'd like it to be. There are no rules here; it is your list - your life. I have to admit, I find it best to work on short-term goals. When the list is too long or too far out, it seems less attainable. Of course it isn't, it just seems that way. This is why shorter lists work best for me. In order to complete a short story by the end of next month and do the other things that don't fall under the umbrella of author tasks, you'll have to decide what days you'll write and how many words you'll need to write before typing 'The End'. Let's say your story will be 12,000 words and you are only able to write two days out of each week between now and the end of next month. That comes out to be approximately 750 words per day or 1500 words each week. Not hard at all when you break it down like that. Looking at this post alone, to this point it tallies near 600 words. In this instance, I'm praying my lack of mathematical skills is not showing.

So, clear your calendar for part of those two days each week and set a goal to write a given number of words per day. Some days you'll write more and some you'll write less. It should balance out in the end. You may even surprise yourself and write an entire novel. Carry a tablet, recorder or laptop to doctor's visits, children's soccer games and wherever else you go. You'll be able to write while waiting.

Social Media

This is where I struggle. It is increasingly difficult to keep up with all the promotion and marketing it takes for an author to be seen in the sea of new authors out there. We have to be careful that the undertow doesn't pull us so far out that we lose sight of our passion. Writing is the passion. More often than not, social media is how readers discover authors today. That means, no matter how you feel about it, you must be out there interacting with people online.

I'm no expert on social media. However, there are those who are quite adept at standing out online. These are a few, there are many more out there. Follow them on Google +, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Goodreads, AUTHORSsB, Pinterest or wherever else you can find them. They offer great advice for nothing and if you find you still cannot keep up, many have an affordable plan to help you.

• Master Koda Promotions (Publisher, Marketing & Promotions +. Master Koda Select Publishing is also the publisher for my upcoming Rough Hewn Trilogy.)

• Kim Garst Social Media Coach (Coaching, Branding, Social Media Training +)

• Kristen Lamb (Author of We Are Not Alone - The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Writer.) 

• Advantage Marketing for You (WP Customization, Webhosting, Websites Services, Consultation, Virtual Assistance, Podcasting, Voice Overs & Audio/Video Editing, Magazine Ad Creation, Ebook and CD Cover Creation, Banner and Button Creation) 

 

A simple online search will uncover numerous social media experts who freely share tips on creating an online platform.

 

 

We need to adjust our lists, not our passions or dreams. Again, YOU are in control. If you've fallen behind, give yourself permission to 'restart'. Create a path to reach your goal that is doable for you, one that fits into your life plan. Remember to ask for help when you need it. Let's face it we are only human.

∞

.

Writing in the Shadows with Randy Ingermanson & John Olson

This Randy Ingermanson interview with John Olson was published in Randy Ingermanson's Advanced Fiction Writing E-Zine in December 2009 and is used here by permission. Please keep in mind that any offers in this article will have changed since its original publication date. Nonetheless, the wealth of information found in "Writing in the Shadows" and "Powers" are a great help to the beginning author with or without a special promotion.

That said, let's get to the good bits.
.
Creating: Writing in the Shadows

I met John Olson at a Christian writing conference in 1996. Both of us were unpublished novelists with a background in science.

I soon learned that John had a yen to write novels based on the vampire mythos and an uncommon ability to write spooky stuff. John soon learned that I like scary fiction.

That weekend, we forged a friendship that's lasted for over thirteen years. We've coauthored two books together. We've climbed corporate ladders and abandoned them. We've held each accountable as we pursued our dreams. I've learned boatloads about the art of writing fiction from John, and also a bunch about the art of living, and I hope I've paid him back by teaching him a thing or two also.

A bit more than a year ago, I sat in on a major track John taught at a writing conference on the subject, "Writing in the Shadows." I enjoyed his talk tremendously and kept thinking, "Darn! Why didn't I think of that?"

John's latest novel, POWERS, is just now hitting the bookshelves. I got my copy last week and am reading it now. It's a prime example of "writing in the shadows."
I've asked John for an interview so I could introduce you to his ideas. Here's the result:

RI: I really enjoyed your lecture series last year on "Writing in the Shadows." In a nutshell, what is "writing in the shadows" and why would an author want to do that?

JO: You've heard of reading between the lines, right?
Well, writing in the shadows is writing between the lines. It's a set of techniques for creating mood and evoking an emotional response in such a way that readers aren't consciously aware of why they are responding the way they do. The words on your page all have shadows. Once you learn how to harness these shadows for your own purposes, you can use these techniques to add creepiness to dark scenes, dread to action scenes, joy to celebration scenes or chemistry to relational scenes.

RI: Editor often tell us to "show, don't tell," but they rarely show us what they mean by that. What does "show, don't tell" mean to you?

JO: It's pretty easy. It means to... uh, show and er... not tell. Okay, maybe it isn't so easy to explain. Let me give you some examples. As a novelist I'm often tempted to write something telling such as: Hailey was scared.

But if I do this, I don't give the reader a chance to experience that fear emotionally along with Hailey. Readers know intellectually Hailey is afraid, because I told them she was (and foolish readers that they are, they trust me), but they don't get to experience the fear along with her unless I actually show Hailey being afraid:

Hailey froze. The vampire's teeth were only inches away from her neck. She held her breath and tried to think, but her pulse throbbed like kettle drums in her ears. She had to make her stupid heart slow down. It was only encouraging him.

See? I never once told you Hailey was afraid, but you probably figured it out anyway. That's showing.
Okay... I know what you're thinking. I totally cheated. Of course Hailey's going to be scared with the sharp end of a vampire pointed at her neck. But what if your story doesn't have any conveniently located vampires? What if you need to show fear, and the reader doesn't even have a reason to be afraid yet?

That's where writing in the shadows comes in. It's possible to write a scene in such a way that your readers will pick up on the fear without knowing the reasons behind it.

Your POV character doesn't even have to realize she's afraid. In fact it's often better if she doesn't. If she knew she should be afraid, she might not walk into that dark basement we need her to walk into. We see this technique used all the time in movies. Our clueless heroine walks into the dark basement and suddenly the background music changes. We know right away what's going to happen, and we start yelling at her, telling her to turn her flashlight on, but she doesn't seem to hear us. It can't be because the background music is too loud, because if she could hear the music, she'd know the vampire was hiding behind the artificial Christmas tree waiting to jump out at her and make us wet our pants.

Stupid heroines. If only our novels had soundtracks to go along with them, showing in the shadows would be so easy! But if you think about it, our novels do have background music. It's hidden in the shadows of the words. Sentences have flow and rhythm and cadence. Words have connotations that evoke mood and emotion and tone. Characters have autonomic responses that happen whether they're aware of them or not. We have all kinds of tools to work with. We can go beyond showing and show in the shadows like this:

The door closed behind her with a sigh. Hailey shivered as a chill brushed across her mind, leaving behind the aftertaste of decay and wet rat. She hurried toward the elevators, fighting the urge to break into a run.

Hollow footsteps echoed loud and lonely in the empty marble hallway. Stepping into a waiting elevator, she punched the ninth floor button and leaned back against the wall. The door shut with a clank, sealing her in.

See? Words like "sigh" and "aftertaste of decay and wet rat" and "sealing her in" create an emotional subtext that shows the reader what to feel without telling them why we want them to feel it. That's showing in the shadows.

RI: You're a strong proponent of giving readers "partial information." What do you mean by that, and what have you got against giving readers the full scoop on things?

JO: Giving the full scoop ruins all the fun -- at least it does if we're talking about novels. Ice cream is a completely different subject. Imagine a murder mystery where the author tells us who the murderer is the second we're introduced to him. Or imagine a romance where the author tells us all about the couple's future life together as soon as the male lead is introduced. It kind of spoils the fun, doesn't it?

Well, that's what we do any time we give the reader too much information. We take away the mystery and anticipation. So if Dash Totallyripped McMoneybags throws up the second he sees our heroine, don't tell us why. Let it be a mystery we can look forward to solving. And if Sydney Hottiepants is in love with Dash, don't ruin the romance by telling us. Let us interpret what she's feeling by the way she agonizes over her decision of which flavor of lip gloss to wear. Remember, when we meet people in real life, they don't come with fact sheets pinned to their shirts. We have to "figure them out" by interpreting their words and actions.

Let's face it. We humans are really good at interpreting things. It's one of the things we do best. By giving our readers too much information, we deny our readers the pleasure of interpreting and figuring things out for themselves. Not only does it take away from the fun, but it feels shallow and contrived. Why? Because that's not how reality works. We may think that giving ten pages of backstory on the history of Sydney's attraction to losers is going to make her seem more real, but it will actually have the opposite effect. In reality we never have access to all the information. We have to interpret the clues we're given and figure things out for ourselves. It's more fun that way -- even if we get everything wrong.

RI: Pace is a critical element in modern fiction which is rarely taught. Can you give us your top three tips on pace?

JO: Sure...
Tip 1) Slow. Tip 2) Medium. Tip 3) Fast.
How's that for a fast-paced response? Of course I could have picked up the pace by writing "Slow, medium, & fast." Or I could have slowed it down by using a plethora of multisyllabic adjectives and obscure, seventeenth century, Latin-derived inkhornisms -- which brings me to my fourth point.

Readers subconsciously assume that reading time is proportional to the timing of the events they're reading about. If a writer takes time to describe the wildflowers beside the trail, the readers will infer a leisurely pace. If the story gives a quick succession of vague impressions, the readers will assume a rapid pace -- like the POV character is moving too fast to process all the visual information streaming past her eyes.

That's why you should never describe the wildflowers while a vampire is chasing your heroine through the woods. That's also why words like quickly and rapidly should be avoided. Not only are they evil "telling" –ly adverbs, but they also work against what they're trying to convey. Inserting them into a sentence actually slows down the sentence (which slows down the action in the reader's mind even though it's supposed to make the reader think the action is speeding up). The word slowly, on the other hand, doesn't work against itself, and is much more acceptable even if it is also an evil "telling" –ly adverb.

Pacing is tricky. There are hundreds of ways to inadvertently slow down a fast-paced scene. One of the worst culprits is what I call "order out of" which is when the author presents information to the reader in the wrong order. Take, for example, the following sentence:

A gloved hand burst through the wall and clawed at Dash's face.

On the surface this looks like a perfectly good sentence, but if you look at what's going on in the reader's mind, you'll see why it slows the action down. When readers read the words "a gloved hand," they picture the gloved hand in their mind. Then, when they read further and read that the hand bursts through the wall and claws at Dash's beautiful face, they get confused and have to readjust the pictures in their minds.

Their first impression of the gloved hand was on the wrong side of the wall. They could see it in their minds, so they automatically put it in Dash's view, because he's the POV character through whose eyes they are viewing the action. But when it bursts through the wall and claws our hero on the face, they have to back up and readjust the picture so that the hand is on the other side of the wall. These kinds of readjustments break the flow of the narrative and slow the pace down -- usually at times when we're trying to speed the pace up.

RI: One of the things you and I have always agreed on is that fiction is about giving the reader a "powerful emotional experience." What are the main emotional drivers that propel a story forward?

JO: Besides the inherent pleasure we all get from reading beautiful, well-written prose, I think there are five main drivers that make our readers want to keep turning the pages. I could tell you what they are, but that would spoil all the fun. Instead, I'll give you a hint. They're so central to fiction that they're written on the shelves of most book stores. That's right. They're the genre labels. See if you can figure it out. What emotional driver is central to each of these groups of genres?

* Mystery
* Romance
* Action/Adventure
* Thrillers, Suspense and Horror
* Historicals, Science Fiction and Fantasy

RI: Any question I should have asked and didn't?

JO: I never know how to answer this question. I suppose it's because I always think through all the questions I know the answers to and then reject those questions, because they're too easy. And I avoid all the questions I don't know the answers to because, well... I don't want to look stupid. Which means I always end up looking stupid -- whether I'm stupid or not.

Stupid question.
Okay, here's a question you should have asked me:
Q: Who is the best author and writing instructor you've ever cowritten a book with?

A: The answer can also be found on book store shelves.
(Hint: Search for the word "DUMMIES" written in big bold letters.)

RI: Thanks for the plug, John, but it may be a wee bit superfluous. I already mentioned my new book, WRITING FICTION FOR DUMMIES, about 5000 times last month, and I'm going to mention it further down the page in this issue. But it never hurts to have you mention it too. Thanks for your thoughts on Writing in the Shadows!

PS: John Olson has a new audio course, "Writing in the Shadows," which will go on sale on my Web site soon. Before that, though, we'll give you a chance to get it free -- if you buy John's latest book POWERS, which happens to highlight all of John's ideas for writing in those pesky shadows.

Why would we give away a two-and-a-half-hour-plus audio course to you just for buying a book? For the answer to that, see the marketing article just below, "How to Run a Book Rush."

This article is reprinted with permission of the author.

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 18,000 readers, every month. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit
http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.
Randy Ingermanson
Publisher, Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine
http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com/ezine


.