February's 1K-A-Day Challenge

I read a lot of writing ezines, blogs, websites, books & such, looking for ideas to help my own writing and to share with you :)

Recently I read an author briefly mention that (she? he?) shoots for writing a minimum of 2K words a day. (2K=approximately 8 ds pages in Word). Some days are easier than others, and for some, 2K is just a launching point.

It got me to thinking...how much do I write in a day? I know I write more on the weekends (and snow days, as of late). When I work on a novel, I have days of 4K words and weeks of 500 words. Nonfiction seems to go a bit easier, depending on subject and publication.

Ever in the mode of re-inventing those New Year's goals (which I did not set this year!) I've decided to challenge myself to do 1K-A-Day for the month of February. This might prove to be my downfall--February is one of my busiest (with life) months, despite its brevity.

I have a great word tracker I downloaded from Kresley Cole's website eons ago (I can't find a link for it anywhere on the web or I'd share it) and will pull it out and put it to good use for this. Rather than work by chapter (I'm almost all freelance this month), I'll just set the final goal as 28K and plug in my daily totals as I go along.

Wow, 28K seems like a lot! I'll be spreading it across a series of 6 articles for writers I've got started (brainstorming) and a new nonfiction project for writers.

Anyone want to join me? I'd love to have some company (or comisseration, however you look at it!). You can write whatever you want as long as you're writing. Drop me a note or comment if you like. And don't forget to pick a goal to shoot toward. Those 28K words are a fabulous reward in and of themselves, but give yourself license to pick something fun to get you going. I'm thinking about mine...

Logo Design Insight from FreelanceSwitch.com

I'll admit it--I'm envious of logos. Not all logos, and let me say that I love my own website logo (that fab purple fountain pen) created by the wonderful Jo Piraneo at GlassSlipperWebDesign.com. But there's something really cool about all types of logos that speak to you with just an image.

Since the only thing I can draw well are, well, nothing, I'm doubly envious of artistic folks who can whip up something pretty with just words. So the post at FreelanceSwitch.com on the logo designing process fascinated me. There's a lot of talk these days in the writing world about establishing a brand and one of the best ways to do that is with a logo or an idea of what you want folks to think of when they think of you.

Even if you're not shopping for a brand or logo, the insight into the creative process of logo-creation is fascinating.

What are your favorite logos?Do share! I'm always up for some good visual candy!

Pop over to FreelanceSwitch.com for a visit and some thoughts on how to create your own logo or refresh your author brand:

Dissecting the Logo Design Creation Process by Angela Ferraro-Fanning at FreelanceSwitch.com

Scared of Author PR? Take this workshop!

Does PR strike fear in the heart of your solitary writer's heart? If so, or if you just want to know more about every aspect of promoting yourself and your books, check out this workshop offered by the Yosemite Romance Writers.

I'm a part of the lineup of absolutely amazing speakers, and all of our speaker fees are being donated to Best Friends Animal Society (http://www.bestfriends.org/), which has the largest no-kill animal shelter in the U.S.

Offered from Feb 2-Feb 27th, the workshop registration deadline is Feb. 1st (Sunday). Sign up now! For $25, you can't get more experts in less square footage.

Here are the details. Check out the registration page here, but you'll have to scroll a bit down the page for the Feb. workshops.
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PR is NOT Four-Letter Word

Instructor: Marcia James and Guests

Registration Deadline: 2/1/09

Self-promotion. Say the word aloud in a room full of authors and watch a fingernails-on-the-blackboard shudder run through the crowd. Promotion can be a scary drain on time and finances. But there are also many entertaining and often free opportunities to get one’s name in front of readers. Marcia James and over 20 PR-savvy guest lecturers—Melissa Alvarez, Dianne Castell, Kate Douglas, Carol Ann Erhardt, Karen Harper, Susan Gee Heino, Donna Hill, Linda Keller, Laurie Kingery, Karen McCullough, Donna MacMeans, Janice Maynard, Beth Morrow, Jenna Petersen, Patricia Sargeant, Barbara Satow, Jenn Stark, Jennifer Stevenson, Kay Stockham, DeNita Tuttle and J.C. Wilder—will present affordable author self-promotion strategies from author branding and press kits to blog/chatroom opportunities and niche markets. The speaker fees will be donated to Best Friends Animal Society (http://www.bestfriends.org/), which has the largest no-kill animal shelter in the U.S.

Workshop Schedule

2/2/09 Monday: INTRODUCTION & WHAT’S YOUR PR PERSONALITY QUIZ -- Marcia James, Berkley/Cerridwen author & workshop presenter

2/3/09 Tuesday: PROMOTION ACCORDING TO DEADLINES, PAYDAYS, AND THE REAL WORLD... – Kate Douglas, Kensington author

2/4/09 Wednesday: PROMOTING YOURSELF BEFORE “THE CALL” – Beth Morrow, Wild Rose Press author & workshop presenter

2/5/09 Thursday: AUTHOR BRANDING – Jenn Stark, Golden Heart winner & workshop presenter

2/6/08 Friday: WEB SITE DESIGN – Karen McCullough, Cerridwen author & Karen’s Web Works designer

2/7/08 Saturday: CHATS & REVIEWS & BANNERS – Marcia James

2/8/09 Sunday: ONLINE & PRINT PRESS KITS – Patricia Sargeant, Kensington/Berkley author

2/9/09 Monday: CO-PROMOTION THROUGH GROUP BLOGS – Donna MacMeans, Berkley author

2/10/09 Tuesday: CO-PROMOTION THROUGH GROUP WORKSHOPS – Dianne Castell, Kensington author

2/11/09 Wednesday: CROSS-PROMOTION – J.C. Wilder/Dominique Adair, Samhain/Ellora’s Cave author

2/12/09 Thursday: AUTHOR PROMOTION SITES – DeNita Tuttle of AuthorIsland.com author promotion site

2/13/09 Friday: ADVERTISING IN RT, RWR, ETC – Janice Maynard, NAL author

2/14/09 Saturday: PRINT & TRINKET PR MATERIALS – Marcia James

2/15/09 Sunday: PUBLIC APPEARANCES/PUBLIC SPEAKING – Karen Harper, MIRA author

2/16/09 Monday: PROMOTING TO ACQUAINTANCES – Laurie Kingery, Steeple Hill/Love Inspired author

2/17/09 Tuesday: NETWORKING I: POWER-SCHMOOZING – Susan Gee Heino, Berkley author

2/18/09 Wednesday: NETWORKING II: MENTORING & THE FARLEYFILE – Jennifer Stevenson, Ballantine author

2/19/09 Thursday: SOCIAL MEDIA SITES – Donna Hill, Arabesque/Indigo/Kimani author

2/20/09 Friday: AUTHOR NEWSLETTERS – Kay Stockham, Harlequin Superromance/Berkley author

2/21/09 Saturday: READERS’ LOOPS – Carol Ann Erhardt, Wild Rose Press author

2/22/09 Sunday: PUBLISHED AUTHOR CONTESTS & YOU – Jenna Petersen/Jess Michaels, Avon author & workshop presenter

2/23/09 Monday: BOOKSELLER PROMOTION & BOOKSIGNINGS – Linda Keller, RWA Bookseller of the Year & Barnes & Noble CMR

2/24/09 Tuesday: INTERVIEWS – Marcia James

2/25/09 Wednesday: BOOK VIDEOS – Barbara Satow, owner of NovelTeaser & PPA author

2/26/09 Thursday: PODCASTS – Melissa Alvarez/Ariana Dupre, Nonfiction/Cerridwen Press author

2/27/09 Friday: THINKING OUTSIDE THE HEART-SHAPED BOX & WRAP-UP – Marcia James

PR Is Not A Four-Letter Word Workshop at Yosemite Romance Writers

Great Character-Building Post at the Plot Whisperer

Another great exercise from Martha at the Plot Whisperer. Check this one out if you have an issue with your protagonist's past, wants and needs. Fantastic stuff!

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A Tough Nut To Crack

The only real antagonist is the protagonist herself.

1) Draw a bubble in the middle of a piece of paper. Write the protagonist's deepest held belief, the one that prevents her from having that which she wants more than anything else in the world. Or do this exercise on yourself to determine what's blocking you -- I'm not good enough, I'm not smart enough, I don't do enough -- pick one, create one, we've all got them.

2) Spiraling out from the bubble, create other bubbles each with an...

Read Martha's entire post (told you it was great stuff!):

A Tough Nut To Crack at The Plot Whisperer

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Happpy Writing!

Beth

Free reads at Harlequin...Download Yours Now

Because good writers are also readers...

To celebrate 60 years of romance, Harlequin has 16 full-length novels for you to download from the spectrum of their lines for free:

http://www.harlequincelebrates.com/


No idea how long it will last, but I'm adding a few to the Kindle tonight!

Thanks to my wonderfully witty friend & fab writer JC Wilder for sharing the link on her blog.

If You Ever Struggle Over Naming Characters...

Maybe it's because I'm a writer or maybe just because I'm an oddball, but I've always had a strange, mystical fascination with names. I play a name game where I combine names of people who, if married, would have unique monikers (i.e. if Brady Quinn married Tom Brady, he'd be Brady Brady) (gender never matters, it's the name). I love the "are you serious?" names (once had a student named Rusty Nail in class) and I truly believe that many people who have the same names have something in common (not making examples for that one public due to possible retaliation).

So imagine how fun this article was for me this morning! Really...your name can determine your criminal potential. Who knew?


Boys With Unpopular Names More Likely To Break Law

I can't help but wonder what Rusty is up to these days. And I'm so glad I named my son Jason!

Great Ideas at CopyBlogger.com

My favorite idea for updating the blog is to bring you more articles & valuable information. Not that updates on my own writing life aren't valuable (and it fits in a thimble!), but who has time today to read stuff they don't get something out of?

I'm currently working on an article about writers & Twitter (you are Twittering, aren't you? So much fun...) I'm hoping to get this one wrapped up tonight and share with you soon.

In the meantime, I found a really great article on the brainstorming process I know will interest writers, especially freelancers. Don't be misled by the title--Mara's content and ideas apply to any type of nonfiction, informational writing. And don't let the fact that it's on a site for copywriters fool you. As I've been trying to tell ya, good writing is good writing across genres.

Short, easily digestible and very intelligent post. You've gotta read this one for yourself!

SpeedBlogging: How to Write Better Posts in Less Time by Mara Rogers at Copyblogger.com

Even the best-laid plans...

My post last Friday, the one about goals, was supposed to be my own way to kick off my new plan for posting here on the blog. I love my blog and missed posting over the holidays, so I worked out all kinds of post topics, ideas & such so I could make it worth your time to read (after all, who wants to read a boring blog?!).

Unfortunately, life's had another idea in mind. My brother, whom I refer to often as my baby brother (hey, he's 7 years younger...he'll always be the baby!) has been in pretty serious condition for the past three weeks. It started with a bout of pneumonia but has worsened into a host of other, more serious problems. As a result, I've spent a majority of my free time with him and the parents at the hospital and the blog has taken a back seat. I'm still meeting my other deadlines but haven't had a chance to get all my blogging plans in place like I'd hoped...yet.

I've still got the plans, but not the time. I'm grateful you're here to read and hope to get things up and moving again soon, but in the meantime, thanks so much for your patience and positive thoughts (if you're following me from Twitter or Facebook).

In the meantime, get back to the writing :)

Time to come clean...

oh, wait. Not like soap and bubbles and a nice, warm towel...clean as in "truth time".

If you've read my blogs or even some of my writing articles over the last few years, you'll know I'm a huge believer in setting goals, which naturally makes the New Year one of my favorite reflect & reinvent times. Who doesn't like the notion (even if abstract) of starting fresh and clean, with a new slate and new pocket full of chalk? I know I do.

That's why what I did was such a shock.

I didn't set resolutions.

(hearing collective gasp).

At least not the traditional way I have in the past. Setting goals for me is a fun, thoughtful process, but it has also been an immense source of frustration. I tend to set writing goals like "finish this fiction story by March" and "sell 15 articles in two months...". When March rolls around and I only have six chapters done (instead of 14) or 12 articles sold, it gets me down. Now, I do have to turn the bottle around and see things as half-full, too, but if you know my mind, I still feel the residual effect of not meeting the initial goal I set.

So this year I did it a little different. Instead of concrete, specific, one-line goals, I wrote out all the "things" I want/intend/would like to accomplish by 2010 (now that's scary in and of itself!) and began categorizing. I had well over two pages of life, writing and other random goals, but as I worked, I discovered a pattern to them. They all fit into three broad categories:

--Profit
--Connect
--Downsize

Looking at them now, they look like a business manifesto LOL. But what's neat is that I printed these three simple words on everything I come in contact with each day: the massive 2009 calendar on my wall with all my magazine, speaking and other writing deadlines, my writing day-planner, my daily day-planner, the dry erase board by the door...just short of tattooing them on my arm (there's an idea!), I've put them in high-profile places where I'm bound to see them on a daily basis.

My resolution, then, after discovering these giant categorical connections, was to do at least one thing from each of the three categories...every single day. Yes, that's right.

Every single day I will do something to connect...with editors, family, old friends, people I need to talk with but put off and say "oh, I'll do that later" (I'm also trying to eliminate the phrase "too busy" from my vocab...that's a challenge for sure!)

I am working to profit each day, and not necessarily with cold, hard cash for something I've written or created. An example is that an editor I've worked with in the past and truly enjoyed working with emailed me a week ago as a last resort. She had nothing to fill a slot for her April magazine and needed something fast on short notice. The short notice didn't get me, but the lack of a paying gig did. However, I enjoy her emails and respect her publication--not to mention whipping up an article for her is easy-peasy as I have enough background knowledge on the subject to not have to do one lick of research. My payoff is another credit in a month where I haven't yet gotten the gig I wanted and am in the good graces of an editor who likes my work. Not always about money!

Downsizing...well, that cuts across the span of my life. Downsize as in "get rid of all the garbage in the basement", "purge all the old fiction novels you've started and not finished", "donate all the stuff you don't use anymore to someone less fortunate" and "quit eating garbage so you finally lose that weight you've been yammering about for decades". Maybe the mini-donuts the hub brought home today didn't fit in the downsizing (the body) section but they did fit in the downsizing (the kitchen) section LOL!

I'm still in the training-wheel phase of my goals. I'm trying to remember to do something from all three groups every day. If I do, I pat myself on the back. If I don't, I think about where I could have, and concentrate on what I can do tomorrow.

And when March rolls around and I have 22 new freelance deadlines instead of 24 for the upcoming 12 months, I won't kick myself for not being perfect. I'll think about how excited I am to have those 22 assignments and do a little bit more tomorrow!

How about you? If you could categorize your 2010 resolutions to three groups, what would they be? And what are you doing EVERY SINGLE DAY toward them? I would LOVE to hear what you're up to. Give me inspiration (but not donuts :))

Guest Blogger: Susan Palmquist

As I get caught up and back into writing, blogging and...umm...real life....here's an interview with author Susan Palmquist for your reading pleasure :) I'll be back to posting next week. In the meantime, enjoy Susan's interview!

Guest Blogger: Author Susan Palmquist
A Sterling Affair, Wild Rose Press


When did you know you were a writer and that writing was what you wanted to do?
I’m ashamed to say it was the lure of money that first attracted me to writing. And yes, if you know anything about the writing business, you’re probably thinking she’s joking, but I’m not. I was staying with one of my mom’s aunts and her next door neighbor was a writer. She just happened to say that she’d just received a royalty check for a book she’d written twenty years ago. I thought, wow, that doesn’t sound like a bad deal, collecting money that long after you’ve done the work. I might have to try that too. I started writing short stories and got rejection after rejection and yes, no money. But by then I was hooked and couldn’t stop writing if someone had paid me to quit. I can honestly say if I won the lottery, I’d still write every day.

What is the best part of being a writer?
I’m the type of person who gets bored very easily, so writing is perfect for me. No two days are ever the same.

What is the worst part of being a writer?
The rejections and cranky editors.

What is your typical writing routine?
As well as writing fiction, I’m a full time freelance writer so I like to keep the two jobs separate. Most of the time I write my non-fiction stuff on the desktop computer and then in the evenings, switch to my laptop for my fiction. And I always write with music playing in the background. Depending on where I’m at with a novel or what genre I’m working on, determines what I listen to. When I’m working on my first draft, I’ll listen to artists like Peter Gabriel, U2, Tears for Fears. When I get to the final edit, then I’ll switch to just instrumental music, some classical, some New Age. And I have a CD that helps with creativity that I often listen too when I’m writing.

Are you a pantser or a plotter?
I’m both. Some books I think about for months before I start writing them and I’ll make notes and plot outlines. But for some books, ideas pop into my head and I start writing and the whole thing takes off from there. A Sterling Affair and The One and Only were both written with me just winging it, while Death Likes Me took more plotting. Maybe the mystery genre requires you to be more of a plotter.

Do you have a secret for busting writer’s block?
I had what I thought was writer’s block for many years. It was after my dad died and I couldn’t get back to my regular writing routine. I thought it would pass but it dragged on and on and I almost considered just quitting. However, one day I realized what the problem really was. When my dad was ill I’d been thrown off my regular writing routine. My advice is get into a regular writing routine and stick with it no matter what. Be tough on yourself. Even if you write for just 30 minutes a day, do it. And don’t be afraid to just write anything and everything that pops into your head. Sometimes that anything and everything turns into a work of art and a published book.

Thanks so much Susan!