Coffee Shop Office Hours; #WriterWednesday, #coffee, #amwriting, #wheretowrite, #writinglife, #NaNoWriMo, #WW

Today, I had a coupon for an oil change at one particular place, but as they were being difficult to schedule, I spent $5 more to hit the Monroe I normally go to. I was perfectly fine with that, as it’s closer to my local Starbucks.

Mind you, hands down, I prefer and go out of my way to patronize local coffee shops and small businesses. (Hello, Sturbridge Coffee Roasters!) That said, there is a lot of good to be said about Starbucks – particularly my local one, which has excellent customer service and baristas who know my name.

But, back to my oil change and why that inspired my #WriterWednesday post...

I have yet to get an oil change anywhere that is done in the 15-20 minutes they promise. That’s why I prefer the one by Starbucks; I pack my computer and I know I can get work done in a fairly comfortable setting with readily available caffeine and at least semi-healthy snacks – depending on my resistance level to not-in-the-least-bit-healthy for you snacks. (Salted caramel fudge block and s’mores squares, I’m looking at you!)

When I’ve interviewed writers for my non-fiction articles, or when I get interviewed as a writer, there is almost always a question about rituals and what one does to “get in the zone” to write. I laugh at that. My requirements: somewhere to sit semi-comfortably and either a functioning machine with a word-processing program or just plain paper with pen or pencil.

And that’s all you should need, too.

Life is hectic. Writing time needs to be fought for and protected fiercely. That’s why writers should get into the habit of writing anywhere, anytime. Always have pen and paper, and whenever possible, bring a netbook, tablet, or something like that (because it’s way easier to transfer work via email or thumbdrive than actual transcription, IMHO).

Now, when it comes to coffee shops in particular, if you haven’t ever explored that old cliché of a writer in a coffeehouse, you’re missing out.

(There’s also the cliché of writers in bars; I have tried it with varying success. But that will be another post.)

The coffee-shop-as-office is becoming a ubiquitous trend. I see people with their laptops all the time – and not just writers. There’s a unique vibe to the indie and Starbucks-esque coffee shops that I haven’t found elsewhere. These havens work as both a place to be alone in a crowd or part of a community – sometimes both in the same visit.

When someone’s looking at their computer intently, usually, they don’t get bothered. (Usually: YMMV). But if you’re stuck and looking around, sometimes you’ll meet eyes with someone and strike up a short conversation. Or, someone you know might be eating, relaxing, reading,.. or staring into space rather than their computer screen (especially if you frequent this spot a lot). Sometimes just that brief conversation will reinvigorate you about your topic; sometimes that person might have useful information for you.

Today, for example, I was pushing through email when two local police officers walked in and were chatting at the table next to me. My current short WIP includes some things that police officers would be uniquely qualified to advise me on.  I kept smiling and trying to catch their eye during lulls in conversation, and finally, one of them addressed me.

With a shy smile, I started, “This is really weird, but I’m a writer and I’m working on a piece that I want to get right in how the police might handle a situation…”

“What do you write?”

“Science fiction, fantasy…”

“My favorites! What do you need…?”

I asked about a particular plot point, got useful information, and we bid each other good days. It was great!

In my coffee shop office hours, I’ve met pastors, teachers, lawyers, other police officers, mechanics, and all sorts of folk from whom I’ve had the pleasure of learning. I’ve ended up getting speaking and book signing gigs based on our conversations. At the very least, my writing time has included delicious beverages and food.

Most importantly, having “office hours,” even if they’re at someplace public, in and of itself, can be a tool to help productivity. A change of environment, the white noise of conversation, the general “coffee shop” style music can push your brain out of a stuck mode. Or, if you are set on having rituals and practices to help you write, setting aside a place and limited time might be just enough to get you started.

Have you tried coffee shop office hours? How did it work for you?

Round Up Time #authorevents #outandabout #blogging

While October is usually extremely busy for me, being that I tend to write dark fantasy, dark SF, and horror, October 2016 is especially so! I’m back in my blogging saddle, so let me give you a quick round-up of things to expect (some of which do make blogging challenging because I’m not at home much). Here you go:

This week, I had a most wonderful time being on The Taco Society Presents television show!  You can see the whole thing here.

I also had a great dinner/marketing/shop-talking evening yesterday with the Massachusetts SciFi & Fantasy Authors.

TOMORROW, October 22: I’ll be at the Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival! I’m super excited about that, AND I will have a limited (only 18 copies) run of a glossy softcover edition of “Tea with Mr. Fuzzypants” for sale. They’ll be numbered and with some surprise original drawings inside by me! Besides myself, there are about 35 other amazing horror authors who will be signing, a great set of panels, and all sorts of Halloween surprises, so do come and check it out.

On Monday, October 24, I will have a special blog post as part of the #HoldOntoTheLight movement, where over 100 authors of science fiction, fantasy, and horror talk about their experiences with bullying, mental illness, and more. Find out more about this important movement on their website, and check out my Monday blog for my experience.

About the campaign:

#HoldOnToTheLight is a blog campaign encompassing blog posts by fantasy and science fiction authors around the world in an effort to raise awareness around treatment for depression, suicide prevention, domestic violence intervention, PTSD initiatives, bullying prevention and other mental health-related issues. We believe fandom should be supportive, welcoming and inclusive, in the long tradition of fandom taking care of its own. We encourage readers and fans to seek the help they or their loved ones need without shame or embarrassment.

Please consider donating to or volunteering for organizations dedicated to treatment and prevention such as: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Hope for the Warriors (PTSD), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Canadian Mental Health Association, MIND (UK), SANE (UK), BeyondBlue (Australia), To Write Love On Her Arms and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.

On Wednesday October 26, I’ll work out another #WriterlyWednesday post about...National Novel Writing Month and be at The Children’s Friend with the Worcester Writers Collaborative, getting in some fiction or poetry words before the big push of NaNoWriMo.

On Thursday, October 27, I’ll be running my Group Tarot Workshop at Generations in Oxford, MA. If you are interested in learning Tarot for divination or writing or your own personal interest, come join us! I’ll be looking at the “scariest” cards in the deck, and sharing a little surprise.

Then on Saturday and Sunday, October 29-30, I’ll be in the Salem Open Market festival with the New England Horror Writers, where we’ll be having a launch party for our latest anthology, Wicked Witches!

And then, Monday, October 31, it’s Halloween, and I plan on snuggling up to the hubby and watching scary movies and getting cheap take-out. Because that’s how you romance this girl, right here. <3 span="" style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> 

(Also, due to our location, we don’t actually get trick-or-treaters... which is sad.)

What are you folks up to? Hopefully the rest of your Halloween Month is as full of treats as mine has been so far! 

On Organic Characters--Listening as Opposed to Engineering

A friend, looking at a synopsis of mine, was horrified to see I killed a particular character in the first 15 pages or so.

"She's such a great character!  You're not using her potential!"

The character did, indeed, have a lot of potential.  So do a lot of people who die "before their time."  While I've come a long way from being entirely a "seat of the pants" writer--shoot, I'm feeling downright nervous that I don't know the endgame for Loki or Coyote in my NaNoWriMo novel!--I still don't engineer a plot or a character.

I see plenty of blog posts about how to incorporate flaws into characters or how to create complications for a plot… and I feel relieved that I can just pass by them.  My characters come to me fully formed, with plenty of flaws intact, and they have their own plans with what will happen with any plot I create.

Not to say I do no engineering.  I compare my writing to gaming because I will create a plot and a series of potential problems and I have some outcome in mind.  I have a complex world that I've engineered in my head that has its own laws.  However, my characters will do what they will.  I can rein them in some by creating (hopefully logical) consequences for their action based on the laws of the world I've created.

Sometimes those consequences are that characters die.  I give my characters free will, just as any human ought to have.

Because they are people.  They - the characters, not the whole novels - are my children.  Each have pieces of me… combined with pieces of other people I've met, or seen, or read about… and given a spark of will.  The character, whether he or she or it be an adult or child, is the summation of many parts, a synthesis and a synergetic being. 

While I create the world and the original problem, most of my writing is listening to my characters and transcribing.  They tell me what they will do in these situations.  They don't always tell me why, but eventually I figure it out (or, I have so far… like I said, these Tricksters have me in a bit of a tizzy).  It's not me moving them around like chess pieces, it's me interacting with them as persons.

I've mentioned a few friends I have who do far more engineering.  Their outlines are huge and detailed… they ask me for my thoughts on something, and my answer is not helpful because I ask what would be the most likely thing the characters involved would do.  They make their characters do stuff; their characters serve their plan.  Plenty of good stories are written like this--just not by me.

My stories are archives of my characters' lives.  Once I discover how things go, I can't change the plot or the motivation.  I can adjust what I include in a story--and what you include or omit can make big differences!--but I know what happened and what will happen.  Not because I created it, but because I'm an omnipresent being in my characters' lives… and it's my job to tell their stories as truly as I can.

Even if they die in the first few pages.  It would dishonor their story to change it just because it's unfair or a waste.

Happy… erm… Day After Halloween/Samhain!

I have the power!  And teh interwebz!

'Cos our Hallowe'en party was SNOWED OUT! by a freak Nor'easter that came in and knocked over a whole bunch more trees (because Irene and the May tornadoes didn't knock over enough).  We were about 36 hours without power… fortunately, AFTER the last of our brave guests left… after we moved the first few trees so poor, brave guests could leave.

So, um… Happy Hallowe'en from me and Scott! 

Zombie Tourist and Fairy Goth-Momma

Oh, and Nylis and I feel about the same about this stupid snow on Hallowe'en.  You can see some of the tree damage out the window behind her.

Not like we generally get trick-or-treaters down our dark, dead-end street… even if most suburban parents haven't been not taking kids out for actual neighborhood trick-or-treating for some years now… but really, with the ice, snow, and slush… we didn't even bother putting our light on. 

You couldn't see it through the snow-covered leaves anyway.

I'll stop bitching now.  Scott is threatening to eat my brains.  He did the gash, I did the make-up; further proof that we make a pretty damned good team.

It's NOVEMBER!  Which means NaNoWriMo!

Why am I writing a blog when my trickster novel could be getting written?

'Cos I love you.

Anyway: work update:

Despite no power or webz for an extended period of time, I still managed to shoot out four submissions for the Broad Universe Mailing Party.  Fingers crossed for acceptances!!

Now… onto novel writing madness.

Happy Hallowe'en, Samhain, All Souls, and All Saints Day!

5 Things I'm doing instead of NaNoWriMo

… or, a bunch of other quirky acronyms.

It was a hard decision, but I decided against joining the insanity of National Novel Writing Month this year.  Last year was wonderful, and Chris and I got a good start on another joint novel that I'm still really excited about.

If only we'd finished.

In fact, there's quite a few "if onlys" that need be addressed.

So, instead of starting yet another new project - or cheating and counting the 50k+ words I need to write for multiple projects - I've got other plans.

5.  NaNoSubMo

I have a polished, finished novel.  It's spent far too many months sitting quietly and not being asked to work or show off.  So, she's off.  As of now, I've spent copious hours back on QueryTracker updating my list.  I've sent off 2 so far.  Wish me luck!

4.  NaShoStoPoSubMo

I also have about a dozen short stories and a dozen more poems that need homes.  I've sent off "Manipulation" so far.

On submissions, my goal is to send one thing, be it short story, poem, or novel query, out for every one of my workdays, so Sunday-Thursday.  By the end of the month, I should have 22 submissions out there.  :)  Heck, I may aim for 25!

3. NaFiArtMo

My good friend, Stef, withdrew from the comic project, so I need to find an artist - for Aurelio and for another idea I have brewing.  I have two people I recently met.  I MUST follow up with them.

2. NaWebWriMo

I've got two websites I volunteered to either be responsible for content on or just to supply content.  Oh, and I've been slipping on this blog - despite some really cool article ideas I want to write about.  So, yeah.  Must do those.

1.  NaFiNoMo

In addition to the novel I started with Christy last year, I've got two more novels and a comic script that needs finishing.  Thomas, Heather, and Aurelio are depending on me to tell their stories!  While Thomas is probably the closest to being done, Heather has been talking more.  (That may be related to Heather being a demanding 11-year-old girl and Thomas being an android programmed to serve humans.)  Aurelio really needs me to have an artist to push me and give me feedback. But ONE of them will be finished this month.  (Spoiler Alert!  It will probably be Heather.)

I have nothing against NaNoWriMo and entirely support all of my friends who are going for it this year.  For me, though, it's not the best decision.  I don't need to kickstart a new project; I need to finish the race with the stuff I've already got running. 

You know what, though… I do think it calls for another of my nifty spreadsheets!

Here's the blog friendly version:

Submissions:  Week 1:  3  Notes: On schedule.

Fiction, Heather:  Week 1: Words written -2353, Total WC - 29,439; Notes: about 1/2 done

And throw a big fat goose egg on the rest… and it will probably have 30 rows for the days and look entirely different than what I've got here. 

So, to my friends embarking on this year's NaNoWriMo journey, good luck.  If you're like me and realize that it doesn't fit, make a goal of your own and I'll wish you luck, too. 

We writers need all the support, organization, drive, and general whip-cracking we can get!

NaNoWriMo Ate my Friday/Monday Blogs

When 11:59 November 30th rolled around… I hadn't even finished putting all my words and all of the joint-scenes onto one document - much less a document of 50k words.

So, Team Wooldridge-Tohara started making sure the one who had an extra 2 hours before her 11:59 could make it.

As a team - we won!

My little "novelfriend" button won't get the purple bar, but Chris made sure to send me a badge and certificate. Because - between the two of us and our all nighters, we've not only got our story, but we've got its soul.

If I were doing this alone, it would be an unquestionable fail, though. And that's an important lesson for me.

I can write fast: when the muse has taken me and I don't need to stop and think and research.

I don't actually write as fast as I think I do. Even at the write-ins, where I wouldn't even open a browser or Twitter, where I had no phone or animal distractions. I'm not that fast of a writer.

Why?

I can't spew onto the page. I was always taught is don't do a job that you know you're going to have to fix later - and I have a damn strong work ethic.

Yes, I have heard enough times to turn off the critic and write - that you can't use both sides of the brain at once. I don't mean to sound elitist or egotistical, but that's most people. I can. I've got about 20 short stories, 2 completed novels of my own, and now 1 and about 3/4 of a joint novel completed. I think and write. I've been writing since I could come home and wave vocabulary quizzes at my mom in chubby kindergarten fingers.

What did I want from NaNoWriMo?

Ideally, a completed first draft. But, a first draft to the standard I/we hold a first draft. It had to be strong enough not to create quicksand holes near the end and to support the heavy duty editing we would do.

What we both got was a detailed blueprint, a solid foundation, several walls going up, our utilities picked out - and even the curtains and paint chosen. If we wanted to include our planning "meetings" on messenger, we'd have 100k in notes.

But that's not a story. It is a draft.

And both of us are happy with what we've got to play with for some time.

On the website, there were videos on how to pump one's word count by doing everything you don't want to do if you're a serious writer. Extra adjectives, adverbs, include dream sequences, a lot of detailed worldbuilding…

Well, we've got the detailed worldbuilding. It goes in its own "bible." Where it belongs. For us to pull from when we need a specific plot-moving, character-enhancing, setting-making detail. It doesn't all belong in the story.

We also probably already have way too many adjectives, adverbs, and unnecessary flashbacks, dream sequences and expository lumps. If I know I'm going to go back and cut about 50% or more of that crap already, why throw more useless ones in to pump up word count?

We wanted a story, not a word count. And… if the two of us manage to have a finished first draft that's less than 100k words… well, it'll probably be a miracle. And, if our beta readers actually come back and tell us, "You need to expand more on that," we'll probably faint in pure happiness. "You mean-you mean-you don't mean we have to CUT?!"

"Winning" of NaNoWriMo is personal. The community is wonderful and supportive, we're not writing against each other, and sometimes its good to turn of the critic entirely and write. Some people need to be reminded of that more than others.

I was so excited about the story we were working on last night, that I couldn't sleep. My grin is from ear to ear thinking of the next scene we're writing together. Tomorrow. The second I turn of my tutoring clock!

I almost made it to 50k words on my part alone… but I made better with my partner: I've fallen in love with this story and the characters. (I love my partner too, but statements like that often require explanations of us both also loving our wonderful husbands who - yet again this year - demonstrated saintly patience and support! Thank you, guys!!)

And that's what counts.

See you next year!

So, You're a Writer with a Blog… Now What?

First, no matter how tired you are, don't cop out with filler.

Why?

You never know when someone will link to you or when they'll read your blog. Case & Point: I was exhausted last Sunday and just threw a few things up after the Equine Affaire. Now, I get Google alerts whenever someone mentions my name or my business. I was linked to that following day based on a prior blog (by a blogger/agent who I have a LOT of respect for and whose clients & writing I love)… but, now I'm rather mortified that someone followed that link and saw the crappy cop-out on Sunday. That was NOT my best face as a writer.

What do you do?

There are a few options, actually.

Keep some spare, pre-written articles around. Ones you're happy with. I… am unfortunately out of them, so I need to remedy this. But, now I'm much more driven to remedy that situation.

(Once I'm done with NaNoWriMo, that is.)

Another option is to have guest blogs. There are lots of great reasons to do this. In no particular order: it frees you from a day of blogging (though, it probably adds another one if you're doing a fair trade - but it's later, so all's good), it brings a new audience to your blog, it brings a new audience to your guest blogger… and it's just fun.

Besides nixing the filler posts (as I'm now aware) - or perhaps a means of doing so - is to consider your content.

Strangely enough, when I talk to a lot of writers and artists, the biggest fear is "What will I write about?" Now, not all artists write - and writers, well, we write, but we all have a creative streak. On the other hand, we often see this creative streak as just part of our life. It defines us, it's who we are, how do we explain it? And why would anyone be interested in that anyway?

Well, it just so happens people are interested in what many of us think of our mundane lives. It's a grand mystery how we can turn glass into art and jewelry (Renée & Sean, this is for you!), or how we can just string words together and turn it into a saga, a better version of their life, a worse (but cathartic) version of their life. Or a unicorn. Or vampire. Artists are magic, and if we can get even a little of that to show people - it's fun and interesting.

Also, people want to know what we don't know. Many artists & writers just LOVE learning new things. A new way to fuse glass? A new kind of poem? Even (for me) how to network, market, and promote? That's why I tend to slant my Writerly Wednesdays to the business side of writing. It's more "magic" to me, sometimes, than putting the words on paper - because it's NOT second nature to me. I was just at the Worcester Chapter of the Downtown Women's Club; it's a whole different world than my desk and chat boxes. (For those who aren't writers and are reading this because I gave you my card… that's a compliment!) I met so many brilliant women who are passionate about what they do - things I cannot do myself but find utterly intriguing: organizing closets, de-stressing busy people, financial advice, holistic advising, boutique owners… and much more. (Strangely, few if any have blogs/websites - or at least ones listed on their business cards where I can easily see them. Business people take note at the missed linkage opportunity!)

Writers, artists? What do you read? What do you want to read? Feel free to let me know what you'd want to see here… or, why not fill in what you want to read yourself?

Trust me, you're not the only one interested!

When an a propos title would be generic…

I just realized I never posted my pumpkin recipe on Friday. Oops! I really don't mean to tease anyone who's waiting for it. This Friday - promise!

NaNoWriMo kicked off today. I don't know Chris's word count, but mine was a paltry 1500 or so, and that wouldn't have even gotten done if it wasn't for the Worcester Chapter meeting from 1-3PM over at Clark University today. Yay Worcester Chapter for providing discipline! That 1500 words was one whole scene, though… so not too shabby.

xx

Today also had my the poor Husband of Awesome having to fix the brake sensor on my car again… and the water heater breaking. FTW, Murphy?! I barely got my review in on time. The one that shoulda been done on Friday, but the restaurant kicked my butt and sent me to bed for a few hours. More on that later…

xx

2009 Halloween was AWESOME! I loved my costume:



We spent the holiday at a good friend's house with other friends. J We watched scary movies and handed out candy and ate good food - like BRAINS!!! Yay us!

xx

Friday was just a little insane.

It started with the chiropractor… then onto the transformation into the costume:




Yes, that is hair dye. Yes, it is obscene blonde. I don't care what the package says, it ought to be called "Obscene Blonde." More obscene: my brows didn't take. Whatever… it's a big difference, and I like it. The good thing about $10 hair dye is you don't feel awful if it looks funny; it's not a lot to change it back. Or change it to something different.

The green face is foreshadowing. Shortly after I made myself oh-so-pretty, I took my mom out to review a restaurant. The restaurant and I weren't in agreement on the quality of food… and even less so on price. I'll leave it at that. You can see the review next Thursday in Worcester Magazine.

xx

I did recover enough on Friday (It would have taken outright food poisoning to keep me from going!) to make it to the Northampton special event at the Academy of Music by Genetic Imperfection (aka the Come Again Players) of Repo! The Genetic Opera. Especially awesome: Terrence Zdunich was there and it was a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis - a disease that took a way a good friend of mine last year right about this time.

The event was awesome. See for yourself:




xx

Thursday was a coffee cupping at one of my favorite delis, where I didn't exactly admit to my alternate food-critic personality. No matter, I was writing an article under my own name, so I still got to pick the owner's brain… while eating fabulous pastries from the Pink House and drinking delicious coffee.

Oh… and this deli carries Jamón Serrano!!!! Totally made my night!

xx

Wednesday night I went to Gulu Gulu café with my friend Dan. We had an open mic. It was fun, I read some poetry, but it wasn't quite worth the $ I lost by not working that night… and how bad I felt because the tutoring queue was busy and no one could sub for me.

xx

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannndddd… Bad-Ass Faeries 1 & 2 are officially released!!! J Please patronize your favorite writers & editors and buy these nifty, pretty, and new copies!

xx

I'm getting that soreness in the throat that says if I don't go to bed shortly and sleep in more, I will get sick. Goodnight!