Finding Time to Write When You Don’t Have Time to Write

Nobody has time to write. I certainly didn’t yesterday. There are so voices many demanding your attention (some even deserve it) it’s amazing we get anything at done all. But there are ways we can get our writing done if we make it a priority.
The first is to do just that—make it a priority. Even if it’s just a few moments a day, write every day. Make it a habit.
Write just the dialogue if that’s all you have time for. Your characters will remind you where they were, what they were seeing, smelling, hearing and feeling. And you’ll be pleasantly surprised how much mileage you can get out of dialogue when you go fill it in later.
Keep something with you to write with at all times. Just a small notebook or some index cards. There are so many wasted minutes in each day—in the Ten Items or Less Line (which is a big fat lie and should be actionable in court), at the doctor’s office, at the 19-minute stop light, at the bank—you name it. You wait all day long. Take those moments to take back your life.
Pay attention to your Muse. She (or in my case, he) is a fickle thing, and if you don’t honor him when his mood strikes, there’s hell to pay later. Those little notes may pay off big time later.
And finally, we all know what a time suck TV and the computer can be. Unplug the box and plug in the Muse.
So get busy and go write!

National Novel Writing Month Tip Of The Day

Brainstorm words or images about your story or theme. In a notebook dedicated to your idea or story, write down every word, idea or song that springs to mind or sketch every image or stream of thought you can think of about your idea. Just let the ideas flow.

Don't stop to evaluate their worth. Keep writing down ideas. When you can't think of another thought, put it away awhile, but keep it handy. Often the most powerful or meaningful ideas will appear after you've put the idea away. You never know when that fickle Muse will show up . . .

Don't have a theme? Don't worry. They often appear when and where you least expect them!

House under construction--Bodhi gets a bath!

Book in a Month: Novel Writing Tool Kit By Kit Frazier

Get the dog washed and the dishes done, 'cause it's time to clear the calendars for National Novel Writing Month!

Whether you're thinking about writing a novel or mired in the middle of your work in progress, this is the class for you. The intensive course of study reviews Christopher Vogler's The Hero's Journey's three-act structure and Debra Dixon's Goal, Motivation, and Conflict: The Building Blocks of Good Fiction, and breaks these concepts down into a manageable, 30-day writing regimen, with particular emphasis on those all-important first five pages and middle-of-the-story conflict.
The Book in a Month Tool Kit includes:
1. PowerPoint Videos of Class Instruction
2. Personal Goal Tracker Calendar
3. Character Worksheets
4. Character Goal, Motivation & Conflict Sheets
5. Story Board Worksheets
a. Act One
b. Act Two
c. Act Three
6. Time Tracker Worksheets

Instructor Kit Frazier will provide daily encouragement to students and host Friday online brainstorming chats.

Students will also have the opportunity to share work in small online groups. To sign up, visit http://writersleague.org/programs/classes.html. See you there!

He's here . . .

Puppy Time!

The Collie Count down begins!

Tomorrow I leave to go pick up my mom and get the Poochini. I'll spend the night at Brub's with his chitlin's then pick up Mama then head toward Natchitoches, Louisiana.

We'll pick up Bodhi at G-Force Kennels and do some sight seeing around the historic district, check out the Cajun districts and see what we can see.

We'll be staying at the The Jefferson House Bed & Breakfast, which is pet friendly, and has a lovely view of the Cane River, and has been written up in Gourmet Magazine and Forder's Southwest. We'll take lots of pictures and keep y'all posted!

Coming to terms

I'm really excited about the puppy, but I'm having such bittersweet feelings about Tahoe. I still miss him so much. He was such a diva, like he was born with the heart of a broadway star. Like he did a double flip into this world and said, "TA DA!"

And even now when I sit down to write it's just like missing a part of my heart.

I know I will love the new puppy, and he will have his own personality, and today I finally realized something important--that I don't have to make room in my heart for two dogs--Tahoe already did that for me.

So, welcome home, Baby Boy puppy. You don't have a big collar to fill. I wouldn't do that to you. Instead, you'll have a collar of your very own, to fill it as you see fit. And I will love you for the little puppy you are.