Three Things Thursday

Cheryl Van Eck

Congratulations, all you WIFYR-ites! I wish I could have been there this year. WIFYR is one of the very best things you can do for your writing. I hope you had tons of fun.

Now, before you get off your WIFYR high, it’s time to call up those people you met and set up a critique group. A good critique group is worth it’s weight in gold. They encourage and restrain you all at the same time. A good group can make the difference between being published and never finishing a novel.

So don’t waste this opportunity.  Don’t wait until you’ve forgotten everyone’s name and you’ve all gone back to your everyday lives. Get in touch. Make a plan. Follow through. This is the time!

Brenda Bensch

How ya’ feelin’ after WIFYR? Excited? Exhausted? Scared? Sorry you didn’t make it? If you’re afraid — afraid of writing — what is it specifically that scares you? Here’s a plan:

FIRST: Acknowledge and name specific self-doubts:

Write down one big fear

Break it down into the smaller fears that are part of it

SECOND: Think about what you want on the other side of the fear:

Imagine the reward you’ll get when you face and overcome that fear

THIRD: Now take the fears you expressed in the first part:

Rewrite that part as steps to be taken to reach your goal

Willing to share?  Post it in the comments, and we’ll ALL learn from it!

Last Thing

Shawn Stout (who was at the conference and writes terrific mid grade fiction including the Penelope Crumb series) talked about writing when your life is crammed with other things. And when she went through her life, wow! there was a lot of other stuff she has to do. She asked what is our dream day as far as writing. “Write that down,” she said. So do that. Write your dream writing day down.

Then she had us write down how our day really looks as far as writing. You do that, too.

Then we were supposed to compare the two and look for ways to correct things so we can write the way we want.

What do you think?

How far you are from what you want to do or be?

How can you gain an extra 20 minutes to write?

What can you give up (hours of TV time each night)?

Do you want more family time and less computer time?

You are in charge!

Just Write

1. In the works for TUP– interviews with authors, agents and publishers.

2. Dates for Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers is June 16-20, 2014.

3. The keynote speaker is . . . James Dashner!

4. Names of other faculty will be released as soon as I find my notes so I can tell you all everyone at once.

5. No one has said where they would like to gather for the dinner,  so I am saying Olive Garden (Provo) again. They have a room for us. Ann Dee and I will choose a date and let everyone know as soon as we do. Remember: we will read from our work–depending on the number of people–about 500 words. So start thinking about what you’ll read. NOTE: You don’t need to have completed your goals to get together. You just need to want to have dinner with us.

6. November is just around the corner. And that means NaNoWriMo. We will take part of October to get ready for this but Kyra and I have another fun suggestion: groups. Not critique groups but writing groups.
Form groups that meet weekly to JUST WRITE. Not talk, not read, not critique. Kyra and I have only done this twice but both meetings have been successful. Once we brainstormed. And once we timed ourselves going for the most words possible during our time together. I know Matt Kirby had (has?) a writing group that met weekly and wrote together and look at how successful HE is. In fact, there may be several published people in that group. Ann Dee knows.

7. I have one week left before school starts at BYU. (Yes, I get to teach another creative writing class. It should be a lot of fun. I do love my students. Many become good friends.) So I have a few days to JUST WRITE. And two books to work on. (Maybe three, depending on when one editor gets back to Laura and me.) So, I am making an-end-of-the-month goal for myself.  Number one: finish this huge rewrite with Cheri. Number Two: Write fifty pages on the new ghost book. And then maybe number three: do a rewrite with Laura.  Anyone want to join me for one week of play and silent goal making (that’s from an LDS Song. Anyone know what it is? Yes, I changed the words some.)?

8. For those of you who want to write chapter books we have the amazing Shawn Stout coming to the conference next year! (Yes, another peek into the conference line up!)

9.If you had eight hours a day to write, how would you fill the days? Could you write like Dean Hughes who has made a living writing full time? Would you be like Neil Gaiman and swear off email because it takes too much of your creative time? Would you be like Rick Walton and hire someone to help you so you could double your output? I’m gonna see what I would do.  🙂

10. What are you reading this for? Get to your own writing. BYU starts in a week!