the writer's dojo

Courtesy: Expressing Gratitude

2012-03-16T04:00:00.004-06:00

The movies have it all wrong. Being an author is not a solitary occupation. I have my first book coming out in just over a week, and I can attest; getting my novel to this point has been anything but a one-man job. I have many people to thank for my success. Thus I am honored to teach our dojo courtesy lesson this week, for there is not a better way to show courtesy than to show gratitude.

More people than I can begin to name here have helped me through the process of bringing my book, Promises to publication. I owe each and every one of them a big husky, thank you. Until I came to this part of the author journey, I never paid much attention to those acknowledgement pages at the beginning of most books. Now they have taken on new significance for me. I sense that other authors feel the same way I do—that expressing gratitude to those who have helped me adds a dimension of synergy to the satisfaction of being a writer.

Even if you don’t have your book printed yet, and therefore have no page upon which to acknowledge those who have helped you, there are other ways to express your gratitude.

A verbal acknowledgement is always appreciated and goes a long ways. If a fellow writer has shared something that has helped you, tell them so. Don’t keep quiet, thinking “if I tell them thanks for the inspiration, he or she will think I’m stealing their ideas,” or “I’m too lame of a writer to see that mistake on my own,” etc. First of all, you'd be wrong. Fellow writers love to help other writers, and words of thanks make the task that much more rewarding. Remember, what goes around comes around. One day you’ll be in the position of lending help, instead of always seeking it. If you are a true ninja writer, you will gladly share your knowledge with those less learned, and share your gratitude too.
How have you express your gratitude for those who have helped you in your writing journey?

That said, I would love to share the acknowledgment page from my book.

This novel is the result of the instruction, inspiration, and support I have received from many people.

Author, Carol Lynch Williams saw the potential in this story, and pointed me in the right direction when I first started writing seriously.

My dedicated critique group, Matt, Walt, Jane, Brittany, and DeNae, helped me hone my skills as a writer, lending instruction, input, and an overabundance of patience.

The ladies of my book club, and the enthusiasm with which they read one of my early drafts, gave me the encouragement I needed to see this story make it to publication.

Tristi Pinkston, my editor, her keen eye and judgment refined my story.

Authors Incognito, my Yahoo writers group, gave me their support and friendship to keep me going when I felt like quitting.

My mother-in-law, Florence Jolley Frank introduced me to her family’s stories and memoirs, spawning the idea for this book.

And most important of all, my husband and children have been very patient through this whole process. Especially Danielle, my youngest, and my only one who loves to read, she’s been my cheering section.

I would also like to add a special thanks to Ali Cross for her help with my blog tour. (My book was already in the printing process when she so graciously offered her help and expertise).

Promises is a heartwarming story of friendship with a touch of mystery and adventure set in the days before Bryce Canyon became a national park. Drawn from the memoirs of early Utah settlers, it is a realistic glimpse into the past and a delightful story for readers ages eight to eighty. It is scheduled for release on March 24, 2012, and will be available for sale in both paperback and e-book format on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com. For more information check out my website www.carolyntwedefrank.com

Twitter: Lists & Chats!

2012-03-15T05:00:00.000-06:00

All right, Awesome AIers, this is the last Twitter post! Today we're going to talk about the more advanced uses of Twitter--organizing your Twitter friends into lists, and participating in awesome Twitter chats.

Lists are like groups on Facebook, circles on Google+, follows on Blogger . . . you get the idea. They are simply a way to organize, and more efficiently follow, people who "go together". Whether they be your family (on your family list), or authors incognito friends (on the authors incognito list), or any other associated group of people you think up. I, for instance, have a list for the Indelibles (a group of indie authors I belong to), and a list called Writing Ninjas for my ninja friends.

Get to know lists!

Sign in to Twitter
Click on your name to go to your profile page
On the left hand side you'll see a box like this:

Click on Lists
You will now see all the lists in which you are "listed" (People can add you to their own lists without you knowing--this is a desirable thing. This is how you get connected to people you don't know.)

You can click on Create List at the top right corner of this box to, well create your very own list!

Creating lists is easy and fun--and it's often super exciting to see who have added YOU to their own list!

Participate in Chats!

There are several regularly-scheduled chats on Twitter. A Twitter chat is a live event where like-minded people get together and "chat" (140 characters max!). The chats are identified using a specific hashtag.

Remember we talked about hashtags in our first lesson? A hashtag is a way to identify your tweet as belonging to some topic, or in this instance, to a chat.

Chats you might like to check out are

#IndieLitChat ~ Tuesday nights, 9:00 EST This chat is all about self-and-independent-press publishing.
#YABookChat ~ Wednesday nights, 9:00 EST This chat is primarily for readers and book bloggers to chat about the books they love and books they are anticipating. They also feature one or two authors most nights so it's a great place to get "noticed" and to promote sales of your books.
#YALitChat ~ Wednesday nights, 9:00 EST This chat is hugely popular and a great way to network with other writers, agents and editors.
#MGLitChat ~ Thursday nights, 9:00 EST This chat is modeled after #YALitChat but for middle grade writers.
#LitChat ~ Varied times This chat is meant to help connect readers with authors.
And many, many more. Check out this (somewhat outdated, but a good starting point) list put together by @inkyelbows HERE.

Now you know what Twitter chats are, you're probably wondering how you can participate in them.

There are two basic ways to join chats:

First and foremost, you MUST include #ChatHashtag in every tweet you send (characters included in your 140 message). If you don't include the chat's hashtag, the other participants will not see it. You can tweet using the group's hashtag from your phone or computer, through any app you prefer to use.
You can use www.TweetChat to more easily join a fast-moving chat. As you can see from this pic, you just enter the hashtag for the chat you're joining, sign in and off you go! TweetChat automatically adds the hashtag you entered into each of your tweets.

Let's Celebrate!

To celebrate your graduation from Twitter-phobic to Tweeter Extraordinaire, we're going to have our own Twitter chat next Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. MST. Use the hashtag #AIChat to join the conversation. In the meantime, join Twitter, do some exploring, and get ready to chat with us! During this live chat, I'll answer lingering questions you might have, and then we'll talk shop! See you there!

Ali Cross is the sensei of the writer's dojo where she holds a black belt in awesome. She lives in Utah with her kickin' husband, two sparring sons, one ninja cat, two sumo dogs and four zen turtles.

She's the author the young adult urban fantasy novel BECOME.

Warm Up: Write It Out

2012-03-13T00:00:00.000-06:00

Ever pull up that WIP and just look at it and go...

Meh.

Or...

Uh...

Or...

I suck. I suck. I suck.

????

Some people tell you write through it. Put whatever you can think of down even if it's craptastic. You know what I say?

Write something else.

I don't even care what. Just something. Anything! You know what I wrote the other day when I got stuck? When I needed something to get me motivated or ready to write for realz?

Well, you're about to embark on a little bit of the crazy side of Cassie here, but hey, we've met her before, right?

Okay...

Gosh, it's like something's clogged in my head. And I can't find the freaking plunger. I want to write this darn next chapter. I know it's gonna be good... once I find the right way to write it. (haha, RIGHT way to WRITE. Funny, Cassie.)

I'm wondering if I should maybe rewrite the beginning anyway. This dude totally sounds like a girl. Hmm...

(Reads opening chapter.)

I guess he doesn't sound like a girl as much as I thought. And I totally forgot about the character quirk I gave Quynn. I should incorporate that more.

Oh! I think I've got it! If Brody does (this thing I'm not going to share cuz it'll ruin it for my cps) than I can get him and Hayley to (this point that again I'm not going to share for the same reason).

Hot dog, Miss Cassie! I think you can stop writing nonsense to yourself and go over and write your book!

BAM! I wrote it out.

Sometimes it takes writing to prepare yourself to write. Sounds crazy, but next time you're clogged, or you need a bit of time before you dive in, write something else, or read something else. It's the best mind plumber I've found. :)

How do you get yourself ready to write?

Meditation: Pandora's Box

2012-03-12T05:00:00.000-06:00

A couple of days ago, our surround sound system/ DVD player started to shutdown mid-movie, and then finally wouldn’t power at all. It was dead, and had, in its last moment of life, eaten my new Puss in Boots movie. It was time to upgrade. So my hubby and I settled on a new blue-ray surround sound with internet capability.

Thats right, internet!

We are now able to play netflix, amazon, and my personal favorite, Pandora right from our DVD player. I have always depended on netflix to stream seasons of Ghost Adventures to lure the elusive muse out. I think she had a thing for Zak. Personally, I like Aaron.

Pandora took the place of my muse completely. I sent her to the corner, and now enjoy writing, cleaning, and chilaxing to whatever music suits me that day. So, when I found my new blue-ray played Pandora I was ecstatic!

I now can play my music all over the house in brilliant surround sound. Of course this required that I upgrade to receive the best quality of sound, but at $36 a year it was a small price. Seriously, you pay more for two Cd’s. It, in my mind, already paid for itself. I no longer have to listen to commercials, I have the best sound on whatever platform I’m listening to (I often listen through my phone to drown out the banshees), I’m always finding new music to love, and I even get access to the desktop app. With all the Pandora listening I do, $36 is not a bad price at all.

As quickly as a scene changes, so does my mood, so it is just wonderful to be able to go from chill Adele-sh radio to In This Moment-sh Radio just by the click of a button.

I truly think music is a writers closest companion.

What is your music platform of choice?

Amy McBay is a proud military wife, a devoted mother of a beautiful daughter and adorable son, pack Alpha to two loving dog companions, and servant to an amorous cat. Her world is full of werewolves, pixies, dragons, angels, demons, ghosts, and vampires.

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Google+

Twitter: Apps That Make Things Easier

2012-03-11T05:00:00.000-06:00

There are many applications out there, both for your desktop and your smartphone, designed to make tweeting super fun and easy. Too many apps for me to share them all. So I'm just going to share my favorites (the ones I use every day), and welcome any of you who have your own favorites to share them in the comments.

When you visit Twitter, you can see the main news feed on the main page. Or you can click on one of your lists and see the action there. Or you can search for a specific topic and follow the conversation that way.

OR, you can download TweetDeck for your desktop and see it all right there, customized to thread the topics or people that mean the most to you. I like TweetDeck because it allows me to organize my Twitter feed into groups. For more information on using TweetDeck, read this.

For Twitter chats (we'll talk about those next week!), I highly recommend visiting the TweetChat website. There's nothing to download and you just sign in with your Twitter account. Easy peasy and the best way to participate in live chats on Twitter.

For my iPhone, I love Hootsuite. It works very much like TweetDeck, but it's a little less buggy.

To manage all the people you follow and who follow you (because yes, one day you will have a large army of followers and will need to do some housekeeping from time to time), I recommend ManageFlitter.

I suggest you visit these sites and poke around. Try them out. Then, if you have questions, leave them in the comments--I'll do my best to answer them!

We'll have our last Twitter lesson next week (on lists and chats), and then a Twitter chat to celebrate/go over any remaining questions you have!

She's the author the young adult urban fantasy novel BECOME, and a contributor to the YA anthology IN HIS EYES.

narley ninja Kenon Thompson!

2012-03-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

Kenon is a creative person who utilizes a lot of different mediums. You should check out his blog--he's a photographer, a poet and a chef! And I'm excited about this topic today--Courtesy. Take it away, Kenon!

I always try to give more then I receive to show my gratitude for what has been given to me. I think of it this way, people gave to me the tools I needed and said, "right now, we want you to focus on building a foundation and that's it." With my positive rebellious mind, I decided to build a house with one-floor way earlier than it was ever expected of me. So now, here I am at the age of 21, as some young adults in my age bracket are just now building their foundations, I already have a three-story house.

Ever hear the mantra "sharing is caring?" Well it surely is! I care to see other people succeed in whatever they are pursuing, so I share as much as possible. Within the past month, I created a "Featured Artist" page on my website strictly for exposing great artists who I believe deserve a spotlight. On my Facebook fan page, I always try to highlight another photographer's/artist's page and a bulk highlight on Fan Friday. I have made new friends, as well as been exposed to new and exciting perspectives that I would have never known of if I didn't chosen to share and care. I can legitimately say that I have friends from all around the world (which is a pretty awesome thought, more amazing when I really sit down and say it to myself out loud).

Could I ever show enough gratitude for the opportunities and gifts I have been given? Why measure? I do the best I can, as often as I can, and hope that in some way, I can help someone who will help another person which would create an endless stream of showing others their gratitude.

My name is Kenon Thompson (my artist name Cosmic-Ace [C-Ace or Ace for short]). I hail from Kansas City, KS, currently reside in Denver, CO (been here going on 4 years) and plan on moving to New York within a year. I have always been interested in the art of writing since I was a young kid; so I guess it's safe to say that is when I first started writing.

I remember in the 1st grade when my teacher Mrs. Jordan first exposed me to cursive writing. I literally fell in love with it so much, that I stopped writing in print from that time on (unless it was necessary/mandatory). During my middle school (jr. high school)/high school days, I began writing quotes that came to mind. Now, I as a college kid, I have become way more versatile in my writing. My expertise is in the genres of food journalism and poetry. Oh how I love them two so! In coherence with my love for photography, what I love most about those genres are the room for creativity that I have. There are no limits... whatever I think looks good through a photo, sounds good in writing, and conveys the message that I want it to, is what I can do.

Currently I am working on a quote/poetry book, my first cookbook and my first [food] memoir. My plans as of right now are to have all of them self-published by me, which gives me all the power to release it when I want, and how I want... unless some nice publishing company would love to publish them for me (with negotiations of course) which I have no problem with at all haha! :)

♥ ♥ ♥
I like that--creating an endless stream of gratitude. Let's do it!

Kicks & Tricks: The Secret

2012-03-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

I asked a co-worker the other day if she’d read “The Secret”, and she swiftly shook her head. My co-worker is a devout Christian and a preacher at a non-denominational church. She referred to “The Secret” as a metaphysical teaching and she would never read such things. I respect her beliefs and decisions, but, as a writer, I cringe at the thought of anyone refusing to read something.

Needless to say, she will not be reading the book I’m currently writing, because I’m researching a metaphysical philosophy that will encompass my main character. Ouch!

Research is such a vital step in good writing, and it’s the most fundamentally important step in my process. Here are some helpful tips for researching:

Ø Keep journals. I buy bulk cheap composition books at the beginning of the school year. It’s always nice to see how many books you’ll fill for one project.
Ø Brainstorm questions. Write out questions you may have about your story. How did the Egyptians mourn the dead? (Did you know that mourning was actually an occupation? Yes, they hired mourners. Well, they did in the era I studied.)
Ø Use the library. The library is a valuable free source of information.
Ø When researching, use long-hand to write down the important facts you find. It helps to remember the facts if you re-write them. (You can type them, too, I suppose.)
Ø Don’t forget to write down the sources. I enjoy reading a book that lists the sources they’ve used for their research.

Researching is not only for historical pieces. I’m writing a Young Adult Contemporary now, and the research is so much more interesting than I’ve imagined. I’m reading books I didn’t realize existed, and I’m meeting people I never thought I’d encounter.

So, how does “The Secret” tie into this? It popped up on TV the other night and became a part of my research. A belief system is a personal choice and preference, but I can tell you a universal secret…If you surround yourself with positivity, you will undoubtedly take on a positive attitude.

Here’s my philosophical statement of the day: If you never give up, you will never fail.

Miranda Hardy is a writer and blogger, and an official instructor here at the dojo. Find her online ...

Blog |Twitter

Forms and Techniques: A Good Kick in the Butt

2012-03-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

Is this post a cop out?

No.

Well, maybe...

But seriously, you should be writing right now anyway, right?

Focusing on that WIP?

Um... yes.

And so should I.

So a kick in the butt photo it is!

Okay, after you comment (wink, wink) click off all your internet tabs. Do it. Make them disappear.

And go write! Make me proud!

Ready to Write

2012-03-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've often heard that people get ideas for their novels in the shower, or car.I get many of my ideas when I'm busy doing something, like cleaning, or cookingand sometimes when I play the piano.

What I've learned to do is to have a notebook (per novel) that is for ideas and random facts about the characters, plot lines, orscenes. I don't carry it around with me, but when I'm busy and an idea popsinto my head, I hurry and take five minutes to write it down. I go back to whatI'm doing and then when I have time to sit down and write, my idea will stillbe there.

By doing this I'm able to add to the idea, and develop it. My notes prepare me for a great, long writing session. Having an idea-richnotebook prepares me for writing.

Do you keep an idea-journal?

Melanie Fowler writes young adult fiction while wrangling her two little ones and going on adventures with her archaeologist husband. You can find Mel at her blog or on Twitter.

Meditate Through Music

2012-03-05T06:21:00.000-07:00

Do you listen to music while you write? Does that music find a way into your article or story or does it distract you to insanity? When I first started writing, I found that listening to music helped me relax and somehow pulled me into the make-believe world that was my story. But for the past few years, I have found music distracting while I write--I don't know why. But I have found that music has helped inspire me as I meditate and contemplate what I am going to write.

For other writers it may be different.

When an associate of mine is writing about death, destruction, mayhem, suspense and impossible odds, she finds music with a foreboding tone is helpful to put them in the moment. It raises her senses and allows her to feel the words. In other pieces of music her fingers pound the keyboard and her head nods up and down to the music. What she is hearing interprets into what she is writing. She sits up right, feels tense, and anticipates the next words to fly from her brain. An example of this type of music is Holst's Planets, most notably "Mars, Bringer of War." Every note raises expectation and thus she writes the same way. Every word she types lifts the tension in the piece.

When she is writing sadness, or depression or lost soul passages, it has to be Mozart's "Requiem" or Beethoven's "Fur Elise." To her, there is nothing so downcast or broken. It brings tears to her eyes. When she looks at her writing of these scenes, she wants her readers to feel what the character is feeling.

But she only does this through the rough draft stages of her writing. I think think that is probably why I haven't listened to music while writing for a while--I've been in edit mode for the last year, polishing up several novels rather than working on new ones. And the one to which I am adding new scenes is the one I gain inspiration for as I do listen to music while doing other things.

Have you tried writing to music for inspiration? For impact? For stretching the imagination just one step farther than you were before you started. Try it some time. Put on a piece of music and imagine what the characters are sensing through the music.

Twitter: How to Avoid Drowning

2012-03-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Most of us have experienced that overwhelming sensation of drowning in a sea of tweets. The messages scroll past faster than you can blink, and suddenly there're dozens and dozens of faces and user names you don't recognize. You panic and shut down Twitter claiming, "I just don't have the time!" or, "It goes too fast for me!".

But wait! Don't leave Twitter for dead quite yet. Here's a few tips to help stem the torrential tide of tweets so you can start treading water--and maybe even start swimming laps.

Imagine Twitter as your household junk drawer. Everything in there has some purpose and a value--that's why you keep it around. But you rarely need all of it all the time. If you were ever to get organize your junk drawer, you'd need to separate the items into categories. You'd also probably move the most-used or sought-after items to a more accessible spot. And that's exactly what we need to do with all those tweets flying around--categorize and organize.

There are four ways you can organize tweets:

1) Twitter Feed. This is the crazy-fast wild stampede of tweets that send you scurrying away from the awesome that is Twitter.

2) Mentions: Conversations can happen much like text messages, between one or many individuals, all my including the @username in each tweet. Every tweet that @mentionsYOU will show up in your @Connect stream.

3) Direct Messages: You can exchange private messages with other users who follow you.

And 4) Lists: A list is a collection of users with similar interests or some other common factor. You can create your own lists or use lists created by other people.

YOUR TWITTER FEED:
Without organization, this feed includes all the people you follow and who follow you--and all the people who engage in conversations with these people. It's great to check out the feed because you can learn new things and connect with new people. On Twitter.com, on the Home page, you'll see your info on the left, and a wide column called TWEETS--that's your main feed.

Whenever you see a tweet that interests you or that you have an opinion on, you can jump in and add your voice to the conversation. Here's an example of how it might go:

AwesomeWriter: Just read @ScottCard's #Scene&Structure. Learned so much!

NoobyTweeter: @AwesomeWriter Oh I loved that book! Really helped me figure out what was going wrong with my WiP.

AwesomeWriter: @NoobyTweeter Me too! I write #LDSRomance. What do you write?

And so, a new friendship is formed. Hurray! Twitter #FTW! (more on these mysterious "#" thingies later!)

MENTIONS:
The messages exchanged between AwesomeWriter and NoobyTweeter, using the "@" in front of each of their names is a lot like texting. The @ simply replaces the phone number. On Twitter.com, click on the @Connect tab at the top of the page, and you'll be taken to a page with a wide column filled only with tweets that mention you.

You don't want to miss these "mentions" because that's your opportunity to make Twitter personal.

DIRECT MESSAGES:
On Twitter.com, click the person-icon drop down list and choose Direct Messages. This is where you'll see private messages sent to you, and where you can send such notes to others. They still have to be 140 characters or less, but they are strictly private. The only caveat is that the other person has to be following you in order for you to be able to send them a direct message.

LISTS:
These are the gem of Twitter and the very best way to get the most out of it. From the same person-icon where you found the direct messages option, you will also find the List option. Select it, and you will be taken to a page where the wide column entitled Lists has three clickable options: Subscribed to, Member of, and Create List.

It's very likely that you, as a writer, will be "listed" on someone's list not long after you join Twitter. For instance, I have created an Authors Incognito list with all AI members--providing I had your Twitter username. So you might go to your list page and see that oh! You already have one list--the Authors Incognito list. You might also be listed on and LDS Author list, or a Utah Writers list, etc.

But maybe you have other interests, too, and you'd like to connect with people who make and fly model airplaines. Then you would choose "Create List" and call it Model Airplanes (or whatever).

Search for others with that interest by typing "model airplanes" in the search bar. You'll find a bunch of people talking about modern airplanes. Like what you see? Choose the person's name and click the person-icon that comes up in their profile box. One of the options is add/remove from lists. Add him, and ta da! You have begun a list of Twitter users who, like you, are interested in model airplanes.

♥

Okay. That's a lot of information to take in! I know it seems overwhelming--but stick with this. I truly believe Twitter is worth the effort.

Like before, please ask questions. Your questions will help me know what information to address in future posts. Plus, I really want you to become Twitter aficionados armed with all that Twitter has to offer!

#narleyninja Christine Fonseca!

2012-03-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've known today's ninja for almost two years now. (Really? Feels like we've been friends forever.) Christine Fonseca is brilliant, kind, a give-the-shirt-off-her-back kind of woman. And man, can she write!

I'm so not surprised she chose to talk about Meditation today because she's a psychologist and a person who works hard to keep herself grounded.

I asked, How do you stay grounded? and Christine answered . . .

♥

I love this question. How do I stay grounded? My family, meditation (every day 30 – 60 minutes), exercise (3x a week), an occasional walk, a little primal screaming from time to time (just kidding – okay, maybe not kidding) = all of these things help me stay grounded. I am a very intense person, as all of my friends will tell you, so it is vital that I “check in” with myself often and take time for me. Otherwise, I drift too close to the edge of a rather large cliff. Thank goodness my friends have a keen way of giving me reality checks from time to time!

School psychologist by day, critically acclaimed YA and nonfiction author by night, Christine Fonseca believes that writing is a great way to explore humanity. Her debut YA Gothic series, The Requiem Series, including DIES IRAE and LACRIMOSA, examines the role of redemption, sacrifice and love. Her nonfiction titles include 101 SUCCESS SECRETS FOR GIFTED KIDS and EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IN GIFTED STUDENTS.

Christine's first love is writing YA thrillers - gothic and psychological - and yes, all with romantic elements. She's been writing on and off since childhood, but seriously writing (with the intent of being published) for 4 years. Currently, she's working on the last two books (and two shorts) in the Requiem Series. After that she has a psychological thriller being edited, two thrillers half written, and a new series in development. Very exciting times!

Find Christine at her Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

♥

Reminder: #ninjachat today at 2:00 p.m. right here!

2012-03-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Strike a Pose…or, er, I Mean, Balance

This might sound cheesy, but even though it’s decades old, I still love that Madonna song, Vogue. Come on, admit it. We all secretly dream of having to strike a pose for paparazzi when we’re rich and famous bestselling authors.

Go ahead, strike it.

Now let’s get real for a minute. In order for the quality of our writing to improve, we need help from other authors/editors/agents. Lots of help. Most of us have friends or mentors who help us in a number of ways. They critique for us. They read for us. They boost our confidence while telling us what’s wrong with our writing. They brainstorm and help us find plot holes and unforgivable character flaws. They give us deadlines and push us to keep working until we finish.

And even though they’re our friends, we owe them. They may not expect anything in return, in fact, the best friends never do. But. We. Owe. Them. Their efforts have helped us grow in ways no one else could, and it’s fundamentally important that we return that favor by also helping them to grow and learn and progress, in whatever way we’re able. By helping others, we also help ourselves.

There is a certain kind of success in finding true balance.

But how do we give back to people who (we feel) are already far ahead of us? Easy. First, we never forget. When someone reads for us and gives us comments, remember that they have essentially given you several hours of their valuable time. Even if they never ask you to read, be prepared to help them in other ways. YOU always have something unique to offer others. And if they ever do ask you to read for them, do it. Do not put them off. Do not tell them no. Give them the same courtesy they offered you, and put your very best effort into returning the favor.

Some people help us in ways we don’t feel we can ever repay. But there is always something. Even if friendship is all you can offer, be the best friend you can be. Be a sounding board. Be a brainstormer. Offer support. Help with marketing. Plan a launch party. Spread the word. Tell them about books you love.

And if all else fails, pay it forward. Help someone else. Give back. I promise that someday it will come back to you.

The writing community is smaller than you know. Chances are that someday you and that friend who helped you will be striking a pose together.

Nichole Giles is a author of THE SHARP EDGE OF A KNIFE and MORMON MISHAPS AND MISCHIEF. She lives in Pleasant Grove, Utah with her husband, two sons, two daughters, two golden retrievers, and the community of fairies that live in her yard. As her family and friends will tell you, laughing is at the top of her list of daily to-do’s, and she believes laughter is the perfect cure for a broken heart.

Blog | Twitter | Goodreads

Kicks and Tricks: My Limited Vocabulary

2012-03-01T00:09:00.001-07:00

Okay, so forgive this post. I'm hopped up on NyQuil (Or however the heck you spell that) and the post I had all written out was sadly lost in the switch from old computer to new one. :(

I had some good advice somewhere in the long lost post. But I do remember what the topic was. (Score!)

The beauty of Search and Replace.

This very drugged up ninja's trick: use this baby every time you revise. We all know the red flag words. The telly ones like felt, was, smell, saw, notice, blah, blah, blah. I'm going to talk about the ones we don't necessarily think about.

Crap is my nemesis.

This word popped up so much, I had critique partners saying, "There's a lot of crap in here." (Hehe!)

So will be slaughtered.

So, this is what happened. So, this is what I said. So, are you really gonna use that word again?

Stare is what my characters do.

You must stare. Staring is what you do! You will not gaze, or look, or glance. You will stare.

My poor MC's stomach.

It twists, falls into his butt, jumps out his mouth, fills with rocks, wrings itself out, bounces around like a bouncy ball, growls, leaps, plummets. I believe his stomach is a character all by itself.

Okay, I could go on, but again, the NyQuil is making me a bit loopy.

My point!

What is my point? Hang on, have to go back up and read what I just wrote...

That's right, my point is, we all have our favorite words. Whether it's crap like me, or it's something else, but we have a thesaurus (hey! I spelled that right on the first try! Even in my sleepy haze! Wahoo!) for a reason. Use it, and rely on cps too. Because you may not notice how many times you use a particular word, but trust me, they will :)

Then, pull up that amazing gadget we writers call CTRL F, and target those nasty buggers!

(Haha, I almost put 'So' at the beginning of this question.) What words are your nemesis?

Cassie Haueter is a YA/MG writer and superhero mommy (at least her kids think so). Books are her life, but that doesn't make her a nerd. Well... maybe a little. :)

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Forms & Techniques: Unplug with TPR

2012-02-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

When I first started writing I struggled with finding the time to write. It was still just a hobby at that time, and I always waited until the family was asleep so I could write in secret. Until I was introduced to The Practice Room. It was there that I became a writer and practiced it everyday with the companionship of other writers. I'm happy to share with you today my awesome friend Tina, creator of The Practice Room.

TINA LAUREL LEE

I'm very thrilled that my good friend, critter and TPRer extraordinaire, Amy McBay, invited me to guest over here at the Dojo. I love any chance I get to talk about The Practice Room. Thanks, Amy, to you and all the folks here at the Dojo!

If you are anything like me, it’s hard to write while the bathroom floor is filthy and the kids demand cereal. To make it even harder, my family is way more invested in whether I get the laundry folded than whether I finish this manuscript. And that makes a lot of sense, because this writing thing takes a long time. Who has the attention span for it. Even for me, vacuuming provides way more immediate gratification than siting down to sweat over that awful manuscript. So what to do?

I schedule an hour in The Practice Room. TPR is a blog that serves a fantastic community of fantastic writers. It has become a place where we support each other, keep track of each other’s progress and cheer each other on. The community shares links, advice, and trials and tribulations and has become a beautiful support network. And seeing as I am saying this at the Dojo, I'm sure readers understand exactly what that means!

So even when everything else is piling up, I make myself write. It’s an hour that I will not check my email (most days). I will not look at Facebook (almost always). I let my family know that I am off-limits (unless it’s an emergency). It's a scheduled hour where the writing can come first. TPR is about productivity and community.

This is how it works:

First, EVERYONE IS WELCOME! Check the schedule. I set up the week’s unplugged hours on Sunday and post them in a new post and on the sidebar. At the allotted time, Post 1 appears 30 minutes in advance of the unplug (barring unusual circumstances). This gives everyone a chance to set our goals in the comments and also get the last minute emails and blog surfing out of the way. Post 2 announces that it’s time to turn everything off and just write! The rules: no procrastinations and work toward a writing goal. When the time is up, Post 3 appears with a chat box and we get a chance to compare notes.

Read about a typical first time here (Link: http://www.tinalaurellee.com/2010/10/what-to-expect-when-it-is-your-first.html).

Please feel free to email me with questions, comments, scheduling suggestions or just to introduce yourself! tina dot laurel at gmail dot com

Hope to write with you someday!

About Tina: I have an MFA in creative writing, an unpublished YA novel under my belt, and a second MG on the way.

Warm up for writing by reading

2012-02-28T05:00:00.001-07:00

A while ago at my critique group, which meets in a library, on of my fellow writers sat down at the table with a book they had just checked out. I glanced the title. The book seemed totally out of character to what I had envisioned this person reading. Probably because the genre was no where in the ball park of the genre which she wrote. When I asked her if the book was just something random she decided to read, she responded, "No, I love these books. And I know it's weird that I don't read the kind of books that I write--maybe that's why I'm not published." She said that in jest, but I think there was some truth behind her observation.

We as authors should, for the most part, read in the same genre as we write. This is essential to help "warm up" and get ready for the actual process of writing. If you are not reading the same genre as you write, then you may want to evaluate your "to read" list. That's not to say you can't deviate once in awhile, especially when it comes to reading the books of your associates.(What goes around comes around).

But even more important than reading in your genre, is just reading. When I started writing, I thought I didn't have time to read. I went a whole year without reading a single novel while I worked on my first book. I look back now and see how ineffective that decision was. Now, I realize that by reading others' books, not only do I give my brain a renewing diversion, but I see what I like and don't like about their writing style or story presentation, and learn from it.

"Read! Read! Read! And then read some more. When you find something that thrills you, take it apart paragraph by paragraph, line by line, word by word, to see what made it so wonderful. Then use those tricks the next time you write."

That charge to writers happens to come from novelist W.P. Kinsella, but in fact he's echoing centuries of good advice. Numerous other authors, past and present, have stressed the importance of reading to a writer's development. I've listed just a few below.

For a man to write well, there are required three necessaries: to read the best authors, observe the best speakers, and much exercise of his own style.
(Ben Jonson, Timber, or Discoveries, 1640)

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
(Richard Steele, The Tatler, 1710)

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.
(Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, 1849)

Read everything--trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you'll find out.
(William Faulkner, interviewed by Lavon Rascoe for The Western Review, Summer 1951)

If you read good books, when you write, good books will come out of you. Maybe it's not quite that easy, but if you want to learn something, go to the source. . . . Dogen, a great Zen master, said, "If you walk in the mist, you get wet." So just listen, read, and write. Little by little, you will come closer to what you need to say and express it through your voice.
(Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, rev ed., 2005)

What genres do you like to read? Are they similar to what you like to write?

Meditation: Going Through the Motions

2012-02-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you don't have time to sit in a quiet room, stop everything you're doing and systematically empty out our mind. Or maybe you do, but you're disorganized (like me) so you can never find that time.

The great thing about that? Is that life hands us mind-emptying tasks All. The. Time. Tasks where all we have to do (all we really can d0) is go through the motions.

And think about it: when we're going through the motions, we don't really need to use any cognitive part of our brains. A lot of times this is when we overthink little things or when we simply zone out all together. Ever gotten in your car, driven home, then not known how you got there? This is repetitive motion in action, my friends. Imagine if we took all that zoning-out time and put it to good work?

For example, here is my number one, all-time-favorite mind-emptying task:

Doing the dishes.

Sometimes (I can't say always, because hey, I'm human, but sometimes) I really like doing the dishes. Sometimes doing the dishes is the only time I get in a day to think without any interruptions. It's just me and The Mr. right now, but even when I was growing up, I liked to do the dishes and think.

Think all my think-y thoughts, so that I can have thunk them. Or not think. Just empty out my brain so that I can clear some space for new thoughts (read: story ideas!) to emerge.

I cannot tell you how many fresh ideas I have gotten while doing the dishes.

I don't go into this like I'm going into battle. I don't start doing the dishes thinking, "I have to figure out how _______ does _________ or ELSE." That never works. Or at least it never works for me. If I don't stop thinking about a problem, I can never see the solution because I'm too caught up on the fact that it's a problem!

What I DO is think "I have to figure out how _______ does _________." And then I stop. I let my mind blank out like it naturally would, nudging errant thoughts aside as they come.

And you know what? Often the solution presents itself to me, all nicely tied up in a bow. Sometimes it's so perfect I have to ditch the dishes and get it down on paper as fast as I can.

Dishes aren't anywhere near my only means of doing this, by the way. Any type of busy work will do. Gardening, cleaning, the possibilities are endless!

Do you have a go-to mindless task for when you need time to think? What is it?

Lisa Asanuma graduated with a Literature degree from the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara. She has worked as a freelance writer and as an editor for Drollerie Press, and she is the co-founder of Type Set, Inc, an editing and formatting service. She’s currently working on a YA fantasy novel, but in the meantime she publishes a new short story for free every other Friday at Tales From the Hollow Tree, a fiction blog she shares with author Isabelle Santiago.

Twitter: Getting Started

2012-02-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Oh Twitter. We love you. We fear you. Please be our friend.

Does that sound like you? Do you think "What is this Twitter of which you speak?" And secretly (or not so secretly) you're pretty sure you should know about it? That you should sprout your own little twitter wings and fly?

Well, let's see if I can demystify Twitter for you and get you flying.

Over the next few weeks, we'll cover everything you need to know about Twitter and on toward the end of March we'll have a live chat to celebrate and to answer any lingering questions you might have.

In the meantime, please ask your questions in the comments and I'll get you the answers!

WHAT IS TWITTER AND WHY DO I NEED IT?

Twitter is a free service that lets you share tidbits of your life and interests in 140 characters or less. Your messages are read by "followers"--people who choose to subscribe to your messages. Each message is a "Tweet", and every user is identified by the "@" sign followed by their username (for instance @ali_cross).

Twitter can be of great value or a great waste of time; it's important to have a clear purpose when you use Twitter so you use it, and it doesn't use you.

Twitter says it's purpose is to answer the question, "What are you doing?", but if that's how you use it, you'll soon find people aren't as interested in following you as you might like. I mean, how interesting is, "I'm going to the store"?

Try instead to answer the question, "What's important to me?". Now the conversation is more interesting and can generate a conversation. For instance, I might say, "Just finished WATCHED by @Watched1. Such a great mystery!". A follower who reads my tweet can respond with, "I love mysteries! Gonna go check out WATCHED! Thx!"

So we've answered the what, but how about the why?

Do you need Twitter? No.

Can Twitter be helpful to you, as a writer? Heck yes.

On Twitter you have the opportunity to connect with editors, agents, writers and book bloggers. You need to know these people. You can forge relationships that can help your career in a very real way.

On Twitter, you can learn about contests and calls for submissions; you can foster a friendly relationship with agents that can help you get out of the slush pile; you can connect with book bloggers who will agree to read and review your book.

Can you still get published without Twitter? Absolutely. But Twitter can certainly be a help to you along the way.

HOW DO I SIGN UP FOR TWITTER?

1. Go to Twitter.com, and click on the "Join the Conversation" button in the middle of the page.

2. Fill out your (actual) name, your email and password. You will then be asked to choose a username--the name following the "@" sign that everyone will use when talking with you.

Think very carefully about this. A shorter name is best so you don't use up precious real estate when people want to send a tweet to you, "Hey @AuthorWhoHasASuperLongTwitterHandle! Saw this article and ..." There's not enough room to finish the thought.

It's best if you can get a name as close to your own name as possible. For instance, my username is pretty much perfect: @ali_cross. Short (but I have it easy since my name is short, lol), and when people talk to me, they know my REAL name, which makes it easier to find me online.

3. Twitter Suggestions. Twitter will suggest some popular users to follow, or you can search for specific people or groups like, "Authors", "Publishers", "Writers". You can search for multiple types of people at once simply by putting a comma after each word. Twitter will ask you to follow five people before you move on to the next step. And then it will ask you to choose five more.

4. Find your friends on Twitter. You can follow the prompts soTwitter will access your email contact lists to see if your friends are on Twitter.

5. Set up your profile. Now you'll see a page divided into two parts. On the left, you'll see a picture of an egg, your name, and your stats--the number of people you're following, the number of people who follow you, and the number of tweets you have sent (which is zero at this point).

Click on the name, or the egg, and then click EDIT PROFILE.

Choose a photo to represent you. Remember that most of the time people will only see a very tiny image, so it's best to choose something that 1) isn't too busy, and 2) is easily identifiable as YOU; for instance your face or book cover.

Enter your name as you would like people to see it.

You can enter your physical city, state or whatever you'd like for location. Or leave it blank.

Enter the URL for your blog or website--where do you want people to go to learn more about you and to connect with you?

Include a short, snappy but meaningful, bio.

And finally, choose whether you want to automatically post your tweets to Facebook. If your Facebook friends would be as interested in your tweets as your Twitter friends, then maybe connecting the two accounts would be a good choice for you. However, if you mainly use Facebook to connect with family and friends, but you're tweeting mostly about writing-related topics, you might not want the two accounts connected.

Personally, I choose NOT to have them connected. If ever I want a tweet to post to Facebook, there are other easy ways I can do that. That way only the tweets I want to share on Facebook are posted there. I'll share more on that in another Twitter post.

A WORD OF CAUTION ...

Now you're ready to start tweeting and building your Twitter connections. But remember, Twitter is a publishing medium. Tweets can be picked up by Google, so whatever you say can be found by anyone who Googles you, or whose interests happen to cross your path. So be sure to mind your manners and assume that whatever you say can and will be held against you!

Are you ready to fly?

Got questions? Ask away!

Ali Cross is the sensei of the Writer's Dojo where she holds a black belt in awesome. She lives in Utah with her kickin' husband, two sparring sons, one ninja cat, two sumo dogs and four zen turtles. Ali's the author the young adult urban fantasy novel BECOME.

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#narleyninja Allison Ridley

2012-02-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

Allison Ridley is truly, a narley ninja. She hosted #ninjachat "after hours" for pretty much all of last year and she was a fabulous host! Today, we're going to hear how Allison gets herself ready for a kick-butt writing session.

♥ ♥ ♥

So I have this incessant need to make everything I write turn out perfectly. I come up with a new idea or I get an assignment and suddenly I am unable to write anything because nothing I think of is good enough. I sit for hours, sometimes days, with a blank document tauntingly minimized on my dock.

It’s just part of my process.

I’m not one for extensive prewriting; I’ve found that I do most of my brainstorming and outlining in my head. See, all those hours of being unable to write are spent thinking. But I can’t just sit there and think, right? So I (wait for it) . . . procrastinate!

“But Ms. Ridley!” you protest. “Are you really trying to tell us that your warm-up routine is just procrastinating?”

Well, hypothetical student, to be perfectly honest? Yes. Take this post, for example. I’ve known about this post for several weeks now. I knew that I should get it written and get it to the lovely Ali well before the post date. And yet, every time I thought to myself, “Hey! You should write that post today!” I just couldn’t write it. I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted to sound clever and awesome and interesting. Instead I worked on my semi-annual Buffy re-watch and caught up on episodes of Glee. I read a few books. I learned how to carve my own rubber stamps. I even wrote lesson plans. So now, at 11:00 on the night before it’s due, I am writing my post.
It’s a decent post so far. It will get a little revision, sure, but it’s never going to be Holy-Cow-Your-Writing-Is-Amazing-and-Perfect like I wanted it to be.

THIS IS OKAY.

As you might know, nothing is perfect. Even Harry Potter itself has flaws. This is a natural part of existence, so it only makes sense that it is a natural part of writing. What I write will never, ever be as perfect as I want it to be. But I can’t just not write. I love writing. So instead of letting that need for perfection keep me from my craft, I just use it to my advantage. I think and think and think some more about what I’m going to write and how I’m going to write it. Meanwhile I bake bread from scratch and read old fanfiction and studiously avoid the writing I should be doing until the absolute last minute.

And then I write like crazy.

Those days and weeks spent thinking are invaluable. So yes, about seventy percent of my writing process is not writing. What can I say? It works for me. After I’ve had time to stretch and sift and work the kinks out of my ideas, I feel much more prepared to sit down and write them.

Plus, I get all that extra thinking time to swoon over Darren Criss.

♥

Allison Ridley is the biggest Harry Potter nerd you’ll ever meet (don’t even get her started on how the “t” in Voldemort is silent). She teaches English to high schoolers in Arizona and spends her free time baking, crafting, and reading as many YA books as possible. She is 23, currently single, and certainly not hinting at anything. (How YOU doin’?)

Allison loves writing young adult fiction and usually ends up writing fantasy or sci-fi. Her most recent work in progress is a combination of Greek mythology and violent unicorns. Her earliest writing memory is from when she was four years old: she doesn’t remember the actual story, but she does remember it was printed on that accordion-style paper with the perforated holed edges.

Allison has a short story called “That Whole Being-Dead Thing” in the anthology VAMPIRES, Zombies and Ghosts, Oh My! (and Other Creatures of the Night STORIES), edited by Eve Paludan. The anthology can be found on Amazon and on Smashwords.

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♥ ♥ ♥

You know, Terry Brooks calls all that sorta-procrastinating-but-really-mentall-writing-time "book dreaming", so I think it's totally legit.

What do you think of Allison's approach? Do you warm up in a similar fashion?

And YES there is #ninjachat this afternoon, right here, at 2:00 p.m. MST!

Play Nice

2012-02-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

So you want to be a writer, right? I’m going to let you in on a secret that will take you further than any other advice except put your butt in your chair and write.

Are you ready?

Be nice.

Nope, be nicer than nice. Be courteous.

What?!? That’s your amazing piece of advice?

Yes. Here’s why. Let’s start at the very beginning writing process. You have the idea, the motivation, your stash of cinnamon bears and Diet Coke and are ready to go. But if you are like me and pretty much every writer I know, we don’t live in a bubble, and many of us have kids. We need to be courteous when the kids or spouse take on some roles of independence or help a little more so we can write. Be kind and gracious when the time is given. Even if it comes after dozens of reminders and your patience is just about out, always say thank you. These are the people we need to support us the most.

Say you are in a writers group (which if you aren’t find one immediately) and they point out problems with your WIP – things that are going to have to be fixed. I know, they are telling you that your little darling isn’t Mary Poppins – practically perfect in every way. Say thank you because they took time away from their precious writing time to help you. Don’t get defensive. You may need take a moment to explain what you were trying to convey in your writing but this can be done in a professional and polite way – “I wanted the reader to feel...I wanted the character to depict…etc.” And always, always end your commentary with thank you. Every single time.

Bloggers are some of the most wonderful people out there, but like the writer’s group/critique partners, they are busy people who would like to be writing as well. Always make sure you thank every single commenter. You can either do with through email (I have all the comments on my blog come to my email and reply to every single one) or you can go through in the comments @name of commenter and continue the conversation that way. If you want to have people like you, you have to talk back to them. And remember, thank them for taking the time to post on your blog, for stopping by, etc.

Finally, there are the people who make the books end up in the hands of readers. Regardless of your choice of publication, there are people who are going to make it possible to get your book out there – artists, editors, agents, publishing houses, etc. Rule number one with agents is pay attention to their preferences with queries, their timelines in getting back to you and honor that. If an agent says no but takes the time to tell you why, reply with a thank you.

How do you practice courtesy in your writing associations? What suggestions do you have for when being courteous is the last thing you want to be?

Find Tasha Seegmiller! Blog | Twitter

Kicks & Tricks: Cleaning Up the Clutter

2012-02-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

Psst. I have a neat little trick for you to try. You ready? It’s called Morning Pages.

What are Morning Pages? They are sitting down every morning and filling three notebook pages or 750 word document of a steady stream of thought. Your mind will wonder, just let your pen or keys follow. You may be upset about something someone said to you, or a critique you felt was a little too harsh, or you may just remember you need to buy cat food. Your mind might wonder over to a certain part of you novel that was giving you grief. Just let it all flow out. You can write “I don’t know what to write,” until you finally start pouring out all these things you have been holding back.

Morning Pages are a way to get the juices flowing. They are a place to pour out your thoughts, your ideas, your junk, and your treasures. It’s a great jump start to your day. We carry a lot of clutter in our heads, and as writers that can be quite a burden. It can be hard for us to sit down and get creative when we are bogged down by all the daily crud. Morning Pages helps tidy that crud.

I notice I’m normally in a much more pleasant mood when I am doing morning pages on a daily basis. It’s to the point that my family and friends know when I have done them, and when I have skipped them. I tend to whine a paragraph or two before I move on to what I want to do that day, and from there I get into what I would like to happen in my WIP. Morning Pages often have a way of telling you how you can solve your own problems.

Although MP’s are meant to be three pages long hand in a journal or notebook of your choosing, I find it easier to type. I keep a Scrivener Project called Journal where I keep a folder for MP’s and a folder for my writing journal. At the end of the week I print out my MP’s and put them in a binder that holds every MP I’ve ever done.

You could also go to 750words.com and unload yourself there. Not only do you get a nice email reminder, but when you are done you can review what your mood was, what words you used most, how long it took you to write, and words per minute. I recommend then copy and pasting into a word doc.

I owe a lot of breakthroughs to MP’s. Most of my best ideas comes from dreams, and it’s nice to get up in the morning and get them written out before they slip away from me.

Morning Pages are a very useful tool to add to your writer’s toolbox.

How do you clean the clutter of the mind so that you can concentrate on the writing?

Amy McBay is a proud military wife, a devoted mother of a beautiful daughter and adorable son, pack Alpha to two loving dog companions, and servant to an amorous cat. Her world is full of werewolves, pixies, dragons, angels, demons, ghosts, and vampires.

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Forms & Techniques: Kicking life into your characters

2012-02-22T05:00:00.001-07:00

This month marks the 22nd year of the Simpsons. I remember when the cartoon family first made their appearance on the Tracy Ulman Show in a cameo spot. At that time, the illustrations were even more crudely drawn and the characters vanilla. Two decades later, the illustrations are consistent and smooth. But even more refined, amazingly so, are the characters. So much so, that their personalities have become like real people, cementing themselves in pop culture. When you hear the line, "Don't have a cow, man," you associate it immediately with a mischievous, disrespectful, razor-haired renegade named, Bart Simpson.

How do we as writers, kick this kind of life into the characters in our stories? Most of us don't have 20 years to develop our characters. But we can learn from the Simpsons. Sometimes it is helpful to let your characters take on their personality naturally instead of forcing it upon them. This can be done by finishing your story/novel first, and then going back to flesh out your characters. This allows for unexpected twists and turns to unfold, often bringing out personality traits that you would have never thought of giving your characters in the outline stages of your story.

At least, this is what I have found works for me. How about you? What techniques have you found helpful in creating memorable characters?

Carolyn Frank lives in Kaysvile, Utah with her husband and teenage daughter Danielle, her other four children having fled the nest, but still live close by (thank heavens).
She has been writing seriously for the past six years and will be self-publishing her first book, Promises this year. Promises is a middle-grade historical fiction about a timid girl who learns to stand up for herself.

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How to Warm Up when You're Stucker than Stuck

2012-02-21T05:00:00.002-07:00

Let’s face it, sometimes just sitting DOWN to write can be a challenge. When life gets crazy (and when doesn’t it?) and things like kids, school, or work seem to sap away all of your time and energy, writing can start to seem like a chore, even if it is something that we all “love.”

And then there are the other things that keep us from our writing. Doubt, worry that we won’t meet even our own expectations (much less those of others!), and that one problem (scene/plothole/whatever) in your manuscript that you just can’t figure out.

Sometimes we just don’t feel “inspired.”

Still, we know that the only way to ever get anything accomplished in the writing world is to keep going no matter what. Whatever’s halting you from getting words down on the page, we have to face the fact that we all want to be professional writers someday, and professional writers WRITE.

So how can you get in the mood to write, when you just kicking-and-screaming don’t want to? Well, ninja to ninja, here are my two biggest pieces of advice:

#1 DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP

Ninjas have enough fighting to do without fighting ourselves. Maybe you’ve fallen off the wagon a bit. Maybe you haven’t written a single word in a couple of days. Or weeks! My number one piece of advice is DON’T GIVE IN TO GUILT. Guilt is the all-time discourager, my fellow ninjas. Don’t let what you haven’t done keep you from getting things done now!

#2 TAKE A BREATHER

As our Dojo master could tell you, sometimes the best thing to help you get writing is a little bit of meditation. Whether you do this best by shutting the door and sitting in quiet, or by taking a walk outside in the sunshine, figure out what quiets your mind and do it. Let your other distractions fall away. Clear out your brain so that it can be filled up with STORY.

IF YOU’RE STILL HAVING TROUBLE finding that spark, don’t get discouraged! There are a lot of other things that you can do to jump-start your muse, and here are some of my favorites:

☼ Music. I had a professor tell me that every writing project should have a soundtrack to it. Consider this even if you don’t like writing to music—you can always listen to your soundtrack before you get down to the writing itself.

☼ Talk to your characters. Take them out of the story for a bit and imagine interviewing them. What do they want/need/fear RIGHT NOW? This helps if you’re stuck. If you understand what’s in your characters’ heads, you’ll know where you need to go.

☼ Re-read a bit of your story. Not just any bit. You know which part. That part that made your soul sing when you wrote it. Let yourself fall in love with your characters all over again, and words won’t be so hard to find.

And again, DON’T GET DISCOURAGED. Sometimes the best thing you can do is decide to be positive about writing. Focus on what you excel at. Everything else can be fixed when you edit. Seriously. You just have to get the writing done first!

Meditation: Finding the ME Time

2012-02-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

We're all little busy bees :)

Okay, I want you to think about your typical day. I'll share mine because I always share things from experience, but think about yours as we go through this post...

Wake up.

Go pee.

Brush teeth.

Change diaper.

Feed children.

Feed self (if lucky)

Dress children.

Dress self (again, if lucky)

Clean kitchen.

Clean living room.

Go pee.

Start laundry.

Sit down.

Check email.

Check blogs.

Check Facebook/Twitter

Feed children.

Change diaper.

NAP TIME!

Feed self.

Clean kitchen.

Fold laundry.

LISTEN TO MUSIC/READ/WATCH EPISODES OF THE VAMPIRE DIARIES.

Pull out WiP.

Write till kids wake up.

Change diaper.

Feed children.

Get dinner ready for hubs.

Clean kitchen.

Clean living room.

Go pee.

Feed family.

Clean kitchen.

RELAX/NETWORK/TRIP TO LIBRARY/TIME WITH HUBS AND KIDS

Bathe children.

Clothe children. (Diaper, yes)

Bed time for children.

Go pee.

TAKE A SHOWER.

Snuggle with hubs till he goes to bed.

WRITE, WRITE, WRITE.

Go pee.

Go to bed.

Everything I've done in ALL CAPS are my ME moments.

#1: NAP TIME. Yes, I am in love with nap time. Thank heavens one of my kids still naps. The other doesn't bother me too much while it's nap time. He plays quietly or takes a snoozer himself. This is my time for me to get things done on the computer. Blog posts, critiquing, returning emails, and writing.

#2: LISTEN TO MUSIC/READ/WATCH EPISODES OF THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. When the muse hasn't decided to wake up for the day and I sit and watch a blank cursor forever, I do these things to break my mind open.

#3: RELAX/NETWORK/TRIP TO LIBRARY/TIME WITH HUBS AND KIDS. Taking a drive with the family helps a lot with inspiration. Just writing in my head while we listen to the radio, or tell jokes, or just spend time with each other can really help.

#4: TAKE A SHOWER. Some of my best ideas come to me in the bathtub. And really, this is a time for me to be alone. (Unless the hubs wants to... um, ya, nevermind.) A shower can totally drown out the world and let you be in another one.

#5: WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. For me, writing comes at night. You can see why if you look at my day, but right after the shower and snuggle time with the hubs, my mind will not shut down, and this is when my best work comes out.

So, what I propose is to use the ME time to do things to help your writing. To not get too busy to recognize that inspiration happens all around us.

What are your ME times? Are you a morning writer? What gives you the best inspiration?

Courtesy: Ditch the Crab Mentality

2012-02-17T06:00:00.001-07:00

Have you ever heard of crab mentality? Put a bunch of crabs in a bucket, and if they worked together, they'd be able to climb out, theoretically. Except instead, whenever one pushes his way up on top of others to get on top, the other crabs simply pull him down.

Sometimes, there's a little bit of crab in all of us. This is especially hard for writers sometimes, because we tend to have a lot of friends who are also writers, and sometimes when our friends get agents or book deals or have better sales than our books do... well, we can get a bit crabby about it. Those sneaky little jealousy thoughts can start to whisper: what about me? We may even start thinking that our more successful friends don't really deserve the luck they've got.

This, my friends, is the Crab Mentality (illustrated above) and if you feel it sinking in, just put it to a stop. Immediately.

Guess what? Wondering what someone else's story has or how they got the agent or deal they got is not going to get your story written or edited any faster, and it's sure as heck not going to help you get your own agent or book deal. In fact, it doesn't help anybody. Worse, you may actually end up hurting your friend's feelings, and messing up a great writing connection.

Instead, it's best to just celebrate each others' successes! As writers, we all know what rejection and failure is like, it's part of the job description. When one of us finally attains the dream of getting a book published, it should be something that we can all be excited about, because it means that we too can make it! Let's be excited for each others' triumphs.

After all, then later, when we have our own good news to share, we'll have people who will want to celebrate with us!

**Photo credit is here**

Kicks and Tricks: Rewarding With the Green

2012-02-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh. That looks so yummy! :)

Dude, am I allowed to endorse Mountain Dew? Because I’m aboutto do a whole lot of non-intentional advertising. But here we go! :)

Goals are such awesome things to have, and writing goals canbe fun. I’m tellin’ you right now, the best thing I did was creating rewardsfor myself when I met those goals. And more than just a pat on the back or aninternal ‘Wahoo!’

I drink Mountain Dew when I write. Call it my creative drugor whatever, but I’ve come up with a system that really gets my butt in gear,and prevents me from going online when I’m writing.

Here’s what I’ve done. I’m not allowed to take a drink fromthe ice cold deliciousness until I’ve written 250 words. (Usually a page.) And it’sonly a sip. If I do 500 words or more, than I get to take a gulp. Score!

Sometimes Mountain Dew is replaced by chocolate. But mostly,it’s this lovely stuff. Not only does it make me happy when I get to the end ofa page, I realize I get into the zone. I call this the ‘Dew’ zone.Appropriately called because I’m ‘do’ing what I’m supposed to. I’m writing!

I realize this is super strange, and it won’t work foreveryone, but that’s the point. To find something that works for YOU. Rewardyourself when you reach your goals. Whether it be a movie night, or a bubblebath, or if you’re like me, a trip to the book store. (Accompanied by a can ofMountain Dew, of course. ;) )

Oh, and don’t worry. Scheduled potty breaks are also part ofmy writing process. :)

So, I challenge everyone to try this method, in your own wayof course, because writing is supposed to be uber fun!

Peace out!

#narleyninja Chantele Sedgwick

2012-02-15T08:41:00.002-07:00

Today we are happy to introduce you to Chantele Sedgwick, a fabulous young adult writer who's going to share her thoughts on Forms & Techniques!

♥ ♥ ♥

I've always been a goal setter, but usually never finished said goals. I tend to get excited about something and then slack off toward the end when I know I'm not going to accomplish it. I think everyone sort of does this whether it's writing or something else. :)

When I started writing and knew I wanted to pursue publication, I made it a goal to write something every day. It didn't matter what. Just something. Over the years, I've made more specific goals, like working on my current WIP every single night. Setting a certain amount of words I wanted to write before the weekend and following through with it. I write as much as I can during the week and always give myself a break on the weekends. I don't write on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I have to stay in reality sometimes and my family would miss me. :)

My last book I wrote, I set a goal to write the first draft in a month. Something I've never done before. I wrote 10,000 words a week and made my goal by the end of the month. Revising is a different story, but it felt SO good to make that goal and finish that first draft. I like setting goals for myself. If I didn't, I'd go nowhere fast. Writing has helped me realize that if I work hard enough, I CAN reach my goals. And there isn't a better feeling than finishing a book and knowing how hard you worked on it. :)

I write YA, fantasy and paranormal. Right now I'm working on a contemporary fantasy. I'd pitch it as X-Men meets Alias. :) I'm also trying my hand at a Middle Grade fantasy. Never done that before, but it's exciting!

I'm a wife, mom of three silly kids, a harp player and an avid reader of books.

Find Chantele on her Blog and on Twitter!

♥ ♥ ♥

If you're not a ninja yet, just go to the dojo page and sign up on the linky ~ you'll become a narley ninja too, and will have your day here on the blog (and at ali's uchi)!

Love Your Story

2012-02-14T05:00:00.001-07:00

A fellow writer recently asked me, "how do you get in the mood to write? I have so many distractions, that I can't get motivated to write."

My problem is not so much how to get in the mood to write, but rather, how to get in the mood to do dishes, or clean the house rather than write. What keeps that mood at a constant level in my psyche, is having a story that I care about. If I'm working on a project that doesn't excite me, or a scene in my book that is boring, it's hard to be in the mood to write--just like it would be hard for someone to read that chapter. Nobody likes boring. What a motivation to spice up your dialog, study the art of developing memorable characters, or adding tension to a scene. The more you love your story, the more fun it is to write, and the more fun it is to write, the more you will be in the mood to write.

Unfortunately, the more you are in the mood to write, the more the dirty dishes will pile up.

What better time than Valentine's Day to encourage you to love what you write. And if you don't love it, maybe it's an indication that you should find a new story.

Yoga Breathing and Exercise

2012-02-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

You are writing. You are near the end of your chapter, but the words are not flowing anymore. Your back aches, your fingers feel cramped. and that can of soda you drank in justification that you needed the caffeine betrayed you, making you feel bloated and uncomfortable. It’s no wonder the words have slowed.

Ninjas require a clear mind and body in order to create. What this means is you need to get your butt out of that chair, and exercise! Tough love my ninjas <3

I know the importance to regular exercise. It’s become a daily requirement for me. In order to lessen the pain I have taken up yoga. It’s slow stretches ease my muscles and clears my mind with the deep breaths of each position. I’ve found after a twenty minute workout, I’m more capable of writing. During the deep breathing I often find my mind wondering toward a part of my story that was giving me trouble. Ah ha! So that’s what I was doing wrong there.

Yoga allows for your mind to become calm, and when your mind is calm, your characters like to poke their heads in, even though you put that do not disturb sign up. They are never around when you need them, but as soon as you try to ignore them, POOF,they appear in a cloud of smoke demanding you pay attention to what they have to say.

If the writing starts to get slow again, I get up and do a couple more stretches. If you have Netflix, there are some great Yoga programs, or you can browse YouTube. This is one of Rodney Yee’s videos. (If you have to exercise, you may as well do it watching a hot dude in a speedo, right?)

Get up ninjas, and move!

#narleyninja Chantele Sedgwick!

2012-02-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday! My favorite day of the week! Because this is the day I get to feature some fabulous writer from the blogosphere. It's fun to learn a golden nugget from these authors, and ... make new friends!

Today I'm happy to introduce you to Chantele Sedgwick, a fabulous young adult writer who's going to share her thoughts on Forms & Techniques!

♥ ♥ ♥

Did you know that if you visit the writer's dojo, you can benefit from a whole studio of narley ninjas? Check it out! And if you're not a ninja yet, just go to the dojo page and sign up on the linky ~ you'll become a narley ninja too, and will have your day here on the blog (and at the writer's dojo)!

There's still time to enter the giveaway for Danyelle Leafty's

Fairy Godmother Trilogy!

Click here to read all about it!

Please note there will be no #ninjachat this week!

Courtesy: Karma, Kindness, and Appreciation

2012-02-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

I live by the Pay ItForward code. What this means is, when you have the opportunity to do good, doit! Whenever you get the chance to help someone, you do so, and you don’texpect anything from them, but that one day, they will do the same for someone else.Pay It Forward is a lot like Karma. It has a way of coming back to you.

I’m always there forothers, be it watching kids, moving furniture or doing a graphic free ofcharge. I try to be someone people can count on. Not only does this build on myreputation, but it adds up in positive Karma points.

A few weeks beforeChristmas a stranger handed me $20 to put toward my kid’s gifts, before that awoman helped me push my overloaded shopping cart and two kids to my car, andbefore that I won an Amazon gift card. Good happens!

Because I’m always therefor others, I have people who are always there for me. I have people to beta readfor me, people willing to edit for me, people who say nice things when I’mfeeling low, people to watch my kids at short notice, and people willing todrop off soup at my doorstep when I’m sick. When you are kind to others itoften reflects back on you.

In high school thiskindness was often seen as a weakness. People took it for granted and oftenmanipulated me into doing what they wanted. I don’t resent them for it. Theytaught me a valuable lesson. I can be kind and stand up for myself at the sametime. There is no reason people should make you feel like a lesser human being,just for the sake of their ego. At times you have to stop and tell them “No.”

When I joined themilitary I learned how to be a strong woman. I learned where to draw lines. Ilearned that when I put my mind to it, I could accomplish anything. I ran adorm management crew, participated in the booster club, and performed tasksabove my pay grade. I learned to take initiative.

I also learned to holdmyself accountable for my actions. Like all new airmen I had to learn the hardway, and got into trouble once or twice. I took my punishment, because I knew Ihad deserved it, and I learned from the mistake. I learned humility.

I’m thankful for allthat I have in my life. I have amazing life experiences, I have a beautifulfamily, and I have amazing friends that have nurtured me as a writer and pushedme to keep going when I had doubts about myself. They have taught me the rulesof writing, allowing me my nooby training wheels, until now. It’s time I quitsaying I want to be a writer, and actually be one. It’s time I stand out.

Stepping out of theshadows, and making myself a writer, shows those friends and family membersthat their support and effort wasn’t wasted. That they raised this writer andmade her what she is. I can think of no greater way to show my appreciation ofwhat they have done for me.

How do you show appreciation to those that support you and your craft?

Kicks & Tricks - The Pomodoro Technique!

2012-02-09T07:00:00.001-07:00

I really only know one trick for writing. Well, that's not true at all, but it's the only thing I think of as a trick. Because this really is one. It's not a trick you do in your writing, it's a trick to get you to write. And this is a trick that, if you're anything like me, can boost your daily wordcounts exponentially. I'm serious.

Are you ready for it? Because it's so simplistic, it's mind-blowing.

It's called the Pomodoro Technique. You can go to the official website and read up on it, and even buy a book if you want to, but here's the gist of it:

1) Write for 25 minutes.

2) Take a break (away from your desk!!!) for 5 minutes.

3) Rinse and repeat.

This isn't like a writing sprint. I mean, it is, but it's not. When I do sprints with a friend, we look at the clock at :00 and say we'll report back at :15 or :25 and see who got more words. Writing sprints make me write more than I normally would, sure, but that little timestamp at the bottom right of my computer screen is not intimidating, folks. It's there all the time.

So here's the real secret of the Pomodoro Technique: You need a timer.

That doesn't really sound like a secret, but believe me, it is. Because as non-intimidating as that timestamp at the bottom of my screen is? That's how very, very intimidating a timer that counts down can be.

Think about it. When do you really see something counting down (if you're not some sort of racing athlete, which let's face it, we're not—we're ninjas)? The answer is in the movies. When something bad will happen if the timer gets to zero and you haven't done your job.

A timer leads to all sorts of productivity, because you don't want that bad thing to happen. Just imagine that not hitting your daily word count is like setting off a small series of explosions that are going to mess with your productivity and accountability all the way down the line, because if you don't hit your word count today, what's going to make you hit it tomorrow?

I don't know how this happens, but somehow when I see those numbers start to go down, my word count automatically goes up. Even if I had no idea what I was going to write when I hit the "go" button. Before I discovered the Pomodoro technique, I could maybe write 200-500 words if I sat and stared at my manuscript for half the day. When I Pomodoro, I can write up to 2000 words in two hours. (This was never remotely possible before) I don't always have two hours, but you get my drift. Other people get a lot more done, but I'm a slow-poke.

As you can see by the picture above, this technique earns its name from the handy little kitchen tomato timers that you're probably familiar with, but if you don't have a tomato timer, (Pomodoro is a type of tomato, by the way), there are free Pomodoro apps and desktop timers specifically for Pomodoro work sessions. My favorites are Pomodroido on my phone, and this web-browser timer. They are my number one writing trick.

Do you have any tricks to get you to write?

What Was I Doing Again?

2012-02-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Distractions can totally suck, right? There you are at the computer, ready to crankout some fabulous words in your wip. Youthink, ‘Okay, I’ll just check my email real quick, then I’m going to write up astorm!’

You pull up your email. Oh! You forgot you had scheduled ablog post today and you have some comments. Better respond, right? Realquick.

Okay, you’ve responded. It’s only been like 10 minutes. Better go see if those people who took the time to comment on your blogget comments on theirs. You can readthem real quick. No biggie.

Oh! This person has acontest and you have to tweet about it! Better do that before you forget. Click over on twitter and tweet. Real quick. Oh but someonetweeted something really funny, or an awesome blog post. You have to check it out before the tweetdisappears into cyber space.

Well, you might as well check your email again while you’re onthe internet. Looks like your Facebookaccount has had some activity. Okay,real quick. This will take no time atall to accept friendships and update your status to ‘Writing today! Wahoo!’

Since your email tab is still up, you notice some more emailsfly in. One is spam. Bleck. One is your comment on your own blog. (Don’t you hate it when thathappens? Lol.) And the other is an emailfrom an awesome critique partner. Youhave to reply to them! It’s only beenlike… Holy crap! Has it really been 2hours?? And your wip still hasn’t beenlooked at. And if you’re at home likeme, the kids are ready for lunch and nap. Your morning of ‘writing’ has been a morning of… what?

Blogging and networking are awesome ways to promoteyourself, gain support, and make amazing friendships. They take time. More time than you think. My suggestion on staying focused would bethis: Make a schedule.

I am NOT a scheduler. I go with the flow, fly by the seat of my pants, go wherever the windtakes me… you know, all those clichés you’re not supposed to use. But I had to become a scheduler when theinternet swamped my life.

There are parts of the day I set aside for writing. Parts for networking. Parts for cleaning. Parts for critiquing. Parts for not losing my mind. (Which usually include episodes of TheVampire Diaries.)

Second suggestion? Stick to the schedule! You can doeverything I mentioned above during ‘networking’ time. But when it’s writing time… unless your kidshave locked themselves in the refrigerator, WRITE. Immerse yourself in the world you arecreating. And if you’re stuck, dosomething that will help your writing. (Don’tgo on the internet!) Go for a drive, take a shower, read a book. Something that will make you think and getthe muse to come out and play.

Okay. Have Idistracted you enough? Now gowrite! :)

Warming Up with #narleyninja L. Blankenship

2012-02-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

There is no more dedicated ninja, that I know of, better qualified to give us a lesson on Warm Ups than L. Blankenship. Every day she reports her writing progress on Twitter (#ninowrimo), and every day she's making progress. She is an inspiration to me--and now, she offers some inspiration to all of us . . .

♥ ♥

I've had a lot of practice at getting myself in a writing mood -- just see my Twitter feed.

Everybody's different, so what works for me may not work for you, but here are some of the things (okay, most of the things) that I do to get ready for my nightly writing. Note that these all tie together and reinforce each other -- that's actually what makes it work, in the long run.

1. Habit. They're powerful things, habits. Every night, I sit down for two hours and do something WIP-related. Sometimes three hours. Usually writing. If I'm not writing prose, then it's world-building or outlining or character development. But I do this every night instead of watching TV, reading, knitting, etc.

Maybe you've got kids and other commitments and you really can't set aside two hours every night. How about every other night? Once a week? One hour every night?

I mean, you love writing, yes? And people make time for the things they love, don't they? I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but I've got people in my life who gripe about not having time to write and then spend hours on computer games, TV, whatever. Actions speak louder than words.

2. Brain Prep. Personally, I'm very left-brain-dominant. (Left half of your brain is logical, right half is creative. Some people are right-brain-dominant.) My left brain is good for plotting, editing and world-building, but not good at characters or dialogue or descriptions. Now, I've had a lot of practice at getting my left brain to back off so my right brain can play -- habit (from #1) is definitely involved. These contribute to the training process:

     a. Fatigue. I'm an evening writer, because my left brain is tired and less dominant at the end of the day.

     b. Clear the mind. I keep brainless desktop games on hand to help with this. Strategy-free sorting games like Bejeweled distract and tire my left brain. I pull them out and play a few rounds when I need to brainstorm. The goal here is to play the game without paying much attention to it.

     c. Alcohol. Just enough to get a mild buzz -- you don't want to lose your ability to write in complete sentences. Alcohol is a natural left brain suppressant. These days, I rarely drink when I'm not writing because it became part of the habit. If I'm going to sit at a bar and have a beer, I'd better have paper and pencil handy because my brain will start burbling out of habit.

3. Energy. Music does the trick for me. I have thousands of tracks in iTunes, all sorted into playlists by various criteria (my left brain loves that) like mood and energy level. I also have playlists specifically for projects -- the tracks in those have some special connection to the story that I can't always put my finger on. I tailor my background music to the story situation: fast, angry music for fight scenes, sad songs for drama, etc.

L. Blankenship is the alternate identity of a mild-mannered graphic designer and crazy cat lady wannabe. Someday she's going to get on Jeopardy! and kick ass. She writes hard science fiction and high fantasy adventures and blogs at Notes from the Jovian Frontier.

And to follow L's daily progress, join her on Twitter!

♥ ♥ ♥

narley ninjas is a weekly feature here and at ali cross's uchi. Every Thursday she features one of you ~ a writing ninja, training hard to become a black belt and a master of your art. If you would like to be featured, simply join the dojo with the linky tool on the about the dojo page, and wear a ninja badge (with a link back to the dojo) on your own blog. Come train with us!

Meditation and Meat & Potatoes

2012-02-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Meditation is essential to prepare a karate ninja for a major event. It helps them clear their mind of outside distractions, calm their nerves, and get everything under control. For the writing ninja, it is no different.

Before you even put a single word on the page, you need to think it out first. I don’t mean out-lining, though that is important in some form or another, (and is a subject for another day). I literally mean meditating. Find a pleasant location, away from distractions, and let your mind romp through the tall grass of your imagination. And then let your thoughts make frequent jaunts into that corner of your brain that houses who you are; more specifically, your philosophy on life. Let those values infiltrate your imagination and weave themselves into your story.

Now you are ready to write that first page, whether it be as an outline if you are the outlining type, or as the beginning of your story if you are a “pantster.” (Writing by the seat of your pants).

But beware of the tendency new authors might have to be heavy-handed, and try to put a “message” into your story. That will turn off readers faster than having no plot.

This is where effective meditation comes into play. As you contemplate the values that are important to you, let them stir your emotions; let them establish a foothold in your everyday thoughts and actions. That way, when you write they will naturally express themselves in your stories’ characters. Meditate often to allow this to occur. And then when you write, rather than creating candy for your readers brain, you create meat and potatoes. Not that candy is bad—once in a while. But you’ll have your readers hungry for your books if you can provide them something that leaves them with a satisfying feeling when they are done.

NiNoCon in Review

2012-02-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

I am so humbled by the awesome support NiNoCon received over the weekend. Thank you to all who promoted and participated!

The conference was a great success and went off without a hitch. Shocking, really, considering I'd never done anything like that before and um, I forgot to schedule any breaks between classes. (What was I thinking?? Nothing, apparently ...)

But people came, the presenters all showed up and did their part, the technology worked, knowledge was gained, fun was had .... Yep! A success!

The cool thing is, that you can still benefit from all the great information, even if you weren't able to attend.

Sensei Jeff Vincent introduced the concept behind the writing dojo and author Sheralyn Pratt offered up the marketing myths we must defy in order to have success. Mark Peter Hughes talked about moving forward in your writing without waiting for perfection. Elana Johnson broke down some queries and helped us to see how they could be reworded more effectively. Susan Sipal blew our minds with her lessons on how we could write powerful, exciting books like JK Rowling's HARRY POTTER series. We had an interesting discussion about indie- and self-publishing. Mike Mullin shared his secrets to awesome book sales, and book bloggers talked frankly about reviews, their take on author comments and many other interesting tidbits.

NiNoCon is only the beginning of learning opportunities at the dojo. Check out the dojo daily for lessons on Meditation, Warming Up, Forms & Techniques, Kicks & Tricks and Courtesy. We've got other irons in the fire, too, so don't be a stranger!

Welcome to the dojo!

May you train hard and long and never lose your love of learning.

Jeff Vincent on Being Your Black Belt Best

2012-02-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Jeff Vincent
6^th Degree Black Belt

Jeff started karate when he was 10 years old at the Bobby Lawrence Karate Sandy, Utah location. Jeff started teaching full time at the age of 16, and from then on knew he wanted to open his own studio and teach others.

Jeff not only loves to teach, but he also loves to continue his training, and still loves to perform and compete. He believes there are many benefits to learning karate. Jeff's students learn the power of setting goals as well as life-long skills such as respect, focus, discipline and confidence

Facebook | Website

Marketing Myths Writing Ninjas Must Defy

2012-02-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sheralyn Pratt
Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Blog

Marketing Myths Writing Ninjas Must Defy

By: Sheralyn Pratt

Ninjas, attheir cores, are rebels. They’re not up in everyone’s face about it, though.Ninjas know that in their day-to-day lives they must appear normal, even ordinary.But when certain things need to be done? They don the persona of an icon and takecare of business.

Such isnecessary for authors looking to market their books.

You’re readingthis article right now because you’re looking for a marketing plan. Maybe thisis your first time out of the gate and you’re revved up and ready to go, ormaybe you’ve been around the block a couple of times and looking for somethingnew. Either way, you’ve no doubt heard a LOT of advice and been given a lot ofto-do items.

But you’re aninja now. And ninjas don’t uphold the status quo. They take it out with a puffdart and disappear into shadow, leaving others to wonder what in the world justhappened.

Ninjasintroduce change.

Moreimportantly, ninjas don’t do things half way or give up because the task is harder than they originally planned. Once aninja accepts an assignment, success is the only acceptable outcome. That said,are you ready to become a ninja? Because it means doing things a littledifferently and never giving up. It means scrapping all the rules “specialists”give you if they don’t get you where you want to be. The fact is, to beremembered and get where you want to be, you need to introduce change. Thismeans that there are some rules you MUST break if you want to be a ninja marketer.

Here are 5of them.

MYTH #1: THINK BIG

Nearly everyfirst-time author falls into this trap because, to them, the publishing businessis still just a fantasy and it’s easy to imagine themselves as a rising star.But guess what? Ninjas don’t live and operate as if hypothetical, idealizedfutures are fated to become a reality. They operate in the here and now,focused on a goal. If it’s not relevant to the moment, a ninja probably isn’tthinking about it and neither should you!

Think ofyour task—what’s sitting right in front of you. Not a fantasy situation whereyou are carried on the shoulders of an adoring crowd. (Unless, of course, thatIS what you’re dealing with in the moment. Then by all means, ride that pony!)

But DON’Tthink big. Think NOW.

Granted, thinkingbig is good if you have big money and tons of manpower, but chances are youdon’t. I don’t know how many authors I’ve worked with that say something like,“Well, if I could just get an ad in (insert your favorite large paper’s namehere), my sales would jump!” They dream up a fantasy situation that hands themsuccess with little-to-no effort on their part and sigh with longing.

Suchfantasies are a feel-good lie. If it were that easy, everyone would be doingit.

You are anauthor. You create content that people will either value or they won’t, whichmeans your best endorsements will ALWAYS come by word of mouth. Always. (Althoughyour cover and synopsis definitely help, too.) Your goals are to:

a) Get people to read your book

b) Get them to talk about it favorably

There are asmany ways to do this as there are people on this planet, but as a ninja, youneed to take stock of your current environment and work with what you’ve got—notwhat could be. What is. The fact is that you’re small and your greatest battleswill be one on small battlegrounds in the beginning of your career. Youroverall plan for literary domination can be as big as you want it to be. Infact, your overall vision should be epic. But do NOT let your marketingapproach and investments get caught up in the emotion of your vision.

Always THINKNOW, until the day comes where thinking big ispart of your now. Then, and only then, will you know the best move to make goingforward.

MYTH #2: DO WHAT YOU LOVE, THE MONEY WILLFOLLOW

This mantrahas its place, but it’s not in marketing. Unless you’re a full-bloodednarcissist, self-promotion is one of the most uncomfortable things you will do.It just is.

So hint: ifyou’re not uncomfortable when you’re marketing, you’re not doing everything youcan.

If your bookis like having the family you always wanted and living in the house you alwaysimagined, then marketing is the job you go to everyday to make sure you canmake the mortgage payments.

In short,marketing is work. So unless you’ve mastered the Zen art of turning work intojoyous play, then chances are you’re going to have your moments of wanting tostop paddling mid-stream while marketing. Normal people do give up when thegoing gets uncomfortable.

Ninjasdon’t.

MYTH #3: AIM FOR YOUR GOALS

If you’vetaken any form of martial art, you know that when striking a nose, you don’taim for the nose. You aim six inches behind it. If you want to break a board,you don’t aim for the board. You aim behind it. Breaking the board isincidental to getting where you’re going.

There aremany ways this rule applies to ninja marketing.

Yes, youwant to “break your board” but achieving your goal is incidental to aiming somewhereelse.

The first examplethat comes to mind relates to signings. Few authors like doing unpublicizedsignings where you feel like you’re guilting passersby into buying yourbook. Still, these authors may go totheir signing and say to themselves, “I want to sell twenty books.”

Well, here’sanother hint: authors who go into a signing with the sole goal of selling Xnumber of books probably aren’t going to sell that many unless they have asolid elevator speech down and a very universal book. You know what mostauthors do who have the art of signing down? They don’t go in wanting to sell Xnumber of books. They go in trying to create X number of impressions.

· I will sign 50 people up for my newsletter.

· I will talk to 100 people.

· I’m taking 200 bookmarks and not leaving withany.

· I will learn every employee’s name on duty andleave a store copy of my book for them to read.

Things likethat—things that actually connect you with people and create an open dialogue.Things that people will remember about you and be able to talk about to others.

“Oh, I met that author at Costco. She wasway nice and their book sounded interesting.”

Thatstatement goes a lot further in advancing your cause than:

“Oh, I met that author at Costco one day. SOpushy! It took me like five minutes to get away from him.”

Remember, peoplerarely buy anything the first time they see it unless they are highlyincentivized by an experience or an endorsement that they trust implicitly. Onaverage, people need 7-20 exposures before they will give something a try.Remember that, and make it your goal to create as many impressions as possibleto the same target demographic. Thenthe sales will come.

MYTH #4: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

The mostdamaging lies are the ones that sound good—the ones that seem like they shouldbe true. Practice makes perfect. Sounds good, right? All your effort turninginto something perfect over time? But any ninja can tell you that practice doesnot make perfect.

Practicemakes habit.

If youpractice something wrong over and over and over, you will do it wrong verywell. And you will likely become so entrenched and invested in doing it wrongthat you will not be open to helpful directions from someone who sees yourerror. After all, you’ve put so much effort in mastering how to do it poorly.

Just becauseyou’ve always done something a certain way, doesn’t necessarily mean thatyou’re getting the best benefit out of what you’re doing. The #1 thing you cando is keep an open ear when people around you mention things they see that areproblematic. And when I say this, I’m talking mainly about outsiders who haveno emotional involvement in your book or its marketing. People who are justgoing about their day, see what you’re doing and say, “Um, based on myexperience, this might work for you.”

These arepeople to listen to.

For example,for several years I coached students who competed in the Sport Karate circuit.My specialty was forms. Yes, I did choreography but the real reason people cameto me was to get rid of the flaws in their technique that would lead to aseries of minor deductions that could potentially take them off the podium. Asa coach, I didn’t care how advanced their routine was or how many flips theydid. I cared if their kick was a kick, their punch was a punch, and whetherthey knew how to land in a stance.

Most didn’t.

They were socaught up in being flashy, that they literally couldn’t even stand correctly.If I were to hold something up in front of their punch while they were doingtheir form, they’d likely break a wrist. Many of these students were sointerested in looking cool that the basics had suffered. As a result, they werecoming to me baffled that they werelosing in competitions when they could land a 720 or do a back flip out of aball kick.

Thediagnosis was simple: they had practiced imperfectly, and now were only capableof doing very flawed forms with a whole lot of attitude and confidence.

It takes alot of humility to go back to the basics once you think they no longer apply toyou. Some of my students didn’t. They were convinced that it didn’t matter whattheir feet looked like when they landed or how solid their punch was beforethey moved into a barrel role. They saw me as a killjoy for stopping them afterthe first kick of their form, correcting them, and making them drill somethingas simple as a sidekick. I mean, c’mon! They were black belts and that waswhite belt stuff.

Needless tosay, those students didn’t have many sessions with me and went on to findcoaches that said things they wanted to hear, all the while continuing to bebaffled—claiming tournaments were rigged when they continued not to place.

I’ll bet youcan tell me what happened with the students who went back to the basics,practiced them perfectly, and created new habits, though.

Be open tocasual critiques—especially if the person making them has nothing to gain orlose by you following their advice.

MYTH #5: BE YOURSELF

Another dangerouslie, so seductive because it seems so inherently true. But tell me, are ninjas“themselves”? Do they show up to “work” in what they wear around the house?

No. Theydon’t. We all know a ninja when we see them, because we know what they wear.And when people see you, they need to know they’re seeing an author.

Embrace it:you’re an author. People WANT you to have some level of prestige and mystique.They want to remember you. They want to look at you and see something thatcompels them to read what you have written. As a rule, you are selling themfantasy—an escape. So don’t show up looking like someone who lives down thestreet. They know that story.

Embody your workin how you present yourself. Let readers see what they’re buying the momentthey see you and your set up. Let the people stop who are on your wave lengthand let those who hurry past hurry past. You don’t want to waste your time withsomeone who will politely hear you out and then run away as soon as there’s anopening because you write romance and he’s a fifty-year-old divorced man whoonly reads presidential biographies.

Let him go…with a bookmark if that’s one of your goals, but let that fish swim!

Representingyour protagonists and NOT being yourself is one of the best things you can doat a signing. After all, very few readers actually care about you, personally.No offense, but they don’t. You are a ninja to them—mysterious. The messenger. Mostpeople imagine authors are some elusive creature that sees the world in a waythey just can’t.

Embrace thelegacy authors before you have established. Build on it! Because here’s anotherhint: If you shatter or are unable to maintain that illusion, people will justassume you’re not a good author, which only makes them feel better about notgetting your book.

IN CONCLUSION:

Remember, tobe a ninja you must defy the status quo. You must live in the now and resistthe pull to live and act as if your imaginings of the future hold sway in thepresent. You must leave your comfort zone and do things that lie outside yourfantasy plan but will be highly effective in reality. You need to aim beyondthe mark of simply creating book sales to creating positive impressions, whilerealizing that doing what you’ve always done may not be the best option. Youmay need to have objective third parties take a look at your trajectory andthen listen to changes they think you should consider. And you also need torealize that being perceived as an author is more important to readers thanbeing perceived as you. Like a ninja, you need to personify what you’re aboutwhen you go to task. Leave the ordinary you at home, and go out and kick somebutt.

That’s howninjas get the job done.

Know of any other myths that authors need to toss to the wind

when it comes to marketing their books?

Think of a myth that should have been talked about here.

Explain why your own myth is worthy of a ninja assassination in the comment area.

Sheralyn will be reading and responding to comments throughout the day.

Sunday night we'll choose one random commenter to win all four of Sheralyn's books!

Mark Peter Hughes

2012-01-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

One copy of each of Mark's books will be awarded during this event! Be sure to leave your email address in the comment trail of this post.

*We cannot guarantee you will win a specific book, but you are welcome to list your preference.You must be present to win*

NiNoCon with Mark Peter Hughes

Elana Johnson, The Query Ninja

2012-01-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

Elana Johnson
Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads | Amazon

We'll be giving away two copies of POSSESSION during this presentation. Be sure to leave your email in the comment trail for a chance to win!

The Query NInja

S.P. Sipal, Harry Potter 4 Writers

2012-01-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

Susan Spial
Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads | Amazon

We'll be giving away two copies of A WRITER'S GUIDE TO HARRY POTTER during this presentation. Be sure to leave your email in the comment trail for a chance to win! *You must be present to win*

Because of the wealth on information Susan has for us, she's provided a short introduction, and her "presentation in a nutshell". For more chat enjoyment, we encourage you to read the articles in advance. Susan welcomes your questions and looks forward to chatting with you!

Though many an envious writer would like to think JK Rowling’s secret tosuccess is just a bunch of magical mayhem, we Muggle writers can learn from theskills which have made her Harry Potterseries more than beloved, but truly an absolute obsession among millions.

Over the last several years, I've analyzed JK Rowling's work tounderstand the techniques and storytelling craft which made her series sosuccessful. I've presented workshops athome and abroad, published books, and founded a whole blog dedicated touncovering her secrets.

We could spend hours, days, discussing her work. But instead I've compiled for you here thetop ten craft techniques I believe writers can learn when they search beneaththe pages of Potter.

Tip 10: Plot like you're Hermione about to face her boggart

Tip 9: Quirky gamekeepers can be captivating

Tip 8: You've got to have a Snape

Tip 7: The Dark Lord's in the details

Tip 6: Challenge the reader as if casting your first Patronus

Tip 5: Dive deep, like seeking your treasure in the Black Lake

Tip 4: Be like Dumbledore--Withhold your backstory until the very end

Tip 3: Keep your mysteries hidden, like Pettigrew

Tip 2: Engage the Reader ... like J.K. Rowling

Tip 1: Above all ... Have fun like you're Ron (or the Twins)!

S.P. Sipal, Harry Potter 4 Writers

NiNoCon Indie Discussion Panel

2012-01-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

Curious about Publishing with Indie Presses or On Your Own?

These experienced authors and publishers will chat with you and answer your questions! Beneath the live event, you can read their bios, and find out how where you can find them online.

Indie Discussion Panel Carrie Green

Carrie providesmarketing and PR services in the technology field. Her media hits includeBusinessWeek, CFO, CIO, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Computerworld,Crain's Chicago Business, Entrepreneur, Fortune Small Business, IndustryStandard, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal, among manyothers. Projects have ranged from PR to digital content marketing alongwith the promotion of traditionally published business books from McGraw-Hill,Jossey-Bass (Wiley), and Edward Elgar Publishing. She is the bestsellinghorror/suspense/thriller author of Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blueand Sugar Is Sweet.

You can find Carrie's books available on Amazon.

Karen Baney

Self-publishedauthor, Karen Baney, enjoys sharing information to help authors learn about theBusiness of Writing. She holds a Masters of Business Administration fromArizona State University and has worked in various business related careerfields for the past 20 years. She writes Christian Historical Fiction andContemporary Romance novels. For more information about Karen or herbooks, visit http://www.karenbaney.com.

Angela J. Kulig

In additition to having the big idea for NiNoCon, Angela Kulig is the author of Skeleton Lakehttp://bit.ly/sE1xE7 and is an American gypsy, a reformed pirate, a butcher, a baker, and a candle stick maker. She writers paranormal romance, supernatural romance, fairy tales with unhappy endings, and funny boy books. She tweets, a lot.

Mike Mullin, Kicking Butt Book Marketing

2012-01-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

Mike Mullin
Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads | Amazon

We'll be giving away two copies of ASHFALL during this presentation, so be sure to leave your email address in the comment trail of this post for a chance to win! *You must be present to win*

With so much material to cover (and trust me, you don't want to miss this!), Mike's breaking it down.

Watch his video intro to learn a bit about him, then feel free to check out his Book Marketing series for even more information on how you can be a Book Marketing ninja too.

Mike will be talking about his tips, but especially welcomes an open discussion with questions from you!

Kick Butt Book Marketing, an Introduction

Principles for Internet Book Marketing

How I Earned 8,600 Twitter Followers in Eight Months

Facebook & Google+

And The Winner? Goodreads!

The Book Tour is Dead. Long Live the Book Tour!

Why Bad Reviews Rock

Miscellaneous Book Marketing Tips

Mike Mullin, Kicking Butt with Social Media

NiNoCon Book Blogger Panelists!

2012-01-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

Talk to the very readers and reviewers who are going to be judging your book! Find out what they like and don't like ... get the inside scoop!

These experienced reviewers and bloggers will chat with you and answer your questions! Beneath the live event, you can read their bios, and find out how where you can find them online.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=8c6affca89" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;NiNoCon Book Blogger/Reviewer Discussion Panel&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

HollyPolk

Full Moon Bites | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

Alaiel Kreuz

Librarian Mouse

Meg Wessell

A Bookish Affair

Louisa Paarsmarkt

Words I Write Crazy

Tracy @ Tracy's Happy Bookshelf

Lauren @ Epilogue Review

Arla @ Leave Mommy Alone

Joanne @ Figuring Out the Small Stuff

Facebook | Twitter

@Tiff_Mahaffy

#YABookChat

Wednesdays, 9:00 p.m. EST

NiNoCon Stealth Attack!

2012-01-17T14:54:00.000-07:00

Want to help spread the word about NiNoCon?

There's these images and the two buttons on the sidebar.

Feel free to grab and go!

narley ninja Christine Bryant!

2012-01-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

And we are BACK! For those of you who don't know, the narley ninja is a weekly feature I do here on my blog, where I hand over the reins to a member of the ninja writer dojo. Ninjas post on one of the essential training elements in any good dojo; meditation, warm ups/stretch, forms and techniques, kicks and tricks and courtesy. For information on how you can become a narley ninja too, read on! I'll tell you at the end.

But first, I want to introduce my BFF Christine Bryant (aka C.K. Bryant). Christine launched her book BOUND alongside of me in November. It was awesome to share that experience with her. Her book is awesome. Heck, Christine is awesome. Here, she's going to tell us how she stays grounded in her writing by talking about meditation . . .

♥ ♥ ♥

Some authors can listen to music to get into the writing mood, while others can write with the chaos of family and life going on around them. Not me. I can't get into the writing zone unless it's completely void of any outside influences. The best time for me is when my son is in school, which makes it almost impossible to create in the summer, and Christmas and Spring vacations. I try to save the mass of my editing for these times. But what about when I have to write and there's no peace to be had? I close my door to block out what I can, then put in my ear buds and listen to the soothing sounds of the forest or ocean I have loaded on my iPod. It's the only thing that helps me meditate and get into the mood to write. Nothing loud, though. I'm better if it's barely there, barely covering the racket called my life.

What I'm working on:

My debut novel, BOUND was released in November and I'm thrilled to say that it's had some great reviews. My next project is the revamping of a deleted chapter from that book which will be included in an anthology called, IN HIS EYES. It will be released on Valentines Day 2012. I hope it will spark more interest in the series and get fans ready for the sequel, BROKEN, which will be out in early spring of this year. I'm excited about having a second novel out there and hope it gets the same kind of reaction that the first one has.

Christine has always been a writer. Even before she could compose a single word with pen, she scribbled her version of cursive along the open page just to see what it looked like. As a teen, she swiped her dad's old Royal typewriter so her muse could breathe life into what her vivid imagination had created.

She's spent the last twenty-five years married to the man of her dreams and raising their two sons. After helping run the family restaurant for most of their marriage, Christine finally broken away to pursue her dream of being an author.

When she's not with her family or tickling the computer keys, she loves camping, reading, scrapbooking, listening to all kinds of music, and making new friends.

Christine currently living in the middle of sage brush and lava rock with a spectacular view of the Snake River Canyon in South Central Idaho.

BLOG | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOOGLE+ | GOODREADS

BOUND (#1 in THE CRYSTOR Series)

C.K. Bryant

YA Paranormal Romance

When a photo shoot ends in tragedy, Kira discovers her best friend, Lydia, has been keeping a secret. Knowing the truth, and accepting it, will change Kira’s life forever and thrust her into a world of ancient curses, magical objects, and savage enemies. What happens next will challenge everything Kira knows about her world, herself and the shape-shifting warrior she’s falling in love with. No longer the timid mouse her mother accused her of being, but a woman who finds the mental and physical strength to endure and survive.

BOUND is a heroic tale of true friendship, infinite sacrifice and untamed love.

AMAZON (Kindle) | AMAZON (Paperback) | BARNES & NOBLE (Nook) | BARNES & NOBLE (Paperback) | SMASHWORDS (ebook)

♥ ♥ ♥

I love hearing what works for other writers, and to have the chance to give a loud huzzah for other writers. I want to shout for you too! Just go to the dojo page and sign up on the linky ~ you'll become a narley ninja too, and will have your day here on the blog! I also cross-post on the ninjas write site, which is kind of a quite place right now, but after NiNoCon in February, I'm sure it won't be quiet for long!

So tell me, how do you stay grounded and prepare yourself for a good writing session?

narley ninja michael di gesu!

2011-12-15T12:35:00.002-07:00

I finally have a #narleyninja post for you today! I have to give many thanks to Michael and his patience--I've scheduled and rescheduled this post too many times! But we're here now, and Michael decided to address all the training points of the writing ninja.

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Meditation: My best ideas come to me while I am either walking Chicago’s lake front or at the gym. Exercise really clears my mind and ideas just flood into my brain.

Warm Up/Stretch: Getting in the mood to write varies. I am not the most regimented person. I am truly an artist, so I need to feel it. Thankfully many things inspire me. It could be the nature around me, a child’s smile, a puppy waggling down the street, or a sentimental song.

Forms and Techniques: Once the idea lodges into my head the words come. I am able to write a first draft of a novel in as little as a few months... The Blinded Gardener was written in six weeks. I am like a dog with a bone, I won’t give it up until its done.

Fun: My reward is the finished work. I really don’t do anything special for myself. But it’s a nice thought. Chocolate comes to mind. I know, how cliche’.

Courtesy: For those of you who know me, I always give back to the community as often as I can. I help any author that asks. No matter what, I am there for our community. I have received so much support in my few years of writing, that giving back is the right thing to do. This community means so much to me. No where else do you feel the true meaning of friendship. People you barely know will give their time to help. How awesome is that! We are all cut from the same fabric.

After fifteen years of modeling in New York, I spent the past six years as an interior designer in Chicago. I decided to take my creative talents and write/illustrate my first y/a novel, Amber and the Whispering Willows. I've been editing for the past year and have started the second in the series. I never knew how wonderful it could be to write a novel ... I'm addicted.

Michael is beyond awesome. One of the most kind and generous people I've met online. Get to know him by visiting his blog and following him on Twitter.

♥ ♥ ♥

Two important bits of #ninjanews ...

There will be #ninjachat today at 2:00 p.m. MST!

But I will need to duck out at 2:40.

Thing 1 has a doctor's appointment.

AND

To show my appreciation to all the ninjas who have participated in #narleyninja so far, I will pick one of you to win a $25.00 Amazon gift card.

I'll announce the winner next week!

narley ninja melanie fowler!

2011-11-03T12:34:00.000-06:00

In the spirit of complete transparency, I have to tell you a secret. Melanie Fowler is not only the coolest, most awesome young writer I know--she's also my niece! I know! I'm so incredibly lucky! I can't tell you enough awesome things about this girl. She's funny, smart and wicked talented--in music, cooking, parenting, you name it. She's also humble, so she'll probably try to deny all this. So shhhh .... don't tell her I told you anything.

Anyhow, Mel's stopping by today to tell us how she Warms Up for writing . . .

I grab my notebook that's filled with all of my ideas for my story. I sit down at the table with my laptop and turn on pandora. I put on a movie soundtrack station. My current favorite music right now is from Avatar. I open my story and read through a couple of pages and start writing.

I am pretty lucky when it comes to characters. They have been apart of my life for a long time because my sister's and I WERE the characters. So I know them very well. Other than that, as long as I have great music and some quiet time I'm ready to write.

Mel Fowler didn't even know that she wanted to write until a summer adventure came along. On this adventure she began writing the only thing that she knew someone would read, a game that she and her sisters had played their whole youth. A story about how the four season's came to be; Daughters of Etheria is her current WIP. Mel's been writing since the summer of 2007 and writes YA Fantasy.

Visit Mel at her blog!

♥ ♥ ♥

narley ninjas is a weekly feature here and at the dojo. Every Thursday I feature one of you ~ a writing ninja, training hard to become a black belt and a master of your art. If you would like to be featured, simply join the dojo with the linky tool on the dojo page, and wear a ninja badge (with a link back to me) on your own blog. Come train with us!

Be sure to join us for #ninjachat, here on the blog,
at 2:00 p.m. MDT!
We'll probably be talking about our NaNo projects,
or whatever else interests you!

Also, today you can read reviews of BECOME by
Shannon O'Donnell, Shelli Johannes Wells and Danyelle Ferguson.
I hope you'll stop by and see what they have to say--there might be some prizes to be won as well! Thanks so much for all your support!

narley ninja brianna renshaw!

2011-10-27T12:32:00.000-06:00

I am super excited about today's guest, Brianna Renshaw! I met Brianna (I think) during the Second Crusader Challenge. Since then, I have never left her blog without feeling uplifted and with a desire to to do better ~ in writing and in life. Today Brianna's here to talk about how she WARMS UP & STRETCHES for a writing session.

Ideas usually come after I've run 10 miles. I like to ask myself a question and let my subconscious answer it. Jan Brett, Children’s book author/illustrator.

My writing process involves the four ‘Rs’: Read, Run, Reflect and Record. I’ve got the first three steps down to a science. It’s the fourth step that trips me up.

First thing in the morning, I read something: a Bible passage, a Christian devotional, a blog post, or a few paragraphs from a novel. Afterwards I gear up for a run, but before I take my first step, I spend a few quiet moments of meditation and prayer. I praise God for the ability to run, and I ask that my run be safe, as well as productive – that not only I exercise my body, but workout my creativity too.

While I’m running I reflect on what I read and let the movement of my body move ideas through my mind. Sometimes I’m inspired with a scene for my WIP, a great blog post, or the perfect metaphor. As I’m running, I’m writing in my head. I’m praising God and I’m a bird soaring with energy and motivation. I’m a firecracker sparking with ideas and creativity.

Unfortunately when the run is over, I hit the WALL (Write After Lunch or Later). I get a shower, make lunch and get sidetracked with laundry, housecleaning or playing princess with my little girl. Hours later, usually when I’m cooking dinner, I remember that I should have sat down to record my thoughts after my run. A lot of the good ideas running stimulated have disappeared along with my focus and motivation.

I can’t write and run at the same time and speaking into a recorder while running hasn’t worked out very well. Until a ‘brain recorder’ (credit for the term due Alana @ Writercize) is invented, I have to force myself to write immediately after my run is finished. As great as a shower feels after running, the water seems to wash away my inspiration.

Can I stand the perspiration in order to write with inspiration? I’m about to find out because in the month of November I’m participating in NaNoWriMo. Which means that I’m going to strictly enforce my four-step writing process and as soon as I finish my last hamstring stretch, my butt’s going straight to my designated ‘writing’ chair and my fingers are going to be typing –no excuses, no distractions, no procrastinating.

My writing practice is far from perfect and most days, I’m afraid to say, it’s far from productive, but I know that if I stick with it and stay disciplined, I can finish my novel, blog regularly and even continue to write more nonfiction stories for Chicken Soup for the Soul. It’s just a matter of rearranging my priorities. If I can make time to run, I can make time to write. God blessed me with two gifts that complement each other. The least I can do is to use them!

Brianna is a SAHM, an avid runner, an occasional editor of doctoral dissertations, a published writer in Chicken Soup for the Soul: New Moms and Vista, as well as an aspiring novelist. Her WIP is a supernatural suspense intended for middle-grade readers.

Brianna keeps a beautiful blog I highly recommend!

♥ ♥ ♥

Be sure to join us for #ninjachat, here on the blog, at 2:00 p.m. MDT!
We'll be talking about our NaNo projects, primarily ~ getting them ready for November 1st!

narley ninjas krispy & alz!

2011-10-20T12:30:00.000-06:00

Lucky us! We get a two-fer today! We most often see Krispy (aka Alice) over here at the dojo, but Alz is like a true ninja, lurking in the shadows in constant stealth mode. They're going to educate us on Fun, as in, how do you reward yourself for a good writing session?

We at A Nudge in the Right Direction are dedicated writers, earnest, honest, and energized 100% of the time. In fact we are so awesome that we reward ourselves first. Our process of pre-rewarding consists of going out and getting ourselves boba in anticipation of a job well done.

Now properly fortified with delicious tea, sugar, caffeine, and chewy boba-ness, we then talk about a great many things, which often* includes discussing our writing.

* often = 23.07% of the time

We then buckle down and get to work. This means that we have to clear our mental spaces and take care of any distractions; therefore we must watch TV, surf the internetz, and talk about the books we've read lately. Just to ensure we won't have any lingering issues weighing on our minds while writing, of course.

By this point, it is generally quite late at night, and we have to bid each other farewell and part company in order to go home and sleep. We might not have actually written anything out but we (probably) did brainstorming and plotting, which is the essence of writing if not the actual wordcount.

So! The next night, we get together again and decide to not only reward ourselves for last night, but pre-reward ourselves for the rest of the night to come. This means boba yet again!

We think you see where this is going.

At some point in this cycle, writing actually happens. How?

Because of SHAME.

Our pre-emptive rewarding mixed with lack of actual writing mixes into an uncomfortable cocktail of shame, which throws us into a panic and actually leads to words on the page. So I guess you could say the rewarding is actually the motivating factor for writing. We shame ourselves into high word counts! And it’s shame - not guilt - because it’s the thought of what other people would think of our rampant self-indulgence that pushes us to action! (Please, don’t judge us!)

Because let’s face it, the boba? We don’t really feel guilty about it.

Krispy

Alz

Krispy and Alz are semi-productive members of society by day and sugar-fueled novelists by night. They've been writing since they were but wee small children: Alz as a fourth grade delinquent who wouldn't do English homework unless it was in story form and Krispy as a fourth grade bookworm who enjoyed parent-imposed summer homework because it involved journaling. Their epic team-up occurred in 2008. This dynamic duo is currently working on a fantasy codenamed Sandbox. (It has nothing to do with sandboxes.)

Visit Krispy and Alz at their blog and Krispy on Twitter!

♥ ♥ ♥

Be sure to join us for #ninjachat, here on the blog, at 2:00 p.m. MDT!
We'll be talking about our NaNo projects, primarily ~ getting them ready for November 1st!

narley ninja kayeleen hamblin!

2011-10-13T12:29:00.000-06:00

I'm excited for our narley ninja today! Kayeleen is a wonderful blogger who's been away for a while (moving, right Kayeleen?), so it makes me happy to welcome her back to the blogosphere and to the dojo in particular, where she's going to teach us a little about Warming Up.

On warming up: Or How in the heck do you actually start to write, anyway?

I don’t know about the rest of the writing world, but I suspect I’m not the only one in this boat. Making writing happen can be tough. There are always a dozen and one other things that beckon our attention. That mountainous pile of laundry. The crusty dishes in the sink. The half-naked toddler who just informed you that he pooped on the sidewalk. (Yes, that really did happen to me today.) The shopping and cleaning and cooking and parenting and spousing and working and all of it. And I have to admit, I haven’t been the best at making writing happen. Especially recently.

Here’s the deal, the way I see it. There’s just a lot of distractions. So, for me, I can’t write if the dishes are sitting in the sink. I can’t write if the laundry hasn’t been addressed, even a little. I can’t write if the dinner needs to be made. And that’s step one in the routine. Eliminate distractions. Sometimes this means getting up a little earlier so that I can catch up on things that didn’t get done the day before. Sometimes this means taking a little extra time away from something else. I just have to make sure that there isn’t anything else I should or need to be doing so that I can do what I want to do.

So, you get rid of all the distractions. Do you just start writing? Sometimes. But sometimes, getting rid of the distractions isn’t enough. Sometimes, it’s hard to feel the enthusiasm. So what do you do? Step two: set a schedule. If I know that I want to fit writing into the day, I’m going to schedule it in. So, from 9 to 12, I work on getting rid of the distractions. I clean the house or whatever needs doing. I schedule time for dinner, time for the kids, time for anything else, then I can say, “These 30 minutes/1 hour/whatever is available is for writing.” And when it’s scheduled, take it seriously. That time is sacred. Do I get the same amount of time every day? No. I even have days where there just isn’t room in the schedule for writing. But that’s okay. Knowing that a busy day today makes for more free time tomorrow is part of scheduling too.

Like I said, I’m not the best at it. It’s a work in progress, just like my writing. But those are the two things that are pretty much essential for getting my sit down to actually sit down and put words on paper.

Kayeleen grew up in a small town in Southern Utah. She met a guy in high school, who kept trying to date her for 10 years, and she finally gave in (thank goodness). They’ve been married for 5 years and have three great kids. She started writing 3 years ago and has finished several drafts of several stories, but still has a long way to go before any one will buy them. Mostly, she writes YA fairy tale retellings with a fun twist and loves to tell sunshine and rainbow love stories. (Think Gail Carson Levine.) She blogs at kayeleenscreations.blogspot.com, though it’s been hit and miss of late, since she recently moved and has been adjusting to a new house, but that’s another story entirely.

You can visit Kayeleen at her blog or follow her on Twitter!

♥ ♥ ♥

Be sure to join us for #ninjachat, here on the blog, at 2:00 p.m. MDT!
We'll be talking about our NaNo projects, primarily ~ getting them ready for November 1st!

narley ninja sophia chang!

2011-10-06T12:28:00.000-06:00

I kind of have a bloggy crush on Sophia ~ she's like the me I wish I were, except a zillion times cooler and awesome in every way. So I bow to my friend, Sophia, and offer you her wisdom on Forms & Techniques. . .

The Vow of Silence
by Sophia Chang

Community. The writing blogosphere says we need it. It's true.

But there's something just as important as connecting and sharing:

Learning solitude and silence.

There's a tradition of silence at various monastic orders that serves to deepen one's spiritual path.

Writers especially can learn from this practice of withholding excess communication - after all, we work in a solitary field. As much gabbing as we do on Twitter or blogs, in the end, the work is between you and your computer or paper.

I've taken a vow of silence with my writing. My betas/CPs don't even read it until I've gone through at least 3 revisions in seclusion.

I hold the fire of my work within my body, so my Muse has plenty to feed on day and night. So when I sit at my keyboard, the story is literally bursting out of my chest, dying to be put into words. This is my way of honoring the work. Of saying to it, "You come first. Nothing else matters."

Silence is a faith practice. A commitment to your work.

You may feel lonely when you start this. I grew up a Lonely Only, so I'm used to having to entertain myself for hours, and having to do things without help. It may not be for everyone.

Try it.You decide how long you can hold your silence - through the first 50 pages? The first draft?

Instead of telling everyone about your shiny new idea, hold it in. The public can wait. Give it to your Muse first. When it comes down to it, she's the one writing it.

About Sophia ~

Sophia is a former film/TV actor and playwright who now writes YA fantasy. She's been writing and editing professionally for 8 years and maintains a ninja silence about her current WIP.

Visit Sophia at her blog, or follow her on Twitter!

Sophia, thank you for this! I have never considered silence as a writing tool, but . . . I think I'm gonna try it!

♥ ♥ ♥

Be sure to join us for #ninjachat, here on the blog, at 2:00 p.m. MDT!

narley ninja stacy henrie!

2011-09-29T12:26:00.000-06:00

I am so happy that YOU get to meet my very own real-life critique partner, Stacy Henrie. She is priceless. She is warm and funny, and wholly authentic. She is probably the most kind person I know, and . . . she's one helluva writer. She primarily writes historical, inspirational romance, but she's got a wicked sense of humor (that's wicked as in sharp, funny, not wicked as in naughty :D) that peeks out from time to time, especially when she's teasing us with contemporary romance.

Stacy's going to talk to us about Meditation.

♥ ♥

I’m a destination kind of girl. When will I get there? Be done? Finish that? But recently my husband and I took a five-day driving trip down the Pacific Coastal highway. The whole point of this vacation was in the journey, not the endpoint. And for a destination-driven girl like me, it proved to be both exciting and challenging.

Our second day in the Northwest, we hiked through rainforest-like trees and ferns across a hill that jutted out into the ocean. The trail wound back and forth through the forest and occasionally paralleled the ocean below. There were moments when I wondered when we’d reach the end, but I tried to remind myself to enjoy the hike. The view and the sea lions at the trail’s end were awesome, and yet, I most enjoyed the time talking and hiking with my husband.

On this journey to publication, I often must remind myself to enjoy where I am and not just anticipate the end goal. In writing and life, I’m trying to be happy NOW. Too often I put off being happy – I’ll feel better when I get a nap, a new piece of clothing, an agent, a book contract – instead of choosing to be happy with my current circumstances.

The truth, though, is if I’m not happy writing unpublished, chances are I won’t be happy writing published either. Sure it will be incredibly exciting, but it’s not smooth sailing in that phase of the journey either. There are still stresses, challenges and delays.

So to keep myself grounded in writing and life, I’m making a more conscious effort to be happy now and grateful for where I am – even if it’s still on the trail through the trees with only a glimpse of what awaits at the journey’s end.

Stacy Henrie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. Before focusing on her own writing, she wrote press materials for a national nonprofit company. Stacy combines her adoration for history and clean love stories in her inspirational historical romances. She resides near Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband and three children.

Stacy blogs in a really accessible, easy-to-read fashion. Go pay her a visit!

♥ ♥ ♥

Be sure to join us for #ninjachat, here on the blog, at 2:00 p.m. MDT!

narley ninja KM Cambion!

2011-09-22T12:24:00.000-06:00

I'm excited to introduce you to today's ninja! KM Cambion is here to tell us about how she practices Warm Ups and Stretches in preparation for writing. Take it away KM . . .

♥ ♥

The biggest challenge for me when I write is staying focused. I have ADD and the short attention span that comes with it; my warm up is eliminating the most common distractions and narrowing my attention down to the task at hand.

1) The Internet: "Modern writing is 10% inspiration, perseverance and dedication and 90% not getting distracted by the internet" is a quote I've often seen. It's true. Especially if you're prone to getting distracted as it is. The internet is the first thing that has to go.

There's a great extension for Chrome called StayFocused. Not only does it allow you to limit your time on certain websites, but it has a feature called the "Nuclear Option". When you are Nuclear, everything is blocked for at least an hour; bringing up a link will take you to a page that says "shouldn't you be working?". I didn't realize how often I kick open Chrome to check a random website until I got this extension.

2) Messengers: Instant messenger services are my main way of keeping in contact with friends these days. It's inevitable: I'll have them open for hours and no one will talk to me, but the second I'm getting ready to shut them down so I can write, a friend I haven't talked to in ages signs on and grabs me. Of course, I have to say "hi"...and suddenly, it's three hours later.

I try to outwit the God of Time Eating by going on away first. That way, it looks like I'm coming back before I ninjasneak around and knife it in the back with an "exit".

All's fair in writing and ninjasneaking.

3) The Phone: Pretty much the only calls I get are from work. The call is always about something I wasn't even present for, something I already left a note explaining, or being asked to cover a shift. Phone goes off. Throwing it across the room onto the bed is a bonus.

4) The Desk: My desk is always a mess, cluttered with a variety of interesting things. Before I can write, all books, notebooks, Magic cards, and handheld video game systems must be moved off and out of my reach. On the flip side, something to drink needs to be on it, or I'll get up five minutes in because I'm thirsty.

5) Sound: This is the double-edged sword in my warm up arsenal. I can't write with silence as the background; I'll hear every car passing and every creak the house makes. So, I put music on. The danger in this is I find myself flipping through songs to locate the one I want to hear (which I won't know I want to hear until it comes on). I head this off for a bit by picking a song I always like to hear and pulling that up first.

With my five biggest distractions slain, I can finally focus on the bigger opponent: My wordcount.

K.M. Cambion is a hotel desk clerk by day, with occasional long-hand writing sneaked in during the Normal Work Persona. A writer of fantasy, K.M.'s current project is a god-knows-how-many-book series called "Her Angels" universe, collectively called "Her Angels Universe". K.M. can be found on Wordpress and Twitter.

♥ ♥ ♥

narley ninjas is a weekly feature here and at the dojo. Every Thursday I feature one of you ~ a writing ninja, training hard to become a black belt and a master of your art. If you would like to be featured, simply join the dojo with the linky tool on the dojo page, and wear a ninja badge (with a link back to me) on your own blog. Come train with us!

Be sure to join us for #ninjachat, here on the blog, at 2:00 p.m. MDT!

narley ninja l. blankenship!

2011-09-15T12:23:00.002-06:00

There is no more dedicated ninja, that I know of, better qualified to give us a lesson on Warm Ups and Stretches than L. Blankenship. Every day she reports her writing progress on Twitter (#ninowrimo), and every day she's making progress. She is an inspiration to me--and now, she offers some inspiration to all of us . . .

♥ ♥

♥ ♥ ♥

Be sure to join us for #ninjachat, here on the blog, at 2:00 p.m. MDT!

narley ninja shelly brown!

2011-09-08T05:00:00.000-06:00

Shelly wanted to change her topic because she didn't want to be redundant by posting a courtesy article for the second week in a row. But I said "heck, no!" because her article is awesome. And let's face it, we can't think about gratitude and paying it forward and all that good stuff often enough, in my opinion. So, here's the infallible Shelly Brown, schooling us on Courtesy. . .

Hey dudes! It’s Shelly, here, today’s gnarly ninja, totally giving you a lesson in courtesy.

Namasté

So let's pretend like you totally write awesome prose that your mom thinks are way radical and sweet and all but you can’t convince anyone else to read them. Your marketing skills kinda suck, dude. But never fear, Shelly’s here!

So, like, the first thing we should talk about is the law of reciprocity. I know, that’s like one fatty word! It kinda means ‘cause and effect,’ ‘what comes around goes around’ or ‘the return of energy.’ Some call this karma and others might refer to it as the golden rule. Do for others the good things that you wish that they’d do for you, and then you’ll be surprised what good things will come your way. These are all elements of the law of reciprocity. Ya hip? Cool, bro.

A’i’t, so like imagine you’re totally trying to sell a book on some way excellent e-reader system. How do you put the law of reciprocity into wave-riddin’, spine-tinglin’ action?

1. On social networks- Make sure you are a friend-like for reals- not like a friend for marketing. Talk to your friends. Retweet/share your friends self-promotions. Build people up.

2. If you’ve read someone else’s wicked awesome book then leave a review everywhere (amazon, goodreads, their FB page, etc) you can. Plug books on social networks, on your blog, in person. Sometimes going the extra mile brings that reciprocity right back onto your radical head.

3. You blog? Totally lame. (Just messin’ I’m a fatty blogger) If you’re like blogging and you need more followers then like totally visit more blogs. Be sure to follow fellow bloggers, comment, encourage, join hops, giveaways, and fests. Don’t like expect everyone to just flock to your content. You aren’t THAT profound. I’m just sayin’.

4. If you do this, then you won’t be able to help but feel the love floatin’ around. It’s totally intense!

So, like when someone does something bodacious for you, remember it. See if you can’t do something bodacious back at them or like something similar for a different friend. Get out there and give out the goodness. The law of reciprocity is hard to practice in a pit, dude. If you are dishin’ out what you’re hopin’ to receive, it will come back to you.

And remember that novel with the awesome prose that you’re trying to sell? Your new friends will pick it up and surely but slowly that puppy will sell. That is unless you need another good edit on those prose, but that’s another lesson, man.

Peace out!

Shelly Brown loves the word gnarly, whether used to describe a bad wipeout or a piece of wood. She blogs over at Writing with Shelly waxing profound and giggling her way through her life as an underpublished author. She spends way too much time on social networks. Feel free to join her.

Shelly's Twitter, Facebook, & Google!

♥ ♥ ♥

narley ninjas is a weekly feature here and at the dojo. Every Thursday I feature one of you ~ a writing ninja, training hard to become a black belt and a master of your art. If you would like to be featured, simply join the dojo with the linky tool on the dojo page, and wear a ninja badge (with a link back to me) on your own blog. Come train with us!

Be sure to join us for #ninjachat, here on the blog, at 2:00 p.m. MDT!

Ninja writer, Kayeleen Hamblin reviews Terry's UPGRADER today! Check it out here.

narley ninja kenon thompson!

2011-09-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

♥ ♥ ♥

And, don't forget ~ there will be no #ninjachat until the 8th of September!

The ninja pirate, Angela Kulig reviews Terry's UPGRADER today! Check it out here.

narley ninja golden eagle!

2011-08-25T05:00:00.000-06:00

Today's ninja is one who soars on eagle wings--Golden Eagle! Eagle wrote about Meditation, and how she stays grounded through all the ups and downs of writing . . .

I try to establish a balance, so I'm not at extremes. When it comes to writing--or any other project--I focus on what I want to do and what I plan to achieve; either in the long or short term. If it's the long term, then I try to figure out the steps I need to take to reach that goal, and if it's the short term, I compare that to the overall picture and attempt to determine just how important it is.

♥ ali ~ I often make huge goals for myself that can very quickly become overwhelming--I've found the only way to manage these complicated tasks, including writing a book, is to break it down. Plus, it makes me feel good when I reach those milestones! How do you find balance when facing a daunting task?

The Golden Eagle is the nome-de-plume of a teenage Chinese-American girl who loves to write, read, learn, and blog, among other things. Her favorite genre to read and write is Science Fiction (and its sub-genres) with a little Fantasy to the side now and then. She has officially been writing since September of 2009, after reading a book that isn't one of her favorites; it inspired her to write something she wanted to read. Her current project is a SF/Dystopian novel about a girl, a boy, a junkyard, and the ultimate goal of a man in power to rule the planet.

Eagle keeps one of the most interesting blogs around--you can expect posts on everything from science, to books, to writing . . . just about anything that interests her! AND she manages to make all these topics interesting to her readers too (sometimes a not-so-easy task!)! You can find her blog here.

♥ ♥ ♥

And, don't forget ~ there will be no #ninjachat until the 8th of September!

welcome to the dojo!

2011-08-17T19:14:00.000-06:00

For the past year, the dojo has been hosted on my blog. But, the dojo is growing up, hosting its first writers conference and focusing on YOU, the writer, and not just me.

We will continue to have #ninjachats, but they will be hosted here.

We will continue to have #narleyninja features on Thursdays ~ I will likely host them both here and on my blog for a while (or for always?) so my ninjas can be introduced to my readers.

I'd like to have a few regular contributors to this blog, and provide the opportunity for guests from time to time, as well.

I hope this turns out to be a great way to serve all of you, my wonderful student writers, my NINJAS, and allow you to maximize your training time and to make the connections that will help you succeed in your writing careers!

narley ninja shallee mcarthur!

2011-08-11T05:00:00.000-06:00

Today's ninja is the galactic Shallee McArthur! Shallee chose to comment on Forms & Techniques--the nuts and bolts of successful writing. Take it away, Shallee!

I love setting goals for my writing, but I didn't always. For a long time, I was sort of an "as the muse wills" kind of writer. It was slow going. When I decided to get serious about this whole writing/publishing thing, I knew I had to set goals to get it done.

Here's the thing about setting goals: you have to keep them. I knew if I was going to hit my writing goals, I had to set some HABITS. So for a while, that was my writing goal. I would make a habit of writing for a set time period at a set time every day until that was my natural inclination.

Not easy, folks. It took a while to form that habit. There's this funny little thing called life that always seems to want you to do something else . . . But I was determined, and eventually, that habit was formed. Focusing on my goals wasn't hard anymore, it was habitual.

We all have different goals and different lives. But once you decide what your goal is going to be, make that goal a part of your everyday life. Set your cellphone to give you a reminder. Tell your hubby that you will be indisposed on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-9 p.m. Whatever your goal is, make achieving it into a daily habit, and it's amazing how much you can achieve.

♥ I've practiced this myself, and after reading Shallee's comments, I'm thinking I need to revisit my habits. Have you made writing time a habit in your life?

Bio: Shallee McArthur spends far too much time writing and far too little time doing housework. When she's not writing, she's chasing her overactive son around the house while he giggles like an evil villain. A little part of her heart is African after volunteering twice in Ghana. She has a degree in English from BYU, and lives in Utah with her husband and son.

Visit Shallee at her beautiful blog, by clicking here.

♥ ♥ ♥

narley ninjas is a weekly feature here at the dojo. Every Thursday I feature one of you ~ a writing ninja, training hard to become a black belt and a master of your art. If you would like to be featured, simply join the dojo with the linky tool on the dojo page, and wear a ninja badge (with a link back to me) on your own blog. Come train with us!

And, don't forget ~ #ninjachat today at 2:00 p.m. MDT!!

NiNoCon! it's not just fiction!

2011-08-08T05:00:00.000-06:00

Ninjas. It was laughed about at our first #ninjachats back in March. It's been tossed around from time to time since. But it took a Twitter Pirate to actually make it happen.

And so . . .

NiNoCon DETAILS!

When: Saturday, February 4th (with kick-off Friday night)

Where: my brand new fancy-dancy website: NinjasWrite!

What: Ninja Novel Con (NiNoCon) a writer's conference that blows the lid off the box

Take the rest of August to put your own mark on this first annual conference by playing our #ninjatag contest!

Come up with the best tagline for our new conference and YOU could win a $50 Amazon gift card

and, even better, bragging rights!

To enter, just tweet your tagline using the hashtag #ninjatag.

You can enter as many times as you like between now and September 1st!

narley ninja lucy lane!

2011-08-04T05:00:00.000-06:00

Today's ninja is the super-fun, Lucy Lane! Lucy chose to comment on FUN, an important part of any good workout. Let's see how Lucy rewards herself when she's done some good writing . . .

I reward myself by working on blogging projects (yea I have no life). I finish that in a day or so then the next day I have kind of a relaxed writing day where I stroll to the park with my iPad and write on the picnic table for about an hour. I really enjoy it and it helps me to not be distracted by the Internet *cough cough* twitter, and it helps me breath easier because I am a claustrophobic person like no other--just looking at a wall I can barely breath.... So anyways..... Sounds fun right? No.

After that hour I basically turn my brain off and watch A Goofy Movie. (yes I'm not just saying that, I'm serious) soooooo *cough cough* *ahem loser* the moral of the story? Lucy. Has. No. Life.

† So that's how Lucy rewards herself for meeting her writing goals--how about you?

Visit Lucy at her blog, The Uncool Carrot. You can often see Lucy at our #ninjachats!

† † †

narley ninjas is a new feature here at the dojo. Every Thursday I'll feature one of you ~ a writing ninja, training hard to become a black belt and a master of your art. If you would like to be featured, simply join the dojo with the linky tool on the dojo page, and wear a ninja badge (with a link back to me) on your own blog. Come train with us!

And congratulations to the Captain Ninja himself,

Alex J. Cavanaugh who received his Black Belt this week!

If you've met the qualifications for a black belt and would like your own badge--just email me!

And, don't forget ~ #ninjachat today at 2:00 p.m. MDT!!

narley ninja stephanie mcgee!

2011-07-28T05:00:00.001-06:00

Hurrah for our first installment of narley ninjas! Today's ninja is the lovely, Stephanie McGee!
I asked Steph to comment on either meditation, warm ups/stretches, forms & techniques, fun or courtesy--the five elements of any good martial arts workout. Stephanie chose to talk about warm ups/stretches . . . so let's put our hands together for . . . Stephanie McGee!

First, I have to make sure that I'm taking the time to write when my body rhythm is at its higher points and not when it absolutely bottoms out. That means the afternoons, between 2 and 4, are out. Also, between 9 and 10 at night because that's another dip for me.

The next thing I have to do is to sort of clear my head of distractions. Music helps me with that a lot. I put on my iTunes and make sure it's on shuffle. (Or if I'm writing offline I'm either on my iPod with it on shuffle or I put on one of those music channels on my cable. Usually country or classical.)

Sometimes I'll create a playlist of things that might get me in the mood for a certain type of scene. When I wrote the climactic final battle in my contemporary fantasy I created a "Battle Anthem" playlist. I listened to it twice, once per writing session, and had the scene written. But I'm not usually one of those people who needs to create a playlist for each character or scene/setting/emotion to get into the WiP.

Lastly, it's just making sure that I have a solid amount of time I can devote to writing. I don't do so well, and can't muster the muse or enthusiasm to, write if I only have a little bit of time. I can get a decent amount written in half an hour. If I've got more than that, I can do even better. But give me less than that and it just doesn't happen.

† So that's how Steph makes sure she has the best writing session possible--how about you?

† And just to help you get to know Stephanie a bit better, I asked her to share a little about herself as a writer . . .

I write fiction, usually fantasy, with some urban fantasy thrown in on the side. One of my greatest influences in writing is J.R.R. Tolkien. I admire his ability to make such a large cast of characters come entirely alive. I am a writer, blogger, wannabe photographer and golfer who spends her days with her head in the clouds of fictional worlds, observing, creating, and noting the goings on in said worlds.

Visit Steph at her blog, Chronicles of a Novice Writer. You can often see Steph at our #ninjachats, plus, she's one of the brains behind ninjas crit!

† † †

narley ninjas is a new feature here at the dojo. Every Thursday I'll feature one of you ~ a writing ninja, training hard to become a black belt and a master of your art. If you would like to be featured, simply join the dojo with the linky tool on the dojo page, and wear a ninja badge (with linkback to here) on your own blog. Come train with us!

And, don't forget ~ #ninjachat today at 2:00 p.m. MDT!!

Tip 10: Plot like you're Hermione about to face her boggart

2011-03-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

10) Plot like you're Hermione about to faceher boggart:

Hermione'sbiggest fear was for McGonagall to tell her she'd failed all her exams. And soshe always over-studied, ensuring that she was prepared and would never have toface this horror. J.K. Rowling, Hermione's real-life doppelganger, hasstated that she is a heavy plotter, working out the details of each book beforeshe writes. Indeed, she plotted out allseven when she was writing the first.

Now,I'm not saying that pantsers are wrong. Lots of good stuff comes out offree-flowing writing and it can be a great way to generate ideas or even writea first draft. But before you even consider hitting send on a manuscript,at some point along the way you had better let your inner Hermione get hold ofyour work!

Certaintypes of books call for more plotting beforehand than others. Works likeRowling's with their multiple subplots and intricate trail-of-clues mysterieswould be very difficult to write by the seat of your pants.

So, know your story and play to your skills. But keep Hermione close at hand when you need to be sure it all makessense.

Enter the NiNoCon Giveaway!

2010-12-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

a Rafflecopter giveaway