Writing Motivation and Other Ways to Stay Sane (and out of Jail)

Big topic.  Seems that most writers, especially newbies, are looking for the silver bullet.  To borrow a phrase from Nike, Just Do It.












And, the conferences, writing groups and other organized units are going to scream to the high heavens, but if you're sitting in an auditorium, conference room, class room or various and sundry other meeting places talking to people about writing, you're not writing.  This isn't just my idea -- Stephen King writes about this extensively.  Just like exercise, talking about it isn't producing results.




Now we're past that.  You're ready to stretch your literary muscles.  How do you convince yourself to do it?

I find that when I'm mad, frustrated, depressed or otherwise conflicted, it's much easier for me to write than when I'm content/happy.  I guess there's a HUGE revenge tone to my writing.  If I write this and it's published and I makes a gazillion dollars off it, I can sail away and never have to answer to anyone ever again in my life.  Ever.  Again.

Then reality kicks in when I get my umpteenth rejection.  At least I feel better for having written something down, killed off my latest frustration--usually they die in a fiery crash or by monster attack or get sent to jail because they were bad.



Hey, it's cheaper than a psychiatrist!



But I digress...  One thing that works for me is a look-ahead attitude.  If I write for a half an hour right now, in a half hour I can do anything I want; cruise Facebook, play Candy Crush, write on my blog, have a drink.  Once I get into it, a half hour usually turns into an hour, two, three, and on.

Works for exercise as well.

We're writers; we express ourselves through solidifying our visions.  Use that.  It's powerful when we turn it on ourselves.

As a final note, I use it for dieting, too.  When there's a huge plate of decadent, completely unhealthy donuts calling to me, I visualize having already eaten one.  That's all that's left fifteen minutes after you snarf one down anyway, so make it useful!

Where Do Ideas for Books Come From?

When I first started writing, I was worried that I wouldn't have ideas for books.  That hasn't been a problem.  The problem is finding the time to write all the books I want to produce...  Especially when I'm acting as author, publisher and marketer :)

Here's where the first one, The Basement Office, came from:

I've always been incredibly shy.  Working in an office 8-10 hours a day and having to eat lunch with co-workers, all men, was excruciating for me.  I dreamed of working from home and only interacting on rare occasions.  To prepare for this, I read a lot of articles on the subject.

One day, I came across an article that recommended setting aside a place in your home that you could segregate from the rest of the household.  Lockable from the inside, sound proofed and even equipped with a kitchenette or, at least, a refrigerator and bathroom to ensure you had complete privacy with no distractions.

As I contemplated this, I started thinking about what would happen if you locked yourself in, told everyone to stay away and leave you to your work and then had an accident.  Or a heart attack.  Or if insects or beasties or monsters or aliens attacked and no one knew you were in trouble.  Or if it were in a basement with only one way out.  Through them...

And that's how The Basement Office was born.

The sequel, Sparks in the Wall deals with the concept that maybe hallucinations that come from the DT's aren't really hallucinations at all, but rather a window into another dimension.




Workshop 'Til You Drop is easy.
Attended a writer's workshop.  Was slashed to ribbons by a literary author because I wanted to be published and commercially successful.  Wanted to kill him.  Started thinking about how many others probably wanted to kill him.  Et voila!  Murder mystery, English cozy style...


Just for the record, therapists I've talked to over the years say this is very healthy.  Frustrations, anger, disappointments are all worked into stories and usually killed off in a colorful way.

Very healthy.

Really...

Frontline - Social Media and all that Jazz

My husband does not care for social media in any form.  However, he knows that I'm looking for ways to market my books, Workshop 'Til You Drop and The Basement Office by E. Sabbag.  He was watching Frontline on PBS and came across a show about how social media is used for marketing.

Sure.

In his own supportive way, he became adamant that I contact YouTubers with thousands, millions of followers and send them copies of my books.  And he doesn't back off.  I finally left the room and hid out in my nest in the aft cabin.

Why don't I?  Lots of reasons, most of which I can't articulate.  First and foremost, that's not the audience.  But it did raise a good question and I decided to revisit my approach to social media...

First stop was to find out what is most popular on YouTube and who is producing it.

Unfortunately, I got derailed when I came across this:
74 Great Films To Watch on YouTube

Awesome!  Wizard of Gore amongst other gems.


Most of them I've seen, but really must watch Horror Hotel


and Sex Madness



I'll look into social media later  :)

TESOL: Learning Junkie Burned or How to Sneak Religion into Unrelated Classes

I have to admit it -- I'm a learning junkie.  In the last year, I've taken classes in How to Pitch Your Novel, Italian, Painting, Woodcarving, Soap Making and Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL).  Pending, I have a four-pack of Digital Photography, Web Design and some other technical stuff as well as how to turn Copywriting into a 6-figure Income.  Oh, and I have Rosetta Stone for Italian and Spanish (Castillian)

Casually dipping my toes into the academic ocean, I'm searching for that subject that makes me sing and dance and jump around and hug complete strangers.  Woodcarving, Novel Pitching and Italian are close, but still not the bonanza.  And I've enjoyed each of the classes in their own way, but one.  The TESOL class.

My mile-high, all-encompassing dream is to move to Europe and spend time cruising the Med, until landing in a far-away land that I can call home.  I figured that having a TESOL certification would be nice to have in my back pocket in case other sources of income didn't pan out.  And yes, I'm still waiting for that first, break-out novel that means I don't have to go into an office everyday.  It doesn't have to be James Patterson or J. K. Rowlings or Stephen King level; I just want enough to buy bread in an Italian Market and drop and anchor offshore and enjoy life.

Back to TESOL.  I bought a Groupon for the Global Leadership College online TESOL class.  I truly didn't mind the delay in getting materials graded or the slightly snarky "Because I said so," answer when I asked why I got something wrong.  I didn't even mind the cumbersome web interface or the involved discussion of the history of the English language.  What finally set it off for me was the thinly veiled references to Christianity sprinkled throughout.  Seriously.  And, because it was VERY thinly veiled, it seemed more like a cult than a legitimate religion.  The High One, the Good News, seeking joy vs pleasure (bad, very bad...), repenting of your sins.  There was even a statement that all language originated from the fall of the Tower of Babel.  These concepts were woven into the lesson plan and, if you didn't answer them according to the Good News and the wishes of the High One, you missed points.

SERIOUSLY???

I'm not adverse to religion or others espousing their beliefs, but let me know before I sign up.  I have a right to not hear your views as much as you have a right to speak them.  By the way, my husband thinks this is hilarious... 

As a result, I'm writing off the Groupon cost and concentrating on my technology and writing.  Hey, anybody need a good Embedded Engineer/Novelist in Italy?  Preferably Sicily?  Or Spain?  Barcelona?

Ciao, tutti!  or Adiós a todos!