What Do You Do When You Don't Feel Like Writing?

Sometimes, life gets in the way, or I just don't feel like writing. I know I should write every day. I also know that the longer I stay away from my work in progress (WIP), the longer it takes to get back into the groove. But there are days I don't feel like it. Here are a few ideas to get recharged and back on track.

1. Write a blog post. Usually, the act of writing something gets me moving, and then I can return to my WIP.
2. Go on a walk or exercise. When the endorphins kick in, the energy level goes up.
3. If you sit for long periods of time, It may be time to take a break for a meal or snack. I'm a caffeine junkie, so a recharge may be in order. I have two Jack Russell Terriers, and they let me know when we've been in the office too long.
4. Sometimes, I need a day off. Grab your camera and go somewhere for an adventure.
5. Take a quick break and do a chore or two. The physical activity changes moods.
6. Try a creative project other than writing.
7. Find a new place to write. Go somewhere or go outside. A change of scenery is often nice.
8. I keep notes for each novel and a character list. Sometimes, I go back and revise these and after a little while, I'm ready to get back to the WIP.

You may need a break, and it's good to get away from your writing project every once in a while. Just don't stay away too long. I'm a binge writer. I work full-time and have an active volunteer life. I try to make time to write every day, but it doesn't always happen. Don't beat yourself up. Take a break when you need it.

What do you do when you need to get away from your writing?

How to Do a Quality Review for Your Writing

I am an IT Quality Assurance and Governance Manager by day, and that means I read, review, and write a lot of policies and procedures. My team is also responsible for reporting on progress and enforcing policy. I spent most of last week conducting quality reviews on a variety of IT documents. There are certain standards that need to be followed before the work is accepted. Self-editing is a lot like a quality review. Here are some items that you need to check as you review your work and prepare it for publication.

1. Start off with your basic spell check to catch obvious typos. Just be careful, some of the grammar suggestions are not correct.
2. Check the spelling of any brand names you use. Make sure they are spelled and capitalized correctly. (e.g. Post-it Notes, BAND-AID, etc.) Also make sure that you're not using a brand name to refer to a generic item.
3. Make sure that your word use is consistent with capitalization and hyphenation (e.g. database or data base; tshirt, Tshirt, or T-shirt).
4. Check your headers and footers. Is all of your contact information correct?
5. If you manually typed the chapter numbers, go through each and make sure you didn't skip or duplicate any.
6. Check all of your names and place names - especially if you made changes during editing. My friend renamed a character, but when it went through critique group, she found that she hadn't changed all of the instances. We were all wondering who this new character was who just appeared out of nowhere.
7. Be consistent with your use of numbers. Do you write them out or use digits? If you're using digits, you shouldn't start a sentence with it; write out the word.
8. Look for overused words. I have a bunch that I tend to repeat (and repeat). I have a list, and I add to it when I find more culprits. Use your search/replace to locate and eradicate them. My big offenders are "just" and "that."
9. Change the view on your word processer to a small percentage (e.g. 25%) so that you can see a lot of pages at once. Look at the lengths of your chapters. Are they balanced? Sometimes, I find I have a bunch of short chapters and then a series of really long ones. If possible, try to even these out.
10. If you don't have a writing partner, critique group, or beta readers, you should invest the time and find one that works for you. Real peer reviews are invaluable. I am part of a mystery critique group, and the advice and support are wonderful.

Hosting a Facebook Hop to Promote Your Book

Recently, I organized a Facebook Hop for our anthology's prelaunch. I'd participated in several and found it was a great way for authors to share connections and to find new fans and readers. A Facebook Hop is an online event that starts at your book page and connects a group of authors by linked posts. Guests start at the first site and hop through each, registering for the give-away.

Here's what I learned from putting the event together.

1. Before you begin to plan your event, check Facebook's terms and conditions about contests. They do change, and you want to make sure that you're following all the rules.
2. Recruit authors about 3-4 weeks before your event.  Have a recruitment email ready with all the pertinent information. Decide up front if you want all authors from a specific genre or not.
3. When the authors sign up, create a spreadsheet and collect names, emails, phone numbers, links to the author Facebook pages,  the prize, and an estimated prize value. I didn't put the individual prize values on any of the materials. I just used it to total the amount for all the sites (e.g. Over 25 authors and over $750 in prizes).
4. Arrange the order of the hop, starting with your page. You will want to mix up the prizes. We had a lot of ebook and book give-aways. I mixed these in with the gift cards, jewelry, and other things.  Make sure to put at least a couple of valuable items at the end to keep people interested in all the stops.
5. Make sure that all of your participants have an AUTHOR page.
6. Have a cut off date for recruiting and stick to it. Avoid adding authors. If you do, you have to go back and redo links.
7. Send an email to each author with the verbiage for the post, the artwork for the event, and a link to the next person. It took a little time to compose all of the emails, but it made the process easier for the participants.
8. Instruct the authors to schedule their post for the designated time and pin it to the top of their newsfeed. (I had to include instructions for both of these tasks in the author email.)
9. Specify the time for the hop to your authors and fans in the time zone you're in. We had folks from all over the world participate (e.g. 6:00 AM EST April 1 - 12:00 AM EST April 3).
10. We let each author pick his/her winner and post the name when the hop was over.
11. If you have rules or procedures, let everyone know them up front (e.g. like authors with hop stops shouldn't participate).
12. Get all of your participants to help advertise the event. It's a great way to share fans and readers.
13. Do not plan to do anything the morning that the hop goes live. You'll need to check all of the links. We got almost to the end before we hit a broken link. I spent several hours that morning helping a couple of authors get their posts updated.

What I Learned from Hosting an Author Facebook Party

As part of our recent launch for our mystery anthology, 50 Shades of Cabernet, we scheduled a Facebook party. It was a great way to interact with fans and friends. And we created some buzz about the book. Here's what I learned from our virtual party experience.

1. If you're planning on having a give-away or contest, make sure you read Facebook's Terms and Conditions on contests before you start your planning. These change from time to time, so you need to make sure you have the latest information, so you don't violate any agreements. (In Facebook, click on Settings and select Terms.)
2. Schedule your event in advance. Think about the time for the party. You don't want to limit it to just your time zone, but you don't want to commit to a large time block either. Ours lasted three hours.
3. Recruit author friends to stop by for a specific time. We had a group of authors, so we divided up the time slots. You want people who will chat, ask questions, respond to questions, and keep the conversation going.
4. Divide your party into 30- or 60-minute blocks for the authors to staff. Ask them to sign up for a slot. We also invited them to stay as long as they wanted, and many stayed longer than their hour.
5. Plan your give-aways. We offered some each hour, so we asked the authors to sign up for these too and let us know what the prize was. We spread these out throughout the evening. And many of the guests stayed to see what the next prize was.
6. Decide if you want your party to have a theme. We decided that our book launch was the focus. We talked about the book, our stories, wine (the theme of the anthology), and all things writing. Each author had some questions to throw in to keep the conversations going. Make it fun! Many of the authors posted a picture of the wine they were drinking and where they were at the time of the party.
7. We were going to have different threads or Facebook posts for different topics and give-aways, but some of the guests got confused, so we kept all of the conversation in one thread. You'll want to decide the logistics before you start the party.
8. Remind your guests and authors to refresh their pages frequently.
9. Publicize your event about two weeks in advance. Create a Facebook event and invite guests. Have all of the authors share the event and talk it up on their social media sites.
10. Make sure you specify the time zone for your party, so folks in other areas don't miss your event.

Amazon

8 Writerly Things I Learned at Mysterypalooza

Sisters in Crime - Central Virginia hosted Mysterypalooza last weekend. It was our chapter's 30th Anniversary Celebration for Sisters in Crime, and we had such a fun event. Mary Burton, Mary Behre, Tracey Livesay, LynDee Walker, and Mollie Cox Bryan were our panelists, and here are the eight writerly things I learned from their discussion.

1. There are so many different pathways to publication. Every author had a different journey. Several began their careers writing in another genres. And most of the panel had traditionally published. They also had books published independently or with smaller presses. Authors today are often a hybrid. You have to find what works for you and your books.

2. I enjoyed the ladies' talk about their writing lives. Most are full-time authors; though, one does have a part-time job. They described their writing spaces at home, and they ranged from full-fledged offices to a desk in a bedroom and a desk on an unheated sunporch.

3. We had a long discussion of plotters (outliners and planners) and pantsers (write by the seat of your pants). One in the group was a true plotter. Several were pantsers, but there were hyprids or combinations of the two. Some call them hybrids or plotsers. I heard a new term. Some called the hybrids "panty liners." It just proves that not every style works for every writer. Find your style.

4. The Mysterypalooza authors came from different backgrounds, and they often used their past experiences in their work. We had two former reporters and a former lawyer in the group. It's important to be able to call on what you know for your writing.

5. Author professionalism came up several times in the conversations. The panel stressed the importance of acting and looking the part when you pitch to agents, editors, or publishers. Sage advice: Follow all submission guidelines. Do not be disqualified because you didn't follow instructions.

6. Know your strengths when you are pitching to an agent, editor, or publisher. Look for smaller conferences where there are opportunities to pitch your project. If public speaking or selling yourself terrifies you, look for pitch opportunities that you can do via email or Twitter.

7. Work out your elevator speech for your book or series. Write it down. Rehearse it, and know it. Don't introduce yourself as a writer. Describe what you write in one to three sentences.

8. Find a group of writers or a writing organization that you can network with and learn from others. Many have great programs and opportunities.

I treasure my writing groups. I have learned so much from other authors. And these groups have afforded me lots of opportunities for book signings, presentations, field trips -- in addition to the commaraderie of being able to network with writers who are at different stages of their careers.

Pet Peeves - What Drives You Nuts?

I started making a list of pet peeves and it grew. Originally, I was brainstorming ideas for why someone would commit a murder or a crime, but it was cathartic to write them all down. Some are humorous, and others make me go, "Grrrr!"

1. People who leave grocery carts in parking places instead of returning them to the corral 
2. People who leave two squares of toilet paper for the next person
3. People who leave an empty box or container on the pantry shelf
4. People who talk on the phone in a public restroom
5. People who see that the copier or printer is out of paper and walk away
6. Telemarketers, especially those who call me at work on my cell phone
7. Those little ribbons for hanging in women's shirts and sweaters
8. Tags in clothing
9. People who don't hold the elevator doors for others
10. Sales people who don't listen
11. The fact that there are fewer hot dog buns in a package than the number of hot dogs in a package
12. People who talk on the phone or text during a movie in the theatre
13. Blogs that require me to login before I can comment or share
14. Companies that bombard me with surveys - In most cases, I paid for the service; I don't need homework.
15. People who dump things they don't want at the grocery store on other aisles or at the check out counter
16. People who are always preoccupied with their phones and don't talk to the people around them -- especially their children
17. Companies that use way too much packing material -- Thank goodness, I don't get those Styrofoam peanuts anymore. They used to stick to everything.
18. People who drip or spill and don't clean up their mess
19. People who talk during theatre performances or concerts
20. Dog-eared corners in books

Who knows, some of these may end up in a future book or story. What would you add to the list?

50 Things I Learned about The Writing Life...

I had a milestone birthday this week. So in celebration of that, here are the 50 things I learned about the writing life...

1. Publishing is a business. The goal is to sell books.
2. Make sure that you're writing your next book.
3. Writing is a lot of work. The first few "sloppy" drafts need a lot of work.
4. Build relationships through your social media platform. They make a difference!
5. Set a blogging and social media schedule that works for you. These sites need care and feeding, but they shouldn't be a 24x7 job.
6. Everyone has an opinion. Comments and reviews can sting, but learn what you can from them and then move on.
7. Try to write something every day.
8. Keep a notebook or electronic notes of names and story ideas. You never know when you'll encounter something that'll work in your next book or story.
9. Look at your social media posts. Make sure that they're not all "buy my book."
10. Make sure that you share others' celebrations on your social media sites.
11. Writers have to network, market, and build their platforms. Just make sure you leave enough time for writing.
12. Collect email addresses at your events for your newsletter's mailing list. Get a clipboard and make sure you take it with you to signings.
13. Writing is often lonely. Find your tribe. Look for other authors or groups who will assist and support you. (I am so fortunate to have my Sisters in Crime - Central Virginia, Sisters in Crime, Guppies, and James River Writer friends.)
14. Find beta readers or a critique group to help you revise and edit your work.
15. Look for volunteer opportunities to give back to your community. It's also a great way to meet new people. The writing life is often solitary.
16. Build a street team or an advance team to help you with early marketing and reviews.
17. Volunteer to do guest blogs or interviews. It's a great way to keep your name in front of people.
18. Remind yourself that you do not have to do everything. There are lots of opportunities, but you can burn out if you're constantly on the go. Take care of yourself.
19. Keep one master calendar for all of your events and deadlines. It helps me stay organized.
20. There are going to be setbacks and disappointments. You need to persevere.
21. Learn from your mistakes. Make note of how you'd do it differently next time.
22. I try a lot of events and marketing ideas. If it doesn't work for me, I see what I can learn from it and move on.
23. Order bookmarks and postcards. Make sure you always have them with you.
24. Check out Canva. It's a great tool for websites and social media banners and post artwork. It's easy to use, and a lot of the backgrounds are free.
25. Make a list of the words you overuse. Then use your word processor to root them out of your manuscript.
26. Keep a chart or list of your characters and settings (especially if you write a series) to ensure you keep the details correct.
27. Take pictures at your events or on your adventures to share on your website or social media platforms.
28. Review your website from time to time to ensure your content and photos are current.
29. Check all of your links on your website and social media sites to verify they are correct.
30. Review your social media biographies or descriptions to ensure that they are current.
31. Make sure that you backup your computer files. It's devastating when you lose your work.
32. Make sure you keep your author headshot current. (People will comment if your picture is ten years old and no longer looks like you.)
33. Don't burn bridges. You never know who you'll encounter later.
34. Always be professional. Be on time and strive to meet all deadlines.
35. Most of my correspondence is done via email. I keep lots of folders to ensure I can find the email when I need it. I also add new contacts to my address book immediately, so I don't lose them.
36. Post a link to your blog to Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and Facebook to drive traffic to your blog/website.
37. Read your work aloud to find issues with wording and dialog.
38. I create a Pinterest board for each of my stories/novels, so I have a visual of the setting, characters, and other story elements.
39. Print your manuscript and proofread line by line after each round of editing to catch issues.
40. When you are revising, check the last paragraph of each chapter. Make sure it compels the reader to keep reading and not find a stopping place.
41. Use your word processor's view feature to make your pages small (e.g. 25%). Look at each chapter to make sure the lengths are relatively similar. You don't want a 30-page chapter and then a 6-page one.
42. Get readers or writers to read your manuscript. You'll get a better critique than if you ask a friend or family member.
43. Don't rely on your word processor's spell or grammar checker. It's not always correct.
44. Keep all of your receipts and be diligent about tracking your mileage. You'll be glad when it's tax time.
45. Keep a box of books in the trunk of your car. I've encountered times when the bookseller couldn't get books in time for an event. Also, at several events, the bookseller sold out, so it was nice that I had some extras to provide on consignment.
46. Take time to celebrate your wins and successes.
47. I use Etsy to find book- and mystery-themed gifts that are easy to mail for give-aways.
48. Look to see if your neighborhood, work, club, or alumni association has a newsletter. If there's an announcements or celebrations section, submit your next book launch or release.
49. If you have a chance, participate in a Facebook hop. It's a lot of fun, and I met lots of new readers and fans.
50. Don't give up. The writing life is a challenge, and it's difficult sometimes, but it is worth it. I still squeal when that box of books arrives.

Beware of mystery author with a knife!

What Are Your Overused Words?

When I'm proofreading and editing my work, I often am blind to the overuse of some words. I can spot them in seconds in others' works, but not always in my own. So as part of my review, I've created a list of words that are my offenders, and I use Word's search feature to help me find them. When you do that first search, you will be amazed at the number of times they appear in your manuscript.

Here are my repeat offenders...

1. almost
2. appear
3. as is
4. begin
5. down
6. even
7. felt
8. few
9. got
10. just
11. like
12. nearly
13. only
14. quite
15. really
16. seem
17. so
18. stuff
19. that
20. then
21. thing
22. very
23. was

What would you add to the list?