Music Monday - Youth by Daughter

This is the song I can't stop listening to today. It's on the top of my current WIP's playlist. I just love the way it manages to be both melancholy and angry at the same time. Much like my MC.

Youth by Daughter
What are you listening to this Monday?

Writing Structure

Ha! You thought this post was going to be about plotting or outlining or something else story-structure related. But it is not. Today I'm talking about structuring your writing... life.

One of the most surprising discoveries I had about living my dream of working from home is that it is very difficult for me to actually... work.

Despite having a home office and plenty of time to dedicate to writing, I tend to find myself doing all sorts of other things when I should in fact be writing. It's strange really. I love to write. And it's not really that hard for me to hammer out 1k a day, and yet... frequently I find myself turning on the laptop and then... sorting clothes for a load of laundry, organizing my bookshelf, running to the store, reading the news, all with the thought in the back of my mind that I have ALL DAY to get my writing done, but these other things really should be done NOW.

Right. I am definitely one of those people who, the busier I am, the more I get done. If I can only squeeze in 30 minutes of writing in a day, I will write during that time. I work best with deadlines or when someone is waiting for something from me. I like having a list of things to do (okay, I like lists in general, if I'm being honest) but when the things I need to do are only for myself, I tend to falter. And then my dream life becomes, not quite a nightmare, but like one of those dreams where all you have to do is walk down the hall to the next room, but the hall keeps getting longer and you just keep walking and walking, but not reaching that room.

So. I'm going to try coming up with a strict schedule for myself. Something that has a lot on it, and a little time for writing. (I'm also going to finally start using Mac Freedom. I think.) I'm interested in knowing how those of you that have more "free" time available to write manage to actually write and not do something else. What are your tricks to staying focused?

Friday Favorite: Live In The Along

It's Friday and I thought I'd post something that's a favorite of mine. This is a poem I have loved ever since I saw it on a bus poster over ten years ago. It's stuck with me all this time. I hope you love it too.

Speech to the Young : Speech to the Progress-Toward
by Gwendolyn Brooks

Say to them,
say to the down-keepers,
the sun-slappers,
the self-soilers,
the harmony-hushers,
"Even if you are not ready for day it cannot always be night."
You will be right.
For that is the hard home-run.

Live not for battles won.
Live not for the-end-of-the-song.
Live in the along.

I find myself thinking of the line "Even if you are not ready for day, it cannot always be night" whenver I need a little courage.

Have a happy and SAFE St. Patrick's Day weekend!

How Do YOU Count?

Recently I was talking to a fairly prolific writer friend and commented that while she had written two books and edited a third last year, I had only managed on 7k word short. She was horrified. She went on to say how many thousands of words she'd written and deleted in that time and estimated that just those alone would be another full-length novel. And that was when I realized that I count much differently than most writers.

I only count what I consider "finished" and "successful". And so while I revised my first book twice, throwing out the bulk of it and rewriting from scratch, and while I made several starts on my next book, and another 15k or so of figuring out my anthology short, filled a 100 page notebook with detailed plot and character info, not to mention all my Tangled Fiction stories, I only had one thing make it to its intended destination. My 7k anthology short, STILLWATER.

It honestly never occurred to me to consider all the things I wrote that have not yet become something as something I wrote, LOL. But now I'm starting to wonder if I'm not giving myself enough credit. I suppose if I were to put it all together, I actually did write over 100k in 2011. I just never thought of it that way. Maybe I should, since each word I write, makes me a better writer. And looking at it the way I have been makes me feel more like an underachiever.

So I ask you, how do you count? And does it matter to you how much writing you've done? No matter where it goes? (Or doesn't go?) I'm really curious!

DEFY THE DARK News! Get Published!

Back in January I announced that I was going to be published(!) alongside some of my MOST FAVORITE authors in the HarperTeen anthology DEFY THE DARK, edited by Saundra Mitchell but I couldn't tell you who they all were. Well today I can spill the beans. And what's more, I can also share with you the exciting contest that could make YOU the eighteenth author!

So, first things first, here are the authors appearing in DEFY THE DARK:

• Sarah Rees Brennan
  
• Tessa Gratton
  
• Rachel Hawkins
  
• Christine Johnson
  
• Valerie Kemp (eee!)
  
• Malinda Lo
  
• Myra McEntire
  
• Saundra Mitchell
  
• Sarah Ockler
  
• Jackson Pearce
  
• Aprilynne Pike
  
• Dia Reeves
  
• Beth Revis
  
• Carrie Ryan
  
• Jon Skovron
  
• Courtney Summers
  

So you see why my head basically exploded when I found out.

BUT that's not even the best part, because HarperTeen and Figment have teamed up to hold a contest to find one more story for the anthology. That's right. YOU could have YOUR STORY published alongside those AWESOME WRITERS! The details aren't all out yet on just how the contest will work, but you can sign up here at Figment to be notified the moment they're released.

You can also learn more about the DEFY THE DARK, the writers, and see sneak peeks of their stories at the newly launched DEFY THE DARK website. The sneak peek at my story, STILLWATER is here, you know, if you're interested.