“Everything in the world exists in order to end up as a book.” — Stephan Mallarme

I love this quote, because it reminds me that there is inspiration everywhere. In the strangest places, in the weirdest situations…and even in the most mundane activities. When I’m blocked, it helps to sit back and just watch the world, because there is a book everywhere.

Happy writing!

“If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” — Toni Morrison

This was why I started writing, and why I would have continued to write, even if I hadn’t sold a single manuscript.

This is why I write. Getting paid is just a bonus.

Blocked? Remember the story you want to read, the one no one has written…and write it.

“Do or do not. There is no try.” - Yoda

I often hear people say they want to try to write a book. I tell them to do it. All of a sudden, they have all kinds of excuses. Not enough time. They don’t know where to start. Their grammar needs work. They don’t know how or where to submit their work.

My answer? I had all those concerns, and guess what? EVERY ONE OF THEM CAN BE FIXED. You make time. You start by putting your pencil to the paper. You buy a book on grammar. You join writer groups and do research for submission questions.

If you want something bad enough, you do it. If you go into it with the attitude that you’re going to “try,” instead of “I will,” you have already sabotaged yourself.

Football coaches don’t tell their team, “We’re going to try to win this game!” They say, “We WILL win!”

Military commanders won’t instill a lot of confidence in their men by saying, “We’re going to try to win this battle.”

So remember, as you’re looking at your half-finished manuscript and wondering how the heck you’re going to finish it, that you CAN finish it.

Do or do not. There is no try.

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” - Dr. Seuss

I love this quote, and the thing is, I love it — even applied to my writing.

I spent too long being conservative in my writing because I worried about what people would think. What would my parents think about the graphic sex? What would editors think about my choice of content? What would readers think about my unconventional characters?

Yes, you do have to be mindful of your writing in terms of quality and genre, but when you chain your imagination and natural voice because you’re worried about what other people think, you’re not being true to who you are.

Be who you are, write what you want, and don’t worry overly much what others will think. It’s very freeing to let yourself go, and your natural voice will shine. Your audience, the people who “get” you, are the ones who matter. If you change your writing to make your critics happy, YOU won’t be happy, and neither will the people who fell in love with the real you in the first place.

So write and be free.

The writing is so much easier when you let yourself go.

“Time is a created thing. To say you don’t have time is to say ‘I don’t want to.’” – Lao Tzu

Sometimes I forget this, but you know, it’s SO true. Even if I’m away from the computer all day, I could write on the little notepad I carry, while waiting for my lunch order. Or I could dictate into the little voice recorder I keep in my purse. If I don’t do these things, I generally use the excuse, “I didn’t have time to write today.” But really, I did. I just didn’t make a big enough effort to make it.

I swear, I’m going to print out this quote and glue it to my forehead. Okay, maybe not my forehead, but someplace prominent. Like my husband’s forehead.

Okay, off to make some time!

You’ve had a long, hard day at work. You’ve been sick. You have writer’s block. You have housework piled up.

You just don’t feel like writing.

I know. I’ve been there, done that.

There are about a million things you can do to work up the motivation to write, but you know what I’ve found works best? It’s SO simple, and it requires no work, no positive thinking, no time.

Just open up your document. That’s it. Open it up. Because I’ve discovered that simply having the thing open puts it right there in your face. Your WIP stares at you. Taunts you. And if nothing else, it encourages you to tinker. Even if you don’t add significantly to the word count, it feels good to read a sentence and just make a single word better. That can lead to more tinkering, and in no time, you can find yourself immersed in your book and happily plunking away at the keyboard.

So if you’re having motivational issues, try just opening the document. You might be surprised at how much work you actually end up getting done!

I’ll be honest. When I realized I was up for the inspirational Sven post today, I nearly had a mental breakdown. I didn’t think I could do it.

See, I had a rough week. Beyond rough. One of the worst weeks of my life. I barely got online, couldn’t concentrate on writing or promo or blogging. Heck, I couldn’t even respond to emails when I did get online. So how the heck was I supposed to blog about plugging away at your writing when I couldn’t do it myself?

Then I realized that even though I had a hard time functioning creatively, the WILL to do so was there. I had a job to do, and I needed to buck up and just do it. And lo and behold, it felt good to look through blurry eyes at something that was removed from the world around me.

So here I am. I’m writing, I’m working on galleys, and I’m doing the things I need to do because I committed to a lot of things, and one of them was TO WRITE.

Life happens. We need to take care of ourselves in order to take care of others and to take care of commitments. Thing is, sometimes writing IS a form of therapy, a way to take care of yourself. Losing yourself in another world can work wonders.

Oh, and I’m much better today. : )

I hope you’re just as well and getting lots of writing done!

You’re on the last leg of the challenge. You’re feeling the pressure. You’re doing your best to cram as many words as you can into your project so you don’t feel like a complete loser, right?

And this post is encouraging…how?

Well, let me assure you that you aren’t alone.

Writing over the holidays can be hugely depressing. So much is going on…parties, shopping, cooking, cleaning the house for guest visits…it totally eats into your writing time. Not only that, but holiday stress and winter bugs take a toll on your health. So even with the extra time built into this holiday-timed challenge, your word count could have suffered.

Trust me. You are not alone.

I came to a grinding halt on my Sven project a few weeks ago, so I bounced from working on other projects to working on out-of-order scenes in the Sven project. Then the holidays flitted into my life like snowflakes floating an elf’s sneeze (OMG, do you see how much the holidays messed with my writing?) and all was lost.

So yes, I’m cramming. Writing like the wind (elf’s sneeze.) I didn’t always make my daily or weekly goals, and I may not make my Sven goal, but you know what? In the long run I’m not going to remember that I wrote 950 words instead of 1,000 on December 24th. I’m going to remember what it felt like to sit in front of the Christmas tree and play a board game with my husband and son. I’m going to remember the look on my son’s face when he opened his Christmas Eve present. I’m going to remember how we finally got the stray neighborhood cat to come in out of the cold and eat a warm meal.

So you didn’t make your holiday goal. So you didn’t make your Sven goal. You made an effort. And you still have time. Make a push this week, but don’t beat yourself up for what you didn’t do.

And remember, you are not alone.

So…it’s the holidays.

Which means eggnog, Christmas carols, shopping, and absolutely ZERO time to write. Honestly, I’m about ready to pull my hair out. But I’ve got two tricks to share with you.

One is for those of you who are finding it hard to write when there is so much Christmas spirit going around – and you want to be part of it, but darn it, you have to write. It’s always tempting to put off writing so you can watch the holiday specials, hang out with family and friends, and just spend time being all merry.

So what I do is simple. For just one hour a day, I lock myself away in my den, set a timer, and write like the wind to make the most out of that hour. To feel like I’m not completely missing out on my favorite holiday, I light a scented candle (Illuminations makes the most awesome eggnog-scented candle,) and I have a spiced wine or eggnog right there beside the computer.

Just that one hour a day, along with the candles and Christmas drink, both keeps me focused, and allows me to feel like I’m not totally on the outside looking in.

My second tip isn’t really about Christmas, but it’s something I’ve been doing for years. This is for the aspiring authors out there. It’s what I did as soon as I got serious about submitting my work for publication.

Every year, at the beginning of January, I would buy a “Call” bottle of champagne. It was the bottle I would have on hand to celebrate, should I get “The Call” that year.

I’d put it in the fridge (if there was room,) or the cupboard, and it would sit there until I got The Call. If I didn’t get The Call that year, it became my New Year’s eve bottle. I’d open it up, drink away the year, the rejections, and the disappointments. Then, the next chance I got, I’d pick up a new bottle, all shiny and full of hope, for the next year.

I had 4 Call bottles.

So what about you – what are you doing do keep yourself motivated this holiday season?

“Reading usually precedes writing and the impulse to write is almost always fired by reading. Reading, the love of reading, is what makes you dream of becoming a writer.” ~ Susan Sontag

I love that quote because it’s so true. Writers are readers. We were readers long before we were writers. The irony here is that once you become a writer, you have less time to read. And if you’re like me, when you don’t read, your writing suffers.

I can always tell that I’m not reading enough when my writing turns flat. It’s almost as if I’ve forgotten how to write. And I can tell what I need to be reading based on what element of my writing has turned flat. When the romance in my manuscripts is overshadowed by the plot, I know I need to read more romance. When the suspense in a manuscript dies, I dig out a thriller or suspense novel. When my descriptive abilities amount to writing, “the gray mansion looked scary,” I know I’d better sit my butt down with a nice historical.

I also adore books on craft. A good one can spark a fresh bout of creativity and really help get my writing back on track.

The best cure, though? Going back to my roots and reading the authors who got me interested in writing in the first place. Stephen King. Jack London. Robert Jordan. Linda Howard.

What about you? Do you remember THE BOOK or THE AUTHOR that made you sit up and say, “I can do this. I need to do this.”?

I was twelve. And it was Stephen King.