Finding writing advice in life: What my sniffling baby taught me

Every mother knows that a sick baby is not an easy baby and makes for a very unhappy mommy. Now, make that mommy a working mom that is trying to juggle a job in addition to caring for her sniffling child. That is where I’ve been this past week. My baby girl has been battling a nasty case of a runny nose. At times she has found it difficult to breath and nothing could make her remotely happy but me holding her and rocking her. And to make matters worse, this was her first cold. I’ve hated seeing her go through this but I always try to learn from every situation. Even as my daughter is sick, I found some “writerly” wisdom out of those sniffles!

For writer’s, our manuscripts are like our babies. We give them life, we spend so much time with them and put our heart, souls and yes, even tears into them. Just like our real babies, our manuscripts also get sick. We must care for scenes that just don’t fit. We have to rework missing plot points and fix character arcs.

And just like I was proactive with my sniffly little one by keep her inside, away from other germs while her resistance was down. I also am proactive with my manuscripts by outlining and catching plot holes before they become a gaping hole that can destroy the book entirely.
Like a sick baby, writing takes care and patience. Nothing is better when we can release a sigh of relief when our baby is well or when that scene is fixed. It amazes me how much “writerly” advice can be found from everyday life, all around us. What have you learned lately?


Announcements:

I will be hosting a live webinar on September 26 6:30-8 PDT with Farm Dogs USA titled ‘Caring for Special Needs Dogs.’ My lecture will be based off my book, ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ along with new research. Click here for more information.

I’m teaching a Write It Forward Workshop titled, ‘Writing Moms: How to do it all without losing your mind’ online in October. Click here for more information and to sign-up.

If you are a writing mom I encourage you to visit the #WriteMom community of Twitter. Share your joys, successes and stress with others writing moms. Learn more here.

The power of #WriteMom

If you haven’t read Kristen Lamb’s book, ‘We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media’ then please stop reading this and go read it now. The writing industry in particular is very overwhelming. As Kristen points out in her book, the writing community is alive and well online so use it. Learn from others, network and ask your questions. A fast, easy way to connect is on Twitter through the #MyWANA hashtag. That stands for “My We Are Not Alone” based off Kristen’s book. Here writers meet up and spread the love. Learn more here.

But you have a bubbly toddler and can barely make time for plotting your book during her nap times. How can you make time to chat with some people online? The question is; how can you afford not too?

I’ve been a freelance journalist for ten years. When I decided to add author to my writing credentials I knew that I was going to have to learn a lot. The most important thing I’ve learned in a little over a year is the value of discussion. Of course you must make time to write in order to be an author but you have to also understand what you are doing. Connections are important and it’s those connections that sometimes pull you through that troublesome scene.

You—with the bubbly toddler are not alone. I’m right there by you. I hold multiple National and local freelance contracts, promote my published book, research and write my next non-fiction, submit my young adult, write my middle grade, manage my speaking engagements and online course teaching schedule plus all the other things that come with the job title of “writer” all while caring for my thirteen-month-old daughter. I apologize for the insanely long run-on sentence and that didn’t even include Oscar, my special needs dog that is very high maintenance. The point is we all are busy and juggle a million things regardless what your day is like. As Kristen’s book stresses, you are not alone. This goes for writing moms as well as writers. This is why I’m launching #writemom on Twitter.

When you Tweet, add #writemom to your message. Make sure you do this when you are tweeting about writing progress good and bad. Soon we will have a community of writing moms. We can share the joys of publishing milestones, the stresses of deadlines and the frustrations that being a mom can add to all of this. After having a career in public relations and television prior to writing full-time, I’m convinced that this is the most difficult job. And when you add the pressure and duties of motherhood to your writing role—it can get very overwhelming.

When times are stressful remember that you are not alone. So many writing moms are making it work and look easy everyday. Share your success, advice and stories at #writemom. There is power and strength in community. Use #writemom to celebrate, vent, cry, laugh, rant, etc. Let #writemom refuel you for your next writing sprint and help you reach your goal. I’ll look forward to seeing you in the community. Happy Friday and to the power of #WriteMom!

I’m teaching a Write It Forward Workshop titled, ‘Writing Moms: How to do it all without losing your mind’ online in October. Click here for more information and to sign-up.

I will be hosting a live webinar on September 26 6:30-8 PDT with Farm Dogs USA titled ‘Caring for Special Needs Dogs.’ My lecture will be based off my book, ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ along with new research. Click here for more information.

I’ve been out of the loop this week. Please share some great blog posts that you’ve seen for this week’s blog mash-up.

How being thankful makes us better writers

Lately I’ve been on work overload. I’m sure many of you know the feeling. I had a deadline while getting ready for a conference and promoting my recent release. Throughout all of this, I still had to be a mom and a wife even though I’m sure there have been moments where I haven’t been the best at any of it.

I had a wake up call. A friend of mine from college has a child just a few months younger than my daughter. We were pregnant the same time and I remember discussing baby products with her over the phone. Her child has been diagnosed with brain cancer. The baby has all ready had multiple brain surgeries and will have a combination of chemo and radiation for an entire year.

I learned this horrible news just before I left town for the RWA National Conference in New York City. It was great to see my Twitter friends, meet new people and discuss and grow with my writing. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about my friend’s baby and everything that her family is going through. It made me regret all the moments when I have looked up from my desk to see my daughter smiling at me and I didn’t say anything. Don't you think the families who lost someone on September 11th would love to have another moment with whom they lost?

The truth is that we should always be thankful for what we have before we stress out about the things that would quickly fall to the side if tragedy occurred.

As soon as I returned from NYC, I was exhausted and energized to dive into my new manuscript. I know everyone says that you must get back into the routine. You must write your normal daily writing goal beginning the day you return. That was my plan. I did something different. I did write about three pages and reviewed the outline for my new project but I put playing with my daughter first. Even though I was exhausted, seeing her smile and show me her different toys gave me a surge of energy. I was thankful for my child and the fact that have the gift to work from home so I can be with her.

Now that I’ve been writing full time from home now for over a year I have developed a flow that works for me. Some days, I even manage to go over my daily writing goal while still meeting freelance demands. But I’m doing something different and I have found that it clears my mind to be more creative because I’m happy, I’m not stressed. I play with my daughter for writing breaks. I use to use my writing breaks for bottle times, meal times and let her play on the floor of my office with her toys. I love how she can entertain herself, but now I’m much more involved in playtime. I am so lucky and when I’m stressed I am going to hang onto that feeling and know that I can accomplish anything.

Using the happy energy that I get from playing with her positively affects my writing. What do you do for writing breaks? How do you harvest your energy in order to apply it to the page?

Announcements:

I want to thank ‘Writer Wellness’ author Joy E. Held for her guest post last week. Joy is a much calmer writer than I am and I always love to learn from her. Follow her blog and learn more about Joy and her book, ‘Writer Wellness.”

I have launched my official writing website. You can visit it at www.NatalieCMarkey.com Thanks to my fabulous brother for doing such a great job. Now I'm sure I'll have some new ideas after this conference :-)

Speaking of websites, Who Dares Wins Publishing has a new one. Check is out.

My non-fiction, ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog,’ is out. Vets will always be your first resource in pet care, but as owners, we have a lot of power in giving our dog the best possible life. It is currently selling for $2.99 with a percentage going to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine.

I’m participating, as an author in The 400 Hundred Hours to Four Hundred Days blog tour. The purpose of this is to celebrate the upcoming release of L Carroll’s second book, ‘Four Hundred Days.’ A component of this tour is a social media contest. If you are interested in winning a free book read the rules below.

The goal behind this contest is to spread the word about Four Hundred Days as far as possible to as many people as possible.

Four Hundred Days is the second book in the Lor Mandela series by L Carroll. It’s a captivating trilogy.

Win Nice Girls Does Noir by Julia Crane

To Enter:

· Tweet “Join us on the 400 Hour to @FourHundredDays blog tour (participants add your link to this contest here)

· Leave a comment with the links.

Extra entries

· Facebook about the contest. (+1 entry)

· Change your Facebook Image to the 400 Hours to Four Hundred Days blog tour button for the duration of this tour. (+3 entries)

· Change your Twitter avatar to the 400 Hours to Four Hundred Days blog tour button for the duration of this tour. (+3 entries)

· Blog about this tour. (+5 entries)

· Grab the 400 hours to Four Hundred Days button and place it your blogs sidebar. (+3 entries)

· Youtube about the 400 hours to Four Hundred Days tour. (+10 entries)

As You can find more info and the 400 Hours to Four Hundred Days blog tour button at Woven Strands

What is a happy ending?

I read a lot of craft books when I decided to turn the ideas in my head into novels and there always was so much emphasis on that first chapter. I agree that the first chapter is very important. It is what sets the tone. It is what potential agents/publishers see. But what about the end? Will we be stoned to death if we don’t write that picture perfect ending, where are hero and heroine ride off into the sunset? What about cliffhangers? Is there a cliffhanger that is too much? Right now I’m thinking about endings a lot since I’m currently polishing the ending of my YA fantasy. And I’m not the only one. Recently I saw my friends at #WeWrite discussing endings as well.

My take on endings? I believe every ending needs to accomplish some arc. For example, when I decided that I wanted to write my YA fantasy series as a trilogy I created an outline for the overall series and then outlines for each book. The series has its overall plot arc, each character has their overall arc as well. Then each book has a purpose or something that it is out to accomplish. Another example, the big question to my heroine in book one is, who is she? At the end of book one readers will know the answer to the question, as will the heroine. So book one accomplishes its goal.

But (of course there is a but here) by answer the BIG question in book one it opens up other questions giving the reader a hook, AKA cliffhanger to keep reading.

A great example of this is Cassandra Clare’s ‘The Infernal Devices’ series. In the first book, ‘Clockwork Angel’ we are introduced to Tess Gray who at one time believed who she was but is thrown into a world where she discovers that she really doesn’t know who she is, or what she is at all. Spoiler, Spoiler, Spoiler. We learn, like Tessa that she is a downworlder. That is a fact, but neither of us, the reader or Tessa know what she is. So one question is answered only to open the door to other questions.

Some people don’t like cliffhangers. I hear readers complain, talking about how much they hate them. But by hating them, you’re proving how effective they are. As The Mortal Instruments Examiner at Examiner.com, I cover news stories related to the popular YA series by Cassandra Clare, ‘The Mortal Instruments’ and ‘The Infernal Devices.’ Clare is one of the best writers at cliffhangers and her latest book, ‘City of Fallen Angels’ really leaves the reader on the edge of their seat. It was my job to report the fan reaction to the book and for every reader that complained about the ending I would ask, “Will you read the next book?” The answer was always the same, “Yes.”

We read for entertainment. As a writer I want my readers to finish a story satisfied that the spent the time reading it. I want them to feel some accomplishment of the character’s journey but still leave them wanting for more. It’s good writing and smart marketing. So do I believe in writing a picture perfect happy ending? In the end—yes. I want the girl to get the guy and for the bad guy to get his comeuppance, but they will have a rocky road getting there.

What do you think about endings? Please share your comment below.

Announcements:

My non-fiction, “Caring for Special Needs Dogs” is out by Who Dares Wins Publishing. A percentage of the profits go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine. You can get it for $2.99 on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Help special needs dogs find their happily ever after.

What do authors do on release day?

Between long nights of writing, endless plotting and research, all writers deserve a break when they finally get that so sought after release day. Wrong. At least that is how it was for me. With the dawn of social media came even more "jobs" that writers must do other than write. Yesterday when my non-fiction “Caring for Your Special Needs Dog” came out I went to work with promotion. It is one thing to write a book but if no one reads it, then that hard work will go unappreciated.

In addition to promotion, I still have been writing. Obviously, “Caring for Your Special Needs Dog” is out of my hands but I’m all ready on to the next project. I’m currently revising my young adult fantasy and beginning research for the next book in my non-fiction series.

What other “jobs” do authors have? We’re also managers, accountants, janitors, etc. How do I make the time to do it all, while raising my daughter and dog Oscar, who you all have figured out by now is high-maintenance? Read my previous post on how to be your own staff.

Managing a writing business is not easy but it’s a way of life that I love and thrive on. Writing is a lifestyle, a way of life that we writers crave.

I support the idea of celebrating the milestones and victories of being an author, such as the fabulous release day. For me though, I celebrated the day my galley was in my hands. Now, I’m in full promotion mode and working on the next thing. I will say though, I did my little *happy dance* when I searched my name in Amazon and my book popped up!

What do you do or will you do to celebrate a book release? Will you celebrate on release day or when the book is out of your hands?

Announcements:

My non-fiction, “Caring for Your Special Needs Dog” published by Who Dares Wins Publishing is now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. A percentage of the profits go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine. For more information click here.

Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

Writing with passion: How that led to my first book

Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” We all love to write or we wouldn’t be able to handle this fast growing and crazy industry, but do you love what you write. I’m talking about if you love your writing. Most authors experience times when they don’t like their own writing, at least I hope that’s true because I’ve been there. The question is, are you writing what you love?

There is more to you then being a writer. What is it that makes you smile? What do you do when you’re not in front of the keyboard or on Twitter? For me, the answer is dogs. I have always loved dogs. I have never not had a dog in my life. Many of you put up with me talking about my dog Oscar on this blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. And that’s probably not going to change. I’m crazy about that dog. I mean, look at his picture. This is seventy-pound Oscar curled up on the couch surrounded by blankets. Maybe I should have named him Linus! Back to my point; after a conversation about dogs with Bob Mayer at one of his Warrior Writer Workshops (I highly recommend these) I decided to write a book on dogs. To be even more specific, the book is about caring for dogs with special needs, since Oscar has epilepsy.

Was it a good thing for me to take on another major writing project while still working hard on my young adult novel? I say yes. I love to write but it has been a wonderful thing to combine two loves of mine. It just feels good and I’m so happy that my first published book is about something that means so much to me (not that the YA doesn't and you'll hear why in a moment.)

For me it has been a breath of fresh air to be able to switch off from the two projects. While writing a young adult epic fantasy sometimes my head needs a break from running and designing a new world. During moments like that it was nice to switch over to work on my dog book. Both projects are completely different in tone and style. This gave me the needed break that I needed from the YA and the opportunity to hopefully really make a difference.

You can take writing about your passions to another level. I have. When writing fiction, write something that you love into the story. It will personalize it for you and keep you in love with the story. Yes, a writer can easily fall out of love with their own story after endless hours of working on it. In my YA you probably won’t be surprised to hear that Oscar has a role. Yep, I wrote in my dog. I’m an author, I can do things like that! For me, this makes the story much more exciting when I’m working on it at 2 a.m.

I know, I know. “Write a piece of me into the story? But if someone doesn’t like it then they aren’t liking a piece of me.” I once heard that concern and my answer is simple, get over it. As a writer you will not please everyone. You must have tough skin because there will be agents, publishers and readers out there that will not like your work. I accepted this before anyone looked at my work and this is why I understand the importance of making me happy. You can only control your own happiness, so write what you love. Put your happiness and anything that makes you happy into your story. Write with passion. If you do, you will be a happier writer and a better writer.

Do you write with passion? Have you written a non-fiction about an interest that you love? Do you combine your interests into your fiction? Share it in a comment below.

Announcements:

I’m excited to announce that “Caring for Your Special Needs Dog,” published by Who Dares Wins Publishing will be out a week from today, May 18! I’m really excited about this project and can’t wait to share it with you all. A percentage of profits from this book will go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine. Again, I’m following my passions.

Also, I’ve joined Facebook. You can now follow me there for announcements about my book, columns and other writing projects. Join the party and say "hi!"

If you haven't, join the Love Revolution for writers an follow the hastag created by Social Media expert Kristen Lamb, #MyWANA. This is a great way to connect with fellow writers, share information and ask questions. It can be hard to juggle writing and managing social media but we are not alone!