Newly Energized
Think back over your writing habits (or whatever your dream may be) over the past few months. If you are like me, you will probably recognize that you have frequently allowed other things to take over your life. Those are the "must-do's" that I've referred to in previous posts. Personally, there are times when all those "must-do's" stack up so much that there is nothing left of me to give. I feel wrung out, nothing left to devote to my dream of becoming a writer. I'm not saying you have to ignore the "must-do's" completely in your life. I have responsibilities that I simply cannot ignore: my husband, my daughter, my job, our menagerie. But if I am honest with myself, I can find time. It's just a matter of deciding whether I will allow myself to watch a television show that I'm fond of or if I will sit down with my laptop and get a few words down. As I write this, it's shortly after 8. One of my favorite shows is on (Enterprise - yup, I'm a Trekkie), but I am recording it while I am working on my writing, so I can watch the show later, with my husband, with no commercials. We had leftovers for supper and my child survived that horrible experience. I need to clean house, but it can wait. Honestly, it can wait until Thursday night, because my daughter is having a friend over Friday night and I'd like to clean house just before she comes. See? It all works out. You can likely do the same sorts of things in your own life. Just pick and choose what you really have to do and what you have to do to make your dreams come true.
If you are having problems with the motivation side of things, I suggest you do something about it. Look on the internet or in the local paper, and find a writing conference to go to. I just went to the Missouri Writer's Guild annual conference two weeks ago and it was great. Very inspiring, even more so than I had hoped it would be. I came back and polished a story I thought was already polished (a producer gave me some tips that made me rethink a couple of plot pieces - who'd a thunk it?), I've started a short story for my writing group's anthology, and jotted down several other ideas - including the basic plot lines of my next novel. By the way, I also made some good contacts. One editor asked for a copy of my most recent manuscript, which I appreciated - I hope things work out. But if it doesn't work out with her, I hope to at least get some feedback that may help me make my writing better. And then I'll send it out to another editor I met. Oh - and I'll share with you my most exciting news, the thing that really encouraged me, and was probably the most helpful event of the weekend. I took a masters course on pitching screenplays, which I did basically to expand my knowledge. I simply wanted to learn more, and I did. Pitching is horrendously scary for me, and that session helped me hone what I need to focus on, and actually helped me recognize the theme of my current work. Best of all, I tied for first place in the pitch contest, which was nerve-racking beyond belief for me. When I found out that we had to pitch to the producer and other writers, I nearly dropped out of the class. So, to win was a very positive experience for me. It made the entire conference worthwhile. And you put that together with the contacts I made, and it was the best conference I've ever been to.
This is BIW week, and I suspect it will be one of my best in quite some time, thanks to the boost I got from that conference!
Do something to energize yourself. If you can afford to go to a conference, go. If you can't afford a conference, get together with some like-minded friends and create your own mini-conference so you can share your passions with each other. You have something to offer, and your friends do, too. Take advantage of that.
And enjoy the energy boost you'll get from sharing your passion with others!
Happy boosting,
Elle
If you are having problems with the motivation side of things, I suggest you do something about it. Look on the internet or in the local paper, and find a writing conference to go to. I just went to the Missouri Writer's Guild annual conference two weeks ago and it was great. Very inspiring, even more so than I had hoped it would be. I came back and polished a story I thought was already polished (a producer gave me some tips that made me rethink a couple of plot pieces - who'd a thunk it?), I've started a short story for my writing group's anthology, and jotted down several other ideas - including the basic plot lines of my next novel. By the way, I also made some good contacts. One editor asked for a copy of my most recent manuscript, which I appreciated - I hope things work out. But if it doesn't work out with her, I hope to at least get some feedback that may help me make my writing better. And then I'll send it out to another editor I met. Oh - and I'll share with you my most exciting news, the thing that really encouraged me, and was probably the most helpful event of the weekend. I took a masters course on pitching screenplays, which I did basically to expand my knowledge. I simply wanted to learn more, and I did. Pitching is horrendously scary for me, and that session helped me hone what I need to focus on, and actually helped me recognize the theme of my current work. Best of all, I tied for first place in the pitch contest, which was nerve-racking beyond belief for me. When I found out that we had to pitch to the producer and other writers, I nearly dropped out of the class. So, to win was a very positive experience for me. It made the entire conference worthwhile. And you put that together with the contacts I made, and it was the best conference I've ever been to.
This is BIW week, and I suspect it will be one of my best in quite some time, thanks to the boost I got from that conference!
Do something to energize yourself. If you can afford to go to a conference, go. If you can't afford a conference, get together with some like-minded friends and create your own mini-conference so you can share your passions with each other. You have something to offer, and your friends do, too. Take advantage of that.
And enjoy the energy boost you'll get from sharing your passion with others!
Happy boosting,
Elle
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