One thing I’ve noticed as I read our Author Crush guest blogs is that routines are inevitable. Even when I think I’m not organized or methodical, I WILL have a routine. Even if it seems as though I’m procrastinating and ignoring the work, like Tosca Lee and others, that seemingly non-routine IS the routine. Even when, like Zilpha Keatley Snyder, I write pretty much when I want to, I still have habits, like her keeping a notebook, that support the writing. (And sometimes sabotage it, but that’s not the focus of this article. ) That’s really all a routine is. A habit. The key is to form those habits and routines that best support my writing, that propel me into productivity, not away from it. As Lauraine Snelling stated, I need to find what works for me and then work it.

          In reading last month’s Author Crush blogs, I have discovered several authors who seem to share with me similar styles of working. The difference is they are productive. Me? Not so much. Yet. I’m realizing the reason behind that lack of productivity is NOT lack of discipline, but lack of trust. Trust in myself. I convinced myself I was doing it all wrong. That kept me looking for better and better ways to organize my time and work. I try to force myself to write when the words don’t make it into my mind, much less out of my fingers. Or I insist on too high a word count for each day’s work. Or, after a few successful low-word count days, I “raise the bar” and place ever-increasing word-count expectations on myself. I didn’t consciously realize it until Liz Curtis Higgs mentioned her 5000-word day and its aftermath, but my consistent habit of raising my target word count is not the best way to motivate myself. Consistent success is.

          In January, I set a goal to write 115 words each on two different projects every weekday. I felt guilty and failure-ridden that I had to “back up” to such a tiny word goal. I felt like a slug next to Kitty and Shonna’s more ambitious goals. Intuitively, though, I knew that’s all I could really do. Any larger amount and I would be tempted, as I had many times before, to not write that day because of . . . any number of good, bad or ridiculous reasons. But I could easily force myself to write 115 words. And I did. Every weekday. Even the week I was sick and wanted to stay in bed all day. Even the days (twice in 4 weeks!) when I was reformatting and restoring my misbehaving computer.

          Except for a few stutters in the beginning weeks of January, I have added to each of these projects. One is a personal journal whose end product is still unclear; the other, a cookbook, is nearing completion. Maybe. This has all the earmarks of a never-ending project. I’m getting definitive glimmers of how to proceed, though, and that means it’s time to reassess my January goals.

          Instead of upping my word count and adding even more projects, though, I’m going to trust that I’m on the right track to my best process and add small, easy to reach goals. I’m also going to add in some flexibility. (Just a little. I don’t want to make myself so flexible, I flop back into non-productivity.)

          My continuing projects will be the journal, the cookbook and blog posts for this site and my personal website. My new projects are to write a manual for Time Tracker, the software my husband wrote to help me track my time (I hope to offer Time Tracker to our blog readers for beta testing in a couple of months.) and some short homeschool stories that have been blossoming in my mind lately. (Yay! Fiction is finding it’s way back into my schedule.)

          My goal is still to write 115 words each weekday on two projects. The difference is I get to choose from the above list of projects which ones I work on for any given day. This might mean I don’t open some files for weeks, but that’s okay; I can evaluate and assess my goals at any time if I decide a project needs more “face time” from me.

          Taking my cue from our Author Crush guests, I think I’m well on the way to discovering my best process and work it. What about you? What is your best process? Work on one project at a time or cycle through two or more? To write everyday or give yourself a one or two-day break? To give yourself an easily attainable goal or a must-stretch to make it goal?

Author Crush month is so much fun. The authors we contact are all very gracious to give us a glimpse into their writing life. Truly, the authors we hosted last month were both entertaining and encouraging.

I get tickled when I think about our fascination with how writers work. What an odd profession when trainees, contemporaries, and even customers are interested in your day-to-day activities. Early morning or late at night? Dedicated office or coffee shop? Words per day or scenes per day?

Think about other professions. Are you interested in how your favorite hairdresser prepares her workstation for the day? Does she listen to music? Review the haircuts she crafted the day before? Is she simply satisfied that she color hair every day, or is she more concerned with the number of colors she does in a day? How about your mail carrier? Your plumber? I don’t see my husband staying up late reading blogs of his favorite engineers.

Yes, we are an odd bunch. And we love it. We love learning about our favorite authors and we crave any small tip that we can take and use for ourselves.

So, from the authors I invited to share, here are the gems I pulled from them:

Sarah Prineas—Binge writing. This is my kind of writing, especially when it comes to first drafts. First drafts are hard and they are nice to be over and done with. I am also fascinated with the writing workshop she attends (Blue Heaven). Would love to find one of these close to home.

Zilpha Keatley Snyder—Notebook Method. Although she no longer uses her two-column approach to outlining her chapters, I think it’s a great way to learn how to get all the info you planned into your chapter. For each chapter she divides a page and makes two columns: Action and Information. Action ensures that something happens in the chapter, and Information reminds you to move the story forward in bits and pieces.

Karen Cushman—I laugh with her at her procrastination routines. I like to call them preparation routines. I have my own as well and they help awaken my brain to the idea that it’s time to write. But most of all, from her I’ve learned to work on getting the voice right at the beginning. (Pick up a couple of her novels and read the first page. You’ll see what she means by getting the voice.) I think this will save a lot of reworking later on.

Lois Lowry—I loved hearing about her first (small) desk when she staked her claim indicating she was a writer. I similarly staked a claim and hope to one day look back with fond memories at my HP mini and my spot at the dining room table. I especially liked how she talked about how her current (large) desk is cluttered with a mix of work and reminders of her life. (We have to live, not just write!)

Liz Curtis Higgs—Wow, but does that woman do research! I like how she sets a scene for herself in her writing study with music, Earl Grey tea and all her Scottish mementos. But what struck me the most was this line:

…my goal is to climb inside my characters’ hearts and let them tell their story.–Liz Curtis Higgs

I need to print this out in a pretty script and stick it to my computer. What a wonderful way to describe the goal of a writer.

Ah, it has been a great month. Author Crush 2011 can’t get here fast enough for me.

Last month, we heard from over a dozen authors who shared with us their writing routines. Or lack thereof. If there is one clear take-away, it is that there is no one right way to write. Perhaps not even one right way for each person.

When I started to realize that I identified with both the structured writers and the less structured ones, I began to ask myself some hard questions. Am I really as structured in writing as I think I am? If I were, wouldn’t I get more work done? If I tried more unstructured writing methods, would I be more successful?

The advice “learn what works for you” has never seemed more apropos. Because the advice I’ve been giving myself is not really working.

I’m a logical thinker in many ways. I worked in various areas of accounting and finance for close to fifteen years. I love playing with numbers, planning trips, and working with budgets – just for fun. So when I started to get serious about writing, I applied the same techniques to writing that brought me success in accounting. While sometimes everything aligns so that I’m producing massive amounts of work for a while, it doesn’t last. I finish books, but not with a routine or regularity that I can build a writing career on. At least, not according to conventional wisdom.

Which says to me that my routine is not working. More specifically, the way I think about routines and how to choose one for writing is not working.

Today is the first day of class in my Master of Arts in Creative Writing degree. (Yay!) A very good day to re-think routines. I’m going to go back over last month’s guest blogs and highlight the areas that made me stop and think, “Yes! I get that!” Many of those moments popped up when I was reading about the less-structured writers. A bit of a shocker really.

Maybe my creative brain is trying to tell me that the structure I’m trying to impose on my writing is simply not a good fit. Maybe if I listen carefully, I will hear my brain suggesting some new ideas. I can’t wait to see how this year turns out compared to what I expected when I made my 2010 goals.

What about you? Did you have any ah-ha moments while reading any of the Author Crush blogs? Have you found that the routine you find successful in other areas of your life is or is not successful in your writing life?

          I spent almost three hours on Saturday writing today’s blog. In fact, I had most of next week’s blog written, too. I only had to do some final polishing and format it for posting. I would have uploaded it then, but I was running late for an appointment. I shut down my computer and went to the appointment.

         That night, I turned on my computer, planning to upload the blog and do a few other writing-related tasks. The computer would not start! I got a “file corrupted” message and instructions on what to do. Didn’t work. My computer’s shot. According to my computer-guru (aka as Hubby), it’s the hard drive. I might be able to recover the data if I’m willing to pay some high-priced geek to try to retrieve it. Most likely, I’ll be buying a new hard drive or computer in a few days.

          I thought about trying to reproduce what I wrote. I could try, but it might not be as good. (Or it might be better.) Instead, I think I’ll just ask some questions. See what our readers think. (Nothing like getting someone else to do my work. )

          We just finished with our month-long Author Crush guest blogs. Which blogs were your favorite? Why?

          The authors I particularly related to were the ones who professed little or no routines. Zilpha Keatley Snyder, who writes when she wants; Tosca Lee, with her nocturnal writing habits; Sarah Prineas, who claims to binge-write after what she calls pre-writing; and Karen Cushman, who does the same pre-writing type activities, but confesses they are really procrastination routines. Every one of these authors affirmed my own style of procrastination/daydreaming/writing, giving me much-needed encouragement to trust my own process.

          That isn’t to say I didn’t like the others. I thoroughly enjoyed every guest blog we posted. Given enough space, I could say something about each post. My goal, though, is not to rehash all those blogs. My goal is to start a conversation. Let us know which authors stirred a chord in your heart, taught you something you didn’t know (thanks Pamela, for the link to FreelanceWritingGigs.com) or just plain entertained you. (Next time I need to figure out a plot point, I’m going to go bake some cookies, like Julie Garwood.)

          Your thoughts?

I am so excited to introduce our last Author Crush of 2010. Years ago when I was working as a technical writer/editor for an educational company I had a hard time reading books for pleasure. I couldn’t turn off my analytical brain and just enjoy the story. Then I picked up Liz Curtis Higg’s Thorn in My Heart. I started off with my usual nonstop mental analysis, then somewhere along the way I fell into the story. I was in 1788 Scotland and my heart was breaking.

Now, Liz is my GGR. My Guaranteed Good Read.

Every summer my family goes to a quiet little lake in British Columbia for our vacation and whatever reading material I take with me is all that I have. So it better be good, right? Yes, the GGR. The tough part for me is that Liz’s books tend to come out in the spring. I usually buy early so I don’t risk the store not having any before my vacation. But that means not allowing myself to even peek at the first page. Straight to my suitcase so I’m not tempted. Thank you Liz for being my GGR.

Here Burns My Candle, based on the Old Testament story of Naomi and Ruth is out March 16th.

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Here is what Liz had to say when I asked about her writing routines.

***

Even the word “routine” makes me twitchy, but after 27 books, I’ve developed a few methods that help me travel from first page to last—if not efficiently, at least eventually.

I’m a firm believer in having a workspace dedicated to writing, whether it’s a card table, a spare bedroom, or the little building we have behind our old farmhouse. Inside you’ll soon discover I have two desks. In my first-floor office I handle correspondence, chat with my publisher, create marketing pieces, update Facebook and Twitter—all that 21^st-century stuff. On the second floor is a room lined with bookshelves, where I do nothing but write. No food, no phone calls, no kidding.

Surrounded by the Scottish mementos that inspire me, I can quickly immerse myself in another time and place. A cup of Earl Grey tea, a fragrant candle, and some Celtic instrumental music help usher in the proper mood. I have a fairly detailed plot outline in hand, but my goal is to climb inside my characters’ hearts and let them tell their story. I’d rather observe and listen, writing down what they say and do, instead of forcing them to follow my lead.

Each book takes me about a year to write. I have a daily target word count, which is quite low at the start of the book—750-1,000 words a day—and grows with each chapter until I’m hitting 2,000-2,500 words a day. Exactly once in my writing career I hit 5,000 words between breakfast and bed. The next day I couldn’t rub two words together. So, I try not to get too obsessive about how much I get done, and instead focus on the quality of the writing itself.

Whether I’m writing nonfiction or fiction, I’m all about the research. Love-love-LOVE it. I have more than 850 books about Scotland, shelved by subject—architecture, birds, education, food, gardening, etc. And I have another 200 books and commentaries that help me understand the women of the Bible.

For my Scottish novels based on biblical characters, I research the Scriptures first, studying each passage in a dozen different translations, all the while letting the truth sink in and the story take root. Then I dive into the historical material, combing through my Scottish resources for relevant customs, traditions, and folklore that suit both the story and the setting. I’ve visited Scotland eleven times to date, tramping through the villages and over the hills and glens, snapping photos, asking questions, and taking copious notes. I’ve met the loveliest people since my first visit in 1996, and hear the cadence of their speech in the voices of my characters.

Anytime I think writing is hard work, I remind myself of the years I spent waiting on tables, cleaning houses, selling wigs, or changing diapers, and suddenly a day parked in front of a computer sounds like a cake walk. With tea, please.

***

Want to see a virtual tour of Liz’s writing study? Especially all those books? Yeah, me too. Here it is (warning, you’ll want a room like this for yourself):

http://www.lizcurtishiggs.com/scrapbook/study.htm

***

In her best-selling series of Bad Girls of the Bible books, workbooks, and videos, Liz Curtis Higgs breathes new life into ancient tales about the most infamous—and intriguing—women in scriptural history, from Jezebel to Mary Magdalene. Biblically sound and cutting-edge fresh, these popular titles have helped more than one million women around the world experience God’s grace anew. Her best-selling historical novels, which transport the stories of Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, and Dinah to eighteenth-century Scotland, have also helped her readers view these familiar characters in a new light. And her nonfiction book, Embrace Grace, winner of a 2007 Retailers Choice Award, presents her message of hope in an engaging and personal way, speaking directly to the hearts of her readers.

Liz is the author of twenty-six books, with more than three million copies in print.

http://www.LizCurtisHiggs.com

My very first writers conference was a gift from my friend Janet. She didn’t want to go to her first writers conference alone. Together with our also-first-timer friend Lisa, the three of us sat in on a five-day workshop for fiction writers, all of us trying to believe we weren’t scared to death. But as soon as Lauraine Snelling started to speak, we started to relax. She encouraged us, she hugged us, she told us we were wonderful, and she believed with all her heart that God had us all there in that workshop for a reason. Over the years, Lauraine became a mentor to me, and then a dear friend. She writes with passion and heart about the kind of people you can imagine are real, people with flaws but good hearts… people like you and me. If you haven’t read her books yet, give one a try. And I hope you find encouragement as you read about Lauraine’s writing routines… or lack thereof.

Available April 2010

Ever since I was a kid, which is some years ago now, I rebelled against the idea of routines. Things like do your homework right when you get home from school. I don’t think so, riding my horse was not to be done after dark and homework could be. As I grew older, got married and had children, I was locked into more routines than I cared for but when someone told me about a card file to organize housework, I took off running—away. You see routines come easily to organized people and those of us born without that gene, have trouble.

Enter writing when my three kids were teenagers. Even at that first writer’s conference, I heard about organizing your work, organizing your life to find time for writing, organize your children to take over some of the household chores so you have time to write. Well, my kids were already pulling their share so that wasn’t such a big deal, but a chart on the fridge with chores listed and points or stars or money added and subtracted, well, let’s just say not one ever cluttered our fridge door.

So now I’ve been writing for thirty years come April. That really looks scary written down. I am one of the old timers, that’s even scarier. Kitty asked me to blog about routines—and she knows me well enough to know this is part of a joke. You see, she was born organized, like our younger son, and she comes up with wonderful charts and graphs and systems. People like me are truly blessed by people like her. And I know there are a lot of people like me. So basically this blog is for you, the not naturally organized. Or routinized. Red line says that’s not a word but to me it is so it stays.

I have learned that at least some kind of routine will help me be better organized and build effective routines. Hope that makes sense. I have the good fortune to have contracts back to back which is wonderful but that also means, you guessed it, deadlines, routines, organizational efforts. The problem with deadlines is that if you miss one, you mess up the others. Domino effect. So I have spent the better part of the last years being behind, sometimes worse than others.

My word of wisdom for you is, being behind is a killer. A killer of creativity, a killer of joy, a killer of your word and self esteem and after awhile, it damages your body. So I beg of you, don’t let it happen to you.

Available now

Now then, before you figure your routine, you have to figure out when you work best, what hours for you are most productive writing time. I am NOT a lark who rises up singing before the dawn. I used to be a night owl and that’s when I did my best writing, between ten and two, as in a.m. That has changed through the years and now I agree with the concept that I am a swing shift person. My best writing hours are between eleven a.m. and three, then back at it in the evening for an hour or so, like eight to nine. I write fast then, most of the time, not pulling words out one by one. This is not an easy time to keep out the world, late night was much easier but I am resigned to the fact that this is what works best for me. I know, I have the privilege of setting my own hours. But pardon the cliché, where there is a will, or necessity, there is a way.

So that’s first, work during your most productive time.

I’ve had a couple of years that pretty much messed up any routine or creativity, but that is now past and one of the things I had to do, was go back to see what worked best when I was writing. So that is step number two. Look at your years of writing and what worked best for you, not just well, but best. If you are a new writer, watch yourself to learn what works best.

I am a strong proponent about do not edit until the end of the novel, so you write the first draft as fast as you can. Stopping to edit wrecks the flow and the pacing and your joy in writing. I know some of you would argue with that, but this is my blog. You get to write your own. I also know that ten to twelve pages a day, with some spurts of more, are not only possible but probable for me with this routine. And the thing that is so hard to admit, I do so much better when I do this. Arggg. Sorry, I relapsed. So I outline my story, a rough outline and begin with chapter one, writing as fast as I can. At the end of the writing time, I make a list of the things that I know have to come next to get me from A to B, either on a separate pad or paper on a clipboard, or lately right at the bottom of what I’ve written. That’s it for the day.

When I open the file the next morning, I read through what I wrote the day before, not the entire ms., fill in whatever places I left blank, change a few words, make notes if this prompts a change for earlier chapters and read through the outline for the day. I start writing and go as hard as I can until…you get the picture. I do not look for words either online or a thesaurus or anything else while writing. I do not look up facts, like what color were her eyes? I write. Those things I can look up off writing hours. I make notes for research needed and do that on off hours too. Usually I do that at the end of the book but I am getting better at research online.

If I do this five or six days a week, I am about two thirds of the way through the book by the end of the month. This is utopia. When I get a week away, I can get a hundred pages done, so a couple of times a year, I am blessed to have other writers to run away with.

We have a Motor Coach and love to travel. Last year that cost me a lot of writing time because I was having trouble focusing due to travel and health stuff. Today I am writing while Wayne is driving and this works when we are in an area I know well. When in new country, I want to see the scenery too. But I am back in the groove so we’ll see how this goes. I have to get started on the next book too.

Two classic quotes that I use often to get myself going. Yoda from Star Wars. “Try, there is no try. There is do or do not. There is no try.” And the second, the Nike slogan. “Just do it.” It is easier to just do it, if the doing has become a habit. Routines are part of habits.

I am, besides a recovering procrastinator, an all or nothing person. Not good thinking. Another friend that God dropped into my life convinced me that anything is better than nothing. Another phrase of hers and others, “do the next right thing.” That could be altered to “the next write thing.” Because of her counsel and prayer I have learned to be grateful with two pages a day or sometimes five, rather than ten or nothing. This is keeping me from throwing the whole thing over and escaping into the pages of a good book and the refrigerator.

A hint I have for all of us. Email, Twitter and Facebook are not part of writing time. Pages in the book are writing time. Yes, they are writing related, often enough but not writing time. I have one other suggestion. If you need something to transverse from life time to writing time, find something that works well for you. Some suggestions: morning pages that can be done any time of the day, a letter, a journal entry, or even ONE game of Free Cell or Solitaire. Choose according to your needs and self control.

May you all be blessed with writing and life routines that work and bring you closer to those goals you have written down. Oops, that’s another routine. Think DAILY. That’s a marvelous word. And may all your goals come true.

Today Lauraine Snelling is a member of the More Than Two Million Books in Print club, but when she first began she was a mother of three teenagers with a simple dream to write “horse books for kids.” Her dreams manifested into reality in 1982 with Tragedy on the Toutle, a story about a girl and her horse caught in the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington state. All told, Lauraine now has over 50 books published. Helping others reach their writing dream is the reason Lauraine teaches at writer’s conferences across the country. Her latest release is A Measure of Mercy, and No Distance Too Far comes out in April.

I first met Pamela Britton at a Romance Writers of America meeting. When she said she wrote books with NASCAR heroes, I thought, “Whatever.” But as she gave her talk, I found her funnier and cooler and I finally decided I had to at least try one of her books. I loved them! I’ve read almost all of her NASCAR books now, and yesterday I started reading her newest book, THE WRANGLER. Ahh, cowboys and horses and secrets – oh my!  I hope you’ll check out some of Pam’s books, too. Meanwhile, she’s got some great advice on helping along your full-time writing career. Enjoy!

Writing full time.

It sounds like a dream job.  But the realities of obtaining a steady stream of income while working from home can be like wrestling a chicken to the ground.  The key word there is “steady”.  Here’s the thing: when you turn in that full-length novel, or proposal, or revised manuscript, it might take your editor a day, a week or even months to get to reading it.  Payment is always tied to editor approval, and so if it does take your editor awhile to approve your latest work, you’ll be waiting for payment.  Let me be perfectly candid here: you never know when you’re going to get a so-called “paycheck”.  That’s fine if your backlist is earning royalties.  You can count on checks at least twice a year, but here’s the kicker about that: you never know how much those checks will be.  I’ve decided that understanding reserves and returns is like trying to understand global warming.  Impossible.

So what’s a writer to do?

I have the answer.  Freelance.

Are you good at a particular hobby?  Are you an expert in your field of work?  Do you enjoy sharing your opinion?  If you answered “yes” to any of those questions you’d be a perfect freelance journalist.  Be forewarned, however, getting your work in a magazine can be every bit as daunting as getting a publishing contract.

Having grown up in the horse world, it has always a dream of mine to write for one of the big horse publications.  I mistakenly assumed that my publishing career would be the launching pad for this new vocation.  Boy, was I wrong.  It turns out that most magazines have a dedicated staff of writers–and freelancers–that contribute to their magazine on a regular basis.  It was like trying to get a book published all over again.  I kept hearing, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Desperate, I resorted to Google and found a terrific web site:  www.freelancewritinggigs.com

Here was the information that I was looking for–but didn’t know I was looking for.  One of the founders of the site compiles a weekly list of publications looking for freelance journalists.  It was here that I found NASCAR POLE POSITION MAGAZINE.  They were looking for someone to write short features for their FAN GEAR section.  Since I routinely visit NASCAR garages, I suspected they would be interested in talking to me.  I was right.  I have since published numerous pieces in their magazine.  That led to other freelance opportunities.  Currently, I’m a stringer and a regular columnist for THE QUARTER HORSE JQURNAL, and a freelance writer for HORSE & RIDER–the two magazines I most wanted to work for when I first started down this road.

A word to the wise:  it’s not uncommon to be asked to work for free.  Don’t be offended.  I worked for what amounted to be “free” for nearly two years before I was actually “hired” as a writer for one of the above magazines.  To be honest, I didn’t mind.  I knew that having my articles in print would lend me credibility with future magazine publishers.  Sometimes it’s about getting your foot in the door.  However, be careful.  Don’t sell yourself too short.

It’s taken me over a year to find solid ground in the world of freelance journalism, but becoming a stringer for one of the world’s largest breed organizations means a monthly income that will come in handy at times.  I have a friend who writes for a number of magazines.  She juggles articles like most of us juggle plot lines—but it’s a monthly income stream that helps to supplement her royalty checks.

Being a full-time writer can be scary at times, but there are ways to accomplish this goal.  It might take you awhile before you’re ready to quit that day job…but it’s a heck of a lot better than working in the salt mines.

Good luck!

Pam

Pamela Britton considers herself a veteran of the publishing industry with twenty-three books under her belt, but when she’s not writing, she’s riding…the two words so similar it’s quite confusing at times.  “She said RIDING, not WRITING!” is scheduled to be inscribed on her tombstone.

I met Donna Lott years ago when we attended the same church. Her website, www.DonnaLott.com says she is “insightfully, delightfully funny.” That was obvious from the first conversation I had with her. She is the epitome of Southern style and graciousness and I am honored to call her friend. One year, at the request of our pastor, we collaborated in writing a series of skits leading up to Easter. While she considers herself a speaker more than a writer, that collaboration revealed an ability and style that I admire and envy. That’s why I wanted to introduce her as my “Author Crush.”

          I am a Christian Speaker and Bible Teacher who has always dabbled with writing. In school, I enjoyed the rush of an A+ on anything I’d written. I remember pouring over the comments of beloved instructors. I cherished their red-lettered words and dreamily imagined becoming a professional writer someday. When I was in college, I wrote a monthly newsletter for a Christian organization on campus. Years later, I had a couple of articles published and then a children’s play and a worship sketch book. Still, I was a dabbler who never really developed a consistent writing routine.

          I didn’t need one until last year when audiences of women at retreats and special events began to ask me if my talks were available in written form. I was both humbled and shocked. Nonetheless, I began to think seriously about writing for publication. I knew right away that being a serious writer would require some real changes in my life.

          I wasted no time in setting up my writing space—a desk, computer, lots of pretty journals and notebooks. I even set a bouquet of sharpened pencils right beside my monitor. Never mind the fact that I never used pencils, I just thought they looked smart sitting there. These things done, I rolled an office chair my sons had given to me for Christmas into the room and viola! I was well on my way to becoming a real life writer.

          That night when I clicked the desk light off, I determined to get to the keyboard first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, when the alarm sounded, I guess I forgot to remember to write. I was headed to the office. Really, I was, when I got distracted with dirty laundry and housework. I’m sure the phone rang a few times, too. Then there was the cat to be fed, the dog to be walked and so the day passed without my sitting down to write. The story was the same day in and out for a couple of weeks. When I passed the office on my way to something else, I noticed the sharpened pencils looking smart and the swivel chair empty. I was becoming very good at forgetting my decision to do more than dabble with writing. I was a quick study of procrastination and avoidance.

          Still, my little inner voice reminded me that most writers write. That meant I should probably get some writing done every day. To do that would require time with my seat in the seat so I sat in the swivel chair. With some trepidation, I booted the computer. Then, I proceeded to stare at the blank screen which silently stared back at me. Suddenly, the speaker in me grew quiet. For the first time ever, I had nothing to say. I plucked a pencil from the bouquet and doodled in a pretty journal. I thought and thought. Still, nothing came to me.

          And so began my writing career. I typed a little here and there, but took many breaks to do other things I preferred like lunching with friends and shopping. I woke in the morning with every intention of getting pages and pages written, but routinely procrastinated and often avoided writing altogether.

          Things I’d never really enjoyed, like exercise and organizing closets became “have to’s.” Why was writing so hard, so tedious? Why did the computer screen seem like an enemy? And why did I suddenly prefer even exercise and organizing closets to writing? Oh, sure, I managed to write a little here and there, but what had I really accomplished in six months’ time?

          Looking back, I realize I’ve gone through a dramatic change since I started pulling my talks together in book form. While I’ve learned that procrastination and avoidance are not the best routine for an aspiring author, I have made progress. The book I’m writing is now half-finished. In addition, the exercise and housework have paid off, too. Not only have I lost almost twenty pounds, but I also have the cleanest closets in town. In the next few months I hope to finish writing my book. In the mean time, I’m thinking of taking up a new hobby – perhaps gardening.

          The moral of my story is: Take up writing if you really want to lose a few pounds or if you want the most organized closets in town!

Donna was propelled into the word of God when she was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease that leads to blindness.  Now legally blind, she currently lives in Buford, Georgia, where she is building a speaking ministry. Since Light and Laughter Ministries was launched in 2005, Donna has been inspiring and entertaining audiences with her warmth, hope, and humor.  An insightfully delightfully funny gifted Christian Speaker and Bible study teacher, Donna is in her element when speaking at retreats, conferences, and women’s events. She artfully weaves life experiences and Bible truths into messages that encourage, enlighten, and entertain. A natural communicator, Donna is humor with a message personified. She accepts responsibility if your women walk away from a Light and Laughter ministry event having fallen totally in love with God and His word. She cannot, however, be held liable for injuries resulting from individuals falling out of their chairs laughing.

Lois Lowry is one of those rare authors who writes very well on a variety of interesting and unique subjects, from true events such as the evacuation of Jews from Nazi-held Denmark to the imaginary utopian world of the Giver, to the absolutely-true stories of Gooney Bird Greene (which my daughter just loves).

Best of all, for us writers, is her book of memories called Looking Back. Lots of pictures, lots of thoughts about those pictures, and mixed in between are glimpses into the mind of a writer.

It is about moments, memories, fragments, falsehoods, and fantasies. It is about things that happened, which caused other things to happen, so that eventually stories emerged.

And after reading her blog below, my author crush just got bigger.

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My kids—all middle-aged adults now!—remember that when they were teenagers, I carved out a little spot, a corner of the room that we had thought of as their lawyer father’s den. There was a wall of bookcases in that room, and their dad’s very large desk. Then—to everyone’s surprise—I bought a second-hand table, quite small, which fit into the corner. I set on it the portable electric typewriter that my father had given me for my 35^th birthday (to replace the manual typewriter he had given me for my 13th) and declared the space mine.

Many years later my older daughter told me that she, a budding feminist of 15 at the time, thought my carved-out corner was both poignant and pathetic.

I suppose it was, in a way. But it was so important to me. It was the first space I had ever claimed as my own. I had married at 19, was a mother at 20—and a mother of four by 25. Like all wives and mothers, I had put my own professional dreams on hold, had seen my husband through law school, had changed diapers and packed lunches and done laundry and made dinners and read bedtime stories (and had even gone back to finish college). Then, one day, I plugged in that typewriter, hung my sweater on the back of that uncomfortable wooden chair, and announced: “This is mine.”

That was thirty-eight years ago. The kids are grown, the husband is an ex, and I have lived in seven different apartments, condos and houses since then. In each of them I have set a typewriter—later a computer—on a desk and declared that space sacrosanct.

I am looking at that space as I write this. This desk—probably my terminal desk!—is very large. And cluttered! Spread out in front of me are the computer, the scanner, the printer, the phone. The tax files (business travel, cell phone, postage, secretarial, etc.) upright in their holder (making me feel efficient even if I am not). The coffee mugs filled with pens and markers and scissors: one mug is from a public elementary school, one from a private boys’ school, one from the New Hampshire Writing Project; and one from the USAF Fighter Weapons School has a golden picture of a sleek jet on it—and my son’s name, the son I lost in just such a plane.

I see on my desk an advanced readers’ copy of my yet-to-be released book The Birthday Ball, and the stack of research from Like the Willow Tree, set in rural Maine in 1919 and due to be published next year as part of the Dear America series; and some sample illustrations from a Gooney Bird in the works. A stack of letters from kids. There’s a glass jar of Atomic Fireballs given to me by my friend, writer Susan Goodman.

There are framed photographs of friends. Ashley Bryan (and there’s a not-yet-answered letter from Ashley on my desk, too); Trina Schart Hyman, with whom I was going to do a book, and then cancer swooped in and snatched her (but I’ve written her in as a character in a new, not-yet-published book called Bless This Mouse); Carol Otis Hurst, story-teller extraordinaire, also gone too soon, and her funny e-mails are still in my computer; and Annelise Platt, whose Danish childhood formed the basis for Number the Stars.

On a shelf nearby, part of a crammed-full floor-to-ceiling bookcase, are volumes of poetry. I begin my days by reading the poets I most love: Mary Oliver, Billy Collins, Ted Kooser, Jane Kenyon, others. I am not a poet myself. But reading their work reminds me of how language is best used: with cadence, nuance, mystery, and metaphor.

Not much of what I’ve described falls into the category of “writing tools.” But all of it does, really: the memories, the connections, the thousands and thousands of words that affect me, that I savor and wonder at and think about each day.

And I have a comfortable chair, now. It swivels and tilts and twirls. So different from the stiff ladderback that I placed in front of the little table in the corner once!  But it wasn’t the chair, or the corner, that mattered then, or that matters now, really. It’s the feeling of the space, and the sanctity of what can happen here.

Lois Lowry

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Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, author Lois Lowry has lived all over the world. She attended elementary school Pennsylvania, junior high school in Japan, high school in New York, and college in Rhode Island and Maine. Currently she divides her time between her residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts and an 18th-century farmhouse in rural Maine.

Twice the recipient of the Newbery Medal, given each year for the most distinguished contribution to children’s literature by an American author, Lowry has also received countless other honors for her work.

Her 35 books have been translated into over twenty languages, and in 1996 her novel The Giver, called in translation Le Passeur, was chosen by the children of Belgium and France as their favorite.

In addition, several books have been adapted for film and stage.

She is a mother and grandmother and has worked as a photojournalist as well as a writer of fiction.

I’ve been reading Jackie Diamond’s romances for years. They always make me laugh and smile – real “feel good” books! Her characters always seem like real people to me, and I always find myself genuinely liking them. Just like I genuinely like Jackie! She’s just the nicest person you could hope to meet – friendly, willing to share, and always smiling. If you ever get a chance to meet her at a conference or an author event, I’m sure you’ll agree. Till then, I hope you find her tips a big help in your own writing routines!

Tips That Keep Me Sane

by Jacqueline Diamond

I envy novelists who have the leisure to spend a year or more on a book. To keep up with my publisher, my readers and my bank account, I write three or four a year.

That means that at any given time, I’m writing a novel, coming up with proposal ideas, handling revisions or proofs on another, and publicizing the books I wrote the previous year. That’s a lot to keep track of.

This month, for instance, Harlequin American Romance is releasing The Would-Be Mommy, the first book in my Safe Harbor Medical miniseries. The basic idea is that a reporter confuses Safe Harbor Medical Center with California’s Safe Haven law, which allows mothers to safely surrender newborns at a hospital, fire or police station.

Believing there’s a special connection to this hospital, distraught young mothers come pouring in to relinquish their newborns. Some members of the staff provide temporary homes – and fall in love with the babies. And, of course, fall in love in other ways, too.

I’m publicizing Mommy while awaiting revision instructions on the third book (a December release – the second, His Hired Baby, comes out in August). Meanwhile, I’m delighted to report that my editor just bought three more romances set in and around the hospital, so I’ll be starting the first of those momentarily.

Here are some organizational tips that keep me from going completely off the deep end:

1) Above my computer I’ve posted a sheet headed “Projects.” It lists the deadlines for each of my new books – the date the first three chapters are due, and the date for the completed manuscripts.

It also lists dates for sending publicity releases, dates when each book comes out along with key information such as the ISBN numbers for quick reference, and a reminder about other work I do, including teaching via Long Ridge Writers Group. Just a quick reference in case my brain fogs over.

2) Okay, this isn’t totally great organization, but I have a short (frequently weeded) stack of papers on the right side of my desk with reminders about what to put in my next Web site update (I maintain my own site at www.jacquelinediamond.com) and notes about other stuff that’s coming up within the next few days.

3) Maybe someday I’ll use an electronic organizer, but for now I have a pocket-size calendar with everything: doctor appointments, Romance Writers of America chapter and local board meetings, dates to pay my credit card bills, even when to check the oil and water in my car.

By the phone in the kitchen, I copy out each day’s scheduled events and tasks on a separate sheet of paper, a couple of days in advance (so, on a Wednesday, I might have three sheets, one each for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday). Then I cross things off as I accomplish them.

4) I still keep paper file folders for financial matters and for my writing students, but most of my stuff is in virtual folders on the computer. For my books and other projects, I’ve set up a system of folders and subfolders. For example, there’s a main folder for Safe Harbor. Inside that are folders for each book. Once I’m finished with the series, I’ll move the main folder into my Old Books master folder, which will keep it out of sight but still available if needed.

5) In each book’s folder, in addition to a file per chapter, I have files called Characters, Plot, Notes, Research (sometimes numerous research files) and one of my handiest inventions, Time. In the Time file, there’s one paragraph for each chapter, including the day, how much time (if any) has passed since the last chapter and basically what happens. Ever discover that you’d written a weekend with two Sundays in it? Or you can’t remember how many weeks it’s been since the hero and heroine met? Or you want to find the chapter where Finicky the Cat escapes out the window? A matter of moments with a Time file.

I clean up this file when the book is done and send it to my editor with the completed manuscript. That saves a lot of questions from the copy editor, which always seem to come in months later when I’ve practically forgotten what I wrote, along the lines of: “Wasn’t it Monday when Alois told Boris about Hermione’s lingerie issues? And was it two or three days later that Simone dropped her drawers in Harrod’s?” (Okay, I’m making this up, but you get the idea.) No more thumbing through chapters, cursing.

Does this mean I never forget anything, never get confused, and never feel (just a little) overwhelmed? I wish! But there’s something very satisfying about crossing things off lists.

Now what was I supposed to do today?

The daughter of a physician, Jacqueline Diamond has always been fascinated by medical subjects, which is why she writes a lot of books about doctors. Plus they look so cute in their white coats! She’s sold 87 novels, including romance, mystery and fantasy, and is a former Associated Press TV columnist and reporter. You can read more about Jackie at www.jacquelinediamond.com.