I use a similar calendar template from Word to keep my life organized. I print daily pages and keep them in a binder on my desk, and I have calendars that show the whole month so I can glance at deadlines, appointments, etc. easily. I’m a pen and paper person, and I like to organize things by writing them down. I also really enjoy the satisfaction of crossing tasks off once they’re completed. (To-do lists are my friends.) I’m going to use the PDF version of Moira’s calendar this year. It has all the space I need, plus the addition of a regular writerly quote to keep me inspired.

What tools do you use to organize your life, writerly or otherwise? If you have some tips, please share them. We can all use a more organized 2012!

I know my family loves me and supports my writing life, but no matter how much love and understanding comes my way, they just don’t quite get it. My fellow writers “get it.” They get that it’s actually normal to be excited about a rejection letter because it contained a personal note of encouragement from an editor. My husband says, “But it’s a rejection!” while I’m fist pumping at what, for me, is a breakthrough moment.

Tonight is one of those nights when the writers gather in my (clean!) livingroom and share what they’re working on, what they need help with, and what’s ahead in their writing life. Amid the tea and goodies, we share the ups and downs of the freelance writing profession with humour and support, knowing that everyone in the room “gets it.”

Priceless!

I decided to give myself a treat for the new year to keep me inspired for 2012–a copy of Writer’s First Aid by Kristi Holl. I enjoyed Kristi’s second instalment, More Writer’s First Aid so much, that I thought I would get the first one, too. The book is still en route, but I’ll post a review as soon as I’ve read it.

I’ve been creating writing prompts for The Writer subscriber’s website since July and have enjoyed reading the various responses to them. They’re such fun to write, that I thought I’d create some just for this post. Hope they give you a creative boost into the new year. For more prompts, check out http://wrightingwords.wordpress.com/writing-starters/

1. Use one, a few, or all of the following words in a story or poem: tree, calendar, photograph, link, ribbon

2. Brainstorm around the word ice-cream. Write a poem or an opening paragraph with the images you see.

3. Think of all the meanings, expressions and words that use the word “run.” Here are some examples: silent running, run (in pantihose), the run around, running in circles, run for your life, end run, in the long run, runny nose, rum runner … Play with these and any others you can think of until one of them leads you to a story or poem.

4. Use one, a few, or all of these words in a story or poem: window, sheet, key, mark, drop

5. Think of the longest trip you have ever taken. What are your best memories of that trip? Write them down and share them with the people you travelled with, or illustrate your memories with photos from the trip and save them in  a special travel diary on your computer or in a binder just for you.

I’m one of those people that really dreads the blank page. I’m fine once I get started, but beginning something new is a struggle for me. In my head, I know that I’m only writing, in Anne Lamott’s words, a ‘shitty first draft’ (Bird by Bird). I know that every word that hits the page the first time through does not have the right to sprout roots and stay put and that changes will be made later. In fact, I really enjoy editing. However, all that ‘knowing’ does not help the fact that I would rather clean my bathroom than start typing those first words–or put in a load of laundry–or organize my files, or my bookcase, or the top of my desk–all things that normally are regularly on the bottom of my to-do list. On the plus side, starting a new project usually coincides with a much tidier office.

Now, obviously I do get started, or I wouldn’t be much of a writer, but if anyone has some tips for short-circuiting my initial plunge into a story, I’d love to hear them. And now, I’m going to pick up my story where I left off yesterday and get some work done.

Here’s a look at what I was up to from the school blog: http://blogs.ridleycollege.com/blog/2011/11/10/how-to-become-a-writer-with-the-help-of-ms-wright/

Writing Workshops for Teens
with Heather Wright, author of Writing Fiction: A Hands-On Guide for Teens

In a series of four 1-hour workshops, Heather will work with teen writers to help them develop story ideas, write dialogue, create characters and add action and suspense to their writing.

Heather Wright is a freelance writer and part-time professor at Conestoga College. She is a regular contributor of writing prompts to The Writer, and a former columnist for What If? Canada’s Creative Teen Magazine.

Register by calling Christy at 519-743-0271 ext. 277 or christy.giesler@kpl.org.

Mondays at 4 pm

October 31 – November 21

Country Hills Branch

I, on the other hand, am not that kind of edge person. I’m genuinely afraid of heights and I approach edges (even those with stout barriers) with caution and baby steps. I sometimes envy my men and their openness to the edge. I count myself brave when I stand beside them, but it doesn’t always last and there are times when I have to turn back or block my view of the sea and the cliffs and remember to breathe as we drive along a switchback in the Cape Breton Highlands.

Do I feel a desperate need to change my approach to edges? No, not really. I have my small conquests and the view is just fine a few steps back.  I have my own edges that I inhabit, that lead me to take risks, change jobs, approach editors, stand in front of people and speak or lead a group, and put my writing ‘out there’ to be reviewed and critiqued by others. I’ve walked to many in the past and I intend to keep on doing so. I embrace those edges with a blend of fear and anticipation in varying proportions. Those edges are enough for me.

Are you an edge person? What kind of edges do you inhabit?

I had planned to do some creative writing of my own, but it didn’t happen. As a teacher, I often find that my mind is full of my students’ stories instead of mine, so it can be tough to put creative pen to paper. I put together a proposal for a textbook instead, which called for a different set of writing muscles. I also caught up on emails and read and read and read. I’m reading my first Amanda Quick novel and finished two more by another author new to me, Barbara Cleverly. I also treated myself to a revisit of A&Es Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth. Lovely.

This week, I was sent this link to a great piece by William Zinsser that I passed along via Twitter–Zinsser at his best on writing good English. Drop by and give it a read, though I know I’m preaching to the converted. http://www.theamericanscholar.org/writing-english-as-a-second-language/

Hope your week was as good as mine. Have a great weekend.

This is such a simple idea, but I can speak from experience that it is effective. Right now I’m working with a small group of writers and we’re sending out “dones’ every day. The first time we did this our goals were all writing goals. This time we’ve expanded our “done’ to encompass whatever individual goal a person chooses. We’re going to work on our goals for a month and then share what our goals were in August.

So, if you have something you want to do every day–exercise, write 500 words, read War and Peace–find a group of people to exchange emails with daily and you will be on your way to achieving your goal.

Do you have any great goal-reaching tips? I’d love to hear what they are!