Thankful for writing one word at a time

Wow, next Monday is Christmas Eve. Where has the year gone? How did the holiday get here so fast? I swear it was just February a minute ago.

I know a few people who haven’t done Christmas shopping or any holiday prep because of the fear of the world ending this Friday. I’ve never been worried about the date, and NASA was nice enough to let a video slip out into the mainstream a bit early to possibly help calm any remaining fears. The video was supposed to hit the Web on 12-22-12. It’s interesting to watch, and only about 4 1/2 minutes long. The Mayans were very intelligent folks and it’s amazing what they did without all the crazy technology we have today.

My Accomplishments List (aka Success Journal) has a lot of nice entries from last week. It’s one of my most productive weeks all year. There’ s a lot of work on my desk and I can get easily stressed about it, but Wendy reminds me “it’ll all get done.” Just saying that to myself a few times slows the heart beats and gets me breathing normally again. Writing gets done faster when I know “it’ll all get done.”

That mindset ‘thing’ is quite powerful. Thanks, Wendy.

I’d like to give shoutouts to my other fellow bloggers today, too.

Susan has beautiful images for this blog. I like this Christmas pic – a lot of elves are relaxing for a bit. I picture them sipping hot chocolate (with marshmallows) and their feet propped up on footrests for some must-needed rest. (See? This is how stories get started)

Lee has gotten me thinking a lot about what I read, what I have read, and what I should be reading, through some of her posts. It blows me away that she, and others, can remember what they read in high school. I’m lucky if I can recall the title of the book I’m currently reading. I track all my books in a spreadsheet, trying to top last year’s number of books read each year, but the fast few years have been low – I don’t count the manuscripts I edit, although maybe I should since I read them 2-3 times each!

Jamie blows me away with her posts – so much great information – and I wonder how she finds the time with all her other projects and personal life. But mostly, she’s quite an inspiration to a self-employed writer!

And there’s Diane, whose posts always seem to come at the right time. I love how she mixes in some coaching techniques here and there. Little tidbits that give me the right nudge seemingly right when I need that particular nudge. We’re going to be helping each other get some short stories published in 2013.

Deborah brings a lot of writing experience to the blog. I ‘met’ Deborah through her book “Into the Wilderness” when I interviewed her for my blog and reviewed the book. I like the glimpses she gives us into Vermont. I don’t get to the state nearly as often as I should. I didn’t actually meet her until this past July.

Julie, Julie, Julie – thank you so much for joining this blog. You bring your pep and theatre and mystery writer perspective here and it’s quite enjoyable. I know you have a busy year ahead as President of Sisters in Crime-New England and being on the committee for the New England Crime Bake conference in November — nevermind all your StageSource commitments!

I love being a contributor on this blog, and thank you Readers for being our audience. Your feedback keeps us going and keeps us writing, which is the goal. Always feel free to let us know if there’s something you’d like to know more about and we’ll get it covered for you.

I raise my glass and toast you all — thank you for letting me into your lives one word at a time.

Lisa J. Jackson is a New England-region journalist and a year-round chocolate and iced coffee lover. She loves working with words, and helping others with their own. As Lisa Haselton, she writes fiction, co-blogs about mystery-related writing topics at Pen, Ink, and Crimes, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is a chat moderator at The Writer’s Chatroom. Connect with her on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter. 

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Favorite Writing Books

Lisa J. Jackson and I were talking about our favorite writing books recently. There are some books that I have read over and over again because I learn something new every time, and there are books that I have only recently found, but have gotten me excited to go to the page. Those are the books I buy rather than download to my Kindle because they sit on the bookshelves in my office like old friends ready to start a new conversation any time I wish. Lisa feels the same way about her faves, so we thought we’d share them with you.

Enjoy!

Diane’s List

1. Bird By Bird, by Anne Lamotte. This is the first writing book I reach for when I’m having doubts about myself as a writer or just need inspiration. It’s so funny and fun, and full of practical tips. It’s worth it for the poem by Philip Lopate on page 11 alone, but the concept of “Sh**ty First Drafts” was also extremely helpful for me when I started writing again as an adult.
2. Life’s Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest, by Christina Baldwin. This book gave me permission to journal–something I was compelled to do anyway, since the age of 11, but I always felt like I was wasting time until I read this book. It made me realize how valuable my journaling practice has been in my life. My thoughts go in circles when I am just thinking them, but there is something about the implied dialogue of journaling that allows my thoughts to move forward and resolve when I write them down.
3. No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty. I think this little book is a very practical approach to a first draft. It’s humorous and quirky, and I turn to it when I need inspiration to just get the words on the page. It helps me let go of my perfectionism. I’ve only completed NaNo once (in 2008), but with this book I can take that challenge any month of the year!

Lisa’s List

1. Outwitting Writer’s Block and Other Problems of the Pen by Jenna Glatzer. I have this book so marked up with post-it flags that I can barely flip the pages. What initially caught my attention with this book is the word “Outwitting”. For some reason, that really appeals to me and then since it was a book for writers, I had to pick it up. I enjoy the conversational tone, the exercises, and just the fun I have each time I open this book. If the author’s name sounds familiar, you may be familiar with http://www.absolutewrite.com – Jenna is the founder and editor of the site.
2. File…Don’t Pile! For People Who Write by Pat Dorff, Edith Fine, and Judith Josephson. I don’t even know if you can find it any more, but it’s one I’ve kept for several years. The title says it all. I still have piles, but I feel they are more organized than before I read this book (and I’ve read it a few times to glean new ideas after I get a couple ideas incorporated into my life.)
3. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (book and associated journal book). I find this an awesome resource for consist journaling. When I first used the book, I also bought the companion book of journal pages – it was large and heavy and I loved writing on the pages. I filled 2 of the large books before switching to smaller notebooks. It wasn’t the same, but lighter and smaller notebooks are more portable! I admit I haven’t written morning pages in a while, but this is definitely a strong recommendation for spilling out the thoughts in your mind, especially first thing in the morning. Wake up, write to clean out the cobwebs and then have a productive day!
4. I also recommend Bird by Bird that Diane mentions above.

What are your go-to writing books?

 

Diane MacKinnon, MD, is currently a full-time mother, part-time life coach. She is a Master Certified Life Coach, trained by Martha Beck, among others. She is passionate about her son, her writing and using her mind to create a wonderful present moment.  Find her life coaching blog at http://www.dianemackinnon.com/blog.

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