Jumpstart Monday // DECIDE what's important to you as a writer

When we forget why we're writing, when we forget our vision, it's easy to get disillusioned when success seems illusive. This video, and the Egyptian uprising, can help us remember why it's so important to keep writing, even if it appears no one's reading.

Keep writing. Market yourself. Your readers will find you.

Donna Marie

Jumpstart Monday // write with CONVICTION

January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968

I was only a girl when John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were slain, but I can clearly remember the shock and grief of my parents, the angry gun shots thundering in the neighborhood, and the ghostly, empty playground at my school. 

These are the impressions I have of that time, but today, on Dr. King's birthday, should we be enraged and filled with sorrow, or would these men want us to use our memories and imaginations in ways that improve our society?

In my opinion, there is no greater issue facing writers and self-publishers today. In a way, Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail," written in longhand on April 16, 1963, to critical Alabama clergymen was a self-published manifesto declaring his vision of nonviolence and social justice. 

Thus it is fitting, on this the commemoration of Dr. King's birthday, to serve up his own words to inspire, motivate, and stimulate you to write and publish with your full heart and complete conviction for the betterment of humankind.

"All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence." 

"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better." 

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." 

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."  

Source 

Happy birthday, Dr. King!

Donna Marie

Jumpstart Monday // UPGRADE your writing space

I asked my daughter if she made any resolutions for the new year. She said, "What for? No one keeps them anyway." 

She has a point. Every year I vow to lose the weight (read here) and end up gaining a couple more pounds instead. 

Why do we resolve to do better every year when our resolution track record from years past is nothing to write about?

Keeping hope alive?

Prepare for success

Maybe we don't do enough to prepare for success. There's something to be said for beginning a new diet with a clean sweep of the refrigerator, pantry, and kitchen cabinets.

We ought to do the same with our writing space. Whether at the office or at home, this space is the place where missions are accomplished and dreams are realized. It deserves to be functional, organized, and beautiful. 

If your goal is to actually complete your writing projects this year, then before writing your first words of 2011, give some time to upgrading your workspace.

As I write this, my first post of the new year, I'm noticing that my workspace is a total disaster. Not just things from 2010 but as far back as 2005 are creating clutter. 

I'm not even a hoarder. Nevertheless scraps of paper have settled in piles. Dust covered DVDs and books patiently wait to be viewed and read. (One is Leslie Sansone's Walk Slim: Fast Firming! DVD. I forgot I had bought it!)

Today I encourage you to take stock of your workspace. Organize. Clean up.

1. Update reference tools. Yes we can use dictionaries and other references on the Internet, but many writers like to keep physical copies on hand. Check the copyright dates. It might be time to get the latest editions. Conventions change over time, and you should stay current in your writing.

2. Clean up. This might be an all day project, but it's worth it. Throw out stuff you don't need.

3. Organize. No more trying to find stuff that's hiding under a pile of old papers. Everything in its place. I hate to file, so I have a big drawer that I throw important papers in. So far this method has worked for me.

4. Furnish. Don't spend on big money wants. Get only what you need. I have so many books that I've run out of bookshelf space. Solution? Buy another bookshelf. That will be my one investment in office furniture in 2011, and it will help keep my space tidy. What do you need? 

5. Beautify. We writers need inspiration from time to time. Beautify your workspace with flowers, symbolic knick knacks that have special meaning for you, artwork – anything that makes you feel good just by looking at it. Every year I invest in an art calendar, and I love going to thrift shops for original art, silk plants, baskets, etc. You don't have to spend a lot of money!

Need a little inspiration to get started? Check out these beautiful work spaces here and here.

A clean, organized, and functional workspace can motivate you to write. Lower blood pressure, fewer panic attacks, and smiles can be yours with an office space upgrade. It's a great thing to do for yourself.

By the way, have any of you bought office furniture from Craig's List or Ebay? Was it a good experience? What did you buy, and how much did you spend?

Best wishes for a successful, prosperous 2011!

Donna Marie

Jumpstart Monday // managing emotions, dealing with writer's depression

Probably the greatest obstacle to writers' success is lodged like a ticking time bomb in our souls. Triggered by setbacks, mistakes, failures, wrong turns, and disappointments, depression and frustration explode when things don't go our way.


You wonder, "I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Why isn't it paying off?" or "What the heck am I supposed to do with the rest of my life?"


Health.com's article, "10 Careers With High Rates of Depression," was a revelation -- not because writing is #6 on the list, but because it was actually acknowledged that writers suffer from depression. 


I'm not a psychologist, but I know that if you don't manage your emotions, if you succumb to depression, writer's block and writer's procrastination are sure to follow. Not a good thing when you're on a deadline. For many, Monday morning is a trigger for depression, and it often begins with feelings of dread Sunday night. 


I subscribe to the simple but brilliant notion that our emotions are indicators of whether or not we're in alignment with God within us. If we're unhappy or fearful (about money, for example), we're out of alignment with that high vibrational state that expresses as Love, Peace, Joy.


When we are feeling loving, peaceful, and joyful, we're in a more receptive frame of mind to see the opportunities that are scattered, like diamonds, all around us, all the time.


So how can you start feeling better right now?


It's unreasonable to expect that positive thinking alone is going to make you feel better. Here's what you can do right now...


1. Acknowledge the feeling. It's telling you something. Listen.


2. It may take a lot of effort, but look for one small thing in your life that makes you happy. Meditate on that. Now think of something else. This is just enough to take some of the edge off, but that's enough to get the happy productivity snowball rolling. 


It seems like a little thing to do, but I guarantee, you're going to feel better.


Remember, the Monday blues is a mindset. Just as easily we can make Monday the best day of the week!


Donna Marie

Jumpstart Monday // whip words to SUBDUE writer's block

It happens to even the most experienced writers. You get stuck on a passage. You just don't know what your next article or book will be about. You fear the fountain of creative ideas has run dry.

Well, has a song ever run on a loop in your head?







Have no fear! As long as you have a mind, you'll have creativity. One way to stimulate new ideas is to whip trigger words back and forth through word games -- and like Devo says, whip them good.








We're in the Information/Digital Age. Words are all around us, but here are 3 sources of words to get you started:

1. Urban Dictionary. Regular folks send in their own definitions of slang words, which can be both hilarious and disturbing. For example, check here for the many and varied definitions of "snitch."

2. Google Keywords. This is my favorite keyword search tool. It's free, and if you use Google to search online, this is the tool to use. Using this tool can serve 2 purposes: it can jumpstart creativity, and it will show you how often words and terms are searched on Google. This is wonderful intelligence to have at your fingertips when doing any online writing, researching, or marketing.

3. Merriam-Webster Word of the Day. Sign up here to have the word of the day sent to you via email. Honestly I've been disappointed at the level of difficulty of the words. They are way too easy. However, they can be used to jumpstart creativity. Today's word is "ear candy: music that is pleasing to listen to but lacks depth." Sentence: It could be argued that the above 2 songs are mere ear candy.

Whip them good
Search these tools to see what words jump out at you. Then take the words and play around with them.

One of my favorite word games as a child was to see how many words I could get out of a long word or phrase.

I have friends who LOVE to acronym words. Example: W.O.R.D. = Writing Or Researching Deadlines. This can get irritating in books and presentations if overdone, but you might find that it's great at unlocking writer's block.

Word mapping is another fun creative word game. Write a word in the middle of a blank sheet of paper. Draw lines like spokes from the word and write down whatever associations and creative ideas spring to mind. This game is effective at turning on the fountain. Ideas stimulate new ideas and then the next thing you know, you're writing! I find brainstorming is more relaxing than actually writing sometimes, so I use this game to help me ease into the writing project.

Don't give into the Monday blues. Let Monday be your most creative day of the week.

By the way, do you have tricks and tips for dealing with writer's block? Please share!

Donna Marie

Jumpstart Monday // TRICK writer's procrastination

As my writing stars know, I constantly battle against writer's procrastination (in which writer's block may be lurking). Sometimes I give in and go shopping, but this leads to so much pent up guilt and stress (and fear that I'll miss my deadline) that finally, in an explosion of frantic activity, I'll force myself to write. When I'm done it's such a relief, but surely, there must be a better way?

Well, yes there is. I've learned that procrastination is not always the issue. There are times when you really want to work, but you just don't feel like writing (yet). There's more to the writing process than just putting words to paper, and so I suggest you trick writer's procrastination by doing other writerly things. For example, 

1. Do research. At heart, writers are information junkies. We love to learn about new things, so research can be a lot of fun. If you're researching a topic for your current writing project – the project that's causing all the stress – then technically you're not procrastinating. You're doing necessary work that will uncover information you'll use to develop your content.

I do a lot of my research on the Internet, but novelist Greg Rucka puts me to shame. He dives deeply into the real drama of human beings. His io9 essay, "There's no substitute for getting your hands dirty when you research a story," was a revelation.

Some of the best moments I've ever written have come about because someone, somewhere, blew my preconceptions out of the water and dropped a detail in passing that took the work in an entirely new, entirely unexpected, direction.

As you research your topic and fascinating new information is revealed and synchronicities occur and creativity is sparked, it will feel as if you have no choice but to write.

2. What if you are experiencing a bit of writer's block? Write in longhand – don't type. Sometimes the act of writing in longhand jumpstarts creativity. There's something about the hand-page-pen-brain connection that has the power to trigger ideas and writing. When the ideas are coming faster than your hand can write, then start typing.

Tricking writer's procrastination is all about building an inner momentum so that you can't wait to start writing. It's a psyche job. 

If you have a hard time getting started on Monday, you might want to try these 2 tips, as well as those listed here and here.

If you have other ways to trick writer's procrastination, let me know so I can share with my other writing stars on a future Jumpstart Monday post!

Donna Marie

Jumpstart Monday // DEFEAT writer's procrastination

The stress of not writing is worse than not writing! Have you ever had a panic attack because you weren't writing?

An article in Psychology Today offers 10 things you should know about procrastination. Read the entire article to get the big picture, but here I'll highlight 3 of the issues as a self-assessment. (Be honest.) 

1. Is procrastination part of your lifestyle? Then you'll probably suffer writing procrastination until you get a handle on it. 

2. Do you make a lot of excuses for procrastinating? When you were a child, was "the dog" always "eating your homework?" 

3. Do you think you have more time in the day to write than you actually have? Do you constantly say, "I didn't get any writing done today? Where did the time go?" According to the Psychology Today article, "Procrastinators are not different in their ability to estimate time, although they are more optimistic than others." 

Wonder if she practiced today?

I disagree with point #4 in the article: "Procrastinators are made not born." The doctors had to induce labor when I was pregnant with my daughter because she procrastinated for 2 weeks. To this day, if she really doesn't want to do something, it's WWW III to get her to do it.

Maybe we should be asking ourselves, "Do I really want to write this book?" 

I believe fear is the cause of writer's procrastination – fear and the quest for perfection. We don't know if we have what it takes to write not just a good book but a perfect one. But we don't have to write a perfect book. It should be accurate, of course, but it doesn't have to be all that literary. It should just be grammatical, clear, organized, and interesting enough to keep the reader's attention. You can do that.

I've also learned that fantasy thinking is a big part of the problem. We talk about writing a book, even brag about it. We think about it all day long, but by the end of the day, nothing was actually written. 

By the way, what's up with the Monday morning blues? It's like we've agreed as a nation that Monday is the worst day of the week. Studies have found that people drop dead on Monday morning. Maybe we need to change our minds about Monday. It's not so bad.

The Psychology Today article didn't offer much hope for a cure. "Procrastinators can change their behavior—but doing so consumes a lot of psychic energy." It was also suggested that procrastinators may need therapy. 

No no no. Sometimes therapy can be another form of procrastination.

I have found some simple ways through the years to put a foot up my own rear end and get moving. Basically it involves working with the procrastination. If you can't beat it, join it. Here's what I do. 

1. While procrastinating, keep a notebook on hand and opened to a blank page. Sometimes writer's procrastination and writer's block go hand in hand. You may have started writing in earnest, but the words simply dried up, and then you started to procrastinate because you couldn't face the blank page. This happens to all writers, experienced and novice. 

No matter how I'm procrastinating – watching TV, shopping, or surfing the net – I'll see the opened notebook in my peripheral vision. When I open my purse, I'll see the small notebook opened to a blank page. On the car seat, the notebook is opened to a blank page. My subconscious seems to understand my desire to get to work, so it does, too. Amazingly inspiration will often strike. If I'm driving, I'll pull over (yes, even on the expressway), and write. Now I know you can't depend on inspiration to complete your project, but use it for the gift that it is.

2. A study cited by PsyBlog says we can avoid procrastination by focusing on the details. This works for me. When I get an idea, I start taking notes. Although this is not writing per se, it is part of the writing process. Taking notes often jumpstarts full scale writing.

3. Instead of seeking therapy for your procrastination issues, try writing all about it in a journal. Journaling forces you to dig deeply into what you think, how you feel. This is often exactly what you need to jumpstart your book project.

4. If I deliberately obsess about writing right before going to bed, I'll wake up in the morning with ideas I just have to get down.

Some writers have rituals to get them started. What works for me may not work for you, but hopefully these tips will help.

Donna Marie

Jumpstart Monday // writer's procrastination

Sometimes we writers say we can't write because of "writer's block." Uh huh.

Oh, I'm the only one? Okay then, I'll just speak for myself. When I'm working on a writing or editing project, I'm highly focused and on task. When my children were young, it used to really get on my nerves when they'd be like, "Mumz, I'm hungry" or "Mumz, can you help me do my homework?" or my favorite, "So what you doing, Mumz?" (Hip hop children. Their grandmother is G-Ma.) They didn't care what I was doing when they were playing with their friends, but now they need my attention?

Getting started on the project, well, that's a whole different story. I will allow a million things to distract me. I'll run to the thrift or the flea even though I don't need anything. I'll make up up urgent errands. I'll find sites and YouTube videos that are just soooo fascinating. I'll wash the dishes. Anything.

Is it just me or is procrastination more stress-inducing than the actual work?
 
I saw this quote today and it really struck me.

"When you choose a behavior, you choose the consequences." Dr. Phil McGraw 

Most of the time, procrastination is a behavior that leads to nowhere. Writer's procrastination leads to no writing getting done.

On the other hand... If you can be disciplined about it, procrastination can, at times, lead to new ideas about your project. If you really have been stuck (and not just making excuses for not writing), goofing off, doing something completely different, can lead to delightful revelations. This happens to me all the time.

You have to be disciplined about it, though, and honestly, I'm not always that disciplined. The other day I looked up and it was 4:00 in the afternoon – and I had not written not one word. 

What will always pull me back to a project, even if I have to stare at a blank screen or sheet of paper is the DEADLINE and the $$. If I don't do the work, I don't get paid. And mumz needs a new pair of kitten heeled boots. 

Time to get to work.

Donna Marie