December 2015

Friday Links: Holiday Gifts for Readers and Writers

Nephele Tempest

snowy_winter

Happy Friday! We’re two weeks from Christmas, smack in the middle of Hanukkah, and on day 11 of the December Writing Challenge. All of which says to me that most people are probably extremely busy.

In terms of the challenge, I’m simply going to remind you to make some writing dates for yourself over the weekend. Call up your writing friends and arrange to meet for hot chocolate and a couple of writing sprints, or schedule some solo writing time. Put your writing dates in your phone and/or planner, set alerts to remind yourself, and treat them the way you would any other important appointment. Good luck!

As for this week’s Friday Links, I have all sorts to share. Unsurprisingly, we’re slipping into the “best of” time of year, when all the lists of books start popping up. Even though they can get a bit out of hand, I still always love checking them out to see if I might discover a great title that flew under my radar earlier in the year. So yes, I’ve got a few lists in the links. But there’s also ideas for holiday shopping, as well as the typical writerly/bookish stuff. I hope they make for an enjoyable break or tangent today or at some point over the weekend. Enjoy, and happy writing!

Best Books of 2015: The NPR App – One of my favorites when in comes to these annual lists. This covers all sorts of genres and interests, and allows you to winnow the list if you’re looking for the best of a particular type of read.

26 Brilliant Gifts Only English Nerds Will Appreciate – Some great ideas for the writers and/or readers in your life.

American Publishers Put Out Significantly Fewer Works in Translation in 2015 – A look at the major dip in this segment of the publishing industry.

The Best of the Bests: Ranking the 2015 Best Books Lists – Brooklyn Magazine sorts through some of the many lists out there.

30 Gifts Under $30 for Writers and Book Lovers – More fun ideas.

Notes from a Bookseller Under Pressure – On selling books through the holidays.

The Best Diverse YA Books of 2015 – An excellent round-up.

One Goal to Rule them All: Five Things to Consider before You Write an Epic Fantasy – Some wonderful advice regarding all the balls you need to juggle writing in this sub-genre.

Building on a Streak: Day 10 of the Writing Challenge

Nephele Tempest

For those of you who’ve participated in the December Writing Challenge from the first day, today is day 10 (at least) of your writing streak, but even if you’ve just joined us, you know that each day stands on its own when it comes to making time to write. You might think to yourself, “I’ve managed to write the last nine days, so surely I can write today!” And you’d be correct. But that doesn’t mean each day doesn’t introduce its own challenges and distractions. Those little suckers love to crop up when you least expect them, especially this time of year.

So, at the risk of sounding like a 12-step program, take it one day at a time. Yes, get excited about your streak of writing days, because every day you write should be celebrated and appreciated. But don’t get cocky. That’s asking the gods of fate to send you an emergency project at work or for your kids to get the stomach flu.

Recommit each morning. Remind yourself why you’re doing this. Use your writing streak as motivation — because the longer you maintain your daily writing habit, the more exciting it can be to realize how many days in a row you’ve written. But don’t assume that a great streak can’t be broken. As the saying goes in financial circles, past performance is no indication of future results.

Congratulations on your writing days so far, however many there have been, and good luck keeping up with the challenge. Write daily, at least a little bit. You deserve that time for yourself and your writing goals.

Working Your Way through It: Day 9 of the Challenge

Nephele Tempest

I’ve shared the following video before, but it’s one that stands up to multiple viewings. Keep this in mind when you contemplate not writing on any given day.

Ira Glass on Being Creative

Putting in your time each day helps you advance your skills that much faster. It trains your brain to do the work, and let’s you develop new techniques and a better understanding of your craft. So what are you waiting for? Go write.

Research Is Just Another Word for Procrastination: Day 8 of the Challenge

Nephele Tempest

How do you write a book? One word at a time. The reality is, there’s no one correct way to write. Every writer has their own approach, their own habits, their own tricks to get the ideas flowing or to combat writer’s block. But the one thing pretty much everyone can agree upon is that you need to sit down and do it. Staring into space may be great for idea generation, but it won’t actually get the book written. Research can be helpful, both to inspire story twists and to flesh out details, but spend enough time researching and you’ll never write the book.

So on this eighth day of the December Writing Challenge, I’d like to leave you with this thought. There are many tasks involved in writing a book, including dreaming up the plot, researching the ins and outs of your setting and characters, and perhaps dusting off your keyboard before you start to type. But you don’t need to know every moment of your story to start writing. You can (and should) research many details after you have an initial draft. And cleaning up your workspace beyond gaining access to your computer and your chair can be done once you’ve put in your time for the day.

Writerly procrastination is still procrastination. Go write.

Lighten Up and Write: Day 7 of the Writing Challenge

Nephele Tempest

Monday got you down? Daily writing starting to wear on your creativity? Fear not! The video below, from this year’s NerdCon, will both entertain and revive you, plus hopefully inspire you to let your imagination roam free. So settle in to watch. (I recommend you avoid drinking for the duration, for fear of spraying your keyboard.)

Now go write.

All the Words Count: Day 6 of the Writing Challenge

Nephele Tempest

The author Joan Didion, whose birthday was yesterday, wrote a wonderful essay on the purpose of her own journal, “On Keeping a Notebook,” which can be found in Slouching Toward Bethlehem as well as her larger collected works of nonfiction, We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live. In it she discusses the difference between her own notebook keeping, which consisted primarily of jotting down impressions and thoughts as she had them, descriptions of interactions she witnessed, and so on, and regular diary keeping, which she claims to have never managed to do.

For Didion, the notebook served as a sounding board as well as an archive. She used it to unload, to work things out, and even though she considered it a hedge again a time when she might run out of ideas, the things she wrote were less story sparks and more snippets of things that were too short to use elsewhere. Her notebook was scratch paper, writing as stream of consciousness, getting things out of her head and down onto paper. It was a record of where her thoughts had been at various times in her life, rather than a chronicle of places she had been and people she’d met.

So if you’re finding it hard to write today, this sixth day of the December Writing Challenge, which also happens to fall on Sunday, consider pulling out a notebook and just letting your mind flow. Dump it all out. What you think, what you see, what you feel. No, it won’t move your current work in progress forward, but it will give your brain a bit of rest while still getting words down on paper. It all counts. Now go write.

 

Weekend Productivity: Day 5 of the Writing Challenge

Nephele Tempest

Happy weekend, everyone! I hope you’re enjoying yourself and making time for some writing along with everything else on your to-do list. If you’re participating in the December Writing Challenge, you should have a bit of writing time scheduled already, but even if you’re not, take a few minutes for yourself and indulge your creativity.

People-watching during the holidays can be a great way to spark a new idea, or just practice getting descriptions down on paper. If you’re out shopping or at a holiday event, grab a seat and a warm drink and spend a few minutes writing down what you see. Are people in festive clothes? Struggling with shopping bags? Humming Christmas carols? Imagine where they’re headed or where they just came from, and write up a scene to go with it. Making time to write doesn’t always have to mean adding to a WIP. Sometimes a few minutes on a fun writing exercise is all you need to keep the pump primed. Enjoy!

The Art of Writing the Other: Online Class

Nephele Tempest

I mentioned this course — The Art of Writing the Other — the last time it was offered, and it’s coming up again. It will be a shorter, more intensive version, and therefore cost less than the last course did. However it takes place over the New Year’s holiday weekend: January 1-3. Registration opens tomorrow, December 5th. Head over and check out the details ASAP if you’re at all interested. It should be a really great course.

Flexing Your Creativity: Day 4 of the Writing Challenge

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday, everyone, and welcome to day 4 of the December Writing Challenge. Yesterday I talked a bit about scheduling your writing time over the weekend by committing to it on your calendar and/or setting up some writing dates with like-minded friends. Today I’m going to tack on a bit of advice for when your schedule goes to hell.

It happens. We all know it does. You’ve got great intentions. Your writing time is scheduled and you really do plan to sit down and work on your current project at that precise time, but then the phone rings or the washing machine overflows or your boss pushes up a deadline and it looks like you have to work over the weekend. So what do you do when life happens and throws your great plans out the window?

Writing is all about creativity, and sometimes you need to extend that creativity to finding time to write. Even as you plan, you need to stay flexible, and not let a wrench in the works completely derail your writing for the day. Keep in mind that writing is a portable activity. Yes, you may prefer to sit in your ergonomically correct chair in front of your computer with your favorite instrumental music low in the background and a perfect cup of tea resting in a convenient spot on your desk. In an ideal world, everyone would get to write in their favorite spot with their preferred conditions. Alas, our world is far from ideal, so sometimes you’re going to need to improvise when life gets in the way.

For those days you find your writing schedule thrown askew, be prepared to write anywhere and at any time you can squeeze it in. Keep a small pad and pen with you at all times to jot down a few sentences when the opportunity presents itself. If you drive a lot, use your phone or a hands-free digital recorder to talk through a tough scene you’ve been thinking about, so when you do get to your computer you’ll be ready to write. Put dinner in the slow cooker instead of hovering over the stove — and be sure to make enough for leftovers to save another night’s prep time. Forgo watching the evening news — it’s depressing, anyway — and spend the time writing instead.  Reach out to friends and family and see if they can help out with something that will give you a bit of extra time. Can your kid go for a play date at the neighbor’s? Would your significant other cook or pick up take out? When all else fails, set your alarm a few minutes early, or burn a bit of midnight oil. You might not want to do that regularly — sleep is important, after all — but once in a while won’t exhaust you, and it will keep your creative momentum flowing.

Have a wonderful weekend, and be sure to drop by if you need a bit more writing inspiration. Bit by bit, day by day, you can do this.

Friday Links: Literary Leveling Up

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week, and that you’re getting lots of writing done through the December Writing Challenge. I’ve kept an eye out for some particularly inspiring links in order to give you an extra push to keep those words flowing. Reach a little higher, strive a little harder. But I’ll be back a bit later with the day’s official pep talk, so for now I’ll just wish you a productive day and a wonderful weekend. Happy writing!

23 Short Story Competitions in 2016 – Mark your calendars and plan your strategies now.

Five Ray Bradbury Stories that Tell Us Everything We Need to Know about Writing – Bradbury always makes for a good read, and if you can learn something, even better.

Important Infrequently Used Words to Know – Frequency of use probably varies, but this is a fun list for vocabulary building (or learning how to spell that word you’ve only ever heard aloud).

Molly Crabapple: My Life in a Parisian Bookstore – The artist and author shares her experiences in Shakespeare and Company.

How the Ballpoint Pen Changed Handwriting – An intriguing peek into the mechanics of writing.

The Millions: A Year in Reading 2015 – Every year The Millions gathers reading wrap-ups from authors and contributors, racking up a terrific collection of diverse book recommendations. Keep checking back, as they will continue to add posts until the end of the year.

Eli Horowitz Wants to Teach You How to Read – The former managing editor of McSweeney’s wants to change the world of books (again).