Gurus, Schedules and Misbehaving Muses

by Janis Patterson

All the successful ‘make a million’ and 'you too can write a bestseller' gurus stress the importance of structure… how dependable it is. How good it is. How having specific times and goals for specific projects increases your creativity. How freeing a firm schedule is. One even said ‘discipline is freedom’… Sounds like something out of a totalitarian work camp doesn’t it?

Heaven knows I’ve tried. I’ve set word goals and deadlines and definite working hours. I’ve made charts and visual reminders and promised myself chocolate if I fulfill all these targets. I just can’t understand how I can concentrate on goals and targets if I’m thinking about the chocolate that I supposedly can’t have until it’s all over? That’s a real killer – and not the good kind like I put in my mysteries. Then there’s life itself… the laundry must be done, or perhaps the washer maniacally crashes just as The Husband runs out of his favorite shirts. Aunt Edna comes into town for the first time in years and must be looked after. Accidents, problems, family… the world is full of interruptions just waiting to happen.

Unfortunately, my Muse is not well trained. Pretty much untrainable, if you ask me. She comes when she wants to but not when she is ordered. She sulks when something takes precedence over her when she is ready to pour forth deathless prose. Sometimes when she doesn’t want to work I can jumpstart her by forging through by typing a bit of rubbish that she rushes in to improve, but she has never responded well to regimentation. I can work without her, of course, which usually sends her into a sulk and my writing into the pits, but at least that way I have something down that might lead to something worth keeping when she is ready to forgive me. All in all she’s a pretty good Muse and I guess she should be allowed some leeway.

My real drawback is me – and the worst problem is Procrastination.

No, not writers’ block. To me that means you can't work or create at all. With Procrastination the mind keeps running at full tilt, adjusting scenes, coming up with dialogue (with me saying all parts, of course), hatching beautiful metaphors and descriptions… I just don’t want to write it down right now, even as I know full well that once I am ready to get back into writing mode all those beautiful words will have irretrievably dissolved into vapor. I just don’t want to do it now. I want to straighten my handkerchief drawer, or do just one more jigsaw on that lovely new site, or just sit in front of the TV and pretend to be a vegetable.

Not productive, but I firmly believe necessary to the soul. And I will write a piece expounding on that theory, too. When I get around to it. Eventually.


ps - in case you haven't seen it, my new Flora Melkiot mystery is out -

Just Keep Going

Kathleen Kaska
Fifth Saturday Blogger

Do you ever have days, or even weeks, when writing seems a chore? The passion and enjoyment you usually experience went south? You spend more time online “researching” than writing just one decent sentence?

            My muse must have found something better to do the last few weeks than inspire, encourage, and prod me. I’m not sure, but I think she went to Spain for a vacation.

            Something had to give, so I loosened my purse strings and attended the Write on the Sound Writer’s Conference in the picturesque, waterside community of Edmonds, Washington. Despite signing up early, several workshops that interested me were already closed. I almost didn’t register, but I told myself to be open-minded. As it turned out, I came away with valuable information from every workshop and a fresh attitude toward my writing.

            Here, in a nutshell, is what I gleaned from the conference:  

    Stay off the internet. Okay, that’s not always practical or possible, but I realized how easy it was to close the document I was working on and rush to Google for a bit of research. Now, I make a list of things I need to look up and do it in one fell swoop at the end of my writing day rather than interrupt the flow.

    Self-promotion is overrated. I scoffed when I heard this, but the presenter went on to explain how important it was to target specific audiences rather than used the scattershot approach. In other words, promote wisely.

    Don’t write for free. That was another tidbit I scoffed at. True, the publishing world has changed and we often write for free when we blog. But, it got me to thinking about the freelancing I used to do and the money it brought in. So, I dusted off my Writer’s Market and set a goal to get back to freelancing.

    Simultaneous submissions are okay. That was a relief to hear, but to be sure, I checked out the current issue of Writer’s Market and learned that most publishers do accept simultaneous submissions. It’s about time. After all, we don’t have five hundred years to live.

    Don’t set the bar too low, or your writing won’t improve. This is most important. When I was teaching, we had a saying: “If you think you’ve learned everything you need to know about this profession, then it’s probably time for you to retire.” I realized that I’d become complacent about my writing. I decided to try my hand at the new mystery I’d been pondering for a few years. It’s a serious story about a PI suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. I’m used to writing light, humorous stories. This was a real stretch. I started off writing it in first person, and as a challenge, I switched to third person. I now have close to 15,000 words and my motivation level is off the charts.

            My muse is back from vacation, too. She even brought me a gift—a new motto: “Just Keep Going.” Now I’m writing several hours a day. It feels good. I’m happy. Case closed.

Seeing My Story

As you probably noticed from my last post on Make Mine Mystery, I’m a visual learner.  And as such, its glimpses into a new reality that get me thinking about plot and story. 

Attending the RWA (Romance Writers of America) National convention last year in New York City, my writing buddy and I both circled to attend Jenny Cruise’s presentation on vision boards or collaging. 

I’d never hear Ms. Cruise speak before and I wasn’t disappointed by my choice.  When I arrived home, I went to Big Lots and bought an 11x8 canvas, thinking it would make an excellent base for my vision board.

I was wrong. 

You can’t staple things to the canvas.  Tape won't stick to the material.  I got these three random things to stick to the canvas.  The problem is the pictures represent three different stories.  

I even tried gluing and decopauging materials to the canvas with various decrees of luck.  I tried to make a poster board for a table I hosted for a breast cancer fundraiser with limited luck with the decoupage. 

After talking with a fellow writer on line, I solved my dilemma. 

I stapled a paper backing to the canvas.  (I probably could have bought poster board cheaper, but I have these two canvases that I need to use. Yes, I’m that girl.  I made hot pot holders from plywood and bottle tops in the seventies for gifts.  My mom wouldn’t let me give them away because there were too many beer bottle tops represented.  She thought it revealed a bit too much about our family dynamics.   I thought they were cool.)

I used old Christmas wrapping paper, but you could use brown paper, grocery bags, or pages from old magazines, which gives you your first layer of plot ideas for the vision board.

Once you have a base for your vision board, you tape, glue, staple cut outs from magazines, photos, even advertisements that remind you of the story.  Even if you don’t quite know what the stories about.

Once it feels done, step back.  (I know, some of you are saying  - Lynn’s gone into the woo-woo factor. But bear with me.)

Now really look at the vision you and your muse have come up with for the story.  Got it? Then write the story. 

My current WIP is set in fictional Mountain Springs, Idaho. So the snow ladened trees, mountains and even the lake, makes me think of home.  My heroine is a caterer that’s refurbishing an old house.  I was pleased to find a picture of my hero, kind, but scruffy.  My vision board, like my outline is missing some things, but they’ll come around.  And so will my story.  

Has anyone else used a vision board to gel ideas before starting to write?  How have you designed your visual representation of your story?