What Happens Next?

Last summer I participated in the Central Utah Writing Project, a program that helps teachers become better writers and better teachers of writing.

I credit the program and its members for giving me the courage to start writing my first manuscript, a dream I'd had for over a decade.  

During the Summer Institute, A.E. Cannon, author of The Loser's Guide to Life and Love, gave us valuable advice about writing.  She said you should always end your daily writing in a place where you know what is going to happen next.  That way, you won't waste time the next day staring at your computer screen, wondering what to write.

You know what made me think of her advice?  Sitting in front of my screen, wondering what to write next, and wishing I'd followed her advice.  I'm at a point in my novel where I'm stuck.  I've hit the dreaded writer's block.  

What do you do to overcome writer's block?  How do you avoid it?

In My Mailbox #1

To celebrate National Library Week (April 11-17), I've decided to begin my first "In My Mailbox" post.  For those who are unfamiliar with an In My Mailbox post, check out The Story Siren.  Since I read far more books than I can afford to buy, my books come from today's trip to my local library. 

 

 Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman

The Everafter by Amy Huntley

Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

So many choices!  Have you read any of these?  What did you think?  Any suggestions about which one I should read first?

Weekly Check-up

Whew!  I did it.  I survived my first week after setting my writing goals.  It wasn't easy, nor did I complete every goal.  But I wrote more than I would've written without the goals, so that makes it all worth it in the end.  Oh, and still no word from VCFA ...

My check-up on last week's goals:

1. Write 500 words a day for at least 5 days on my current WIP. I wrote 500 words for only 4 days, but now my manuscript has 2000 more words than it did a week ago.
2. Work on revisions for chapters 9-11 on my previous manuscript. I'm going to a revision workshop in the near future.  When I told my friends that I was going to work on revisions before the workshop, a wise friend told me that it was like washing my clothes before taking them to the dry cleaners.  So I abandoned this goal ... for now. 
3. Finish critiquing a writing partner's manuscript before my writing group meets on Saturday. I finished all but one chapter on my writing partner's manuscript, but I also read the first chapter of her new WIP (so I think I made up for it).
4. Submit online. I didn't do this one because I'm not sure my manuscript is ready to be submitted (see goal #2).  Maybe after the revision workshop.

 My new goals for this week:

1. Write every single day, but at least 500 words on 4 days.
2. Finish critiquing a manuscript for my group at my upcoming revision workshop.
3. Read The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman (homework for the revision workshop).

What I learned this week: Even with my goals, time has proven once again to be an elusive foe.  I've learned that I give in to far too many distractions.  Of course, some distractions take a priority over my writing (like my darling children), but I learned that my best writing time last week occurred when my kids were in bed asleep.  And I mean really asleep, not in their rooms awake, preparing to come out every five minutes.  

I also learned that it will not be the end of the world if I don't get into the MFA program that I applied to weeks ago.  Everyone had great suggestions of how I can work on improving my craft, namely practice, practice, practice. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions!

Happy Library Appreciation Day!

Revision Tip

At ... and this time, concentrate!, Summer introduced me to Wordle, a website where you can post an entire manuscript and it will visually display the words you use the most.

To better see my Wordle results for my WIP Again, click on the image below.  

Wow, what an eye-opener!  I'm aware of some of my overused words, but others surprised me.  Now I can go through my manuscript and utilize the "search and edit" function to change these words.  

Thanks Summer for this great revision idea!

Still Waiting ...

Still no word from VCFA*. But that's OK ... now that I know I'm not the only stalker out there. (But I do feel sorry for postal workers worldwide!)

Thanks for all the encouraging words and suggestions. It's a relief to know that I'm not alone, that there are plenty of impatient writers like myself.

I'm discovering one major downside: my confidence keeps slipping lower after each disappointing trip to my mailbox. I keep questioning my writing ability and whether or not it's up to the standards of an MFA program.

No matter what, even if I don't get into VCFA, I refuse to give up. It just means I may need to take a few steps backward and work on becoming a better writer.

So, here's my question: Where do you go to improve YOUR craft? Are there any excellent books or online classes that you would recommend?

Just in case. Of course, still keep your fingers crossed for me!

*Update: The admissions counselor emailed me and said they had more applications than they'd expected, so it could be another week or two until I receive something in the mail. I guess that means I can postpone the mailbox watch for a little while.

Search for Sanity

I've started stalking my postman. No, really. I mean, does it have to take an entire hour to stuff the mailboxes in my neighborhood? That's just counting the time I arrived home from work. Who knows how long he was out there before I saw him.

I'm not normally a stalker. I promise. You see, at the beginning of March, I sent in my application to the MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. The admissions counselor advised me that I would hear back from them in 4-6 weeks. It's now Week 5; hence, the close relationship with my mailbox. (Actually, it started after Week 1, but who's really counting?)

My impatient waiting has made me question my ability to stay sane when I finally begin the querying process later this year. I know that it could take months (or years!) of querying before I receive a favorable response.

How do you all stay sane throughout the process? I'd really like to stop stalking my postman. (I'm sure he'd like it too!)

Thanks and Goals

I owe a great big thanks to all of you who commented on my blogfest entries! All the thoughtful comments were filled with encouragement, which I greatly appreciated. Even better, the number of followers on my blog more than tripled this weekend. As a newbie blogger, my heart sings to see all those who showed an interest in my blog! I can't wait to be one of those bloggers who celebrates having 100 followers.

Thanks to the example of Crystal Cook on her blog Write Because You Must, I'm going to start setting weekly goals. They seem more manageable than monthly or quarterly goals because I tend to procrastinate. I commend all of you who manage to write 1,000 or 2,000 or 3,000+ words per day, but I'm not there yet. As much as I'd love to be able to write that much, I know that if I set my goal too high, I'll give up before I even begin. Besides, I haven't written since the March Marathon on Throwing Up Words, so any word count will be better than my current situation!

This week's goals:

1. Write 500 words a day for at least 5 days on my current WIP.
2. Work on revisions for chapters 9-11 on my previous manuscript.
3. Finish critiquing a writing partner's manuscript before my writing group meets on Saturday.
4. Submit online.
   

I can do this, right? What weekly goals you set for yourself? (For when I begin to aim higher, of course.)