This blog is intended to give me an outlet to showcase whatever I have kicking around in my head. Book Reviews, new novel ideas, and anything else that happens to cross the cavernous gulfs of my often fractured psyche. Enjoy, or scoff, in the end all that matters is that it was written...
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Haney Hayes Promotions: Yanette Mantro - Foster An Author Day 1
Haney Hayes Promotions: Yanette Mantro - Foster An Author Day 1: A voracious reader, Yanette Mantro dedicates the precious free time she has away from her full-time job and three young children to ...
Monday, October 15, 2018
#MondayBlogs #FindingTheFocus #WritersRunningTheirMouths Vol.6 @aliwinters_ @shanonihayes
S.I. Hayes Presents
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| Authors Running Their Mouths is the creative brain child of Author S.I. Hayes Join her as she asks other Authors to let loose and Run their mouths! |
Welcome Author Ali Winters. Let's see what she's got to say!
Finding the Focus
Publishing is a long, long, long, process. I wish it was as simple as waking up in the morning with a bright and shiny new idea bouncing around in my head. Pounding away at the keyboard until it was all out on "paper" and then hitting publish.
I suppose one could do that, but many of us are perfectionists and want to put the best versions of our books out there for readers.
There's so much more to the process than most would think from the outside. There are the multiple rounds of edits, proofing, formatting, etc. For self published authors, and let's face it, even many traditionally published authors, there's also connecting with fans, promoting, setting up ads, beta readers, cover design, and so on and so forth.
So, who doesn't dream of being as productive as possible? I mean we all have deadlines, whether they are contractual or self-imposed. And I don't know about you, but I hate missing deadlines.
A problem that I have struggled with over and over was lack of focus. Either I never get around to sitting down, or I sit down and do everything under the sun except write. Or, I start and then the smallest thing can derail me.
It's taken me a while and a lot of trial and error to find something that works.
It's my hope that something in this blog post helps you out. If not, don't give up. Keep searching for the thing you need. Take stock of what's worked for you in the past and what hasn't. Maybe you'll end up creating a whole new way of focusing that could help many others like you.
So here are a few tips and tricks that have helped me be more productive with my time. Perhaps you'll find one that helps you.
Create a ritual.
No, nothing crazy like sacrificing books, pens, or your archnemesis to the writing gods. But set a routine that is the same every time you sit down to write.
Drink the same drink, tea, coffee, whatever your taste buds want, listen to the same music, sit in the same spot, light a candle. You get the point. Just do the same thing every time you mean to write.
No, it won't become habit the first time, or the second, or the third. But give it two weeks, a month. Test it out. But keep at it, and whatever you do - don't alter it. At least not any time soon. If it works for you, then keep at it. If you want to alter it, do so slowly over time. Nothing big, or you will lose that routine.
No, it won't become habit the first time, or the second, or the third. But give it two weeks, a month. Test it out. But keep at it, and whatever you do - don't alter it. At least not any time soon. If it works for you, then keep at it. If you want to alter it, do so slowly over time. Nothing big, or you will lose that routine.
Create a schedule.
This has always been something that was hard. I'd go through dozens of different scheduled and stick to them for an hour. But once I wrote it down, everything changed. My productivity went through the roof.
It was still hard to stick to at first, but it helped endlessly and it allowed me to add in much needed self care without guilt that I wasn't sitting at the keyboard typing like mad.
I have a planner and every week I have a set number of main goals that I spread out through the week. Then each morning I write my goals for the day. Big and small. And when I’ve completed one, I put a check mark next to it. At first I would have the unfortunate habit of giving myself more to do in a day then was realistic. So I started bumping things to the next day. Every once in a while that still happens because something’s take longer than expected.
It was still hard to stick to at first, but it helped endlessly and it allowed me to add in much needed self care without guilt that I wasn't sitting at the keyboard typing like mad.
I have a planner and every week I have a set number of main goals that I spread out through the week. Then each morning I write my goals for the day. Big and small. And when I’ve completed one, I put a check mark next to it. At first I would have the unfortunate habit of giving myself more to do in a day then was realistic. So I started bumping things to the next day. Every once in a while that still happens because something’s take longer than expected.
Sprinting.
Don't panic! Not like... running or anything.
Timed writing sprints.
For me doing 20 minute sprints with 10 minute breaks or 25 minute sprints with 5 minute breaks have worked the best. It's enough time to get words on the page, but not so much that I feel like it's never ending. It makes the hard days easier. And on the easy days, it reminds me to breathe and take a break.
Try them out. See which works for you.
Make Music
Create a play list. Either one that you listen to for every book you write or a new one for every, series, or for every book to get you in the mood for that story. It could be an entire play list or just one song that fits the mood of the book or chapter you’re writing and have it on repeat. The sound can both put you in the mood of the book while also functioning as white noise to cancel out other noises that might pull you away from your writing.
I do all of the above. Depending on my need for new music. I have an overall play list just to write to, but I'll make a play list for every book. Those in the same series are also combined. I tend to pick a song that fits the chapter or scene that I'm writing and have it on repeat until I'm finished with it. Then I'll move on to the next song that fits the next scene or chapter.
I do all of the above. Depending on my need for new music. I have an overall play list just to write to, but I'll make a play list for every book. Those in the same series are also combined. I tend to pick a song that fits the chapter or scene that I'm writing and have it on repeat until I'm finished with it. Then I'll move on to the next song that fits the next scene or chapter.
Bio:
Ali Winters is the USA Today bestselling and award winning author of The Hunted series, as well as an amazon and international bestselling author. She was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest where she developed her love of nature, animals, and all things green.
For as long as she can remember, she’s been mesmerized by the extraordinary world of books and fantasy. There has never been a time when stories were not begging to be told, either by drawing, photography, or writing. With encouragement from one of her favorite authors, she jumped in head first, to pursue the career that had been calling to her since the day she opened her first book. She has a deep love for coffee, tea, warm blankets, dogs, creating art in any medium she can get her hands on, and family.
For as long as she can remember, she’s been mesmerized by the extraordinary world of books and fantasy. There has never been a time when stories were not begging to be told, either by drawing, photography, or writing. With encouragement from one of her favorite authors, she jumped in head first, to pursue the career that had been calling to her since the day she opened her first book. She has a deep love for coffee, tea, warm blankets, dogs, creating art in any medium she can get her hands on, and family.
Book Links:
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/authoraliwinters
Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/authors/ali-winters
Thank you for joining me today!!
Cheers!
AUTHORS! WANT TO BE SHOWCASED?? FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW!
Authors Run Your Mouth Form
Friday, October 12, 2018
RT#FictionFriday #AuthorsRunningTheirMouths #TheGiftOfSilence #TheSoundOfSilence @theauthorSAM @shannonihayes
S.I. Hayes Presents
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| Authors Running Their Mouths is the creative brain child of Author S.I. Hayes Join her as she asks other Authors to let loose and Run their mouths! |
Welcome Author Stephanie Ayers
Stephanie is a Speculitive Fiction Writer. Let's see what she's got to say!
The Gift of Silence
I am Stephanie Ayers, published speculative fiction author. I am a coffee guzzling, word whispering creative ninja. I am a unicorn disguised as a human. I hate housework, refuse to grow up, and terrified of zombies. I have lots of things known about me out there—my love of unicorns and fairies, the number of children I have either given birth to or inherited by marriage, how many fur babies we have at any given time. The fact that I am a huge football fanatic is well known, too. But what if I told you I am mostly deaf? I need a hearing aid to help me hear and even then it’s a good chance I still won’t understand you unless you are in front of me, and I can read your lips.
No need to feel sorry for me. I certainly don’t feel sorry for myself. Just don’t friend me on Facebook and send me videos without captions or audio recorded messages and we’ll get along just fine! Having a severe hearing loss that requires aids has its own blessings. I have the distinct ability to shut the world off whenever it gets overwhelming. A simple click on the aid and my children’s arguing, fighting, and complaints disappear (and I get satisfaction out of making them mad, too, haha!). I’ve got it pretty well over here!
In fact, the only time having a hearing loss affects me is when I’m writing. I used to have full hearing when I was a kid, but I’m not a kid anymore. I haven’t been a kid in a long time. I have memories of sounds, but it’s not always the easiest sense for me to get a grasp on in my writing. That’s partly why you don’t get a lot of sound effects in my story. So, when I need sound, how do I figure it out? Now that, friends, is the real purpose of this article.
How Do You Write Sound if You Can’t Hear?
You’re writing a story and someone knocks on the door. You want to show the knocking rather than tell it.. “Sophie’s moment of bliss was interrupted by a knock on the door,” vs. “Thump! Thump! Interrupted Sophie’s momentary bliss and she rose to answer the door.” But if you can’t hear, how would you know the knocking would sound like a thump vs a tap? How do you know if different door materials make different noises when touched? What does a door knocker sound like? Is it different from tapping on the door itself?
These are the kinds of questions that could make your story richer, but how would a deaf person answer them? We have a few choices. Sometimes Google works, but most often I have to draw from memory, which taints how I perceive sound (visually or perhaps an alternate or extra acoustic representation of sound). Sometimes, I have to recreate the sensation and stew over it as the sound fills my head, and my brain finds words and meanings to put to it. For me, as an example, the sound of a big book hitting a hardwood floor may be muffled, so I would lean heavier on the vibrations I feel from the action and challenge it by dropping a small book on the floor rather than the actual thud the book would make. This would translate on paper to something more like feeling rather than an actual sound.
And if I still struggle with a sound? I go to my writing group. For instance, I recently needed to know what it would sound like getting hit by a large vehicle like a bus. I could imagine what the sound was like, but to be true to my story, I needed more. Googling doesn’t help much in that aspect, so relying on how other people hear it was key. Was the sound as I imagined it and had already put to paper? You’ll have to read the story Send in the Clowns in The 13: Tales of Macabre to find out.
Does Hearing Different Affect How You Write?
I think perhaps because my ears don’t work as well as they should; I enjoy a strong sense of smell, feeling, and intuition. I think it helps me put myself in the scene and visualize it in a way other writers can’t. Like real life, I’ll pick up on that faint trace of perfume or that fresh-baked pretzel that wafts around downtown Springfield I have yet to find the source of. I think it gives me an advantage to bring readers into the scene and make that movie play in their heads. I have to rely on my five other senses and emotions every time I sit down to write. This can have its drawbacks.
When I first wrote seriously, I had a lot of “purple prose” comments. Through trial and error, learning and experience, I’ve learned how to write sound the only way I know how to without going overboard. I can still get carried away, but my fans don’t seem to mind.
Bio:
A published author with a knack for twisted tales, Stephanie Ayers is a full-time world-building ninja and part time freelancer living in Ohio while crafting her own story and resists growing up at all costs. She mothers her children, loves her husband, attends church, and avoids all things housework and zombies.
Socil Links:
Book Links:
Thank you for joining me today!!
Cheers!
AUTHORS! WANT TO BE SHOWCASED?? FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW!
Authors Run Your Mouth Form
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