Hi everyone.  I am off to a wonderful, and much needed, vacation with my family.  I’ll see you back here in December.  Until then, enjoy a little of my favorite classical pieces for this time of year.  (AND BTW, go to the bottom of this post for a NON-CLASSICAL video…that is just so…random!)

Have a great week.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons:  Autumn

Adam Sandler’s Thanksgiving Song

 ENJOY!!!

Happy Friday everyone!  It’s blog chain time again.  Mandy asked:

How do you prioritize? How do you balance paying attention to your writing, critiquing for friends, spending time with your family and earning a living?

What a great question!  I did a blog post on this a few weeks ago.  In that post I talked about the craziness in my life – all of the things I am involved with that both enhance and complicate my life.  Basically I work a 40 hour a week job (on a mellow week), spend 30 hours or more on the craft of writing (and building my platform), am involved in my kid’s lives, have a great marriage, meditate daily, try to work out, and enjoy leisure time. 

The only way this happens…

balance.

I learned a long time ago that certain things MUST be part of my life if I am going to stay in balance:

• I must meditate daily
• I stay in better balance if I eat healthy, sleep at least 6 hours, and exercise – daily (This is the hardest one for me)
• I must write consistently – it provides a creative outlet that I need as much as I need air
• I must take the time to “play” every day – and its even better if my play time is with my family

Everything else are things that I want to do…things I like to do….things that every day life requires (cleaning, paying bills, etc).

For me, the key is in doing what I must, establishing goals for my life and asking this essential question when prioritizing the rest of my to do list:

Does this activity move me in the direction of my goals?

If it does – great.  If it doesn’t, it goes to the bottom of the list.

One last thing makes this all work for me…and it is something I talked about in my previous post on this subject.  I do my best to live in the moment.  I know, I know…it sounds trite.  But really, if I can live 100% in the moment – focusing deliberately on what I am doing at the time, and not allow my brain to run amuck worrying about other things, I am able to accomplish an amazing amount of work each and everyday.

So, to sum it up -

1. I know the things I MUST do everyday
2. I know my life goals – everything other than the MUST dos are weighed against my life goals and prioritized from there
3. I life in the moment as often as possible – choosing to deliberately focus on what I am doing as often as I can.

If I do these things, I stay in balance, the relationships in my life thrive, and I accomplish a lot.

Check out one the most amazing writer’s I have ever had the pleasure to read – the amazing Kat before me, and the ever-incredible Bonnie tomorrow.

The other day I was speaking with a non-writer friend of mine.  He asked about my current WiP and I was saying that my crit partners were busy shredding it.  That lead to a conversation about critiquing in general. 

At the end of the conversation, my friend asked “So, why do you do it?  I mean, you spend hours and hours reading other people’s manuscripts – on top of the writing you do for yourself and your job.  You don’t get paid to read that stuff…so why do you do it?”

As I answered him it occurred to me that writers are an amazing group – generous and kind and really into paying it forward.  You see, my answer to my friend was that I read and critique because of the following:

• It makes me a better writer
• It helps another writer perfect their craft
• I get to meet some of the coolest people in the world
• I love the power of a good story
• I need people to read for me…and they have always been generous with their time.  It is the least I can do…help them and help others.

What motivates you?  Why are you so generous with your time?

So, as many of you know I am knee-deep into edits for Lacrimosa.  The rough draft was finished a month ago, and I edited through my crit group as I wrote…so the rough draft is a little stronger than a typical rough draft. A little…

But now that it is in the hands of betas – and they are appropriately shredding and helping find the holes – I am getting the “fresh eyes” I need to see the story from a new perspective.  So, with the help of my best writerly buds, I’ve set some lofty goals and deadlines to get this baby polished up and in the best shape I can!!!

Thanks Betas and crit buds…without you, this would b a whole lot harder…but more on that in a later post.

For now I have a question for you guys – How do you get the perspective you need to do a good job with edits after burying yourself into your WiP?  Betas?  Time?  Lay it on me!

Hey guys…how’s NaNo coming along?  Before I talk about my NaNo experience for 2009, I thought I’d share a bit of what my children have written for their NaNo novels, as well as a little of mine…all in the hopes of motivating me to write a little more:

Erika’s (My 9-year-old) Nano novel – a children’s or MG story about an octopus that has become a human girl.

“Well, what are we supposed to do about my missing tentacle?”  I asked after a section of silence.

“You could go on a voyage.  Try to find it,” Cacie suggested.

“Yeah, but I don’t even know where it lies.  How am I supposed to find it?”

“Um, it’s called clues!” The twins, Layla and Lielak smirked.

“Oh, well sorry!” I yelled back.  With a roll of my eyes, I turned around and faced my father.

“I have the first clue,” he said.

Fabiana’s (My 13-year-old) Nano Novel – A MG story about George Washington, the Revolutionary War and some very bad wizards

Dec 1776:  It is Christmas Eve and I sense magic in the air.  Dark magic.  It rides on the weather itself.  A Blizzard.  The men are not going to like it.  Blizzards are famous for their fondness of freezing men.  I must be ready.  

My Nano Novel, Broken Wings a YA story:

I stare out the window on the third floor.  The rain comes down in sheets.  Again.  It hasn’t stopped since I got here.    The sounds of voices from the group behind me muffle into my ears.  They’re meaningless to me.  I’m too lost in the thoughts of my parent’s visit.

It’s been seventy-two hours since they sent me to this God forsaken place.  Seventy-two  hours since they found me cutting.   Seventy-two hours since they tried to end my journey into hell.

Too bad there’s no way out.

I see their car as it circles the drive.  They’ve come to take me.

Dr. Whatever will talk with them – tell them how to treat me.  Help me recover. He’ll arrange a follow-up with some other doctor at home.  He’ll teach them how to make sure I never cut again.

Then he’ll want to talk with all of us.  He’ll expect me to talk about recovery.  Like that’s ever going to happen.

So, now that you’ve gotten a nibble..here is the reality of NaNo in my house.  Both girls have been diligently writing.  But, neither think they will make their goal.  They are going to try to get some more words in while we are out for Thanksgiving Break…but yeah, we’ll see.

As for me…my RL and writing life became quite busy since starting NaNo.  As a result, I KNOW I won’t hit the 50K mark.  But I have an outlined story (well – sorta outlined), and a few words I like…so it is something  will get to work on later in 2010. 

After my last WiP gets revised.

After my NF project gets polished for publishing.

After my new NF project gets polished for agent.

(and not necessarily in that order.)

How about you guys?  Hows NaNo coming along?

Wow – what an amazing month!  Not only have agented friends gotten publishing deals, and writerly friends agents…

but one of my dearest friends is now repped by an incredible agent.

Who is this dear friend, you ask?  Well – it is someone who has inspired me in ways I can’t ever begin to articulate.  I looked for a card for this friend – something to tell her what she means to me.  And while I couldn’t find just the right one, I did find something that really speaks about the qualities I see in this friend every single day:

Behind every success is effort…

Behind every effort is passion…

Behind every passion is someone

With the courage to try.

Elana Johnson – thank you for showing me every day what it means to persevere – and CONGRATS on finding an amazing agent.  Your success is inspirational!

Today is just a little post to celebrate twenty-one years of married bliss to the most amazing and supportive husband any woman could ask for!  When we married, neither of us had any idea what was in store….but we survived the adversity, celebrated each other’s successes and brought two amazing girls into this world.  My life is so much better simply because I get to share it with him

Thanks, super hubby, for 21 amazing years…I look for to the next 20+.

I thought I would build on a post from last week about story creation.  In that post I presented the questions I ask myself when I craft a story:  What is the mc’s main problem, what is at stake for the mc, and what is the tension of each and every scene.  This post focuses more specifically on that last question.

I like to read (and consequently write) really tight stories.  Too often I read a book with overwritten prose and unnecessary scenes.  It drives me nuts.  But, because I am a true reader, I read on. 

I don’t want readers to feel that way when they read my stories.  So I focus on each and every scene, picking apart its own internal story arc, and seeing how it specifically contributes to the story as a whole.

In my opinion, each scene in a story has its own arc – its own emotional story.  I ask myself questions – How does this push the character forward?  Does it help them solve the initial problem?  Does it create new problems? Does help the reader gain a better sense of what’s at stake for the character? Does it move the character towards some sort of resolution? 

 By answering these questions I am able to figure out whether or not the scene is relevant in and of itself – and whether or not it moves the story forward.  If the answer is no to either question, it will wind up in the trash – every time.

If I am doing my job as a storyteller well, each scene moves the reader to the next flawlessly.  Each scene is fulfilling in its own right.  Each scene is necessary.

That does not mean that each scene needs to have some sort of resolution.  Some of the best leave the reader screaming for more.  And as my crit buddies know, I  LOVE making the reader scream for more!  But it does mean that the scene leaves the reader feeling fulfilled – feeling like they did NOT waste their time by reading it.  I can think of a few books I have read over the last year that failed in that regard.  In fact, I have been know to read some scenes and literally “fast forward” to the end of the scene – all because the scene was not needed.  Not relevant.

So – your turn…how do you ensure that each scene has a purpose to your story?  Do you find this important too?  How do you decide which things will wind up in the digit trash can?

Can you believe the holidays are just about here?  I mean, seriously, I looked at the calendar yesterday and nearly fell off my chair…I am on vacation for Thanksgiving in two short weeks (In Hawaii…thus the picture.  I know, I know, it is a bit disturbing). 

By the time I get back, it’ll be December.   Close your eyes too long after that, and it’s 2010.

WOW!!!

Now, while I do love the holidays, and I REALLY love going on vacation, it does through my whole “how to balance writing” thing out the window as I add more and more to the mile-long to-do list. For example, look at my writing to-do’s:

• Reread ms for Emotionally Intense and work on revisions with editor
• Finish revisions on new NF proposal and get to agent ASAP
• Work on revisions for Lacrimosa and get to crit buds.  Goal, polished up by the new year
• NaNo novel (yeah…I’m thinking not so much…)

And that doesn’t even include the mss I read and crit, my work schedule, etc.

Obviously, something has to give.  So, I decided I would have a “holiday” schedule for the blog and only post three times a week or so.  Of course, that is always subject to change if I get exciting news, or an urge to post more!

Please continue to come on by, leave me lots of comments.  And maybe we’ll have to do a contest or something for the holidays too!!!

How are you guys going to handle the increased craziness?

I have a very busy life…like VERY busy.  I try to squeeze 50 hours of work into my 40 hour work week.  I coach my daughter’s Odyssey of the Mind team, am the Band Boosters Board President for my other daughter, teach parenting classes, and conduct trainings around Southern California.  I have active kids, a busy husband and a rich social life.  I exercise, meditate daily, and try to spend quality time with each member of my family.  Oh, and did I mention I try to spend 30 or more hours weekly improving the craft of writing?

Yeah – I know – crazy busy.

Whenever anyone hears about my schedule they always ask th same thing?  How do you do that?  Do you EVER sleep?  The answer – of course I sleep.  And yeah, sometimes things don’t get done.

But most of the time I am able to keep all the balls in the air. 

So…how do I do this?

Planning.  I maintain a long to-do list and work hard to keep my head fully focused on whatever I am doing.  When I am at work, I am fully present at work.  When I am home, I am fully present at home.  I learned a long time ago that if I can completely focus on the business at hand, I can accomplish a great deal. 

Most people think I multi-task well.  Really, that isn’t it.  I just hyper focus on single activities and can switch between activities effortlessly.  It looks like multi-tasking, but it is actually much, much better.

In addition to focusing on a single activity fully, I am a planner.  If I can “see” that everything really can get done, I relax and plow through my tasks.  The key to my planning is prioritizing what I need to do.  At work, at home, with writing.  I will give myelf deadlines on my writing so that I treat it more like work.

Here’s an example:  I have four distinct writing projects, plus my blog posts, that rattle around in my head at any given time.  These include two nonfiction projects, my newly finished YA fiction, and my NaNo novel.  I prioritorize based the needs of my agent (who reps my nonfiction project (s)) and the status ofmy fiction.  Currently this means finishing a proposal for my agent FIRST, then the revisions of Lacrimosa, then the NaNo novel.  Sure, I may fall behind on the NaNo novel…but agent always trumps NaNo, and a completed ms always trumps one in progress.  So, there you go…a writing plan.

Once I have a plan, I attach reasonable deadlines – and yes, I am anal-retentive enough that I put it all on a calendar.  This results in a lot of work getting done in any given week. 

I carve out writing time daily – usually while the kids are doing homework, or after they go to bed.

I carve out family time daily as well.

As for meditation time (or exercise time) – I am not as consistent as I need to be on these – but generally I do these things either first thing in the morning or last thing at night.

And yes, I do sleep about 7 hours every night.

In the end, the balancing act for me has been a lesson in deliberate attention/focus.  In this way, it is a great spiritual practice as I learn to be completely present in every moment of the day.

How do you guys figure it all out?  I am always loking for new ideas…