Make time work for you

“When you look through the years and see what you could have been
Oh, what you might have been, if you would have more time…”

I have always had a love/hate relationship with time, whether it’s time well spent, an impending deadline, a change in season, a new month—or time wasted.

Many of my favorite songs deal with the subject; my ‘Oddly Inspirational’ playlist is filled with music that reminds me how time is slipping away. I remember that every time I go to a bookstore and run my fingers across the smooth volumes on the shelves and see another title from an author whose debut I read or checked out years ago.

Could’ve been me, I think. Or, could be me.

Yet I’ve remained trapped, in my own personal writing at least, by procrastination. Days and weeks go by as I’ve searched for the right formula to make everything come together. Maybe you’re the same way: between the job, the chores, the inane necessities of life, or walking the dogs, staying somewhat social and fit, you wonder: how is finding time to write possible?

Well, I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The bad news is there’s no perfect formula. Nobody can do it the same way. Most advice, including this, is unnecessary. But that’s also part of the good news, because the good news is there is a formula and it exists in your mind, within your grasp. The only thing holding you back is you.

I realize as I type this that I am, in part, talking to myself. But my goal is to help others with my own struggles because I don’t think they’re that uncommon.

I recently started watching a series of courses put together by entrepreneur Peter Sage about changing your mindset and overcoming procrastination. It’s been a hit-or-miss series so far: some lessons are good, some irrelevant. They are not in any way geared toward writing, but I look for ways to apply them to that lifestyle. His goal is to get people to succeed in business and, in the end, writing is a business.

The introduction to one lesson stuck out to me. In about 40 seconds, he essentially says the excuse about not having enough time (he meant for the course, but it’s easily applicable to writing) is bullshit.

“We all have the same amount of time every single day,” he said. “What you’re really saying is I’m not making transforming my life or getting rid of my negative patterns a priority. Or, I’m getting too much secondary gain from being a victim.”

Essentially, he’s saying that he—and all the advice columns you read or listen to—can only do so much. You have to make the commitment; you have to put your butt in the chair, as Anne LaMott would say (and, in fact, has).

I still scoff at some of the writing advice out there, authors who say they keep a notebook and jot stuff down in 15-minute intervals or while they’re waiting to flip a grilled cheese sandwich or something. That never sounded practical to me. Sage’s advice isn’t about that: his point is that his course only requires about an hour a week and, if you’re reluctant to give up that much, are you really committed?

If you’re in the same situation as I’m in (self-imposed, I know), you need to ask yourself the same question: how committed am I? Do I really want this? Between all you do, is there an hour a day you can take control of? I bet, between the phone, doom-scrolling on social media, the TV or something else, there is. Find it. Recognize it. Make it work for you.

From the embers, a new beginning

Fire Dog is a weird story, even for me.

The basic idea came to me while I was drinking by the fireside and noticed a log in the center of the fire (pictured, on cover) looked vaguely like the snout of a dog emerging from the embers. My mind wandered, collecting and sometimes discarding the ‘what ifs’ that formed the foundation of the story.

I liked the idea of a system of magic, or at least one niche of a larger system of magic, that would allow sorcerers to look out through different campfires across the world of Korin and send messengers or minions to strike secretly at their enemies.

Gradually, the idea of the Heatstone developed from the murk drugs and alcohol and, the theft, the tension between the main characters, Korson and Glory, and the connection to the world of Korin.

What makes it weird is that I didn’t know what it was about until three or four paragraphs from the end–and then I realized it wasn’t an end at all, but a beginning. Perhaps that’s true of all short stories, but this particular beginning means retrofitting some other stories to meet this new concept. Or maybe not. I’ll decide that when I continue this story (because it is, in fact, just a beginning.)

Although Fire Dog takes place in the same world as the Keegan stories, Unclaimed and Three Sacrifices, along with Keeper of the Dead, Two Cows Too Many and The Sigilist, and features one of the same characters (sort of), the story itself stands on its own. It’s another snapshot, another entry point, another look at the world as it takes shape through the eyes of the people that live in it.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes, spend a buck and check it out–and, as always, let me know what you think!

Getting it Back

I have a simple black canvas shoulder bag with a strap, two pockets on the front and one on the back.

Inside, you’ll find a couple of small pockets with sleeves for writing utensils and a zippered partition in the main compartment. There’s a flap that covers the front and conceals the contents; it has a vaguely floral shape on it, stitched in red. The bag is large enough for my laptop and a folder that contained some miscellaneous writing notes and a few sketches of worlds in progress. Not much more.

“That’s a cool bag,” someone said to me recently. “I like it; simple and practical.”

“Just like me,” I joked. I held it up. “I found it at my favorite comic book store and it sort of called to me.”

We were at a seminar and had a few minutes to kill before the talk started back up again. I welcomed the distraction.

“What’s the design supposed to be,” she asked. “Is that writing underneath it?”

I was suddenly embarrassed because there was a phrase there, but I had to read it again. I had forgotten it. Once I started, though, it came back to me in a rush, naturally, as if the words were there all along under the surface of my thoughts.

“God is in his Heaven and all is right in the world,” I told her, half reading, half remembering.

The design on the front had some significance in the manga genre. I didn’t know that when I bought it—someone else had to tell me—and I still don’t know exactly what that significance is. I picked the bag up, not because I necessarily wanted to spend a lot of money at the comic book store, or because of the size, number of pockets or overall functionality, but because of that quote. That’s what had called to me. It was comforting at a time when I needed the additional comfort. Strengthening at a time when I needed the strength. It was a good, protective quote.

A quote I had since forgotten.

The worst part, I realized, was that I hadn’t just forgotten some of the words or the general cadence of the sentence—I had forgotten it was even there.

It has always been this way with me. I gird myself up for some upcoming challenge, obstacle or opportunity, calling inspiration and reassurance from whatever I see around me. I look for signs in everyday things. Then, when the battle is won, the challenge overcome and the opportunity is either realized or has passed by, I forget whatever it was that helped me through. Perhaps it is just human nature. Maybe it’s something we all need to think about more often as we go through life, unwittingly hauling the dead weight of old inspirations along with us.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot heading into November and the annual allure of the National Novel Writing Month challenge. The concept is to write a complete novel—at least 50,000 words—within the confines of the month, to force yourself to get write down what has been dancing around in your mind. Write it fast, write every day and don’t worry about how bad it is. You can fix bad writing, but you can’t fix air.

This is something I’ve done before. At one time I was so confident in my writing ability, creativity and pacing that I wrote up two concepts at the same time. I was even at a point where I thought I didn’t need it. I could write what I wanted, when I wanted and make it as good as I wanted, no matter how inconsistent I had been with my schedule. The ability would come, the creativity would return. The proverbial muse, giggling and blushing like she did when we first met, would take up her rightful place on my shoulder.

Now, despite all the assurances that things are right in the world, and with me, despite all the inspirational quotes I had once taped to my keyboard and computer screen, I am not so sure. The pace of about 1,667 words a day (once, I could do that in an hour) is a bit daunting. I am unprepared. I have a story concept that I have been tossing around for a while and a character who I know will carry the tale when I cannot. That’s about it.

Still, the old inspirations are there. “God is in his Heaven and all is right in the world.” “Approach all areas of life with a bold enthusiasm this year.” (That was from a fortune cookie). “We must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy us.” “Doing is being; to have done is not enough.” Those came from Ray Bradbury, along with: “We must take up arms each and every day, perhaps knowing that the battle cannot be entirely won. But fight we must, if only a gentle bout. The smallest effort to win means, at the end of each day, a sort of victory.”

I love Bradbury’s stuff, which came from Zen in the Art of Writing, so much that I call him Uncle Ray. Whenever I read his advice on writing, I think: This is what I was meant to do. He knew, but never directly told, the secret to all things: The inspiration doesn’t matter. It’s what in you that counts. Use it, build it, feed it—no matter what you’re chasing—and you’ll find success.

Do me a favor, though. When you do find success, don’t forget what inspired you along the way. Pass it on. Someone else may need it as much as you once did.

The best of quotes, the worst of quotes

Whenever I have a hard time starting a new project, I turn to Ray Bradbury.

I have a dog-eared and stained copy of Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing close at hand and several excerpts from it saved into a word document on my desktop entitled: In Case of Emergency.

If you haven’t picked up the book  yet, you should–it’s not just an invigorating look at how to approach writing, but how to live your life. Bradbury, in language we can all understand and identify with, talks about meeting each day with zest and gusto and how important it is to be true to our art as a way to shield ourselves from the daily grind. The preface alone is worth the price.

My favorite quote is not about zest or gusto, however. It’s not even the short sentence that I print out and tape to every computer monitor and/or laptop that I purchase: “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.”

My favorite quote is a longer one and I have a love/hate relationship with it. It is the best of quotes and the worst of quotes at the same time.

“We must take arms each and every day,
perhaps knowing the battle cannot be entirely won,
but fight we must, if only a gently bout.
The smallest effort to win means, at the end of the day, a sort of victory.”

Bradbury is talking about the importance of writing every day, of keeping up some kind of rhythm, of making sure that your writing muscles are toned and your mind loose–despite what else may be happening in your life. Fight we must, if only a gentle bout.

He’s certainly right about that. Anyone who has fallen off the proverbial writing wagon can attest to it. It’s difficult to kick off the rust once you let yourself lapse. Writing is like any other muscle: when you stop exercising it, it turns to flab overnight.

The danger is concentrating on the final portion of that quote (and, ironically, it is the portion that is printed out and stuck on my keyboards and screens). “The smallest effort to win means, at the end of day, a sort of victory.”

Maybe it’s just me, but when it comes to writing I’m a ‘smallest effort’ kind of guy, even though I continually try to break myself of that bad habit. I set aside a two-hour block to write every day (except Friday, my lone decompression day). I rarely keep that schedule. Life gets in the way, throwing up an obstacle of a different sort just when I think I’ve overcome the last one. Even when I sit down, there are things that distract me: social media, the Internet (I am a news junkie), maybe hunting down a new song. Before I know it, most of my writing time is up and I’m lucky to jot down 500 words or so.

I compound that mistake by congratulating myself. After all, Uncle Ray (he is not really my uncle, of course, but I like to think we’re related in spirit) said any attempt to win was a sort of victory, right? Aren’t I victorious? He’d be proud.

Well, I doubt it. It’s a great thought, writing every day whether you feel like it or not, whether your muse is sitting on your shoulder or off pouting in a dark corner (or scrolling through Twitter’s never-ending timeline), but only if you don’t set your bar that low. Let those days be the exception, not the norm. Unplug your internet, turn off your wi-fi, close the door and bar it if you have to.

You’ll thank yourself and those melancholy bouts will happen less often. At least, that’s how it is for me–and that’s how I know I am a writer. Those muscles, however flabby they are when I start, quickly regain their strength.

That’s the kind of victory “Uncle Ray” would be proud of.

Getting the blog back together or, the writing process blog tour

I was flattered when my friend and colleague, Lisa Peers, invited me to join this blog hop on the writing process. I gave her debut novel, ‘Love and Other B-Sides‘ a four-star review instead of a five-star review primarily because I am sort of a prickly pain in the ass when it comes to posting reviews. My old editor nature coming out, I guess. If you get a chance, read it. It’s good.

As for me, whenever I sit down to write I feel like I know more about how not to do it than how to approach it, but perhaps you can learn something from my mistakes.

What am I working on?

I have a lot going on. First of all, I have four stories posted on Amazon, published through Kindle Direct Publishing. They are, in no particular order: Unclaimed, a fantasy/sci-fi short story featuring an eventual series character, Keegan; Keeper of the Dead, a fantasy/horror story about an aging warrior battling his own (and someone else’s) demons; and A Better Way, a modern satirical thriller about a regular guy named Darryl Johnson whose life goes horribly awry. Finally, there is Two Cows Too Many, an odd story that is based on a dare that the late Marion Zimmer Bradley posed in her magazine. Unclaimed and Two Cows are the only ones that have sold so far, but the reviews are positive and I thank you for them.

Next up, is Lady of the Lake, featuring another series character. Lady is a modern mystery based in part on my past as an editor and reporter of a major weekly newspaper chain here in Metro Detroit. Charlie Morton, the POV character, is like I used to be, only smarter and funnier.

I am also slogging my way through another fantasy short story, The Sigilist, and recently discovered one major problem and how to fix it. (Unfortunately, it means starting over). Then I have another Keegan story, Three Sacrifices, that will need to be rewritten, too. Also, I have at least one novel I’d like to finish and post before the end of the year, either a Charlie Morton story (probably) or one of the three first draft fantasy novels I have tucked away on my flash drive.

I write on this blog sporadically as well as on two practice fiction blogs, one a fantasy series, the other strictly sci-fi, based on the space adventures of my bored cat. Feel free to check them out, but I warn you they are just first drafts, proofed only for spelling.

How does my writing differ from others in its genre?

The quick answer to this (I hope) is humor. I think spending more than a dozen years in the news field has given me a good ear for dialogue, too. There are other former newspaper writers who have turned to fiction, of course, but I deliberately didn’t go the way they did, with novels or stories set in major cities. My protagonists are not very heroic; they often don’t know what they’re doing, or why. They are small-timers living in a small time world tackling problems that most of us face.

Why do I write what I do?

Entertainment, mostly. The stories come to me and I feel obligated to get them down. I am, however, taking a more serious look at what I do and why I am doing it (or why I want to, at any rate), because I feel it’s important to have some kind of message hidden among the one-liners and snappy comebacks. A Better Way in particular has a few thought-provoking lines tucked away in Darryl’s non-linear ramblings. He’s like a Billy Joel song that way.

How does my writing process work?

I alluded to this in the beginning. The short answer is, I’m still working on that part.

I had a dream, once, a silly little dream, that I could write a short story a week and get them published. This was based on my optimum writing speed of about 1,700 words an hour for two hours every day. I’ve backed off from that because of age, infirmary and common sense. Writing is hard work; good writing, even more so.  I still think it is important to write every day and I am using this blog post to jump start my efforts again.

My concept is simple: spend the first hour editing one work, the second hour writing a different one. The idea is to gradually get into the creative mind set while you’re fixing your mistakes during your first hour. I’ve tried two different versions of this: The Rooster Plan (from 5-7 a.m.) and the Owl Plan (from 10 to midnight). Both have their challenges, lack of sleep chief among them, and neither have exactly taken flight. Not that a rooster can fly, but you get the idea.

Who’s next?

I have never met @NatRusso, but I liked him enough to ask if I could include him at the end of this and he graciously agreed. You can find all sorts of information about him and his work here. (As you can see, his Writing Process blog was actually posted before mine. His book, Necromancer Awakening, is among the current top-sellers on Amazon. I’ve started it and have been impressed so far (I sense another four-star review coming). Also, he is a good writer to follow on twitter because he finds a good mixture of advice, marketing and general conversation.

Also, check out the work of an old friend who writes as PJ Lincoln. Like me, he’s another former newspaper guy who has a growing collection of fiction published through Amazon and elsewhere.

Thanks for stopping in. Feel free to share, leave a comment, download a story and post a review!