A writing retreat pays big dividends, and it doesn’t have to take a bite out of your wallet. Do you have access to a cabin, a condo, or a room over the garage? You could sign up for a Costa Rican retreat with daily writing, critique, and personal coaching sessions at a couple of thousand dollars per person. Or. . . create your own retreat for next to nothing! That’s what my critique group did. Share the Load One member generously offered her time-share condo for the weekend, another made sure we had enough snacks to keep us going, and two members provided meals. Everyone was responsible for their own…
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NaNo Prep
NaNoWriMo is just around the corner. What’s that you ask? It’s shorthand for National Novel Writing Month. Each November since 1999, participants have attempted to write a 50,000 word novel. That’s a lot of words! Resources: Word Tracker NaNoWriMo’s website at NaNoWriMo.org is chock full of helpful resources. There’s a word tracker to show progress toward your word count goal. It’s set up as a graph. With days on the X axis and word count on the Y axis a target slope gives you a daily word count goal. Your actual progress shows where you stand in relation to the target slope. If you write every single day with no…
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Time for School
If you’re a student, welcome back to school! Sharp pencils, packages of shrink-wrapped lined paper, and fresh haircuts are sure signs of a new school year. No more late nights stargazing or watching Netflix. It’s time to settle in with textbooks and homework. Survival Tips Whether you’re in fifth grade or college you need a good night’s sleep. Light from a TV or computer screen can affect melatonin production. That’s the hormone that regulates your sleep cycle, also known as circadian rhythms. Turn off all screens two hours before you plan to sleep. That includes your cell phone! Stay active. If you find yourself sitting for more than an hour,…
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Monthly Goal Sheet
In order to be productive, a writer must set goals. I know I’ve talked about this before, but it bears repeating. In addition to word count and project goals, a writer needs to set revision and submission goals. Think about making a monthly goal sheet. Mine is divided into three categories: creative, business, and networking. Creative What do I include under the creative heading? Weekly flash fictions and blog posts, projects under development, and continuing revision on a Middle Grade manuscript are on this month’s goal sheet. I post it on the bulletin board in plain view then mark through with a green highlighter when I complete a task. At…
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What Should I Write About?
Where do you find ideas for stories? Well . . . there are plenty of places to discover something interesting or worthwhile to say. But to track them down, you have to keep informed about what’s happening in the world, brainstorm original ideas, and keep your ear to the ground for the curious, the weird, or the otherwise fascinating. Finding Something to Say Ideas for stories are everywhere. In the news, in that summer novel, in your neighbor’s backyard. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, an idea is out there waiting for you. Elizabeth Gilbert writes in Big Magic that inspiration is ripe for the writer who is open to…
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Summer Writing Time is Here!
The summer solstice this week marked the beginning of summer writing season. It started getting light at 4:45 in the morning and didn’t get completely dark until 9:28 at night for a grand total of sixteen hours and forty-three minutes of daylight. Self-care It’s easy to let all your self-care routines lapse during the summer, especially if you are on your own while your parents are at work. What do I mean by self-care? That includes sleeping, eating, hydrating, exercising, and social media usage. Here’s Dr. Mary’s prescription: Get eight to ten hours of sleep a night; eat enough nutritious calories to maintain good health—not too many and not too…
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Welcome !
Thanks for visiting Find your writing nerd. In today’s post I want to tell you who this blog is for and what you can get out of it. I started this blog to encourage student and emerging writers. If you are a student, you have to write in school all the time. You don’t always get to choose what to write about. At Find your writing nerd you can pick your topic, learn about the ‘rules’ for writing, and access writer resources. There’s even an ask me about tab. The how to write section is divided into story and report. Story writing goes by many names. Your teacher might call…
