Procrastinate no more

I bet this word is very familiar not just to writers but everyone in general. I imagine we’ve all been there at one point or another, especially when life gets in the way.

I read a column by Judy Christie, author and consultant, who writes inspirational fiction and nonfiction.

She says that she noticed bestselling authors had something in common. Despite differences in genre, style, voice, settings, or characters, they developed a writing habit.

A writing habit, that’s the secret! (It’s not really a secret, most writers know this). I hate to admit it, but I am a procrastinator. Hello. My name is Claudia and I’m a procrastinator.

Ms. Christie's experience, however, helped me rid of that sense of guilt I had. I am entitled to procrastinate as long as I don’t make it a habit.

This is what she had to say:

After years of procrastination and fear, that lesson helped me write my first novel and five since.

When I flounder as a writer, it’s because I’m inconsistent with my daily writing discipline. When I produce my best stories, I rely on that basic lesson from the masters – words on the page.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that on my most rewarding and productive writing days, I use a kitchen timer, set for an hour at a time. I track how many hours I actually write — as opposed to time spent Tweeting, Facebooking or wandering around my friends’ blogs.

You’d think at age fifty-five I wouldn’t need such a trick, but, after all, it took me fifty years to write a novel.

Are you a procrastinator? Have you overcome this habit?

Ten Quick Steps to Fix your Story

Over the weekend I got inspired to start a story I had concocted in my head a long time ago. It finally came to fruition.

Then last night, a fellow writer and dear friend of mine called me to share some news regarding a project. She also informed me that after a long hiatus she was ready to tackle her writing. And since I had started writing again, we agreed on giving each other feedback. Sometimes a little push is all you need to get motivated again.Based on our current editing process, I realized we need to apply what we learned in our writing workshops.

1. USE ACTIVE VOICE INSTEAD OF PASSIVE.
In general, the active voice is stronger because it is more direct and cuts down on the number of needed words.

2. SIMPLIFY YOUR LANGUAGE.
Use simpler words—whether verbs, nouns or adjectives— replace a less familiar word with a more readily understandable one to avoid misunderstandings.

3. USE VERBS, NOT NOUNS.
Sometimes nouns make sentences longer and weaker. For instance, “The passing of time was…” Why not say, “Time passed…”  

4. CUT BACK LONG SENTENCES.
One way to make your writing clearer is to limit the use of long sentences.

5. TRIM EXCESSIVE QUALIFICATION.
At times, qualifiers will serve their purpose but overdoing it can weaken your writing. Excessive qualifiers add bulk without adding substance.

6. USE PARALLELISM.
Parallelism is an important element of style because it builds clarity and power.

7. AVOID REDUNDANCIES.
A story can become tiresome when a writer needlessly repeats a word or an idea.

8. AVOID UNNECESSARY SELF-REFERENCE.
Avoid such unnecessary phrases as "I believe," "I feel" and "in my opinion."

9. AVOID THE MASCULINE GENERIC.
The masculine generic refers to the sole use of the pronoun “he” or “him” when referring to situations involving both genders. Opt for gender-neutral language, instead.

10. BE SPECIFIC.
Vague language weakens your writing because it forces the reader to guess at what you mean instead of allowing the reader to concentrate fully on your ideas and style.

Do you usually apply these rules when writing? Do you sometimes need a reminder?

Five OLD habits to bid farewell in 2012

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Dear Bloggie Friends:
After a well-deserved break, I’m back to the blogosphere!

I hope you are enjoying the holiday season and recharging your writing batteries to welcome 2013.

I’ve been reflecting on some bad writing habits –I must confess– that have impeded me from writing in the last quarter of the year.
1)      Procrastinating (I’ll do it tomorrow)
2)      Making time (I’m too busy this week)
3)      Lying to myself (It’s not as important as…)
So, before the year is officially over, I’d like to share some bad habits that writers, especially aspiring writers are guilty of. Yes, old habits are oftentimes hard to break but not impossible to overcome.

1)      I don’t need to follow any rules:

Think again my fellow writer! We ALL need to pay heed to the rules. For instance, when entering a contest you have to follow their instructions, otherwise you’ll ruin your chances at participating. This also applies when submitting your manuscript. Not following instructions can give the impression you are careless.

2)      Don’t play the blame game:

If your manuscript is not accepted, don’t blame yourself or the publisher. Use this opportunity to edit it or submit it to a different publisher.

3)      Leave your ego at the door:

We’ve all been there! We think our work is better than anyone else’s. It may be so, but being egocentric can discourage a potential publisher, agent, and/or fellow writers (especially if you’re not published yet).

4)      My publisher can do the marketing:

Wrong! Nowadays most writers do their own marketing through social media, word of mouth, networking, and community events. The good old days where even small authors had an agent or publisher to do the leg work are gone. The modern writer/author is also a multi-tasking entrepreneur.

5)      Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today:

Procrastinating is a writer’s worst nemesis. As I said before, this is my biggest problem. So this year I plan to write at least one page per day. I’ll remind myself by setting a reminder on my smart-phone, another one on my laptop calendar, and post-it notes on my fridge.

So as we put our old habits to sleep, a new dawn awaits.

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND KEEP ON WRITING!!!

Out of the Loop

Dear readers and bloggie friends,

I will be out of the loop (or should I say the blogosphere?) for a while. I'll return by mid-fall.

Thank you for your patience and loyal readership.
Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Challenge Yourself and Others

In the spirit of all things fun in the summer, I decided to have a little writing challenge for my fellow bloggers. I started a short story for blogging purposes only (Don’t worry, I won’t publish it and take ALL the credit, LOL!), and I want you, my fellow bloggers to fill in the blanks.

Instead of leaving a comment, please leave a sentence or two (or more if you’d like) to continue the story below. I’ll publish your sentences in the order received so the next blogger can add to the developing story. You have carte blanche in regards to characters, plot, dialogue, etc. Let’s see what comes out of it and let the writing fun begin!

It was a gloomy autumn afternoon. Agatha got off on Peel Station. She looked at her watch and noticed she was two hours early for her book launch. Her first published book. She walked towards Ste. Catherine Street and went inside a coffee shop. She sat next to the window, staring blankly at a throng of dark trench coats that glided like ghosts across the street. Agatha …