Every month, the Insecure Writers Support Group hosts a blog hop with an optional question meant to inspire and encourage other writers. This month, I’m happy to co-host along with Beth Camp, Jean Davis, and PJ Colando.
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This month's question:​ ​
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Since it's back to school time, let's talk English class. What's a writing rule you learned in school that messed you up as a writer?
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​I don’t remember any particularly bad writing rules, but I do remember hating homework with a specified word count. If I reached 290 words of a 300-word assignment, I would add “very” ten times. This didn't strengthen my writing, and since the homework was written by hand, the additional words were probably, in hindsight, unnecessary. (I can’t imagine the teacher manually counting each word.) Luckily, this technique didn’t result in any very bad writing habits. 😊

Another idea is to leave your future self story bread crumbs. ​Some writers recommend stopping when you know what happens next to make it easier to begin again. But if you're not sure what happens next, try making a list of questions about the characters or plot that you need to explore. (How did two characters in a relationship initially meet? How does the main character feel about different people in their family?) My questions tend to be story specific, but you can also use a character questionnaire.

I print the questions on slips of paper and put them in a bowl. If I’m stuck writing, I pull a question and focus on a scene that answers it. You can put writing prompts on the slips of paper, too. I find that the random nature of choosing a question brings joy to the process.
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Another idea is to join a Zoom writing session where you log in to write at the same time as other writers. After a brief intro, you typically turn off your camera to write, then check back in at the end of the allocated time. Writing with others can help get over the hurdle of beginning.
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5 Tips to Make Room for Writing When You’re Busy Beyond Reason

If you’re anything like me, writing is not all you (must!) do. I say must when it comes to my writing because, like so many creative outlets, it saves me. The act of writing reminds me that even if it’s garbage, I can a) do a thing, b) finish a thing—both of which are important to feeling accomplished and worthy to yourself (the most important person to please). That said, finding time to write when you’re raising a family (this does not end, empty nest or not), working full time, and, you know, just trying to live and enjoy life isn’t the easiest. Here are some techniques that work for me:

1. Schedule time for your writing. If writing brings you joy, make it a priority. Of course, there are going to be other things that come first—family, job deadlines, and the like. Everything depends on your responsibilities, personal situations, etc. Scheduling is not only practical, but it gives a nod to the importance of writing to you. Pro-tip: give yourself “bookend” times (no pun intended!): 15 minutes “pre-writing,” and a 15-minute warning that your writing time is nearly up. Book-end times help me get started in the first place and provide a mini-motivator to wrap things up so there is a sense of completeness. Scheduling is a lovely segue to…
2. Time-box your tasks. I ♥ time-boxing because it makes me feel very accomplished. It also helps me organize my tasks so that at the end of the day, I feel like I’ve done SO much. Try this: At the top of each month, take time to make some to do lists: What items MUST be completed this month? Those are your absolute priorities. Next, make a list of the things that you WANT to accomplish in the month. Being realistic (important, this), jot down the approximate times you will need to complete each task. Now you can break the tasks down into weekly, and then daily to dos. When you get to the daily portion of the program, think of each hour of the day as a box—and put a task in it—some tasks may take 2-3 boxes, or a half a box. Lay out your tasks making sure to include brief breaks in between (see #3). Here’s the hard part: start the tasks and stick to the box unless anything unexpected comes up (see #4). Set a timer at the beginning of the task and when you get to the end of that time, STOP.
3. Take breaks and enjoy them. Rest is SO important. Oh sure, there will be times when you’re on a roll and need or want to push yourself to get something done but going full speed (on anything) day after day after day will lead to burnout. Everyone has a burnout boundary. If you time box, allow for time in between each task so that what you’re working on now, doesn’t muddy what you’re going to work on next. Take 10-15 minutes to do something completely unrelated to either task. Have you ever sniffed perfume samples, only to have a sales rep hand you a small container of coffee beans to “clear your pallet” before experiencing a new scent? Same thing. Head clearing has always helped me collect myself and be more productive.
4. Be flexible. Understand that your best laid plans WILL go awry sometimes. Often. More often than you’d like. This is okay. It’s hard when you’re on a great streak and suddenly things go sideways, and you get de-railed. When this happens:
5. Be kind to yourself. Do not—I repeat DO NOT beat yourself up for missing writing days, shortening your time boxing, or not sticking to your schedule. You will get your novel/short story/article/chapter book/poem/etc. done—in the time that is unique to you. Follow the woo philosophy that says that delays, derailments, and obstacles are put in your path to protect you or prepare you for something better. You got this!

Everyone’s writing path is unique, and there is no one-size-fits all solution for everyone. But we’re all in this together—so let me know if any of these tips worked for you, and please, share your tips for mastering multitasking in the comments (I can use all the help I can get!).
Hugs!
Nat ♥

Natalie's latest book is Social Media Spellbook, coauthored with Amy Blackthorn, and available for preorder now. Description:
"Social media is part of our lives, and it’s an increasingly popular place for witches of all kinds to meet and create new spells. On TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and more, witches set intentions, manifest their dream jobs, and even create virtual altars for their ancestors. Social Media Spellbook is a perfect way to take part in this trend by using social media to channel the power of the universe. Authors Amy Blackthorn and Natalie Zaman propose adaptable formulas that draw on symbolic imagery, astrology, tarot, herbs, and crystals—not to mention everyday desire—in a spell-a-day format that anyone, even a beginner witch, can use."

Every month, the Insecure Writers Support Group hosts a blog hop with an optional question meant to inspire and encourage other writers. Special thanks to founder Alex Cavanaugh and to this month’s co-hosts,​ Feather Stone, Kim Lajevardi, Diedre Knight, C. Lee McKenzie, and Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen.
​This month's question: Do you use AI in your writing and if so how? Do you use it for your posts? Incorporate it into your stories? Use it for research? Audio?
​Other than spell and grammar checks, I don't use AI, but I look forward to reading other IWSG blog hop answers.

​In our living and ever-evolving language, the original meaning of some words changes over time, perhaps losing impact and significance. Examples of this are ritual and routine.  Because of an element both have in common, repetition, ritual and routine are often used interchangeably and incorrectly, thereby losing their power and significance.
 
In a dictionary, you discover both words have the idea of a repeated act or procedure as one of several meanings. But look at the words themselves and you see how different from each other they truly are.
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Routine, from the French and spelled the same way, means “usual course of action, beaten path,” from its root, route, meaning way, path, or course. A routine is a path or course of action that you repeat or travel over and over again. And so, routine can turn into a rut. After all, a well-traveled path does, after a while become an actual rut.
 
A well-traveled path, though, as any hiker or dedicated walker can tell you, is easy to follow. Signs aren’t necessary. Stones, or other debris have either been removed or ground down by the constant tread of feet, and the path is relatively smooth. Risks or challenges along the way are known and can be avoided or prepared for.
 
Routines are given a bad rep, because you might get too comfortable in them and because they might make you and your life—and/or writing—boring. But…
 
Routines are necessary. In personal life, work life, and in your creative life.
 
Like that well-traveled path, routines are easy to follow, require no direction, seldom trip you up and help you avoid risks. Routines, because of their repeated set of actions allow your brain and body to put energy into other things, like writing, and help you use your time more effectively. Morning routines, go-to-bed routines, drive-to-work routines and many others, all make life easier.
 
You don’t want to spend time and brain power trying to decide whether to take a shower first and then have breakfast, or have breakfast and then a shower. Instead, you develop a morning routine, a set of actions in an order that doesn’t require thinking or even much attention.  Ever driven a car to work or some other frequently visited destination only to realize you don’t really remember getting there? The routine of that well-traveled path doesn’t require much thinking or decision making any more, you don’t have to read road signs or wonder if you are heading the right way.
 
Routines make life easier and more efficient, because you don’t have to think about your actions any more, saving time and brainpower.
 
When routines are disrupted, it is then you discover just how much you value them...long for them even.
 
But a full life comes with disruptions to routines. Sometimes returning to them is easy, but sometimes the return is harder and slower.  And sometimes, you return to those paths changed.

• What routines need to be jettisoned as worn-out habits that no longer serve you?  
• What new routine in your life or your creative space might be helpful?

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Rituals, unlike routines, are more about mindfulness than mindlessness.
 
Deriving from the Latin word, ritualis, relating to (religious) rites (from ritus, “rite”, religious observance or ceremony), the word ritual implies a set of actions having to do with the transcendent or sacred.  The more formalized version of ritual, of course, is that found in church and temple.
 
In current usage, ritual is relegated to either the less personal heights of church or temple, or reduced to the equivalent of routine.
 
But simple rituals you design yourself are the means for adding depth, focus and awareness to your writing life. Use your creative mind to design rituals for transitions into creative work and out again, or bigger events such as the hanging of a show or the launching of a business. While there may be a pattern of repeated actions in these types of rituals, the purpose of the enacted patterns is to bring a mindfulness to the moment.
 
To enhance and empower your creative work, look at where you might create rituals to:

• Ease you from your routines into the meaningful act of creating, such as closing the door and putting on special music just for writing, or lighting a candle, or putting on special music.
• Honor the soul-level dimension of your writing by meditating, doing conscious dream work, free writing, going for a walk in Nature, or by pulling a few oracle or tarot cards.
• Move from fear into confidence, from procrastination into empowerment by listing the fears or blocks and then burning them, or spritzing yourself with a special aromatherapy spray for courage or creativity, or moving into an empowering posture or gesture.
• What is a simple ritual you can design that will enhance your creativity?

 
To increase your productivity along with creativity, observe your routines and how you might use a routine to your creative advantage, and then design one or two simple rituals to connect you with inspiration and help you dive into the writing waters.
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Every month, the Insecure Writers Support Group hosts a blog hop with an optional question meant to inspire and encourage other writers. Special thanks to founder Alex Cavanaugh and to this month’s co-hosts, Liza at Middle Passages, Shannon Lawrence, Melissa Maygrove, and Olga Godim.
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This month's question: ​In this constantly evolving industry, what kind of offering/service do you think the IWSG should consider offering to members?

​I'm happy with the sense of camaraderie that IWSG creates, so I don't have any suggestions. I'm interested to read what others have to say in  the blog hop.

Until next month,
Happy Writing!

One of the best ways I've found to avoid distractions is through creative immersions and writing retreats, and I've blogged about their benefits before. I recently helped facilitate an amazing retreat at the Highlights Foundation called Writing Through Trauma to Empower Readers. But a retreat is a special event, not a weekly occurrence.

On a regular basis, I deal with distractions by grouping tasks (like running errands, making phone calls, or responding to email) together during one part of the day. I'm also a fan of setting a timer for writing (with no other activities allowed). Sometimes I purposely leave my phone in a different room. And lighting a candle is a butt-in-chair guarantee. I can't leave the candle unattended!

Distractions tend to be a short term problem. What about the long road? Thanks to Jen Breach for the guest post tacking this topic.

More about Jen Breach:
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Jen Breach (they/them) is a queer, nonbinary writer of 30 picture books, chapter books, and graphic novels for kids, including an eight book series featuring the first nonbinary main character for the age group, and a nonfiction about the politics of global foodways, which won a Junior Library Guild gold standard selection. 

​Every month, the Insecure Writers Support Group hosts a blog hop with an optional question meant to inspire and encourage other writers. Special thanks to founder Alex Cavanaugh and to this month’s co-hosts, Janet Alcorn, T. Powell Coltrin, Natalie Aguirre, and Pat Garcia. 

My very first blog post was on Halloween in 2013. I can’t believe it’s been ten years! 

At the time, I thought I would focus on writing resources (a solid idea) and blog twice a week (oh, silly me). I ended my first post with a slightly blurry photo of our Westie, Rocky, and our Schneagle, Luna. (My mom commented about the photo (left) – where are Luna’s eyes?) 
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​Sadly, Rocky has since passed away. Here’s a current photo of Luna (right) with better lighting. :)

I’ve struggled through the years to define how my blog differs from my newsletter (which I started in 2015). The blog has remained writing resource-focused, while my newsletter (please subscribe!) is a little more personal, with reading recommendations, book news, life events, and funny memes. ​

One last thing: I also serve as the communications manager for Rebecca Dykes Writers, a group that serves as a resource for those who wish to write stories about violence against women and girls for young readers. If you're interested, you can sign up for the newsletter or join the digital community.

It’s common to keep a to do list, whether on paper, in your phone notes, or using some type of app. And knowing what we need to get done is certainly helpful. But what about things we can’t do because we are waiting for information or a response from someone else?
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​Sometimes we want to make progress, but we can’t. Say for example, we’re planning a family party. We’ve reached out to a restaurant that might host the group, but need availability and pricing information. I used to find it hard to keep track of these things, because they weren’t technically "to dos." It either cluttered my list because there was no actual action I could take or didn’t make it on the list at all. Then at some point, I’d remember—oops—I never heard back and needed to follow up.

Clearly, this was not a good system.

For something more regular and ongoing, like short story submissions, I keep a spreadsheet with dates and other relevant information. But for more random one-time projects, I've learned to keep a separate "Waiting For" list. I like to use a piece of brightly colored paper where I note in a black marker everything I need to hear back on. This "Waiting For" idea comes from David Allen’s Getting Things Done, and my current list includes the above-mentioned restaurant, feedback from someone else on my manuscript, hearing from an interviewee about available meeting times, and some writing I promised to critique but haven’t received yet. My own to-dos (plan party menu, edit based on comments, schedule interview, provide a critique) can’t happen while I’m waiting for the other people to answer.
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Once a week (usually Sundays when I’m planning the days ahead), I check the list. I can cross off the items I’ve heard back about (and the next step becomes my "to do") or decide whether to nudge if I haven’t gotten a response. Either way, I find that keeping the "waiting for" details in a separate place keeps me more organized.
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​Every month, the Insecure Writers Support Group hosts a blog hop with an optional question meant to inspire and encourage other writers. Special thanks to founder Alex Cavanaugh and to this month’s co-hosts Kristina Kelly, Miffie Seideman, Jean Davis, and Liza @ Middle Passages.

I dread writing synopses, but I haven’t used AI. Rather than give a personal opinion on this complicated topic, I’ll share two in-depth resources: Martha Brockenbrough’s upcoming book, Future Tense: How We Made Artificial Intelligence and How It Will Change Everything, and The Authors Guild Best Practices for Writers.
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One Last Thing....
​For your listening pleasure, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at one of my favorite songs, Tom Petty’s "The Waiting".

More about Taryn:
​Taryn (they/them) is a Vermont writer with a passion for discovering what drives a story and the best ways to bring it out. They’ve written myriad genres, including fantasy, science fiction, and horror, and across formats and age ranges, from poetry to flash fiction to young adult to short stories. They have their MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults. When they’re not writing, they’re hanging out with their dogs, playing board games, climbing, or snowboarding.
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IWSG Blog Hop
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Every month, the Insecure Writers Support Group hosts a blog hop with an optional question meant to inspire and encourage other writers. Special thanks to founder Alex Cavanaugh and to this month’s co-hosts Janet Alcorn, SE White, Victoria Marie Lees, and Cathrina Constantine.

I recently had the joy of teaching a virtual workshop on my favoritie topic, Productivity for Creative People. Productivity for creatives isn't about efficiency, like getting more words written per hour. (Although sometimes that can be a result.) Instead, I like to look at productivity through the lens of how can we make the work of creating easier for ourselves?
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One small tip that can have a big impact when you're trying to focus: Have an empty pad of paper nearby to jot down all the thoughts that invade when you start to write. Think of a great gift idea for someone? Make a note. Realize the car is due for an oil change? Another note. Research needed for the story? Mark a place in the manuscript TBD (To Be Determined) and note what you need on a separate research list.
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This simple step keeps me much more focused on my work than if I try to remember All The Random Thoughts or stop for "just a minute" to look something up. (Because we all know how that ends up . . . .)

IWSG Monthly Blog Hop

Every month, the Insecure Writers Support Group hosts a blog hop with an optional question meant to inspire and encourage other writers. Special thanks to founder Alex Cavanaugh and to this month’s co-hosts C. Lee McKenzie, JQ Rose, Jennifer Lane, and Jacqui Murray.

​This month's question:

I tend to be a positive book reviewer. If I don’t like a book, I typically don’t review it. Writing is hard work, and there’s enough negativity in the world without adding public criticism. How about you? How do you approach book reviews?

"Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them."
​~David Allen, Getting Things Done
Happy Creating!

We interrupt this regular blog to mention that registration is now open for my upcoming virtual NJ SCBWI workshop, all about productivity for creative people. It's online Wednesday, November 29th from 7 pm to 9 pm. Can't make it? No problem. Watch it when it's convenient for you for 30 days after the event.
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​Email me with any questions. I hope to see you there!

​I am a terrible self-editor. I am a lightning-fast drafter and can put out a pretty clean first draft. I wrote my most recent book, JULIETA AND THE ROMEOS, in a month. (It had to go through 3 pretty extensive rewrites, so fast drafting is definitely not the end of the story). This ability to write quickly probably works against me when it comes time for revision. My thinking goes along the lines of, “But I outlined, I sweated, I worked so hard on this draft. I did not get up off the chair for hours on end, and I agonized over so many details. How can it still be ‘wrong’?”

Of course, the need to revise has nothing to do with a draft being “wrong.” Books are iterative because they’re complex and layered. We may not even understand all the themes and subplots when we first set out on the journey of getting the story down. Terry Pratchett said, “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” Once we’ve told ourselves the story, we can begin to identify where we left gaps, overexplained, repeated ourselves, or created a less-than-compelling character. It’s in the editing that books shine.
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Because editing feels difficult for me, I’ve gathered a few tools that make it feel less daunting. Without further ado: here are three revision tips for the reluctant revisor.
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​Reading as a writer means that I rarely can get absorbed in a new book without deconstructing it. Do I like the author’s choice of words? Is the pacing engaging or plodding? How did they pull off that fantastic reveal? I use this tendency in my favor when editing by trying to “fool” myself into reacting to my own work like a book I’m reading for the first time.
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Part of what makes revision psychologically difficult for me is that when I’m going through a manuscript, I tend to start skimming or making excuses for myself as I read. I’ll come upon a passage I know needs trimming and I’ll start to tell myself, “Yes, but remember how hard I worked to find that perfect adjective? All that thesaurus work?” Never mind that the whole passage probably needs to go, or is being made obsolete by the removal of a side character. I’ll start to spin about ways I can maybe keep it.

But seeing the book in a fresh font can break this logjam for me. If you’re feeling really motivated, you can upload your document to a website like Draft2Digital, which formats manuscripts into book format. Stop just before hitting “publish,” and download the PDF. I’ve gone so far as to send this PDF to a Fedex or Staples to have it perfect-bound. But even just a simple print-out will give you the ability to look at your book with fresh eyes.
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​Okay, you don’t have to toss it toss it, but getting pages out of order can help you look at things with fresh eyes. Both JULIETA and my previous book, LOVE IN ENGLISH, contained poetry and other snippets between chapters, and seeing those out of context was particularly helpful. Reading them as stand-alones helped me determine whether they were strong enough without the surrounding material. But even if your book doesn’t contain interstitials and “found” writing, you can still benefit from engaging with it out of order. Think about a potential reader picking it up at a bookstore and flipping through it. Any one page should have the ability to catch a reader’s eye. Some people who do this just shuffle the pages. If this sounds too daunting, staple each chapter separately and shuffle those.

This is not a top-line revision strategy – you want to have a pretty solid story before delving down to this level of detail. But when you’re ready, this can be an excellent tool to make every page shine.

​I’m a tea drinker, so I like the visual of being able to have a character over for a chat and a spot of tea. And I do tend to ramble on and off for hours with characters while I’m writing, hearing their dialogue and their wants in my head. But, practically speaking, a good way to systematize this is to (you guessed it) write it down.

When I’m stuck on a thorny question, or even early on in the process when I’m really just trying to understand this new character who has monopolized my attention, I sometimes take to paper to “chat” with them. I write questions as me. Then I try to absorb them as the character might. Then, I begin to answer in their voice. The questions can be broad, like, “What would be the worst thing that could happen to you?” or “Why do you want [insert character goal]?” But they can be specific, too, like “Do you like pickles?” and “If you could only wear one color forever, what would it be?” Unexpected ideas can come from this stream-of-consciousness “conversation,” so I invite you to give it a try.
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​I am often daunted by reading that so many of my favorite authors talk about how much they hate drafting and how “great books are written during revision.” As someone who finds revision painful, it makes me wonder if I’m a “real” writer. But, the truth is, there are an infinite number of ways to be a writer, and mine is one of them. If you find yourself challenged by revision, know that you are not alone. And, if you can, do your best to separate yourself from the work. If you wrote a clunky chapter, or if your ending is predictable, that doesn’t mean anything about you as a writer, except that there’s more work to do.
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I often say, during my book events, that furniture makers don’t get furniture maker’s block. They don’t look at a table that wobbles and think, “I’m a failure as a furniture maker. What even made me think that I could make furniture?” They find what’s making the table wobble, and they fix it. Writers could use a bit more of that thinking, especially this writer.

These tips apply to other kinds of tasks, too. Looking at other projects from different lenses, and engaging in Q&A with the problem can help you in work tasks, and other creative endeavors as well. For example, I’m a (very amateur) painter and I like to draw. Sometimes, I sit in a different part of the room (like on the floor in a corner) and look at my drawing from there. Stepping back and viewing from another angle can help you see your work differently.

Making things is hard. No question about it. Chunking it down and approaching things differently can help you see things in a new light.

​Happy creating!

More about Julieta and the Romeos:
You’ve Got Mail meets a YA Beach Read with a bookish mystery at its heart. Julieta isn’t looking for her Romeo—but she is writing about love. When her summer writing teacher encourages the class to publish their work online, the last thing she’s expecting is to get a notification that her rom-com has a mysterious new contributor, Happily Ever Drafter. Julieta knows that happily ever afters aren’t real. (Case in point: her parents’ imploding marriage.) But then again, could this be her very own meet-cute?

More about Maria:
​Maria E. Andreu is the author of Love in English, an Indie Next Pick, a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults book, and a Bank Street Best Book of the Year. Her debut novel, The Secret Side of Empty, was a National Indie Excellence Book Award winner. Both titles were Junior Library Guild Selections. She is a Red Dead aficionado, a cat herder, and a believer in (and a skeptic of) happy endings.