TomAto, TomAHto...

Do you have trouble staying focused for writing in the time you set aside?

(Insert infomercial here) 

"For only $99.99,
*just kidding*

you too can get more written in the time you have!"

(but seriously, if you want to give me $$-- I won't say no.)

Okay, so my dear Hubby was telling me about how our friend, 

Rachelle Christiansen, recently got 25k words written in 2 1/2 days. 

(drop jaw, buggy-eyed)

Besides the immediate 

"I'm-never-going-to-make-it-as-a-writer"-voice of negativity 

bouncing around in my head, 

dear Hubby added his...

"She uses the-- [insert slo-mo voice here] 

P-O-M-O-D-O-R-O meh-thuud."

What in the world is the Pomodoro Method? 

Being the skeptic that I am... I let my Hubby tell me more. 

(The desperate writer inside must learn the secret to the writer-verse.)

"It's Italian... for tomato."

Yeeeeaaahhh... no. I still got nothing. 

"You know, like the tomato kitchen timer cooks use for cooking?"

k...? Keep going.

"You break up your time into shorter focused segments. 

Like 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off. 

And you can do it longer if you want, like 42 minutes of focus, 18 to change things up. 

Because 40 isn't long enough and 20 is too long. *wink*"

(That's business-hubby humor, folks.)

The wheels started turning. 

I just did that to clean the house yesterday. And it was BAD.
I had to treat myself to several chocolatey treats in my 'off' time. 

Anyways--

Why had I never thought to use it in my writing?!?

I use it for big/little,overwhelming/menial tasks.
Sounds like something I've gotta try out.

BRB...

...

...

(still there?)

pssst...

Go try it too!

*then tell me how it worked for you*

I'll share my experiences, too.

Meme Monday! (Ideas)

Curse that phenomenon of when your feet touch the ground 

making you forget that dream of a perfect scene!

ALL IN... (and it ain't poker!)

I finally got my last box of

business cards!

See these yellow notebooks?

Yep, that's actually the back of my card.

(So cool, right?)

What else do you expect from a collector of half-empty notebooks?

*sniff*

"So beautiful..."

Ready to rock n' roll this conference!

Feeding My Fetish...

So how do you fix that when

you have a sticker

with your logo on it?

You stick it on a 

Mini-Notebook!
(of course...)

And then hand them out to people at conference

so that others can take down notes...

... write down contact info...

... or even get autographs!
(I might have to keep one for myself!)

(It also makes a great business card

if you put your info inside!)

Meme Monday

Don't let the success of others keep you from achieving yours.

"Til It Shines Like the Top of the Chrysler Building!"

One of the GREAT lectures

at LTUE 2016

was from 

The Story Polisher, 

Christopher Baxter

on Why Editors Reject Stories.

Your manuscript... that is.
'Til it shines like the top of the Chrysler Building!

We all have that love-hate relationship with our manuscript.

We work at it, and work at it, and work at it...

only to get turned down by editors.

The Story Polisher.blogspot

helps writers learn how to write smarter, not just harder.

(...and not hate the editor)

On his blog, you can find a TON of subjects.

The one he focused on at LTUE this year 

was on Why Editors Reject Stories.

I HIGHLY encourage you to check out his website 

for all the details, but to wet your palette,

some things to watch for are:

The Inactive Beginning

Controlling Your Dialogue

Perspective Errors

Over-writing Action

Matching Description and Viewpoint

"Figure" Problem

The Un-set Scene

Making Movement Meaningful

and Narrative Gaps.

For a myriad of helps you might need on your manuscript,

go to http://storypolisher.blogspot.com

Why, Grandma, What a Great Bio You Have!

Before the hunter comes in and axes my bio, 

I thought I'd commiserate with you on how hard it can be write a bio for a query letter.

It makes me just want to huff, and puff, and blow my computer away.

(Different fairy tale, I know.)

Advice I've received is:

"BE PROFESSIONAL, BUT LET YOURSELF SHINE THROUGH."

My blogging has always been fun and quirky. It is HARD to find a balance between that and professional. I like to lounge in my pajamas! (Think of this as my blog.) Going to work is like putting on a suit. (Think of this as being professional.)

You got it... I feel stiff and uncomfortable trying to pull this off.

"TELL ABOUT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, BUT DON'T GO OVERBOARD."

This part will be REALLY short. I've not been published. My bachelor's degree is not in writing. . My critique group is all unpublished. All of a sudden, I feel like my life is REALLY boring... an no one is going to care that I'm a writer. 

(Which isn't true.)

"KEEP IT SHORT, BUT ENOUGH TO KNOW THEY WANT TO WORK WITH YOU.."

Here we go again on the whole keeping it short. Writers, get used to making every word count. Novels, you have at least 50k, but you have to cut out the junk and make everything flow. 

Pitches, queries, and bios (OH MY! - different story, I know.), they are so much more precise. 

Less words, more hook. 

The only consoling information I've found is...

"AGENTS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO WANT MORE OF YOUR WORK EVEN IF YOU QUERY LETTER ISN'T THE BEST."

Phew!

Now... don't let this be an excuse. I still plan on doing my best.

 AND going to conferences and paying for a pitch/query critique is another way to get great help,

making your work its best.

Here are some links that I've found to be helpful:

http://www.rachellegardner.com/how-to-write-a-terrific-author-bio/

http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/tips-for-writing-an-author-bio/

http://www.biotemplates.com

Don't give up... We've got this.