Tag Archives: Writer Motivation

Write Whenever Wherever

July 17, 2023Writing Adviceam Writing, Helping Each Other, Writer MotivationAlice Orr

Write Whenever Wherever. A day in the life of a writer can be a frenzied time. There are these things called deadlines. Do you know why they are called deadlines? Because guess what an author will be if she misses one.

How Can We Possibly Get Everything Done? Marketing. Social media. Keeping up with email. And, oh yes, I almost forgot. Writing. As publishing writers we are concerned about productivity on the page. How many words must you write today to be on track toward your deadline? Whether that deadline is set by an agent or an editor or yourself.

This is Not a New Problem for Me. When I first became a book editor – back in a previous incarnation – I was still under contract with my own publisher and had a tight deadline to fulfill. The publisher I worked for and the publisher I wrote for were pulling me hard in two different directions. I was in the middle about to lose my mind.

Then Something Wonderful Happened. I was speaking on a conference panel with Nora Roberts. Always an amazing experience. She was the queen of productivity then just like she is the queen of productivity now. So I had a wild thought. Maybe she could help me with my own productivity dilemma.

I Found Nora in the Hotel Lobby and Explained My Predicament. She settled into a comfortable sofa and invited me to do the same. This was our first meeting. She did not know me but she listened patiently all the same. Then she gave me the simple yet profound advice that carried me through the deadline I was facing then and many more since.

“You have to Learn to Write Wherever You Are,” she said. I had always confined my writing to orderly places and set blocks of time. Nora freed me from that. I also always carried 5×8 inch index cards with me everywhere. From that moment in the hotel lobby on I used them for writing – any time any place I had minutes to spare I would Write Whenever Wherever.

Modes of Transportation became Favorite Writing Spaces. Subway cars. Taxis. Airplanes. I hunched over my index cards and wrote furiously. Between subway stops. On my way to meetings. In airport lounges. Nobody ever interrupted me. Probably because I looked a bit intense and maybe a bit insane too. I didn’t care. I needed to make my deadlines. And I did.

How to Put Your Writer Psyche on Your Side - www.aliceorrbooks.com

I Never Forgot Nora Roberts’ Wise Advice. I write a lot online now. Magazine articles and columns. These blog posts. They all have deadlines and my days are still packed with other obligations as well. Fortunately I have this author paragon’s voice to remind me. “You have to write wherever you are.” I pass my version of that voice on to you. At deadline time or any time. Write Whenever Wherever.

Alice Orr Says – You Possess Storytelling Magic. Keep on Writing Whatever May Occur. https://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know – in your writing work and in your writer’s life? Ask your question in the Comments section at the end of this post.

Alice Orr has published 14 novels, 3 novellas and a memoir so far. She wrote her nonfiction book No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells as a gift to the writers’ community she loves. Her novel – A Year of Summer Shadows – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 2 – is available HERE.

Amazon.com/authors/aliceorr

Praise for A Year of Summer Shadows: “Alice keeps you wanting to read faster, then when you finish the last page, you want more.” “Orr’s characters come alive on the page.” “A Year of Summer Shadows has moved up to one of my favorite books.”

All of Alice’s Books are HERE.

http://facebook.com/aliceorrwriter/
http://twitter.com/AliceOrrBooks/
http://goodreads.com/aliceorr/
http://pinterest.com/aliceorrwriter/

Back on the Writing Road Again

January 31, 2023Writer InspirationWriter Motivation, Writer Self Care, Writers LifeAlice Orr

Back on the Writing Road Again. My last post “Writer’s Life Resolution Time” urged us to assess what we carry in our kit bags that will support our writing lives into the new year. I was not suggesting we cease all motion to perform this assessment but that is what happened to me. I should also have resolved not to get Covid. But I did.

Suddenly I was No Longer Motivated to Do Anything. I dropped out of the flow of my usual life. All I felt capable of was rest. All I wanted was to heal. As human beings we each experience times when recuperation – both physical and mental – is more crucial than work. The past month has been that kind of time for me.

Meanwhile – though I Avoided Brain Fog – I Experienced a Bad Case of Purpose Fog. I was disoriented. My weakened body forced me to do nothing. Even my certainty of what I should be doing slipped away – what I should be doing during Covid or post-Covid or anytime.

The Need to Take Care of Myself and Return to Health was Clear. But my work direction fell into shadow. Day after day turned into week after week. Still the shadow refused to lift. I longed to emerge into the light of certainty again but could not manage to do so.

One of my Career Mentors – Stephen King – offers Advice for such a Situation. He says – Sit yourself down and write as much as you can as well as you can. I ask – But what about those times when you are unable to accomplish that? The way I was unable to get Back on the Writing Road Again.

I Think of Mr. King in his own Horrible Health Crisis. Mowed down on the roadside by a rampaging driver. His leg encased in a medieval-style torture device. Confined to a back hallway. Sweating out a record-breaking heatwave with only a small oscillating fan as relief. He wrote the wonderful book On Writing.

Here is a Very Important Thing this Past Month has Taught Me. I applaud Stephen King and I admire him but I do not have to be him. None of us has to be him. We only have to be ourselves within our own minds and our own bodies and our own capabilities.

I have Finally Emerged from my Purpose Fog. My purpose is to Do the Best I Can. This is a strong standard to live by in our writing lives and in our daily lives. Most important this is an appropriate standard to expect of ourselves if we seek to be healthy individuals. And this is precisely what we should seek and expect.

Here is What it Means to Do Your Writerly Best. Think like a writer. Run snatches of dialog through your mind. Put sentences together to describe the scenes you happen upon in your day-to-day life and in your imagined life. Write all of that down if you can. Do not worry about it if you cannot.

I have Spent too Much of My Life Beating Myself Up with my Own Expectations. Maybe you have too. How about we start taking better care of ourselves instead? If your body urges you to rest – Rest. Then rise up to write another day. I promise you that day will come and you will be Back on the Writing Road Again.

Alice Orr Says – You Possess Storytelling Magic. Keep on Writing Whatever May Occur. https://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know – in your writing work and in your writer’s life? Ask your question in the Comments section at the end of this post.

Alice Orr has published 14 novels, 3 novellas and a memoir so far. She wrote her nonfiction book No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells as a gift to the writers’ community she loves. Her novel – A Year of Summer Shadows – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 2 – is a available HERE.

Praise for A Year of Summer Shadows: “Alice keeps you wanting to read faster, then when you finish the last page, you want more.” “Orr’s characters come alive on the page.” “A Year of Summer Shadows has moved up to one of my favorite books.”

All of Alice’s Books are HERE.

http://facebook.com/aliceorrwriter/
http://twitter.com/AliceOrrBooks/
http://goodreads.com/aliceorr/
http://pinterest.com/aliceorrwriter/

Writer’s Life Resolution Time

January 4, 2023Writer InspirationAuthor Attitude, Writer Motivation, Writing Career TipAlice Orr

Writer’s Life Resolution Time. One Christmas my grandkids gave me a very special gift. A mug with these words on it. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.” I had coveted that mug from the moment I saw it on a bookstore shelf.

I Used to Haunt Bookstores. Especially bookstores with a café. I clocked many contented hours at their small tables. I wrote No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells at a bookstore café and worked on many other titles in similar surroundings.

I No Longer Haunt Bookstores. Many are now out of business. The survivor nearest me has no café. They cannot afford to devote floor space to anything other than sales items. Besides, the pandemic got me into the habit of buying my books online and doing my work at home.

Things Change. We begin this new year in different circumstances than those we may have enjoyed in the past. Some of us lament these changes. None of us can benefit from focusing on their loss. That way of thinking is a drag-down against what we need most – to forge forward with the confidence and enthusiasm my precious mug is meant to inspire.

New Inspiration Needed. I love holiday movies. A writer friend suggested Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey on Netflix. There I discovered another inspiring quotation that rings true to me right now. “The magic isn’t just in what you’ve lost. It’s in what you still have.”

We Still Have Our Selves. My mom said “You always take on more than you can chew.” So true of many of us. We mercilessly burden our already overtaxed shoulders. We must resolve to be gentle with our selves. We deserve a break today and every day.

We Still Have Our Good Sense. When I am sensible about my life – and especially about my work – I make a plan and write it down. We need that now. A plan. In writing. With lots of specifics. A plan for going confidently into this good year at Writer’s Life Resolution Time.

We Still Have Our Dreams. What do you want to accomplish? Gentle expectations for the next 3 months only. Brainstorm. Do not brain-strain. Write down everything that comes to mind. Be as specific as you can. Concrete goals you can realistically achieve.

We Still Have Our Good Judgement. Continue in rapid-response mode. To each item on the above list add 3 specific actions you might take to make that accomplishment happen. Do not edit or judge. Simply whale away with the brainstorming. No harpoons allowed.

We Still Have Our Priorities. Star the 3 goal categories that excite you most. Follow your gut. Still fast-tracking. Rate the stars in order of which ones brighten your imagination most. Now you have it. A plan for your next 3 months. Probably longer. A map to the direction of your dreams.

We Still Have Our Future. What Comes Next? Whether you realize it or not you have made a bold move toward living the life you’ve imagined. Let us all resolve to do exactly that from now on in our Writer’s Life Resolution Time.