Category Archives: Motivation

I love this time of year. For good or bad, 2013 is behind us and, although the holidays can be hectic and stressful, we all usually get at least a little down time. The beginning of a new year is a time of renewal, of focus, and energy. A time of self-reflection and setting goals.

For those who may not know how to set meaningful goals, I discussed the topic in great detail here.

The problem isn’t always the setting of goals though. We usually start the year well prepared with lists and plans ready to go. But sometimes we’re like the novice golfer who shows up to play with top-of-the line equipment but who hasn’t bothered to take a lesson. Limited by lack of knowledge or expertise, we may need to take a detour to educate or build those skills so we can reach the next level of craft (see posts from September of 2013 for more on that)

Other times, we just find ourselves no longer inspired by those goals. It’s not that they weren’t laudable or appropriate. The energy just sort of deflates.

It’s kind of like Wile E Coyote who, despite working on his goal tirelessly, never seems to find success.

In personal goals, we might have committed to trimming down until we fit into our middle-school clothing, or working out 9 days a week. But after a month or two, it becomes harder and harder to say no to the cookies or chocolate, or there are too many interruptions to the regular workout schedule so we just give up.

In writing, we may say, “I’m going to write every single day, no matter what.” But then the kids
get sick or we go on vacation, and the perfect record of 18 consecutive days is cracked, and then suddenly there’s no way to get it back and missing days becomes so much easier.

As I’ve considered this, and reviewed everything I did manage to accomplish in 2013, and what I’m determined to complete in 2014, I realized that the goals that work are the ones that inspire.

These are goals that I term as having reached Critical Mass.

Critical mass is the amount or level needed for a new action to occur.

In writing, projects that reach critical mass are the ones that take on a life of their own and begin pushing us forward until we can’t keep the genie in the bottle, no matter how much we want to get lazy or just give up.

So how do we find such a goal?

Each of us are motivated by different things, but there are some commonalities. And the great thing is that as we reach critical mass in a project and feel that rush of awesomeness typing those magic little words, “The End” it becomes easier to find the next project that has a chance to reach critical mass.

Here are a few examples of my critical mass projects:

– Completing that first novel. Although it took more than two years and the goal dragged through the middle and almost collapsed under its own weight, I persevered until the momentum began to roll. Once I knew the ending and could see myself getting there, churning out those last chapters proved easier and easier.

– Completing that first short story. A lot of people are smart enough to do this before the first novel, but not me. I set the goal of submitting a story to Writers of the Future (which I recommend everyone do). I’m not a short fiction writer, so this proved daunting, but I still pushed through, and again once I reached a certain point in the process, I couldn’t NOT finish.

– Attending that first con. As Sherry just mentioned in her recent post, a lot of us writers wait way too long to go to cons. It took me years to finally do it. I was too busy writing, but eventually realized the need. And my first World Fantasy Con is where I met the man who later became my agent.

– Completing that first full novel outline. I started as a pantser, but over time got tired of so much re-writing, so I’ve moved more toward outlining to help speed up the process. Of course, my first outline turned out to be completely wrong so I had to re-write that novel again anyway, but I still feel I got to the final draft faster.

Each of us have different things that motivate us, we’re on different steps in the path toward our ultimate goals of publishing or full-time writing. No matter where you stand, or what your specific goals are this year, focus your energies on the project that will reach critical mass.

Then it’s more a matter of keeping up than pushing on.

Conventions: Not Just for Gamers and Cosplayers

January 10, 2014

fictorians

Business Conventions Guest Posts Motivation The Writing Life 3 Comments

A guest post by Sherry Peters.

I’d been writing science fiction and fantasy for a number of years before I attended my first local SF/F fan convention. I’d hemmed and hawed over attending it for several of those years. Often I forgot what weekend it was on. I didn’t think I knew anyone who went, and as an introvert I’m usually not great at introducing myself to new people, so I wasn’t keen to put myself in that awkward situation.

In 2008, an acquaintance of mine, a fellow alumnus of the Odyssey Writing Workshop, posted in the Odyssey email forum that she would be attending Keycon with some of her friends that year, and that Keycon was hosting the Aurora Awards, the top fan-voted award for science fiction and fantasy in Canada.

As usual, I’d been thinking about going to Keycon, but wasn’t really sure until I saw her email. Throwing caution to the wind (she might be a closet serial killer, or I might be), I contacted her, said that she could stay at my place for free, if she wanted, and we’d go to the convention together. It was probably one of the better decisions I’ve made in my life, especially in my life as a writer.

You see, there’s a fairly large writing community here in Winnipeg, but most of the science fiction and fantasy writers stay hidden, unknown to each other. I knew a lot of writers in Winnipeg, but none like me, until I went to Keycon. That weekend, I attended every writing/literary-oriented event on the program. I made a lot of friends, all of whom are writers, including my current best friends and writing group.

Over the years since 2008, I’ve made many other good connections through Keycon, with established writers and editors. I’ve also learned a lot about the fan community and the place of writers in fandom. I’ve even gone so far as to volunteer to plan the literary track of programming for the 2013 convention. (One of the best years for literary track programming ever, if I do say so myself.)

Some years, your local convention will be better than others. They are planned by a committee of volunteers which changes from year to year. Off-years should be expected. But even on those off-years, there’s always something to be gained by attending, even if it’s the Saturday evening dinner with your friends and fellow writers.

So, why should you plan to attend your local convention?

It’s a great opportunity to meet other writers who live in the same city as you. Writing is a solitary occupation, usually. This one weekend of the year, the party is in your backyard. You get to meet with others like you. The possibilities for networking and shop-talk are endless.
Volunteer to be on a couple of panels, or to do a reading. This is a great way to get your name known among the fans in your city. Remember, these are the people who are going to read your work and create a fandom out of it. They’ll be your biggest fans and be the ones to spread the good word about you to others.
If the programming isn’t great, hang out in the hotel restaurant or bar. That’s where the other serious writers will be. While the connections may or may not be as big as the kind you’d make at a World Fantasy Convention or WorldCon, depending on the guest of honor and attending list, they could be just as important to you. We know from World Fantasy Conventions and WorldCons that all the good stuff happens in the restaurant and bar. We’re trained that way, so hang out there when you have an hour or two of down time. And while you’re there, be open to sharing a table with others. You may just find yourself sharing a glass of wine and a laugh with your favorite author, dream editor, or number one fan.
The Dealer’s Room. As a book lover, not much more should be said. However, at a local convention, you’re not just going to find books in a Dealer’s Room. There will be all kinds of other retailers there as well. It’s fun to see what’s going on in the fan world, and maybe pick up a few souvenirs—and books.
The Dealer’s Room. Of course, this is also the place where your books will be sold. Frequent the room, sign books for the dealers (and your fans after your panels), and be friendly with the book dealers. If you’re self-published and thinking of getting a table of your own, remember that not everyone is your ideal reader; you’d rather they buy your book because they’re interested, not because they’re guilted into it. So be friendly, have someone to help you run your table, consider tag-teaming with another author or two, and enjoy meeting new people. They’ll buy your book because they like you, not your sales pitch.

One final note, as someone who has planned literary programming: often it’s only as good as its panelists and attendees, so if you find that your local convention hasn’t had great programming in the past, then get yourself and your fellow writer friends on the panels and in the audience. Contact the programming committee with your ideas for panels and what would help you get the most out of your weekend. And don’t forget to visit the convention suites (also known as the themed party rooms)!

Most of all, enjoy your local fan community. It will soon become an annual must-attend event.

Guest Writer Bio: Sherry Peters lives in Winnipeg, where she works as a Life Coach for students at St John’s College at the University of Manitoba, and spends her evenings and weekends writing. Sherry is a trained Life Coach specializing in the areas of goal setting and eliminating writer’s block. She attended the Odyssey Writing Workshop and earned her M.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She credits the year she spent in Northern Ireland as not only being one of the best years of her life, but for being a daily inspiration and motivation in her writing. For more information on Sherry, her coaching, her book Silencing Your Inner Saboteur, and when she’ll be presenting her workshops, visit her website.

Time Management… Not!

January 8, 2014

clancy

Clancy Metzger Motivation The Writing Life 2 Comments

My son used to try to bargain with me all the time, “I’ll do this chore. I promise. Just let me go have fun now and I’ll do it when I get back. Promise!” Ha. It would get put off and put off and further bargained until everyone involved had forgotten what he was supposed to do and he had done nothing but have fun. I’ll own the bad parenting involved when I fell for it time and time again.

Writing can be like that too, “I’ll write today, just as soon as I ____.” But, then you get caught up in the alternative action or sidetracked into another tangent or you lose all motivation you may have felt initially. It’s an easy trap to fall into as my previous compatriots have mention in their posts this month. It’s easy to find excuses to not write and hard to be the only person cracking a whip that says, WRITE.

I’m sure it helps to have an editor/publisher/agent keeping you on task (which Quincy brings up), but what if you don’t? What if you are your own boss (as Evan mentioned) or you’re a habitual procrastinator, so habits are hard to form (as Matt talks about) or perhaps you’re better at making lists than crossing them off (as Kristin discusses) or you’re tragic at prioritization (as Jace does). In other words, what if you’re like me?

The posts I mention all have great points they discuss and I need to incorporate them all. I do. Really-really. So, I appreciate what they have to say and hopefully you found them useful too. I do know what I need to do. It’s the doing it that’s hard.

Instead, I’m going to make some suggestions on what NOT to do and I shall endeavor to not do them myself this year.

Don’t look at your email before you write. I get sidetracked every time and can waste hours on it. So, first write.

Don’t reward yourself BEFORE you earn it. I reward myself with movies, TV shows, video games and reading. But that reward is only a reward if I wrote first, otherwise, it’s really an excuse to not write. So, first write.

Don’t wait for a chunk of time in order to write. Even ten or fifteen minutes can be productive and it’s better than nothing. So, just write.

Don’t wait for the mood/muse/creative spirit to strike before you write. It will show up if you’re plugging along. Maybe not right away, but you can edit crap. You can’t edit what isn’t there. So, just write.

Don’t give up. Like Matt said in his post (linked to above), the one thing that works for everyone is to not give up. Everyone’s vision of success is different and the only person you need to satisfy is yourself. So, just write.

I wish everyone the best in achieving their goals this year, by doing and NOT doing what you need to succeed.

If anyone has some more NOT’s for the list, please share 🙂

Milestones

January 6, 2014

Quincy J. Allen

Business Character Motivation Publishing Quincy Allen The Writing Life 1 Comment

I’ve crossed a number of milestones over the past few years: first short story published, first convention panelist, first novel in print, first teaching gig at a writing conference. I’ve managed to predictably repeat those achievements virtually at will, and as nothing more or less than an act thereof. Each and every one of those milestones felt like the success it was, but they were all, at best, minor-league achievements.

Make no mistake, though. To achieve them I’ve had to climb the highest, steepest mountain in my experience. And I have a long way to go.

My career-change from “IT guy” to “writer” back in 2009 set me as my own task master, and I don’t think I’ve ever worked harder. However, every milestone I’ve passed thus far has been small—insignificant when compared to the summit I intend to reach. Added up, however, the sum of those milestones made possible my most current opportunity… and crisis… from which I should be able to derive my greatest achievement to date.

I’m under contract to write a novel.

There is something both thrilling and daunting about committing to a novel under contract rather than selling a completed manuscript.

Daunting.

That word doesn’t quite cut the mustard. Frankly, I’m nervous as hell, hoping I can get Last Stand at the Gates of Heaven written within a somewhat aggressive timeline… and on top of everything else I’m committed to for the first half of 2014. As I type this, the publisher has nothing more in her hands than a title and the pitch I gave her back in November. I, on the other hand, have a deadline and a deliverable of roughly 100k words by the end of May.

What this represents is a first step into the major leagues. Granted, it’s a smaller publisher asking for a stand-alone novel, but the fact is that a publisher asked me to produce a novel. I’m on the hook for delivery. My reputation is at stake. My future is at stake. If I can deliver on this, I’ll know that I can cut it when a large publisher asks me to produce a body of work.

There’s a reason I’m telling you this, and it’s not to sing my own accolades. Quite the contrary. I’m humbled by these circumstances. I’m telling you all this because the path I’m on is one of the primary methods by which part-time writers become self-supporting authors.

The pyramids were not built in a day; each one of them started with a single block. Everest wasn’t climbed over a weekend, and every man or woman who reached that summit started with a single step at its base.

That’s what you have to understand in the writing business. Skill is a factor. So is practice and talent and luck and a lot of things. But if you’re not prepared to build upon your small successes and turn them into larger ones, you should hang it up right now. You have to be in this business for the long haul and grind away as much as you can without losing your mind. You have to invest in yourself each and every day in some fashion, gambling with your own future and the harsh reality that you might not make it.

If you can do all of that, your odds of success increase exponentially. And in the absence of it all, you are virtually guaranteed to fail.

So get to work!