Why Writing Deadlines May Be (Almost) As Good As Money

Article by Karen Zara

As much as we all like and/or need money, getting paid may not be enough to keep a writer motivated. Deadlines often are just as important. Although some of us fear — or even hate — them, the truth is that without them many of us simply wouldn’t write anything. And you can count me among those many.

My Story

I devote the entirety of my writing time to non-fiction pieces. However, I am and will always be a fiction writer at heart. I do like writing non-fiction, but fiction is my dearest passion. You might ask why I devote my time to non-fiction then. Some of you probably think that it’s just because it’s easier to earn a living from it. But that’s not the case. Of course non-fiction writing helps me pay the bills, but I could certainly save some time for my novels and short stories. The main reason why I don’t do it is lack of pressure.

When I have to write an article for a client, I am supposed to meet a deadline; otherwise I will lose money — and credibility, which is even worse. When I want to continue a novel or start a new short story, there’s no one telling me that I should get everything done within 48 hours. What type of writing do you think I will prioritize?

Blogging For Money… and Deadlines

I don’t see why a writer wouldn’t want to have a blog nowadays. It’s so easy to use blogs to showcase your talent and display samples to potential clients, that you’d be really missing a lot if you didn’t make use of those powerful tools.

Nonetheless, when you keep your own blog you may end up neglecting updates. On the other hand, when you’re hired to update someone else’s blog, you will have to sit down and write those posts. And your boss will certainly have told you which days of the week you should never skip. No excuses will be tolerated. You won’t be able to wait until you find the perfect blogging idea.

Using Deadlines to Strengthen Your Writing Career

Would you like to speed up your dwindling writing career? Do not waste your time telling yourself that someday you will query that magazine’s editor or pitch a guest post to that famous blogger. “Someday” is just too vague. What you may need is to put some pressure on yourself. And the first step is to search not only for money or fame, but also for tight deadlines.

Let’s see if that would work for you.

Just for a few months, forget about your beautiful writing dreams. Try to be more practical. Visit a good writing job board — you’ll find one right here at PoeWar — and don’t pay too much attention to the highest pay rates (I know that’s really hard to do, but…). Instead, apply for jobs that demand a fast turnaround. The faster, the better. Bonus if the topic you’ll have to write about requires some research.

The idea here is to be bold. Of course, you should never exaggerate. Don’t apply for a job if you feel that it’s really beyond your forces and ability. But don’t be too nice to yourself either. You must get used to challenging yourself and writing as quickly as possible, without sacrificing your piece’s quality. At the end of the process, you will have a happy client, some money in your pocket and renewed motivation to move your writing career forward. Now rinse and repeat.

Put your limits to the test, get those tough jobs done and see how good it feels when you realize that you can be a productive writer — and get paid for it.

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Karen Zara is a writer who dislikes working under pressure but does it all the same, because she knows it is good for her. What happens when she doesn’t have an approaching deadline to meet? She tries to update her blog Abaminds, which you are kindly invited to visit.

Writing from the Boat

Article By Lizzie

Provision for creative writing befalls from a variety of situations. For me, it often comes from my journey with a mental illness. The voice I hear in my writing changes with the suffrage of the illness. Learning to embrace the person within cultivates my creativity while providing the inner recovery from a dread of self.

In the 1975 movie Jaws, Brody (Roy Scheider) and Hooper (Richard Dreyfus) discuss the dilemma with the shark and their response to it. The scene plays out with Brody declaring “You’re going to be needing a bigger boat.” My monster is bipolar. While my psychiatrist, therapist, and pharmacist together have a plan for keeping it from killing me, there are many times the plan wobbles. My psychiatrist and I discussed this one day:

“So how are things?” she asks.

“I am going to need a bigger boat” I say.

Pause. Then, “Come again?” she returns.

I sigh. “I need a bigger boat.” I retort.

“Okay, a bigger boat . . .” she repeats looking puzzled.

She knows my tendency to use metaphors to skirt around my condition. You can see her head trying to drum up which movie I am referring to this time and then says . . .

“Your current treatment is not working as well as you would like.”

“Yes” (finally) I reply. Then ramble on, “It is not so much that I feel bad, or that the panic attacks are killing me, or that I am depressed and unable to get out of bed, it is the fact that I know what this illness can do to me. The monster comes creeping out of the water and the next thing I know it has attacked me once again.”

I have to accept the boat I have been given and embrace its familiar comfort. As I take care of my boat, enjoy its character, and make my way through the unknown waters ahead of me, I find relief and healing in expression through writing. Whatever boat you find yourself in, it is yours. Providence has given it to you. Don’t trade it for a bigger or smaller one. Keep the one that you were given and do battle with the monsters coming your way. Yes, Sharks are swimming furiously out there. They are just waiting to devour not just your work, but the creative ignition that waits to fire off future products. Protect yourself, while taking risks. Stay in your boat, be still, watchful, and wait. Creativity will come.

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About Lizzie:

I am a professional currently working on a master’s degree in my field. Recovering my sanity has led to recovery of my creativity. I express this through writing. As I make my passage through life dragging a diagnosis of bipolar along, I hope my journey gives others the belief they too can live with and find a voice in whatever condition attempts to diminish their creativity. One of my vocalizations is my Blog: http://bipolarjourney.com.

Six Suggestions for Sustainable Writing: Inspiration from Frank Herbert’s Dune

Article By Morgan O’Donnell

Writing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens in your surroundings, your environment. Frank Herbert’s Dune-a classic science fiction novel-offers some important ideas to apply to your own writing environment.

Build Community

Although the so-called, romantic idea of the solitary writer has been around for ages, the truth is that good writing, like many other things, needs the support of family and community to flourish. Whether it is the Fremen tribes, the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, or the Atreides clan, the support and knowledge of others play a large role in Dune. Even the evil Baron supports his own family, albeit in limited and twisted ways. By building your own writing community, you can find others to commiserate with, seek feedback on your projects, receive positive support, and discover new ideas. Join a writer’s group or an online discussion board and make new writing friends.

Overcome Your Fears

Writing is magical. By putting words on paper, you are shaping reality. Additionally, writing often causes you to reflect on yourself, your life, or even the world. Self-reflection and shaping reality can be scary at times. In Dune, Paul uses the Bene Gesserit Litany against Fear (a kind of meditation) taught to him by his mother to help him face his fears while being tested by the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam. Figure out what helps you face your fears then use those tactics. Maybe journaling about that new writing project helps you recognize areas that worry you. Maybe talking with someone from your writing community will allow you to discover the fears holding you back. Try the power of positive thinking. Write or say to yourself that you will accomplish your task.

Recycle

All good writers recycle. Frank Herbert certainly recycled in Dune, pulling ideas from a variety of sources: Native American tribal practices, Arabic words, mythology, and religion. He even used what he had learned reporting on the growth of sand Dunes in Oregon. The Fremen were master recyclers, reclaiming the water of their bodies through their ingenious stillsuits. Read. Read a lot. Read the masters in your genres. Find new ways to use old ideas. Find new connections.

Listen to the Land and Yourself

In Dune, the Reverend Mother tells Paul that a good ruler must learn his world’s language, “the language of the rocks and growing things.” The Fremen also pay attention to the environment in Dune from the feel of the wind to the sounds of the desert animals. Furthermore, both the Fremen and the Bene Gesserit acknowledge that there is much to be learned by listening to yourself such as through meditation or examining dreams. Writing ideas are all around you. What is happening in the news? What are the hot topics in the field? Keep a dream journal. Use ideas from your journal to kick start your articles, poems, or stories.

Train, Practice, Learn

Dune is filled with examples of the importance of training, practicing, and learning. Paul trains and learns from early childhood how to be a duke, a leader, and a warrior. His mother has trained her entire life in the Bene Gesserit way. In order to increase your writing skills you need to exercise and practice them. Do some mental stretches. For example, if you are writing an article about solar panels, try writing it as a poem first. If you are writing a poem about the beauty of a blue jay, try using the blue jay as a character in a short story. Take a class or even earn a degree. There are a variety of options from a bachelor’s in English to a Ph.D. in technical communication. Try a local Artist’s Way class. Most important of all, write. Write something everyday.

Live Your Life and Replenish Yourself

There will be nothing to write about and no one to write it if you don’t actually live your life and take time to replenish. Even amidst all the politics, deaths, training, and battles, Paul still finds time to fall in love with Chani and start a family. Although the Fremen battle daily for survival in the desert they still find time to “share the Water,” as well as celebrate tribal births and honor those who have died. Take time to watch a movie, go swimming, or spend time with your loved ones. And, don’t forget to eat healthy and exercise.

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Morgan O’Donnell muses on nature, poetry, writing, and the search for a sustainable life at Red Raven Circling. A longtime Dune fan, she continues to recycle Frank Herbert’s novel in her pursuit of a sustainable graduate career.

5 Ways Writers Can Get Their Lives Back

Article by Cesar Torres

I’ve been a writer all my life. By the time I was twelve, I was already finger typing on my family’s Olivetti, emulating my favorite novelists. I went on to journalism, and have worked in an editorial capacity since then. In my twenties I wrote short stories, but I could never seem to tackle my biggest goal: a novel. I had an unfinished novel (or three) glowing with uncompleted shame in a drawer. In 2004, I decided to get serious about my latest idea for a novel. I reprioritized my job, schedule, sleeping hours, workouts and social engagements so I could complete it. In late 2007 I finished my first full manuscript, 145,000 words long, and I promptly set to work on a second one just a few weeks after. I had made a huge dream come true.

All this accomplishment was not without drawbacks. As I increased my discipline and productivity, I felt more disconnected from people around me, like I had swum deep into the ocean of my thoughts and could no longer find my way back to shore. I was now holed up at home or sequestered in a cafe on a regular basis, shunning social interaction just so I could write and rewrite manuscripts that may not be picked up by a publisher for a long time, if at all. As I put in more hours writing, I found joy, but my feelings of distance from real life widened. And yet, all I knew was that writing was right for me. I needed to do it. How could I recapture the life I had before I learned how to get disciplined? Is it possible to have both?

By now you’ve probably seen myriad articles on how to get organized and disciplined about your writing. My advice comes from the other end of the spectrum. This is how to make sure you still feel like you have a life while writing.

Use time effectively

Assuming you are already setting time aside for your writing, you also need to create time for the other things that matter: taking a walk with your extremely attractive partner, catching up with family on the phone, cooking a good dinner without distractions, finishing that Danielle Steel novel you hide as a guilty pleasure. These are activities that help you feel centered and more importantly, rewarded, for all the work you put into your writing and/or day job.

Unglue yourself from the cell phone

Yes, you can do this. Don’t let anyone tell you any different. You can definitely keep that phone in your pocket on vibrate for an evening, perhaps even powered down. I’ve tried this, and though at first it was tough, I found it liberating. I now have special times when I check texts and emails or return phone calls. I think as a result I may have even lowered my blood pressure.

Limit your time on the Internet

You must sometimes keep yourself from visiting all the rooms of Time Suck Mansion. These include Facebook, Twitter, email, blogs, YouTube, Ebay and more. Don’t worry, I’m addicted to these sites much as you. You are not alone, brothers and sisters. I too have found myself baggy-eyed, and hunched over, hands hooked into claws like a Skeksis creature from “The Dark Crystal” after hours of staring at a screen while clicking my mouse. I feel your pain. I now make it a habit to keep my computer turned off as much as possible. I have specific times to do fun Web surfing so I don’t feel like I’m depriving myself. I stay away from email on the weekends.

Be present with people

Real human interaction is essential to a good writing life. If you find yourself talking to another person, refrain from seeing yourself in the future, with all the chores you have to run, all the gas tanks you have to fill, the bills you have to write. Clear your mind and engage. Enjoy the experience of being with the other person, in the present. This also means don’t dwell on the past. Have a grudge with another person? Did they tap dance on your last nerve last week? Put those thoughts aside, stay in the now. The world needs you here. And by the way, neither IM, nor SMS, count as being in the present. Those tools may let you communicate in real time, but they often change or omit the nuance and context of a person’s body language, humor, spontaneity in person.

Live!

This may sound like counterproductive advice, but here goes. Live. Booze it up a little, stay out way too long on a bike ride, eat that high-fat content glob of blue cheese, go see that movie with that friend who always asks and whom you always turn down. Stick around that party for an extra hour. Force yourself to go to the new event where you know absolutely no one. Grit your teeth, and force yourself to meet new people. Try new foods. Make your own personal time feel separate from your work time. Live!

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Cesar Torres is a Chicago-based fiction writer, specializing in speculative and literary fiction. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Journalism and has worked in online publishing as producer and editor for more than 10 years. He’s a company member of Barrel of Monkeys. He covers fiction and writing at his blog, Urraca (www.cesartorres.net).

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