Deborah Woehr

Several weeks ago, I posted an email that I received from a friend, which spoke volumes about dealing with nasty people. It was called The Law of the Garbage Truck. I should have printed it out and stapled it to my forehead because once I posted the message, I went about my way and forgot about it.

These past few weeks have seen more stress and anxiety than I’ve experienced in a long time. I’ve been juggling two full-time jobs since I got hired for the company I’m now working for, although that’s about to change very soon. My new job is a lot more challenging than I had anticipated, which has me very frustrated right now. On top of that, a coworker I thought was a friend turned vicious on me the moment I sat down at my new desk.

That stung quite a bit. But this is what she does to people in order to boost her poor self-esteem, I’ve been told. So, now I’m faced with dual challenges: mastering my new job and deflecting her barbs. I plan on fleshing her personality out on a piece of paper for a future character.

I’m reminded of the speech that Ray Bradbury gave at the 1999 Writer’s Conference in Palm Springs. He said that he would write a lot when people disappointed him. I’ve been doing a lot of writing lately––seven chapters in the space of a month. Outside of the NaNoWriMo competitions, I’ve never achieved that volume. Whether or not it’s any good, I’ll know when I go over the draft. In the meantime, I worked out a storyline for my latest paranormal novel. Last weekend, I came up with a title.

Other than calling my mother and grandmother, I don’t plan on doing much else for Mother’s Day, except to enjoy the peace.

I’ve heard of Jeffrey Deaver, but I’ve never read any of his books. Some of you may have read The Bone Collector or The Sleeping Doll. CBS interviewed him about his writing process, which he talks about how long it takes him to outline a story and how many pages this outline contains. Then there are the rewrites. Watch this video.

Source: All Written Down

I’ve been dealing with my first case of serious blogger’s block these past few weeks. Ideas for posts would come, only to disappear as soon as I clicked on the “Write” button. After several minutes of staring at the blank input box, I’d close the blog and return to my new WIP, which is gaining momentum inside my head. Or, I would read my friends’ blogs and some freelance writing and design blogs I’ve discovered recently.

I know the reasons for this block: physical exhaustion and too much going through my mind. I’ve just finished a major archival project at work and caught up on some much-needed sleep, despite the time change. The VP is supposed to arrive tomorrow. What changes, if any, in regard to my contract status I have no way of knowing until they tell me. My husband advised me to keep a status quo, which I’m doing.

In the meantime, I’m in the process of re-educating myself with design and building a solid portfolio to show prospective clients. I’ll also be working on my writing portfolio, as I’d like to offer both design and writing services.

This business card is the latest addition to my design portfolio. I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out when I placed my order from Vista Print. My own business card was a disappointment, design-wise. Both Tom and I were pleasantly surprised when his order came yesterday morning. I’m discovering lately that what looks good on my computer screen doesn’t always come out the same on print.

It’s been a month and a half since I published Prosperity, and so far things are going pretty well. So far I’ve met 10% of my goal to sell 50 copies by the end of this year. Most of the feedback I’ve received up to this point has been biased (but encouraging, nonetheless). This is what my editor had to say after he finished reading and marking up my manuscript:

It is an excellent story, very well written, a strong storyline, and characters that not only start with a strong impact, but also develop well. I would have liked to have seen more physical descriptions of the characters, but that’s a small issue, and one that doesn’t negatively impact the story. The idea is good, and you maintain a good pace throughout, which makes the book a very good read.

That’s my first unbiased review. I have another review scheduled for March 15 by paranormal author Pamela Kinney. I’m in the process of looking for other reviewers. Yes, I should have done this well beforehand. Live and learn.

The virtual book tour is still going well. I’m meeting new people and had a blast with my latest interview with Henri, the Ghostest with the Mostest.

Last weekend, I contacted Lulu to see when I can expect to find Prosperity listed on Amazon. They told me that it would take 6 to 8 weeks. Somewhere on that site, I had read 2 to 4. Because I inadvertently left out the ISBN number off the copyright page, the book didn’t get published until January 15. That means that I won’t see it listed until March 15, at the latest.

I had mixed reactions yesterday when my editor sent me his revisions yesterday afternoon. My first reaction was, “Great! Now I get to do the final edits and finally publish the damned thing.” Then I started scrolling through the pages. I found a slew of comma errors, many phrases that needed rewording, and several suggestions to fill minor plot holes. I’m glad that there wasn’t anything major. The only thing I disagreed with was the verb tense suggestions he made. I had used active verbs, which he had changed to what I felt were passive.

I spent the rest of the afternoon and almost the entire evening implementing those changes. Also, I expanded a bit on a couple of scenes. The final edit is done. Prosperity is now in the design phase.

Can you believe the holidays are here again?! When looking for gifts for writers, I came across several blog posts that declared how hard we writers are to shop for. I emphatically disagree, and I’ll prove it.

1. Gift Certificates and Pre-paid Cards: Staples, Office Max, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iTunes, Starbucks

2. How to Write Books: I’ll list some of my favorites, but you can easily spend hundreds of dollars building this type of reference library. I’ll list some of the books I have. Maybe you have them already. If not, and you find a couple that intrigue you, jot that down on your list.

• On Writing, by Stephen King - A must have for every writer
• Elements of Style, by Strunk & White
• Webster’s Dictionary
• Roget’s Thesaurus
• Chicago Manual of Style
• Writing Dialogue, by Tom Chiarella
• Plot, Ansen Dibell
• Creating Character Emotions, by Ann Hood
• Building Believable Characters, by Marc McCutcheon
• Book Marketing from A to Z, by Francine Silverman
• Writing NonFiction, by Dan Poynter (check out parapublishing.com for more great books)
• Damn! Why Didn’t I Write That?, by Marc McCutcheon
• The Joy of Writing Sex, by Elizabeth Benedict
• Dynamic Characters, by Nancy Kress
• The Well-Fed Writer, by Peter Bowerman
• Back for Seconds, by Peter Bowerman
• The Well-Fed Self-Publisher, by Peter Bowerman
• Web Copy that Sells, Maria Veloso
• The Ultimate Sales Letter, by Dan Kennedy
• The Online Copywriter’s Handbook, by Robert Bly
• Advertising Secrets of the Written Word, by Joseph Sugarman
• Real Screenwriting, by Ron Suppa
• The Writer’s Guide to Writing Your Screenplay, by Cynthia Whitcomb
• Dramatica for Screenwriters, by Armando Saldana-Mora
• Consider the Source: A Critical Guide to 100 Prominent News and Information Sites on the Web
• Information Trapping: Real-Time Research on the Web, by Tara Calishain
• Writing Creative Nonfiction, by Philip Gerard
• How to Write Articles for Newspapers and Magazines, by Dawn Sova
• The Renegade Writer, by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell
• Ghostwriting for Fun and Profit, by Eva Shaw
• The First Five Pages, by Noah Lukeman

3. Alphasmart Neo: a portable typewriter that easily imports and exports your writing to and from your computer via a USB cord. If you commute to work by train or bus, this will be a godsend, especially if you think faster than you can write. I used mine while flying back and forth across the country last summer. This is a great gift for any writer because you can take it anywhere, whether on the road or the living room so you can keep an eye on the kids.

Another version is the Alphasmart Dana is laptop-PDA hybrid, which synchronizes with your computer (Mac or PC) and Microsoft products, such as Word. That’s a big plus because you don’t have to reformat your type once you import it onto your computer, like you do with the Neo. That said, I’ve found a handy text cleaner tool that formats my quotes into smart quotes before I open the file with Word or Nissus.

I looked at both the Neo and the Dana before I made my final decision. Sometimes I wished that I had bought the latter, especially when I was on the road and didn’t have access to the Internet unless I went to a Starbucks. The Wi-Fi capability of the Dana was the reason why I opted for the Neo, so I wouldn’t get distracted like I do on my computer. The Dana also has a much shorter battery life: 25 hours versus the Neo’s 700 hours.

Compare the two laptops at AlphaSmart Direct. Right now, you can get the Neo for $219 (regularly priced at approximately $350)

Or, you can order the Neo through the Writer’s Digest link at www.alphasmart.com/lp/wd

4. USB Flashdrive for backup storage. I got one of these last Christmas and love it because I can transfer files from one computer to another.

5. Fiction 101 and 201: Randy Ingermanson, developer of The Snowflake Method, has written some courses on writing that have garnered some glowing reviews. You can check them out at www.advancefictionwriting.com

6. Magazine Subscriptions: There are a handful of great magazines for writers. Some of the best include Writer’s Digest Magazine, The Writer, Poets & Writers Magazine, Script, etc.

7. Software for Writers: Common sense says that all you really need to write your novels is a word processor and a few good how-to books on whatever subject you’re writing about. Thanks to the Open Source market, you can chuck Microsoft Word, which wasn’t made for writing novels anyway. That said, here are some “writer’s indulgences” that are worth checking out.

• Dramatica Pro - for the masochistic writers who relish delving into themes, character, plot, etc. This is the powerhouse of story development software. You can easily spend a solid week (or more) answering all 250 questions. For beginners, I suggest trying out the lighter version, which is called Writer’s Dream Kit. It’s not nearly as intense.
• Power Structure - This is a neat program that allows you to see your story at a glance. Create characters, scenes, and chapters with this baby. Comes with templates for screenwriting, fiction and theater.
• Movie Magic Screenwriter - the industry software for screenwriters. I can’t give a review on it yet. Look for that in 2008, when I write my first screenplay. What attracted me to this software was the ability to write novels as well as screenplays. This is an all-in-one program, which can either be useful or cumbersome. I’ll let you know.
• Circus Ponies Notebook - I use this program to store all of my research, outlines, pictures, To-Do lists, etc. Notebook is for anyone who needs to organize their information. Highly recommended. Free trial available at Circus Ponies
• Curio - I found this program somewhat unwieldy, but other writers really enjoyed this program. It’s basically a visual brainstormer that lets you store images, create mind maps, index cards, etc. Free trial available at Zengobi. For Macs only.

This list is nowhere near complete, as this post is getting rather long. To get more ideas, enter “software for writers” or “writing software” in your search engine and see what comes up. Or, visit two of my favorite writer’s software links:

MasterFreelancer
The Writers Store

8. Slippers, robes, and pajamas. I don’t know about you, but Sundays are my days to do nothing but sit in front of my computer and write, whether it’s my latest WIP or a bunch of blog posts. If I don’t have to, I won’t bother getting dressed that day.

9. Gym memberships. Let’s face it, writing is a sedentary occupation. Unless you make a concerted effort to exercise every day, you’re likely to gain weight over time.

10. Word Games. I can’t think of a better way to build your “mental muscles” than playing word games. Bookworm is one of my favorite online word games. Scattergories is another favorite.

There you have it. If you didn’t have any ideas for your writer friend or relative before, you should now. If you’re a writer and would like to add to this list, feel free to add your suggestions in the comments.

I was pleased when I passed the “halfway point” in this NaNo contest with plenty of story left to tell last night. Lately, I’ve been trying to jog my memory for the word counts of my previous two attempts with the NaNoWriMo contest. If I remember correctly, I don’t think I reached the 25K mark in my first and second attempts before the story fizzled out or I got stuck on a plot issue.

The writing process has been slow going, and the subplot is trying to take over the main plot. That’s okay because, although I had aspirations of publishing this story when I began writing it, I’ve decided that it’s more of a springboard for my future novels. I’m going to continue writing this story until my characters solve the mystery that they are working on. This story, still untitled, falls under the crime writing genre but with a paranormal (surprised?) twist.

How many of you have reached the 50K goal, or are close to it?

I’ve passed the first milestone in this NaNo contest today and am anxious to see how many more words I can churn out before I call it a night. My goal is to reach 15,000 by Sunday night.

The second milestone concerns the website I built for my husband back in July. He came home this evening to announce that he got his first customer from this website. I am so stoked about this!

How are you all doing with the NaNo?

I went to work in a great mood this morning. It wasn’t because of the time change, which allows me to sleep an extra hour. And it wasn’t because I was going to start a new work week. I spent the entire weekend doing nothing but writing, mostly on my new book.

How many of you watch The Medium or Ghost Whisperer? I haven’t watched the latter, but the former was one of my favorite shows until CBS decided to muck up the schedule. I’ve always enjoyed the concept of psychics helping law enforcement to catch elusive criminals.

My story, which I haven’t come up with a title for yet, is based on this concept. I spent all day Saturday writing free form until I came up with this idea, which was influenced by a story I’d heard at my last temp assignment. It’s quite a doozie. I’ve got the plot brewing inside my head and the central conflict laid out. Karen and I have decided to become writing buddies and have been discussing our plans for our NaNo stories this weekend. Check out her blog to see what she is writing about.

The daylight burned out about an hour ago, replaced by the witching hour. I’m going to crank out some more story before I turn in for the night.

Happy writing, Everyone!

I’ve decided to participate in this year’s NaNoWriMo contest, although I didn’t make it to the sign-up process. While I don’t expect to make it to the 50K mark, I enjoy the challenge. The synopsis I had started working on last month stalled at the halfway mark because I need to do considerable research on a topic. So I came up with another idea and am working towards that.