The Writer and The Muse

"I need you to inspire me to write today, Muse."

"What you need is to put your hands on the keyboard and write. The inspiration will come once you remember that writing is an action word!"

"Yeah, easy for you to say. You don't have to stare at the blank screen."

"Neither would you if you would stop procrastinating and start writing."

"How can I write when I can't get the villain's motivation worked out?"

"Interview him."

"Funny."

"See, there you go. Every time I try to help you, there's an excuse. Why is that funny?"

"He's not real."

"That's your problem right there. If you don't think he's real, how will your reader believe in his motivation?"

Score one for the muse!

Sweet Words to an Author's Ear

Words heard while attending a Valentine's Day concert for U.S. Veterans last night: "I started reading one of your books and I can't put it down!"

Shortly after finding seats, hubby and I were pleasantly surprised when his pulmonary therapist and the oxygen coordinator from the Chalmers P. Wylie VA came and sat behind us. My hubby is one of my biggest promoters. He tells everyone I'm an author and raves about my books. He has read every one of them. Word of mouth continues to be one of the best marketing tools and one that doesn't cost a penny.

While participating in a six-week therapy exercise program, he "ratted me out" as an author...bless his heart! His therapist bought two of my books for her Nook, but hadn't yet begun to read them before the program ended. Her words last night gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling and motivated me to continue writing.

"I started reading and I couldn't put it down."
"I stayed up until two in the morning because I had to find out what would happen next."
"Once I started reading, I had to keep going. It was so good!"

These are words I'm hearing from people who have read my Inspirational novels. Seems whenever I get a bit down and question the time I spend writing, God speaks to me through readers.

I may never be a New York Times Best-selling author, but that has never been my goal. My goal is to write stories that touch reader emotions and show how faith can move mountains without "preaching." I've been asked who my audience is and that makes me smile. Who? Everyone! Male, female, Christian, non-Christian...anyone who can read!

TRAPPED is my latest book and the one the Pulmonary Therapist was speaking about last night. I'm currently writing the second book in the series...one I'm enjoying writing and hope will continue to bring the same heartwarming feedback.

Defeating Procrastination

Motivation is a requirement to keep you focused on achieving anything you'd like to do. Sometimes motivation slacks and you find yourself procrastinating. You have a bad day so you tell yourself you'll get back on track tomorrow. Tomorrow keeps moving farther out and soon you lose all motivation. Then doubt and depression settle in. This is true for every aspect of life, but especially true for writing.

When I joined Weight Watchers I looked at where I was and where I wanted to be. The numbers were so far apart, that I nearly gave up before I started. However, WW suggests setting a 5% of your current weight as your first goal. So, now I'm looking at an achievable goal. I'm motivated as I draw closer and closer to the first success platform.

The same thing is true of writing. When you look at needing to write 300 to 400 words and you are on page one, the end seems so very far away. Many writers balk at setting goals. Life gets in the way and nothing gets written for a day, or more. Now, the writer feels "behind". Then it becomes easier to miss another day. Doubt and depression settles in. This, my friends, is a death knoll. I know. I've been there.

So, how does a writer establish attainable goals to keep them on track? The easiest way is to establish a goal to write "something" every single day. Even on a "bad" day, you should be able to write one sentence. Establishing a routine of writing every single day leads to producing more pages. Some days you'll do a lot more than others. Some days you may only write one sentence. But, as long as you've written something, then you are still on goal. Each word leads to a sentence. Each sentence to a paragraph. Each paragraph to a page.

Allowing yourself the flexibility of not being focused on producing a "set" number of words or pages will put you on the path to consistent writing. This is the key to success.