Hello, super glad to be guest-posting here! I’ve been asked to share a little about my WRITING RITUALS and to give a couple TIPS FOR NEW AUTHORS. So, starting with my ritual . . . It always, always, ALWAYS begins with a large mug of honey. Oh, I mean tea with honey (and cream). I drink this elixir all day long, hot or cold. And yes, it IS an elixir of the most magical kind. Tea is wonderful and honey is a miracle food (not lying!) that keeps my part-bee-self buzzin’. Along with honeyed tea at my side, I prefer writing when it’s quiet. Some people enjoy music or “white noise” like in a coffee shop, but I do better with uninterrupted quiet. My writing canvas, so to speak, is good old Word on my laptop. I’ve tried other writing programs and have author friends who love Scrivener and such, but I always end up back on Word where I am most comfortable. I also use actual paper for outlining/storyboarding purposes. The pitfall of writing a manuscript on any computer, however, is the distraction of the internet. It’s oh-so-easy to click onto email or Facebook or Twitter tabs when struggling with a thought or muddling through a scene. The web serves for quickly looking up a fact or word, etc., but “quickly” doesn’t always happen. Internet research can suck me in like a black hole, and before I know it, I’m surfing random things while losing valuable time and momentum. So, tip for myself and for new authors:
DO NOT LET THE INTERNET SUCK AWAY WRITING TIME.
As an aside, you could replace “internet” with all sorts of potential distractions.
TIME carved out for WRITING is precious. Respect it! Otherwise, you’ll never finish those masterpieces.] Okay, that being said, in your Non-Dedicated-Writing-Time
THE INTERNET IS YOUR BEST FRIEND for interacting with other writers, as well as many readers. Some of my best writer-ly relationships started with social media. Author collectives, bloggers, critique groups, beta readers, editors, publicists, book artists, reviewers, etc. can be found there. And it opens doors for person-to-person contact, too. I’ve attended fantastic in-person events that I would never have known about had it not been for the interactions with fellow writers on Facebook, for instance. Being naturally shy, it took me awhile longer than most, but after a few years and a few published books, I’ve grown my visibility to others and made life-long relationships for which I am eternally grateful.
In short:
DRINK LOTS OF HONEY WITH TEA (optional, but recommended)
WRITE IN YOUR MOST COMFORTABLE ZONE
AVOID BLACK HOLES
USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO BROADEN YOUR VISIBILITY
& TO CREATE/NURTURE RELATIONSHIPS
Christina Mercer is an award-winning author of fiction for children and young adults. Honored titles include Tween Fantasy ARROW OF THE MIST and its sequel ARMS OF ANU, and YA Fantasy/Romance HONEY QUEEN. Christina enjoys life in the foothills of Northern California with her husband and sons, a pack of large dogs, and about 100,000 honeybees. For more about her and her writing,
visit: WebSite | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads
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Such great points. The Internet is all about balance, because it can be such a positive thing yet you can get lost in it.
ReplyDeleteI, too, need a serene writing environment--not the easiest thing when the kids are home all summer.
Oh, and I'm going to have to try this honey and tea elixir. :-)