Since my book on Internet Dating will be out in February, I thought it would be fun to create a poll about the kind of people you’ll meet online - vote away!
I’m really excited because very soon I’m going to have a free download available of one of the chapters from Eighty-Eight Dates- all you’ll need to do is sign up for a monthly newsletter,and I’ll email you when the book is released yo get a signed copy from me
It’s a brand new thing for Penguin, and I can’t wait to get it underway!
One of the first things people ask me is how do I manage to juggle everything? I raise three kids, work and write. How do I do it?
Well sometimes I can’t. Sometimes I just want to crawl into my bed, throw the sheets over my head and pretend things are not as they are. But most of the time, most days, I just keep on pushing through. My only constant is I have to be really adaptable. I have to adjust my schedule, often at a moment’s notice.
I also am quick to find the things to discard. Plenty of due dates? The dishes can wait, the clean clothes can pile up on the couch, and we can have eggs for dinner instead of a proper meal. That’s all ok.
And if it gets REALLY bad? Then I get in help
And that’s the trick. You really can’t juggle it all. You just get another person to help keep the balls in the air. (And to pick up the odd one that drops along the way.)
So after feeling so very overwhelmed my brain does what it always does- and shut down.
I’ve spent the last two days away from my computer. I’ve still got work done, but I’ve planned and written it all with pen and paper.
I’ve also spring cleaned the living and dining rooms and read a couple of books. And I feel incredibly renewed.
If you’re feeling like everything’s getting all a bit too much, STOP. Give your brain time to work things through. I can’t wait to get back into everything- always a good sign that a wee bit of time out was just what my brain ordered.
I’ve had a month of new beginnings. It’s exciting, with new contracts, new contacts and plenty of new experiences. Not to mention piles of lovely social occasions where I get to put my networking prowess to use and find all sorts of lovely connections with potential subjects, writers and editors
However I’m in danger of information overload. I have a huge pile of client newsletters to write, a magazine worth of content due in a week, several new clients to meet and begin initial work with, and all sorts of exciting possibilities appearing before me
For someone who is so easily distracted it’s so hard to keep focused. I’m using my to do list religiously- and I’m being ruthless with my time. I’m also making sure no matter how busy I get I keep some time to recharge the batteries- no good going hard out for a month then seeing my brain go up in flames..
But it is certainly struggling to keep up. If only I could outsource sleep and recreational time! And to think at the beginning of the month I was worried it was quiet!
I was reading an article about a guy who made his living writing other people’s columns. While I have done a similar job on occasion, I had no idea it was so prevalent
I also had no idea how quickly I thought “Oh I wonder if they’ve found his replacement yet? Maybe I should apply…”
I don’t think that’s a good thing…One step away from reading the obits just to find a bargain on a house. Bad Rachel.
If you are a fiction author planning a book with weird and wonderful sexual practices, or copious amounts of murder, is there a worry of “what would my mother think?”
Losing that inner censor of the people around you is essential to write what is inside you to write
It’s the same what ever the genre- are you brave enough to write your real opinions even if they go against the common tide of public sentiment?
More and more so I am losing my tendency to carefullymeasure out each word in case of causing objections somewhere. I’m not planning to write a blood bath of a novel,or start aligning myself with questionable organisations. But I hope I can remain independent enough in thoughts and actions for it to be reflected in my writing.
At fashion week last week I heard several senior reporters censure their young ones about what they could and couldn’t put in their blogs. And this was just about clothes. Keeping a certain amount of independence has to be beneficial - at least it means you’ve got your own viewpoint out.
Whats the point creating if it can’t be from what you really think? Otherwise it’s just an amalgam of the shoulds, rather than a viewpoint of your coulds.
I’ve been thinking about what makes a story interesting. In the end, it’s really the juxtaposition of two opposing points that in isolation are often very normal on their own
For example, I have three children. Put us in a rural area (which is where we were started) and that size fmaily seems normal. Move us to a big city, and it’s a regular comment to us at cafes that I have a large family
Easiest way to find a new story? Find the point of difference.
On Friday night I was out at a friends. It’s a a regular thing- we sit around the table eating and drinking with a pile of other adults while the children run around outside. Around seven we throw them some pizza, and then keep on chatting, drinking and eating. The kids love it, the parents love it. It’s win win.
I was tired, and I knew I had to work alot of this weekend. I was planning to leave early- but the music started and before you knew it a few of us were up and dancing together, with our children. I laughed as it was pure Disney- these happy family snapshots of sharing the parenting,adults dancing with each other’s children.
I was still planning to leave,when a group of people arrived. It was my friend’s next door neighbour with a bundle of other adults. Our fun was infectious, and in moments they too were dancing with our children, swapping stories and we were all laughing and enjoying this moment together.
Eleven O’clock I dragged my children home (to give you an idea of how rare that sort of treat is for them my five year old asked if it was Christmas since it was so late!) and thought about the night.
It all happened because my friend is a magic maker. Things just happen around her. Slightly crazy things, but they are beautiful, fun, enjoyable and memorable. And they provide so much to write about too.
Want to find a story? Find the magic makers and befriend them. Magic makes stories. It’s easy then
When people ask how to become a better writer, writers invariably tell them “write, read, write, then write some more.”
And to be honest there is alot of truth in that. I know I’ve seen my writing develop as I’ve got the mileage of hundreds of thousands of words, sentences and paragraphs behind me.
However I think there is one so very important part of becoming a writer that is often overlooked. To become a writer, you need to live.
This isn’t some funny little speech about needing to live and breathe your writing. It’s about understanding that unless you go out and LIVE your life, experiencing new things, watching how others relate, seeing the story behind the eyes of strangers, you may not reach the full potential of your writing life.
Next time you suffer writers block,turn off that computer and go live some life. You’ll be enriched- and you’ll have something to write about.
