Month: May 2016

Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop, where a group of authors discuss a variety of topics. This week we’re exploring how a hobby has made us better writers.

When I first saw the topic, I thought this post would be tough to write. I couldn’t figure out how needlepoint made me a better writer. Then I realized I was overlooking the one thing that most people consider a hobby that I see as a part of my life—reading.

I’m one of those people who will read at the table—but not if I’m in the company of other people. Heck, I used to read cereal boxes growing up. I wasn’t the only one, my sister and I used to swap boxes when we got done with ours.

During grade school and high school, I read all the time, and I was a fast reader. So fast, my mother didn’t believe I could read a book as quickly as I did. I’ll admit, I may have skimmed over dry, boring parts, but I was retaining the important parts of the stories. And it wasn’t just fiction, I loved biographies.

So, I hear you asking, that’s nice and all, but how did that make you a better writer? Well, let me tell you.

All those books I read as a kid were more than entertainment, as are the books  I read today. I may not be thinking about it, but subconsciously I was learning how to write—and how not to write. I’ve read everything from classics to erotica, from dinosaur romance to Dr. Zhivago, from a child’s biography of Betsy Ross to the Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time to Ivanhoe. (Only one dinosaur themed story, I promise you! And I barely made it through the whole novella! And then promptly erased it from my Kindle!)

And all that reading and all those lessons impacted my writing. I have an idea of what works and what doesn’t work for me, and what will work and won’t work for my readers. I understand the chances I take if I choose to break an unwritten (or written!) rule. While I’m writing, I look at what I’ve put on paper from the eye of a reader—would I keep reading?

But not only has my style of writing been formed by all those books, they’ve also helped to shape what I write about. For example, Harmony Duprie, the main character of my Oak Grove books, was influenced by James Bond. And my favorite alpha wolf shifter, Gavin Fairwood, has roots in several heroes written by Barbara Cartland.

So yes, my writing has been improved (I hope!) by my reading. To find out what other authors have to say, follow the links below.

“May 9, 2016 – How a hobby has made you a better writer.
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use ?#?OpenBook? when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
Wordpress:

Custom Blog:

Code for Link:

get the InLinkz code
“

#JamesBond #BarbaraCartland #Reading #Books #Writing

Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop, where a group of authors discuss a variety of topics. This week we’re exploring how a hobby has made us better writers.

When I first saw the topic, I thought this post would be tough to write. I couldn’t figure out how needlepoint made me a better writer. Then I realized I was overlooking the one thing that most people consider a hobby that I see as a part of my life—reading.

I’m one of those people who will read at the table—but not if I’m in the company of other people. Heck, I used to read cereal boxes growing up. I wasn’t the only one, my sister and I used to swap boxes when we got done with ours.

During grade school and high school, I read all the time, and I was a fast reader. So fast, my mother didn’t believe I could read a book as quickly as I did. I’ll admit, I may have skimmed over dry, boring parts, but I was retaining the important parts of the stories. And it wasn’t just fiction, I loved biographies.

So, I hear you asking, that’s nice and all, but how did that make you a better writer? Well, let me tell you.

All those books I read as a kid were more than entertainment, as are the books  I read today. I may not be thinking about it, but subconsciously I was learning how to write—and how not to write. I’ve read everything from classics to erotica, from dinosaur romance to Dr. Zhivago, from a child’s biography of Betsy Ross to the Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time to Ivanhoe. (Only one dinosaur themed story, I promise you! And I barely made it through the whole novella! And then promptly erased it from my Kindle!)

And all that reading and all those lessons impacted my writing. I have an idea of what works and what doesn’t work for me, and what will work and won’t work for my readers. I understand the chances I take if I choose to break an unwritten (or written!) rule. While I’m writing, I look at what I’ve put on paper from the eye of a reader—would I keep reading?

But not only has my style of writing been formed by all those books, they’ve also helped to shape what I write about. For example, Harmony Duprie, the main character of my Oak Grove books, was influenced by James Bond. And my favorite alpha wolf shifter, Gavin Fairwood, has roots in several heroes written by Barbara Cartland.

So yes, my writing has been improved (I hope!) by my reading. To find out what other authors have to say, follow the links below.

“May 9, 2016 – How a hobby has made you a better writer.
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use ?#?OpenBook? when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
WordPress:



Custom Blog:

Code for Link:

get the InLinkz code
“

#JamesBond #BarbaraCartland #Reading #Books #Writing

It’s happened to all of us. Something didn’t work out the way you wanted, the way you hoped, the way you planned. It might not have been your fault, but it’s still a failure. And it hurts.

The big question is, what’s next? Do you give up or try again? Or do you switch to a new goal?

I’m not a big fan of giving up. But I’m also a believer in picking my battles. Experience has taught me that I can’t win at everything. So I examine the problem, seek the advice of others, and try to determine whether the gain is worth the effort. Not everything is.

But if I decide to try and still fail, now what? I’ve also learned that I have to allow myself to feel bad. I don’t have to be bright and sunny all the time. Sadness is a valid emotion. I embrace it, but don’t let it control me. Now it’s time to take a second look at my original goal.

What did I do wrong? Or did I do anything wrong?  Maybe it wasn’t my fault that things didn’t work out the way I’d hoped. Circumstances beyond my control might have caused the failure. The garden I was going to plant this weekend? I bought the seeds and the garden soil. And then it snowed. (Yes, we had snow Friday and Saturday.)

So the plan failed, but I didn’t. There’s a difference. The seeds and the soil will wait until next weekend.

Or maybe I’ll change the plan. Analyze what went wrong and revise based on experience. Knowing the local weather, we could get hail several times during the month of May. So instead of planting the seeds outside, I’ll start them in pots in the house. That way on nice days I can set them outside, and on bad days I can bring them in for protection. Once I’m pretty sure it’s actually summer, I can transplant them I want to.

Not all failures are as easy to fix as flowers. If you’ve heard of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) you know the goal is to write a book in one month. 50,000 words or more. The first year I tried, I failed. I only got 49,000 words written before I hit the end of the story and the end of the month. ( I think I’ve shared this before.) But I don’t really count this as a failure, because I accomplished something I’d never tried before. I wrote most of a novel. And I went on to revise and expand and finish that story, although I doubt I’ll ever publish it. (It’s not that good, folks.)

But occasionally I’ve had to give up on a goal. And giving up hurts worse than failing but knowing you’ll try again. Depending upon how important the goal was, it can feel like losing a piece of yourself. It can be hard to pick up and keep going.

But that’s what I had to do. Mourn and move along. Find a new goal and try my damnedest to make it happen. Maybe start small and allow myself something easy before tackling another large goal. Allow myself the satisfaction of a small glory before going after a  large one. Because giving up isn’t an option. Not according to my rules for myself.

To find out what the other bloggers have to say, follow the links below. And feel free to tell me about how you deal with failing in the comments.

“May 2, 2016 – What to do if you’ve failed at the goals you set?
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use ?#?OpenBook? when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
Wordpress:

Custom Blog:

It’s happened to all of us. Something didn’t work out the way you wanted, the way you hoped, the way you planned. It might not have been your fault, but it’s still a failure. And it hurts.

The big question is, what’s next? Do you give up or try again? Or do you switch to a new goal?

I’m not a big fan of giving up. But I’m also a believer in picking my battles. Experience has taught me that I can’t win at everything. So I examine the problem, seek the advice of others, and try to determine whether the gain is worth the effort. Not everything is.

But if I decide to try and still fail, now what? I’ve also learned that I have to allow myself to feel bad. I don’t have to be bright and sunny all the time. Sadness is a valid emotion. I embrace it, but don’t let it control me. Now it’s time to take a second look at my original goal.

What did I do wrong? Or did I do anything wrong?  Maybe it wasn’t my fault that things didn’t work out the way I’d hoped. Circumstances beyond my control might have caused the failure. The garden I was going to plant this weekend? I bought the seeds and the garden soil. And then it snowed. (Yes, we had snow Friday and Saturday.)

So the plan failed, but I didn’t. There’s a difference. The seeds and the soil will wait until next weekend.

Or maybe I’ll change the plan. Analyze what went wrong and revise based on experience. Knowing the local weather, we could get hail several times during the month of May. So instead of planting the seeds outside, I’ll start them in pots in the house. That way on nice days I can set them outside, and on bad days I can bring them in for protection. Once I’m pretty sure it’s actually summer, I can transplant them I want to.

Not all failures are as easy to fix as flowers. If you’ve heard of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) you know the goal is to write a book in one month. 50,000 words or more. The first year I tried, I failed. I only got 49,000 words written before I hit the end of the story and the end of the month. ( I think I’ve shared this before.) But I don’t really count this as a failure, because I accomplished something I’d never tried before. I wrote most of a novel. And I went on to revise and expand and finish that story, although I doubt I’ll ever publish it. (It’s not that good, folks.)

But occasionally I’ve had to give up on a goal. And giving up hurts worse than failing but knowing you’ll try again. Depending upon how important the goal was, it can feel like losing a piece of yourself. It can be hard to pick up and keep going.

But that’s what I had to do. Mourn and move along. Find a new goal and try my damnedest to make it happen. Maybe start small and allow myself something easy before tackling another large goal. Allow myself the satisfaction of a small glory before going after a  large one. Because giving up isn’t an option. Not according to my rules for myself.

To find out what the other bloggers have to say, follow the links below. And feel free to tell me about how you deal with failing in the comments.

“May 2, 2016 – What to do if you’ve failed at the goals you set?
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use ?#?OpenBook? when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
WordPress:



Custom Blog: