When It's Time for a Writer to Walk Away

Don't you love it when the advice you've given others coincides with that of a great mind like Albert Einstein? Many times on this blog, I have told writers that, if they reach a trouble spot, leave the area where you've been writing. Go for a walk, or clean the kitchen, or read a book. 

When you're having difficulty with a chapter in a fiction story or making something clear in an article or not being able to bring enough emotion into a personal essay, it's far better to leave it alone than to sit and stew, get angry or dissolve into a muddled mess. 

For some reason, when we leave the scene of our misery and stop thinking about the problem, the answer floats through the atmosphere and drops right into our lap. It can happen at strange times. You might be in the shower when the solution hits. You could be sitting at an outdoor cafe having coffee with a friend when her conversation seems to move to the background as your mind is concentrating on the idea that arrived a moment ago. You could be doing laundry or taking the dog for a walk. It's when you're doing the everyday things that the way to fix your writing problem is apt to come to you.

As Professor Einstein says in today's quote, we should '...stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me.' I love the phrase 'swim in silence.' Just forget about it and suddenly the answer comes.

Many years ago, I sewed a lot, and inevitably the directions on the pattern would look like a foreign language to me as I could not figure out what they were telling me to do next. It wasn't a matter of being able to skip over to the next step because they built upon one another. I learned to walk away and come back hours later or even the next day, and suddenly those directions were clear. It's the same with our writing, except there is no step by step directions. It's up to us to figure out the how-to. What I learned in my sewing life, I carried over to my writing journey. 

I find that so many of the quotes we see pertaining to our writing are merely several words, but they contain strong advice. When a quote is particularly good, it's worthwhile to read it multiple times. The more you go over the words, the better the advice becomes. With the one for today, if it's good enough for Einstein, it should be worth something for us, as well.

5 Ways To Help You Write During the Pandemic

I wanted you to know I am following the stay-at-home and social distance recommendations we have all been given. I think the majority of people are following the new rules. Those few who refuse to do so are the ones that will make the wait to go back to a more normal life longer for everyone as well as putting themselves in harm's way.  I feel a lot of anger toward them, and I hope they will wake up and see the seriousness of this pandemic. Alright, that is my rant for the day. And the hug in a heart is straight from my heart.

It seems that a good many writers are finding it difficult to write during this uncertain time. There are worries about our families (near and far), health, the economy, our own financial situation, and more. It's no wonder we aren't terribly inspired to write. For me, I'm a little disgusted with myself because I have more time than ever to write, and I really don't have the desire. I know I'm not alone. 

I started thinking about what I could do to give myself a swift kick in the rear and start writing more than my blog posts. Here are a few suggestions for you and for me: 

1. Go through your files and choose something that is either not finished or needs revision. Make it your project for today. Just one. Read through the piece as objectively as you can, and that's not always easy when reading our own work. Make a list of the things you found that might be redone or enhanced. Then, start working. You needn't do two or three today. Only one. 
2. Take some time to breathe. Sounds silly? Maybe not. A woman in my writing group suggested we try sitting quietly, then breathe in; exhale slowly. Breathe in, breathe out. Do this several times. I tried it and found that it worked best for me if I closed my eyes. I felt much calmer and ready to do a chore or watch tv or read a book. Try it today, and see if you might feel ready to write something. It doesn't have to be 1,000 or 2,000 words. Write a paragraph and keep going if you feel like you want to. Or just leave it at the one paragraph.
3. Do a freewrite exercise by opening a book, pointing with eyes closed, then use the word your finger rests on for your freewrite springboard. Write for 10 minutes without stopping; let the thoughts run from mind to fingers. Whatever comes to mind from your word. Some may end up being nonsense while some might be the beginning of a story or an essay. 
4. Try a photo prompt writing exercise. Find a photo or painting, maybe one on the wall in your own home, and study it. Then, start writing about what you see. Write as little or as much as you would like. 
5. Most writers have books that deal with the craft of writing. Go through your collection and choose one. Sure, you've probably already read it, but read it again. It's like seeing a movie for the second time--you notice things you didn't on the first viewing. If you don't have one, google some articles on writing and read them online. The purpose is to get your mind wrapped around the art of writing and perhaps find some inspiration. 

If you do any or all of the above, you can say at the end of the day that you have written something or you have read about writing and felt inspired to write tomorrow. Or today! I feel like, once our lives get back to something more normal, our desire to write will return, as well. So, just breathe in, breathe out. 

Explaining Chicken Soup for the Soul Story Guidelines

Is a Chicken Soup for the Soul Publication in Your Future?

Yesterday, I posted a Call for Submissions for a new anthology from Chicken Soup on Divine Intervention. I also promised to expand on their Guidelines page, so today we'll go through that page, section by section. 

In a Communique they send to repeat authors in their books, the editors mentioned recently that one of the reasons stories are not accepted is that they do not follow the Guidelines. It seems so simple, but I've noted editors of other publications point out the same problem. When I send a submission, one of the things I do is to go through the Guidelines and check them off one by one. Did I do this or this or that? If I hadn't, I've still got time to correct my error. Chicken Soup publishers offer some of the lengthiest and detailed Guidelines of any publication I know. That's to your benefit but only if you do more than scan or even (Gasp!) skip reading them. 

Let's walk through the Guidelines page.  There are two paragraphs at the top. Read them! They tell you what kind of stories the editors are looking for. They include things like inspirational, true, ordinary people doing extraordinary things and more. Read the two paragraphs, then move on to the individually numbered guidelines. 

You might want to print the page, then underline the most significant parts. I'm not going to copy each one word for word, but summarize or try to illuminate them a bit. I want you to actually 'read' each one, then check my post for explanation. (I just noted that they used #5 twice, so I changed the 6 to a full 7. Surprised me!)

1.  They want a story that is exciting, heartwarming, or funny story that happened to you or someone you know. It should be written in first person. 

2.  This one tells you they want stories that have emotional response from the readers. It needs some ooomph!

3.  This one is telling you that they want you to begin with a hook. No introduction to the story, start with the story itself. Hook the reader! Nor do they want you to summarize the story at the end. End with a bang, something the reader can take away with them.

4.  Tell your story from your heart. It's going to be far more appealing that way.

5.  This one is about the tense you use to write the story. They recommend past tense, so take their advice and use it!

6.  1200 words maximum, And they mean it!

7.  This one is easy. The story must be true, no creative stuff to make it better.

The next section tells you what a Chicken Soup story is NOT. I won't give you a numbered list, you have it on that paper I hope you printed. But the story they are looking for is NOT a sermon, an essay, a journalistic piece, a term paper, as told to me by another, a letter,about politics or a testimonial. It must be a 'story' with a beginning, a middle and an ending. And a true story!

The next section gives guidance for submitting a poem for any of the books. An aside here:  I have seen relatively few poems in any of the books, so my guess is that if you send one that follows the guidelines, your odds are pretty good. Again, the poem must tell a full story (narrative poem), They say they don't want poems that are overly focused on rhyming (maybe those sing-song kind) or 'read like a greeting card.' I would focus on free verse, but if you can do rhyming well, give it a try.

The next section is about the submitting process. You must go through their website submission form. There is a webmaster who will answer general questions. A very important part of this section is that they want stories that have NOT been published previously UNLESS in a very small circulation publication, and then you can state that in the comments section on the submission form. Send them no book manuscripts or title ideas for new books. They will be immediatley discarded.

The final section is about what happens after you submit your work. There are several paragraphs with information that you should learn. If you choose to skip reading this section, or just scan it, you are going to miss answers to questions you are sure to have. Things about response time, rejection letters, email address changes, what you will receive if your story is selected for a book. 

My purpose today is to make you aware of the many points made in the lengthy Guidelines so that the stories you submit have a fighting chance. The rest is up to you! One more thing--recheck the Guidelines each time you submit a story to Chicken Soup. The more stories you send, the better you'll know those Guidelines, but it will be worthwhile to doublecheck each time.