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Writer's Group: Ideas For Staying Productive

Each week, the editors behind T-Zero's Craft section get blitzed by queries (thank you) and unsolicited completed manuscripts (thanks, but queries are the best way to get our attention). In sifting through the material that comes to us, we often stumble across helpful hints and suggestions from writers 末 pieces that deliver a lot of value in a little bit of space. Sometimes, we get a query (or completed manuscript) that rubs too close to subject matter we've recently covered, but has one section that catches our attention and makes us want to publish just that.

So we introduce the Writer's Group series, which will convene from time to time as we discover golden nuggets (like the ones below) that are just too good to not share. Please note, though, that this is not a regular section for which we're soliciting submissions solely meant for the Writer's Group. For the time being, the series is more like an "Editor's Choice," a byproduct of our selection process for material.


Keeping An Old Corpse Fresh 末 Jennifer Ruszin
Your house is silent, void of the tip-tap song from your fingers working the keyboard. You've taken out the trash, cleaned the garage, and, from your window, watched the neighbor's dog drop a present on your lawn. You're not procrastinating; you're just stuck inside the emptiness of your own head.

Whether it's the middle of a story, thinking up a smash ending, or just trying to find an idea to start with, it's not uncommon to struggle while finding new ideas. The dried-up-old-brain syndrome can seem like a horrible affliction. But there's hope, and it can be cured 末 or at least treated during a flare-up.

Instant Relaxation/Instant Brain Re-hydration. My best ideas come to me when I'm soaking in the bathtub, up to my neck in bubbles. This isn't the most convenient, neatest, or driest method, especially if you've got children running in and out of your house and the phone ringing. It also doesn't work too well if your wife is in the tub with you.

Internet Voodoo. When I'm bored and I can't stand to read another one of my own sentences, I stop and hit the search engines. It's amazing what Google can find with keywords like "bizarre news" and "spiders in ears." I also frequent theshadowlands.net, a Web site full of ghostly goodies for that paranormal craving every horror writer gets once in awhile.

True Family Fallacies. Think about the stories Grammy used to tell you. Remember the one about creepy Cousin Ed? Or how about that olive green lamp that you threw in the basement? It's a family heirloom, right? Family can be a great inspiration -- both extended and immediate relatives. I know of several writer-moms who have been inspired by the sometimes evil behavior of their children. (NOTE: You should never use the real names of your inspiration, or you might find razors hidden in Grammy's holiday fudge!)

Word Potion Pick-Me-Up.  Read. Go to your bookshelf and read a few chapters from your favorite author.

Bewitching Watching. Ah, the powers of observation. I can't count how many times I've found ideas while watching the parents in the parking lot when I'm waiting to pick my children up from school; I have an entire poem devoted to a mother who was smoking in her minivan. You can observe human nature wherever there are people, even at the grocery store. I'm nosy, I'll admit it; I look in everyone else's shopping cart. There hasn't been a time that I've looked in there and not found something that I consider weird. How about a 45-year-old man who has bikini wax in his basket? Where's he going with that?

Now you have a few prescriptions to resuscitate the muse. Take two and don't call me in the morning. I'll be at the grocery store.


Make Your Characters Keep The Reader Awake 末 James Hall
Have you ever read fiction in which the characters made your mind wander and your eyelids drop shut before you could turn a page? I have. Does this suggest how important characters are in a story?

Why do some characters come alive on the page, and some put you to sleep? To answer that, you only need remember where the characters came from.

You will find many recommendations from writers who write about writing, and suggest ways to make your characters real. I don't write about writing. I write about people. My viewpoint, then, is a bit different.

I tried many recipes for creating characters. I filled forms with date of birth, education, work history, character traits, details about appearance, family histories, and much more. This left me with lots of forms filled with disjointed information about someone I didn't know. I used index cards, a separate set for each character, with jotted notes about the previous information. I filled shoeboxes with such cards. All this gave me was a lot of shoeboxes filled with a lot of cards.

Along the way, I developed the discipline of writing something every day. I put words together on paper or in a computer file. I do some of this every day, unless circumstances make it impossible. On a normal day, I write something. A line on my business cards reminds me of this: A writer is someone who wrote something TODAY.

I found a way to make this discipline help me understand the people in my stories. At one point in my life, I considered becoming an actor. I had several roles in plays and became interested in the craft. It dawned on me that the writer of fiction does what the director of a play does. The director teaches actors to be someone they are not. The writer of fiction teaches his characters how to become the people he needs to tell his story.

How do I accomplish this? I assume the persona of a character and write his diary. While I do this, the character examines his relationships with others. He wonders about what these others have going between them. This gives me what I need to craft a story. It also satisfies the requirement that I put on myself to write something TODAY.

To write a scene involving two or more of the people I have pretended to be, I simply reread their diaries and start writing, knowing what these people will feel, what they are likely to say, and what they are trying to do. I know all that because they told me their secrets while I wrote their diaries. That's how you get characters that keep your readers' eyes wide open and his thumb turning the pages.


The Importance of Being Prepared 末 Donna Sundblad
If you are serious about making writing a priority in your life, it is important to be prepared by keeping your writing tools available at all times. Something as basic as a pad of paper and pen can make the difference between capturing a new idea or allowing it to dissipate amid a mind cluttered with thoughts of everyday routines and commitments.

What do you do when you climb into bed without a pad nearby, get settled, and come up with the character name you've been looking for, the perfect title, or the answer to a plot twist? When you are not prepared, chances are you will trust your memory instead of getting up to search for a pen and paper. The problem is that most times, the idea is erased from our memories when we welcome the new day. The lack of preparation will cause a delay in the completion of your composition.

As a writer, it's important to be a reader, but it is imperative you do not allow your time to write to be overtaken by your voracious appetite to finish a good book (even a good book on improving your writing skills). A basic tool of any good writer is time set aside to write. If you don't plan, your time will be consumed by the events of everyday life. I do not own a laptop, so one thing I have found helpful in making the best use of my time is to carry a hard copy of a few of my current projects in my briefcase. The briefcase is flat and serves as a portable desktop when I am forced to wait in the car or dentist's office.

Once you develop a pattern of preparation in the use of time and the collection of your ideas, your tools become more tangible. A computer is a must in this day and age. Most word processing software comes equipped with a spell checker and a thesaurus. Use them. But, even with these technological advances, a good dictionary and comprehensive thesaurus are recommended tools. An online resource that offers both a dictionary and an extensive thesaurus can be found at http://dictionary.reference.com.

The thing to consider when purchasing online resources is that you will have to renew your membership, in contrast to owning hard copies that will be available on your bookshelf for years to come.

One last word of instruction is to know your market. You can write an error-free, perfectly written piece, but if you submit it to an incorrect market it won't be considered. The best source for information I have found to direct you to the right person at the right place is the Writer's Market. This book includes specific editorial needs and submission guidelines, and is available in hard copy or online at http://www.writersmarket.