Morrill's Monday Morning Mashup - 3/19/12

MASH-UP

A creative combination

or mixing of content

from different sources.

Writers are often bombarded with information on what we should and shouldn't be doing in our writerly lives, especially with all of the turmoil in the publishing industry today. The posts I've listed this week reminded me that right and wrong is not black and white. It's a big, foggy gray area, and it varies for each individual.

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Jenna Blum writes "The Tortured Soul: Do You Need To Be One To Be A Writer?" in a post on Grub Street Daily. In this post, she muses about the caricature of the tortured soul, but the best part of the article is where she lists qualities you actually DO need to be a writer. http://grubdaily.org/?p=4944&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GrubStreetDaily+%28Grub+Street+Daily%29

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The post "How to Write Readable -- And Retweetable -- Tweets" by Dave Copeland on ReadWriteWeb.com includes some of the best advice I've seen on tweeting, including where to place your links within your tweet. Did you know it should not be placed at the end of your tweet? Read on! http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_to_write_readable_-_and_retweetable_-_tweets.php

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I love the New York Times article, "My Life's Sentences," by Jhumpa Lahiri. In this post, Lahiri discusses her love of sentences, both in reading and writing them, saying, "The urge to convert experience into a group of words that are in a grammatical relation to one another is the most basic, ongoing impulse of my life." And though we're often taught that only after we complete our "shitty first draft" (Anne Lamott) should we then go through and perfect our sentences, Ms. Lahiri admits compulsion to analyze and perfect each sentence as she goes along. "All the revision I do — and this process begins immediately, accompanying the gestation — occurs on a sentence level." I felt better reading this article, because I admit, it's my natural way to write, also. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/my-lifes-sentences/?emc=eta1

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Your assumptions are

your windows on the world.

Scrub them off every

once in a while,

or the light won't come in.

                            

                                         ~ Alan Alda 

Morrill's Monday Morning Mashup - 1/23/12

MASH-UP

A creative combination

or mixing of content

from different sources.

It's another Happy Monday. I had a weekend filled with ambivalence about editing challenges. Fortunately, I was also lucky to spend an evening in front of a bonfire with good friends. As we circled around, warmed by firelight and friendship, we cast into the flames things we hoped to be rid of in 2012. For me, it was fear. Fear of making changes. Fear of disappointing . . . or disappointment. Fear of saying "no."


The best part was, as we held hands and shared our energy and support for each other's aspirations and goals, suddenly I felt less afraid.


So now, back to the mashup. I hope some of these links will be helpful in achieving your aspirations.

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Jane Friedman has one of the best blogs I've seen for writers. Every post I've read provides useful information. "When Do You Need to Secure Permissions" is a perfect example. In this post, Jane gives us concise and useful information, with links to more detailed information about the ins and outs of fair use, public domain, copyrights, etc. If you would like to follow her on Facebook or Twitter, here are the links:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jane.friedman

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/JaneFriedman

http://janefriedman.com/2012/01/23/permissions/

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I am still trying to learn the most effective use of Twitter. Though I'll admit it's still a challenge, every day I learn a little more about learning to "tweet", or speak the language of Twitterdom. This article, "Nine Things You Didn't Know About Twitter," which appeared in the New York Times discusses several features I did not yet know. My favorites were: "Save Your Favorite Tweets" and "Do Power Searches." Both are invaluable time savers as we all try to balance social media with writing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/technology/personaltech/nine-things-you-didnt-know-about-twitter.html?_r=3&emc=eta1

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Write It Sideways is another blog that consistently posts excellent information for writers. Its creator, Suzannah Windsor Freeman, posts--and invites guest bloggers to post--"writing advice from a fresh perspective." This week's mashup link is by guest blogger, David Lazar: "Five Tips for Writing an Effective Plot Twist." Not only did I find a few ideas I haven't tried, I thought all of the suggestions made great writing prompts, too. If you'd like to follow Write It Sideways, here are the links:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/writeitsideways

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/Writeitsideways

http://writeitsideways.com/5-tips-for-writing-an-effective-plot-twist/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+writeitsideways+%28writeitsideways.com%29&doing_wp_cron=1327332160

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK:


I say yes when
I mean no and
a wrinkle grows.


      -- Naomi Shihab Nye

Flooded With Moonlight

Unmoored in midnight water,

No waves, no wind--

The empty boat is

Flooded with moonlight.

                    ---Dogen

Though this quote by Dogen brings a note of peace, it arrived during a perfect storm.

I came across the quote a few days ago. I wasn't surprised I liked it--after all, it projects a beautiful image. But I was surprised at how it has drifted in and out of my mind several times since reading it. "Why?" I ask myself.

Recently, perhaps due to the New Year, the winds of previous discussions with my writerly friends have whipped up--discussions on the challenges of balancing the highly-preached importance of social networking with the actual act of writing. Balance? What's balance? For me, I must admit that in the last several weeks, my social networking time has devoured my writing time.

One friend suggested he was addicted to the Internet. Addicted? Could I be addicted, too? Perhaps the very nature of an addiction is denial. Has my "excuse" of needing to build a social presence been a ruse in my own denial?

Let's consider:

1) I sometimes lose track of the amount of time I've spent online.

2) I sometimes feel guilty about the amount of time I spend online.

3) I have trouble focusing on other tasks.

An addiction? Sounds a little too close for comfort. One thing I will admit is that being online is hardly being "unmoored." And there's no doubt that the Internet is rife with high waves and too much wind. The perfect storm. No wonder moonlight has evaded me.

The New York Times posted an article, "The Rise of the New Groupthink," which discusses the new philosophy of "groupthink"--that creativity comes from sharing ideas, brainstorming, etc. (Social networking?) However, research suggests that people are more creative in a private environment, free from interruption. I agree completely. I need privacy and interruption-free time to fully get into my story and my characters. One little interruption, whether it is the tiniest glance at Facebook or Twitter, a nudge by my dogs or a question from my husband, snaps me out of my story's world and back to reality. And, the trip back to Storyland is a far, far distance. Sometimes too far.

So, my -- our dilemma -- as writers is, how do we balance our need for solitary space and time to create, with the (unfortunate?) necessity to maintain an online presence? Obviously, I have not been successful at both -- at least not lately.

So, here is my solution. I'm going to check myself into a detox facility. Well, kind of. I've created an Internet Dead Zone in my house. Is it really Internet Dead? No, it's not. But I'm a writer, and I have an imagination. I've added a sign to the door to my home office:

Every day, I'll check myself into my Internet Dead Zone for at least two hours, where I'll write or edit, and where I pledge not to turn my wireless on.

If I don't suffer too badly from withdrawal symptoms, I'll graduate to an Internet free day, but, as they say, one step at a time. I feel my hands sweating even as I consider it.

Still, I must admit, I'm looking forward to this little experiment. I'll let you know how it goes -- outside of my Internet Dead Zone, of course.

I look forward to being flooded with moonlight. Ah, just the thought of it . . .

Morrill's Monday Morning Mashup - 1/9/12

MASH-UP

A creative combination

or mixing of content

from different sources.

We are into the second week of 2012. How's it going with the goals you set for 2012? Or, are you like me -- still in holiday mode, with an elusive cloud of possible goals floating around in your head?

This post on Bob Mayer's blog, Write It Forward gives a broad overview of goal-setting, though it's primarily an introduction to his book:

https://writeitforward.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/goal-setting-for-writers-for-2012/

A detailed "how-to" on setting goals appears on the blog, Writing-World.com:

http://www.writing-world.com/basics/goals.shtml

So, here is my strategic goal:
I would like to have Broken Dolls published by a major, traditional press by 2013.

Here is a long-term goal:
I will have edits completed by June 30, 2012.

Here are a couple of short-term goals to work toward my long-term goal:
1) I will work at least two hours per day, five days per week, in my Internet-free zone.
2) I will send 15-25 edited pages to my editor each week.

What are your goals for 2012? Did they change after reading these posts?

This New York Times post, "Why Authors Tweet," discusses why many authors tweet and why some don't. It's a subject many of my writer friends and I have debated. Author Jennifer Gilmore states: "On Twitter, I have a sense that people -- those you know and those you don't -- read your work in a way I have not always felt in the world."

However, Jeffrey Eugenides says that tweeting and other social media is "toxic to the kind of concentration fiction writing requires."

And therein lies our dilemma, fellow writers. Do you tweet? If so, leave your tweet handle in a comment and I'll follow you. I can always use a new challenge in balancing my social media time with my writing time. (Refer back to my short-term goal #1.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/books/review/why-authors-tweet.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&emc=eta1

There are certain words which by their nature, arise often in my writing. A few that I can think of off the top of  my head are talk, walk, smile and look. DailyWritingTips.com posted 75 synonyms for "talk." That's right, 75!

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/75-synonyms-for-talk/

And of course, thesaurus.com is always an excellent source of finding alternatives for oft-used words. Here's the link for "look":

http://thesaurus.com/browse/look

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:


When I'm writing, I'm listening. -- Madeleine L'Engle





Now that I've completed my Mashup, I'm off to "listen" in my Internet-free zone. See you next week!