Category: Uncategorized

Hitting the Road

morocco-camels_1742251cI was up before dawn this morning to drive Teen Freud to the airport. He and his friend, Molly, are off on a grand adventure to Morocco and England.  This is a Very Big Deal for him. While he has travelled with us as a family and went to Quebec City as an exchange student in high school, he hasn’t traveled on his own. At least no trips of this scope or one this far away from home.   I watched them walk through security with a mix of excitement, envy and trepidation.  It’s a mom/writer thing. My mind is a constant and fertile ground of ‘what-ifs.’  I had to take a step back and remind myself that, at his age, I’d gone off with his father on a four month road trip through Europe and Russia. Not only had we survived, we’d thrived. It broadened our minds, strengthened our bonds and we’re still telling some of our stories.

We’re counting on Teen Freud to bring home wonderful pictures and stories of his own. Until then, we’re sitting on the patio with Team Sheltie at our feet and a gin and tonic in hand, and doing a little armchair traveling.  Here are some summer picks to quench your wanderlust:

 The Wind in My Wheels – Travel Tales from the Saddle by Josie Dew      I love biking adventures and Josie Dew is the queen of cycling travel. This collection of stories about her cycling trips through parts of Europe, the British Isles and Morocco is a funny, fascinating and inspiring read.

A Bike Ride: 12,000 Miles Around the World by Anne Mustoe    This was the first biking adventure book I ever read and it left a powerful mark. At the age of 55, Anne Mustoe gave up her life as a headmistress and decided to cycle around the world. To say she was naïve (she couldn’t even mend a tire when she started) is an understatement. History lessons interspersed with adventure.

A Culinary Traveler in Tuscany: Exploring and Eating off the Beaten Track by Beth Elon              Yes, I’ve been known to read cookbooks for relaxation. Combining a cookbook with a travelogue is a sure way to grab me. This gem of a book features ten off-the-beaten-track itineraries, describing towns, restaurants and sights. Maps and recipes are provided too. And the recipes are very user friendly. Get out the risotto pot!

 A Month of Sundays – Villa Life in the South of France by Ira & Barbara Spector     A light, fast read about an American couple who rent a villa on the French Riviera near St. Tropez for a month. Alternating chapters from a his/her point of view, they tell the tale of adjusting to life in France.

Riding the Bus with my Sister by Rachel Simon    Not technically a travel book but Rachel Simon’s account of spending a year riding the city bus in with her intellectually disabled sister, Beth, is a good reminder that we don’t have to go far to gain new perspectives and see the world differently.  I loved this book. An updated edition came out last year detailing the changes in the lives of Simon and her sister since the book was first written. I’m looking forward to reading it.

 

 

Rewards can be a Long Time Coming

DSC00518Years ago, a friend and I rescued dozens of plants from a city lot not far from where I live. The lot was being gutted in preparation for an apartment block. Over a period of weeks and with permission from the builders, we went in and dug up lilacs, hydrangeas, and reams of smaller things like California poppies and Shasta daisies. We also rescued a number of peony bushes. They were old and we weren’t sure they’d survive the move.  They did, though it took years to nurse them back to productivity.  But now, every spring, I’m rewarded with handfuls of blooms to bring inside.  Tangible evidence, as one friend said, of the reward of hard work.  Those peonies are also a reminder of my early gardening days, when I felt like anything was possible, slugs notwithstanding. Those days when the garden felt more like a blessing than a chore.

Coincidentally, I’ve spent the last few months revisiting and readying for publication an adult novel I wrote years ago.  Much of it was done when my daughter napped, and after I’d spent the morning writing magazine articles or assembling radio documentaries.  Back in the days when I felt like anything was possible, publishing climate notwithstanding.  Those days when the writing felt more like a reward instead of a responsibility.

At some point in the coming months I hope to have “What Lainey Sees” uploaded and for sale under my other writing name – Laura Tobias.  When it hits the Amazon shelf, it will be tangible evidence of the reward of hard work. And the pleasure of the journey itself.

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The Creative Art of Doing Nothing

stock-footage-time-lapse-with-cloud-formations-moving-away-from-viewer-over-a-field-and-a-small-forrest-full-hdI don’t have much time for lying on the grass and watching the clouds these days. You probably don’t either.  Do you care? Or does some small part of you celebrate the fact that your life is busy, busy?  That it’s always go, go, go?

Benjamin Franklin said, “It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man.”  Most of us have taken that attitude to heart. We’ve also adopted the belief that “Inspiration exists but it has to find you working” (Pablo Picasso) and that ‘Idle hands are the devil’s playthings.’  (That quote is so rampant and has so many variables no one is entirely sure where it first came from).

In our culture we celebrate busyness. Busyness equals business.  If you aren’t busy, you aren’t doing business.

Except:

“To do great work one must be very idle as well as very industrious.” Samuel Butler

And:

“Imagination needs moodling – long inefficient happy idling, dawdling and puttering.” Brenda Ueland in If You Want to be a Writer

Moodling isn’t watching TV or seeing a movie. It’s not surfing the net or reading a book.  It’s not cooking a meal for someone you love or listening to a friend in trouble, or even walking the dog if that dog is anything like my youngest (lovable but demanding) Sheltie. Those things are all worthwhile. But they’re not  moodling.

Moodling is

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. . . watching a spider eat aphids on a rose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

. .  walking the beach with no agenda and only your thoughts for company. Witty's-Lagoon-022s

Blue Night Sky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. . . sitting outside after dark and staring at the stars not because you’re locked out but because you want to lock in. To inspiration. To creativity.  And to possibilities.

 

 

We all need a little moodling time. It’s the best way to let our imaginations soar.

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My June Reads

DSC00073The vegetable garden is planted and my chiropractor is several hundred dollars richer.  Between rain days and other commitments, I’d let the beds go a little too long this year. The weeds were tenacious, the soil still on the heavy side, and my back and hips didn’t appreciate it.  Needless to say, by the end of each day, I was ready for a hot bath, a cold drink and a good book. In fact, there were moments with the sweat rolling down my forehead that all I could think about was the book waiting for me inside.  It was a good reminder of the simple joy a book can bring.

Here’s what I’m reading these days:

On the Kindle:  The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna

At the Gym: Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

Beside the Bed: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Books read to date in 2014:  36

 

Tag, You’re It!

download (1) My friend, author Kristin Butcher, invited me to be part of a virtual game of blog tag. The process is simple – we answer a few questions about writing and tag three other authors to do the same a week or two later.

Thanks for the invite, Kristin!  I met Kristin years ago when we were on a panel at a local high school talking about our writing process. We became friends. Though Kristin lives on the northern part of the island and I live on the southern tip, we stay in touch through emails, Facebook, and occasional face-to-face coffees or lunches. Find out more about Kristin’s writing here: http://www.kristinbutcher.com/

I’ve tagged three other writing friends to follow me: Lisa McManus Lange, Jacquie Pearce and Nikki Tate. Look for their posts around June 2nd.

And now to the questions:                  

What am I working on?

I generally juggle two or three projects at once, sometimes more if I have a magazine article deadline.  I just finished page proofs for THE ART OF GETTING STARED AT, which will be out this August. With Penguin’s support, I’m about to tackle my first ever book trailer. That’ll be fun and a whole new thing for me!   I’m in the middle of writing another YA novel called ONE GOOD DEED.  It’s about a sixteen-year-old girl who saves a man’s life. The fallout from that one good deed has long-ranging and potentially disastrous consequences.  And I’ve just signed a contract with Orca Book Publishers to write another book in their Limelights Series – this one tentatively titled STEPPING OUT.

I also write fiction for adults under the name Laura Tobias. In the next few months, I’ll be releasing my first adult novel called WHAT LAINEY SEES.  It’s a romantic suspense with a Native American time travel element, so it’s essentially two stories in one.  This book has been in the works for quite a long time and I’m excited that it’s finally coming out.  Once that’s released, I’ll be revising another Laura Tobias title: GIRLS WHO DISH.  It’s a contemporary story about a lottery win told from three points of view: one teenage girl and two adults.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

That’s a hard question to answer.  I write in multiple genres: young adult and adult novels, middle grade fiction, picture books, and non-fiction for both adults and kids.  So I suppose my versatility sets me apart from some authors.

I’ve also been told I have a fairly distinct voice. Because I write for different age groups, I work hard to ensure the voice and attitudes for each particular book remain true to the age and maturity level for that genre.  A fifteen-year-old protagonist thinks differently from a five-year-old who thinks and acts differently again (or one would hope!) from a 35-year-old.

Finally, while I love uplifting stories and try to end most books on a hopeful note, I’m not afraid to tackle painful or controversial subjects like sperm donor children or memory loss or Canada’s internment of Ukrainians during World War One.

Why do I write what I do?

I wish I knew! Seriously, I sometimes wish I had a passion for just one subject because I think it’s easier to build a readership that way.  If I wrote only young adult or mystery or adult contemporary novels, people would know what they were getting when they opened a Laura Langston or Laura Tobias book. But I’m all over the map.  Life is fascinating. People are fascinating. Research is fascinating. I go where my curiosity takes me.  And it takes me in many directions.

How does my writing process work? 

I’m a morning person so in terms of my daily routine, I do my fresh writing in the morning and if I’m on a roll, I’ll continue with it after lunch. If I’m feeling bogged down on the current work-in-progress, I’ll switch gears in the afternoon and work on an article or a blog post, or on a novel that’s in revision stage. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of my writing on a treadmill desk. It was surprisingly easy to adapt, and it really boosts creativity.

In terms of ideas, I have more ideas than time. I keep an idea file but when I finish one book I usually know which one will come next. It’s the one that’s calling the loudest!

Before I do any actual writing, I noodle around with characters, goals and motivation. I need to know what’s at stake and I like to have an idea of my final destination – the climax and how the story will end (though that’s open to change and often does!)  Sometimes I write a longish outline, chapter by chapter, but other times I have a shorter roadmap of sorts. Either way, I almost always write a mock back cover book blurb early on to help me stay focused.

I revise as I go, reading over what I wrote the day before and briefly tweaking it before jumping into the story again, and I almost always revise afterwards too. I generally set my manuscripts aside for a few weeks, go back to them, and see places that need tightening or character arcs that need to be better developed.  I love the revision process, particularly after a full draft; that’s when the story coalesces for me.  But I have one annoying habit: I need to nail and polish the first three or four chapters early on. If something isn’t working in those beginning chapters I come to a total stop. It’s crazy because I’ll often revise those early chapters again later, but if they don’t work for me at the start, I can’t go forward.  It’s almost like I’m packing a suitcase for a trip and I need to be organized with everything at hand before I leave.  Once I’m happy with the start of the journey, I’m open to whatever comes up!

Three authors to watch for:

I met Lisa McManus Lange at a writing craft session put on by Romance Writers of America. Lisa routinely gets up at 4 or 5 every morning to exercise and write before starting her day job. She’s the proud and active parent of two sons, a regular blogger, and one of the most dedicated and productive writers I know.

 Lisa McManus Lange (www.lisamcmanuslange.blogspot.com) has been writing slice-of-life stories for over 12 years. Multi-published with Chicken Soup for the Soul and anthologies by Publishing Syndicate, her newest writing adventure has led her to having her first novel for young adults published by Lycaon Press as an ebook.  ‘Newbie Nick’ will be released on June 18th and you can read about it more at www.lisamcmanus.com

I met Jacquie Pearce at a CWILL event in Vancouver years back, and while I don’t remember the specific time or group we were addressing, I remember the book she was introducing – Weeds and Other Stories. I was so taken by her reading that I bought the book and devoured it on the ferry trip home.  I’ve been a huge fan of her writing ever since.  

Jacquie Pearce writes fiction for kids and teens. Her recent chapter book, Flood Warning, tells the story of a boy and his dog during the Fraser River flood of 1948. Her newest novel, Siege, about a teenage boy who stumbles across criminal activity in the middle of a War of 1812 re-enactment, will be out this fall. Blog: wildink.wordpress.com Website: jacquelinepearce.ca

The first time I saw Nikki Tate present to children I knew I was witnessing a formidable talent. Whether she’s wearing her author hat, her storytelling hat, her reviewing hat, or her farming hat, Nikki brings her complete focus to everything she does. She’s also full of useful recommendations – everything from the best YA read of the season to the perfect tax accountant!  

Nikki Tate is the author of more than twenty books for young readers. She enjoys working in all genres and age groups (picture books, juvenile fiction, teen fiction, historical fiction, fantasy novels, biography, and non-fiction) and for all age groups. When she isn’t writing, Nikki keeps busy raising rare heritage breeds of farm animals on her small farm on Vancouver Island. For more information visit her author website at www.nikkitate.com or check out what’s going on down on the farm by reading her farm blog at www.darkcreekfarm.com/blog

Spring Starts Inside Too

vernalEquinox I don’t know about you, but I’m so ready for spring.  And this week marks the day – Thursday, March 20th – when the hours of light and dark are equal.  The vernal equinox.   Here on the west coast of Canada, that means the days are getting longer and light levels are rising.

In many cultures, the spring equinox is observed as the start of the New Year.  It only makes sense. Birds are nesting and starting families.  Trees are leafing out.  New beginnings are everywhere.

I’m in spring mode in the garden and in my office.  Outside, I’m pruning the fruit trees. Inside, I’m editing (which really is another form of pruning) The Art of Getting Stared At.   I’m sowing seeds:  flats of basil and tomatoes and peppers for the garden, as well as some ideas I expect to form another short YA for Orca Book Publishers.  I’m also giving some love (in the form of a ruthless overhaul) to a few old favorites that haven’t had a lot of attention lately – one bed in my herb garden, and an adult paranormal novel I may upload and release on my own.

New beginnings are a wonderful thing.  Happy spring everybody.

DaffodilsonBirchHill

The Ancient Art of Placement

41-How2-FengShuiForWritersI was reminded of Feng Shui recently as I restructured my office to fit in the treadmill desk. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of creating harmony in living spaces. Its literal translation means wind and water.   It’s based on the principle that, like wind and water, you and your environment are two forces of nature, constantly interacting and influencing each other.  When they’re in balance, chi or positive energy can flow which positively impacts our health, wealth and happiness.

As simple as it sounds, the art of Feng Shui is surprisingly complex and doesn’t lend itself to a superficial approach. Feng Shui masters spend their entire lives studying the principles and helping others apply them.  There are also various schools of Feng Shui which interpret and apply the rules differently.

I didn’t know any of that when I picked up a book on Feng Shui years ago.  Back then, my office was a mess, and I thought perhaps the Chinese principles of Feng Shui could help. After all, as the book pointed out, many of us utilize the principles of Feng Shui without even realizing it. We arrange furniture in a certain way, decorate our living rooms artfully, and design gardens and ponds so they flow.  Why not bring that same sensibility to the space where we write our books?

Here are some of the Feng Shui principles I introduced into my office years ago, and still utilize, to a greater or lesser extent, today.

* Simplify and declutter. Active chaos or temporary clutter (reference books or the visuals that pile up as we write) is the result of creativity in motion.  But passive chaos or stagnant clutter – outdated papers or books not being used, old magazines and journals – needs to be eliminated.

* Your desk should be in your office’s commanding position. Ideally it should face the room’s entrance, but angled to the left or the right and not directly in line with the door. If that’s impossible, use a mirror to reflect the entrance door or, at the very least, hang a bell on your doorknob so you’ll hear someone approaching.

*Put the materials you use regularly within arm’s reach of your desk. If that’s impossible, gather whatever you need at the beginning of your writing session and have everything close.

* Avoid having an abstract painting on the wall in an area where you want to focus.

* Watch out for doors that stick. Feng Shui believes they can create sticky situations.

* Make sure your work area engages all five senses. This is critical for us as writers too.  When you look up from your desk you should see something you love on the wall.  Create a soundtrack for the book you’re writing. Add a scented oil diffuser to the shelf.  Toss a throw rug with a beautiful texture onto the floor.

* Hang a crystal over your desk to stimulate the thinking chi and improve your work habits.

* Surround yourself with colors that personally resonate. The color blue activates the fifth chakra, or throat chakra, and can inspire creative writing. If that color appeals, put a few blue touches in your office. I’ve added red in my office to kick start my thinking. My desk is black and grounding, which is good for persistence.

* Keep a plant in your office and make sure it’s healthy.

* And finally, if you want things to change, relocate (or get rid of) 27 things in your working area. This is a powerful Feng Shui tool that can be used to sweep out the old and bring in the new.

A Most Bookish New Year

dogswindow.jgpActually, it was a bookish Christmas at our house. That’s nothing out of the ordinary. I tend to give – and receive – books for Christmas. I scored big-time this year with new titles by Kristan Higgins, Lisa Gardner, Jodi Picoult, and Anne Lamott. Once Christmas was over (and it was a doozy this year with two very sick dogs,though they were well enough to watch out the window as the company left), I settled in to read.  It occurred to me that I should set myself an annual reading goal – say two books a week, which is an easy target for me.  Ultimately I decided against it. I’m stretching myself with some extra writing goals this year. Reading is my reward; I don’t want to turn it into a ‘should.’  Having said that, I am going to track the number of books I read over the next twelve months. I’m curious to see if I read as much as I think I do. Here’s what I’m reading right now:

At the Gym:

The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom

Beside the Bed:

The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins

On the Kindle:

Man For Grace by EC Sheedy

Books read to date 2014:  4

More Gifts of the Season

Gold-giftHappy holidays everyone!  Winter solstice is almost here. Soon it’ll be Christmas and then it’ll be time to turn the calendar on another year.  Over the next while, many of us will gather with friends and family to celebrate with music, food, laughter and gifts. Last week I shared some of the memorable writing-related gifts I’ve received  . . . and a few other authors added their memories too.  Today, another ten authors tell us about their favorite writing-related gifts.

Monique Polak: “My best writing gift ever is a little blue glass statue of Ganesh, the Hindu elephant-headed god. My dear friend and fellow children’s author Rina Singh gave me the statue many years ago when I was trying and trying to sell my first manuscripts — and not succeeding. Rina explained that Ganesh is believed to help people overcome obstacles. The little statue worked for me — I finally sold my first manuscript and have gone on to publish 13 more. (It also helped, I think, that I didn’t give up along the way.)”      Monique Polak is the author of So Much it Hurts (Orca Book Publishers) www.moniquepolak.com Rina Singh is the author of Guru Nanak (Groundwood).

Ann Walsh: “When I was writing my first novel (Your Time, My Time) at the kitchen table on a noisy manual typewriter, my oldest daughter would come home from school and demand to see the new pages. Later, I hired her to proof-read the manuscript, paying $.25 for every mistake she found. As I recall, we argued over a lot of commas.

When the book was finally published, she was in high school. One night I woke in the small hours to the sound of weeping. A teen-aged daughter crying in the middle of the night is a sound no mother ever wants to hear. Before I even reached her bedroom, dozens of dreadful scenarios had flashed through my mind.

“Katie, what’s wrong? What happened? Are you all right?”

She was clutching a copy of Your Time, My Time and a handful of kleenex. “It’s so sad, Mum.”

Even though she had helped birth the book and knew it almost as well as I did, it moved her to tears. A writing gift beyond price.”  Ann Walsh is the author of Whatever (Ronsdale Press) http://annwalsh.ca/

IMG_2539Joan Marie Galat:   “I often write about the stars but I also seem to be trying to reach them!  My favourite writing-related gift is a pair of stilt-walking pants, sewn by a friend. Since learning how to walk on stilts (which increases my height to more than eight feet), I plan to use my new skill to encourage reading and writing. These alphabet-themed pants, made from a duvet cover, form part of my costume as I prepare to promote the theme: Stand Up for Literacy! “   Joan Marie Galat’s latest title is the award-winning The Discovery of Longitude  (Pelican Publishing Company)  www.joangalat.com

Eileen Kernaghan: “My favourite writing gift was the typewriter my parents gave me as a Christmas present when I was eleven. As soon as I’d mastered a two-fingered keyboard technique I sent a children’s story to the Vancouver Sun, which to everyone’s astonishment was accepted. Then, since my long-term ambition was to be a journalist, I became the Grindrod stringer for the weekly Enderby Commoner (the masthead said “covers the valley like the dew”). My assignment was to report the births, deaths, anniversaries, out of town visitors and other important local events in our farming village, pop. 600.  I was too shy at twelve to interview people, so my mother did the actual research — having a party line helped — and I wrote it all up. I never did learn touch typing, but as far as writing was concerned, I never looked back.”  Eileen Kernaghan is the author of the YA historical fantasy Sophie, in Shadow (Thistledown April 2014).    www.eileenkernaghan.ca

Kent Rees: “In a word, the best writing gift I have ever received was inspiration.”  Kent Rees is the author of Molly Withers and the Golden Tree (Amazon.com) www.mollywithers.com

Ellen S. Jaffe: “The best writing gift I ever received was the funds from my parents to attend Breadloaf Writers Conference in Vermont in 1964, when I was 19; I grew up in New York and was attending college in Masschusetts.

My application to Breadloaf was accepted and my family made it possible for me to go. I can’t remember the cost, though I’m sure it was substantially lower (more than 50%) than today’s fees.  Being surrounded and mentored by well-known writers, and getting to know published writing “fellows” as well as younger people like myself, helped me begin to feel like a writer and to be “naked in public,” although I had been writing stories and poems since childhood. I have continued on that path, winding my way and sometimes getting lost temporarily, for almost 50 years.” Ellen S. Jaffe is the author of Skinny-Dipping with the Muse, (Guernica, spring 2014)www.ellen-s-jaffe.com

Silvana Goldemberg: “Beside the little gift of writing I got from my writer mom, my writing gift came from destiny: the ONLY time I won a draw in my life it was in grade 5 and the prize was a box with a Parker fountain pen. Since then, I haven’t stopped writing.”  Silvana Goldemberg is the author of many books in Spanish and “Victoria” (Tradewind, 2013) is her first book in English.  http://bcbooklook.com/2013/12/12/dont-cry-for-me-argen-teena/

Marilyn Helmer: “Early in my writing career, our local newspaper held a short story contest. At that point, the few short stories and poems I had submitted to children’s magazines had met with little success. My dream of becoming a published author was looking bleak. So why not try writing a short story for adults? To my surprise and delight, my story, “Home For the Holidays”, won first prize – a brand new home computer system. Not only did the computer with its various programs and software make the writing process so much easier, it was the incentive I needed to renew my determination to be a published author. I have realized that dream many times over and can honestly say that that computer was definitely the best writing gift I ever received.” Marilyn Helmer is the author of The Great Garage Sale and Pirate Island Treasure (Orca)  www.marilynhelmer.com

Dani Collins: “My favorite gift was a whiteboard from my husband. (4 x 5’) I caught him on my lunch hour trying to buy wine glasses for my birthday, but we already had a set that I liked. I said I’d really prefer a whiteboard. We walked across the street to the store and it was hanging on my office wall when I got home from work. LOVE IT.” Dani Collins is the author of More Than a Convenient Marriage? December Harlequin Presents.  www.danicollins.com

Ellen Schwartz:  “The best writing gift I ever received was the gift of time. I’ve always found it hard to get down to work on a book at home. Kids, laundry, phone, other writing work (read: paying work), husband, dog… Several years ago, our friends James and Lynn Hill, said, “Why don’t you go up to our place in Whistler? We’re hardly ever there. You could have the place to yourself.” So I did. Fearfully, with trepidation. Because: What if, after all those years of complaining about how I couldn’t concentrate at home, now that I had peace and solitude, I couldn’t write? I needn’t have worried. I got up to the townhouse, unpacked the coffee and the wine, propped my writing clipboard on my lap – and wrote. And wrote. For years, not just the Hills but other generous friends have given me the use of their homes while they’re away, and I’ve written most of my last ten books in these getaways. Now, later in my career, I’m trying something new: writing at home. And you know what? I can do it. (But I’d rather be in Whistler.)”  Ellen Schwartz is the author of   The Case of the Missing Deed (Tundra; winner of the 2013 Rocky Mountain Book Award)  www.ellenschwartz.net

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everybody!

A Block or a Blessing

writers-block (1)The subject of writer’s block came up a few times this week.  One friend is writing again after a long bout of being blocked. Another writer asked a group of us for our suggestions on overcoming writer’s block so she could compile a list for a writing course she is teaching. I also had a conversation with a third friend about the gifts inherent in writer’s block.

Yes, gifts.

Taken in literal terms, writer’s block is an inability to get to the writing, to move forward with it. But that’s not my personal yardstick.  There have been times in my life when I’ve put the writing aside, sometimes willingly, sometimes with regret.  A few years ago, I was ill for three months and couldn’t do much of anything, never mind write.   I took time away from writing in those months after both my children were born too . . . and before and after the death of my stepfather as well.  Even though I may have wanted to write back then, circumstances made it difficult.  I wasn’t blocked. I chose to put my attention elsewhere.  Life comes first for me, then writing, otherwise there’s no life in the writing.

Having said that, writing is my job, and barring illness, birth or death, I show up pretty much every day.

My writer’s block is when I show up and the words don’t flow. Luckily it doesn’t happen very often, maybe because of my training in journalism.  As a reporter in the field, I’d sometimes have fifteen minutes to put a story together. As a news announcer I was on air hourly, and I needed fresh content for every newscast. I wrote or I lost my job. It’s amazing how unblocked you get when the clock is ticking and you need to eat.

That training comes in handy. Still, there are times when I’m working on a novel and I get stuck. Blocked. Sidelined. Enticed by Twitter, the squirrel outside my office window or the oven that suddenly needs cleaning.

Dennis Palumbo, author of ‘Writing From the Inside Out’ suggests writer’s block isn’t always bad. It might be a signpost, he says, of something we need to pay attention to.  He explains it in psychological terms as a call from our subconscious.

I agree. And my subconscious usually calls because something in the story isn’t working.  When I step back, I’ll often realize something’s off in the plot or the pacing, or I’m missing something about the character. The block is a blessing, a gift, a way of calling my attention to an issue that needs addressing. It’s an amber light that says, ‘slow down, wait a second here.’

But waiting can be hard, especially when you aren’t sure why you’re waiting in the first place. So, while I wait and ponder and try to uncover what this particular gift means, here’s what I do in the meantime (aside from whining, moping, cleaning the oven or spending too much time on Twitter) :

Work on another piece of writing for a day or two.

Do something with my hands – dig in the garden, cut vegetables, paint a wall.

Get physical – walk the dogs, ride my bike, do yoga.

Feed my muse by watching a movie, reading a book, listening to music.

Reread what I’ve written, paying careful attention to the small details I’ve randomly thrown in.  There is gold in the details. Perhaps something can be fleshed out that will add depth or new perspective to my story.

Interview my character. Or write stream of consciousness stuff, in long hand, from the main character’s point of view (and sometimes the secondary characters too). What are they trying to tell me that I’m not hearing?

Finally, if all else fails and I still can’t fathom why I’ve come to a sticky place in the manuscript, I make myself write anyway. Even if it’s garbage.  Garbage can be turned into compost. Words can be revised.  Remember the words of Natalie Goldberg: “The only failure in writing is when you stop doing it. Then you fail yourself.’’