Be Your Best Self: A Writer's Perspective on Identity

This is the #4 in a fifteen post series, entitled "15 Days to Writerly Awesome in 2015," posting on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday of January.

I hope you're reading this from your bed, a cup of coffee on your bedside table, and sleep still in your eyes. (Gross.) Because it's Sunday, I invite you to do zero productive things. You've earned it. But if you feel  inclined to read this post while you lounge, well, who am I to stop you? Today, we're taking a writing break, and talking about you, the writer. 

We hear about author platforms all the time. Be available to your audience, but not too in their face. Be on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram, but don't stretch yourself too thin. We get so caught up in checking off our lists that we forget to just be ourselves. Some of my favorite writers — John Green, Rainbow Rowell, Ransom Riggs — are my favorite not only because of what they've written, but because of who they are. To clarify: writing is not a popularity contest. But having a personality can only work in your favor. A few thoughts on how to be your best self:

Act, Don't Simply React

If someone has taken the time to tweet you or comment on your blog, by all means, answer them. Manners, man. But don't wait around for that. The Internet is a dialogue between you and readers, as well as you and other writers. Schedule a little time in your day to explore. Look at other people's blogs, scan your Twitter feed and respond to people you follow, search your Instagram and find new friends. You are not a Queen waiting on your subjects. You are a person. They are people. Be a part of the conversation, not as a strategy, but because you are genuinely interested in the lives around you. 

Be Open About Your Failures

We don't admire the people we admire because they are cyborg perfectionists. Failures are an inevitable part of life, and they don't make you a failure. People love an underdog and respond to real, live people. If I were a picture perfect Barbie doll, telling you about how I've mastered the publishing world with my wit and charms, you would hate me. This is 2015, people.

Celebrate what makes you different. There are so many times when I'm sitting inside on a Saturday night, thinking, "I'm 23. Shouldn't I be at a bar or something?" But then I remember my goals and that I don't have to be everything at once. That's a pretty awesome feeling. Speaking of honesty, my friend Ashley R. Carlson does it best. Hop over to her blog and fall in love.

Be Your Best Self, Not Someone Else's

How many times have you caught yourself trying to be a copy cat? "Well, John Green uses tumblr, so I should too." "Tahara Mafi started a lifestyle blog, so I should definitely do that as well." "Hugh Howey was such a successful self-publisher, so I'm going to self-publish too." Here's an important truth for you: what works for one person, does not work for all. The book world is evolving every single day. If you try to write based off of trends or market yourself in the latest fad, then you're setting yourself up for a loss.

Find your own voice. It's actually pretty simple. All you have to do is be yourself. (Yes, this is cliché. Doesn't mean it's not true.) This is to your own advantage: if people love you, they'll want to support you, meaning they will buy your work. Being who you are can only help you, and isn't it so much easier? Stop trying so hard. Just wear your onesie and let your hair down.

Discussion Time: Let's get to know each other: Tell me about yourself! In what ways are you practicing your best self? How do you embrace your identity?

How to Find Your Ideal Reader

This is the #3 in a fifteen post series, entitled "15 Days to Writerly Awesome in 2015," 

posting on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday of January.

Friday's here, and we've made it to the third post in the quest for Writerly Awesomeness. So far, you've learned how to schedule your writing time and how to be your own critic. Today, we're talking about our readers, because aren't they so pretty? (P.S. I just spent the last twenty minutes blog-stalking my potential readers. I love them already.)

When you're writing your story, who do you picture reading it beside you? Not literally beside you, because that would be weird, so let's think metaphorically. Is your reader a girl or a boy? Does she/he like ponies or scuba diving or political activeness? Which of your characters is this person rooting for? Your ideal reader is a representation of your audience, and serves as a tool for your writing. Here's how to find your ideal reader:

Why You Should Visualize Your Ideal Reader

I'm a people-pleaser. For me, I want everyone to love what I write, like me as a person and have an overall good impression of everything I do. Is this possible? Absolutely not and that's okay. Without an ideal reader in mind, you're left trying to please everyone, and that's unrealistic. Ideal readers are your cheerleaders. They're the ones that read all of your blog posts, wait anxiously for your next tweet and will read your receipts if you let them. (Tip: don't let them read your receipts.)

For my blog, my ideal reader is in fact, a reader; although, most of my posts are geared towards writers. I try to make my posts approachable and fun, so that they'll appeal towards non-writers as well. Informative and entertaining: that's my goal. For my book's ideal reader, you can read the second post in this series. Try writing a list of qualities your ideal reader might possess. What about your writing appeals to him/her?

How to Find Your Ideal Reader

Be specific. Know what your reader will like about your work, and what they won't. An ideal reader can be a constructed idea as well as an actual person. Let's say your ideal reader is your mother. Maybe you think she's ideal because she's going to love your writing no matter what because she's your mom and you're just so awesome. Wrong. Here's a better example: my mother is my ideal reader because she likes romances, but not harlequin, historical novels. She doesn't like cheesy one-liners, so she'll call me out if she sees them in my writing.

See?

Your ideal writer isn't someone who is going to praise your every waking thought. Your ideal reader is supportive, but also constructive. A cheerleader, but also that guy on the sidelines who makes all of the plays and gets really mad when they fail. (A coach? A what?) I digress.

When it comes to finding your perfect reader, you need to imagine someone who shares the vision of your story, but also has his/her opinions. Experiment with multiple readers, but be wary of casting too many. Let your friends read your book, and see who provides you with the best feedback.

DISCUSSION TIME: Who is your ideal reader? Do you find this as an effective tool in the writing process?

Five Ways to Schedule Your Writing Time in 2015

This is the first of a fifteen post series, entitled "15 Days to Writerly Awesome in 2015."

Good Morning, pretty people! Get yourselves a cup of coffee and prepare for some valuable, writer lessons. It's the first Monday of the new year, and with that, the beginning of my first blog series called, "15 Days to Writerly Awesome in 2015." With several guest posts from my much cooler friends, we're going to write ourselves into awesomeness this year. Ready for it? Hooray!

I always start of the new year with a million good wishes, plans and strategies. Some of them stick, while some of them do not. Last year, I made this writing calendar, which turned out to be good in theory, but a bit difficult to keep up with consistently. However, I made a few concrete resolutions that I not only kept, but exceeded.

This year, I plan to publish my book. I couldn't have reached this point without a dedicated, conscious commitment to writing daily. There are a few ways to go about doing this. Let's walk through them together, shall we?

1. Set Time of Day

I can make this statement with utmost certainty: I will never be the type of writer who wakes up before work to get my writing time in for the day. It's just not going to happen. For some writers, scheduling a portion of the morning is a lifesaver. Recently, I've been writing on my lunch break, which has been a great strategy. For the most part, I'm a nighttime, before bed writer. Figuring out the best time of day for your writing schedule is essential to maintaining a consistent writing routine. (That sounded kind of fancy and high-horsey, but you get the gist.)

For me, it's easier to put myself to bed thirty minutes earlier than to pull myself out of it in the morning. It all comes down to what works for you.

2. Word Count Goal 

I've spoken about the magic of word sprinting before, and I've mentioned Jeff Goins' My 500 Words program. Word count seems to be the easiest way to measure your writing. Personally, I aimed for more than 500 words a day, but Jeff's program was a great way to ease into the process. I try to pen at least 1,000 words, because I know I'll end up trashing about half of them. (Did you realize how many words get cut in the book-making process? It's like alphabet soup over here, y'all.)

There are a few options for you: a weekly word goal, that lends itself to some flexibility. I'd say about 5,000 words a week at minimum. A daily word count goal is also a good thing to shoot for, but can be a bit more difficult to manage.

3. A Page a Day 

I'm not going to lie. This is about the bare minimum for writer people. A page is approximately 250 words double-spaced or 500 single-spaced. This is basically a journal entry. However, it's a good way to kickstart your routine, and also an opportunity to practice your longhand. (I happen to be a big believer in writing on paper.)

If you write a page a day, you could have a novel in a year. And chances are, when you get started writing, a page just won't be enough. You writer machine, you.

4. Time Increments (an hour, etc.) 

"I'm going to sit here and write for an hour and I'm not leaving this chair until I do." This kind of writer is a habitual person, and most likely pairs this with strategy #1. Kudos to you, my timely friend. This strategy works as long as you hold yourself accountable. The problem I find is that structuring your writing time around, well, time itself can make your word count fluctuate. Try your best to not squander your first thirty minutes staring at a blank screen.

I suggest pairing this strategy with the sprinting technique. "I will sit here and write as fast as I can for thirty minutes" is usually a much more effective method.

5. Deadlines 

Still with me? Did your forehead just fall on the keyboard? Deadlines are not a negative thing. They're simply a means to an end. "I plan to write three chapters in the next week and a half." It's an incredibly effective way to hold yourself accountable, especially if you tack on some kind of reward or consequence to it. "I will write 2,000 words by next Tuesday or I will have to go a week without coffee."

Yikes.

If that doesn't scare you, involve a friend. Have someone that expects your pages/chapters/words by that date, even if they're not actually going to read it. You feel a lot more pressure when there's someone waiting on the other side.

Discussion Time: How do you plan to make the most of your writing time in 2015? What's your favorite way to schedule your writing time?

How I Kept My New Year's Resolutions in 2014

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Hello, happy holidayers. It's almost 2015, which means about now, you're making a million promises to yourself. "I will lose 15902 pounds." "I will make my bed every morning." "I will finally figure out how to use the garbage disposal." Hats off to you, my friends. There are so many posts out there about how to keep your resolutions next year, but I thought it might be helpful to show you how I kept my resolutions this year. Say goodbye to 2014 with me, won't you?

On January 6th of last year, I wrote this post and made a handy dandy resolution guide for myself. Let's see how I did, shall we?

2014 Goals

1. Edit. Edit. Edit More. When I first wrote this, it was in regards to my first manuscript. Now that I've finished These are the Moments, the full editing process is under way. I've completed my first read-through, and now it's on to implementing the second draft edits. Mission Accomplished. 
2. Create an E-Newsletter. Hooray! The Blots & Plots Newsletter is a real thing. Currently, I'm at about 112 subscribers. Not too shabby, huh? This year, I intend to utilize this even more, tailoring it to your wants/needs/requests. Mission accomplished. 
3. Go Outside. Explore. Travel. This is less writing-focused, but certainly feeds into the inspiration for writing. In the beginning of this year, I moved to Houston, Texas. I attended a Writer's Conference in Austin, and a Blog Conference in Galveston. There could definitely be more exploring and traveling, but overall, I'm happy with this. Mission accomplished. 
4. Build a Blog Audience. As we speak, I'm at 2,464 followers on Twitter. I've started an Instagram, had a successful following on Pinterest and have a very interactive space on this blog of mine. I've made incredible friends through this space, and I'm grateful to anyone who visits me here. I can't wait to see where all of this goes. Mission accomplished. 
5. Finish. That. Novel. (Excuse me while I jump for joy.) Check and check. Mission accomplished.

Bonus Achievements

1. Empty Bookshelf Challenge. On my Goodreads page, I made a goal to read 40 books this year. So far, I've read 37. (I'm pretty positive this will hit at least 38 by the end of the year.) This was a completely random number I pulled out of the sky, so I'm pretty happy with this result. Mission almost accomplished. 
2. Oh yeah, I'm a published author. At a later date, there will be a complete post about this, but for now, just know that my short story, "Carry Urns & Stowaways" was recently published in an Australian anthology called Kindling, by the wonderful people at Writer's Edit. This was an amazing journey, and I'm thrilled to be even just a small part of it. Mission super accomplished. 

A Special Note/Words of Un-Wisdom

If I could give you one piece of advice on New Year's Resolutions, it would be this: don't waste your time making lofty, unmanageable goals. When it comes to hitting milestones, make lists of things that you're bound to make happen. I knew I would write a book. I knew I would pursue this blog. It was only a matter of time/dedication/tons of coffee. There's something amazing about wanting to climb mountains and bike across the country and be Cheryl Strayed. But I'm not going to live that kind of life (anytime soon, at least). You have to set goals that you can see yourself reaching.

P.S. Thank you for being amazing this year.

P.P.S. That was only un-wisdom because I like putting "un" in front of words. A Very Merry Un-New Year's Eve to you.