Jen's Writing Journey

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reading all of the blog posts and tweets from attendees at Romantic Times. I was touched at the friendships the authors had with each other, even though they only see each other once or twice a year.

I have found some romance writers in the same place as me, working on getting their fiction published. I follow their blogs, and I enjoy learning from them as we all explore this business of publishing and hone our craft.

I’m thinking it would be nice to put our collective journeys into one blog. We could share the posting duties to make it easier on ourselves, and our experiences would serve as a learning piece for people in our place now and for other up-and-coming writers as they begin their own writing careers.

I’m looking for a few good pre-published or newly published writers who would like to join me in this endeavor. You would need to commit to posting once a week on a topic of your own choosing. As we build up the blog and get a sense of what works best for each of us, we could specialize a little more. Shoot me an email at rolandmediaservices AT gmail DOT com if you are interested.

Related Posts:

• The Glamorous Life of the Writer
• More on Writing in the Cloud
• Writing in the Cloud
• The Importance of Backups
• Tax Tips for Writers

Grr. I was so looking forward to getting my notebook this week. I should have it in the next month. Not fair!

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I spent my weekend cleaning out my garage and storage room (and then recovering from the insane amount of physical labor that involved for my sedentary writer’s body). The storage room is two steps away from being my office.

As I took a shower, I planned how I was going to outfit the office to spur my creativity. My mind quickly turned to the subject of books. Which books will I put in the office, and which will I keep in the house?

Obviously, the copies of The Elements of Style and On Writing will move to the office, along with a few other writing and reference books. When I did a quick inventory, I realized I was missing the essential element from a woman writer’s book collection: A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf.

I read it in college–I don’t remember which class it was for or what lens we used when we read it. All I know is that I loved it, and I kick myself for selling that copy back when the term ended. I remember dreaming about Shakespeare’s Sister (and then getting so excited when I found the band Shakespeare’s Sister–who knew a former member of Bananarama was so literate). I remember thinking about the struggles Virginia Woolf faced as a woman writer. And I remember how Woolf’s exploration of the dearth of women writers helped coalesce my feminist tendencies into a philosophy that has guided my life.

I am proud to be following in the footsteps of the women writers who came before me, and I owe them all a tremendous debt. Thank you, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Mary Shelley, Erica Jong, Danielle Steele, Nora Roberts, and all of the countless other women writers in our past and present.

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Better late than never, here are the items and tidbits that I hope will spur you to a great weekend of writing.

The Business of Writing

Writing Conference Success
Mary Andonian gives tips for Writer Mamas (and Writer Non-mamas) to be successful at a writing conference. As someone who is shy around new people, I often attend conference sessions, hang in the back, and run out as soon as it is over. This series is giving me the tools to at least think about being more outgoing at these types of events.

How Are You Reading?
Author Jaci Burton discusses the joys of ebooks and asks how many of us have ditched paper.

Fiction

You Can Get There from Here
Jennifer Hubbard describes her approach to writing outline-free. Make sure you read the comments, too. For more on outlining, check out the series of posts on the April Topic of the Month (plotting/outlining) at Fangs, Fur, & Fey.

Tweak a Cliche into Something Original
Author Camy Tang gives tips for setting your stories apart from the crowd. Even the most stale of story ideas can feel fresh if you approach it right.

Freelancing

Tracking Your Articles and Pitches
Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen shares her tracking system. Tracking is a biggie.

General Writing Tips

What Is Your Reader Doing Right Now?
Tiffany Colter gives a good reminder of the importance of your target audience. The exercise she outlines helps you focus in on your readers and tailor your writing to suit them. This is a useful exercise for both fiction and non-fiction.

Line Editing
Our friends at the Blood-Red Pencil give tips on editing your work. This is the first in a series, so make sure you keep checking back–or follow them in Blogger or Google Reader–so you don’t miss any of the later installments.

Related Posts:

• Writing Roundup, October 23
• Writing Roundup, September 11
• Writing Roundup, September 4
• Writing Roundup, August 28
• Writing Roundup, Aug. 14

As I sit here chugging Rock Star (sugar-free, of course) and wishing for some candy and chips, I find it amusing that I’m hoping to offer some tips on remaining healthy as a writer. I know what I need to do: get off my butt and exercise, eat healthier foods, cut back on the caffeine, blah blah blah. Yet, each night, I pull out my Rock Star to get my fingers flying and the snacks to keep my mind fueled with simple carbohydrates.

Because my expanding waistline and horrific food choices prove that I have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m going to share with you a collection of inspiring and informative posts on how and why to focus on keeping yourself healthy, even when you feel that every waking hour should be spent wither at the keyboard or feeling guilty that you aren’t at the keyboard.

Christina Katz discussed health and the writer during her Writer Mama two-year anniversary blog tour.

Heather Long soliloquizes about why you need to incorporate physical activity into your writing lifestyle.

Lilith Saint Crow shares her successes as she nears her goal size after a long-term focus on improving her health.

Jenny Cromie gives real, practical reasons to get off the butt and get moving.

Perhaps tomorrow will be the day that I get up early, dust the cobwebs off my sneakers, and do something active in the morning. I’ll let you know.

Related Posts:

• The Glamorous Life of the Writer
• More on Writing in the Cloud
• Writing in the Cloud
• The Importance of Backups
• Tax Tips for Writers

I need to find a tool to outline my story. I want the flexibility of paper (different colors for different plot elements, easy to move them around) without actually having to keep track of paper.

I am looking at StoryRight. It seems flexible and easy to use, and it is free. But because it is an online tool and my outline would be hosted on their server, it worries me a little. I like that I could access my outline anywhere, even though I don’t have my laptop with me. But even with a very user-focused TOS, I worry that my outline would be less my own. I mean, I’m not posting it here, on Facebook, or Twitter. Why would I want to post it on a different site?

Another tool that sounds good is Writer’s Blocks. It stores your work on your own hard drive, so it eases that worry. Of course, the price tag is a little steeper than free, which is a drawback.

I’m also about to order a Circa notebook–I’m waiting for a gift certificate that my friends at my day job bought me for my birthday. I think the PDA-size cards would be good. They come in different colors, I can reorder them easily in the notebook, and the notebook will fit in my purse.

What do you use?

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Here is a sampling of the fun writing posts of the week. Let me know if the Friday schedule works for you.

Enjoy!

The Business of Writing

Pitch Appointments
What should you expect when you schedule a 10-minute meeting with an agent at a conference? Jessica Faust gives you the skinny. (Really? Did I just type that? Pardon the ridiculous cliche, please.)

Fiction

Reading as a Writer: Wintergirls
As a casual reader, I enjoy the story (or not, in some cases). But, now that I’m writing my own fiction, I read books more like I read the assigned works in college. I look at how writers craft their sentences, unfold their plots, and create their characters. Jennifer Hubbard provides an example of how she does a close reading of a new YA novel in this post.

People Watching
Author Jaci Burton describes a recent experience that allowed her to observe the human animal in its natural habitat. How do you use your everyday observances to enhance your writing?

Freelancing

Writing for Regionals
Julie Steed discusses one of the smaller markets that can be quite lucrative. Her lesson is wise. Many of us shoot for the national publications and their potentially large paychecks while ignoring the mid-level publications that are typically easier to get into. When planning your freelancing strategy, shoot for a range of publications to keep a steady stream of income.

Keeping Track
Sue Lick gives tips for tracking your submissions. Keep track of what you’ve sent where and when to (a) prevent embarrassment by submitting a rejected pitch to the same publication/agent and (b) maximize your submission time. Why waste time wondering if you’ve waited long enough to pull a pitch from one publication? Keep track, and you’ll know exactly when to move to your next choice.

General Writing Tips

Show vs. Tell
This interactive lesson in showing versus telling is presented by Charlotte Phillips, co-author of the Eva Baum detective series.

Just for Fun

A Review of The Elegance of the Hedgehog
In this guest post on The Swivet, this young reader has convinced me never to even look at this book, let alone read it.

Related Posts:

• Writing Roundup, October 23
• Writing Roundup, September 11
• Writing Roundup, September 4
• Writing Roundup, August 28
• Writing Roundup, Aug. 14

In my search for what to do about my current feeling that I’m slutting around with my writing, I’ve decided that I’m procrastinating. I need to write, not worry about whether I can take a break to work on a second project. If I need to take a break from the novel and work on a short story, book review, Supernatural episode recap, or what-have-you, I should just do it. I vow to spend less time this week obsessing about writing and more time actually writing.

What about you? What vow do you need to make to your self this week?

Related Posts:

• The Glamorous Life of the Writer
• More on Writing in the Cloud
• Writing in the Cloud
• The Importance of Backups
• Tax Tips for Writers

Because I never feel the need to leave well-enough alone, I am planning some changes for the blog this week.

The first is a change to the schedule. I’ll be keeping the Monday, Wednesday, Friday posting schedule, but I’m shifting things around a bit. I’m moving the writing round-up to Fridays. Monday will be either a book review or a post on some writing tool or idea that I’ve found. Wednesday will remain a post on the writer’s life.

The second, and bigger, change is that I am moving to WordPress. The new URL, which will be active by Wednesday is http://jenniferroland.wordpress.com. I hope to see you all over there later this week.

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Romance novels have been the subject of many articles lately. Typically, the authors point out how recession-proof the industry is, shining like a beacon of success in our crumbling economy. But one author took a story of success and used it to deride a genre of books that is beloved by many.

Read the article here. Then read the passionate rebuttal by Sarah at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.

What do you think? Do romance novels still have a stigma attached?

Related Posts:

• Guest Blogging at Love Romance Passion
• The Argument for Love