A little writing inspiration

Every now and then I search out things that will remind me why I love storytelling. That will inspire me to be the best storyteller I can be. It's easy to get caught up in thoughts and worries about the business side of publishing, and forget why it is I do what I do.

It's because I LOVE stories.

I frequently listen to podcasts on my daily walk with the dog. NPR's TED Radio Hour is one I listen to from time to time. They interview three people, one by one, who have done TED talks and play parts of their talks, and group them together with some sort of underlying theme. This morning I listened to one called, "Framing the Story."

One of the three people on the show was Andrew Stanton, a writer and director from PIXAR.

You can watch his full TED talk HERE.

There are a few little gems I latched on to, and I thought I would share them here, in case you are a writer in need of a a bit of inspiration today.



1. Mr. Rogers used to carry around a piece of paper in his wallet that had a quote from a social worker. It said, "Frankly, there isn't anyone you couldn't learn to love once you've heard their story."

Mr. Stanton then goes on to talk about how we must always remember this fundamental story commandment, which is: Make me care.

That is our number one job throughout the story - to make the reader care.

2. Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty.

I love that. I can't wait to find out what happens - and what IS going to happen!?!?

3. The secret sauce - can you evoke the sense of wonder? The best stories infuse wonder.

When you can hold a person still, in a brief moment of their day, and have them give in to that sense of wonder, it's a magical thing. And when one artist does it to another artist? That artist is then compelled to pass it on.

Yes, yes, yes!

Have a great week!

The Intent to Win

I am a big fan of Michael Jordan. Did you ever watch him play? That guy never gave up. His team could be down 20 points with one minute left, and he went out there with the intent to win.

Think about that.

THE INTENT TO WIN.

Where are thoughts go, our energy flows. 

That's why it was so fun watching him. He played to win. ALL the time.

When Michael Jordan was in the tenth grade, he was cut from the varsity basketball game. But this only pushed him to work harder at perfecting his game. As he later said on his Web site, "I think that not making the Varsity team drove me to really work at my game, and also taught me that if you set goals, and work hard to achieve them—the hard work can pay off."

Why do some people get up and work harder when they fall down, while others don't?

I think it's all about how you react to those obstacles. It's about your attitude and what you're visualizing for yourself. It's about knowing that you can get better if you try and you just have to get up each day and keep trying. 

Do you intend to win, whatever "winning" means for you? Finishing a manuscript? Finding an agent? Having an editor say, "I love this book?" 

This intention to win is most important, I think, when we're writing or revising. I believe that's why nanowrimo works so well for a lot of people. They go in with an intention to win - 50,000 words in 30 days. They have a goal, they have a timeframe, and they want to succeed really, really badly. They want that winner's certificate at the end of the month. I've never participated in nanowrimo because I try to have an intent to win with every manuscript I start and believe in. No matter how hard it gets, no matter how awful I fear the manuscript is at times, I wake up each day with a word count or page count goal and I work until I meet that goal. 

I want to finish that manuscript! In other words, I want to win. But it's even more than that. It's never doubting that I *will* win.

Michael Jordan understood that when he went on the court, it didn't matter what had happened the past three quarters. What mattered is what he did in that moment, and his attitude about it. 

So, why not play to win? See what happens!?

No regrets

I was listening to a radio program the other night as I drove into downtown Portland to pick up my son, and the radio host talked about a survey that had been done asking people at the end of their lives about their regrets.

He said most people replied that they wished they'd taken more risks, but not in the sky diving way. They wished they'd done more to see if they could make their dreams come true.

It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes:

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." ~ Les Brown

I know it can be scary putting yourself out there, and doing things where you might fail. On a twitter chat last night, one writer said she was afraid to put her heart and soul into writing a novel only to have it suck.

But see, you can't go into it afraid to fail, you have to go into it knowing you probably will fail, and that's okay. Because it's not like it's a one-shot thing. I told her, so you write another book and another one after that, and with each one you get better. And at least you've tried, so you know you did something about getting closer to that dream. If you don't try, won't you always wonder?

Another author pointed out that an Olympic gold-medalist gymnast didn't simply walk onto the balance beam and win, just like that. There are years and years of practices and competitions, and do you think she won every single one? No. Of course not.

I still write novels that don't get published. Yes, it's disappointing sometimes, but I also feel so blessed to be doing what I love and learning something new every day. You win some, you lose some, and you keep on going because you love the life you're living and the journey you're on.

Anyway, I googled to see if I could find something that talked about the survey more, and I found THIS ARTICLE, titled "The Top Five Regrets of the Dying" published in "The Guardian" back in January. So, click on over if you want to know a little bit more about what people said about regrets. 

Wishing you the courage to live the life you want to live with no regrets!

Thinking about motivation and inspiration

It's pretty easy to start a novel. It's a whole other thing entirely to finish one. So where does the motivation come from to finish it, to see that which you started through to the end? 

Sometimes teens write to me and ask me how to keep going with a novel. The doubts start to creep in, and it doesn't take much to make someone stop and wonder, wait, why am I doing this again? I'm never sure what to say, other than, all writers have these doubts. It's normal. The middle is hard. The initial excitement is gone and now, it's just a whole lot of work. Really, it becomes a question of, how badly do you want it? 

I think motivation is something that comes from within. There's nothing anyone can say to make you finish the book. You have to have a desire to sit down and write every day, and you have to be able to push the negative self-talk away.

When I'm writing a book, most of the time, there is enough motivation from inside of me to finish it. I love that feeling of accomplishment. I WANT to finish it. All I know is that I don't have trouble (usually) finding the motivation to finish a book, once I have a solid idea with a solid beginning.

Now that I'm published, I'm also motivated by having editors who want to see other things from me. And I'm motivated by wanting my career to grow.

It seems to me inspiration is more about the act of creating, and it can be found outside of ourselves, unlike motivation. When I'm in need of some inspiration, I look for nuggets of experiences that speak to my heart; that move me in such a way that I, in turn, want to work hard to move others with my words. It might be a pretty sunrise, or a walk on the beach. It might be a movie that brings me to tears, or a song I can't get enough of.

It's important to realize when we need inspiration. Because maybe we can find the motivation inside to finish and slog through the writing and get a book written, even if it takes a year or two to do it. But it's the inspiration, the flutters of the heart we find in life, that makes the book something worth sharing with others.

Basically, it takes both motivation and inspiration to finish a novel. And it's often necessary to get out into the world and away from the computer to find some inspiration. We shouldn't feel bad about doing that - our books will be better for it.

Wishing you lots of motivation AND inspiration this week!

Filling the well

After working hard revising a manuscript in July, I'm taking this month off, mostly, from writing. I still have business stuff every couple of days I have to attend to, and I'm doing some research for a middle grade idea I have. But not a lot of writing happening these last days of summer, and it's been really nice.

I think it's so important for authors to take time to fill the well. To get out and do things and become inspired in whatever ways work for them. I do spend a lot of my free time reading and watching movies, because as I told my husband the other day, even when I'm taking a break, I love stories. Well-crafted stories inspire me. Always have, always will.

But I also love to get out and see the beauty that's in the world. Last weekend, my family did a fairly easy 3.5 mile hike that's about an hour from our house, in the beautiful Columbia Gorge. I'd heard about the hike from Eagle Crest to Punchbowl Falls, but we'd never made the trip, and I decided it was time. Wow, so glad we did! We'll definitely be back, and maybe go even further next time. Here are some pictures, for your viewing pleasure.

Hope you are having a great summer!

Inspiration

Authors get asked about inspiration a lot.

It's not always a cut and dry answer for me. And I think there's different kinds of inspiration, too. The kind that provides story ideas. The kind that keeps you writing day after day. The kind that picks you up when you're feeling down. Some of it is not inspiration as much as it's perspiration, right? But still, I think it can be helpful to spend time thinking about what inspires you. Because when you are in need of a little inspriration, then you know where to look!

Nova Ren Suma, author of Imaginary Girls, is doing a month-long event at her blog to provide inspiration to people doing NaNoWriMo this month.

You can read my post about inspiration HERE.

The Little Book That Could

Once upon a time a girl wrote a novel.

A strange novel.

A short novel. Maybe it wasn't even a novel. One agent replied, after receiving a query, "this isn't a novel. It's too short. What you have here is most likely a novella."

Mmm-hmm.

It started out like this:

A Day of Black

I've never been
to a funeral
until today.

I see
dazzling arrangements of
red, yellow, and purple flowers
with long, green stems.

And so it went.

Page after page like that.

Only one agent was curious enough to read it. Lucky for the girl, that agent loved it and said she wanted to try and sell it.

It went out on submission to about ten editors.

Before long, the rejections started rolling in.

Editor after editor said, "not for me."
"Not for me."
"Not for me."

And so it went. For three long, excruciating months.

But one of the editors sent it to a different division of the publishing house. It landed in a pile. An editorial assistant picked it up out of that pile and took it home to read on the train. The next day, he passed it around. He didn't have the ability to acquire it, but he worked to garner enthusiasm for that strange, little book.

And eventually, many months after it had been submitted to editors, when almost all hope had disappeared from the girl's heart, the book sold. The editorial assistant was given his very first book to edit. The girl was pretty sure expectations for that book weren't very high, but it didn't matter. She'd finally achieved her dream of having a novel published.

The book came out in January, 2008. A month later, the editor called the girl, back from vacation, and said, "All I've heard since I've come back is how well I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME is selling."

Over and over, agents and editors said no.

But readers, oh those dear, dear readers, they said yes. They said, I don't care if it's a little different or a little short or a little this or a little that. (Well, you know, maybe a few care, but we won't talk about those).

Today, almost four years later, the book is in its tenth printing. It's still selling. AND a few months ago, Scholastic picked it up to sell in their book fairs and clubs.

Too strange? Too short? Apparently not:

http://booktalk.scholastic.com/2011/10/11/october-bestsellers/

When I wrote this book, my heart told me I had something special. And so today, I just want to say, if you are writing something or submitting something that you think is special, and you keep getting no's, remember:

It only takes one yes!

Videos courtesy of Simon and Schuster

When I was in New York City the end of June, I visited the S&S offices, and they took me into their studio and had me answer some questions.

Here are the results from that time in the studio!

Motivational Monday - Isn't it amazing?

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky." ~ Rabindranath Tagore

What is it about sunsets? We never grow tired of them. The beauty, the uniqueness, and the wonder of it all as we contemplate our very small selves on a very big planet in a very, very big universe.

I've been thinking that maybe we need to think about our work the way we think about sunsets. Each project different from the last, and each one delighting us in new and different ways. As we sit down to work each day, instead of grumbling, as we sometimes do, about all of the things that are wrong and all of the work we need to do, we should rejoice in our work. We can be awestruck about our ability to create a story from nothing. NOTHING! Isn't that amazing, when you sit back and think of it that way? Where no story existed before, because of you, one exists now. Wow!

The more we write, the more we can lose that sense of wonder. I don't want to lose that sense of wonder. I don't want to write without an excitement about what I'm doing - about what I'm bringing to the world. Yes, some stories are more work. Some stories are harder than others, and in that difficulty, we do struggle sometimes. That's how it goes. It's not always easy. But even as we struggle, I think we can take a moment now and then to stand back and admire what we are creating. Some days, it will be hard to see the beauty in what we are doing. That's when it's the most difficult, isn't it? So... stand back and find the beauty. Remind yourself what it is you love about the project you're working on. 

This week, as you write, think of your work as a sunset. Find the beauty in it. Be in AWE of it. If you're having trouble, read this post by Stephanie Perkins about making love lists. 

Love your work. Be blown away by it! Because it is amazing... isn't it?

Monday Motivation - On Flying High

"I pick the prettiest part of the sky and I melt into the wing and then into the air, till I'm just soul on a sunbeam."  ~Richard Bach


I write best when I'm not worrying about my career, or comparing myself to others, or wondering if the story I'm telling is as good as the ones that have come before it, or a hundred other things.

For me, the hardest part of writing isn't the writing itself. It's shutting out the noise and finding my way into a story and getting to the place of blissful writing. Where I can fly free. Free of all things but words and story.
Some days, there is more to think about, more to worry about, more to wonder about, than others.

This week, I wish us all a lot of flying. Of finding that sweet spot where everything else melts away. A soul on a sunbeam indeed.

How does it start? By opening the document and diving in. It all starts there.

Monday Motivation - Inspiration

"Music is what feelings sound like." ~ Author unknown

 Authors are often asked where we get our ideas and inspiration. I've read many interviews where authors respond to this question with similar answers - from movies, books and music. I think sometimes people who aren't writers don't fully understand what we mean when we reply this way.

For me, it's not just the idea that I'm looking for, although it's that too. For example, what is a small element in one book may cause me to go - hey I could do a book about THAT, and take the topic to a whole new level. But more than that, I look for replicating the emotions a piece of music or a book or film might evoke in me.

Because the best stories make us feel something, and especially in my verse novels, I'm all about bringing emotions out of the reader.

With every book I write, it's about finding something that speaks to my heart in such a way that I want to speak to others' hearts in a similar way. This song --- or this book or movie -- made me feel a certain way, so now let me see if I can write a book that makes *you* feel that same way.

When I wrote THE DAY BEFORE, I wanted to write a book that captured the same feelings I had after I listened to Pink's song Glitter in the Air. Pink sings, "Have you ever wished for an endless night? Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight?" The way she sings it, you can feel the longing there, and that is what I wanted to bring to the page for my characters. For them to long for the day/night to never end, and for the reader to long for it as well.

This week, think about your favorite books. They made you feel *something*. What did they make you feel? And how can you make others feel *that* in your own writing? Even if you can't listen to music while you write, try listening to a song that brings out your emotions before you write, and then try to carry those emotions with you to the page.

For each of my YA novels, there is a song I listened to over and over again that helped me write. Is there a particular song that inspired any of your stories? I'm fascinated by how music, especially, plays a part in the author's writing process.

Inspiration versus motivation

Yesterday I talked about finding inspiration, and it got me thinking about the difference between motivation and inspiration.

To me, motivation is what keeps you going - it's the force that keeps you moving forward.

When I'm writing a book, most of the time, there is motivation enough from inside of me to finish it. I love that feeling of accomplishment. I WANT to finish it. When we start out writing a novel, we have to be motivated enough to sit down and put words to the page consistently almost every day. And I think it is important to understand where your motivation comes from.

Now that I'm published, I'm motivated by having editors who want to see other things from me. And I'm motivated by wanting my career to grow.

Inspiration is more about the act of creating. When I talked about praying and hoping for inspiration, what I'm looking for are nuggets of experiences that speak to my heart and soul. That move me in such a way that I, in turn, want to work hard to move others with my words.

I'm deep in revisions right now. The manuscript is a mess. There are holes, there are notes in places where I need something but haven't figured out what should go there. It's hard, hard work. Every day I work on it, because I desperately want to finish it. I'm certainly motivated to finish it. But at this point, it's really not about finishing it. It's about making it good so it's worth reading. And not just a good story, but telling a story that touches someone. Really touches someone. Every book, that's my goal.

So, I look for things that touch me. That MOVE me. You know what I'm talking about here. It's that sunrise that takes your breath away. It's a music video like this one. It's holding a precious baby and watching as he reaches up and touches your face. It's watching a movie that moves you to tears. And then I take those feelings of joy/sorrow/regret/pain and try my best to drop them into my story.

I've been told many times my books make people cry. Is this my goal? Not specifically, no. It goes back to touching people. Going right to their heart and touching something there. That is my goal. Because that, to me, is life at its best. Those heart-felt moments that we remember for a long time.

It's important as writers to realize when we need inspiration. Because we can slog through the writing any old time, and get a book written. But it's the inspiration, the flutters of the heart we find in life, that makes the book something worth sharing with others.

I guess all this is to say - figure out what inspires you, and don't feel bad when you get up from the computer to go and find it. In the end, it's definitely time well spent!

Finding Inspiration

When I'm in the middle of writing or revising and it's not going well, a couple of things happen.

a) I get cranky

b) I hope and pray for inspiration

I'm not really one to give up. If anything, there's a part of me that wants to dig in and dig deep when it gets hard. Like if there were bubbles above my head, you'd probably see a lot of profanity, but that frustration and anger fuels me to keep going so I'm not in that place of frustration and anger any longer. I mean, let's face it, it's not a fun place to be! And the only way to get past it is to work damn hard and get beyond it.

But the inspiration is really key for me. I'll go to Youtube and watch music videos, and that helps. I'll step away, go for a long walk, and that helps too.

Sunday evening I was really tired after working hard on revisions most of the weekend. I had a movie from Netflix here, and sometimes movies inspire me, but I thought, dang it, this one isn't the kind that's going to inspire me. Still, I was ready for a break, so I got my blanket and my remotes, and I hit the couch.

Okay, lesson learned. Never, ever, EVER try to predict whether something is going to inspire you or not. OMG how this movie inspired me! Want to know which movie it was?

This one:



Young at Heart. It's about a chorus of people with an average age of 80 who sing songs like "I Feel Good" by James Brown and "I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones and "Schizophrenia" by Sonic Youth.

Often, the lyrics they are learning are difficult. Sometimes, they don't even like the song. But they ENJOY THE CHALLENGE. And they come to practice every time, ready to learn. Not just learn, but enthusiastically learn. They believe it will be worth it in the end, so they work and work and work to get it right.

These are my kind of people. And then, of course, beyond the singing, these are people with health issues. They realize every day is precious, and they vow to make the most of each and every one. They laugh, they celebrate, and sometimes, of course, they cry. Because that's life after all.

At the end, one of the men with pretty serious health issues sang a song. A more quiet song. I recognized it and yet, I couldn't place it. When I turned the TV off, tears streaming down my face, I googled. I found it. I read the lyrics. Then I found the group singing it on youtube.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

That song title may even make it into the book, that's how perfect it was.