Friday Funnies Inspired by KM Weiland

Writer's block is a luxury most people with deadline don't have.

~Diane Ackerman

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” 

- Jack London

(I know I've put this on here before, just Jackson just cracks me up) :D

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE CD

 K.M. Weiland writes historical and speculative fiction from her home in the sandhills of western Nebraska. She enjoys mentoring other authors through her writing tips, editing services, workshops, and her recently released instructional CD Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration.

Find her at her website and blog.

For a chance to win a copy of the CD, comment on any post this week. One point per comment (one per day). Entries accepted through tonight, winner announced tomorrow!

Quote Thursday with K.M. Weiland

 The first thing I do when I hit a speed bump in a story is to start asking questions. The reporter’s old standby “5 W’s” (Who, What, Where, Why, When) come in plenty handy for novelists too, particularly “Why?” and “What if?” Keep asking long enough, and, eventually, you’ll find the answers.

                                     ~K.M. Weiland

For a chance to win this CD, comment on any post this week. 1 point for each comment (one point per day). Entries taken through Friday and winner announced on Saturday!

CLICK HERE TO BUY CD

K.M. Weiland writes historical and speculative fiction from her home in the sandhills of western Nebraska. She enjoys mentoring other authors through her writing tips, editing services, workshops, and her recently released instructional CD Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration.

Find her at her website and blog.

Welcome to K.M. Weiland! Announcing the Release of her CD for Writers!

I am very happy to welcome author KM Weiland this week! She is releasing a CD for writers all about how to deal with writer's block and gain inspiration called Conquering Writer's Block and Summoning Inspiration. Please help me give her a very warm welcome!


Today, Ms. Weiland will be joining us for an interview -

1. What inspired you to create a CD about inspiration?
Over the last several years, I’ve been sharing writing tips and essays about the writing life on my blog Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors. Posts on inspiration and fighting writer’s block have always been some of my most popular posts. It’s ironic, really: Here we are, a bunch of people who discovered this whole writing business because one day we woke up inspired with an idea for a story—and yet consistent inspiration is something most of us struggle with on almost a daily basis. I wanted to put together a presentation that shared some of my own tricks for encouraging inspiration. Thanks to the Wordplay podcast, I already had some experience with audio productions and thought it would be an interesting adventure to create a CD that would be accessible and helpful to others.

2. Can you share one of the important tips from the CD?
It’s hard to pick just one! But perhaps one of the most crucial is doing away with the fallacy that inspiration is something that just happens. Too often, we sit around, waiting for inspiration to hit us like a lightning bolt. What we fail to realize, though, is that inspiration is much more likely to zap us in the head with its lightning bolt if we’re already doing our part: sitting at our desks every day of the week, typing away, diligently putting to work what we know about the craft. Readers of my blog are probably already familiar with my favorite Peter de Vries quote: “I write every day when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning.”

3. What has been your personal experience with writer’s block?
The trite and easy answer would be: I don’t believe in writer’s block. But, of course, that isn’t entirely true, or I wouldn’t have recorded an entire CD on the subject! What I mean by that, though, is that writers tend to empower writer’s block by making it out to be some horrible, foul-breathed, unconquerable boogeyman. Most of the time, writer’s block is just us psyching ourselves out. That’s been my experience. I get blocked just like anyone else. I bang my head on the keyboard. I wander around the house, pulling my hair out (and generally looking scarier than even the unconquerable word-sucking boogeyman himself). But I’ve learned that patience and persistence are an almost infallible cure. And prevention is even better!

4. What’s your #1 trick for living an inspired life as a writer?
Passion. If you love this writing life, it’s difficult not to be inspired. Of course, there are mornings when I wake up after a horrendous writing session and vow I’m going to become a plumber or something. But those moments never last. In the CD, I talk about how inspiration is act of will more than a state of mind. If we approach our writing with a passionate, positive, and persistent attitude, we can hardly fail to be inspired 90% of the time.

5. Other than your CD, where else can writers go to find more inspiration and writing tips?
Along with the CD (which is available, this month only, in a great special offer (HERE)), I’m excited to announce the launch of my newly redesigned website this month. Other than the spiffy new look, it also features lots of goodies for helping writers along the road to publication and fulfillment in their writing. Probably the most exciting additions are the Helping Writers Become Authors Network , which offers an excellent package deal on some of my best writing programs and products, and the First Chapter Story Consultation service. You can also find links to my blogs, podcast, monthly e-letter, and my free e-book Crafting Unforgettable Characters.

Thanks so much for joining us, Katie!

Please join us tomorrow and Thursday for a few bits of awesome wisdom and on Wednesday for a guest post. And go get that CD!!!!! CLICK HERE TO BUY

CONTEST!! For a chance to win a free copy of this CD, simply comment on any of the posts this week. 1 point for each comment per day (one point per post). Entries taken until 11:59 EST Friday the 8th and the winner will be announced on Saturday!

K.M. Weiland writes historical and speculative fiction from her home in the sandhills of western Nebraska. She enjoys mentoring other authors through her writing tips, editing services, workshops, and her recently released instructional CD Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration.

You can find Ms. Weiland on her website  and blog

Wednesday Writer's Block with Jackson Pearce

Hmmm, having a few problems with my left hand lately, so for today, since typing one-handed is sloooow going :) I'll leave you with this incredibly awesome video by the amazing Jackson Pearce :D

Pre-Editing Problem

In going through my awesome stash of quotes the other day, I came across this one:

"People have writer's block not because they can't write, but because they despair of writing eloquently."

Anna Quindlen

I read that and thought "Oh yeah - that's my problem RIGHT THERE." Well, let's face it, I have many problems (ha!) but this is definitely one of them. I don't think I often have writer's block in the sense that I can't think of what to write. I have a definite overflow of ideas most of the time. But I think I have a hard time OVERTHINKING things. 

Instead of just sitting down and writing, I am constantly editing myself, before I've even put a single word on the page. I'll think of a line and instead of just getting it down, I think "Hmmm, that's not quite the right way to say that. What is the exact right way?"

And I end up with a whole lot of blank pages.

I'm putting the cart before the horse, I'm counting my chickens before they've hatched, I'm eating the cookie dough before it's cooked (oooo....cookie dough....)

I am editing BEFORE I write. And it is definitely something I need to quit doing. It's counterproductive. It's discouraging. And it is a ridiculously effective way of procrastinating LOL

Yeah, it's hard to turn off that internal editor. And yes, editing is a big part of writing. But I've gotta give myself something to write before I edit, instead of trying to get everything perfect on the paper the first time. Of course, knowing this and doing it are two totally different things :D But I can give it a good shot :)

How about you? Do you find yourself editing before you've even begun to write?

Last one, I swear :D

Our Friday Funnies will be moved to Saturday as we explore the last of my present issues.

Without further ado - Issue #3:

I get a little intimidated - because I like to read during my down time. And when I'm holding a superbly awesome book in my hands, I'm thinking two things, pretty much simultaneously.

"This book is sooo good, I love it!!!"

and

"I will never write something as good as this, why can't I think of stuff like this, holy cow why do I bother!!?"

So, yeah, not so easy to pick up my own pen when I'm constantly comparing myself to other people.

Solution - lol suck it up, quit being a baby and (as my mother used to say when my siblings and I would be checking out what was going on with the peas and other undesirables in everyone else's dish instead of mind our own bee's wax) - Mind Your Own Plate!

And I found a few bits of awesome to go along with Mama's bit o' wisdom:

(this one comes from the same Richard Rhodes quote from yesterday...I just saved this line for today) ;-)

If you're afraid of what other people will think of your efforts, don't show them until you write your way beyond your fear.

I love this one - LOVE IT. Because I do love what I do, I love what I write. And that generally doesn't change until I send it out for it's first crit and it comes back covered in that lovely shade of red and I realize how much work it really needs :) But when I'm only concerned about what is going on in MY head *sigh* it be grand :)

Another bit o' awesome, from Frank Herbert:

The successful writer listens to himself. You get a writer's block by being aware that you're putting it out there.

He makes a great point. If I focus too much on "putting it out there" and not enough on listening to myself, I will never write anything again. I think listening to yourself, at least in the beginning stages, is essential, and something I need to try a little harder to do.

One last bit of awesome, from P.J. O'Rourke:

Write badly. Bad writing is easier.

LOL This one just made me laugh. It goes along with my own mantra that I'm supposed to be chanting every day "Just suck it up and do it." 

Yeah, so there are books out there that are going to be better than mine. So what? There are books out there that will be worse too. I need to listen to myself and if that proves difficult, suck it up and write anyway, knowing it's crap. Crap is fixable. But you can't fix something that doesn't exist - so just get something down.

Anyone else waiting in line at the Intimidation Station? Climb aboard Michelle's crazy train - we're leaving the station in 5 minutes :D