Moods...

I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.

~~Pearl S. Buck

Go beyond the idea...

I picked this up from a web site I just discovered:
http://faithinfiction.blogspot.com

David Long, a fiction acquisitions editor with Bethany House Publishers, authors this blog, which in its various pages is filled with highly valuable publishing insights. Here's a quote from AnnTatlock, partially in answer to Dave's question: "What is the one thing most lacking, in your opinion, in the CBA book/fiction industry?"

Her answer in part: "You can pick up a novel by, say, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Thomas Wolfe, or Leo Tolstoy and read for the sheer loveliness of it. The prose is poetry. The trick (and it's really no trick, but years and years of honing a craft) is to go beyond simply getting an idea down on paper. The goal is to do this, yes, but more than that, to do it beautifully. To make good use of the tools of ourtrade: simile, metaphor, analogy, imagery, detailed description. To go beyond the obvious, and to make connections that the reader might never have encountered before. To refuse to settle for the first word or phrase that comes to mind, but to rewrite, and think, and struggle, and rewrite again. To say something old in a completely new way. To be original."

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

The 10-Minute Workout

At last! A workout for people juggling work, writing, kids, spouse, and the kitchen sink (which needs cleaning, but we’ll ignore that for now...)

The 10-Minute Workout by Scot Dawson on eFitness.com

This is a great workout because it’s fast and it’s easy. If you don’t know what some of the exercises are, do a Google search to find out the proper way to do them

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. She previously worked in biology research, and she is a staff worker for her church youth group. She runs the Story Sensei critique service, and her Asian chick lit novel, Sushi for One?, releases in September. Enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

A real writer...

"Being a real writer means being able to do the work on a bad day."

~~ Norman Mailer

Good writing...

“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader, not the fact that it’s raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.”

~~E.L. Doctorow

Ideas...

I'm often asked, 'Where do you get your ideas?' The short answer is: everywhere. It's like asking, 'Where do you find air to breathe?' Ideas are all around you."

~~legendary American choreographer and dancer Twyla Tharp

Daily faith...

In my books I try to depict not a glorious faith with celestial fireworks, but a daily faith, a routine faith, a seven-days-a-week faith. Father Tim's faith is part of his everyday life. He has simple prayers, not polished, pious prayers. He follows the Apostle Paul's command that we pray without ceasing. I try to depict how our faith may be woven into our daily life, like brandy poured into coffee. I believe that spirituality needs to be basic, common, everyday.

~~Jan Karon

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Eat fiber

I have to confess, I’m a snacker.

I have found that I write better when there’s something around for me to eat.

I’ve tried everything, but the brain just doesn’t function without food in my mouth. Even gum doesn’t cut it for me.

I’ve discovered it’s because my creative side is tactile-activated. If I have something in my mouth or if I’m doing something with my hands, then my creative left-brain side kicks into high gear. Or maybe it’s just the sugar rush. LOL

I’ve started knitting, which is a nice tactile and foodless way of activating my creativity, but sometimes even that isn’t enough.

Hence, the snacks.

But I don’t have to eat unhealthy things, and neither do you. High-fiber foods are actually an extremely important part of your diet, so why not ingest some fiber while writing?

The high fiber content of my snacks also help me feel full faster than something higher in fat or sugar. I’ll end up snacking for a while, then stopping because I’m full.

Veggies with dip is one of my favs. The deli section of my supermarket has some really neat, unusual dips too—parmesan and artichoke, cheese and jalapeno, the list goes on and on.

Fresh fruit is another good snack that’s also high in fiber. Pick what’s in season, cheap, and looks fresh. In the summer, my favorite is berries—strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries—and plums and peaches. Other months, apples and oranges are always on sale.

Beans are also high in fiber, so I’ll often have some whole wheat tortillas with fat-free refried beans smeared inside. A great snack as long as you’re not going out in company for a few hours...

Speaking of whole wheat, now there are lots of high fiber crackers that are low in fat.

I also enjoy high fiber cereals like Frosted Mini Wheats! Yum!

So be creative and go high fiber!

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. She previously worked in biology research, and she is a staff worker for her church youth group. She runs the Story Sensei critique service, and her Asian chick lit novel, Sushi for One?, releases in September. Enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Eavesdropper...

As a writer—and eavesdropper—I know that genius lives where the language lives. Some witness it, overhearing by chance. I eavesdrop professionally, because such listening makes life a perpetual feast, and because I’m not always smart enough to invent things as powerful as what I hear. Another way to say this: By listening to the glories of conversation around me, I am moved to write, and I am reminded to listen closely to my own most quiet thoughts and dreams. In their inventive talk, my wise neighbors give me permission to take seriously my own internal voice.
--Kim Stafford, The Muses Among Us, 17

God created me...

"God created me to write. I will write no matter what."

~~Madeleine L'Engle

Don't waste the gift...

"Write or die. Don't waste the gift God has given you."

--David Kopp

Purpose of nonfiction...

Though the ostensible purpose of nonfiction is the conveyance of information, if that information is in a raw state, the writing seems pedestrian, black-and-white facts in a colorful world. The reader, soon bored, yearns for the images, anecdotes, characterization, and writerly precision that make informational writing come alive on the page. That is where the techniques of fiction can be so helpful to the nonfiction writer.

~~Sol Stein, On Writing, p. 7

Keeping at it...

It is worth mentioning, for future reference, that the creative power which bubbles so pleasantly in beginning a new book quiets down after a time, and one goes on more steadily. Doubts creep in. Then one becomes resigned. Determination not to give in, and the sense of an impending shape keep one at it more than anything.

~~Virginia Woolf

My work goes on...

In a mood of faith and hope my work goes on. A ream of fresh paper lies on my desk waiting for the next book. I am a writer and I take up my pen to write.

~~Pearl S. Buck

The right word...

To get the right word in the right place is a rare achievement. To condense the diffused light of a page of thought into the luminous flash of a single sentence, is worthy to rank as a prize composition just by itself...Anybody can have ideas--the difficulty is to express them without squandering a quire of paper on an idea that ought to be reduced to one glittering paragraph.

~~MARK TWAIN

Words are things...

But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling, like dew, upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.

~~ Lord Byron

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Keep your back strong!

As writers, one of the areas most likely to suffer injury is your back (the most popular injury-prone area is probably the wrists).

If you have money to invest, get an ergonomic chair. They can be very pricey, anywhere from $200 to $1200, but they’re worth it to save injury to your back. You’ll need to go out and try a bunch of chairs to find the one that fits your body the best.

Most of us, however, don’t have much money. Here are a few low-cost alternatives.

1) WALK. Yes, I’m shouting. I’ll even repeat myself—WALK. For ten minutes, every hour.

This will stimulate blood circulation to your back, keeping it healthy and allowing fatigued muscles and injured tendons to heal.

If you can, put on good walking shoes for your ten minute hike.

You can walk anywhere, from around the block to around your living room. Just make sure it’s ten minutes long and it occurs every hour you’re sitting in front of that computer. I have often walked forwards and backwards down my hallway (there are no windows, so none of my neighbors can see the crazy writer walking in her house!).

2) Stretch. At least once a day, preferably three times a day.

Don’t bounce—stretch slowly and gently. Use your breathing to allow you to deepen the stretch.

Touch your toes. Alternately, sit down with your legs in front of you and reach for your toes. Stretching your hamstrings releases any tension tugging at your lower back.

Stretch side to side. You can also twist side to side. Make the motions slow, gentle, and refreshing. Don’t cause yourself abject pain.

Stretch your neck forwards, backwards, sideways. A tense neck can also cause or be the cause of back pain.

3) Elevate. Your workspace, that is.

Standing at your desk and typing standing up can alleviate back pain, especially if you switch from standing to sitting a couple times during the day.

Levenger.com has these fancy wooden stands for your keyboard, mouse, and monitor. I don’t have money, so I improvised and use empty boxes to elevate my keyboard and mouse to the right height. Boxes are also light and easy to remove when I switch back down to sitting.

For my monitor, I have a flat-screen which is lighter than a regular tubular screen. Flatscreen monitors are going down in price, so they’re not so impossibly expensive. I happened to be lucky enough to get mine at GoodWill for $70.

I lift my monitor from my desktop to a thicker-than-normal cardboard box, stuffed with packing Styrofoam popcorn and taped shut. The popcorn gives it more strength. The box is on its end and tall enough so that I’m looking straight at my monitor when I stand up.

Take care of your back! A bad back can adversely influence your writing!

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. She previously worked in biology research, and she is a staff worker for her church youth group. She runs the Story Sensei critique service, and her Asian chick lit novel, Sushi for One?, releases in September. Enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

In the garden...

I am writing in the garden. To write as one should of a garden one must write not outside it or merely somewhere near it, but in the garden.

~~Frances Hodgson Burnett

Process of discovery...

Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say.

~~Sharon O'Brien