Now I know I am on a break, but this is one of the posts I mentioned that I had a pre-commitment to.
Danika Dinsmore's sequel to
Brigitta of the White Forest is out. It is The Ruins of Noe! This is a fantasy I recommend {highly!} to middle grade and young adult. Not one to be missed in my almost humble opinion. Here is more from
Faerie Tales from the White Forest:
Brigitta’s adventures continue when the balance of the White Forest is disturbed and the Elders lose contact with the Ethereals. Against their advice, High Priestess Ondelle asks Brigitta to accompany her to the old faerie ruins of Noe to find a way to reconnect with the Ancients.
What they discover when they arrive is something they never learned from any faerie tale. Why had this dark secret been kept from them? Why in the name of Faweh had the Ancients left some faeries behind?
Brigitta and Ondelle are caught in a dangerous feud between two factions of feral faeries whose leaders will stop at nothing to access what little sorcery Noe has left.
As it happens this is an extra special
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday Post.
Danika kindly agreed to do a guest post for us on finding balance in your writing life. And let me tell you, it's a gooder. I so appreciate her doing this. Without further ado--take it away Danika!
Writing
/ Life Balance
Sometimes I wake up and have no idea what
day it is. The only reason I do at any given point is because other people are
pretty good at keeping regular schedules. My husband is home right now,
puttering around in the front yard (yes, we’re old enough to putter now). It
must be the weekend.
I think any writer will tell you that
keeping life balanced is a challenge. I’ve gotten better at it, over the years.
I don’t stay up until 2 am writing any longer, I get out of my pyjamas by 8:30 am
on most days, I get food on the dinner table, and I don’t spend 2 hours
socializing on facebook.
Not saying this ALWAYS works, but as much
as I can, I work 8:30 – 5:30 like a job. I am my boss. So that when my husband
comes home, I’m done with work, dinner is at least a plan if not in process,
and he and I can have some together time.
Sure, I have unfocused days when I count
walking by two of my favourite clothing stores and NOT going in as productive. Then
there are deadline days where I can’t snuggle up with my husband and watch 30 Rock or Dr. Who.
But baring these, I do my best to stick to
a schedule. Writing first thing in the morning, and then writer admin and biz
after my traditionally late breakfast. Stretching exercises or yoga every hour
because I have first hand experience of what it’s like to throw out one’s neck
from (the clinical diagnosis) chronic
computer use.
I tend to schedule errands and appointments
on the same days so I don’t lose as much work time. Trust me, if I didn’t have
to leave the house for a week, I probably wouldn’t. Outside World Activities =
GOOD.
To me, a balanced life means being
physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. It means feeling productive,
excited, and in the flow rather than overwhelmed and exhausted.
Here are a few more life balance tips:
1)
STEP AWAY FROM THE INTERNET!
I write first
thing in the morning, which I highly recommend
for fiction writing. Poetry writing, at least for me, is better later in the
day or at night because I need the moments and interactions to inspire me
throughout the day. But fiction writing is best without any interference. As
soon as the day invades my mind, it’s more challenging to settle into writing.
The most
important rule around this is DO NOT log into your email or facebook or any
other virtual space before you write. I get up, have coffee, perhaps
journal a bit or read some inspirational material, then I write. When I’m in
writing mode I must be at my desk no later than 8:30 am.
Here’s what
happens if I check my email: Hey, a
Google Alert about a new review for Ruins
of Noe, click link and read review. It’s a nice review, I wonder if she
posted it on Amazon. Click. There’s the review on Amazon. While here, I might
as well update my author bio, it’s old. I should fix that. I wonder if my
author bio is current on GoodReads, too? Click. Hey, look Angelica posted a
really great review for that new book I was thinking about. Read review. Read
subsequent reviews. Send link to book review to friend. While back in email
notice note from Deb about my guest blog post. Write a draft of guest post.
Wow, it’s 11 AM, where did the time go?
Does this sound
familiar?
2)
Study/learn about marketing, organizing, and other important bizniz
All the things
that aren’t writing that go into writing can be overwhelming. First you have to
figure out what all those things are. Then you have to organize and prioritize
them. Not all artists and writers are organized in this way or know anything
about marketing. Being overwhelmed is not fun.
Six years ago I
went to Guerrilla Business School in Los Angeles (a 4 day seminar) and not only
had a blast, I learned a lot about marketing, business skills, and keeping
focus. It was inspiring and I made an “accountabilibuddy” who I still check in
with to this day. (BTW – having an accountabilibuddy is a great thing, as long
as your check-ins are productive, not whiny dumps)
Later, when I
was trying to find an organizational system that worked for me, I learned about
David
Allen’s Getting Things Done program. I listened to his live seminar
CD’s 3 times. It was the most natural organizational process I had come across.
I combined this program with some things I learned from Christine Comaford-Lynch
and created my own organizational system.
You don’t have
to go to that particular marketing seminar or use Allen’s organizational
system. I’m just saying if the business side of things is making you panic, you
can learn to handle it by knowing
more. Invest in that side of things and you’ll get more done and feel more in
charge.
One of the
simple tricks I’ve learned is emailing myself. I kid you not. If there is
something I need to get done or an idea that I have, but I don’t want to get
distracted from what I’m doing, I email a message to myself. Sometimes I email
the next day’s To Do list to myself. Whatever works, right?
3)
Separate your Writer Work from Life and Move Your Body
I am really
lucky to have been able to turn an old single detached garage into a “writing
cottage.” If you don’t have this, perhaps you have an office, or at least a
corner. Someplace you can use to officially step in and out of your writing
mode.
Step out once in
a while during the day. Go for a walk, move your body, do some stretching and
yoga. All this sounds obvious, but even I have to remind myself. I set a timer
if I have to.
When I threw my
neck out I was incapacitated for about 3 days. When I met with a physical
therapist, she said she sees more people with computer injuries than sports
injuries these days. Pain also = no fun.
So, when you’re IN writer mode, it’s all
about focus. It is a job (a dream job!) and I think you should treat it as
such. What would You The Boss say if you caught your employee in her PJ’s
eating M&M’s and cruising FaceBook?
When you step away, it’s about enjoying
everything else and appreciating your productive day.
(And BTW, on days when you are less
productive, be kind to yourself. Adding guilt, shame, stress on top of not
having a productive day is a double punishment).
***
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Enjoy the day all!
