Writing Tips Tuesday: Tips for Tips by Margo Berendsen

Welcome back to another Writing Tips Tuesday! We are lucky enough to be joined by one of my favorite writing bloggers around, Margo Berendsen! Her blog is veritable treasure trove of tips for everything writing. I highly recommend that you pay a visit.

Today, Margo shares her tips on using tips. So basically, we have a top tip treasure trover treating you with tips about tips here on Writing Tips Tuesday. What more could you possibly want?

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Ever since I discovered writing blogs in 2010, I’ve been keeping a Writing Tips page, a long list of links to posts that have taught me (or reminded me) of some worthy writing tips or advice.  After a while my list got long enough I organized it into categories like Starting a Story, Setting, Characters, etc. Then as I got further along in my writing process I added categories like Critique Partners and Pitching and Querying.

Margo and her daughter

I figured that compiling this list of links might be of benefit to other writers who wanted to look at, say, “story structure” from several points of view. The list has also benefited me because when I’m stuck on something like a plot point, I can get a fresh perspective on plot by revisiting a few links.

Sometimes it’s easy to incorporate a writing tip right away into your work in progress, but other times you have to let it sort of percolate in your subconscious for a while… and sometimes you need to be reminded of it.  When I got feedback from several agents that my first pages needed more characterization, I revisited some of those posts and they helped me brainstorm some new ideas.

In the process of revisiting those posts for tips on characterization, I turned what I was relearning into writing checklists. Each day I re-read a post on characterization (or a chapter from a writing book) and took notes. A couple weeks later I had a checklist that I posted as “38 ways to check for character life signs”, with links to my sources.

A few months later I did the same thing for all the posts on plot and came up with “21 ways to make your plot more compelling”, and then “17 tips for starting a story”. I figured I’d continue with a checklist for setting, another one for dialogue, and then one on editing, but I never did finish those. (Maybe someday). I ran my work-in-progress through those three checklists and made notes on how my story was answering each question or not answering it – with ideas on how I could fix the gap.

After revisions and feedback from critique partners, I started querying the story again and got more requests and rejections, and more feedback from agents on different things this time. Recently I revisited my old checklists and realized that no checklist can capture everything you need. A checklist can help you pinpoint a few things than can help with voice, but it can’t give you a unique writer’s voice or give your characters their unique voices. Some of those things just take time and rewrites, fresh new ideas, free writing exercises, inspiration from books you’re reading and from life itself.

Everyone’s writing process has some similarities, some differences, and some unique aspects. I love reading other writers’ tips, what worked for them (and what didn’t). If they don’t fit me where I am currently in my process, they may help me get unstuck further down the road. What a long road the writing journey is, but no journey has been more fascinating.

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I love getting a glimpse into another writer's process. What could be better to help you examine your own?

Please check back next week for a very special WTT from my 7-month old daughter, Amelia!

Interested in contributing to WTT? We'd love to have you. Just shoot me an email at adamgaylordwritesgmailcom.

We've got a lot more great tips coming up so stay tuned!

Writing Tips Tuesday: Present and Engaged

Welcome back for another edition of Writing Tip Tuesdays! If you missed last week, we were joined by the indelible Jeff Hargett who shared some profound writing and life advice. I highly recommend you check it out.

You may have noticed that I used the word “indelible” when describing Jeff. But it was only after I typed it that I realized I wasn't sure exactly what that word meant. Thankfully, indelible is defined as “not able to be forgotten or removed” as in “Jeff’s post made an indelible impression on me", which is true. Not two days after Jeff originally sent me his post, a conversation with my wife really brought Jeff’s message home.

I don’t know about you, but when I write (and when I read) I get a little distracted. Over the years my always supportive wife has gotten used to me being…kinda out of it when I’m really mulling over a story. And by “out of it” I mean eyebrow deep in the story I’m creating. It’s difficult for me to pull away. My head is in the clouds. I’m in another world. I stagger around with a far off look in my eyes. I abruptly end conversations so that I can go jot down ideas. You know, typical crazy writer stuff.

Which was all well and good when it was just the two of us.

I mean the three of us (sorry Pippin).

But now that we've added another to the Gaylord family, it’s no longer acceptable to have half my mind on another planet. As my wife (who is no slouch when it comes to wordsmithing) helped me realize, when raising an infant you have to be “present and engaged”. It wouldn't be fair to Amelia, or to me, to miss out on her everyday little moments because I wasn't really paying full attention.

How could you not give your full attention to that smile?

As DS9’s Ben Sisko pointed out last week:

"It's life, Jake! You could miss it if you don't open your eyes."

So what’s a writer to do? I need to immerse myself in other worlds in order to write them but I can’t live there. Where's the balance?

Scotty, beam me up.

Halloween a couple years back.

That’s right, I’m working on my transporter skills. Or another way to think of it is that I’m trying to install an On/Off switch. I’m here on this planet, present and engaged (the switch is Off) until I get some time to write. At that point I flip the On switch, hit the teleported pad, and dive head first into my world.

It’s not easy but at this point in my life, I need clean breaks. I’m still working on figuring this out but here’s what’s been working for me so far:

1.      Have a defined time to write. In the past I’ve jumped in and out of writing throughout the day but now I find that I need to say, “Ok, the next hour is writing, then I’m done.”

2.      At the start of that writing time, I get hyped. Some music, a little jumping around, whatever it takes to make that time an event. This is writing time. This is my time to live on another planet. It’s go time.

3.      At the end of writing time I shut it down. I close my documents with purpose. I shut down my computer. I take a moment to crank down that leakyfaucet.

In summary, a little ceremony on either side of writing time helps me resurface so that I can be present and engaged. What about you? Is this something you struggle with? How do you cope?

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Margo also has an adorable daughter.

Please check back next week when we will be joined by one of the best all-around writing bloggers on the web, Margo Berendsen!

Also, if you want to get involved with Writing Tip Tuesdays, please shoot me an email at adamgaylordwrites gmail com.

We have great tips from a bunch more great writers coming up so stay tuned!