Writers Write. Writers Learn. Writers Work.

Writers need to write.

“Real writers” have to write, but getting published is not the starting place if you want to become established as a freelance or assignment writer. The first step comes, plainly and simply, in writing. However, publication is a natural step toward improving your work.

That might not be what you expected to hear, so I will say what I just said in another way in hopes of being clear:

Getting published can help you to improve your writing.

Notice that I did not say writing for publication brings you closer to the fame-and-fortune fantasy that distracts many writers from the real adventures of the writing life. Thanks to everyone’s overnight Internet potential for renown, writers may be more likely to become poor and famous!

So, at first anyway, forget about money. Forget about a celebrity life. Forget about marketing and developing a platform, and simply focus on what it takes, realistically and professionally speaking, to get really, really good at your job:

Writers write. Writers learn. Writers work.

If you keep on writing and revising, your work will improve with practice, and getting published will help. How? Why? Besides activating, energizing, and employing your writing skills, publication encourages you to:

Thoroughly investigate topics that actually interest you.

Develop resources you can count on to be accurate, update, and precise.

Develop the discipline of a regular working schedule.

Research “the other side” of almost anything.

Find a balanced perspective beyond beliefs or unsubstantiated opinions.

Find your voice.

Find your preferred genre – the one in which you’re “a natural.”

Find out what’s being published and still needed in your field.

Become more aware of what publishers, editors, and readers seem to like.

Become acquainted with print and Internet markets for your chosen genre.

Follow writers guidelines with no amateurish demands to be the exception.

Meet deadlines with the same professionalism people usually show in being on time for an important engagement or business appointment.

Get input, including constructive criticism, from potential editors.

Get feedback from readers.

Get the encouragement you need to keep on writing.

Give your writing career the respect you'd show for any worthwhile endeavor.

Give yourself specific, manageable goals adjusted to fit you first as a person, then as a writer.


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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler

Writing a job description for the mature writer

Mature writers can be described and often recognized as those who have gained experience, found ways to reach out to readers, and begun to develop proficiency in their work. They probably have acquired at least a few publishing credits too.

Contrast that portrait with the very first stage of writing when we started to write with little thought of anything else. To be fair, though, in our writing infancy, that’s really all we need to do – just write.

So we write and practice at being grownup writers, and we write some more. We don’t worry too much about the needs and concerns of our potential readers or editors. We just write and hope they will love every jot and dot.

Before we know it, we’ve started toddling along, trying to gain our balance in the big, sometimes overwhelming world of publishing. Then a rejection slip trips us up, or we feel shocked that no one picks us up right away as the next great poet, novelist, or nonfiction sage. Like, who do they think they are?

Most of us whine awhile. Some of us decide to do things ourselves, and some of us keep on trying. Then, with or without an occasional good cry, something starts to happens.

Sometime somewhere for some – no, for most of us – a creative spurt with new growth occurs. Suddenly we start to take ourselves and our work seriously, enthusiastically, even studiously. We start to read as if we have just discovered reading. We start to study works in our genre.

We study journals, magazines, and books to see what we like and why.

We study guidelines produced by publishers we like.

We study markets to see what’s hot or where there’s a gap our writing can fill.

We study terminology, techniques, and tools of our trade.

We study words – how they sound together or how their connotations add layers of interest, mystery, and meaning.

We study our first drafts and read them aloud to hear if anything sounds off in sound or sense, and if so, we fix whatever needs fixing and go on.

We study ourselves to find out what we’re especially interested in writing about and to whom we most want to speak.

We study our potential readers – from the titles and topics that draw them to the ads that intentionally target their specific priorities, interests, and needs.

And we read.

We read books, journals, e-zines, anthologies, and information on a variety of reliable Internet sites.

We read our poems, novels, children’s stories, and how-to books out loud, and we read aloud each revision.

We read the publishing industry by what’s up or down or undecided.

We read editorial responses as personal words of encouragement as evidenced by even the tiniest personal note.

We read our readers, whom we care about and have gotten to know as friends.

We read ourselves, honestly but matter-of-factly, as the writer or poet we are gradually becoming – the mature writer, the mature poet whose maturing work we just love to read.


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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler



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Writers and stress

Everyone knows what stress is. Without it, fiction would have no plot. Most of us would be bored, and nothing much would change. Sometimes, though, poets, writers, and other sensitive people perceive stress as, well, a burden.

In the last couple of postings, we discussed (okay, I did) the importance of sitting in a neutral position at your desk but also leaving your computer or dropping your laptop (not too forcefully) and walking away to exercise your muscles and bones, to flex your joints, and to strengthen your whole body. But sometimes that’s still not enough.

At any desk at any age, the body of a writer is more than a machine, more than a computer, more than a body of writing. Separating ourselves from our work can be difficult, but the simple act of doing something different will often bring a new perspective or a burst of creativity.

Without exercising that healthier outlook, stress becomes a culprit, rather than an interesting plot. The body clamps down in a protective mode that can be self-defeating and not at all creative.

So, what’s a body to do? Change intents. For instance, consider:

Stress may be a sign we’ve taken on more than we can handle.

Stress may be a sign we’re working on a project to which we are not drawn.

Stress may be a sign of exerting our own importance into our worries or work.

As a writer and poet, I still get caught up occasionally in productivity and deadlines, not because of the demands of editors or of readers but because I want to share what I have learned. I want to make a difference. I want to inspire readers. Or, to put it another way, I get caught up in my own sense of self-importance.

Poets and writers seem especially hopeful of helping the whole world become its better self. Ironically, though, my outlook and my writing seem to improve dramatically when I become a conduit for words, writing them down, as I am now and seeing where they lead. Because I’m a Christian as well as a poet-writer, I suspect that leading has to do with the power of God, whose importance can not be overstated, but who puts up with me, stress and all, just waiting – waiting for me to take a breath and listen, stress-free, and hear.


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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.













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Sedentary writers need to exercise self-awareness

Spending a lot of time at your desk can produce many manuscripts but, often, many neck or backaches too. If you use a laptop instead of a desktop, you might get comfy then feel achy later. So, next time, check to see if your neck and spine remain in a neutral position as described in the last posting.

Besides keeping your back and joints neutral as you sit, practice self-awareness. Most writers and poets get so caught up in their work, they don’t even notice when fatigue sets in or aches begin to nag, but if you train yourself to listen to your body, you can give more attention to weaker areas then work to strengthen them. How?

Take a break every hour (two at the most) and notice how you’re feeling.

Stir around.

Swing your arms.

Roll your shoulders.

Notice which muscles or joints ache or have tired the most.

Concentrate your exercises on those areas.

Most exercises requires at least enough energy to get out of bed, but some work well on a mattress. For example, rest on your back with your arms at your sides. Lift one leg and hold that position for a count of 10. Do this five times then repeat with the other leg. This exercise will help to strengthen your hips, tighten your stomach, and ease stress in your lower back.

If you have a backache, rest on the bed with your knees bent and your feet flat on the mattress. As you cradle your neck in a pillow, bring your knees toward your chest. With your knees bent, lower your feet to the mattress again. Repeat this exercise five times.

Forget the adage, “No pain! No gain.” Use movements that do not strain.

Throughout the day, stretch like a cat to increase flexibility.

Maintain correct posture.

Assuming your doctor approves, find activities you enjoy.

Swimming and bicycling do not provide enough resistance for strength-training or weight-bearing, but they exercise the body in general and are fun.

To tone muscle and strengthen bones, carry a small weight in each hand as you walk around your home or a mall.

For general strengthening, climb stairs, jog, play ball, or dance around instead of just sitting at a desk, waiting to be inspired. A fun exercise or activity will strengthen your body and increase overall circulation, helping your good mind to find its peak performance too.


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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler 

Also see the related article, "On the Ball: The Ergonomic Writing Life."

 
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On The Ball: The Ergonomic Writing Life

Sitting at a desk too long can be a big pain in the downside of your writing life. So get on the ball - a medicine ball, Swiss ball, exercise ball, Pilates ball, or one of those big blue balls kids play with – sort of like a thick-skinned beach ball for giant babies.

Regardless what you call the thing, the idea is to get on the ball then sit there, using those tiny little muscles, which might otherwise be unbeknown, to keep your balance. Strengthening those muscles will help to strength your back, which, if you’re in a poorly fitted chair, will hurt more and more as your writing life gets rolling. (I speak from experience!) Some people also use a ball to sit at their computer, but I prefer an ergonomic chair with lumbar support and knobs to adjust the height, arm width, and, especially, the tilt.  

Besides my tendency to sit way too long at my desk, my own back and spine problems caused me to research the subject and write The Encyclopedia of the Back and Spine Systems and Disorders for Facts On File. The same company also published my book The Encyclopedia of the Muscle and Skeletal Systems and Disorders, which the American Library Association honored as a nonfiction academic favorite for the year. I’m not mentioning that to brag (okay, maybe I am) but to let you know that I know backs and back pain, and the two do not automatically go together.

A well-fitted, ergonomically correct chair improves your desk posture, which helps you to avoid those backaches caused by fatigue. As you adjust your chair to fit you and your work station, notice each joint of your body. Then think in terms of right angles or an L-shape to ensure a neutral position.

In a well-adjusted chair:

Your knees will be at 90-degree angles while the bottoms of your feet hold down the floor.

Your back and thighs will form a capital L as you sit in a neutral position.

Your neck will not bend or stretch toward your monitor or twist to one side.

Your elbows will rest lightly against your waist.

Your wrists will be straight as your fingers cup the keyboard.

After all of those gyrations, however, you still might not be able to tell whether you’re in a neutral position. If not, check a reflective surface or ask someone to look at you squarely and see if anything needs adjusting to sit you comfortably upright.


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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler

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Writing Winner Nonfiction For Kids

Each year I judged entries in the children’s literature category of an international writing contest I kept hoping to find well-written nonfiction articles or interesting chapters excerpted from dynamic nonfiction books. Some actually did arrive, while others seem promising before descending into a central set of flaws.

In an obvious effort to be fresh and lively, many writers started their nonfiction for children with scenes from a novel. For example, they might begin with dialogue, a problem, a child’s thoughts, or an amusing conversation that reads like the opening of a sit-com. Often, a main character asks a grandparent about a subject soon to be addressed but, unfortunately, not nearly soon enough. These novel openings sound good at first but quickly bring confusion since readers will rarely be able to tell what the book is about until they read a page or two or three.

Another problem arises with credibility and accuracy – or the lack thereof. With no bibliography to cite sources at the end of a manuscript, no one knows if the author has spent weeks searching, sorting, and sifting through reliable information or just passed along personal opinions and assumptions as fact.

A more common flaw occurs in the quality of the writing. For instance, passive voice seems particularly prevalent as illustrated by circling phrase after phrase that states, “It is” or “There was.” Such a passive voice usually comes across as a passive writer, who did not take time to search for active verbs and strong nouns that readers can readily picture.

Speaking of pictures, young readers need to be able to envision what they’re reading whether the pages contain illustrations or not. For the writing to be this clear, each sentence usually needs an easy-to-picture noun that brings to mind a person, place, or thing, but not a vague idea. An active verb can then put that noun into motion. If the nonfiction manuscript happens to be the text for a children’s picture book, those mental images on every page become vital or, voila, no picture book.

That seems obvious, but, fortunately, so do solutions to each of the problems mentioned. Most writers have fine minds and can figure these things out for themselves once they recognize a problem or even know to look for one. What often happens, though, is that we get caught up in stories we can’t wait to share with our kids or grandkids, forgetting that children can not follow unless we remember they’re right there beside us, waiting for the next picture, the next thought, the next word they can easily connect with, enjoy, and understand.

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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.



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Writing Children’s Stories With No Pink Fairies Or Old Fads

Each year I judged children’s fiction entered in the international writing contest sponsored by Writers-Editors.com, I often saw the same mistakes. Since the contest was “blind,” I didn’t know who submitted which manuscript, much less the age of the writers, but I suspect that most were very young or very not.

Stories and novel chapters typically sound like they're from young writers when they focus on trends or have fantastic settings with stereotyped characters who aspire, not to replacing Harry Potter, but to being him. I saw a lot of fairy tales with little pink fairies flying around too, but nothing to entice readers to follow them into (oh, please) Never (again) Land.

Whether sweet little stories or scary, fantasy fiction often has predictable people or plots. If writers do try something new, they’re apt to forget that young readers cannot always follow their sudden flights into a heightened vocabulary, including made-up words with which any earthling would say "What?"

Inappropriate vocabulary does not affect futuristic manuscripts only though. It’s also a problem in the “good ole day” stories where children-in-the-now do not know slang words or references to fads of a half-century ago. If such outdated words or phrases have real significance in a story, the context can help to explain, but too much of this will tuck resistant readers into an early nap.

Like most writers, older people want to tell their tales as a means of recording memories, working through old wounds, or validating their lives. That’s wonderfully healing and very appropriate in a journal, diary, or family album, but these stories seldom have anything to do with the young stranger on the other side of a page.

Relaying your own story has another potential hazard, too, since such manuscripts often go on way too long. What started out as a good idea can quickly bog down in details, descriptions, or rambling events that weaken the overall story. A true episode may be hard to cut, but what interests the writer can be too much for a restless child reader to sit still and hear.

One way to know whether you’ve fallen into this common trap is to ask if your story has a specific theme and purpose. If not, the pages may be a series of events loosely linked by the characters or setting. All is not lost though! As you revise your fiction for children, these tips might help:

• Focus on a particular child or group of children you know within your chosen age group.
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• Revise or rewrite your story with those specific faces in mind.
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• Look for a relevant theme to guide your revisions. For example, omit episodes that do not help either to enforce or to oppose your theme.
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• Begin the story with the main character identifying, clarifying, and/ or working toward resolving the main problem.
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• Consistently stay in the viewpoint of that character.
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• Without going back and forth, let the plot unfold as the story happens.
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• Remove long descriptions that hinder the story's movement.
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• Use a variety of sentence structures and lengths for older readers, but shorten long sentences in stories for young kids.
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• Avoid slang, archaic phrases, and words outside a present-day child's vocabulary.
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• Let context clarify the meaning of new or unusual words. If a word is key to the story, use it right away and, if need be, include a definition.
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• With the possible exception of an occasional crank or crackpot, portray adults in a positive light with no demeaning statements about law enforcement officers, teachers, parents, or grandparents.
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• Avoid biases and bigotry of all kinds.
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• Avoid lopsided viewpoints and unbalanced information. Make sure you have intelligent, caring people on both sides of the story.
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• Remember the adage: "Show. Don’t tell." Let your well-chosen characters care enough to act in character and resolve -- or accept -- the story's problem by The End.

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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler 

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Outline Or Synopsis?

Before you write a book, prepare either an outline or a synopsis, but which and why? This can be confusing, especially since all sorts of misinformation abounds. So to understand the very real differences, let’s back up a bit and look at what the outline and synopsis are meant to do.

For both, the first purpose is to help you keep your book on track as you write. Later, the same tool helps a potential editor or literary agent get an idea of what you had in mind without having to read the whole manuscript.

Besides having those traits in common, the outline and the synopsis run about the same length – usually a couple of pages. Otherwise they’re as different as a book of fiction and a nonfiction book can be.

If you’re writing a nonfiction book, you’ll develop an outline by simply listing the main points you want to include. Once you’ve written down the points you want to remember, group them into whatever categories they have in common. Each group then needs an appropriate heading under which you’ll arrange the points in a logical order or sequence.

As you write, this outline of well-organized thoughts will remind you what’s next – sort of like using an in-depth checklist to be sure you don’t forget something you want to include. Later, when you’re ready to send a nonfiction book proposal to an editor or agent, this same outline will go with your query letter and a chapter of two of the actual manuscript.

Similarly, a synopsis guides you, first as you write your novel then later as you try to give the editor or agent an overall feeling for your story. The synopsis is not the full story, nor is it a little paragraph or “blurb” like the one you’ll find on the back of a book jacket. It does not outline points nor list anything. Instead, the synopsis tells about a main highlight in each chapter of your novel – not giving the full story but telling about it in the present tense as though your very interesting story is happening right now.

When you complete your manuscript, add a query letter, the same synopsis you just used for writing, and a chapter or two of the novel. Then presto! You now have the fiction book proposal you’ll send to an agent or editor.

Besides this standard book proposal, literary agencies and book publishing companies sometimes have additional preferences they want you to include. To find out, locate the website then follow the writers' guidelines on the Submissions page of the company you think will be the very “best fit” for your book.

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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.

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Christian Writing and Marketing

As your primary text for all types and genres of writing, read the Bible cover to cover, including footnotes and articles in reputable study editions.

Read classical works by poets and writers with whom you identify.

Study and analyze Christian classics in your favorite genre.  

Write accurately about Christianity.

Get to know unique aspects of a denomination before speaking for that part of the Body of Christ. Whether you need information from the Vatican, Southern Baptist Sunday School Board, Episcopal Church, United Methodist, Assembly of God, or other Christian denomination, you will find that most churches have an official website with foundational documents, mission statements, and tenets of faith.

Write accurately about everything. Research each topic thoroughly.

Observe people. Listen to people of all types, age groups and backgrounds.

Consider what draws readers to a particular poem, story, article, or book.

Study publications you like to read. Get familiar with church magazines, curriculum materials, "take-home papers," e-zines, books, journals, and also mainstream publications.

Consider gaps in publishing that your story, poem, article or book might fill.

Plan your work before you begin. Decide on a theme, purpose, and reading audience. Outline a nonfiction book. Write a synopsis of your novel.

Write, write, write!

Use English well. If grammar, syntax, spelling, or punctuation don’t come easily, get a dictionary, junior-high grammar book, or an editing software program. You’ll also find hotlinks to these types of Resources on this blog.

Let your writing flow without criticizing yourself. Let your work rest. Later read those pages aloud as if someone else had written them.

Read each revision aloud and really listen to you!

Identify problems. When you see or sense a problem, you’ll most likely notice a workable solution too.

Revise, revise! Correct each mistake. Make every manuscript your best work before submitting it to an editor or Christian publishing house.

Most publishers have websites to let you know what they want. Study the information and carefully follow the company’s writing guidelines before you submit your manuscript or batch of poems.

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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.

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Know your Bible! Know your Bible choices!

Choosing a Bible was not difficult when only one or two English versions had been translated from the original Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic languages. Now, deciding which Bible you prefer can be confusing, especially since you have many choices among the word-for-word, phrase-by-phrase, and thought-by-thought translations. In addition to those options, you will also find Catholic and Protestant editions.

Specific word choices in the translations might differ, but the books in the New Testament will be the same in either Catholic or Protestant editions. However, the “Old Testament” of a Catholic Bible includes more books than you will find in the Hebrew scriptures of other Bibles, so be sure to look for an identifying phrase such as “Catholic edition” on the front cover.

Somewhere in the front pages of a Catholic study Bible, you will also find “Nihil Obstat” and “Imprimatur,” which let you know that the footnotes, study helps, and explanatory articles have been deemed free of doctrinal error by a Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church.

The English translation approved by the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and accepted by most parishes in America is the New American Bible (NAB), available in such excellent editions as The Catholic Study Bible, the Saint Joseph Edition, or The New Catholic Answer Bible.

Another favored translation is the poetically quotable classic, the Revised Standard Version. However, every copy of RSV does not include all of the Old Testament books that a Catholic Bible has, so look for The Ignatius Bible or other Catholic edition.

For a fresh, lively translation, the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) brings new energy (and, sometimes, different verse numbering!) to familiar Psalms, parables, and Bible stories.

If you want an easy-to-read translation with few footnotes, the Catholic edition of the Good News Bible may make you eager to read Holy Scriptures from cover to cover as you would any book or saga and, indeed, why not!

With a reader-friendly translation and church-approved footnotes, you can read, study, and soon love the Bible, then, accurately and poetically, pass on its Good News.


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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler. You might also want to follow the Bible Reviewer blog.

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On Account Of Our Words

You’ve probably heard by now that the Library of Congress recently obtained rights to preserve all of the tweets on Twitter in their digital archives. This could be embarrassing for those who speak reactively or blurt out whatever comes to mind. Even if they later regret what they said, those impulsive tweets have become part of a permanent record.

Sadly though understandably, people often say weird or crazy things when they think no one is listening, when they think no one cares, but Christians know better. We know God cares. We know God hears. We know our words can have a permanent impact with the power to hurt or heal.

In case we forget or just don’t get it, Jesus gives weight to our words in Matthew 12:36-37 when He says, “I tell you on the day of judgment people will give an account for every careless word they utter, for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned."

Heavy!

However, as Christian poets, writers, and editors, we can respond and not just react to the news, mood, and events going on around us. In the presence of the Holy Spirit, we have the presence of mind to pray and the peace of mind to listen and really hear what God says.

Taking care to hear and speak and write correctly, we can research each fact and scriptural reference in every poem or manuscript - taking care, too, to be honest, accurate, credible, and clear.

If we can find a traditional Christian publishing house or a denominational publisher to produce our work, great! The staff will add their expertise, catching mistakes we might have missed and pointing out areas we did not realize need clarifying so others will understand. If we self-publish though, we will not have an in-house team to keep our work and words accountable, but even if we must pay for it ourselves, we can ask for input from other Christians who know Christ, the church, and also human nature.

Knowing how to look up a subject in a biblical index or encyclopedia will help too, of course. Sometimes we’re sure we know a certain verse by heart, but we can look it up anyway, preferably in a variety of reputable translations, to get a clearer, broader understanding of the context and true meaning.

The more we know the Bible, the more we retain the Word of God until our minds begin to resemble the mind of Christ. This not only brings our poems and manuscripts into a deeper, spiritual level that will surely strengthen and encourage readers, but these Christ-like thoughts help us to keep our words in line, in love, in truth. So when our writing lands in the Library Of Congress archives or anywhere else, we can rejoice!

We can be glad to have our words preserved. We can be happy that others may come to believe in God on account of what we said. We and our words can bring blessings in Jesus’ name and be blessed on account of Christ.


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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler 

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The Poetic Power of Dyslexia

Most poets and writers draw on experience, talent, skill, personality, and the power of observation to find something fresh to say in their fiction, nonfiction, and poetry writing. If you do that too, great! Keep up the good work. However, the traits you think of as a disadvantage or even a handicap might be the ones that help you to develop your own voice or distinctive style. Take, for instance, dyslexia.

Like many poets and career freelance writers, I began writing as a young child but, in my case, backwards. One way or the other did not matter to me, but this stressed out my teacher so much, she made me stay after class on my very first day of school. For years I thought Mrs. Smith called Mother to come in, too, to see how sloppily I wrote as my left hand smudged the soft pencil across the lined paper in my notebook, but no. I had perfectly copied everything the teacher wrote on the blackboard (which actually was black then), and I had formed each letter of the alphabet correctly. I had just written everything on the blackboard backwards.

For fun, I still like to spell ippississiM in my head, and I must warn you not to even try to beat me at word games like Boggle or Wheel Of Fortune unless, of course, you’re also a bit dyslexic. Most of the time, though, inverting letters and scrambling words or thoughts has gotten me into trouble, especially when I’m tired. If someone happens to spew double-negatives then, I can almost guarantee my brain will not follow.

In writing poetry and poetic manuscripts, however, dyslexia can come in handy. Word scrambles often lead to word play, and scrambled thinking can connect this to that in a previously untried but true way. Such “mistakes” might add a note of humor to fiction or nonfiction too and, in some cases, bring about a fresh idea, insight, or observation.

For example, as a Christian writer I often write nonfiction articles and devotionals. In one short article I wrote for other Christian poets and writers, I talked about the importance of double-checking facts and speaking with a loving voice whenever we write in the name of Jesus. Since Christians pray in Jesus’ name, my point was to encourage that thought also as we write. However, instead of typing “in the name of Jesus,” I wrote, “in the amen of Jesus.” Same letters, you notice, just scrambled. When I finally noticed this myself, I thought, wow! That better said what I wanted to say anyway. i.e., Anything we write (or pray) in Jesus’ name needs Jesus’ amen or affirmation.

I certainly do not pray for my dyslexia to increase or for you to catch it! But I do pray that you use your talents and “flaws” well. I pray you begin to see your “mistakes” or “handicaps” or “shortcomings” or “disadvantages” as a means of making your writing distinctive, inimitable, and one of a kind. Do I hear an name?

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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.

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