Breaking the vicious cycle

So, how do you deal with the following situation?

You want to write an article, freelance, but don't heave a regular gig anywhere.  So you need to put together something really strong in order to pitch it... but without having a publication backing you, potential sources are less likely to take the time to help you.

Thoughts?  Advice?

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The cliche of writer's block

It's kind of a cliche, really.

You finally get the time, and the space, and, hell, the permission to just sit down and write.

And nothing happens.

You stare at your list of prompts and to-dos, and you just can't care about them. This one is stupid. That one is hard.

You open up something you got halfway through, and you can't for the life of you remember where you were going with it.

You get defeatist. No one is going to read it anyway. No one reads it now. Why bother?

You get nervous. The plan was to work on your writing, and then do something else. Something else? Not getting done. Because you can't write.

You can't write.

And hell, if you could do anything else -- if you wanted to do anything else -- well, you'd have a day job like a normal person, wouldn't you?

Self-worth comes into question. The Depression monster -- which already finds you to be delectable prey -- starts creeping around the edges of your territory. You can see it, hear it, smell its breath. Its teeth are sharp, and wet; its mouth is watering.

It will devour you if you don't fight.

Better to whine about having to fight than to be eaten for not fighting, you decide.

So you hammer out the kind of essay writers have been writing when they lack better ideas, pretty much since there have been both writers and ideas.

It's kind of a cliche, really.

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NaNoWriMo: Prep

Ok, National Novel Writer's Month starts on November 1, and once again I'm going to participate.  This year, I'm actually hoping to finish, even.

But, as usual, I can't decide what to wrote about.  I'm hoping you can help.  I was going to describe the ideas I had, but in my experience, the more I talk about my writing projects, the less likely I am to finish them.  So, without any actual information, please help me decide:



The poll closes on October 31, so I can jump right in November 1.

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To Do: Blog

Image via WikipediaI love Google Calendar. The Tasks list -- which is also connected to Gmail -- allows me to keep track of what I need to do at work, at home, any time I'm near a computer, and, of course, when I'm blogging.

Whenever I come up with an idea for a blog post, I break that idea down into basic parts, then add each part to my to-do list on Google Calendar. Then, I just pull the next task in, write it up, and if I finish a post ahead of time, awesome: I just pre-schedule it for another day.

I've never been ahead of myself like this before. It's pretty sweet!

What do you do to keep on top of your game with blogging or other writing?

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Seeking PenPals...

This post is blatantly cross-posted from my other blog, Life is (not) Boring.

Havi at The Fluent Self has a weekly ritual in which she postspersonal ads for the things and people she wants and needs in her life. I love the idea, so I am heretofor going to rip her off.

Prolific communicator with endless opinions seeks same for penpal relationship. Let's keep the centuries-old tradition alive and count among the last great correspondants.
Topics unlimited. I am not easily offended, but be sure you are likewise and can take what you give. Sample topics might include books recently read, life lessons learned from daily tasks, updates on major milestones, progress towards goals, and explorations on topics not discussed in polite society.

Regualr correspondence is a must, although "regular" may be defined as anything from a short note once a week to an encyclopedicmissive twice a year. I tend toward the latter but am flexible. Ideally, holiday and birthday greetings would be inlcuded in the correspondence (but would not count toward the "twice a year missive").

The ideal candidate already has my home address, as I do not give it out online. I begin all replies immediately after receiving a letter; long repsonses will take longer to finish.

No dabblers, please. Apply by post; I have sent letter that have recevied no repsonse, and would like to weed out such candidates.

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Elevator Pitch

I'm a little late in the game, but I'm going to be working (slowly, no doubt) on ProBlogger's most recent version of the 31 Days To Build a Better Blog Challenge.

Now, I'm not going to be working on this blog -- I might, eventually, if the Challenge works out, but not yet. My primary blog is Reviewing Whatever, so I'll be concentrating on that.

Day One's challenge is to Write and Elevator Pitch For Your Blog.

You can get reviews of the newest and hottest books, movies, and restaurants anywhere, but where do you go to hear about chain restaurants, library finds, several-year-old DVDs, or even tourist traps? Just because it's old or ever-present doesn't mean it's not new to you -- and you deserve to read the reviews in advance even then. So if it's new to me, I'll tell you what I think.

Thoughts? What's your elevator pitch?

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Writing For Happiness

So since I've been in a mood-slump lately (partially explaining, but in no way excusing, my long absence), I decided to start my own Happiness Project. I don't want to get into it too much at this point, but one of my goals/plans for the Project is to recreationally (no work, no forums, no emails) write at least one paragraph daily. This counts!

Does forcing yourself to write increase your happiness, or just increase your stress? Or both?!

NaNoWriMo

How's your novel going?  I really don't know how mine is, because I'm writing most of it out longhand.  I need to do a massive round of typing.

Self-Promotion

Wow, this is sad, isn't it?  I'm in... not a rut, so much as a ditch, really.

One thing that's got me stuck: Say I want to pitch a story, or apply for a writing or copy-editing job.  My weak point is self-promotion.  How do I convince potential employers that I am better than everyone else they're sorting through, when all I know about everyone else is that they are at least as qualified as I am, or they wouldn't be my competition.  How do I figure out what I, and no one else, has to offer, that makes me better for the job than anyone else?  (Besides the fact that I'll work cheap -- I don't want to advertise that too much!)

How do you figure it out?  Do you have any helpful hints?

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Exquisite corpse

Image by aperryz302 via FlickrLately, I've needed quite a kick in the rear to get to writing.  You'll notice that I didn't post my goals -- or much of anything -- for July.  And considering it's the 9th already and I've got a bunch of booked weekends in a row, I'm not sure I should post goals for August, either.  But I do need to get my momentum back.

Who wants to write an exquisite corpse?  If you play, I'd send you a line of poetry with no context, and you would write the next line.  Around and around through several people until we have something that's bizarre, surreal, and/or eerily profound.

Any takers?  Sign up in comments.

Prayer Intentions #1 -- For the Church

I'm planning on writing the General Intercessions for my wedding next year. I'm actually really enjoying the process, and I have a lot of ideas. De-politicizing my actual intentions is quite a challenge -- give it a try!

Also, what should I be including? Bear in mind that this is a Catholic service (not a Mass), and I am... technically Methodist, although realistically more of a semi-Episcopalian, Catholic-influenced general Protestant (long story...).

Here's part one: praying for the church.

For all the Church in the world, that we may come together, not in hatred over our differences, but in love and devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ.

For all people of faith, and all those who seek meaning, that they may find Truth.

For all deacons and ordered religious, all priests and ministers, all bishops and conference chairs, all Popes and Patriarchs, and for all men and women who are called to be shepherds, that they may lead their flocks in Christ's example.

For all parishioners of N----- Church, and for the former congregation of F-----Church, that the values and love they have passed on to Chris and Laura may continue to guide them and those their lives touch.

Suggestions? Additions?

According to the Book of Common Prayer, the General Intercessions should include:
The Universal Church, its members, and its mission
The Nation and all in authority
The welfare of the world
The concerns of the local community
Those who suffer and those in any trouble
The departed (with commemoration of a saint when appropriate)

Goals for June

• Get 2 entries ahead on myself on Reviewing Whatever,
• get a proper template for Life is (not) Boring,
• write a total of 500 words of fiction (in any combination on two stories),
• quietly roll out this writing blog here,
• send my fiance an honest-to-goodness snail mail letter.

What are your goals this month?

About

Well, clearly the last thing I need to do is start another blog. But this one is not designed for regularity and publicity and all that. This is the combination creative writing/self-motivation blog. This is the one I do for me, whenever I feel like it, however I feel like it.

So, how much you want to bet this is the one that gets a following? That's always the way.

It makes sense, though. On the one hand, everyone wants to be a writer. I'm hoping you'll follow my journey and share yours, as well.

On the other hand... everyone wants to be a writer. And not all of us will, and those of us who try have a lot of competition.

So what do I have to offer? Well, let's see...

• A head full of ideas.
• Three dismal failures at NaNoWriMo.
• A ton of poetry, some published, but very little recent.
• A notebook full of story elements that I intended to turn into a novel, until it fizzled. It's a decent character bible, though, and I intend to steal elements from it.
• A couple dozen half-finished, or half-started, stories.
• Quite a few decent essays that I intend to post in another blog.
• A thin portfolio of news articles, none recent.
• Three blogs, including this one.

Actually, let me amend that last. Technically, I have ten blogs. An old personal blog you're unlikely to find, a current personal blog that you can probably find if you're willing to put in the effort (no, I won't be helping), a blog about customer service I'd abandoned a few years ago but may be cannibalizing for ideas, a Press Ethics blog for school one semester, a single entry at BlogCritics (yes, I do plan to follow up there... eventually), a blog full of reviews, one full of anecdotes, the "share" link on Google Reader, and this one. But more on them another day.

Well. As the title says, Writers Write! And as the URL suggests, Laura (being me) Procrastinates. So here I will keep myself accountable to the world -- as if the world cares -- about my effort and progress. If you're out there, enjoy!