Emotional Vampires are Alive and Well In My Neck of the Woods

I am not a regular blogger. I don't think I would even qualify as being an irregular blogger, I blog so infrequently. But I think about blogging regularly. And I read and contribute to other blogs regularly.

And I make up excuses as to why I do not blog personally.

1. I'm physically tired after an 8 - 10 hour work day ( I am a licensed physiotherapist in a sole charge clinic - it pays my bills)
2. I'm mentally tired. I read for my employment, write letters and charts on patients' behalf, and read many blogs and news spots with regards to writing and the publishing world. Most of what I am thinking about has been written about and presented in ways sounding much more eloquent than I could write.
3. I don't have the experience or knowledge yet to contribute in a meaningful way, like J.A. Konrath or Wesley Dean Smith or Joanna Penn do.

Lately, however, after some soul-searching on this topic, I realized that it's not always procrastination or being disorganized.

It is not always my fault.

That's right. Like an unseen force that you sense creeping up from somewhere behind you, I have come to recognize the invisible force that sucks my energy away from me and ultimately threatens my writing success.
And Then. I. Know.
It's an encounter with an Emotional Vampire.

These are the people, and sometimes the situations, that drain you of the energy needed to accomplish a goal. ( Like reaching my daily work count, or doing a regular blog.) They may not leave a fang mark on your neck, but their siphoning off of your time, energy, and focus is every bit as real. Ever had a spouse or friend frequently interrupt you in your writing? Make disparaging remarks about your goals? Complain about the time you devote to your writing while ignoring them? Or how about a social commitment that invades and takes over the time that you have set aside to write?

Writing takes energy and time. If you are chronically short on either, your writing will suffer.

I began to identify these attacks on me by the emotional vampires around me. Sometimes, I think the attacks were deliberate, sometimes they were accidental, but once I recognized that they were going on, I began to shield myself from their damage.

I grew thicker skin.( It's harder to pierce with those snide remarks.) I prioritized my time, considering my writing as not just this fun thing that I do as a hobby in the evenings, but as my second job. I shared less information about my writing with others so as to not invite their unrequested opinions - opinions that I would end up either having to refute, or offer further explanation in response to.

I reserve my energy now for my plot and characters. I no longer squander my time, fulfilling other requests at the expense of my writing. And I am winning. And writing. Regularly.

Tis the Season for New Growth in All Things

I've been busy with my book tour, and catching up on my reading on my favorite blog sites, so today was a day outside for a couple of hours - away from the computer. It's mostly purple season at my house, but the colors are coming on and the yard and flower gardens are looking lush! I hadn't done a walk-about in my yard for a week or two and my, how it has changed! The Giant Allium are popping out and the Oriental Poppies (the most intense tangerine you could imagine) are nearly ready to join them - their flower bud heads are ready to burst. Funny how a little bit of time away can change the landscape's appearance, bringing in all kinds of newness.

I've also let my WIP (Book Two for the YA Quintspinner series) sit unattended for the past couple of weeks and I'm now viewing it with fresh eyes. My motivation in progressing with it had been severely lacking and I had a lot of excuses - I've got the blog tour, my day job, my yardwork, other community commitments - but now, in rereading, I realize that subconsciously I didn't like where the story line was heading.

It was kinda' blah.





BUT, walking among my garden, I was flooded with new ideas, and I returned to the house, refreshened with inspiration for the story - a new journey in the storyline and an unexpected possibility for the ending. New growth is everywhere and it's contagious!

Quintspinner Book Tour



Monday, May 30/11 marks the first day of a 10 day book blog tour for my novel, Quintspinner - A Pirate's Quest. The organizers are Goddess Fish Promotions   http://bit.ly/goddessfishpromotions and they have been fantastic to work with. This tour has a terrific lineup of host bloggers - why not visit their sites and add a comment? If you comment on the day that they are hosting me on my book tour, your name goes into the hat to be eligible for a random draw for the prize of a Quintspinner Tshirt ( a very cool shirt indeed!) and a $10 Gift card from Amazon. Free stuff just for dropping by! And you'll have had the chance to explore 11 new blogs full of great content. The tour is as follows:

1. Monday, May 30th at http://bit.ly/TraveltheAges (Travel the Ages)
2. Tuesday, |May 31st at http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/  (The life and lies of an inanimate flying object)
3. Wednesday, June 1st at http://www.calicheermom.com/ (Cali Cheer Mom)
4. Thursday, June 2nd at http://bit.ly/lqc9nK  (Fresh Pot of Tea)
5. Friday, June 3rd at http://bit.ly/kvyoJs (Novella Vialli's Blog)
6. Monday, June 6th at http://bit.ly/kK0Zb8  (Realmantic Moments)
7. Tuesday, June 7th at http://www.readergirls.blogspot.com/ (ReaderGirls)
8. Wednesday, June 8th at http://www.hywelalyn.blogspot.com/ (Romance That's Out of This World)
9. Thursday, June 9th at http://www.elainepcantrell.blogspot.com/ (Hope. Dreams. Life ... Love)
10. Friday, June 10th (Stop One) at http://bit.ly/kDU9ha  (Immortality and Beyond) (Adult site)
11. Friday, June 10th (Stop Two) at http://mindingspot.blogspot.com/ (Minding Spot)

Hope to see you all there!

A Reprieve from Book-ish Stuff (sort of...)

Today I am sharing a posting by Catherine Ryan Hyde, well known UK author of several novels. This is another example of how technology brings people together around the world. It's a wonderful thing to be writing in today's times. So many topics to write and read about. So many people to meet!

Catherine is prolific, not only in writing marvelous novels, but also in maintaining a very entertaining blog as well. I am honored to have been featured in her recent post http://www.catherineryanhyde.com/blog/2011/5/6/more-puppy-puppy.html with my ol' friend Boru. He tipped the scales at 202 pounds and was quite the character. An Irish wolfhound (the breed has lots of history behind it), he was a BIG fellow, but was truly a gentle giant. Enjoy.

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Guest Post by Bob Mayer

Another multi-million-paid traditional author goes over to the new world of self-publishing and gives his reasons for doing so in this post on JA Konrath's site A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Guest Post by Bob Mayer . We are in the midst of change that most people outside the self-publishing realm cannot believe is happening. In 10 or 15 years , when self-publishing is what ALL authors do, we will all look back and say "Who woulda' thought it could happen...?"

Which genres are the most work?

My novel, "Quintspinner - A Pirate's Quest" is set in the 1700's in the infamous Golden Age of Piracy. It is an action story but also has an element of romance, a thread of magic, and is, of course, by nature of the settting, a novel in the historical genre. I was chatting with another published author, who has several novels to his credit, all of them historical. He has a PhD in English Literature and is a prolific historian. I asked him if he thought writing in the historical genre was more work than others. He replied that, in his opinion, it was, as the amount of research and fact checking adds to the workload of the story.

Another blogger, who writes/reads/ reviews in SciFi,  volunteered the same thought before I could even ask him. "I just need lots of imagination," he said, "But historical writing takes time and energy and lots of note-taking before as well as during the writing period."

What do you think? If you had to find out and verify how your characters dressed, what they ate, how they acted/lived for the times that they lived in, before you wrote the story, would you still choose that genre? Do romance writers need to be experts in relationships? Crime writers in police work? Which genres are the hardest to do well?

Getting Affirmation For One's Writing

When I wrote my first novel, Quintspinner - A Pirate's Quest, I was writing for the sheer joy of storytelling. Yes, there was a little pressure to do so, to finish the story and to make it a good one, from friends and spouse who, once I told them I was "writing a book", either guffawed and shook their heads, or beamed with enthusiasm. ( Either way, I had something to prove.) I was writing in the best time to be a writer - the age of the Internet. At the time I didn't realize that writing historical was more work than contemporary - there was all that research to do on life in the 1700's, on tall ships, on pirates - as well as creating loveable/detestable characters, settings that sprung to life in a reader's mind, and a compelling page-turning keep-you-up-at-night plot. At the time it was all just a wonderful way to get lost in a story - to be whisked away to another time and place that felt so real to me. There were many moments of self-doubt along the way and that's when affirmations of friends and fellow writers, even hearing of other's successes and enjoying them vicariously, pulled me through.

And the hours of work have paid off, I think. Quintspinner was a shortlist selection for the 2010 Saskatchewan Best First Book Award, and last week it placed first in Best Historical Fiction ( and therefore was recipient of the Tyler R. Tichelaar Award for Best Historical Fiction) and third in Best YA (15-18) for the 2011 ReaderViews Book Awards. Even though I reached my initial goal of writing and getting a book published, these awards have confirmed to me that my book is an enjoyable read to others and for now, self-doubt has greatly diminished. I am Write on the Way to ...Somewhere! To all of the writers out there, hold fast to any and all positive affirmations! Keep believing in yourself.