Comments on: Waiting…and waiting…

By: Emily Bryan

Emily Bryan — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:13:24 +0000

Hi Charlotte,

Sorry I missed this blog when it first came out. I was in Seattle for the PNWA conference (giving my workshop on the Joy of Writing Sex!) and didn’t get around to checking my emails till I got home.

I posted a Mark Twaine quote on my website under my Writers Corner tab. He says:

“There are plenty of rules for attaining success, but none of them work unless you do!”

Sad, but true!

Best,
Em

By: Amy S.

Amy S. — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:14:35 +0000

Thanks so much! I just emailed.

By: Charlotte Hubbard

Charlotte Hubbard — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:42:27 +0000

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! to all who gave me such fine advice! You’ll be pleased to know my cowboy has returned and I cranked out 10 really good pages yesterday!

My give-away time has expired now! I’ve notified AMY SMITH that she’ll receive her choice of titles from either of my sites. All of you–some I know (and you know who you are!) and some newcomers visited, and I’m a happy cat about that!

Charlotte

By: Dina

Dina — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:06:43 +0000

Hi Charlotte,

How about taking a relaxing bath with everything outside the bathroom silent to help clear your mind?

By: Megan Kelly

Megan Kelly — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:00:41 +0000

Charlotte, You have more determination than anyone I know. Use your “waiting” as a reward. AFTER you’ve written a set number of pages, you can check your email. Even if it dings while you’re writing, alerting you to incoming mail, you can’t peek. Set your phone to the machine and turn off the ringer. Then close your eyes and invite your rodeo rider into your mind. Have a flirty conversation with him, just for yourself, before you put fingers to keyboard. Let him get you eager to spend time with him. You don’t have to use any of your conversation with him in the work–that’s just for you.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:53:36 +0000

I’m always looking for ‘rewards’ that don’t involve food or alcohol. It seems we are socialized to always think of eating and drinking when we want to celebrate or relax. I’m a work before play type, so it helps me get over the hump when I can set a reward at the end of the work part. A goal or carrot, whichever vision you prefer. Some time with a good book (just for pleasure), a relaxing bath, walk in the park, computer game, movie, etc. Whatever floats your particular boat.

By: Charlotte Hubbard

Charlotte Hubbard — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:41:47 +0000

Gee, I’ve got to thank everyone who’s responding here today! And you’ve all got me figured out, too–I love those quotes, Amy, and haven’t read any of them before. Nabikov’s image of words being written in invisible ink is so cool…if only you could hold the page up to the window and see the words that are to come out, eh?!

And Barb, well…Barb knew me before I emerged as Melissa MacNeal, the first dirty little girl from our RWA chapter to publish erotica!

I don’t stand a chance! I’m going to have to start working on this novella again!

Charlotte

By: Amy S.

Amy S. — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:41:41 +0000

You could try posting some motivational quotes around your workspace. Or you can try something that would help you relax to get in the mood to write, like music, movies, or even taking a walk.

Here is some quotes I found.

“Success is the prize for those who stand true to their ideas!” — Josh S. Hinds

Take time-out 1/2 way through your day to ask “what have I done today?” Then act on your thoughts! Chances are if it was enough for you to ponder it, success is not far behind! — Josh S. Hinds

“You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” — George Horace Lorimer

The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible. ~Vladimir Nabakov

Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them. ~Nathaniel Hawthorn

Ink on paper is as beautiful to me as flowers on the mountains; God composes, why shouldn’t we? ~Audra Foveo-Alba

If I fall asleep with a pen in my hand, don’t remove it – I might be writing in my dreams. ~Danzae Pace

By: Melissa Conatser

Melissa Conatser — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:32:17 +0000

First, I am in no way a writer and I admire the talent and skills it takes to write a book, especially one that entraps thousands of readers until the very end.

I really like the B*I*T*C*H* comment.

If I were in this situation, I would try to put myself in the characters life. Maybe do some research and visit the area that the book is set in. Talk to Native Americans Go to a rodeo…you get the idea.

Oh, and send me some of the Dove Dark! One of my favorites!

Melissa

By: Barbara Scott

Barbara Scott — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:10:51 +0000

Patience is a virtue…la la la la laa. But there’s nothing you can do to make your editor do her job any faster. What you can do is make your wait more pleasurable. Bring that sexy cowboy back and put him through his paces. Put on some inspirational music, crank up the air conditioner, and give those fingers a real work out…. I mean typing, you dirty girl.

Barbara