Laura Drake's Blog

You’ve been writing in one genre…maybe for several books. Maybe for your entire career. But lately, you’re antsy. Unable to decide on your next project. You have ideas, but nothing that grabs you hard enough to put in the effort that creating takes.

Then, out of the ether, comes another idea. One that grabs you by the lapels and shakes you. But it’s a new genre, so you ignore it.

But it won’t go away.

What do you do?

I can tell you – if you ask your agent, or publisher or publicist (if you have them,) they’ll tell you to stick with your brand. You’ve got a following. You’re on readers’ ‘auto-buy’ list. Changing genres is an uphill battle because in a way, you’re starting over.

They’re not wrong.

You ask indie authors. Friends. Family. They tell you to go for it. Your writing is a creative outlet – you’re never happier when you’re excited about a new project you’re excited about.

They’re not wrong either.

So what do you do?

As with most writer career questions, it depends (I know, I hate that answer too.) I was faced with this dilemma. I’d written TEN romances. I had a NY Publisher. They wanted to see my next project, ostensibly to draft another contract. I tried. I wrote half a book and I knew who would star in the next two in the series. But I couldn’t make myself write farther. It was drudgery. All the fun went out of creating.

I knew I was at a crossroads. Staying in my lane felt like a job. A crappy one. But that shiny new genre idea yelling in my ear? It terrified me.

Here’s how I finally decided, and mmaybe it will help you:

Write a list. What is your main goal with writing? What’s your second? Your third? Be brutally honest with yourself when you put them in order.  Here were mine:

Create, and be proud of what I producedBe ‘sucessful’ as an author-meaning more readers with every book$ is nice, but mainly as a way of keeping score

Once I did that, can you see the obvious choice? I needed to veer out of my usual lane, take the risk and write in that new genre.

I did. It meant putting NY in the rearview and going indie. I published 4 Women’s Fiction (2 with a small press.) Then another genre grabbed me. This time it snuck up on me – I wrote half of what I thought was WF before realizing it was really Thriller/Suspense.

I was terrified – but more like roller coaster terrified than car crash terrified. Writing was fun again. I haven’t looked back.

But what about YOUR list? If you’re writing for money, helping to support your family, your answer will be different. If you’re writing for a NY publisher, and are happy there, your answer will be different too. And that’s great.

But if you can’t decide, write your list of your top three goals. Even if they’re evenly balanced on the ‘stay or go’ scale, look at the list again.

The answer in your heart will be the right one for you.

WRITE ON!

 

 

The post Genre: Stay in Your Lane or Step Out? appeared first on Laura Drake.

By Laura Drake

I’ve pondered the topic of book pricing for a long time. It makes me uneasy because, though I’ve thought a lot about it, I haven’t come up with a definitive answer.

Everyone knows it’s hard to make a decent living as an author.

Heck, most don’t make over $2k a year. Yes, there are the Nora Roberts, James Patterson, Stephen Kings of the world, but if you’re writing to be able to rub income statements with them, good luck. I was a CFO in my career—a numbers geek. So I should be able to analyze the numbers but there are way too many variables.

Is it better to:

Charge full price for your book, and make a larger profit even if you sell less copies?Price to the majority or the ‘standard’ market price for your genre?Use a lower price strategy ($1.99 or 0.99) and hope make up the per unit loss in volume?Price that first book free, hoping to hook new readers?

But like everything else in this crazy industry, the answer is—it depends.

How stand-out is your book?Is the genre hot?Do you have a large following?Do you run ads?Sales?

And how do you quantify all that? I’ll stop, because even listing is giving me anxiety, but just know I could go on.

What about Kindle Unlimited? In case you don’t know, it’s a monthly subscription service for books; you read as many as you’d like from their library one monthly fee. For authors, those payments go into a ‘pool’ and you are paid by the number of pages of your enrolled books that have been read.

I’m of two minds about the KU strategy as well. I know it can work, especially in genres with voracious readers, like Romance. But on the other hand, once a reader goes KU, do they ever go back? As a reader, when I’m getting a ton of books for one monthly subscription price, why would I pay about that amount for ONE book?

That one really troubles me.

But you know what? None of that matters because of Queuing Theory. Never heard of it? Here’s the Wikipedia definition: Queueing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines, or queues.  Boooring, right? But hang on, here’s an example.

You’re late for work, stuck in slow moving traffic. You’re fuming. Finally, you pull abreast of an accident; an eighteen-wheeler T-boned a car. An ambulance is on scene. You slow, so you can check it out.

You are now part of the problem. And you know it, but you want to see.

What does this have to do with book pricing strategy?

Every person, even if they know their actions will adversely affect the whole, does what is best for them. It doesn’t make you evil, or selfish—it’s human nature. Put on your mask first, then help others, right?

So KU is here to stay, regardless of whether it’s cheapening the product or not. Pricing free, or lowballing pricing is the same.

What every author has to decide for themselves, is what is best for them.

And how do you decide what is best for you? The answer is, it depends…

Yeah, I’m still researching and testing ideas the answers too, but at least I’m no longer angsting over the argument.

How do you feel about pricing strategies? Have you found something that works for you?

The post Book Pricing Strategy – Does it help or hurt other authors? appeared first on Laura Drake.

This is a topic I don’t see addressed often, but it’s done wrong so often that it’s become a pet peeve of mine. It’s like a cheese grater on the nerves. Once you see the difference between smooth, essential thoughts and ‘throw away’ thoughts, you won’t be able to unsee them. And that’s a good thing for your writing.

Thoughts in exposition can be wonderful – they help your reader get to know your characters and have empathy for them. They can be a great way to reveal backstory in a compelling way. They can also be a great way to explode a secret on the page.

But done wrong, it invites skimming and that’s the LAST thing you want. There’s several ways to do it wrong. Here are a few:

Italics: Yes, I know there is no rule against putting thoughts in italics. But to me, it’s distracting. Since we use italics to show emphasis, for texts, news articles, etc., that can be a lot of drawing attention. Don’t use them for thoughts, too.Too many thoughts: If you’re a fan of Margie Lawson, (and if you’re not, you should be) you know she suggests highlighting thoughts in yellow. Choose any one chapter in the middle of your book and highlight the thoughts. You will be shocked at how much is yellow. Too many thoughts tend to make the reader feel trapped in your character’s head. They slow the read, which is never a good thing. I believe it’s why many readers have an aversion to first person – too many thoughts!Unneeded thoughts: As authors, we have a hard time judging when enough is enough. We tend to think the reader needs more information than they do.

This is the kind of thing that makes a reader ‘skim’ to get to the good parts.

How do you avoid this?

Here’s some examples:

We’re in the hurricane’s path. It’s a solid Category 2 now, and it could get stronger.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “Do we need to evacuate?”

Who would like the sound of that? It’s a freakin’ hurricane! Doubly bad if you’re trying to increase tension in the scene. To increase tension—not a spare word!

Instead, tell us what we don’t know!

This guy is a legend in his own mind. I’ve seen some crap in my days, but he dishes it by the shovelful. “I’m so impressed with your body of work, Sir.”

I’m good with diplomacy. My thoughts? Another thing entirely.

See how that last thought told you the obvious?

Done better:

“I’m so impressed with your body of work, Sir.”  And I’m even more impressed with my hyperbole super-power.

Backstory thoughts: Backstory dumps are never good. They’re even worse in thoughts. Why? Think about it – how often do you go to bad memories in your thoughts? No more often than you have to, right? So does this sound like a legitimate thought?

  He remembered the blast of an IED, during his tour of duty in Iraq. He hadn’t wanted to enlist, but the judge said it was that or jail time. Didn’t seem fair. He’d only been driving the car, and he didn’t know his drunk buds meant to rob the gas station. But there he was,  sweating under a fifty-pound pack, when the blast hit, throwing him in the air.

Dump-city, right? Sure the information tells us about the character, but not in a compelling way. Instead:

Crouched behind the car, he rubbed the pain in his leg—a reminder of the IED that was the last time he’d come this close to death.

See how the above hints there IS backstory, without dumping backstory?

The rest may be important about the character, but you can find places to slip in details down the road in this same compelling way.

Take the time to think about your character’s thoughts. I promise your writing will be better for it!

The post What Were You Thinking? Showing Thoughts in a Compelling Way appeared first on Laura Drake.

We’ve all read it. We’ve all written it. The overexplanation. Even published books are rife with it (though I’ll bet, not many bestsellers are.) Is it small? Subtle? Often. But enough of it sprinkled in your writing will invite skimming. And as Margie Lawson says, skimming is death to a novel. She’s not wrong.

But it’s insidious. There are MANY forms of Authorsplaining, and they creep in when you’re not looking. Here are a few, and how to spot and banish them:

Overdescribing –It’s easy to get carried away with descriptions – you’re seeing it in your head and using pretty words to paint a picture. But if it’s something the reader has seen/knows, don’t go into great detail. You can never describe a sunset over the ocean better than your memory, and your reader has most likely witnessed one (or many.) See how that can invite skimming?

Take for example, a high school dance. You can just sketch in broad strokes the streamers hanging from the gym ceiling…after all, we’ve all been to one, so we don’t need a ton of detail on decorations – just enough to show us they tried to convert the gym to something magical. And that effort always fails, right? Show that.

There are exceptions to this – mostly in Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Historical genres, where we’re not familiar with the item/scene you’re describing. But still, don’t be carried away, or your reader will lose interest. They didn’t pick up your regency to learn how many spokes make up a phaeton carriage wheel.

Circling back –This is something I see a lot. You say something, then move on, then come back and give more info, then circle back again to the same subject. This really irritates a reader. They feel like you think they’re not smart enough to get it the first time.

If you find yourself doing this, I’ll bet it’s because you’ve found a better way to say it, the second time. If so, cut the first, or combine the best of both – it’ll be more powerful.

Example:

Sean looks over from where he’s heaving junk out of the closet. “Seriously? We have a houseful of stuff to get rid of, and you want to keep old newspaper clippings? Just trash them.”

Then, a few lines later:

“Do I have to beg you? Please, ditch the newspaper clippings.”

Can you see that the reader knows what he’s referring to, so you can just say, ‘ditch them.’ Or, better yet, just ‘Please.’ Trust that your reader will know what you’re talking about.

Thoughts –Have you ever felt trapped in a character’s head, and you can’t wait to get out? Most of the time (unless you’re in Hannibal Lecter’s head) I think this is because you’re writing the mundane, everyday thoughts. We have way too many of those in our own heads—we don’t want to read about your character’s.

I have one rule about this: only show thoughts the reader couldn’t guess!

Showing then telling – We could argue all day about show vs. tell, but that’s for another What you never want to do (and I see often) is show AND tell.

Example:

The author just described a snow-covered landscape outside.

A chill seeped through the glass . Becky rubbed her goose-bumped arms.

The author told, then showed. We know snow is cold. If she has goose bumps, we know it’s from a chill.

Another:  She was steaming with frustration. He was always late.  “Why can’t you ever be on time?”

Authorsplaining is as irritating to read as it is to hear in real life. It seems hard to notice at first, but once you get used to spotting it, you can’t unsee it.

Write on!

 

*this was originally posted on Writers in the Storm Blog: https://bityl.co/RBZ0

The post Authorsplaining appeared first on Laura Drake.

Please excuse the formatting – if you’d like to have my quarterly newsletter sent to your inbox, just sign up HERE.For Roger wins an award! She breathes life into characters who make you stop breathing.
I bet Jodi Picoult wishes she had this idea, wishes she wrote this book
Seriously. Grab this book now!        Margie Lawson

Laura Drake takes on a topic that most authors wouldn’t be equipped to touch, and she does it with grace and humor.       Lainey Cameron

Don’t miss FOR ROGER. I’ve read some great books this year. This one was the best.        Liz

Thought provoking, no matter what you feel. I’ll read it again, after I catch my breath.       Ann C

If You Only Read One 2023 Release, Make It This One. Wow. Phenomenal. I’m writing this review roughly 12 hrs after finishing the book, and I am still in awe of what Drake was able to do here. Very much recommended.       Jeff

If you’ve read it already, would you consider leaving a review? It matters a lot! You can do that HERE and/or HERE.

GIVEAWAYS!I love to partner with authors who have written books that I think you would enjoy. Being a subscriber, you’re automatically entered to win a paperback copy. I’ll be informing the winners in a few days.Good luck! Readers who love Jodi Picoult’s topical plot twists and Liane Moriarty’s character-driven novels will devour this fast-paced tale set in modern-day Chicago of three generations of women whose lives converge as one fights a devastating online accusation, another campaigns for a contested seat in Congress, and one, the young journalist with ties to both, navigates the tricky line between secrets and lies.

Winner of ten major book awards including the 2022 National Indie Excellence Grand Prize and the 2022 Forward Reviews Gold Medal for Adult Fiction.

Click on the cover to be taken to a retail site. If you’d like to sign up for Maggie’s newsletter, you can do it HERE.

Marissa Raffaelo-Moretta is used to shouldering the burden. As the middle child, she’s played the mediator role for longer than she cares to admit. As a mother, she’s taken on the exhausting task of primary caregiver. And as a daughter and nurse practitioner, she’s spent her adult life being responsible for her parents’ physical and mental health.

When her stubborn and impulsive father, Frank, falls and refuses to stay at rehab, she and her brothers bring him home, and Marissa upends her life: she temporarily moves into her parents’ house, which takes precious time away from her two sons and jeopardizes her job. Soon, Marissa recognizes that life as they’ve all known it is about to change: while Frank’s ineffective legs are worrisome, her mother Angie’s memory issues might be a more urgent dilemma.

A heartbreaking and emotional story of the toll that health crises can have on an entire family, The Weight We Carry reminds us of the fine line between reliance and independence, tending and mothering, and love and obligation.

Click on the cover to be taken to a retail site. If you’d like to sign up for Christina’s newsletter, you can do it HERE.

WHAT LAURA’S UP TOOur hearts were broken when we had to put 18 year-old Harlie down a few months ago. We didn’t plan on being a two cat household again, but someone in our neighborhood posted a photo of a kitten found in a field at 6 weeks old, and my heart melted for the little orphan. Meet Daisy (aka:  Daisy Mae, Spasm, Trouble, or PITA, depending on her behavior.) We are in love, and it was a rocky beginning with Boomer, but he’s starting to coming around!And of course, I’m fishing when it’s not too hot. Busy planning this year’s girl’s fly fishing trip to the Little Red River (Arkansas) in September.WRITING-WISE:  I’m almost halfway done with my next Women’s Fiction, about a woman who’s been married for 15 years and has two sons with a man who’s living a dual life…as a serial killer.

Tentatively titled, The Devil She Didn’t Know.

If you’re a reader of my novels, you know they are about resilient women. I’ve always been curious about why some people are resilient, and some, sadly, are not. I found this YouTube video on 3 secrets of resilient people – and I’m leaving it here for anyone going through hard times. Sending hugs. The three secrets of resilient people | Lucy Hone Laura Drake’s Peace, Love & Books

Are you on Facebook? I maxed out my ‘friend’ limit, so I started a group. It’s become a community!

Here’s what it’s all about:
Home to Laura Drake fans, coffee-lovers and snark afficionados.
No meanness
No politics
No SPIDERS.

Come join us for chaos and anarchy! Just click the photo above to join.

Wishing you the best summer ever!

The post Summer Newsletter appeared first on Laura Drake.

Please excuse the formatting – if you’d like to have my quarterly newsletter sent to your inbox, just sign up HERE.For Roger wins an award! She breathes life into characters who make you stop breathing.
I bet Jodi Picoult wishes she had this idea, wishes she wrote this book
Seriously. Grab this book now!        Margie Lawson

Laura Drake takes on a topic that most authors wouldn’t be equipped to touch, and she does it with grace and humor.       Lainey Cameron

Don’t miss FOR ROGER. I’ve read some great books this year. This one was the best.        Liz

Thought provoking, no matter what you feel. I’ll read it again, after I catch my breath.       Ann C

If You Only Read One 2023 Release, Make It This One. Wow. Phenomenal. I’m writing this review roughly 12 hrs after finishing the book, and I am still in awe of what Drake was able to do here. Very much recommended.       Jeff

If you’ve read it already, would you consider leaving a review? It matters a lot! You can do that HERE and/or HERE.

GIVEAWAYS!I love to partner with authors who have written books that I think you would enjoy. Being a subscriber, you’re automatically entered to win a paperback copy. I’ll be informing the winners in a few days.Good luck! Readers who love Jodi Picoult’s topical plot twists and Liane Moriarty’s character-driven novels will devour this fast-paced tale set in modern-day Chicago of three generations of women whose lives converge as one fights a devastating online accusation, another campaigns for a contested seat in Congress, and one, the young journalist with ties to both, navigates the tricky line between secrets and lies.

Winner of ten major book awards including the 2022 National Indie Excellence Grand Prize and the 2022 Forward Reviews Gold Medal for Adult Fiction.

Click on the cover to be taken to a retail site. If you’d like to sign up for Maggie’s newsletter, you can do it HERE.

Marissa Raffaelo-Moretta is used to shouldering the burden. As the middle child, she’s played the mediator role for longer than she cares to admit. As a mother, she’s taken on the exhausting task of primary caregiver. And as a daughter and nurse practitioner, she’s spent her adult life being responsible for her parents’ physical and mental health.

When her stubborn and impulsive father, Frank, falls and refuses to stay at rehab, she and her brothers bring him home, and Marissa upends her life: she temporarily moves into her parents’ house, which takes precious time away from her two sons and jeopardizes her job. Soon, Marissa recognizes that life as they’ve all known it is about to change: while Frank’s ineffective legs are worrisome, her mother Angie’s memory issues might be a more urgent dilemma.

A heartbreaking and emotional story of the toll that health crises can have on an entire family, The Weight We Carry reminds us of the fine line between reliance and independence, tending and mothering, and love and obligation.

Click on the cover to be taken to a retail site. If you’d like to sign up for Christina’s newsletter, you can do it HERE.

WHAT LAURA’S UP TOOur hearts were broken when we had to put 18 year-old Harlie down a few months ago. We didn’t plan on being a two cat household again, but someone in our neighborhood posted a photo of a kitten found in a field at 6 weeks old, and my heart melted for the little orphan. Meet Daisy (aka:  Daisy Mae, Spasm, Trouble, or PITA, depending on her behavior.) We are in love, and it was a rocky beginning with Boomer, but he’s starting to coming around!And of course, I’m fishing when it’s not too hot. Busy planning this year’s girl’s fly fishing trip to the Little Red River (Arkansas) in September.WRITING-WISE:  I’m almost halfway done with my next Women’s Fiction, about a woman who’s been married for 15 years and has two sons with a man who’s living a dual life…as a serial killer.

Tentatively titled, The Devil She Didn’t Know.

If you’re a reader of my novels, you know they are about resilient women. I’ve always been curious about why some people are resilient, and some, sadly, are not. I found this YouTube video on 3 secrets of resilient people – and I’m leaving it here for anyone going through hard times. Sending hugs. The three secrets of resilient people | Lucy Hone Laura Drake’s Peace, Love & Books

Are you on Facebook? I maxed out my ‘friend’ limit, so I started a group. It’s become a community!

Here’s what it’s all about:
Home to Laura Drake fans, coffee-lovers and snark afficionados.
No meanness
No politics
No SPIDERS.

Come join us for chaos and anarchy! Just click the photo above to join.

Wishing you the best summer ever!

The post appeared first on Laura Drake.

Thrilled to announce that For Roger finaled in the Women’s Fiction Category of the National India Excellence Awards!

The post Kudos to FOR ROGER appeared first on Laura Drake.

It’s not natural ability. Many bestselling authors didn’t start with that. Not skill. You can work and study until you learn it. Not even stubbornness (though that helps).

Writing is wonderful. But breaking into authorship, whether you choose indie, small press or NY, is an endeavor that will tear you up, break you down, and has killed the love of writing for many. Suffice it to say…it ain’t easy.

From the outside, it looks like a blast. This is what it looks like to others:  You spend your days playing with characters and the story in your head. By the end, you’re published to the sound of trumpets, and the $ and acclaim rolls in.

Not so much. Sure lightning strikes sometimes, but if you do the math, not so freaking often.

See, authors don’t talk about the hard stuff in public. We’ll talk about it with trusted friends, usually other authors who get it.  Well, I’m going to talk about it. Strap yourself in.

It took me 8 years, 3 books and 413 rejections before I signed with an agent. My first book came out in 2013. It won a coveted RITA award, and I figured I’d finally arrived. I contacted my editor and agent, asking what we could do to capitalize on the win with marketing. They told me, ‘Oh, nothing. See, that means a lot to authors, but it doesn’t mean anything to the market, or to readers.’

I kept writing and selling to New York publishers. I never attained best-seller status, but I had a dedicated readership, and I had hope that the next book would hit.

Seven books later I got a new 3 book contract. The editors told me, ‘You can set your own deadline, but then you won’t have a book a year out, and your momentum could fizzle…but really, work at your own pace.’

I wrote 3 books in eighteen months. I was fried. I was bored. I wanted to try something new.

So I began writing Women’s Fiction, and my love of writing was reborn. I’d written one before, so I dusted it off and my agent took FOR ROGER to New York (warning me that if it sold, I’d have to take on a new author name.) After looking at my sales numbers, no one bought it. My agent suggested a respected small press. I wanted that book out, so I said yes.

Well he didn’t want that book. He said if I changed it–suggested something along the lines of Me Before You. Don’t get me wrong, I loved that book, but that wasn’t the book I wanted to write, so I put it back in the drawer, and wrote two other books for him. Due to  unforeseen financial circumstances at the publisher, and despite 4.8 and 5 star average reviews on Amazon, the books didn’t take off in the marketplace.

Sigh. But with no contract on the horizon and no deadlines, I pulled For Roger out of the drawer and rewrote it, and in the process found what I’d meant to say all along. My agent sent it to two of the biggest NY publishers. The one I’d most like to be with rejected it. My agent said my sales numbers weren’t good enough for NY to take a chance on me.

Well, today is my 69th birthday. I didn’t have time or patience to wait any longer. I believed in this book. So I am self publishing it. It comes out tomorrow.

You must think I’ve forgotten what this subject was about–I haven’t. Hang in–I’m almost there.

I gave the book to a big-time reviewer, and chewed my nails to see what he’d think. I took chances with this book – It’s about tough subjects, and though I don’t leave readers in a bad place, much of it is sad.

The whole review is here

But here is an excerpt: 5 STARS Highly recommend. One of his top 4 reads of 2023.

‘Phenomenal. I’m writing this review roughly 12 hrs after finishing the book, and I am still in awe of what Drake was able to do here.’

‘Drake proves herself capable of at minimum holding her own with even the masters of these spaces who only write explicitly within them, such as John Grisham’s legal thrillers.’

‘Drake crafts into a moving and poignant tale of one particular family stru ggling to navigate these very complicated and delicate issues.’

So I’ve finally come around to the key ingredient for writers to become authors: belief in yourself.

Look, I know this is only one opinion. I won’t know what readers think for a month or more. But that I touched one veteran reader–made him think, made him feel at a deep level–that feels like my belief was vindicated.

And that’s enough for me.

 

 

The post THE Key Ingredient for Longevity as an Author appeared first on Laura Drake.

This is a book of my heart. I’ve started, stopped and changed it four or five times. When I completed my last contract, I picked it up again and finished it. Turned it in to my agent, who thought it would be a very hard sell in the current state of world affairs…that readers wouldn’t want sad right now.

Well, I’m 69 years old in a couple weeks – I don’t have time to wait, because you can’t enjoy being published posthumously (at least I think you can’t), so I’m self-publishing it.

Meet For Roger:

 

Joan Merritt lives a charmed life. Happily married to her soulmate, she delights in following rules, her heart and her passion—advocating for women.

When her husband Roger is diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, he asks Joan to help him end his life peacefully. But how can she miss one moment of their remaining time together? She refuses.

Roger takes his fate into his own hands, and on a Saturday morning bicycle ride, flies down a hill into oncoming traffic. He survives but has multiple fractures and a head injury that causes a crippling stroke.

His daughter, a devout preacher’s wife, comes to be by his side. Bee, only three years younger than Joan, has always resented her stepmother, and those feelings intensify as months drag on and Roger’s health and will to live deteriorate.

Joan faces an impossible dilemma: How much is she prepared to risk to grant her husband the peace he desperately wants and needs? When Roger dies, Bee has her own answer, and it leads straight to the police.

A story of love, truth and family that shines a light on the shadow between justice and mercy.

If you like Jodi Picoult’s thoughtful novels that invite you to delve into both sides of an issue, I think you’ll like For Roger.

Available the end of November!

 

The post A New Book! appeared first on Laura Drake.

You’ve seen the blinders that racehorses wear to keep them focused on their own race, and not what’s going on around them, right?

Well, writers need them too. Significant others, children, day jobs, Netflix, the internet, chores! We all lead gloriously busy lives, and it’s not easy to get ten minutes of uninterrupted time. But that’s what you need for creating, so what’s a writer to do?

I hear it all the time, and this may be the biggest writer’s lament – no time, no focus.

I’m retired now, but I started writing when I still had a teenager at home. Believe me, I had all of the above, and still managed to write a book a year (I had 3 completed before I sold), so I have some tips for those still in the trenches:

Develop a schedule. Yes, it will get disrupted sometimes, but eventually it becomes habit, and it seems odd not to do it. I am a morning person, so I squeezed writing in before anyone was up. I got up two hours early every day to write – the house was shrouded in darkness, and my desk lamp was my oasis – the light in a quiet world to create. Now, I’m not suggesting you get up at 3 am every morning (though I’m proof you won’t die if you do). Night person? Wait until everyone’s in bed and sneak in words.

Hold your boundaries. Your writing time should be as sacrosanct as a closed bathroom door – no one interrupts unless there is a fire or copious blood is being shed.YOUR distractions.This is where the blinders come in. Turn off the internet. Silence your phone. Butt in chair. Something will come. It always does. The hardest part is the act of sitting.Focus on your own race. It’s easy to get distracted by the success of others–we all dream of getting there. And dreaming is fine, but NOT during your writing time!Don’t get ahead of yourself. Don’t worry/plan about getting an agent, selling a screenplay, or how much money you’ll make (or not make) from your writing. None of that will matter IF YOU DON’T FINISH IT!

I’m not saying this is easy. But you didn’t begin writing because it was the easiest thing, did you? My guess is that you did it because it fulfilled something in you.

Focus on that, put your butt in the chair.

It’ll happen. I promise.

 

The post Writer Blinders appeared first on Laura Drake.