Getting back on the writing horse

You may have noticed that there's not much to take a "second Glantz" at around here lately. That's because this has been me for the past month: trapped in my own head. (Cue The Cranberries: "In your head, in your head, zombie, zombie, zombie-e-e.") 

Over the summer, I achieved a milestone and made my lifelong dream of becoming a paid, published author a reality (and I can die a happy girl). While it may not be the best thing I've ever written or have yet to write, I was - and am - so proud of myself. I wrote a kick-ass query with a good hook

What do you get when you mix a Jewish bride, a Presbyterian minister, and an agnostic groom? A little bit of drama, a whole lot of compromise, and a beautiful wedding.

and spent the time doing the research to find the perfect market for my piece (a big kudos goes to Marla Beck for helping me find the balance between the craft of writing and the business of it).

Looking back at what I posted on my Facebook page the day my article was released...

Cheryl Glantz Nail Excited that my first freelance article was bought and published. Learned a LOT from the process and am looking forward to trying again soon.

Out of Many Beliefs, One Ceremony - InterfaithFamily.com

www.interfaithfamily.com

The wedding she'd never imagined was just as beautiful as the one she'd pictured.

...I'm a little embarrassed. I'm not ashamed by my excitement, and to say that I learned a lot is really an understatement. It's that highlighted part, "looking forward to trying again soon." I really was looking forward to it. I even created a dedicated website for posting clips (fun fact: I bought this domain in 2006 with the intention of launching a custom scrapbooking business, and no, I never did; side note: if any of you have suggestions for improving my site, I'm all ears). And then I got lost inside my own head. And in the Twitter streams and blogs of newly published authors. And in the overwhelming questions, "Where do I go from here?" and "Can I do it again?" I expected my bit of success to propel me into a chorus of "Defying Gravity" (okay, maybe I sang it once), but I let it paralyze me.

No more, I say! When my friend Sarabeth tweeted me about Angela Booth's challenge to write for 100 days, from September 22 (happy birthday, Hubby!) to January 1, I knew that signing up for public accountability could be the kick-in-the-pants I need to get myself out of my head and onto the page. So here goes nothing!

Goals to end 2010:

1. Write. Every. Single. Day. Whether it's 15 minutes or two hours, whether it's for a project or only for myself - even if I have to hide in the bathroom to steal time during the holidays - I will write for 100 days straight without excuse.

2. Submit at least one article per month to 24/Savvy. I have become embarrassingly inconsistent in my contribution to this webzine, and I hope to fix that during this challenge.

3. Write and query at least one article. I may not get published again. I may not get paid again. But I'm going to try.

4. Apply to freelance writing jobs. The number of bookmarks I've created on my browser for the jobs I'm interested in is ridiculous. Have I applied to a single one? See above about paralyzing fear. It's time to start making use of those bookmarks. I'm not going to respond to calls just to do so, but I'm going to take seriously the ones that truly interest me.

5. Blog at least once per week. Really, I'm hoping for more frequency than this, but with all the other goals I have, I need to make sure I don't set myself up for failure. Blogging is something I really enjoy. It takes me out of my bubble and connects me to the outside world, and I need to learn to make more time for the things that make me happy.

6. Take my novel out of the drawer. *deep breath* This goal creates a certain amount of anxiety for me. I'm 35,400 words in, but it's been three or four months *cringe* since I've spent any consistent quality time with my characters. I miss them. They've been screaming at me in my sleep to finish their story, but those pesky "Is it good enough?" type questions have been distracting me from my original goal, which was not to publish the novel but to write it. I still want to publish it. I want it bad. But I can't even begin to try that next step until I get over myself and get re-lost in the story I want to tell.

7. While I need to re-immerse myself in the craft of writing, I can't let myself become an island again. I've become part of a wonderful community of writers on Twitter and in the blogosphere, but I haven't allowed myself to really participate as of late because it made me feel like a fraud, talking about writing without actually "living writerly." I need to jump back in - without letting it consume all my writing time. Balance is such a pesky word, isn't it? I haven't decided how to achieve said balance yet, but I have a feeling it will probably involve setting aside a limited amount of time each day to catch up on what other writers are doing.

8. This last goal is going to be the hardest: share my writing with others. With the exception of my friend Leigh, I haven't let anyone - not Hubby, not my mom - read my fiction, and even Leigh has only read parts (she showed me hers, so I was encouraged to show her mine). While I stand by the belief that you shouldn't feel pressured to share your writing until you're ready (or ever for that matter), I think it would be immensely helpful, and more than likely productive, if I was a little less protective of my writing (and my feelings). My Gram likes to remind me that "Rome wasn't built overnight," and you know, it wasn't built by just one person either. If I can't share my writing with the people who are most supportive in my life, then finished or not, the novel will never leave the drawer.

I can do this. I will do this.

"If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse."

~Jim Rohn (Thanks, Cheri!)

Set It Sunday

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Good morning! I can't believe it's already May, but the upside is that it's finally starting to feel a bit like spring here. With it light in the morning and light at night, weekly productivity has increased tenfold, and I love it!

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How did everyone do this week? Cheri, I'm anxiously awaiting pictures of your shower curtain!  :)

My week went really well.

1. Send my queries to the two magazines I researched. After doing a few hours of additional research, I actually ditched the two magazines I previously found and was pleased to send what I think was a really well-written query to one market that is about as perfect a fit as I can get for the article. 
2. Go through at least one box of paperwork to sort, scan, organize, and shred. Can we say spring cleaning? I sorted, but I quickly realized that I'm not yet ready to digitize, the main reason being I'm unclear as to what I need to keep and what is safe to ditch. Does anyone know that magic number of years you're supposed to keep your bills, statements, etc.? Or does anyone know of a reliable website with that info?
3. I am far from reaching the 25,000-word goal of #yafrenzy, but I think I can reach a grand total of 10,000 words by the end of the month if I really work at it, so that's what I'm going to attempt to do. Cue choir of angels: I reached a grand total of 10,980 words! I have so much more to say about the achievement of this goal, so look for a blog post about it in the near future.

Set It

1. Remember all those digital layouts I created during LOAD last May and this February? Like all my digital pictures from the past year, they're sitting on my computer for minimal viewing pleasure. In honor of National Scrapbooking Day weekend, I'm finally going to get those puppies printed and put into their rightful Library of Memories albums for maximum viewing pleasure.
2. I owe an article to 24/Savvy, so that's on my agenda for the week.
3. Make a commitment to Booking Mama's 2010 EW Summer Books Challenge to get my nose back in the books. Speaking of... the new Sookie Stackhouse book will be in my hands this time on Tuesday - SQUEE!
4. I'm at the point in my WIP (work in progress) where I need to revisit the timeline. It's tedious, but necessary work.

I think that's more than enough to keep me out of trouble for one week, no? What are your personal goals this week? Feel free to play along on your blog, or let us know in the comments. Whatever you decide to focus on, I hope this first week of May is a fantastic one for you!

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Set it Sunday

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Happy Sunday! I hope wherever you are, it's as beautiful by you as it is here. After a difficult workweek, I have been enjoying a glorious weekend, full of good food, productivity, fun, and R&R. But now it's time to think about next week.

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Finally feeling 100% like myself this week, I successfully got back on schedule as intended, and it feels great!

Cheri has done a wonderful job of keeping up with her photos, and holy moly, her scrappy transformations have me drooling. Nicely done, Cheri. I think I know what I need to add to my list of goals one week!

Kristin, did you meet your goal of picking a Ph.D. program? I'm anxiously waiting to hear!!!

Set It
At the beginning of April, I decided to participate in Heather W. Petty's YA Frenzy, the goal of which is to write approximately 850 words/day on your YA WIP (young adult work in progress). The days that I write, I usually write more than the intended word goal, and I usually write fairly well. The problem is that I haven't been consistently working on it everyday. So that's my goal: with the exception of Saturday (when I have a college friend coming to visit - SQUEE!), I will practice YA Frenzy each and every day this week. That means at this time next week, I should have another 5,100 words added to my WIP, and that thought makes me very happy.

On a less fun note, it's that time of year when opening the windows and airing out the house makes me want to get rid of all the junk that's lurking in the closets. This week, I'm focusing on clothing. I'm going to get caught up with the laundry and downsize my wardrobe. Even though it's a task I don't anticipate enjoying, I know I will feel great about the end result.

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A new venture

Warning: this is a shameless plug.

This month, I'm starting to write for 24Savvy, a fun website that offers savvy tips for fashion/beauty (don't panic; I promise not to write any of those articles), home, and lifestyle.

You can find my first article here. If you want to go read it and leave me comment love, I won't stop you.  ;)

Set it Sunday: Week 5

Good Sunday morning!

New to Set It Sunday? Click here to read the motivation behind the meme.

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Cheri set a great mix of health and craft goals last week, and Kristin's vacation goals made me ridiculously jealous (PS. happy birthday!). Thanks for joining me again, ladies!

My goal last week was to create three non-digital scrapbook layouts. Since this was the scene of my scrapbook studio this week, thanks to The Great Leak of 2010...

...I had to set up shop elsewhere for the time being.

My friend Meadow even wrote this awesome limerick about my scrapbook studio woes:

The once was a lassie named Cheryl,

Who's scrap things were always in peril,

Buried under ice and snow,

Her patience running low;

Watch out! She's a cat who's gone feral!

Fortunately, that did not prevent me from creating four layouts, which serve as section dividers for my All About Us album in my Library of Memories.

Ah, sweet success! ☺

Set It
This week, I need to focus my attention on two writing works-in-progress and move them to "completed" status.

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Julie, Julia, and me

When I read Julie & Julia as my in-air entertainment last October, it resonated with me in a way I hadn't expected. I thought it would be fun to learn more about The Julie/Julia Project, but I didn't think I'd necessarily take anything away from it. Though I love to eat, French cuisine is not my thing, and while I do enjoy cooking, I prefer the 30-minute style a la Rachael Ray. So I was surprised when I was still thinking about the book weeks later.

Tonight, we watched the movie (Meryl Streep did such a great job, I forgot that I wasn't watching Julia Child), and I finally realized why Julie Powell's story spoke to me. It's what connected Julie and Julia beyond the cooking: writing, communicating with an audience, and their quest to find their place in the world.

What blogger can't relate to Julie's excitement when she receives her first comment from a stranger? Though arguably narcissistic, that realization that someone is reading encourages you to write more. Having an audience also brings with it a sense of accountability. When Julie doesn't follow through on something she's blogged about, she feels like she has to answer to her readers for it. It's what causes us guilt when we go a week without blogging; it's what causes us to deliberate whether or not to push the publish button on a questionable post. Once we finally get an audience, we feel a responsibility to them and don't want to alienate anyone.

Both Julie and Julia had dreams of publishing. Julie had a "novel in the drawer," and Julia worked on her cookbook for something like eight years before it was finally picked up by a publisher. The scenes where Julia receives the acceptance letter for her cookbook and Julie's answering machine is full with publishing offers is enough to fill any aspiring writer's head with daydreams of the same good fortune, but the two women pose interesting questions about writing before their dreams become reality. Julie wonders what makes a writer. Do you have to be published to be considered a writer, or does simply the act of writing give you this title? (I tend to lean toward the latter definition.) Which leads me to ponder another question: what constitutes a published writer? Technically, aren't all bloggers published writers? What about when the intended publication isn't published, as Julia thought would be her case? When Julia's cookbook is first rejected after dedicating almost a decade to it, she asks, what now? That got me thinking about Julie's novel in the drawer and writing that isn't widely read.

With the exception of some writing like journaling, we write for an audience. But if that audience never reads it, it doesn't necessarily mean that those words are wasted. I think about my work in progress. Of course I'm writing it with the hopes that it will one day be published, but I'm fully aware that might not happen. If the novel ultimately becomes nothing but a file on my computer, will I feel as though I wasted the two years or whatever that it took me to write it? I don't think so, because like I told Marla Beck in a recent teleclass when she asked us why our writing project was important, it's a personal goal I've had for as long as I can remember. Even if it never gets published, it's important to me that I'm able to say, "I went after my dream and tried to make it a reality." Moreover, how could time spent doing something I enjoy be a waste? And besides, you never know where that novel in the drawer might one day lead.

So while Julie & Julia was entertaining to read and watch, it really got me thinking about writing, audience, and how both of those things connect us with others in the blogosphere. And of course, you know what I'm going to say next: I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter. ☺

image source

Hello, November!

These trees, full of beautiful red and orange leaves earlier this week, are now a reminder of the impending winter and the holidays that come with it, before which, there is so much to do.

October was eventful and fun, but it flew by so fast, there were a few things on my wish list that weren't fulfilled: fall festivals, pumpkin carving, and pictures of neighborhood Halloween decorations. I look forward, though, to all that November has to offer.

I kicked off the month by taking advantage of the time change and got an early start on hoarding on-sale Halloween decorations for next year.

Armed with window clings, purple and orange lights, glow-in-the-dark pumpkins, eyeball netting, a spooky sound-activated door decoration, and several Halloween-shaped cookie cutters and cupcake pans, I think next year will make up for our lack of holiday spirit this year. ☺

Looking forward, I have several things in the works, the first of which includes getting started on my holiday gifts. I'm hoping to set aside the time to make a good portion of the presents on our list. A firm believer in homemade holidays - both DIY and buying others' homemade goods - I'll be back frequently with some crafty creations. If you're interested in a homemade or semi-homemade holiday, tomorrow's Monday Mentions post will be partially dedicated to some great sites I found over the weekend to help you get started.

In addition to crafting (which will hopefully include some cooking and baking... I don't spend nearly enough time in my kitchen as I'd like), I'm also trying to set some realistic goals for my writing. As of today, I have 8,705 words written (though not all of them are written well). After doing a little bit of research about word count, I'm estimating that it will take somewhere around 40,000 words to tell my story. Thus, I'd like to have ~20,000 on paper by the New Year. *fingers crossed*

In blogging news, my friends April and Kelly piqued my interest in a new class Shimelle is teaching.

Though this blog has become about much more than "just" scrapbooking, I love meeting bloggers and scrapbookers alike, and I'm always up for learning something new. So hopefully, I'll have lots to blog about this month (lucky you).

That does it for me today. I hope your October ended on a great note and that your November proves to be even better.

**Note: I apologize to my email subscribers if you've been receiving duplicate posts. I've been having a few technical glitches, but they're hopefully ironed out now. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

My ideal lunch date

How I've missed my Girl Talk Thursday (and wow, did I miss some really great topics while I was away)! The ladies this week want to know about my ideal lunch date.

My gut reaction was an emotional one: a lunch with my grandfather who I never had the fortune of knowing; a lunch with my friend, Nifer, who left the world far too soon; a lunch with my nearest and dearest friends with whom there's never enough time. And then my mind turned to the gutter, as it's wont to do during Girl Talk Thursday, and I started thinking about sexy dates with my list of five I selfishly started thinking of my pipe dream.

I have to admit, I wasn't sure if this was the post I was ultimately going to write. People say that you should put things out into the universe for them to one day become true, but it makes me feel, if not completely ridiculous (though I know in my heart it's not silly to follow your dreams), then at least a little cliché. But then I decided, if I can't share my heart's desires with my bloggy girlfriends, who have proven to be some of the most supportive people I've ever had the blessing to know, then I might as well just delete this blog and point myself toward the nearest exit of the blogosphere. So here goes.

My ideal lunch date takes place a few years from now. I don't really care where it is (though I wouldn't mind it being farther south) and for once, the food is not a focus in my otherwise food-obsessed mind. The important deets are the who and the why. You see, my lunch date is a result of this:

My literary agent has arranged this lunch date to offer me a contract to write a sequel that at least a handful of kids have been clamoring for. (Yes, the book I haven't yet come close to finishing has a sequel that's already partially thought out. No, I haven't ever heard that expression about putting the cart before the horse. Plus, when you dream, aren't you supposed to dream BIG?) Of course I sign on the dotted line before dessert is even mentioned, and I probably pinch myself a few times under the table to make sure the convo isn't a hallucination resulting from one too many martinis. As soon as the date ends (and I finish calling everyone I know), I take out my pen and spiral notebook with a happy heart.

Yep, a lunch date in which my wildest dreams come true would be beyond ideal.

Re: writing

I've had many nice emails, encouraging comments, and follow-up questions about last week's post on making more time to write. Firstly, thank you for all the encouragement.

To get to the heart of the matter, the new schedule is going well so far. Well, the writing part of it at least. I have yet to try the working out part. ☺ In a mere week, I've discovered many things about my writing.

1. As Marla Beck suggests, making writing a habit is key:

In the process, when you write consistently, you're also adding to your manuscript and--if you're working with intention and focus--learning and practicing your craft.

Do your work. Write. By doing so, whether you realize it or not, you inspire others around you to do the same.

-Marla Beck, The Relaxed Writer: Please Write. Now.

Not every writing session is a winner. There are mornings when what I write will more than likely be tossed in the end, but the actual exercise of writing is productive. That's why I don't feel guilty about blogging or spending hours journaling for a scrapbook. Writing, like anything else in life, takes practice. And simply put, writing is writing; it doesn't matter what you write as long as you're doing it.

2. In her classes and books, Stacy Julian explains that scrapbooking is not restricted to making layouts; scrapbooking also includes taking and editing photos, organizing memorabilia, and gathering materials. Much in the same way, writing isn't only manuscripting. It also includes brainstorming, outlining, researching, and in my case, a ridiculous amount of jotting ideas down on sticky notes. Tuesday morning, I ran out of time for "actual" writing, but I made a great amount of progress outlining and clarifying aspects of the plot that, up until that point, had been unclear. To me, that writing session is just as productive as having written ten pages of the story.

3. A chunk of my story is told through flashback, so I found it essential to create a timeline (I'm using xTimeline) to keep the timing of events straight. But what I've found is that I need to stay open-minded and flexible with my plot. Sometimes a character will take over and move the story into a completely different direction than I intended. At first, this freaked me out a little (I have control issues), but I've come to realize that it's not only okay, but also pretty cool.

4. And speaking of flexibility, allowing myself to be flexible with my schedule is a good thing. My morning "me time" is from 6-9. My goal is to spend 2 of those hours somehow engaged in the writing process. How I divvy up that time might change from day-to-day (e.g., one morning I wrote from 6:30-8:30; another morning, I wrote from 6-7 and then took a 30-min break before picking my pen back up), and that's fine. What works one day might not work on another.

5. I'm more productive if I write what strikes my fancy when I put my pen to paper (yes, I said pen to paper; I like the kinesthetic satisfaction of writing the old-fashioned way). With programs like Story Mill and Storyist, I can easily stitch my scenes together in the correct order. (Note: when I'm ready to transfer my writing from my spiral notebook to the computer, I like using distraction-free writing software, such as Write Room [Mac] and Dark Room [PC]. It helps me stay focused [aka off the Internet]). Writing what I want, instead of forcing myself to write "what's next," is a great motivator.

6. Setting small goals works. Using a technique, such as bookending (thanks, Marla!) can help keep me on track if I'm dawdling. (I also use this technique a lot in my day job.) It's amazing how much you can get done in 15-min chunks!

And finally (I promise), I feel like I need to clarify a statement I made in my earlier post:

And even when I do get up early, the time is usually wasted on email and Facebook.

I do not consider my time online to be a waste - far from it, in fact. Working from home, my Twitter and Facebook time is equivalent to talking around the water cooler in an office or catching up in the mail room at a school. Furthermore, my time online has allowed me to both reconnect with old friends and make new friends I otherwise never would have met. What I really meant in my post is that having a social media blackout during my writing time is really the only way I can keep myself honest. If Twitter were running in the background, I'd probably only be writing a fraction of my designated time because I'd be distracted. That's another reason I really like writing with pen and paper: no need to open my computer at all, so staying "unplugged" is easy.

Of course, it was through the Internet that I received all of your correspondence. And through that correspondence, I found out that so many of you write and are also looking for more time to do so. I hope you do. ☺

Friday Fragments

It's nights like these - you know the kind I'm talking about - when it's after 10, my brain is tired, I'm slightly cranky, and I'm cursing myself for joining NaBloPoMo - when I'm thankful for fun weekly memes like these.

• I just finished watching Let the Right One In. If you can get past the awful dubbing (do they think Americans are too stupid to read subtitles?), it's a pretty cute movie. Weird, I know, to call a movie with so much carnage cute, but it is. Truly. While one of the main characters is a vampire, the fact that she's a vampire is secondary. It's really a coming of age story for the boy she meets, as well as an innocent love story.

• I am really enjoying one of the birthday gifts I bought Hubby. (In my defense, he has been sweet enough to share it with me.) It's the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Wii game. All I needed to see was the trailer to know it was the perfect gift for Hubby (and for me too, I guess). Spell casting, wand dueling, and potion making - not to mention Quidditch playing? What's not to love?!?

• I have gotten a few questions about my writing schedule and how it's working. I have started a follow-up post, and one of these days I'll actually finish it and post it. ☺ Suffice it to say right now: the writing is going well; the working out is not going.

• On repeat right now on my iTunes is the True Blood soundtrack and the True Blood score. Both are beautiful and haunting, and I can't get enough. And since I have to wait who-knows-how-many-months for the Season 2 DVD, this is a nice little taste (pun totally intended) to get me through.

• This weekend, I'm hoping to sleep in. Late. As in past 8:00.

• I am also hoping to catch up on the DVR'd shows I'm embarrassed to admit I record (e.g., 90210, Vampire Diaries, a month's worth of soaps).

• And hopefully while I'm killing brain cells catching up on my TV, I can also catch up on the scrapbook I'm supposed to be 3/4 done with for the class I'm taking. What's that you ask? How far along am I? I plead the fifth.

• I am now 4/5 through Nablopomo. Only five days left to go. Not that I'm counting or anything.

Have a great weekend, friends!

"Schedule" is not a dirty word

When I was in college, I scheduled literally every minute of my day. Dinner had to be put on the schedule if it was to be eaten. Even breaks were written in my daily planner. As I got older, such detailed schedules began to feel restrictive, and I opted instead for prioritized to-do lists. I've now gotten to a place in terms of life goals where I feel it may be necessary to reintroduce the schedule (insert scary music).

In recent years, I've been collecting writing goals as various ideas have flitted in and out of my head:

• blog (at least I can check off one of these)
• publish a scholarly article
• write a story/novel

Note that my last goal is not a "publish" one. While I would LOVE that and gratefully accept such good fortune, I know that statistics are not in my favor. The reward for me, in any case, is telling an engaging story through the written word. So that is my end goal. It's a goal that I've been working toward off and on (more off than on and thus the reason for this post) for the past few months.

In my previous position at my job, I had extremely flexible hours, giving me an ideal schedule for fitting in personal writing. The "problem" was that I was a full-time writer, and at the end of the day, even though the writing was academic, the last thing I wanted to do was write more. In my current position, I now develop and manage more than I write, but my schedule is no longer flexible. So how to fit in personal writing time, especially without sacrificing my "me time" (e.g., scrapbooking)?

As much as I hate waking up early, I've come to realize that there currently is a lot of wasted time before I have to be "at" work (9:00). And even when I do get up early, the time is usually wasted on email and Facebook. So I'm putting a new plan into action. After waking myself up with a quick exercise routine (something else that should be part of my daily life), I am going to turn the Internet off (repeat: no email, no Facebook, no blogginess... these things can wait until my lunch break or after work) and give myself two solid hours of personal writing time.

It is possible to work full time and fulfill your personal dreams (something I spent years denying to give myself a lousy excuse for not accomplishing my goals); it just takes a little planning.