Until it becomes habit

Humans are for the most part creatures of habit. There are a few rebellious folks who pick up their lives and completely change them every few years, but for the most part- we’re beings who follow patterns.

This is true for many things in life- like say fitness and writing :).

I’ve been slowly working towards getting healthy over the last few months. I work out at a gym 3 days a week (weights) and I do 3.5 mile walks 2 a week, and a long walk at least one day on the week-end. I started slowly and built my way up until it’s become a habit. Now don’t get me wrong, I still don’t really LIKE having to work out like this- especially since I have a day job which means I’m up at 5am to inflict this torture upon myself. I like having done it.

But it has become habit.

If I don’t go during the week, I feel off. Just like something is just a tad off but nothing major. And I definitely notice a difference when I get back into my routine the next day. Weight loss is slow, but my body is adapting happily to my new habit.

Writing needs to be a habit.

I recently have had some stressors kicking my life around lately and I fell off the writing wagon. It started slowly, working on edits and convincing myself that I shouldn’t start my new book yet. Then life started getting messy and even the edits stopped.

Now I feel about writing like someone who is looking at all those folks at the gym in panic and confusion. My writing “gait” is off because I let go of my habit.
I’m now trying to get my writing habit back in place- stronger than before. I’ve always been more of a writing when I want to person, but there was never a set goal. I was lucky that since I love writing not having a set goal wasn’t a problem. Until now.

So, I’m looking for help, suggestions, ideas, to really make this essential to my well being, to make this such an ingrained habit that when I miss a day I actually ache.

Monday Motivation!

Here's today's photo prompt- have at it! Are your characters lurking here?

(This is a public domain photo ;))

What about Voice?

As writers, one of the most obscure comments (good or bad) can be about voice. “I love your voice” can be just as confusing sometimes as, “I don’t hear your voice”.

So just what is “voice”?

"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Writer's voice is the literary term used to describe the individual writing style of an author. Voice was generally considered to be a combination of a writer's use of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc., within a given body of text (or across several works). Voice can be thought of in terms of the uniqueness of a vocal voice machine. As a trumpet has a different voice than a tuba or a violin has a different voice than a cello, so the words of one author have a different sound than the words of another. One author may have a voice that is light and fast paced while another may have a dark voice.

In creative writing, students are often encouraged to experiment with different literary styles and techniques in order to help them better develop their "voice". This aspect varies with the individual author, but, particularly in American culture, having this asset is considered positive and beneficial to both the writer and his or her audience."

This helps a bit; I liked the musical instrument example. Not so sure about the statement about one author having a light voice and one having a dark voice. There maybe some authors for whom all of their books are dark or light, but I think many of us change depending on the story being told.

I like to think of Voice as the combination of my own storytelling style, my personality, and the story itself. I also think skill level and experience play a major part- the more comfortable a writer is playing in their sandbox, the more their natural voice will come through. I currently have four different books/series in the editing- submitting pipeline. Each one is different in style, but from folks who have read more than one, I’ve been told they “sound” like me. Aka, my voice is coming through even though I write differently for my fast paced space opera as opposed to my Victorian SF. So voice is not a single snapshot of an author’s writing. It’s going to flow and change depending on the project and the authors’ experience.

I think there is no absolute- THIS is your voice and how to build it rule (just like there is no rule for how to write ;)). I believe people find their voices from the choices they make and who they are. If a writer relaxes, and listens to their heart while writing- they’ll find their voice. It’s not something to be learned, it’s something to be discovered.

Monday Motivation- returns!

Ok folks- I had some emails asking about the monday motivation- aka the photo writing prompt portion of this website.

IT's BACK!

Here's the rules- I post a picture- you decide what it means. Use it to start a new idea, for a writing sprint, to jog something stuck in your brain- your call.

No need to post here unless you want to ;)