Eight Habits of a Slightly Unsuccessful Writer (Or, How to Write When You Don’t Take it Too Seriously)
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Eight Habits of a Slightly Unsuccessful Writer
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But first, NOLA NOTE: I recently returned from my annual trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference where I was told by several professionals I am, in fact, doing the Write Thing (aw, see what I did there?). Most importantly, the Godfather (who shall otherwise remain nameless, to protect the innocent) gave me some words of wisdom on how to proceed. In particular, he opened the conversation with, “Why didn’t you come to me for publishing advice?” To which I gulpedshiveredreplied, “I didn’t know I could.” Yeah. So, now I have a mentor for future writings, and, you know, a little eleventh-hour input into NOLA. I’d love to have y’all join my private Facebook group for more information, memes, and all-around fun. (Don’t worry, the Godfather won’t be there.) You can join on Facebook by clicking here: NOLA Swarm. [Side Note: Pray for the return of Bee the Zebra and Whisper, as they did not make their way home in the luggage, and are somewhere, I hope, still on the Ridgecrest Campus, waiting for my rescue.]
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Have you seen Whisper and Bee the Zebra?
And now, the post you’ve all been waiting for:
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Eight Habits of a Slightly Unsuccessful Author:
Isolate yourself. Writers are lonely, crazy beings with no people skills whatsoever. We have no understanding of human nature, and say things we can’t edit. You most certainly will not learn anything by holding unnecessary conversations, especially with other writers. If you must socialize, do so in small groups, and in small doses.
Drink copious amounts of coffee. From noon to 3pm, drink gallons of decaf. At 6pm, drink another cup of espresso for good measure. Sleep two hours. Wake up and start all over. Your brain will thank you for it, even if your body doesn’t. If you must drink other than coffee, add something to it. Like fermented grapes.
Write, don’t read. You don’t have time to pay attention to someone else’s works. It’s imperative you put your own words on paper, in whatever fashion you can. There’s nothing to learn by reading classics or books within your genre. Who cares about the writing style of someone else, or supporting your friends already in print? If you must read, read outside your genre, and read things that will allow your mind to wander as your eyes skim the pages.
Don’t diversify your creativity. It’s best to focus on your writing and master it completely. Train your discipline. Give up photography, scrapbooking, creative journaling and the like. Other people have multiple interests, but that’s not you. So write. And, only write. If you must express creativity in other ways, don’t let others know about it. Don’t invest in it. And never share it on Instagram.
Write only what you know. Stay away from fantastical ideas, and topics you’re unfamiliar with. Research? Who has time for research? World-building? That’s too complicated. If you must write new material, use nonsensical words and settings and make it too complicated for others to understand.
Write when the muse hits you. Don’t worry about setting a time to write every day. Writer’s block? That’s for other writers, the ones who aren’t as focused. Because whenever you sit down, the words always flow without stopping. If you must write on a schedule, make sure to have multiple journals and lists available so you can jot a thousand grocery items and ten ways to fix the house as these thoughts will invariably demand your attention.
Don’t feed your muse. Stay away from inspirational movies and music. Don’t play with your food, enjoy nature walks, or travel. These will only inspire you in other ways and thus confuse your writing. If you must feed the muse, don’t enjoy the arts or have new experiences. This will only deter you from your true calling of being a writer.
Never, ever continue writing unless what you’ve already written is perfect. Brain-dumping and first drafts are myths and will not help you clear your head. Definitely do not use place-filler text [“Write Something Here About Rain’s past relationship with Cheryl and have him hint at why he no longer trusts Penny Jo”]. If you must write imperfectly and continuously, do not revisit those pages. They will only depress you and keep you from getting to the true heart of your story.
LEAVE A COMMENT: What tips and habits do you cultivate for your craft?
With a blank page and a full glass, Happy Writing. ~Molly Jo
Frankly, My Dear . . . Savor the Journey!
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Bohemian Hurricane
Molly Jo is better known as the Bohemian Hurricane. She is the author/curator of The Unemployment Cookbook and several eBooks available on Amazon. Her work-in-progress, NOLA, is a romantic mystery novel set in New Orleans, and the first in her City Series.
So, my girl Paige and I have been coming up with some great, and I mean great class ideas, on the chance we win the lotto and get to open our much-dreamed-about writers’ cafe. Or more likely, work our tails off and earn it. Oh, you don’t know about that? Well, we have plans. And SuperGirl‘s our baker. But all that’s for another post.
One of the class topics I threw out was my love for animal symbolism. I mean, all y’all already know my affinity for bees and frogs and zebras, am I right? Hulloh, annoyingteasingnoticing everyone with my Bee pen at Blue Ridge two years ago? Priceless. And the Dazzling Zebra theme on social media? It’s just fun.
So now I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of the New Inklings Press Media Menagerie. Ladies and Gentlemen (and lions and tigers and bears), I give you Bruce Allen.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Meet Bruce Allen
Bruce has been around for a while. As long as Nippers, actually. I’m a bear collector. For realz. I mean, how could I not be? My dad had to kill a bear to survive when I was a baby. It was in all the papers. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t all that dramatic, but I grew up with this story. He really did shoot a bear. And now the rug is in my cedar chest. [Read: The Bear Rug ~ A Heritage Story.] I still have the teddy bear my mom gave me for Christmas when I was nine months old. So, yup. I’ve been collecting bears since I was born. At last count, I have over a hundred, although most are in storage.
Thankfully, Bruce Allen (B.A. for short) stayed in the house. And he’s turned into a growly great reminder:
He reminds me that it’s okay to forage my way through the forest.
He reminds me that even when I’m not exactly sure what’s coming next, I just need to know whatever I need will be there.
He reminds me to slow down when I need to, give the body a rest.
He also reminds me it’s okay to bare my soul, to expose those vulnerable parts of me or my characters, that my audience can connect with.
And he reminds me to not be afraid to make some noise.
I mean, people and bears. Not always a good mix. Am I right? But B.A., he’s adorbs. Who doesn’t want his cute little mug around saying, “Go for it!”
And here’s another thing. Remember the A-Team? I’m talking the original TV series created by Stephen J. Cannell, (although the movie was pretty decent, too) and the character B.A. Baracas. Now there was a bear of a guy, but at heart, really just a teddy. Yeah. That’s another reason my bear is named B.A. [read: Why I Write. Every Day.] When I was a nobody, Stephen took my inquiry and made it something. He reached out, and through example on social media, helped me gain courage to claim the title Writer. He networked with me before I knew what networking was, and I was lucky enough to meet and talk with him a few months before he passed.
Frankly, My Dear . . .: Meeting Stephen J Cannell
That was really a foraging moment for me. I knew what I wanted and needed, and I found a way to get there and make it happen. He was the first famous person to call me “Molly Jo”. #suchatreasure
So here’s a little video advice from Stephen to every aspiring writer:
And here’s a little more advice from Bruce Allen: Take the word “aspiring” out of your vocabulary. As soon as you’ve put pen to paper or finger to keys, you are a writer. What you do with it, well that’s your journey through the forest.
My question to you is, what does your foraging look like?
You know those moments when you know what you know, you just didn’t know you knew it until someone else turns on the light bulb? Yeah. That’s how the new career is lighting up my world lately. And it’s ahh-mazing. It’s like a triple-caffeine-intake while racing the Indy 500 through LA Traffic and surviving kind of high. It is that kind of awesome sauce.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Which Bulb are You?
So, I’m still doing the writing thing, still doing the editing thing. But as you can tell, I’m also still doing the marketing thing. And this new career keeps reaffirming that I know what I’m doing. How’s that for sweet in me tea. (Oh, please. Y’all know it’s not a week unless I mention my sweet tea.)
BEE the Zebra is super excited, too. Because while NIPPERS is all about the media, y’all just know BEE is all about the marketing.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : BEE the Zebra has a plan
Now, whether you’re a writer, editor, quilter, clothes salesperson or dog walker, we can at least all agree that we’d have, like, zero business if it weren’t for marketing, am I right? And whether you have a team behind you, or you run a do-it-yourself ad campaign, here’s a few things I know.
So grab yourself a glass of that goodness and relax while I share with you five prominent marketing ideas.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. And again. And again. Word of Mouth Advertising only works if you open your mouth. You can’t very well be a dazzling zebra if you don’t let anyone see or share your stripes, now, can you?
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Word of Mouth Advertising only works if you open your mouth.
Brand Awareness. This was a fun one for me to name. Because I love lovelove helping others find, and maintain, their online identity. You are not your brand. Well, sometimes you are, but not really. You have so many facets. And like most people, you keep a good portion of your private life, well, private. But if you were to poll your peeps, most of them could easily give you five to ten traits that make you, you. From those, you can easily curate your brand. It should be the image you want to publicly reflect. When people think these things, they should think of you. That’s the power of branding.
Needs Analysis. Holy cow, is that a fancy way of saying, “How can I help you?” A needs analysis is a term that’s been used for years. It basically is the LEGO connector between what you need and what someone else has to offer. Offer-Person says, “Let’s discuss this.” And Need-Person says, “This is where I’m at, and this is where I want to go.” So Offer-Person creates some strategies to help get you there. The information is the needs analysis, the diagnostic appointment to get the ball rolling.
Pivoting. We all do this. And as fiction writers we’re especially good at it. This is where Person A says, “I need Item A.” But Person B, who knows more about the situation, says, “I agree. Let’s take care of this and then let’s talk about that.” See? You went from A to B with just a turn of the page. Writers pivot every time we ask you to believe our characters then put them into turmoil. We cause you to read on, with different expectations. [Note to self: Stop letting Josie get into so much trouble in NOLA. no spoilers!]
Audience Engagement. Do I really have to explain this? Nope. But I do want to discuss it. This of course is when you get your peeps involved. You’re nothing without your audience . . . Unless you sing in the shower. And while most of us like the acoustics, do we really want to stop there? Not at all. We all have gifts, talents, product, merchandise, you-name-it-we-got-it stuff that we want to share with others. So we need to make sure we’re actually sharing it, and not just laying it down. It’s a hand-off, a relay-race if you will. Get your people involved and they’re more apt to pass the baton to someone else (that’s the referral).
Frankly, My Dear . . . Are you ready to run the marketing race?
So now it’s your turn: What are some of your marketing tips and tricks?
What’s on my plate this week? Well, y’all voted and results are 2-to-1 in favor of Andouille Jambalaya.
Just kidding! You already know what’s on my plate, because you voted for potato chip casserole!
Now, the original version is found in The Unemployment Cookbook, but as you can probably tell by the photo above, BEE The Zebra is not about to let Nippers have all the redoux fun.
Potato Chip Casserole: Five Ingredients
BEE likes to get crazy creative in the kitchen (say that five times fast!), and he also likes to add some sass to everything he touches. Of course he does, he’s a dazzling Zebra, after all.
So of course regular chips and regular meat wouldn’t do for his culinary contribution. Why, he practically leapt out of my bag at the store when he saw these on the shelves:
BEE spicy and sassy!
Hulloh! Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue chips and buffalo sauce chicken? It’s a match made south of the Mason-Dixon Line, yes? Oh, honey, I cannot begin to tell you the mouth watering that happened before we even started cooking.
What’s that? You want the full recipe? Say no more. BEE, if you please:
