Life in the Slow Lane

Contemplating life, faith, words, and memories

Month: August 2014

Tips for Juggling Multiple Writing Projects — August 19, 2014

Tips for Juggling Multiple Writing Projects

/Sherrey Meyer/17 Comments

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel the need to switch off working on my memoir project. Currently, I am completing a second draft of my memoir.

However, despite nearing the end, there are times when I feel like I’ve lost my focus or have grown tired of this project.

Many writers and writing instructors assert that one should work on only one book or project at a time.

Henry Miller asserted such wisdom around 1932-1933:

1. Work on one thing at a time until finished. [Boring!] …

10. Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing. [Also a bit boring!]

But what about that guest post for your writing partner, or the contest you want to enter, or a short story you want to write?

As you can see, I’m not a committed fan of single projects. My Type A personality lends itself more to challenging myself with more than one thing going at a time.

How to balance, or juggle, multiple writing projects? Below are a few simple tips to help:

1. Make notes, copious notes to self! I may have a random thought or idea run through my mind while writing. I quickly reach for paper and pen, and I write it down! There isn’t any chance I’ll remember by the time I complete what I’m doing at that moment. I keep a small notebook with me for just this purpose.

Via Google Images
Via Google Images

2. Talk to another writer or good friend! If I have ideas for future projects or another ongoing one, I’ll talk it out with my husband (he’s my best friend and a great listener) or someone else to sort out the good stuff to keep and toss the bad out right away. Doing so keeps me from thinking about things I don’t need to think about now.

Via Jamie Raintree
Via Jamie Raintree

3. Set a daily word goal. I have a daily word goal, but not based on just one project. If I can write a total of 750-1000 words each day, combining all the writing I do that day, while also juggling my other hats of wife, co-owner of a small business, webmaster for that business, homemaker, committee member, and social media for my writing purposes, I feel I’ve been successful. Here’s an image of a spreadsheet (above) designed by Jamie Raintree, writer and Excel genius (free to download at Jamie’s site under her “For Writers tab).

Via Images Buddy
Via Images Buddy

4. Tell others when I’m writing and in DND mode. We have an open door policy at our house, and closed door one as well. When the door to my writing space is closed, it translates to DND (do not disturb). Otherwise, come on in! Everyone (my husband) but the cat (only one pet) honors my DND mode. The cat tries scratching or pushing against the door.

5. Before beginning a new project, map it out. I am not always a planner; I’m more of a pantser. Except when working on bigger projects, like a book. Then I sit down and using either Scrivener, my go-to writing software, or Mind Maple, my mind-mapping software, I create the equivalent of an outline, a very rough outline, so that I capture all my thoughts about the new project at the beginning. Of course, not everything comes to you at the beginning but time spent preparing some sort of plan is helpful. The image above is the mind map for my memoir resulting from writing a second draft.

Mark Hunter via Flickr
Mark Hunter via Flickr

6. Some days don’t go as planned, so here’s what to do. If I’m having a day where I feel I’ve lost my focus on everything in front of me or within reach, and the caffeine isn’t kicking in but the inner critic is, and the cat won’t go away, and nothing, nothing at all seems right, I stop everything and point myself in the direction of which project needs my attention most at the moment. Then I set everything else aside, including the cat and the inner critic, and mentally shift my focus to that project. But I have to clear my head and my desk in order to bring that project into clear focus. With practice, this will come more easily.

Not all creatives enjoy working on multiple tasks simultaneously, and there is no fault in this. It is the way our brains are wired. My husband can’t understand how I can watch NFL football games and knit or read at the same time. He can’t do that. His focus has to be on one thing and one thing only. We each have to adopt our own plan of writing and getting our projects completed.

My hope is that, if nothing else, you found one thing helpful here today.

Just for fun here’s a short poll you can take if you like about multiple projects: 

Question: Do you work on multiple projects or just one? If multiples, how do you handle juggling them? Share your process. I’d love to read about it.

Good Things Are Coming: Upcoming Guests and Memoir Reviews — August 14, 2014

Good Things Are Coming: Upcoming Guests and Memoir Reviews

/Sherrey Meyer/2 Comments
Attributed to http:lifesadance.org
Attributed to http:lifesadance.org

Yes, good things are coming! I have some guests who will be sharing their insights into writing and life as well as a new memoir or two to review here. Thought I’d give you a heads up:

Next Thursday, August 21st, Lorraine Ash, author of Self and Soul: On Creating Meaningful Life, will be my guest. Lorraine will be sharing her thoughts on “Exploring Ancestral Patterns in Memoir.” This is a fascinating look at what traits and/or behaviors are ours via ancestry.

On Tuesday, August 26th, I will post my review of Kathy Pooler‘s recently published Memoir, Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away from Emotional Abuse. Kathy has told her story with integrity and holds out hope as a gift to those suffering through abusive relationships.

On Thursday, August 28th, my review of Lorraine Ash’s memoir mentioned above will be posted. Another story beautifully written from strength and courage with another gift of hope offered.

My next guest, Marie Abanga, visits me on Thursday, September 4th, as I interview Marie about writing her memoir, My Unconventional Loves: My Hurts, My Adulteries, My Redemptionand the struggles she overcame. I met Marie when she visited this blog and left a comment. I knew upon reading her book and learning more about her life I wanted to share Marie with my other followers in a special way. I’m looking forward to Marie’s visit, and I hope you’ll come back and meet her.

A few days later on September 9th I will be posting my review of Marie’s memoir mentioned above.

On Thursday, September 18th, Mary Gottschalkwill be my guest writing on “giving up on marketing.” Mary is the author of a memoir, Sailing Down the Moonbeam(here is my review) and a recently published novel, A Fitting Place. Having been through the publishing and marketing business with both books, Mary has advice and wisdom to share with us.

Below is a collage of the various books mentioned above. Perhaps one or more interests you. I encourage you to check them and the above dates in mind to return to get to know the authors better.

And if you’d like to have reminders of these upcoming guests and reviews, sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and you’ll receive reminders right into your inbox. Click below to visit the sign-up page.

Mailing List Widget
Mailing List Widget
Next Big Question in Writing Your Story: What Will You Call Your Book? — August 12, 2014

Next Big Question in Writing Your Story: What Will You Call Your Book?

/Sherrey Meyer/4 Comments
Via Google Images
Via Google Images

More than settling on a title, important to the marketing and sales of your life story is the genre you choose to define and/or categorize your published work.

Let’s first look at the definitions of the possible genre you might consider:

Memoir is likely the most used class by life story writers. Dictionary.com defines the word “memoir” as follows:

1. a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation.

2. Usually, memoirs.

a. an account of one’s personal life and experiences; autobiography.
b.the published record of the proceedings of a group or organization, as of a learned society.

3. abiographyorbiographicalsketch.

You could also consider the option of an autobiography which is simply stated in Dictionary.com as:

an account of a person’s life written or otherwise recorded by that person.

Novel, as defined at Dictionary.com, is

a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes.

Now, you must ask yourself which of these three genres you have truly and honestly written.

Via Flickr; with permission to make changes (title possibilities added to blank book cover)
Via Flickr; with permission to make changes (title possibilities added to blank book cover)

Starting with memoir, if you feel certain your memory recall has been accurate and no one can argue points in your story, you likely have written solely from fact. You can then call your book a memoir.

However, there are some tiny details about memoir we should look at closely:

  • Perhaps a sibling or two disagrees with the story you tell, especially where he/she is concerned. And you have named said siblings in your book. If you publish, a sibling could decide to sue you.
  • Or perhaps you chose to change the names of your siblings. Be careful–this is not wholly truthful. One way around this is to include in your query letter that your work is a memoir of your life but you have changed some names. And there is still a good chance a sibling could sue you even though you changed names and explained same in your query letter. See this article from Writer’s Relief on staying out of trouble in similar situations.

Some insist writing your life story forms an autobiography, which implies a complete look–“an account of a person’s life”– at your life. Here we see a contrast with memoir. In an autobiographical recounting of your life story, you write chronologically including dates of various births, marriages, perhaps, divorces, and deaths as well as dates of important events occurring in your lifetime.

In memoir, the writer can choose to focus on a particular segment of his/her life, such as travels, family holidays, school years, an illness, and so on. Also, a memoirist may choose to leave out dates without impacting the veracity of his/her life story. A distinction can also be drawn between the writing style in memoir–drawn more along the lines of fiction, but still truthful, as it engages the reader using creative license in the way the writer shares memories.

If you prefer to embellish your story with details that lie outside the bounds of truth, you will then need to consider your work falling in the fiction genre and call it a novel. However, even when writing your story as fiction,  discretion needs to be exercised with what you share and how you characterize the people in your story. Near wars have arisen over tiny details being used to someone else’s harm. Finally, on this topic, you could say that you have written “a story inspired by true events in my life” or “a work based loosely on my life.”

In closing, from an article written by Alan Rinzler, author, speaker, editor and publisher, on the subject of memoir vs. fiction, I leave you with wise words from Rinzler:

Do the right thing. …

If you choose the memoir, remember these guidelines: truth only, releases where needed, strategic omissions.

If you decide to write a novel, you’ll have a greater opportunity for digging down to the core truth of a story, but keep in mind that fiction requires an independent credibility that isn’t acting out any personal agenda.

Ultimately, it’s each author’s personal call.

What are your thoughts on genre classifications in the realm of life story writing? Share your thoughts, how you reached a decision on your book, or other helpful resources in the comments section below.

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