Free Your Creative Mind!

Blog Site is Moving

2010-07-17T08:24:00.000-05:00

Hi!

In anticipation of the Sept 18, 2010 release of LIVING WRITE: The Secret to Bringing Your Craft Into Your Daily Life (Adams Media), this blog is moving to: www.AuthorKellyLStone.com.

Between now and September 18, if you leave a comment on the new blog, send an email to Kelly@AuthorKellyLStone.com, or *like* my fan page on Facebook (@Author Kelly L Stone), you will receive a copy of the 1st chapter of Living Write free!

Hope to see you over there!

~Kelly

Daily Writing

2010-06-06T12:08:00.000-05:00

There is power in daily writing. When you write every day, even if it's just for a few minutes, you build momentum. You begin to embed the concept of 'writing' into your subconscious mind. Writing becomes a habit, which is a critical component of success.

You do not have to make a long-term commitment to daily writing. For example, you could try daily writing for 7 days, 30 days, or 90 days. At the end of your commitment period, observe how writing has become an integral part of your day. Experiment and see if you can keep that momentum going for another day, and then another.

The power of daily writing is the first chapter in my upcoming book LIVING WRITE: The Secret to Inviting Your Craft Into Your Daily Life (Adams Media), coming September 18, 2010.

How can you make daily writing part of your routine?

Break Out of Your Writing Rut with Change Guru Nancy Christie

2010-04-04T07:46:00.001-05:00

Please welcome change guru Nancy Christie, author of The Gifts of Change and a freelance writer and speaker. Nancy gives us tips on how to break out of a writing rut and get those words flowing again!

Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of THE GIFTS OF CHANGE. Drawing will be held 4/5/10, and Nancy will announce the winner here tomorrow morning, so check back to see if you won!

Although writing is, by definition, a creative process, it is still possible to become “stuck in a rut.” That can happen when we write only on the same topics or in the same genre, when we work only for the same magazines or clients, when our writing routine is set in stone (only in the morning, only in the coffee shop, only on weekends).

Being in a writing rut can be detrimental to our creative spirit and our self-confidence. When we restrict our imagination to the same track, it becomes evident in the finished process. We use the same phrases—the same verbal layout, so to speak—that worked the first time, and the second, and the third and often don’t notice it until someone else calls attention to it. (When a friend of mine read an early draft of my first novel, he pointed out that two of my characters used the same phrase—“truth be told”—and that I needed to decide once and for all who “owned” it!)

Our work becomes stale, boring and repetitive because we have gotten lazy, complacent and unwilling to challenge ourselves.

What’s worse is the insidious effect a writing rut can have on our self-confidence level. Many times, we avoid taking risks with our writing—exploring new writing forms or subjects—because deep down inside we are afraid: afraid we can’t pull it off, afraid that our ignorance will become evident to the whole world, afraid, in short, that we will fail.

We stick with what we know because we believe subconsciously that that is all we can know, return to what we have done in the past because that might be all we can do in the future.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with establishing a reputation as a health journalist or a novelist or a marketing writer, we should push ourselves outside those self-defined limits periodically to see what else we are capable of becoming.

And it doesn’t matter whether we succeed or fail. As Dame Sybil Thorndike once said, “One should never be sorry one has attempted something new—never, never, never!” It’s the effort that is important, not the outcome. It’s the challenge that strengthens us as writers and as individuals.

Nancy Christie

Web site: www.nancychristie.com

Blog: The Writer’s Place

Use Your Intuition To Access Your Subconscious Creativity

2010-03-11T21:05:00.000-06:00

"Women’s intuition” can be a useful tool for aspiring women writers, and men too, because it’s a link to your inner resources of creativity and wisdom. Intuition is your subconscious mind attempting to communicate with you and get creative material or guidance into your conscious mind. You might experience hunches, flashes of insight, or feel you should take some action. Your dreams may give you characters, plot ideas, or entire stories. Some people get a “gut” feeling. You may be guided to do something unusual. The late photographer Dorothea Lange got a gut feeling that she should turn down a deserted road in California while driving home from work one day. Even though she was exhausted, Lange yielded to her intuition and discovered a starving woman and children whose haunting photo became the face of the Great Depression.

Intuition springs from your subconscious mind, and there are several ways to connect to this part of yourself that often goes unheeded and unexplored. You can direct your subconscious mind to give you a dream solution when you find yourself in a spell of writer’s block. Keep a notebook by your bed and tell your subconscious mind before you fall asleep to allow you to dream about the next section of your story. Don’t be surprised if you wake up in the middle of the night with a sudden burst of inspiration. That’s what the notebook is for.

You can also induce the hypnagogic state to get in touch with your subconscious resources. The hypnagogic state is a naturally occurring phase of sleep that is characterized by altered consciousness; some people hear their name being called, others see flashes of light. What’s important for writers is that ideas that are not normally connected are seen as associated in this state. It’s a time fertile with creativity. To access it, lie down and hold one arm straight up while you attempt to doze. The tension in your arm required to hold it up will keep you on the verge of wakefulness even as your mind slips into an alpha state, which is conducive to creativity. Again, write down in your notebook any ideas or insights that come to you.

Stream of consciousness writing is a good way to access your subconscious mind. I used it while writing my novel, Grave Secret (Mundania Press, Sept 2007). One day, after a period of several difficult writing days, the character of Billy Powers simply walked on to the page. This character was not known to my conscious mind; he sprang from my subconscious. As it turned out, he was so integral to the plot that his appearance saved the story.

Heed your intuition because it is the golden key that opens the gate to your vast subconscious mind. Your writing will thank you for it.

Interview on How to Find Time to Write

2010-01-17T12:11:00.001-06:00

When Kelly L. Stone interviewed bestselling author Cathy Maxwell for her books -- THINKING WRITE: THE SECRET TO FREEING YOUR CREATIVE MIND and TIME TO WRITE: MORE THAN 100 PROFESSIONAL WRITERS REVEAL HOW TO FIT WRITING INTO YOUR BUSY LIFE -- she never thought the tables would be turned on her, here at Romance Radio! Cathy is going to talk to Kelly about the instructive book and her constructive advice about how to use the power of our subconscious mind to maximize our creative output and attain all of our writing aspirations. So - aspiring readers, this is one episode of Romance Radio you DON'T want to miss!

Click here to listen to the interview; it's about 20 minutes:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/romanceradio/2010/01/14/kelly-l-stone--words-to-inspire-aspring-writers

Creativity Tip: Using Sudoku as a jumpstart to Writing

2010-01-07T20:30:00.007-06:00

Please welcome my friend Walt Mussell, an author who has a unique creativity tip to share.

Ten Minutes in the Morning

When I read Kelly’s book, Time to Write, one of first things I did was to make myself a schedule, trying to find pockets of time to write. The result was that I had time in the morning before I went to work. However, as I started rising early, I realized one thing: I wasn’t “ready” to write at that hour. I struggled to put words on the page, I would check e-mail or surf the net. It wasn’t a productive way to spend time.

Finally, I discovered something that let me get my brain in gear, even quicker than taking coffee via an IV…sudoku. A math puzzle may seem like the oddest way to spark one’s creative side, but I’m a total left brain. I have degrees in physics, finance, and accounting and I gravitate to numbers. (In the spring of 2009, I was a contest finalist for about two minutes, and then the contest coordinator read me my scores. Hopefully, one day, my writing skills will exceed my ability to do math in my head.)

To start, I bookmarked a website (www.free-sudoku.com) and I visit nearly every day to do puzzles in my head. There are five levels on the site. With a pen and paper, I can do the hardest ones, but I don’t want anything that challenging. Instead, I use a lower level puzzle as I want to be able to do it on-line without having to write things down. This is enough for me to get going. Also, I only want to take ten minutes on the puzzle because I want to get to actual writing. The website I use has a timer, so you can keep track of how long you’ve been at it. Finished? Unfinished? It doesn’t matter. After ten minutes, or if I finish the puzzle in less than ten minutes, I start writing.

As I’ve gotten better at sudoku, I’ve increased the difficulty level of the puzzle I do in the morning. However, I don’t go beyond my pre-set time limit. This may not be the best way for some people to get started, but it does work for me. It also seems especially geared towards editing.

I’m currently reading Kelly’s second book, Thinking Write, and trying to find better ways to tap into my creative potential. I’ve set a dream log next to my bed and started writing things down. (Being male, or just really left brain, I chose not to decorate it.) However, as I continue with my sudoku in the morning, I wonder if my current morning kickstart isn’t my version of a “mirror,” “pendulum,” or “arm in the air” as a way to focus. Hopefully, Kelly will respond on that.

Walt Mussell
"Walt's Place" (Auburn football: Sun) www.waltmussell.blogspot.com
"Daddy Needs Decaf" (Parenting: Tues & Fri) www.atlantaparent2.blogspot.com

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Sudoku is one of those games that stimulates *right brain* alpha state creativity. It is similar to using the *arm in the air* technique that I write about in Thinking Write as a way to get in touch with the subconscious.

What games similar to sudoku have you found to rejunvenate your creativity? Leave a comment and be entered into a drawing to win a $5 dollar off coupon to one of Kelly's future online classes.

Do You Have Writing Goals for 2010?

2009-12-29T06:39:00.004-06:00

Have you set your writing goals for 2010 yet? Setting goals is easy when you use the SMART format:

S= Specific. Identify a concrete product that you intend to create, e.g., a novel, a nonfiction book proposal, a short story, a memoir.

M= Measurable. Goals should include something you can count on a daily basis, e.g., finish five pages per day or two chapters per week.

A= Achievable. Set goals you know you can reach. Most people set goals too high, get discouraged, and quit. Setting goals you have a good chance of making sets you up for success.

R= Realistic. Again, set goals that are do-able for you and your lifestyle.

T= Time Limited. Give all goals a deadline and track your progress using some type of log.

Once you have goals, create action steps that you will take on a daily basis to reach these goals. This can include setting aside time after dinner each evening to write, going to the library on weekends to do research, or taking classes to improve your skills. I call this your Writing Action Plan™.

Post your plan somewhere that you will see it every day, and reward yourself weekly for making progress toward your goals.

Learn more ways to set and achieve writing goals in TIME TO WRITE: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal How to Fit Writing Into Your Busy Life-- No Excuses, No Distractions, No More Blank Pages (Adams Media).

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What are your writing goals for 2010? Leave a comment and be entered into a drawing to win an autographed copy of BREAK INTO FICTION by bestselling authors Dianna Love and Mary Buckham.

Where is Your Thinking Place?

2009-12-17T06:55:00.003-06:00

A Thinking Place is a private spot where you can go, undisturbed, to think, create, and make plans. Many creative people have several Thinking Places that they retreat to on a routine basis. One of mine is a comfortable chair in front of a window with a scenic view. A Thinking Place is important because it allows you to access your subconscious mind and helps build a bridge to your innate creativity.

For an excellent book on the various Thinking Places of famous people, check out:
Thinking Places: Where Great Ideas Were Born by Jack and Carolyn Fleming.

Where is your Thinking Place?

Don’t Let the Holidays Mean a Holiday from Writing

2009-12-05T09:36:00.005-06:00

Every writer has to deal with distractions on a daily basis, but the holidays present a unique challenge. It’s easy to get so consumed by the parties, shopping, cooking, traveling, and visiting with family that your writing suffers. People tend to work less during the holidays no matter what their line of business, and writers are no different. The result is that you lose touch with your work-in-progress and slow the momentum that had been pushing you along the previous ten months.

Here’s how to stay on track with your writing and enjoy your holidays, too.

Modify Your Writing Schedule. Unless you’re emulating Stephen King and decide to write every day including Christmas and your birthday, accept the fact that you are not going to get as much writing done during the holiday season. Plan accordingly by taking a proactive stance. Decide now, before the holiday chaos begins, what your writing schedule will be for the next six weeks. Take out monthly calendars for November and December and pencil in a scaled back version of your typical writing schedule. If you normally write five hours a week, plan on three. If you normally write three times a week, plan on one. Identify the days that you already know you will not write and cross them off your calendar. This exercise will alleviate guilt while also ensuring that you will get some writing accomplished over the holidays.

Modify Your Writing Goals. Along with your modified schedule, temporarily lower your word and page count goals. If you normally write 2000 words a day, lower it to 1000. If you usually shoot for five pages a day, aim for three.

Review Your Progress. The key to achieving any goal is to continually monitor progress. If you feel like you are getting totally off track as the holidays move forward, set aside five minutes and review your modified goals. Did you bite off more than you could chew? If you scaled your writing schedule back to three times a week but discover that you simply can’t do it because of holiday obligations, scale it back to twice or even once a week. Your aim should be to retain some semblance of your writing schedule—what that looks like over the holidays may be dictated by forces you cannot control.

Incorporate Writing Into the Holiday Lifestyle. Just as you weave writing into your day-to-day life at other times, strive to do the same over the holidays. Keep a notebook nearby to jot down witticism ms and snappydialogue exchanges that you overhear. Maybe eccentric Uncle Fred will spout out the perfect comeback line for your hero. Be alert. Families are steeped in tradition and complex relationships that all writers strive to get on the page. Take advantage of the dynamics swirling around you.

Touch Some Part of Your Writing Every Day. Even on days that you do not plan to write, touch some part of your writing life by making notes about your work-in-progress, thinking about a difficult plot point, or reading a paragraph or two in a craft book before you go to bed. Stay in touch with your writing self.

Be Present. When you’re writing, write. When you’re celebrating, celebrate. Be completely present with whatever you are doing at the moment.

Plan Your 2010 Work Now. Setting long range goals before the hype about resolutions begins often results in saner, more achievable goals. It also helps you avoid overextending yourself when the post-holiday slump sets in. The reason most people don’t keep their resolutions is because they set completely unrealistic targets. Setting yours before or right after Thanksgiving gives you a smooth jumping off point on Jan 1, 2010.

Taking a break for the holidays doesn’t mean you have to take a break from your writing life. Use these tips to stay in touch with your writing life and enjoy your family’s festivities, too.

Question for comments: How do you plan to stay on track with your writing during this holiday season?

Guest blogger: Dr. Michael Brant DeMaria, award winning writer and musician

2009-11-30T17:40:00.011-06:00

Please welcome award winning author and musician, Michael Brant DeMaria, PhD, as guest blogger today. Michael, his wife, and their extended families have been dear friends of mine for more than 2 decades. I always feel refreshed, inspired, and encouraged after spending time with Michael.

Michael is a psychologist with over 25 years of experience in helping guide others on their life journeys. He has published and presented numerous papers on the role creativity and spirituality play in the healing process nationally and internationally. Michael is the author of Horns and Halos (1992), Ever Flowing On (2001) and the book of poetry, Moments (2008). He is the youngest recipient of a Ph.D. in the clinical psychology program at Duquesne University, where he studied in the graduate programs in psychology, philosophy and The Institute of Formative Spirituality. He has composed 3 CD’s of original music, two in the Healing Sound Project Series - The River (2003) and Ocean (2009) as well as the award winning soundtrack, Siyotanka (2009). Michael’s first full length play, Café Mezzo opened to rave reviews in 2007 and was chosen as the best play of the year for the Loblolly Theatre. He is also a regular contributor to the contemporary art gallery, Artel, with his original abstract acrylic paintings.

Leave a comment below and be entered into a drawing to win a free copy of Siyotanka – the Native American Award Winning album and #1 New Age Recording February 2009.

Let's hear what Michael has to share about creativity, writing, music, and life...

Q: Welcome Michael! You have won several awards for your music. Please tell us about that, yourself, and what books and CDs you have written.

A: Hi Kelly, thanks for having me. As you know I’m a big fan of your work so I’m honored to get a chance to share with your readers. I like to say I’m a psychologist by day and a musician, writer and artist by night. What’s amazing to me is over the last few years I’m a more and more a writer/artist and musician by day as well. As you know this last month my last album Siyotanka not only making it to #1 on the New Age charts in February, but then went on to win the Native American Music Award in the Native Heart category in Niagara Falls New York. It’s been a very exciting and fulfilling time.

My first love was music growing up in New England (Wilton, CT). I grew up with a love of people, nature and music. What I have realized over the years they all have something very important in common – listening. I’ve always been a listener – and now I make my living as a professional listener – both as a psychologist and musician. I draw my greatest inspiration for both of these vocations of mine from nature. Nature is infinitely creative – and it is part and parcel of who we are. Most of my writing and music has to do with really listening to how nature moves and using that as a guiding metaphor for how to move through the world. Just look at the title of my book “Ever Flowing On” which is all about using water as a metaphor for living a full and rich life – to the title of two of my albums in the Healing Sound Series, “The River” and “Ocean” and the one I’m working on in the studio right now is called, “Earth” - The wisdom of Nature (and in particular water) is ever present in my work. I actually spent many years as a wilderness guide where I guided personal growth journeys in the wilderness with adults to help them learn firsthand the wisdom and healing power of nature. Now I feel like I take people on similar journeys with my music. I like to call my music, sonic journeys for the soul.

Q: Is the musical creative process different from or similar to the writing creative process? How so?

A: That’s a great question Kelly – one I haven’t been asked! For me all creativity is inherently healing – and what I mean by that is it helps us get in touch with parts of ourselves that are usually ignored during our day to day domestic lives. In this way there is something wild in the creative process – and I mean ‘wild’ in the good sense of the term – that is, fresh, raw, full of energy. To me this is very soulful energy – I see the soul as a child of nature and the ego as a child of society. The soul in this way is more instinctual, more wild naturally than the ‘ego’. So in all my creative work it’s about connecting to this more wild, untamed, energy – in that way I find both of them very similar. Writing a personal growth book for me is much more difficult and takes more time for me than say writing poetry or playwriting which are more like music for me. I like to tell parents, our children come through us, not from us – and I feel the same way about the creative process – because I see creative work as ‘giving birth’ in a very real way. There is the impregnation, the incubation, then the as always final painful delivery. For many indigenous people music is considered to be all around us and a musician is simply ‘tapping’ into that music and being a channel for it to flow through us. I’ll sometimes hear my compositions or read my poems and say, “who wrote that?” That is a great experience – and reminds me to stay very humble about the whole mysterious process of creativity.

Q: You are also a licensed psychologist. Can you share one or two techniques that work for you when you find yourself wanting to create but perhaps experiencing the dreaded writer's block?

A: Ironically, or perhaps not so ironically, music. I see music and writing for me like crop rotation. You know if you plant only cotton it depletes the nitrogen in the soil and after too many years you won’t be able to grow cotton anymore – so they alternate cotton growing with soil enriching crops like peanuts and peas. They even sometimes rotate the crops during different seasons in the same year – which helps discourage pests, help enrich the soil and make it more erosion resistant. Probably more than you wanted to know about crop rotation! So, I practice art rotation - alternate composing music, with writing plays, poetry, non-fiction and sometimes with painting. Of course, exercise is another wonderful way to ‘rotate’ throughout the day or week. Finally, I have to say that actually doing therapy is a form of crop-rotation for me. As you know the creative process is a very internal one – and you become very self-absorbed in creative work. After about 4 days of that I’m ready for my 3 days a week of clinical work where I can be there for someone else – sit across from them to listen to them instead of myself. Of course, after three days of being outside of myself listening to others I am SOOOO ready to dive into my creative work again. The old model (which I’m sure still works for many people) was to focus on one thing – for me that is the kiss of death – I always have multiple projects going in many different mediums – that keeps life interesting for me and prevents burnout or blockages. If I’m blocked I just move to something else for awhile until the inspiration comes back.

I want to draw one other analogy here from nature. Part of the creative infinity of nature is its commitment to diversity. If you look at the most durable, sustainable and resilient eco-systems they are tremendously diverse. The more diverse an eco-system is the more resilient it is to drought, storms, natural disasters. Now look at a corn field – a corn field is one thing and one thing only - corn. It’s a monoculture and there are few things more fragile than a corn field. It’s tremendously vulnerable to decimation by pests, weather changes, or natural disaster. So I learned early on to be very diverse in my creative life. It’s just the way my mind works anyway. Some work may go slower that way – but then when the energy comes watch out!

Q: From your perspective as a therapist, why is it important that people routinely access their creative selves?

A: Sanity. Plain and simple. Plato use to say that if you go into your madness voluntarily it won’t come out involuntarily. Jung said something similar, he said, if you bring out what is inside you it will free you – if you don’t bring it out it will kill or destroy you. This may not be true for everyone, but for the creative person I find it to be generally quite true – and have seen it in my own life. It is also inherently healing. It keeps our minds and hearts fresh – it puts us back into alignment – like a chiropractic adjustment for the soul. What is Creator doing all the time? Creating. So when we create we are aligning ourselves with the very fabric of creation – I’d say that is an important thing to do now and again – wouldn’t you?

Q: Do you have any upcoming workshops?

A: As you know I just have come off a busy few months of traveling with workshops and/or performances in New York, Arkansas and California. It’s been very exciting, but I’m taking a break for a bit. I tend to spend the winter creating – composing and writing new work – and then spend May through October being out in the world doing more workshops/concerts and speaking engagements. I do have a very special Winter Solstice Concert coming up in December here locally that I’m very excited about. It is December 20th, a Sunday at the Unity church on 9th ave. in Pensacola. It is a peace and healing concert for the holiday season – and I’m doing some unique new things with the audience and will also be sharing some of my newest compositions off my upcoming album Earth due out fall of 2010.

Q: Where can readers learn more about you?

A: My brand new website was just launched this last week at www.ontos.org or www.michaeldemaria.com – I’m very excited about it. There is a lot of new content, a blog, a free meditation healing space with a free track available off of Ocean – the most recently promoted album that we hope will be charting well in the coming weeks and it also has a very soothing video that accompanies the music and I guide the listener through a short, but very relaxing meditation.

From Kelly: Thanks for a great interview Michael!

Question for comments: How does tending to your creative side enhance your day to day life?

Leave a comment and be entered into a drawing to win a free copy of Siyotanka – the Native American Award Winning album and #1 New Age Recording February 2009.

Guest blogger: ANNA HACKETT

2009-11-18T06:40:00.005-06:00

Please welcome guest author, Anna Hackett. Anna is a mining engineer by day and a writer by night. She loves combining action, adventure and a healthy dose of romance in her stories. Her latest release, Taken by the South Wind is available from Silhouette Nocturne Bites and all online booksellers.

Leave a comment and you will be entered into a drawing to win a free download of one of Anna's stories!

Q: Welcome Anna! Please tell us about yourself and what you write.

A: Thanks Kelly for having me here. I’m married to the love of my life, Karl and we live in an isolated mining town in northern Australia (beautiful beaches but lots of crocodiles, sharks and killer jellyfish.) I’m a mining engineer by day and writer by night. I spend my work days in a hard hat and boots and my weekends hunched over my laptop lost in my own worlds.

If I’m not writing I have my nose in my Kindle. I’ve always been a reader and it was that love of reading that sparked my interest in writing. That or the creative side of my brain needed an outlet since my days are mostly numbers and calculations!

I currently write paranormal romance and have several short stories published with Harlequin’s Silhouette Nocturne Bites line. I also write action-adventure romance. I love combining adventure and my love of history with a happily ever after. That’s why the paranormal and suspense genres suit me so well.

Q: How do you manage your time to ensure that you will write consistently?

A: For me, not writing isn’t an option. I have this obsessive/compulsive urge to write. If I’m not writing I’m pondering plot problems, brainstorming my next scene or thinking about my next story idea. I am fairly disciplined and do treat writing as a job. I do the bulk of my writing on the weekend.

I have an office…and have to force myself to sit in there sometimes. I can write on the couch, out on the patio, at the kitchen table and at the coffee shop BUT I’m more productive at the desk in my office. What I did was track how many words I wrote at all my various locations and the numbers don’t lie! I’m working hard to get into my office more.

The most important thing for me in finding the time to write is my supportive husband. Sometimes he chases me to my desk! And he’s a fiend at putting visual reminders up about how many words I said I’d write today or how many chapters I said I’d revise. Then he checks in every few hours to see how I’m going. I think writers need to set some “rules” with their families and carve out some writing time where the family knows they can’t disturb them. Get your family involved in helping you succeed – make them a part of it too.

Q: Some writers believe in writer's block, others don't. What's your take on it? Can you give us a strategy that's worked for you?

A: I try not to think about writer’s block too much. I moved country and jobs a year ago and my writing certainly suffered until I was settled and back in a routine. I think writer’s block is probably a reflection of what’s going on in your life at the time. I don’t think there’s a magic pill to solve it except hard work and perseverance. Try not to dwell on it and get down. Make yourself write, give yourself permission to write crap and keep pushing until the words flow again.

Q: Can you tell us about a time that you got a great idea at an unusual time-- say when you were in line at the grocery store or when falling asleep-- and how you incorporated that into your work?

A: I get ideas all the time – usually in the middle of a movie (action movies are my favorites!) My husband’s accustomed to me saying “Press pause, I just got a story idea and have to write it down.” I keep a list of ideas and reread it every now and then when I’m thinking about my next story – it varies from a couple of words to a half page on a premise, character or setting.

I also keep a notebook beside my bed. Falling asleep or waking up are good times for ideas to strike. As I’m falling asleep, I often think about the next scene I’m going to write and it often heads in a different direction than I had planned.

My first Bites, Savage Dragon is about modern-day dragon knights who hunt down dragons turned wild. It was when I was falling asleep one night I had the idea to have different types of dragons with different powers (based on the ancient Chinese elements of earth, metal, fire, wood and water). I was thrilled with how my dragons turned out.

Q: Some writers use daily statements like "I write easily and well every day" as a way to stay motivated and keep creativity levels high. What do you do?

A: I have a list of affirmations that I look at when I need them. I have one I think of every day “I am a #1 NYT bestselling author” – why not aim high! To stay motivated, I love to read and watch movies. Reading a brilliant book or watching an exciting movie motivates me like nothing else and helps my creativity.

Q: Which do you like better: first drafts or revisions? Why?

A: Gosh, this is a hard question. When I’m doing a first draft, I like revisions better. When I’m revising, I like first drafts better. The grass is always greener! When the story is flowing, the first draft is wonderful. On the flip side, my engineer brain feels quite happy with a list of revisions. I start at the top and work my way through them. I do find it a little easier to make myself sit down and revise because I know what I need to get done.

From Kelly~

Thanks for being here Anna!

Please leave a comment if you want to be entered into the drawing for a free story. For more about Anna, check out her website and blog: www.annahackettbooks.com and www.annahackett.blogspot.com

Guest Blogger Margie Lawson: Author, Speaker, Therapist

2009-11-13T06:00:00.006-06:00

Welcome guest author Margie Lawson!

Margie is a psychotherapist, writer, and international presenter. She has applied her psychological expertise to dissect and analyze over a thousand novels. A former university professor, Margie taught psychology and communication courses at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Her resume includes clinical trainer, professor, director of a counseling center, hypnotherapist, and trauma specialist. Her psychologically-anchored Deep Editing tools are used by all writers, from newbies to NYT Bestsellers. She teaches writers how to edit for psychological power, how to hook the reader viscerally, how to create a page-turner. In the last five years, Margie presented over fifty full day Master Classes in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. She also offers intense three-day Immersion Master Classes on Deep Editing from her home. She lives in a log home on a mountain-top west of Denver.

Let's listen to some words of writerly advice from Margie!

ARE YOU RIDING THE HORSE, OR IS THE HORSE RIDING YOU?

By Margie Lawson

Who controls your moods? Who controls your life? Your mood, and life, is comprised of what you do each day, each hour, each minute. How you choose to live your life is determined by how you choose to live each minute. What moods do you choose? Are you riding the horse, or LETTING the horse ride you?

At times, we all have stress. We all get hit with bleak times – and black times. Times of seemingly insurmountable loss and depression, trauma and fear. Many of my clients attribute their negative moods to external causes. They apply an external locus of control. They allow the horse of life to ride them. They focus on the negatives. They feed their depression. They complain. They are miserable. They make people around them miserable.

Some writers buy into that external locus of control piece. They relinquish control of their moods to things they cannot control.

~ Writers cannot control getting an agent.

~ Writers cannot control getting a contract.

~Writer cannot control getting on a bestseller list.

Writers can control some aspects of their moods. When a disappointment hits, they can allow themselves to feel sad for a short time and kick themselves out of that pity pit by making plans to move forward and putting their plans into action. A Change Coach (and Career Coach) can be an incredible resource for a writer who is emotionally whomped. Change Coaches are also top-of-the-heap butt-kickers.

If you’ve taken my Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors course (offered on-line in January), you know a Change Coach can help a writer jettison the junk in their emotional trunk. If a writer can’t jettison it all, a Change Coach can help the writer box it, duct-tape it, and anchor it in the trunk. No more distractions from annoying banging and clanging. The writer’s focus shifts from lamenting to implementing.

Do what you need to do to take charge of your moods. Don’t let the horse of life ride you.

I idolize people who grab hold the reins, smile, and ride their horse of life through the worst of times. When you meet or read about someone whose life is loaded with cosmic-careening challenges . . . aren’t you awed? How many of us could graduate from Radcliffe—have twelve books published—get elected to the National Women’s Hall of Fame—do all that and more---if we were blind, deaf, and mute like Helen Keller? Writers can learn from Helen Keller’s grace, perseverance, and courage. When we feel emotionally challenged, we can put energy into taking charge of our moods.

Check out these quotes from Helen Keller.

We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough.
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight, but no vision.
College isn’t the place to go for ideas.
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened.
Life is either a great adventure or nothing.
What I am looking for is not out there, it is within me.
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow.

One cannot consent to creep when one has an impulse to soar.

CHIME IN:

Did any of Helen Keller’s quotes speak to you? What can you do to take charge of your mood today? This week? Next week? I will respond to posts several times today and this evening. Anyone who posts a comment TODAY has a chance to WIN a LECTURE PACKET from one of my on-line classes. I will award a Lecture Packet to one of every 25 people who post today.

1. Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors

2. Empowering Characters' Emotions

3. Deep Editing: The EDITS System, Rhetorical Devices, and More

4. Digging Deep Into the EDITS System

5. Writing Body Language and Dialogue Cues Like a Psychologist

6. Powering Up Body Language in Real Life: Projecting a Professional Persona When Pitching and Presenting

I’ll post the LECTURE PACKET WINNERS tonight, at 8:00PM Mountain Time.

In January, I’m teaching Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors, a power-packed on-line course that helps writers access their strengths—and empower creativity and productivity. Lectures from each of my on-line courses are offered as Lecture Packets through PayPal from my web site. Lecture Packets are $22; I donate $5 per Lecture Packet for ALS (my cousin).

Please visit www.MargieLawson.com and click on Lecture Packets to read the course descriptions. If you’re interested in a sample of deep editing, I include Deep Editing Analyses in each issue of my monthly newsletter. To receive my newsletter, click on SUBSCRIBE on the home page of my web site, www.MargieLawson.com

THANK YOU for stopping by Kelly L. Stone’s blog today! I’m looking forward to seeing your blog posts.

From Kelly:

Thanks for an insightful and inspiring article, Margie! Please visit Margie's web site to learn more about her newsletter, on-line courses, presentation schedule, and Immersion Master Classes, www.MargieLawson.com. If you would like to contact Margie about presenting a full day Master Class to your group, e-mail her: Margie@MargieLawson.com.

Thinking Write on End Cap

2009-11-06T19:45:00.003-06:00

THINKING WRITE is on an end cap at a Barnes & Noble in Atlanta!

Welcome Bestselling Author CJ Lyons!!

2009-11-02T06:48:00.008-06:00

I'm thrilled to have as my guest today CJ Lyons, bestselling author of three medical thrillers. As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about. In addition to being an award-winning medical suspense author, CJ is a nationally known presenter and keynote speaker. Her first novel, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), received praise as a "breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller" from Publishers Weekly, was reviewed favorably by the Baltimore Sun and Newsday, named a Top Pick by Romantic Times Book Review Magazine, and became a National Bestseller. LIFELINES also won a Readers' Choice Award for Best First Novel. Her second novel, WARNING SIGNS, was published by Berkley in January, 2009, with the third, URGENT CARE, scheduled for November, 2009. To learn more about CJ and her work, go to www.cjlyons.net.

CJ is graciously giving away a free copy of WARNING SIGNS to one lucky person who leaves a comment!

Welcome CJ!

Block Busting

By CJ Lyons

www.cjlyons.net

Thanks, Kelly for having me here! Your books are such a wonderful resource for writers!

When I teach my writing workshops, the problem of "writer's block" often arises. Personally, I don't believe in some magical force that suddenly removes a writer's ability to create—I see writer's block as a signal that I need to pay heed to.

After all, if your brain is shutting down the creative flow, be aware that there's probably a very good reason for it! Pay attention to that nudge the muse is giving you, or suffer the consequences.

There are many ways to overcome a block—just read Kelly's book!—but here's one I developed that not only is easy to do, but can work for anyone!

It's based on a scientifically proven method used by elite athletes and performers suffering from performance anxiety. I call it CJ's 4-R method:

Step one RESIST:

First, don't disregard the spinning your wheels and banging your head against the wall phase, as painful as it may be. By struggling with a problem, working it through, engaging all your focus, energy and attention on it, you release the hormones (norepinephrine in particular) that get your brain ready to solve the problem.

You have to be fully engaged here—really, really, trying, not just marking time until your next coffee or email break. Stay actively engaged in your work. If the scene isn't flowing, try doing some research or a character sketch. Maybe write a snippet of dialogue. Anything to keep you connected to the story.

So, first step: Resist.

This is the Apply Butt to Chair part of the equation. And sometimes, that's all it takes. Once you get going and focus, the words just fly.

But if they don't, go to step two: RELAX.

Take a break, indulge in some physical activity, take care of yourself and those around you.

A little creative volunteer work (reading to kids or the elderly, etc) can do wonders to free up the imagination. By giving back, you often expose yourself to new people, new opportunities that might break you out of your normal routine. And release endorphins (more good brain hormones!)

Repetitive activity such as running, walking, sports, repeating a word or phrase (mantra), meditating on rhythmic breathing, even drumming, can also release endorphins.

Break out of your normal routine—leave your work area and go take a shower or soak in a warm tub. Meditate or take a nap in another room. Go to an art gallery, indulge your other senses. Again, the idea is to break out of your usual routine and let your mind wander in new directions.

Whatever you do, try to fully engage in it—don't try to think about your "writing problem" or anything else. If you're listening to music, give yourself over to it—wave your arms like you're conducting an orchestrate or sing along.

If you're taking a walk or exercising, concentrate solely on the exercise—watching TV while riding an exercise bike is great, but it's not the kind of relaxation we're talking about here. But running and listening intensely to music would be because the two activities reinforce the repetition that allows your brain to re-boot.

Pick one activity and pour all your focus and energy into it. Eliminate any other distractions.

Put a time limit on this phase—fifteen or thirty minutes is fine. You want to get back to your work while those endorphins are still flowing.

(Note: studies have shown that volunteer work creates endorphins that flow for a prolonged period of time, days even, so no need to put limits on that!)

When you see someone like Venus Williams absently bouncing her tennis ball before a crucial serve, she's using a quick Relax phase to get her into her "zone" and prepare her for the next step: Release.

Step 3: RELEASE.

Return to work. Usually, if those endorphins are flowing, you'll feel a sense of total release, as if you simply don't care any more. The problem will be solved or not, it's out of your hands. You're simply going to relax, give it one last try, and do the best you can.

This is that all-powerful zone that athletes talk about. That feeling of freedom, effortlessness, where you aren't sure if it's really you hitting that home run or the universe letting it happen. Everything seems in synch, like it was meant to be.

Begin to work, try to simply free-write, no conscious direction or planning. Tell yourself you're just going to write 100, 200 words, you don't care what they are, even if they're nonsense.

You can even type with your eyes closed (if you're accurate enough to read it afterwards!) or turn the monitor off. You don't care. You promised yourself you'd get some work done and so you'll keep that promise, but you really don't care what you write.

Surprisingly, all those good hormones will often take your brain in a direction that solves problems you didn't even know you had—or send you in a new direction that's better than the old one.

Many times you might find yourself writing something that doesn't seem to apply to your current work. A poem or piece of flash fiction or a blog post. Don't fight it, go with it—often you'll be surprised and the piece will turn out to be something you needed to write, even if it has nothing to do with the work you've been struggling with.

But don't get too distracted or sidelined. Put a time limit on this step, fifteen minutes or so. Again, you want to associate those good feelings, that sense of pride and accomplishment with writing (writing anything!).

Then go to step four: RECONNECT.

Reconnect with your work in progress. Immerse yourself in it, using those endorphins to help you focus. Often you'll discover where you went wrong—and it won't seem like a catastrophe but rather an opportunity because now you suddenly know exactly how to fix it.

Don't limit this step—write as long as you like, let the ideas pour out, don't try to edit or constrain them as long as they have to do with your work in progress. Stay focused. Fully engage with the world of your story.

Many times you'll look up, feeling exhausted, and notice you've been writing almost effortlessly for hours. You're in the zone.

Remember this good feeling! Use it the next time you hit a stumbling block to remind yourself that you have overcome obstacles and that you can do it again!

Sometimes just that memory will be enough to propel you forward, a shortcut bypassing the block entirely.

To recap, CJ's 4-R block-busting method involves:

Resist—feel free to struggle and work through the block

Relax—get away from work for a short time, build up some endorphins

Release—return to work, not worrying about the block, just free write

Reconnect—resume your project, letting the endorphin rush carry you past the block!

Repeat as necessary.

Do you have a Block Buster that works for you? Please share! One commenter will win a copy of my second novel, WARNING SIGNS.

Thanks for reading,

Note from Kelly: I recently tried CJ's 4-step method for block busting and it works! Thanks for sharing such great insights into writing, CJ.

Please leave a comment and check back often to see CJ's responses and to find out who wins the book! I'll post the winner tomorrow morning.

Guest Blogger: Janice Curran of Featured Friends

2009-10-22T20:51:00.000-05:00

Janice Curran, a published short story author, freelance copywriter, and host of the popular "Featured Friends" blog on Facebook joins us today to discuss her writing process, how writers can use social networking sites to market their work, and the differences between writing short versus long fiction. Make sure you leave a comment to be entered into the giveaway drawing. Details at the end.

Q: Welcome Janice! Please tell us what you write and where you've been published so far.

A: Hi, Kelly. Thanks for inviting me to spend time with you and your readers. I’m a big fan of Thinking Write: The Secret to Freeing Your Creative Mind. (Read my Amazon review here: http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Write-Secret-Freeing-Creative/product-reviews/1605501328/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 )

I’ve written professionally since my first job as a reporter for a small weekly newspaper. I’ve worked as a staff writer for a resort and leisure company and senior writer/editor for a children’s mental health organization. As a freelancer, I’ve written articles as well as marketing and ad copy. In recent years, I’ve pointed my pen toward my lifelong love: fiction. My short stories, mostly sweet to sweetly sensual light romances, have been published in True Love, True Romance, True Confessions and New Love Stories magazines. I’ve not been published in novel-length—yet.

Q: What is your writing process and schedule?

A: I write or undertake other writing-related projects most every day starting first thing in the morning. I usually get up between 4-5 a.m. when the world around me is relatively quiet. Although I do go back to writing later in the day, I find the early morning to be my most productive time.

As for my process, I just sit down at the computer and write, usually after I review the previous session’s writing. In the pre-writing stage, I get to know my characters a little by writing in longhand what I know about them and come to know as I’m scribbling. I also use a combination of plotting techniques to construct a very basic map of where I think the story should go, from inciting incident through the act and story climaxes and resolution. (Thank you, Christopher Vogler, Dwight Swain, Donald Maass, Syd Field, Billy Mernit, John Vorhaus, Jennifer Crusie, Robin L. Perini and Alexandra Sokoloff!) Outlining drains me, so I don’t get too detailed.

Q: What are similarities and differences in writing short story fiction versus book length fiction?

A: With a short story, I’m done sooner! Seriously, I see a short story as a microcosm of a novel. The basic rules remain the same. I still need to develop characters with goals, motivations and conflicts. I still need structure to give the stories shape. The revisions are much easier for a short story, of course, because I’m working with somewhere between 700 and 8,000 words, which is the range my target markets accept. The shorter word count does limit how in-depth I can go with a character’s story and how many characters and complications I can include. On the positive side, I don’t have to do as much pre-planning. It’s easier to carry the structure in my head.

Q:You host a mini-blog on Facebook called “Featured Friends.” Tell us about that.

A: “Featured Friends” is a free service for writers that’s posted on my Facebook wall. I feature a tip on writing or writing life from one of my Facebook friends—hence, the name. I try to make my community of friends a welcome place for serious networkers. The range of writers and others in, or associated with, the publishing industry who’ve posted tips on my wall is impressive, as is their advice. I schedule the presenters, then sit back and learn along with everyone else. Anyone who writes, edits, represents writers, etc. is invited to friend me: www.facebook.com/janice.curran.

Q: What are some effective ways that writers can use Facebook and other online social networks to promote their work?

A: Although I'm not an expert on social networking, I do have personal success with it. I went from 0 to 700+ Facebook “friends” in only a few months just by posting tips from the pros. Name recognition building, networking … they’re definitely a couple of the big benefits. You never know where new friendships might lead—maybe even to a guest appearance on an author’s blog! Beyond that I’ve met some really great people, a few of whom I’ve gotten to know better since. Personally, I think that’s the best part of being on Facebook.

Q: What guests do you have lined up on your Featured Friends blog?

A: On Monday, October 26, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eastern time, Dana Lynn Smith will be posting and taking questions on “The Most Common Mistakes Authors Make on Twitter.” Dana is a book marketing coach and author of several books, including Twitter Guide for Authors, Facebook Guide for Authors and The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Successful Social Marketing. (Check out her Web site: www.SavvyBookMarketer.com. For free book marketing tips visit www.BookMarketingMaven.com. )

Sometime in November, in honor of National Novel Writing Month, new Silhouette Special Edition author Amanda S. Berry (http://www.amanda-berry.com) will be posting on taking a book-in-a-month manuscript from first draft to publication.

The posts will remain on my wall, so even if people can’t experience the live presentation, they can read and benefit from the tips later. While they’re there, they can scroll down the wall to read tips from past presenters Jacquie D’Alessandro, Angie Fox, CJ Lyons, Lori Avocato, Holly Jacobs, Jenny Gardiner, Janet Gover, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Sandra Sookoo, Brooke London, Rebecca Royce, Bethany Morgan, Kathye Quick, Cathy Stucker, Donna Collins, Shirley McCann, Tina Gallagher, Kathleen Coddington, Rosemary Goodwin, Denise Vitola, Jon F. Merz, Autumn Jordon, Tess Quinn/Nisha Sharma, Cathy Neumueller, Pattie Giordani and, of course, Kelly L. Stone. Everyone is welcome to stop by: www.facebook.com/janice.curran.

Thank you again, Kelly, for the opportunity to share in the Thinking Write discussion. And thanks to everyone who took the time to visit!

From Kelly~

Thank you for joining us, Janice.

Please make sure you drop by Janice's Featured Friends blog on Facebook!

Everyone who leaves a comment on this post will be entered into a drawing to win a free TIME TO WRITE online class lecture packet from yours truly. Leave a comment by midnight on Sunday, October 24th to be in the drawing-- winner announced Monday morning.

Great Review of TIME TO WRITE

2009-10-17T08:23:00.001-05:00

TIME TO WRITE got a great review today over at Petit Fours and Hot Tamales blog. Check it out:
http://petitfoursandhottamales.blogspot.com/2009/10/saturday-review_17.html

Weekly Creativity Tip: Music

2009-10-16T20:53:00.000-05:00

This week's creativity tip is on music. For your current writing project, pick a song that has lyrics that match the theme of what you are writing, or make a play list on your ipod of songs that inspire you to write on your project. Listen to that song or playlist only when you write. After a few days, the song/playlist will become linked in your subconscious to writing, and stimulate your creativity while you're working.

Please don't forget to sign up for my online class "FREE YOUR CREATIVE MIND" by the end of October. You'll learn a lot more ways to access and use the power of your subconscious mind for creativity and writing purposes. http://www.pasic.net/class_nm_110209.html

Happy writing,
Kelly

Weekly Creativity Tip: Steeping

2009-10-10T07:14:00.000-05:00

This week's creativity tip is something I call "steeping" yourself in your writing. You do this before you go to bed for the night. Surround yourself with your writing or creativity project; for writers you can read your outline notes, look at character collages, or generate a question about your plot. Then you go to sleep, and think about your story while you're drifting off. Focus on what it is that you need help with-- plot points, character development, or ideas for a nonfiction project.

Usually an answer to your questions will come to you within about 2 weeks, and will usually be in the form of a sudden flash of insight, so be prepared.

I've used steeping to help me put together book proposals. For a few weeks before bed I'll re-read my notes and focus on the writing project. I ask my subconscious mind to provide the answers to any missing pieces that will make the project a success.

Usually I get a picture in my head a few weeks later of what the final book should look like, including sections of chapters that are missing. My subconscious mind usually provides me answers in the form of pictures or symbols-- you may see words or ideas might "pop" into your mind at odd times of the day. You have to practice to learn how your subconscious provides you with information.

Use steeping the next time you come up against writer's block or need a fresh idea, and let me know how it works for you.

Weekly Creativity Tip: Dream Solutions

2009-09-28T22:44:00.000-05:00

When you get stuck in your writing or need the answer to a question related to your career, such as whether a particular agent is right for you or you should spend the money to attend a particular conference, ask your subconscious mind for a Dream Solution. Write your question on an index card, addressing your subconscious mind, and put it under your pillow. The next morning, be alert to any hunches or feelings that guide you toward the right answer. Sometimes the answer will "pop" into your head or you will get an overwhelming sense that you should take one action over another.

Check in every Monday for weekly creativity tips from THINKING WRITE: The Secret to Freeing Your Creative Mind, available now from Adams Media.

Guest Blogger: Poet Franklin Abbott

2009-09-27T15:41:00.001-05:00

Please welcome my dear friend Franklin Abbott as guest blogger today! Franklin and I were members of the same writing group, The Ninth Muse, for many years. Franklin is a poet who has several books of poetry in print. Franklin has a wonderful habit of writing poems on the spur of the moment and then emailing those to all his friends. Several years ago, I started a file in my email just to save all of his work. I often go back and re-read his poems.

Franklin's latest book of poetry is PINK ZINNIA, available now at www.pinkzinniapoems.com, through Amazon and Barnes and Noble and through special order from your favorite independent bookstore. Franklin will be giving readings at three of them this fall, as well as at Outwrite in Atlanta on October 6th, DogEar Books in Madison, GA on November 14th and Charis in Atlanta on his birthday, December 8. Soon to be operational: www.pinkzinnia.wordpress.com .

Leave a comment below and Franklin will have a drawing at the end of the week. One lucky person who leaves a comment will receive a FREE copy of PINK ZINNIA!

Q: Welcome Franklin! Please tell us about your new book, Pink Zinnia.

A: This is my first book in a decade. I started writing in earnest again after joining our writing group, The Ninth Muse. Thanks to you and the current muses for giving me encouragement, inspiration and a forum to begin again after a long dry spell. The book is a collection of different kinds of writing: meditations, stories, word portraits, lamentations, humor (lots of humor), politics and dreamscapes.

Q: You have been writing poetry for a long time, and I'm often amazed at how your poems resonate with something that is going on in my own life. Talk some about your poetry-writing process and where you get your inspiration.

A: I am inspired by all kinds of things, nature, relationship, the big events of life from falling in love to dying, travel, the news, the need to connect. I rarely write unless a stroke of inspiration falls me. I can write purposefully if moved by an event like my grandmother's funeral or to eulogize a friend. Only one poem, "Miss Monroe," was written at the request of a publisher. Often the poems come out 95% the way they end up. I just sit down and write like I breathe, it is that essential. It is also relational. Being a psychotherapist for thirty years has tuned me into the people I know in profound ways I often don't understand. I write about my psychic friend, Kay Harrison in one of the stories. I once asked her how she knew what she knew and she said,"It's easier than you think." I am often tuned in to others in ways I am not fully conscious of and don't quite understand. Its like having an extra band on the radio, AM, FM and PM (p for psychic and my psychic doesn't give readings but writes poems).

Q: Pink Zinnia was inspired by your grandmother. What was she like? Was she also a poet?

A: My father's mother who I called Nana lived to be 101 and was independent until she was 98. So I had the great good fortune to know her into my 50's. She was a simple woman with little more than an elementary school education. She wrote very little but was a poet in the kitchen and in the garden. She loved to cook, grow things to eat and grow and arrange flowers. Pink was her favorite color and she grew more zinnias than any other flower. I am currently working on a film about my grandmother that should be on YouTube soon, called, of course, Pink Zinnia.

Q: What is the hardest part about being a poet? What's the best part?

A: It is the same thing. Poetry is no way to make money and therefore poets are free to write as they please, as little or as much, as good or as bad, as often or as seldom. To be sure, some are driven but the riches they seek are usually teaching positions or tenure, maybe a prize but no one makes much money except maybe Rumi who died 500 years ago and is en vogue in translation.

Q: Can you share a favorite stanza or entire poem from this latest collection?

A: This one is a favorite of my nephew John Abbott:

It is about a "good death."

MILKY WAY

like a lump of sugar

in a cup of milk

when my time is nigh

may I dissolve

into the mother light

that gave me birth

(where I belong

in the Milky Way)

when I see the light

may I not blink

in the face of love

but let myself go

all of me

every particle

into that

abiding wave

Thank you for being with us today, Franklin, and good luck with PINK ZINNIA

Your Most Powerful Writing Tool

2009-09-26T07:08:00.001-05:00

For those of you who missed it, here's the popular blog I posted over at Star Crossed Romance last week. Please leave a comment!

Your Most Powerful Writing Tool

You have in your possession a writing tool that is more beneficial to you than all other tools combined, and it’s likely your most underutilized—your subconscious mind. Learning to use your subconscious mind will open up avenues of creative inspiration that can benefit your writing in ways you may have never thought possible.

There are three components to your mind, as studied and analyzed by Sigmund Freud, the father of modern day psychology. First is the conscious mind, the day to day thinking portion of mind. The conscious mind can only attend to one thought at a time, so you are limited in how much information is available to you using your conscious mind.

The preconscious mind is a layer between the conscious and the subconscious. It’s a very concrete, “all or nothing” portion of mind that often causes conflict and attempts to interfere with the goals of the conscious mind. I call this interference the “anti-writer™.” I will give you a technique for dealing with your anti-writer later in this article.

The subconscious mind operates independently from your conscious and preconscious. It is like a giant computer system with multiple input sources, constantly recording all of the details of your life. The subconscious has some very unique characteristics. For instance, it is always alert; it functions even during periods when the conscious mind is asleep or altered in some way, such as surgery. It stores material indefinitely. All of the information that you are exposed to on a day to day basis is stored in the subconscious. Think about how gaining access to this treasure trove of material can impact your ability to write scenes and create characters. Last, the subconscious creates your reality. Many people have spoken about this truth before, such as Napoleon Hill, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Zig Ziglar, and others—basically, what you think about all the time programs your subconscious mind to bring into reality. Learning to direct this power can help you achieve your writing goals.

Easy Ways to Work With Your Subconscious

Here are some easy ways to tap into the power of your subconscious mind.

Ask for a Dream Solution

Dreams are a spontaneous way that the subconscious gets information to the conscious mind. Robert Louis Stevenson is one famous writer known for using his dreams almost exclusively for material. He called his dreams “the stage” of his mind. He would go to sleep at night anticipating receiving the next chapter for his work in progress. He even credited his famous story Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde to a dream.

You can use your dreams in the same way by asking for what I call a dream solution. You do this by asking your subconscious mind a question before you go to sleep, such as, “Subconscious, what is the next scene in my novel?” or “Subconscious, would Agent X be a good match for me?" or “Subconscious, give me an idea for a new book.”

Some people write the question on an index card and put it under their pillow. The gesture is symbolic, but writing down the instruction seems to increase the chances of a dream solution.

Sometimes the answer may come to you first thing in the morning, other times it comes at an unexpected moment days or even weeks later. It takes time to learn how your subconscious mind provides you with the answer; some people experience hunches, others get flashes of insight, others get “feelings” that they should take some action. The more you practice with dream solutions the more attuned you will become to the unique way your subconscious communicates with you.

I have used dream solution work with my own writing. The night before I handed in the manuscript for Time to Write, I asked my subconscious mind to alert me to any errors in the copy. When I woke up, I got a mental picture of three misspelled words and found the errors in the exact sections that my subconscious had indicated they would be in.

The Hypnagogic State

The Hypnagogic state is a phase of sleep that occurs naturally before falling asleep and before fully waking up. It’s characterized by altered consciousness; some people see flashes of light, others hear their name being called, and ideas that under ordinary conditions have no association are perceived as being connected. It’s a period ripe with creativity. Mary Shelley got the idea for the classic novel Frankenstein while in this drowsy state.

One way to practice with the hypnagogic state without drifting into full sleep is to lay down and hold one arm straight up. You can learn to stay in the zone between sleeping and wakefulness just by balancing your arm up. When you feel yourself getting too sleepy, write down whatever was going through your mind at the time.

Beware Your Anti-Writer™!

Everything that passes from your subconscious into your conscious mind must pass through the preconscious, which is where the anti-writer™ resides. If this anti-writer™ portion is not controlled, it can interfere with your ability to use your subconscious mind for maximum creative gain and thwart your writing goals. The anti-writer™ usually manifests in the form of negative comments you say or think about your abilities as a writer.

To combat your anti-writer™, record all negative statements you say or think about your writing abilities in a notebook. At the end of two weeks, note themes or statements that are repeated more than three times. Next, write countering statements on index cards and say these out loud daily, especially when you have a negative thought. For instance, if your anti-writer statement is, "I just don't have the time to write with my busy schedule," counter with, "I know there is time in my day to write and I will find it." Immediately countering the statement will set up a habit of neutralizing these negative thoughts.

Your subconscious mind is your most powerful writing ally. Learning to tap into this vast creative resource will aid both your creativity and your writing career efforts. There are many more exercises in my book, THINKING WRITE, The Secret to Freeing Your Creative Mind, just released by Adams Media.

References:
Moody, Dr. Raymond: www.lifeafterlife.com
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein, third edition. Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, London, 1831.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Across the Plains. Chattus & Windus, London, 1892
Stone, R. Michael, Counseling & Consultation Services: www.unlearnsmoking.com

copyright: 2009 Kelly L. Stone, all rights reserved. Unauthorized use of this article in any format is strictly prohibited without written permission from the author.

No Matter How Busy You Are, You Can Find TIME TO WRITE™

2009-09-16T06:47:00.001-05:00

Finding TIME TO WRITE can be done, no matter how busy you are! Time to Write: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal How to Fit Writing into Your Busy Life (Adams Media, Jan 2008) reveals how 104 professional authors, including more than 40 NYT bestsellers, managed to find time to write before they were career published, all while holding down jobs, caring for families, juggling household responsibilities and managing to get sufficient amounts of sleep.

Everyone is busy, so finding time to write must be woven into the fabric of your day to day life, one thread at a time. Here are a few tips:

1) Make writing appointments. Making time to write is similar to any new activity that you are attempting to fit into your life; let's use exercise as an example. How do you do it? You plan ahead. You decide that you'll exercise for twenty minutes, three times a week. You might choose Tuesday and Thursday at six o’clock and Saturday at nine o’clock. It's the same idea with writing. Decide when you will write, and then jot it down in your calendar. Whatever time slots you choose, write them down and then…

2) …keep the appointments. Just like you won't reap the health benefits that come with exercise if you don’t regularly break a sweat, you won't reap the benefits of consistent writing if you routinely blow it off. So work hard to keep that writing appointment. Treat it like it’s “real,” just like an appointment with the doctor or at your child’s school. The only way to do this is to exercise self-discipline and make yourself follow through.

3) Stay Focused. When it’s writing time, you should be writing. Don't let yourself get sucked into surfing the Internet, checking e-mail or making a grocery list.

4) Plan your work. When you make the weekly appointments, also plan what you’ll be working on during that time: Monday you'll use your twenty minutes to create plot points, Wednesday you'll use the hour for writing freely on your draft and during Friday’s thirty minute session, you'll revise what you did that week. Maximize the time spent at your desk by planning ahead how you'll tackle that day's writing session.

5) Set long range and intermediate goals. Knowing what you're striving for (long range goals) will help you decide how much time you need to write and how much work you should produce during that time (intermediate goals). For example, decide what date in the future you want to have your book finished. Then, work backwards to determine how much writing you should do every week to meet that deadline. If the draft of your novel will be four hundred pages and you want to finish it in a year, then you'll have to write thirty-three pages per month (four-hundred divided by twelve), or roughly eight pages a week (thirty-three divided by four). If you write three days a week, that's two to three pages each sitting. Break your writing down this way to make time management seem easier.

6) Make up lost time. Let’s face it--life happens. If you miss a writing appointment because your kid gets sick or your car breaks down or there’s a family function you simply must attend, cut yourself some slack, but do plan to make up the lost time the following week if possible. This means you might have to make four writing appointments instead of your usual three, or write two hours one day instead of just one. Make every effort to stay on track with your weekly goal.

7) Reward yourself. This is an important step because you want to associate positive feelings with that self-discipline you’ve been practicing. It reinforces the behavior and increases the chances that you’ll do it again. So at the end of each week that you kept your writing appointments, do something nice for yourself. Take a bubble bath, get a pedicure, have a romantic dinner with your spouse or buy your favorite author's latest release. You can even reward yourself at the end of each writing session. For example: If I write for thirty minutes, I can watch General Hospital.

Finding time to write is a dilemma that every writer faces, published or not. The tips above are based on my interviews with 104 professional writers on how they do it, and there are a lot more in TIME TO WRITE. Give them a try!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1598694383/ref=s9_simz_gw_s0_p14_t1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1XQBY0C9GE40D2GAHGD4&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Thinking Write: The Secret to Freeing Your Creative Mind

2009-09-08T20:45:00.000-05:00

Coming October 18, 2009 from Adams Media

Learn how to use the power of your subconscious mind to:

* Meet Your Writing Goals!

* Access Your Unlimited Creativity!

* Communicate with Your Subconscious Using Ordinary Household Items!

* Generate Fresh Story Ideas!

* Give the Perfect Pitch to an Editor!

* Get Critical Career Guidance!

* Use Music and Dreams for Writing Inspiration!

* And Much More!

Get Creativity Tips from bestselling authors Allison Brennan, Dianna Love, Cheryl Holt, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Tess Gerritsen, Brenda Novak, Yasmine Galenorn, Cathy Maxwell, Jackie Mitchard, and many more!

Includes a CD with 4 meditations just for writers!

“More than a fascinating tutorial on how to tap your subconscious, Kelly L. Stone’s THINKING WRITE is a tool every creative person needs for finding answers to difficult problems and offers anyone a way to mine creative information hidden inside the mind. She proves the subconscious can be tapped for brainstorming answers to creative problems.” -—Dianna Love, New York Times Bestselling author

“Practical, thought-provoking, and easy to use, Kelly L. Stone’s THINKING WRITE gives any writer the tools they need to unleash their creativity. If you want to write but have been feeling blocked, this is the book for you!” -—CJ Lyons, national bestselling author

“Kelly L. Stone has written a lively owner’s manual for the aspiring writer’s mind. THINKING WRITE teaches writers how to use the best free tool they’ve got—not the pen, but the mind. THINKING WRITE shows you how to master your mind.” -—Stephanie Losee, freelance writer and author

“Kelly L. Stone has tapped into the deep well of creative wisdom in her new book, THINKING WRITE. Brimming with gems of inspiration and practical guidance, she brings this mysterious process into the hands of anyone willing to follow her thoughtful, clear and wise counsel. I highly recommend this book for all who seek to improve not only their writing, but the quality of their life.”-—Dr. Michael Brant DeMaria, psychologist, award winning composer, author and speaker"

"I can SO endorse Kelly's books - they are amazing and need to be on every writer's bookshelf for when we struggle with being a writer and creativity! "--Mary Buckham, 2007 Winner Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence

Now on Pre-Sale at Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Write-Secret-Freeing-Creative/dp/1605501328/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245664715&sr=8-1