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Budding journalists learn very early on, perhaps even in elementary school, the concept of Who, What, When, Where and Why for story telling. It’s simple: Who did it? What did they do? When did it happen? Where did it happen? Why did it happen? Most writing teachers add the sixth component as well: How did it happen? This is very basic reporting, but it gets a reader to the heart of a story quickly. In some cases reading any further than the first paragraph is unnecessary to get the essentials of any news article before moving on.

I guess when you think of the five most important things, the sixth question of “How” seems like extra information, a few more juicy details, the icing on the cake. But this weekend when I learned of the impending death of a dear friend, “How” was suddenly the most important thing in the world to me. It didn’t matter how she was dying, what mattered was how she lived.

This friend wasn’t one of my “go out to lunch with” friends, or even one of my “call on the phone” friends. Nevertheless, she was a source of light in my life. And it wasn’t just the story of her 30 plus year battle with cancer. It was her countenance when we stopped to visit on Sunday mornings at church. Her sunny smile, the light in her eyes when she talked about her family, they way she spoke of her sweet husband and his tender care for her, her pride in her grandchildren and her thankfulness for each day. Other than right before this last trip to the hospital all those weeks ago, I don’t think I ever saw Caren down or discouraged, even though she had so many reasons to be. She was a person to whom others went when they were discouraged or frightened, knowing they’d leave her presence feeling better, lighter somehow. She carried so much of Heaven with her that her going seemed like the most natural step in the world. The how of her life was her faith in God, her love for her family and the way she took people into her heart. It was as if I had known her my whole life. The Five Ws just never seemed very important after a visit with Caren, but the “How” was everything.

In whatever we do, writing, teaching, loving, living, “How” follows us wherever we go. Walking through this world can be like crossing a minefield, so many places to trip and fall, so many opportunities to make the wrong choices. It’s not about the book contracts, awards or even finishing a first draft, it’s about how we walk in the this world while we’re doing whatever we do. It’s about faith in God, family, friends, love. If “How” is in the right place, everything else will fall in line. Caren knew that, and she wrote the story of her life well. I’m just glad I had the chance to be a very small part of it.

Ah April…new grass, budding flowers, singing birds and spring just “bustin’ out all over.” That is until six more inches of snow fall right before Easter. Then the winter blahs set in, creep up your toes, wrap themselves around your waist and hang on for another two weeks. So much for getting the first draft of the novel done by the end of March! How can a writer write with passion and gusto when everything is cold and gray outside again? My magic formula? Stop! Yep, that’s it. Just stop! It’s time to pick up one of the many books I’m trying to finish reading, the crocheting that’s been calling my name or just one more cup of tea, while I put my feet up. Taking a break is OK. In fact, it’s a good thing. Before long, I know I’ll hear the voices of my characters calling to me to get back to the computer and get their story going again. It’s only been a few days, and already I’m feeling better and getting ready for that next burst of creative energy. I hope it will be enough to keep me going until I finally type the words, The End. Not that I actually have to type them, but it just feels like something I want to do…The End. Yep! That’s sounds nice. I’m closer than I think, so by the time these April snow showers turn to rain, and the rain turns to warm sunshine, I’ll be there…but this time with iced tea and cheesecake!

What do you do when the doldrums put a damper on your writing? Any ideas?

I have a great reason for spring cleaning for the rest of my work week. I am hosting a Networks Day for my area for the Michigan Chapter of SCBWI, The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. We have an absolutely fabulous group in Michigan and every spring we get together all over the state in different homes for a “spring tonic” for children’s writers and illustrators. This year’s theme is a beach party theme, so I am making lists of how to decorate and what snacks to prepare. The beautiful thing is, it helps me start my spring-cleaning, not only throughout my house, but in my work as well. There is nothing better for writers than getting together to discuss the craft. It helps me clear the cobwebs out of my brain, re-organize and re-energize until the next conference that happens in May. So, even though I may not be working on the novel today, I am still working. There are many ways to improve at writing and getting together for an event like this is one of the best. It’s also just plain fun, so I am looking forward to it. I am off to dust and vacuum, and who knows maybe somewhere in all the clutter clearing, I’ll find a new scene for the book just waiting to get out.

What I mean is, I can’t get anywhere if I don’t get busy. It’s not like there’s a road map to writing the next Great American Novel, but if I don’t get back to work, it just won’t happen. I’ll admit I’ve been distracted for the past couple of weeks. Life kicks in sometimes, kids are out of school, a few days out of town, helping in my daughter’s classroom and boom, it’s been two weeks and I haven’t written anything. The good news is that since my last post, I consider myself two-thirds through my first draft. So, even though the blog posts haven’t kept up with my progress on the book, I am just about where I wanted to be at this point. The only problem is, today it’s quiet in the house, the kids are back to school, there’s not too much that needs doing by way of housework, and I can’t get anything going on the computer today. The scenes that have been screaming to get out the last two week have fallen suddenly silent, and there is just no waking them up at this point. So, I’ve got a couple of options: (writing this blog post is my feeble attempt at getting the creative juices flowing again) I can sit here and wait for my muse to wake up, or I can get up and vacuum, hoping the noise will motivate her to get back to business. I’m thinking vacuuming might do the trick, since sitting here isn’t doing me or my writer’s fanny spread any good. No, I can’t get there from here, but maybe if I take a side path for just a little while, I’ll be able to find my way back to the main road and get closer to my final destination. I’ll let you know how it goes, unless I get lost along the way.

Getting behind is something no one wants to do, especially when it comes to goal setting. As writer, there’s no one else to keep us honest but ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, I depend on my faithful critique group, and see and hear them in my head when I’m working. I can’t live without almost daily email exchanges from my writing partner. But when it comes to the day to day, get the words down between loads of laundry kind of motivation, there’s only one place it comes from: me. Yep! Me, myself and I get up each morning, get breakfast, get the kids off to school (with the help of my wonderful husband) and get to the task at hand. There’s no one standing over me saying, “C’mon Patti, get to work. You’ve got 4 hours until lunch. How many words to want by then?” If I don’t set my own goals and stay honest about meeting them, this time next year my novel still won’t be fit for human consumption. And I don’t get this time back. None of us gets to relive one moment of the hours we have. When they’re gone, they’re gone, so making the most of each one is important.

This week I’ve gotten a bit sidetracked, but in a good way. Even in the midst of novel writing, there are manuscripts to put in the mail, queries to follow-up on and new contacts to make. All those things happened to me this week, so I don’t consider it time away from the work, but just another aspect of it. Oh, did I mention that not only is there no one to keep me honest, we writers also do our own promotion and try to sell our own work until we find an agent. So, that means sometimes the business of writing has to come first. But now all that’s taken care of for this week and I’m back on track for today. It’s time to revisit the story and pick up where I left off. I’ll have to admit, the sidetracking came at a good time yesterday since I was diving into some tough scenes in the novel and needed to look away for a bit. Drawing from memory means taking the good with the bad, and I just wasn’t quite ready yesterday to deal with some of the bad. However, after a good night’s sleep and a smooth start to the day I’m ready to take another crack at it.

So, whatever project you have today, whether writing or otherwise, don’t worry if something sidetracks you a bit. Take time to deal with whatever it is and get back on the road! Happy Writing!

Days come in the life of every writer when you just have to take time to tend to obligations. That’s today for me. Paying bills, filing, and getting a manuscript out in the mail all take time from the creativity of actually sitting down and doing what I love. But it’s all the little things in life, frustrations, schedules, a messy work space that give me things to write about. Each emotion, each experience, each seemingly insignificant activity is what makes up human life. If I’m paying attention today, I’ll get some good stuff. By just watching others and myself and taking mental notes (and actual ones) on how I respond to them and they to me helps me be a better writer. Like a painter who is always sketching, always looking and always aware of the best light, the best colors and the best setting, good writers observe their subjects carefully and at all times. Our subjects are the people around us living their everyday lives. Today, even though I most likely won’t meet my writing goal, that doesn’t mean my work on the novel stops. It’s all a part of the process and living in the moment and getting all I can from it only serves to make me a better writer. It might also help me be a better mom, wife and friend; more fringe benefits of the journey!

Woo Hoo! I met yesterday’s writing goal by just a little over 1500 words. I also worked on a couple of short pieces that needed some finishing touches. Funny how what you plan to write just takes on a life of its own in the beginning stages. I had such a clear picture of my main character before I started and then she began to evolve into a combination of two people: one from my past and one from the present. It will be interesting to see what she looks like by the end of today’s session. I love what one of my writer friends calls this stage of the process…”mind doodles.” She’s so right! I’m a big doodler and have been all my life. I used to fill up the margins of all my school papers with eyes, hands, dogs, swirls, boxes and anything that poured out at the time. Sometimes I forgot which papers were going to the teacher and which stayed in my notebook. So my teachers got some very interesting looking papers from me.

Mind doodles, like any kind of brainless activity can easily get out of control though, so that’s why I’m giving myself a set number of words per day as a goal. It seems if I just keep going and going without reigning myself in after a while the story gets lost in memory and feeling before I can turn it all around. This is fine in daydreaming, but some discipline in the thought process is vital, at least for me. We don’t change that much over time, and if my writing becomes like my daydreaming in math class in high school I’ll get a failing grade…or at least a C…in my craft.

So, today’s goal…1500 more words and a little more self-control in what they are. Mind doodles with a purpose! See you tomorrow…