"Can't" is a four-letter word

Right up there with the worst curse words, but I'd also advocate "can't" for removal from the English language. Seriously. The next time someone says, "I can't..." to me, I will bitch slap that person into next year. To the poor unfortunate soul (s): don't say you weren't warned!


In case you CAN'T tell, this particularly offensive word has been uttered a little too much within my hearing this past week. There is no such thing as "can't" - there is "won't" as in hampering our own efforts to accomplish something, by refusing to try in the first place. There's also "couldn't" as in not permitting something to happen that rightfully and naturally could / should occur. If someone told me today, "You can't..." it would be the most powerful motivator I have ever received. That was not always true. There have been incredible moments in my life where I once thought, "I can't do this. I should just give up now." Like:

• I can't get into law school - I did. 
• I can't find a good job- I have, a few, in fact. 
• I can't write, attend classes and work full-time, I have too much to do - I carved out blocks of time during the morning and evening commute, which allowed me to finish my first novel. 
• I can't get an agent to take on my stories - I did, found two of them. 
• I can't self-publish. It's too hard, too much work - I'm putting out my fifth title this summer, working on my sixth for a 2013 publication date, and have a schedule of titles up through 2016. 
• I can't make any money at self-publishing - I've earned more in the first four months of 2012 than the total sales generated for 2011. 
• If I self-publish, I can't get any publishers to take me on - two of my titles are being translated by a Turkish publisher and I'm considering a Polish deal.

Notice a trend here?      


Those of you who have inspired this post - you know who you are cause I cussed you out - take notice: don't let I won't become I can't. We use excuses to avoid fear, added effort and potential failure too many times. We're so afraid, we won't even try. Not every endeavor will yield a positive result, but isn't the possibility worth an attempt? 




   

Waiting for Inspiration: a Nanowrimo story

Greetings from the West Coast. It's 5:24 in the morning in San Francisco, and I am waiting for some inspiration to write my next scene in Burning Candle. Can you tell by that pic that it's not going well? Since I'm still on New York time, I have mainly succeeded at getting writing done in the morning (not like I'm sleeping properly or anything! - damn you, internal body clock!), but today, I've been staring at a blank page since 4:45am. I'm guessing updating this blog doesn't count towards my daily writing goal? Crap.

Whoever realized all those pep talks were necessary to keep people mtivated after the first week of Nanowrimo is a genius. I read them faithfully. Writing is such a solitary experience, but doing Nano has underscored the fact that I'm not alone in my efforts. Up until this week, I've been moving along pretty steadily, even with the demands of my full-time job and the San Francisco convention we're prepping for. I'm now at just over 29,000 words. The story is a VERY, VERY rough draft - do you hear me people? Long ways to go to a final draft. I can hear Laura Miller's sigh of relief that there will be one less crappy Nano novel sent out on December 1.

Anyway, for the first time, I wrote the entire synopsis of a manuscript, timed by the historical events of my heroine's life, and that task was very helpful, for the first two weeks or so. Not so much now. Should I be worried? Should I be canvasing the hotel looking for my inspiration, which has suddenly gone missing? Or, do I call it a morning, and crawl back into bed? Decisions, decisions....

For those of you doing Nano, stop by and leave a comment about how you're keeping motivated and meeting your writing goals (or not!) No, as I mentioned above, it will NOT count towards your daily word goal either, but you might provide some motivation and much-needed inspiration. Happy writing.

Time to Go Back To School?

Shocked at the suggestion? Well, so am I, especially since I'd once sworn to never consider formal education again.  I survived three and a half years of law school, and that was enough to leave me convinced that the next time I'd ever return to any school would be for my kids, on parent-teacher night.

I've heard people in the publishing industry suddenly sit up and take notice of queries which casually mention, "By the way, I have an MFA." But, that's hardly any motivation for me to spend thousands of hard-earned dollars on yet another degree.  And, I'm not pursuing this because I'm bored and have nothing better to do.  My personal, professional and writing lives ensure that I'm always busy.  I'm also not dying to take the GRE just to see how well I'd do on it.  I've taken enough nerve-wracking tests to last me a lifetime.

So, why am I considering an MFA in creative writing? Because, it's what I should have always done. When I was eight years old, I decided to be a lawyer.  No second thoughts or hesitation. Practically every step in life that followed was in pursuit of that goal. Then, in my last year of law school, I realized how much I hated it.  An expensive lesson, but still a lesson learned.  Somehow, along the way, I'd forgotten my love for creative writing, which started in junior high school with short stories written for mine and my friends' amusement.  Even won a top prize in a collaborative writing contest.  Now, I can't imagine anything life I'd rather be doing than writing.  So what, if it took me thirteen years of wandering to figure this out? I may be late in reaching my destination, but at least, I'm on the right path.  One which will hopefully lead to grad school.  Wish me luck.    

What Motivates You?

Bill O'Hanlon wrapped up the final day of the WD conference with a very appropriate topic; energizing your writing with your skill and perseverance. He and other authors shared their motivational sources and stressed using your emotional states of Blissed, Blessed, Pissed and/ or Dissed in your writing, to keep yourself going even when it gets tough.

Motivation can come from both negative and positive events in your life. Who would guess that a career as a mystery writer would begin for Sue Grafton, while dreaming up imaginative ways of killing or maiming her soon-to-be ex-husband? If you're angry about a particular condition or a crusader who wants to change the world, like Andrew Vachss in his crime fiction, channel your anger into your writing.

What's your motivation?