Tag: Arts

Having a bad writing day, week, season… you get the idea!

On By Naty MatosIn Writing Happenings10 Comments

Some women experience bad hair days, I think I’m having a bad writing day (or season) not all days are inspired in a writer’s mind. Some days words flow and some days it’s really hard work. Even I’ve had great revelations when I’ve been tired or sick, but lately it’s like my brain has ran out of steam and finding the ways to express myself has been nothing less than challenging.

I guess it’s because I’m trying to force myself to write in a certain way, my head is not going in the direction that I’m trying to steer it. So it basically has come to a halt. I’ve been having somewhat of what I have called writer’s ADD. Multiple ideas, stories and sentences are all popping into my head not enough to do anything with them or that would make any sense and by the time I sit down to write, they are gone. Having lost the routine of walking around with my netbook, which has been in ICU for a while, giving me only glimpses of available usage every now and again; I have missed plenty of opportunities of random usable muses that have crossed this brain of mine. (My netbook has been crashing and freezing and now that finally I can get a new one, I’m emotionally attached to the dysfunctional one and can’t part from it. You don’t have to say it, I know!!)

I went to the website of writer Lisa Scottoline. I recently read one of her latest non-fiction books; she’s funny and real and I wanted to gain some perspective from a professional writer. On her website,  She was talking about the everyday of a writer. She has a word count goal everyday. I started thinking that I write most days, but not everyday. Not because I don’t want to, I just don’t do it. Ironically, the day I don’t write I spend the day agonizing about the fact that I have not written a thing.

 Then I started feeling insecure about my writing. I think most writers would agree that there are days when you write exceptional things and some days you just write junk. I think that’s part of why there are some days where I don’t do the commanded “butt and chair” exercise of writing is because I already know in my head that whatever is coming out is junk and I don’t like to write junk. So I get discourage before even sitting to write trying to achieve perfectionism, where do you even find such thing?

I had read about writing everyday before, I want to come up with a reasonable word count goal, as I’m not yet (calling it in faith) a full time writer and I hold a normal 8-5 job and a life, (well something like a life…hahaha!) I don’t consider writing a hobby. Writing is a part of me; it’s my way of expression, so even when today I think that my writing sucks, I don’t think I could stop doing it. The times that I did, I felt dead and I’m not going backwards. Writing like anything in life takes practice, so the more I write, the better it would get.

I decide today to start writing everyday, (not necessarily a blog post). I’ll think of my reasonable word count after a few more hours of sleep, right now I couldn’t decide between chocolate or vanilla ice cream. I promise to start browsing for a new laptop, and pray that I fall in love again with one that will follow me for a few more years in this journey.  I chose to just abandon myself in the words and allow them to flow instead of trying to control them…that’s why they don’t want to come out…LOL! …and look, who knew? I had tons to say from someone who didn’t know what to write about! (All 650 words and all :) )

Let the writing begin!

On By Naty MatosIn Writing HappeningsLeave a comment
Factura Electrónica 2011
Image via Wikipedia

To all my readers:

I’m dropping just a little note to let you know what’s going on in my writing world. The short story “Loud Silence”, yes the same one on the e-reads will be submitted today for the “Snag Today” magazine writing contest.

My two new short stories, “Hope” and “George” were already submitted this morning for “Nurturing Paws” the new anthology by Whispering Angel Books….

 If any of my fellow writers would like to enter their stories, the information is in my upcoming calendar on the Publications and Achievements page. There’s still time.

 So, cross your fingers and say a prayer, 2011 here I come!

Process of writing this blog

On By Naty MatosIn Articles2 Comments

I was asked how long it usually takes me to write a blog post. The answer, it depends. I try to write often because it usually means that I’m connected to the source of my inspiration, God.  Also through the process of writing I can learn and understand the spiritual impact of my surroundings and compare it with what the Word says regarding my experiences. There are days were I can be sleeping, and I’m awaken and I just turn on my laptop and start writing and the words flow. Sometimes just a scripture or a situation triggers me to be inspired and write.  If I’m connected and inspired I can even write two or more postings in one day and save the extra ones for rainy days (days where I can’t even remember my name).

On days when I’m not inspired or not connected with God and I’m trying to write just to make sure that all my readers don’t think that I’ve fallen from the face of the earth, a post is like pulling teeth. Nothing makes me flow, nothing makes sense and I end up writing ramblings that I end up not publishing.  This is an inspirational blog, so if I have nothing to say that can enrich my reader’s lives, it’s better for me to shut and see why I don’t have anything enriching my own life that day to share.

After I write the content, I look for the specific scriptures that will exemplify what I’m talking about. I know the words in the bible but not the biblical references and that’s when biblegateway.com becomes my friend.  For example I know that the Word of God says he will renew our strength and that we will be able to fly like eagles, but I have to look up where it says that. (It’s on Isaiah 40:31 by the way)

The last part of the process is the visual additions. Looking for the perfect picture or the perfect song to add can take some time, especially when Google is not cooperative or when our internal WordPress Zemanta (an image system) thinks that we’re talking about dogs when we’re talking about burgers  and it gives you all the wrong images.

Back to the original question, how long does it take me to create and publish a post? On a good day, thirty minutes. On a hard day, which is a day when I can’t find the right or perfect images or sounds, then it can take me up to two hours in any given day.

So now you know the secret behind this blog’s writing.

Have a great day and enjoy this song!

Poll: Script vs Novel

On By Naty MatosIn Writing HappeningsLeave a comment
Palace of Westminster - London, England

As always, I like to include my readers in my creative process. Right now I have a debate that I hope you guys can help me sort out. I’ve been looking into a plot. It’s a romantic comedy that for now is called “Christmas in London”. It’s the story of a New York marketing director who meets this English hotel heir, who is trying to bring his brand to the US. Imagine an English male Paris Hilton in a bad mood.

The literary challenge for me in this story is the places. Most of my stories are created in a town, an island, but not a specific place giving my readers the opportunity to imagine their own. This time I wanted to challenge myself to give a specific scenario. To prepare for this, I have inquired with a dear English friend of mine, Google (of course) and I’m looking into some research history books. So what’s the problem with this story? Keep on reading.

Last year I participated in Script Frenzy, which is coming up in April. This is where you write a script of 100 pages or more in 30 days (see a pattern here…LOL) Last year I didn’t even finish the challenge, and I was so close. I gave up at 85 pages. I’ve been encouraged to try again this year and I’m giving it serious consideration. Here’s the dilemma, should I write this plot as a novel or should I experiment with it as my Frenzy Script… What do you think? What would you like?

I have created a poll on the side of the page that I will keep up until February 28th, 2011. Your participation is encouraged and appreciated. Your comments are appreciated and well received too.

Reflections from Week 2

On By Naty MatosIn Writing HappeningsLeave a comment
nanowrimo, day 16 goal
Image by paloetic (limited internet access) via Flickr

Last year when I did NaNoWriMo… I didn’t have a story to tell. I had somewhat of an outline, but the hardest part for me was to come through with those 50k words. I was excited but I just didn’t think I was going to be able to make it. I think my fear of not making it and definitely God’s help got me through each stage of the month and I don’t remember experiencing all the things that they say happen on week 2. I can’t say the same about this year.

First of all, after not finishing script frenzy back in April, I was really concerned about meeting word count. So I left the gates dashing out and giving it all. I thought this time it would be easier, not only have I been down this road before, but this time I have a story to tell. I was wrong!

Yes, I had a story to tell that was burning inside of me. I didn’t need outlines or chapters; all I needed was to get it all out in that paper. For the first week I wrote and wrote and by the end of week 1 I had over thirty thousand words and most of my story told. I realized that I had made an outline out of my novel. There were things that were not developed. The worst part, I got confident about my word count and I stopped writing for one single day. It has taken forever to get back on track even when I’m writing an average of 2k words a day right now. My story had died.

 By Tuesday of week two I was ready to call it quits. I didn’t tell anyone because I have been blessed with lots of friends who are praying and supporting me through this and I know it was going to let them down. I hated my novel, it totally absolutely royally sucked! Between Tuesday and Wednesday morning I took the time to go back and fill those empty holes that my speed writing had created. I got more word count, but I was still not satisfied with the product. I was so disappointed. Then the magic happened!

 Wednesday was the perfect day to quit. I had lost some of my work, I still don’t understand how. I lost my dinner by stumbling into one of my dog’s bones in the floor and I threw cranberry juice in my cream carpet and I was writing the worse novel ever. I’ve read of some people who hate their novels in week two and they want to delete it and start over. That was not my plan. I was done with the whole thing. I was packing my bags and going home. As I do every night, I went to our Nano chat room and there was something I had never done before, a word war that lasted an hour.  For those not Nano involved or knowledgeable, that means writing without stopping for an hour.  I have done tons of word wars before, but nothing longer than fifteen minutes and trust me your mind and your fingers want to explode. An hour? Are you kidding me? What the heck, I don’t think I have enough to write, but let’s go for it!

That was precisely the breakthrough I needed. My mind was forced to see the scenes from other angles. I found my plot, my novel was coming back to life and the story was getting better than ever. Those sucky parts can be dealt with during editing after the fact; they are not too bad to affect the content. So with new ideas, new discipline and fired up with what I’m writing I’m approaching week three, without the concern of word count as I’m already at 48.5k, this is the time to finish writing a great story!!

Related Articles

Nano update: Dreaded Week 2

On By Naty MatosIn Writing HappeningsLeave a comment
A section of DNA; the sequence of the plate-li...
Image via Wikipedia

Like one of our fearless Atlanta ML (Municipal Liaison) would say, this week feels like being in the middle of a traffic jam on 285 during morning rush. After writing 35,000 words, I feel like I’m in the last stages of labor. I can’t sleep, I have a lot to drink, therefore a lot of stops to make, I’m craving weird stuff to eat and pain…oh a lot of pain (from thinking and typing, LOL!). The reality is that they are just Braxton hicks’ contractions, in other words false alarms; this baby is not ready to come out( or in NaNoWriMo lingo, we still have writing to do. The story is not finished yet).

One thing I have learned from this year’s Nano is that you should never stop writing. If your story is not finished, the fact that you have a bazillion words doesn’t mean you can take a break. Somehow your brain thinks that the break implies that you’re done and it takes twice the effort to get yourself in gear. So, if you want to give yourself a mini-break, get on the page at least for five minutes and write a paragraph, a line…whatever it takes to keep you connected to your story. I had to learn it the hard way. I was very confident with my work last week. I wrote a little on Friday and none on Saturday even though I had the time. Then yesterday, going back to my labor analogy, it took pitocin (meaning going to a write-in), a chai latte, three word wars and a good frustration cry to get me back in gear.

My story has taken a life of its own. I had something envisioned and for those who do not write, believe me characters are like your children, they may have your DNA but ultimately they do what they want, and you have to rail them in to do what you know it’s best for them (or your story). I knew I had reached insanity when I spent five paragraphs describing a bathroom and a doll house. They were pretty though. So after a good chat and a couple of laughs I’m ready to get back to business, the discovery of the murder. Who did it? Stay tuned…

Related Articles

Standing up for NaNoWriMo

On By Naty MatosIn Articles5 Comments

I was really disappointed to read this article by Laura Miller, senior writer for Salon (posted at the bottom). I felt I needed to respond because NaNoWriMo is very dear to my heart.  I do respect everyone’s opinion, but I think there’s a lot that is being missed regarding the purpose of NaNoWriMo. The author of this article qualifies this event as a waste of time and energy. There is a lot worse things you can do in November than write a novel.

As an amateur writer, this event has given me opportunities that otherwise would have been difficult at best without it. As someone living in a big city, when you have a dream, where do you begin? Obviously, I’m not yet on the best seller’s list, but through launching myself into this event last year for the first time, I’ve started making baby steps into the literary world.

NaNoWriMo was the tool that saved my sanity last year. When I decided to join NaNo, it was just part of a challenge, not knowing that adversity was around the corner. It was one of the most difficult times in my life on the personal front and yet the eagerness to get this novel completed allowed me to channel my energy there and not focus on the adversity that was going on in my life. Not only did I win, but I ended with a finished product. I understood that there was a lot of editing that needed to be done after finishing the novel and that particular novel is still being edited as I plan to publish it.

I don’t think it’s fair to blame NaNo for people who do not spend the time editing their work and presenting it to a publisher. That would be like blaming Duncan Hines for a cake that didn’t come out right because you didn’t follow the instructions. The NaNoWriMo website and staff are always mentioning December as the editing month. They make it clear that the work done in November is a raw product that needs development and in some cases, it may just need deleting, but it allows an individual to organize their thoughts for a month and be creative.

The other thing that NaNoWriMo gave me was community. I’ve met people that I probably would not have met under other circumstances. We have something in common, the desire to write. We learn from one another, we encourage one another and guess what? we have fun; clean unadulterated fun. I think I’m on the other end of the spectrum thinking that there should be more events like this worldwide.

The author states that writing more novels is a waste of time, as we have too many already. Maybe we should tell Starbucks to stop opening shops as they have one on every corner. Although, by the way, I need one closer to my house or they need to seriously start delivering, especially during NaNoWriMo.

She also states that there are better things to do in November. That’s a matter of opinion. As a balanced person during November, I still go to work, pay my bills, walk my dog (less frequently bless her heart), go to church and participate in those things that I’m involved with, talk to my friends, take care of my Café World and Farmville in Facebook,  go to the gym, visit my family and have Thanksgiving dinner. The only difference is that instead of watching another re-runs of Law and Order or Criminal Minds, I choose to write. How dare I?

Aside from all the creative work that NaNoWriMo promotes, it attracts people to help others through the fundraisers that help charities. That apparently is also a bad thing.

I just felt the need to stand up for an event and a company that I believe in and that encouraged me to go forward with chasing my lifelong dream of being a writer and pursuing the gift God gave me.

About reading, it’s also inaccurate to assume that these 130,000 NaNo writers are not readers as well. I can only speak for myself. I am enrolled in Goodreads where I post the reviews of the novels I read and share those with my friends. I also belong to a book club that discusses a novel every month and that’s on top of all the online reading regarding articles, news, blogs and other things that capture my attention.

With all this said, I think that this article didn’t do NaNoWriMo justice and I have written almost 750 words that I can’t include in my novel…so enough of this and let’s get back to writing!!

Related Articles