Requests: Constructing My Blog

I’ll be making a few changes and adding some new pages soon. Since most of these are based on previous suggestions, I wanted to offer you all a chance to make requests and contributions.

Pages I will be adding:

1.)         For Writers – Tips, References, Exercises etc. I recommend to aspiring as well as seasoned authors.

2.)         Reader Page – Photos, comments, questions, reviews by those reading my work.

3.) FAQ - What would you like to see here?

If you have any other suggestions or requests for this blog, or if you wish to share a photo, review etc. to appear on one of these pages, please leave a comment or email: writinginwonderland@gmail.com I have had requests for guest posts. Yes, I post guests on my blog and I write for other blogs as well. Please email me if you are interested in either of those options.

Also, there is still time to join in the giveaway fun. Simply click the “Wonderland Giveaway Blogfest” button on the right.

Happy Writing!

7 Inspiring Daily Rituals

Have you ever wondered how some of your favorite authors and famous thinkers spent their day? In my last post I shared a daily schedule for a writer. Something I might like to use when I no longer have the joy of two little ones at home with me every day. Since then, I came across a website full of fun facts about the daily routines of writers, artists and other great thinkers. Below is a list with a few of my favorites and a link to the website if you want to see more.

1. CS Lewis. Writer and thinker CS Lewis had a very clear schedule of his day, with activities such as work, walking, meals, tea, and socializing down to the very hour they should be done. He even describes when beer should be enjoyed (not at 11:00 for fear of running over the allotted 10 minutes for the break).

2. Fred Rogers. Don’t doubt that Fred Rogers was indeed a great thinker, despite the fact that he is best known as the familiar Mr. Rogers from the long-lasting PBS children’s show. His television show was a safe place for many young children, by his design, and he fought hard, in his quiet manner, for the show to stay on the air. The famous routine that started and ended his show was not the only routine in his life. Each day he would wake at 5:30 and begin his day with reading, writing, study, and prayer. He would take a swim most days of his life, take a late-afternoon nap, and go to bed at 9:30 each night. Perhaps the most idiosyncratic of his rituals was that he kept his weight at 143 pounds his entire adult life. He saw his weight one day and realized it aligned with the number of letters in "I love you" and vowed to maintain that weight, which he did.

3. Stephen King. This famed writer keeps to a strict routine each day, starting the morning with a cup of tea or water and his vitamin. King sits down to work between 8:00 and 8:30 in the same seat with his papers arranged on his desk in the same way. He claims that starting off with such consistency provides a signal to his mind in preparation for his work.

4. Benjamin Franklin. Franklin kept to a tight schedule, starting his day waking at 4:00 am. Until 8:00, he would wake, wash, eat breakfast, and think about what he would accomplish for the day. From 8:00 to 12:00, he worked. Lunch was from 12:00-1:00, where he ate, read, or looked over his accounts. He then worked until 5:00. The evening was filled with dinner, cleaning up, music or conversation, a look back over his day, and then bed at 10:00.

5. Aldous Huxley. This famous thinker and writer would start early each day sharing a breakfast with his wife. He would work uninterrupted until lunchtime. After lunch, he and his wife would go for a drive or a walk, then he would return to work again from 5:00 to 7:00, then have dinner. After dinner, his wife would read to him until almost midnight. Due to an eye illness early in life that left Huxley with very poor eyesight, he relied heavily on his wife to do many activities for him besides reading. She often typed his manuscripts and was even reported to have cut his steak for him at dinner.

6. Haruki Murakami. This popular Japanese novelist sticks to a specific daily schedule that begins at 4:00 when he awakes. He writes for five or six hours, then either runs 10k or swims 1500 meters (or sometimes, both). After his workout, he reads and listens to music until he goes to bed at 9:00. Murakami claims that writing a novel requires both the physical and mental strength that his routine provides.

7. Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway described his writing ritual as starting just as the sun began rising, then working straight through until whatever he had to say was said. He likens completing his morning of writing to making love to someone you love–being both empty and fulfilled at the same time. Upon completing that morning’s work, he would wait until the next morning to begin again, going over his ideas in his head and holding on to the anticipation of starting again the next day.

A Writer's Dream Schedule

Writers often discuss their daily schedule. I must confess I am a bit envious since I don’t have one. Maybe I would not enjoy writing as much if I had more time to commit to it. Although, maybe I would take it more seriously and thus find even greater enjoyment in the craft. Hmm… a daily routine. What might that look like?

Well, I would want to leave time for my family. This is easy now as I am a stay at home mom of two girls not yet old enough for school. However, this will change one day. I would also need to leave an amount of time for social networking such as email, facebook, twitter, blogs etc. every day. Obviously, I want time for writing and if I’m smart and any good, I’ll need time for marketing.

That schedule might look something like this:

6:00 – 6:30   Prayer and Exercise

6:30 – 7:30   Get the girls ready and to school

7:30 – 8:30   Check email, blog, facebook, twitter

8:30 – 11:30  Writing, Revisions, Critiques

11:30 – 12:30 Lunch with friends or family

12:30 – 1:00  Check email, blog, facebook, twitter

1:00 – 3:00   Writing, Revisions, Critiques

3:00 – 8:00   Pick up girls from school, take them to ballet, baseball etc., supervise homework, prepare dinner, play

8:00 – 8:30   Get girls ready for bed

8:30 – 9:00   Check email, blog, facebook, twitter

9:00 – 10:00  Read

Of course this is only a loose idea of what my schedule could be like. Notice I have not factored in any time for marketing (or chores ;-). I suppose that would come from some of the writing or checking social media time.

What is your workday or dream workday like?

Hitting the Stands Today

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just for Preteens hits the stands today. My story "Feeding the Soul" can be found inside along with some very powerful tales to help your young ones through tough times.

This anthology is a collection of 101 stories of inspiration and support for Tweens. Being a preteen can be difficult for the child, parent and anyone else living with them. School is more challenging, bodies are changing, relationships with parents are different, and new issues arise with friends.

But preteens (as well as family and friends) can find encouragement and inspiration in this collection of stories about the problems and issues they face every day. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just for Preteens will help readers as they navigate those tough preteen years from ages 9 to 12 with its stories from others just like them, about the highs and lows of life as a preteen. It's a support group they can carry in their backpack!

For more information or to order, please click the link in the sidebar.

Adult Read Blogfest

July 24/25 is the "1st Adult Book Read" blogfest hosted by the Heroines with Hearts. All you have to do for this blogfest is fess up on the first adult book you picked up and read: whether a classic, a racy novel or that of unusual content. Then post your entry to your blog July 24th/25th.

If you're interested in joining in the fun, please click the "Heroines with Hearts" link above.

The earliest “adult” book I can remember reading is Connie Mason’s Tempt the Devil. I was about 12 years old and the book was given to me by a cousin. By then, I had already developed a love for TCM and the old pirate movies they often played. This book is reminiscent of many of the Maureen O’Hara pirate movies and I fell in love with the book, reading it many times.

"Ye cannot kill the devil," whispered the awestruck throng at the hanging of the notorious Diablo. And, indeed, moments later the pirate had not only escaped the noose, but also abducted the beautiful Lady Devon, whisking her aboard his ship, the Devil Dancer. Infuriated, Devon swore she would have nothing to do with her rakishly handsome captor. But long days at sea, and even longer nights beneath the tropical stars, brought Devon ever closer to surrender. Diablo was a master of seduction, an experienced lover who knew every imaginable way to please a woman -- and some that she had never imagined. Devon knew she would find ecstasy in his arms, but did she dare ... TEMPT THE DEVIL.

I still own a copy today, though it is no longer one of my favorites. I have discovered so many other wonderful stories over the years. This one will probably always have a place on my shelf for the sake of nostalgia.

Do you remember your first?

1st Adult Book Blogfest

Heroines with Hearts is hosting the "1st Adult Book Read" blogfest on July 24/25.

All you have to do for this blogfest is fess up on the first adult book you picked up and read: whether a classic, a racy novel or that of unusual content, then post your entry to your blog July 24th/25th.

 

If you're interested in joining in the fun, please click the "Heroines with Hearts" link above.

 

If you're interested in giving and receiving freebies, please check out the "Wonderland Giveaway Blogfest". You can click on the button in the sidebar. Happy Writing!

12 Songs for Writers

Music often sparks creative genius in authors; just as writers have become inspiration for song lyrics. Whether you suffer from writer’s block, tacky grammar or are enjoying your word play, below is a list of 12 songs about the process of creation.

1. “The Book of My Life” - Sting

2. “Paperback Writer” – The Beatles

3. “I Love You Period” – Dan Baird

4. “I’ll be a Writer” - Soltero

5. “Losing It” - RUSH

6. “Writer’s Block – Just Jack

7. “There She Goes, My Beautiful World” – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

8. “Oxford Comma” – Vampire Weekend

9. “Mr. Writer” – Stereophonics

10. “Screenwriter’s Blues”- Soul Coughing

11. “Every Day I Write the Book” – Elvis Costello

12. “Autobiography” – Sloan

These melodic musings can be found on Youtube. Can you think of any other songs about writing?