5 Tips for Surviving the Summer

As summer ends we usually find that we've gotten a lot less done than we anticipated.  Often we set unrealistic goals about writing all through the summer vacation or carrying out all that fantastic research and now we're ready to write. In the meantime the project sits there and gathers dust, but it doesn't get started, much less finished.  So now, the summer is ending. What can you do to get yourself going again. The fall rush will soon be started, with the resumption of school and all those other small things that didn't get done still need doing.

And your writing project?  Again, it sits there.

What can you do to get going again? Well, with the kids back in school it might be time to set your new fall schedule too.

1. Set aside a writing time.  With schedules being re-done, why not try to set up your own writing time too. Try writing in the morning. Either do it once the kids are off to school  or try that final hour before having to go pick them up.

2. Go the library and do your research. With the kids back in school some of the busy time at the local library might be less busy and that could  mean a quieter time and less traffic at the library. If there is research you've been wanting to do, this might be the perfect time to to it.

3. Visit the local book store. Reading a new fiction novel might be just the thing to get your own writing ideas flowing again. Finding the latest release by your favorite author might also be a good way to get your own writing groove back.

4. Look for a critique group. Again, with the kids back in school, there might be other writers in your area looking to start a new group or for new members of an existing group. With the change in the season and in schedules some people might be falling out so the groups might be looking to re-arranging.

5. Try joining a new writing group. Some will stop for the summer, so check out the local libraries or look online to see if there are any writing groups meeting. Visit local book stores and check the bulletin boards to see if there are nearby groups looking for new members.

Whatever you choose to try, this is the perfect time of the year to start a new project. It's like the beginning of a new school year. The next few months will probably be spent inside, so why not begin a new book? You could be finished by next spring!

5 Tips to Vacation Writing

Earlier this summer I gave tips on summer writing and I've done some tips on writing when you're out of town or distracted, but now is the height of summer vacation. How can you keep your writing groove on when faced with trips, tours or just sitting on the beach or up in the mountains and relaxing. Who wants to put your nose to the grindstone when you can be playing or visiting with friends or relatives? Well, yes, you can put those trips to good use, very good use.

1. Make your trip count. Take that trip to some place you've always wanted to write about or some place you've read about that you've always wanted to visit. Visiting a new place always can foster new story ideas or new places to set your book.  Take that trip to Hawaii or Europe and use the location, but summer vacation can be a great time to get in some writing while you are sitting at the beach and soaking in the sun. Take a trip to the beach at sunset and enjoy the last rays of the day, or sit in an outdoor cafe and observe the people and listen to the special sounds of that particular place. Because let's face it, whenever your are on the road, you should....

2. Observe your particular location. When I say observe, think about how you would describe it as

you are writing a story. Or better yet, write a travel story about it. Whenever I go to a new place I immediately go through all the information at the hotel to see any local tourist destinations, but I also look for those different little places. Ask around in the hotel coffee shop or the cab or Uber driver about any interesting but not tourist-y place that you might visit. I also like to learn about local sports stars, historical figures or heroes,  to get a feel for the people from there and to get more ideas for characters.

3. Try those little dining spots that are not necessarily in the tourist guide books. Look for the local coffee shops in the neighborhoods or the small diners or ethnic food places. Try them out. It not only will enhance the vacation, but can also be good food for thought next time you are writing a book.

4.  Talk to the local people. Pick up on any local accents, the way people dress,  even the items on the local menus. When I was travelling across the country with my family we made it a rule that we were going to eat whatever the local delicacies were. From Texas to Maine we enjoyed Mexican food and steak in Dallas, then Cajun in Louisiana, all the way up to crab in Baltimore and lobster in Maine.  We even had to stop by in Hershey, Pa and buy chocolate.

5. Keep a travel notebook and make good notes. And keep taking them, and updating and updating. When we went across country my mother started taking notes the minute we left Colorado and crossed over into Kansas. She had great notes on the farms of Kansas and even listed all the foods we had those first days. By the time we reached the East coast she had lots of blank pages and was trying to remember instead of instantly writing as she witnessed things.

So enjoy your summer vacation, but keep notes and pictures, and if you aren't a photographer, buy postcards. I began collecting postcards the minute I left home for college. I have cards from all 45 states I've visited -- from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, from the Atlantic to the beaches of Hawaii and the glaciers of Alaska.

Enjoy your summer trip, and if you find yourself sitting and waiting at an airport or on a long plane ride, try some writing to fill the time. Or pick up a book by a new author or try reading in a new genre.

There's always lots you can do before getting back to work on your next book.

5 Tips for Summer Writing

As we move through July more people are taking vacations or spending time doing fun outdoors things. Who has time to write?  We all do and we should make good use of these warm summer months to get things done with our writing that we might not normally do.

Here are 5 tips for using the summer to get your writing in gear even while you are on vacation.

1. Visit a museum.  If you are visiting relatives out of town why not take a trip down to the local museum and study some history. You might come up with a good story idea or two or four or six. Think about all the real life characters you can learn about in a museum, not to mention coming up with interesting facts about a region that you might be able to use in a time travel or even in a futuristic fantasy.

2. Take a hike and let your mind wander.  Some of my best story ideas have come up while I am on a long walk, enjoying the scenery
. Thinking up a plot while trudging along a trail in the high country can not only make the walk go faster, but if you find yourself surrounded with a beautiful mountain view or looking for shells on a lonely beach you can also soak in the feel of the location and use that for a story in the future. Appreciate the setting and think about how you might write about it. You might even look for a way to put it into a scene in your book when you get back to your hotel room.

3. Read!  What is better to do that sitting on a beach chair soaking up the sun and reading the latest books you have been promising yourself you want to tackle. They can not only rejuvenate your brain but sometimes they can also remind you that YOU can write as well and get you going again. You might also consider reading through your latest work and look for new plot directions or pick up something you haven't work on in a while and read through it as though you were reading someone else's book. That might break a logjam in a story for you.

4. Relax! Not only is sitting by the beach or taking that long walk energizing but just letting your

mind wander with nothing to do can clear out some of the dead brain cells and get new ideas planted in your head. Even if you don't feel like writing you can still plot or come up with new ideas for characters. Sometimes being away from your writing desk can totally free up your brain to go in new directions.

5. Do some fun writing. Put away that fiction and try writing non-fiction for a change. Do an interview with someone at a place you're visiting and write up a non-fiction blog piece on the person. Whether it's a fellow traveler or the guy who's selling ice cream along the beach walkway. Think about how you might write a news feature on the person. What kind of questions would you ask? How would you tell the story?

Summer can be a great time to relax and get our writing thoughts in order. But then, eventually, we do need to get back to the keyboard or notebook and sit down and start tackling those writing subjects again. But why let all that great writing time go to waste? Enjoy the summer, but come back refreshed and ready to write!