A quick update...

I've been incredibly busy with my "day-job" as the owner of a home detailing business for luxury apartment communities, so I have not had time to update this blog as much as I should.

After a long hiatus, I have started writing again, which has also led me to getting more involved in the writing community and catching up on things I’ve missed. With that said, there are two things this past week that have caught my interest in the writing world:

1.) The new Amazon Kindle DX - it's a bigger, better version than the original Kindle. While the original had a 6" viewing screen, the DX has a 9.7" viewing screen, which means that for those Kindlephile's who like to upload their own PDF's, the scrolling to view their material is cut down to a bare minimum. Unlike the original, it comes with a native PDF reader and a rotating display. I think the neatest thing about the DX is the rotating display, which has a landscape view and a wide-screen view. Similar to the iPhone, all you have to do is rotate the DX horiziontally and your viewing screen is widened. I have been waiting for Amazon to distribute a few versions before I finally decide to purchase a Kindle, and with the introduction of the DX, I think I may just be ready to take the bait!

2.) Write or Die – this program is pretty darn neat! It’s a rudimentary program to be sure, but you don’t need anything more than that to achieve the results that many have seen with this program. As a writer, I know how it is sometimes to just “sit there” and stare at the screen, or to find something else to do while the cursor is blinking madly away. With Write or Die, you are able to set your “word goal,” – the amount of words you are aiming to write – your “time limit” - anywhere from ten minutes to two hours – and then you set your “mode” – you can choose from “Gentle,” “Normal,” and “Kamikaze.” There’s even an “Electric Shock” mode, but it’s not functioning yet ::grin::

The mode you select determines the “punishment” you receive when you stop typing in the writing window. The “Gentle” mode offers a pop-up window after about ten seconds of no action, with a gentle reminder to keep writing. Not too bad, right? The “Normal” mode will start playing an annoying noise or an annoying song, and won’t stop until you start writing again. If that kind of punishment seems like child’s play to you, just click on the “Kamikaze” mode – after a period of no action, the program begins to delete what you have already written, word-by-word. You cannot retrieve your lost information. The only way to stop your words from disappearing is to start writing again.

Many users of this program have purported amazing results, with one particular user having written 3,000 words in an hour and a half! So, if you are one of those writers who need that extra “push,” this is definitely a program for you!

Life-blood

I was discussing plot ideas the other day with Nick for the current novel I'm working on, and as he shot a few of my ideas down I realized that I was starting to feel on the defensive. In truth, he was just showing me plot holes that would have made my story truly worthless, but it felt like he was attacking my writing personally.

It was then that I realized that a writer's writing is personal. I'm sure this is really obvious to more seasoned writers, but it just struck me. I know that with every story I write and with every character I create, I leave pieces of me behind. The character that plays with her earrings while she's thinking - that's me. The character that struggles with his feelings on religion and God - that's me. The story, the characters, they all become a part of me, and when someone criticizes anything about my writing, it is a personal blow.

Of course, this isn't healthy, as by ipso facto, a writer's life consists of critiques and rejections, some harsher than most. Nathan Bransford, a Literary Agent, addressed this issue (kind of) in one of his blog entries: Writing as an Identity . My favorite statement of his, and one that really hit home for me, was: "The moment the writing or the publishing process becomes the defining part of someone's identity, when it becomes oxygen, that's a time when the writer is risking having that oxygen choked off by forces completely outside of their control."

Every writer identifies with their writing, however, if their writing becomes, as Nathan described, their "defining characteristic," they are sucked dry of the very essentials they need to be a successful and effective writer.

The remedy for my situation, then, is to join a local writer's club of sorts, where I will be routinely presented with critiques of my writing. This will not only help me hone my story-telling abilities, but it will also help to thicken my skin for the publishing world.

My next problem: choosing a local writer's club to join!