The hardest thing about maintaining a consistent writing practice is staying motivated.

I don't know a writer who hasn't at one point or another thought—what's the point? Why am I doing this?

Last week I took a one-day workshop with screenwriting coach Corey Mandell, and he asked us this question:

Why is this your dream? What is motivating you to pursue writing?

This is a great question to ask a writer at any stage of their career. 

I'm still mulling over my answer.

It's a big question.

All I know is that before I became a writer I had few interests and was good at nothing.

I took my first writing workshop when I was 20 and thought—I'm doing this for the rest of my life.

I haven't looked back despite the few highs and many lows. Somehow I've managed to keep trudging along. It hasn't been easy. It's mostly been hard. 

But I never thought about why I was doing it, I just did it.

I still don't have a answer to this question. I'll save that for another blog post.

In the meantime, here are some tips if you are having a low moment where either you don't feel like writing or don't see the point in it. 

Things to do if you don't feel like writing or working on your project or if you feel like giving up:

1. Do a morning free-write where you write anything and somehow ideas start to come. 
2. Read something you love.
3. Do some experimental writing exercises.
4. Give yourself permission to not write for awhile.
5. Eavesdrop  on conversations.
6. Collaborate with another writer.
7. Find a buddy who will help keep you accountable and who you can check in with.
8. Make a writing date with another writer either in person or on Skype where you just write together but on your own projects.
9. Take a break from social media (I have not done this one but should).
10. Give yourself permission to stay away from literary events and other writers. This may sound mean but can be helpful if you're in a not-good space.
11. Take in some other form of art. Go to a movie, play, art show, performance (thanks to Danielle Egan for this one.).

For more tips and resources, sign up for the Mockler's Writing Workshop Newsletter or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or ​join my Facebook Group Mockler's Workshop Hub.

 
December 30, 2018
by Kathryn Mockler

On Resolutions

I'm going to the gym every day!

No I'm not. 

I'm going to write every day!

No, I'm definitely not!

Although the new year can feel like a new start for some, I'm not particularly interested in New Year's resolutions.

There's something daunting about promising myself I'm going to become a completely different person living a perfect, idealized version of myself in my career or my personal life. 

For me, it's a set up for failure.

For my writing life to work, I learned early on that my writing process has to cater to my personality (including my shortcomings) rather than me expecting my personality to change to achieve some idealized writing process.

For instance, I'm not someone who can do the same thing every day. I get really bored and distracted. 

So that's why I need to work on multiple projects at once. The downside is that it takes me longer to complete many different projects, but the upside is that if one project doesn't work out, it's not the only thing I've invested in.

But more importantly this is a way I can write that keeps in line with my personality and supports who I am as person.

Likewise, I can't write every single day. It's just not who I am. It used to make me feel like a failure to not write write every day until I realized that the writing process isn't always about writing.

When I'm not writing, I'm doing things that contribute to writing like reading, observing, thinking.

So for me to make a "resolution" about writing every day is pointless. 

A few years ago, I found out about "Morning Pages" which is a free-writing concept developed by Julia Cameron, the author of The Artist's Way. Cameron describes the Morning Pages on her website:

"Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages—they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind—and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Do not overthink Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page ... and then do three more pages tomorrow."

This is a writing process I can get behind because it doesn't involve pressure or expectation. And I find doing the Morning Pages clears my mind for other tasks I need to do and makes me more productive overall. Often I get ideas for my works in progress when I'm doing Morning Pages.

I still can't do the Morning Pages every day, but instead I do them as often as a I can. I try to have a goal of three days a week, and I make sure to do them on a day when I know I'm going to work on a longer project.

This is how it works for me. It's a change but is still in keeping with who I am. 

On Goal Setting

While I don't like the term resolution, I don't mind setting achievable goals and doing realistic planning for the future. I'm also a big fan of to-do lists. 

Living the life of a writer is about having a goal and taking a series of actions to achieve that goal no matter the situation that you are in. 

For most writers, there are no ideal circumstances.

If you work a full time job, you need to find achievable writing goals that will fit into your life. Most of us are not able to quit our jobs so that we can write. 

For example, I teach during the school year, and I can't expect myself to complete big projects during that time. So instead of having an unrealistic goal of finishing a novel or a feature film script, I assign myself smaller goals when I know I won't be able to write as much.

Sometimes I'll decide to work only on poetry or short fiction during the school year.

Or I'll take a screenwriting or comedy writing course to keep me on track.

Or I'll find a contest that I want to apply to and write for that deadline.

Often I'll revise or edit larger projects.

Sometimes all I do is send work out.

I even count showing up at readings and launches as part of the writing process. 

These are the things I know I can achieve during this time when I'm distracted and focusing on the writing of others. 

For 2019

Instead of imagining the kind of writer you want to be or the kind of process you want to have, ask yourself who you are as person and what writing processes can support you rather than you conforming to someone else's ideal.

What do you like? What don't you like?  When do you work best? When don't you work best? Do you write every day? Do you work better with or without structure or deadlines? 

Write a paragraph about what you know about yourself and your habits and then come up with an individual process that caters to your personality. 

Project Goals

List the three main projects that you want to work on or one if you're the type of writer who needs to work on one thing at time.

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

Actions

Next list three or more actions for each goal that you need to take in order to achieve this goal. These actions can be related to any part of the process: research, outlining, drafting, submissions, networking, publishing, etc. 

For example, one of my goals is work on a collection of short stories. 

Here are some actions I can take to achieve this goal.

1. Do my Morning Pages
2. Listen to the New Yorker Fiction Podcast
3. Read a short story every day
4. Revise an old story from the collection
5. Brainstorm on the theme of the collection
6. Make a list of all the subjects I want to write about for this collection
7. Make a list of places where I want to submit stories from this collection
8. Write my project description for this collection
9. Apply for a grant for this collection
10. Go to a reading

If I have this list handy, then I use it when I'm feeling stuck or blocked or don't feel like writing. I can add to it. I can change it.

I use a free platform called Trello for making lists and brainstorming ideas. I can use it on my phone, so instead of scrolling mindlessly on social media when I'm waiting in line at a store or for the bus, I go on Trello and work on my projects. 

I wish you all the best with your writing in 2019, and I hope you have a wonderful and productive year!

​Kathryn

And I'm offering two self-paced online fiction courses: 

5 Days of Short Fiction and Introduction to Short Fiction work for writers of all experience levels.

Consider checking out my new mentorship program with or without feedback. 

For more tips and resources, sign up for the Mockler's Writing Workshop Newsletter or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or ​join my Facebook Group Mockler's Workshop Hub.

Thrilled that a story I edited for Joyland has been selected for Best Canadian Stories, 2018 (Biblioasis), Edited by Russell Smith! The story is "A Dozen Stomachs" by Tom Thor Buchanan.

Description

Now in its 48th year, Best Canadian Stories has long championed the short story form and highlighted the work of many writers who have gone on to shape the Canadian literary canon. Caroline Adderson, Margaret Atwood, Clark Blaise, Tamas Dobozy, Mavis Gallant, Douglas Glover, Norman Levine, Rohinton Mistry, Alice Munro, Leon Rooke, Diane Schoemperlen, Kathleen Winter, and many others have appeared in its pages over the decades, making Best Canadian Stories the go-to source for what’s new in Canadian fiction writing for close to five decades.

Selected by guest editor Russell Smith, the 2018 edition draws together both newer and established writers to shape an engaging and luminous mosaic of writing in this country today—a continuation of not only a series, but a legacy in Canadian letters.

Best Canadian Stories 2018 features work by: Shashi Bhat, Tom Thor Buchanan, Lynn Coady, Deirdre Simon Dore, Alicia Elliott, Bill Gaston, Liz Harmer, Brad Hartle, David Huebert, Reg Johanson, Amy Jones, Michael LaPointe, Stephen Marche, Lisa Moore, Kathy Page, and Alex Pugsley

Mockler's Writing Prompts: Windows

Make a list of 10 windows you remember looking in or out of.

Pick one and write down all the sensory associations you have with this window. Where is it located? What events do you remember taking place either inside or outside the window?

Using this brainstorming material, write a story, poem, or play.

For more tips and resources, sign up for the Mockler's Writing Workshop Newsletter or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Check out my online courses: Introduction to Short Fiction (a 4-week self-paced online course) and Kathryn Mockler's Fiction Workshop (a live 6-week workshop-based course via video conferencing)

"In the end you should probably know your characters as well as you know yourself. You should be able to close your eyes and dwell inside that character’s body." —​Gabriel García Márquez

Creating characters out of thin air can be daunting for any writer which is why many writers tend to base their characters on people they have interacted with or observed or heavily researched or even on themselves.

When I'm creating characters, I always put a little of me in them, and then I bring in bits and pieces from people who are around me or who I observe. That way I feel like I know my characters intimately, but I have the freedom to develop them according to the needs of my story.

This is why I prefer writing fiction over nonfiction even though many of my stories begin with something that is real—a setting, a situation, a person.

When you're trying to figure out how to develop characters, start by observing who is around you.

What do the people around you look like? How do they dress? How do they hold themselves? What does their body language say about the way they feel?

Listen to how you and your family members speak to each other.

Observe your friends and how they talk and act.

Eavesdrop on conversations in coffee shops, in grocery stories. Listen to what people say and how they say it.

I speak differently with my best friend than I do with someone I meet at the bus stop.

All of these details go into creating character. And once you have an idea who you want to write about then you need shape your characters by giving them goals in your story and having them act according to their motivations.

Exercise: Make a list of 5 to 10 people who interest you such as your children, your siblings, your dentist, the bus driver, etc. Whose lives are you curious by? And why?

To get more tips and writing prompts, sign up for my FREE email course: 5 Days of Short Fiction 

Then sign up for my FICTION WORKSHOP!

It's delivered online through video, so you can take it from anywhere!

Starts January 2019
​
Space is limited so sign up now!

WRITING PROMPT: DOORS

Make a list of 5 doors that you remember. They could be doors from home, work, friend's house, school, store, etc.

Pick one, and write down all of the sensory associations you have with this door: touch, smell, sight, sound, and, hey, maybe even taste—if you happened to have tasted your door.

Then write a short story about entering or exiting this door.

​For more tips and resources, sign up for the Mockler's Writing Workshop Newsletter.

Check out my online courses: Introduction to Short Fiction (a 4-week self-paced online course) and Kathryn Mockler's Fiction Workshop (a live 6-week workshop-based course via video conferencing).


Photo by Oleg Laptev on Unsplash

Am I Any Good?
by Kathryn Mockler
​June 18, 2018

I remember when I got interested in creative writing, one of the thoughts that crossed my mind was—do I have any talent? This is common for many new writers. Feeling like they are not good enough or talented enough can sometimes stop new writers before they even get started.

I once had a friend ask me to read his poems, and after I gave him some feedback, he asked—Yeah, but am I any good? Is it worth it for me to pursue writing poetry? Obviously I couldn’t answer that question because whether or not someone devotes their life to writing is a completely personal decision.

The writing life is both exhilarating and brutal. You may write something you find so personally fulfilling, but when you share it with the world, the world may not see what you see, and this can be heartbreaking. Also if you are hoping to get published, then you have to deal with all of the rejection that goes along with that.

Really when you think about it too much—what fool would put themselves through all that? Well, me for one and maybe you too!

The best thing to do when we have a concern is to face it head on rather than letting it fester. So let’s go to that scary place.

Ask yourself—what will you do if you find out you’re not any good (whatever that means to you)? I know—it’s a terrifying thought.

But seriously what will you do if you find out that you are not any good at writing?

Will you stop? Will you give it up forever?

If your answer is YES—well—that settles that, doesn’t it?

But if your answer is NO—then what will you do about it?

While it may seem strange that I’m taking you to one of the darkest places in a writer’s mind, before we even begin—trust me there is a purpose.

As a writer there are going to be times when you feel like you are not any good. This can happen when you are blocked, or if you get a comment on your work that is particularly painful, or if you get a rejection, or if what you are trying to say is not landing on the page, or if you are just starting out.
​
So what we need to create here is our safety net—in the form of a personalized list of actions that you can refer to when you are feeling blocked or lost or uninspired or just not any good.


Write Your Safety Net List

Make list of at least 5-10 things you will do when you feel that you are not any good.

This list will give you concrete actions to take that will help "catch" you when you feel like you are falling.

Here are some things I do, when I feel this way.

• try write every morning in my journal
• stop “trying to write” for that moment and read writing that inspires me
• go to readings
• go out for coffee with another writer and talk about these struggles
• write in different styles (or genres)
• write in ways that surprise me (hey if I'm not good—then I have lots of freedom to do what I want, right?)
• go for a walk

So what will you do? Make your list in your notebook or journal or use this PDF Worksheet.

This post is from Week 1 of Introduction to Short Fiction, an online course for those new to fiction writing. 

For more tips and resources, sign up for the Mockler's Writing Workshop Newsletter.

Check out my online courses: Introduction to Short Fiction (a 4-week self-paced online course) and Kathryn Mockler's Fiction Workshop (a live 6-week workshop-based course via video conferencing).