Tag: It's Worth It

It’s Worth It

TRAINING FOR LIFE

by Kitty Bucholtz

My husband John and I are training to run a half marathon in the fall, 13 miles over hill and dale in Pasadena, California. Never done anything like it in my life. But we figured it would be a good way to lose weight and get in shape, and one of our friends suggested we do it together. A winning situation all the way around.

But on Day One of our “Couch to 5K” training in March of this year when we were to cycle running for 60 seconds, then walking for 90 seconds, I wanted to quit about 45 seconds into the 20-minute workout! I would have except John was there and I didn’t want him to see me quit. By the end of week two, I was huffing and puffing but it felt good.

Last weekend I flew to Austin, Texas, to attend the High Tension Workshop taught by Donald Maass. Barely an hour into the four-day workshop I had that beautiful ah-ha moment. Ah-ha, this is what I’ve been trying to do by instinct but without getting it right. By the end of the weekend, the lights were on, my toolbox was reorganized – some new tools, and some tools that I understood how to use better – and I was already chipping away at bits and chunks of my manuscript.

I cut out a murder because I realized I had actions in turmoil not actions in tension. I cut out the first scene of chapter one because I saw I was trying to introduce the heroine’s emotional state by showing her in turmoil not showing her emotions in conflict. Today I’m sitting here highlighting all the backstory in the first 30 pages so I can cut it from the story, move it to another document (you know we can’t just hit delete), and try to figure out what the reader needs to know and how I can provide that information in a better way. Already, the story is gaining strength. And it feels good.

John and I are on Week Seven of our marathon training with 27 weeks to go. We run for 25 minutes three times a week, then run for as long as we can on Saturday or Sunday morning. My body is getting stronger more quickly than I’d thought possible and twice this week I beat my best running times! But I haven’t lost a single pound. I’m trying to keep in mind that there is plenty of time to find success in all of my running goals; I can’t meet them all at once. Just think, I can run for 25 minutes without stopping now, but less than two months ago I could barely run for 60 seconds!

There are moments when I feel the writing process is taking too long and I’m not learning enough and I’m not applying enough of what I’ve learned. But Donald Maass gave me a much-needed shot in the arm last weekend. He assured us that we can do this, but it’s going to take a lot of work. Just like the marathon training. Sometimes you just have to look back and see how far you’ve come. Then remind yourself that it’s worth it.

Kitty Bucholtz writes romantic comedies because, well, she lives one! She wrote her first book in the NBC cafeteria, the second snowed in at a Reno hotel, and the third from a tiny apartment in Sydney. Even though she loves talking about, writing about, and teaching about writing, she’s pretty sure she knows at least three people who aren’t writers.

It’s Worth It

WRITING VIRUS

by Kitty Bucholtz

I hit a wall last month. Not a writer’s block wall, a running-ahead-at-full-steam and hit-a-wall and crashed-and-burned kind of wall. It was totally unexpected and I’m still dazed, trying to figure out how it happened, how I didn’t see it coming so I could’ve prepared for it. But it was like one of those colds where you wake up healthy and well in the morning, have a sore throat at lunch, and are down for the count by dinner. Wham!

Some things in life are just unexpected and can’t be planned for. How many times have you heard that how your character responds to adversity shows who they really are? Well, character-named-Kitty-who-is-living-my-life, how are you going to respond? Who are you really?

I gave some thought to just quitting and getting a “real” job. (There is a voice in my head that is always delighted when I consider that, obviously a voice who doesn’t much like me, doesn’t believe I can make a living writing, and doesn’t give a hoot whether I know it.) But instead of making any decisions at all, I chose to give myself a week to do something else. Anything else. So I cleaned my kitchen top to bottom, took care of some errands, spent time with my husband, went shopping (something I don’t often have time to do – it was fun!), and then the week was up… and I still didn’t know what to do.

Monday my writing partners called me and literally got me out of bed. By the end of the phone call I realized I was going to survive; the worst of the virus was over. My husband and writing partners all supported me taking a couple weeks to work on a new idea I’ve been excited about. They all agreed my current book could use the perspective distance and time would bring. Everyone thinks I’ll be back in the excitement of this story by the end of the month, due in no small part to partaking in a little brainstorming in this other story I’m excited about.

Even God seemed to be encouraging me Monday. (I shouldn’t be surprised since he loves me so much, but I still usually am!) I flipped open my Bible after that phone call and almost immediately came to the verse that reminds us that God prepared in advance good works for us to do. Reading between the lines, I saw, “Don’t quit now, Kitty!”

I feel caught up in the rising tide of optimism – a strange feeling for me because I’m usually the one doing the encouraging. But already I feel better. Just writing about feeling better is making me feel better! I never did get out my resume, and I think it will still be in the drawer long after you read this. The writing life may be easy for some people, but it can be difficult for me. Still, through all the ups and downs, writing viruses and all, I can’t help but believe it’s worth it.

Kitty Bucholtz writes romantic comedies because, well, she lives one! She wrote her first book in the NBC cafeteria, the second snowed in at a Reno hotel, and the third from a tiny apartment in Sydney. Even though she loves talking about, writing about, and teaching about writing, she’s pretty sure she knows at least three people who aren’t writers.

It’s Worth It

MANNA TIME

By Kitty Bucholtz

Whenever I hear or see the same thing three or more times in a short period of time, I have a tendency to stop and say, “God, are you talking to me?” I always joke with him that I can be stubborn and hard of hearing but if I see something repeated, I promise to stop and at least ask if he’s trying to get my attention. I had this experience last month.

I’d been reading about the Israelites and how God provided manna for them to eat in the desert. The same topic came up in a sermon and in bible study within two weeks. I started thinking about it, wondering if there was a reason I was hearing about it so many times in a short period. I’d been praying for help in keeping my writing schedule as my first priority without losing control of everything else. What did the Israelites have to do with that?

Writing in my journal, I figured out the answer. The Israelites had to get up early every morning before the dew dried up and gather the manna from the ground. No sleeping in or being lazy. If you didn’t feel like getting it on Tuesday, you didn’t eat on Tuesday. The manna was going to be provided every day, but it wasn’t going to just show up on their plates. The Israelites knew in a general sense that God had promised to take care of them, but now they had to form that into a daily, practical trust and obedience.

My general goal of putting my writing first so that I can create a writing career is a good and noble one. But the fact is I wasn’t making it happen. The day I figured that out in my journal was the beginning of a change in my writing. I began starting each day writing “morning pages” (from The Artist’s Way) and pushing myself to “verbalize” all my hopes and fears about life in general and that day in particular.

I wrote about the guilt I felt putting my writing in front of getting my taxes done, and in front of other commitments. I wrote down the hundred things I thought I had to do, and realized that many of them could be put off one more day, reminding myself that I only needed to get that day’s writing done. I found that – just like Julia Cameron promises – getting everything else out of my head, recognizing it and moving on, opened up my writing!

Not only was I suddenly writing for four and five hour stretches, but the writing was far more productive, efficient, fun, and just good! I am amazed at how quickly the writing improved and the joy returned. And strangely, the other items on my to do list were surviving the wait. Some got done in the nooks and crannies of time my writing used to occupy. Some got picked up by friends and family. Some are still waiting.

I’m always amazed and sometimes embarrassed when God shows me he cares about the things that are important to me. But I’m extremely grateful! Now I start each day with the morning pages, and move right into the novel writing. My head is fresh and clear of “trash” and it shows in the writing. I laughingly tell God I’m now living in “Manna Time” – every day focusing just on what needs to be done that day, or if I’m particularly stressed, what needs to be done in that hour. Sometimes I hear MC Hammer’s theme song “Hammer Time” in my head. That’s when I know I got my quirky sense of humor from my Maker. In any case, I’ve found a successful new way to write – and it’s worth it!

Kitty Bucholtz writes romantic comedies because, well, she lives one! She wrote her first book in the NBC cafeteria, the second snowed in at a Reno hotel, and the third from a tiny apartment in Sydney. Even though she loves talking about, writing about, and teaching about writing, she’s pretty sure she knows at least three people who aren’t writers.

It’s Worth It

MAKING LISTS

by Kitty Bucholtz

When I was thinking about my column this month, I couldn’t think of one single thing to write about. Some days I’m so happy with life, that niggling guilt that’s always in the back of my mind when I’m not working – well, it just goes away! And today, I couldn’t help but list all the things I’ve spent time on this week – even when I thought I should’ve been writing – that added some unexpected happiness.

Choir practice, even though I thought I was too busy to go
Talking to strangers, even when I was busy
Calling my mom, even though I was busy
Enjoying a few chapters of reading, even when I should’ve been writing
Cuddling and watching TV with my honey, even if I should’ve been working
Thanking God for future blessings, even though I can’t see them yet
Supporting a friend by walking the picket line with her, even when I’m busy
Taking a moment to enjoy the stars, even when I’m tired
The joy of telling a story, even if only to myself today

I’m sure this list isn’t complete, but you get the picture. And the thing I noticed was that my writing energy improved after each of these things! But you know, even if it hadn’t helped my writing, some things in life are just worth it.

Kitty Bucholtz writes romantic comedies because, well, she lives one! She wrote her first book in the NBC cafeteria, the second snowed in at a Reno hotel, and the third from a tiny apartment in Sydney. Even though she loves talking about, writing about, and teaching about writing, she’s pretty sure she knows at least three people who aren’t writers.

It’s Worth It

ROUND TWO

by Kitty Bucholtz

Okay, this has never happened before – three months in a row of writing on the same topic! Shows you how passionate I am, I guess!

So here’s the thing. People are talking about resolutions every January, and that’s fine, but I don’t need any new ones. I just want to keep up with the great writing habits I’ve been forming over 2007. Christmas vacation hampered my efforts, so I was quite willing when a friend said, “Why don’t we do that NaNo thing again in January?”

Within days, fourteen of our friends showed interest in creating a “challenge” group that posted goals and daily accomplishments. I created a new Yahoo Group and an Excel spreadsheet with a graph, and we were off and running.

The main hurdle was that while many were at a place where they were ready to start a new book January 1, many others were brainstorming or editing. So we came up with a point system. For instance, for every scene fully edited, you get 1000 points. For each blog posted on your neglected author web site, you get 200 points. For brainstorming out an entire novel’s premise, you get 1500 points. And of course, you get 1 point for every “new” word written as well.

It’s subjective, and each author gets to decide their goals and the points they believe they should earn. That’s fine because we aren’t competing against each other, but against our January 2007 selves. The goal is to do more than you did last month or last year. And boy, is it working!

One friend whose first book will be published soon, and is contracted for five more, made his goal to be 15,000 new words for the month. In the first three days, he wrote 4267 words! He said he’d never written so many words in three days before!

Many have posted to the group things like, “I only wrote 343 words today. I didn’t ‘have time’ to write at all, but knowing you all were writing spurred me on to do at least something.”

I personally replied to one of those emails saying, “Thank goodness someone wrote only a few words! It’s 5:15pm and I haven’t written anything today, but I know I can write 344 words! Thanks for ‘challenging’ me!”

Today is January 9th, and we should be 29% of the way to our goal. I’m less than 10% of the way there, but call me Seabiscuit. Apparently, I have to see that people are “beating” me in order to come up from behind! I’ve spent many hours creating and managing the group, hours that I could’ve spent writing. But I’m still getting more writing done than I otherwise would have. And I’m encouraging – and being encouraged by – my writing friends to kick off our new year of writing with a big bang. I say, it’s worth it!

Kitty Bucholtz writes romantic comedies because, well, she lives one! She wrote her first book in the NBC cafeteria, the second snowed in at a Reno hotel, and the third from a tiny apartment in Sydney. Even though she loves talking about, writing about, and teaching about writing, she’s pretty sure she knows at least three people who aren’t writers.