Category: Writing Tips

My Favorite Writing Tool

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips3 Comments

I am the king of Post-it notes. They are on my wallet, my cell phone, and there is one on my computer now. Somehow, I always find myself with a billion ideas and no way to collect them all.

Sure, I could put them in a note book and squint at them later or store them in a word file or Google document that I’ll never open, but I wanted to SEE them. I wanted to be able to lay them down side by side and also track my writing progress.

Thus enter my favorite writing tool – my white board.white-board-1206708-m

My wife was at the office supply store and discovered they were wicked cheap and on sale. I’d love a nice frosted glass, trendy one, but I’d also like to not change my one year olds’ diapers. I have to understand what is necessary and what is me just wanting a cool new toy.

The reality is that having that writing software/tool is not going to make me better. Working hard consistently is. And now I have a place to keep track of my progress and flesh out ideas thanks to my wonderful bride.

I’ve hung the white board next to my bed so I can review tasks every day before I go to sleep and remind myself of upcoming goals and deadlines. I can also gaze at it as I doze off and make a mental note to get up early and get to work.

What is your favorite writing tool? How do you stay organized and on top of your tasks?

Cheers,

Bob

For Me, Failure Begins In The Morning

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Jon Acuff, Morning person, Morning ritual, Quitter, Start, Waking up, Writing time, Writing TipsLeave a comment

It starts as a whisper.

“Daddy, I need some orange juice.”

I look over to see my three year old daughter Clara trying to be politely quiet as she wakes me from my all too short slumber. It is then I realize that I hit either hit the snooze button or turned it off and I get up with her to watch Wild Kratts and snuggle.

I cherish my time with my kids but I kick myself for being too good intention-ed. I always mean to wake up earlier, which means, I meant to go to bed earlier. I can’t seem to choose either so I choose end up choosing neither.Sunrise

Jon Acuff writes in one of his books (Either Quitter or Start) that it is best to pursue your passion in the morning. I agree. But I also hate him for this.

When I write in the morning I carry the euphoric thrill of having chased my dream. This in turn fuels my day job. There have been many times that I am too mentally drained and plain tired from work to chase my dream at night. Then I make up some stupid mental agreement like – “Yeah but I’ll write 1000 words in the morning!” Which is usually followed by mental cursing because I read until 12:30am by accident.

All of this starts by not making my morning quiet time/writing time a priority. Thus a failure. But this constant failure and striving I hope to beat my body into submission where it is no longer a chore to rise early.

How do you create that writing time friend?

What tricks have you used to, er, trick yourself into your morning writing routine?

Until tomorrow morning…

Cheers,

Bob

Worldbuilding 101- Let’s Build a World Together

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips9 Comments

One of the best parts about living in a city with several bookstores and publishers is that there are a lot of readers and writers. I was connected with a group that loved to write and from our writers group the Wealkings Jot – the free one night writer’s conference, complete with presenters and workshops – was born.

Jot 5 is Friday, March 13th from 7-11pm follow this link for details.

Every time this event comes around I am equally thankful and thrilled that we have such a vibrant community of writers in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I get incredibly charged up (nearly bursting with energy, literally) and my well of creativity is filled to the brim and over.

This Jot I will be leading a workshop on Worldbuilding.World Building

For those of you unfamiliar with the term worldbuilding, it’s exactly like it sounds – laying a foundation for a story.

Worldbuilding is about the climate not the weather. It’s about your character’s clothes and why they dress a certain way. It’s the reason your character has his or her job, or why they don’t have one. It’s the history, the accents, and how their community came to be. It is different from a setting as it is constantly interacting with the characters that are traversing your pages.

For some, this might sound like a horrible nerdy topic but it’s essential to any work of fiction. If you do not know about the age, values, and traditions which reach deeply into the people we are creating, we lose the richness. It’s about depth and this vastness is essential to writing believable stories.

I plan on a micro introduction to worldbuilding and then working together with those who attend my workshop to build a world from the bottom up. I’m sure I’ll write more about this as Jot 5 gets closer but until then please save the date.

Cheers,

Bob

Start Your New Year’s Resolution Today

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing TipsLeave a comment

Any goal of significance takes a lot of planning. It matters and therefore making it the best ____ means we must plan well, consider, honestly, how we might accomplish it day to day, and why we are doing it.

Now is the time when I begin to reflect on the past year.

Did I accomplish my goals? If so, cheers.Calendar

If not, why didn’t I complete a particular goal?

Usually it is because of three things.

  1. I failed to plan properly
  2. It was poorly executed
  3. In the end I realized it was not important.

Now is also the time when I begin planning for the next year. I don’t do well with halfhearted attempts at anything. They almost always result in failure. How about you, do you plan to run a 25K? Write a book? Travel to another country?

If you have goals don’t wait to begin the planning process until 2015. Plan right now. Gain some momentum and excitement about whatever it is you want to do so are ready to go when the calendar turns to the New Year.

Cheers,

Bob

 

Not Making Plans Is Still Making Plans

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips2 Comments

Last week I made no plans to write, I just knew I was going to do it.

You know what I did, don’t you?Television

I watched three NHL games, a documentary on Oak Island (seriously cool), and one on Native American giants. Of course I didn’t watch all of these in one sitting, but the fact is I didn’t make plans to write, so that is exactly what I did. I squandered my free time. It was out there in some nebulous, free flowing time slot which was never filled and I felt miserable for it.

If you’ve wanted to complete a project around your house and just have not gotten around to it, I am sure you can relate. If we don’t make plans, whatever it is we long to do or need to do won’t happen.

Today? I made a mental note. I was going to write before I went to bed. No matter how tired or mentally drained I was, it was going to happen and here we are.

This blog is nothing monumental, but it is. Commitment is one thing. Planning and following through on our commitments another.

If you are a writer and have not written this week, take a moment and schedule some time.

There. Now keep that appointment.

Cheers,

Bob

Do Things Differently

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips1 Comment

As a novelist I waver between the thrill of a new project and the arduous work of finishing the novel – blog – article – short story – etc. An idea strikes, I love it, test it, and it’s time to write it. But, soon, this new project becomes work and once that transition occurs, it can be very easy to give up.

If you find yourself in the blah mode about your current project there really is only one thing you can do (No, not quit, because you learn by finishing). You must change things up.

Write from 10pm to 4am.

Take a day off of work to write.

Go to a bookstore or library

Get up at 3 am and write

This could probably work for anything.

Feeling distant from your spouse? Send the kids to school, then both take the day off and spend some time together. Novels and stories are like this. They require time and dedication but also fun and spontaneity.

If you are struggling with your novel (or relationship), do something different. Write in a new place, get up at 6 am, write daily, and look for a new rhythm.

Cheers,

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Writing Characters Your Readers Will Love to Hate

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips2 Comments

I like most real people. I don’t often have day dreams of killing anyone. But if you asked me about Thomas from Downton Abbey or Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter or The Governor from the Walking Dead, my blood boils.

I keep waiting for them to get hit by a car or a spell or turned into a zombie! I mean come on already!

I know I’m a horrible person. But aren’t the writers of these books and shows genius?

There you are, hoping for something to happen to the character you love and cherish, and suddenly so and so knows your character’s dark secret or shady past and they can use it to their advantage. Your audience groans (maybe even throws your book! That would be grand, eh?).

This is the power of good fiction. This is the unfortunately life of the characters your readers will love. Inevitably, maybe even for reasons beyond their favorite character’s control, a bad dude gets to have power over them or even have their day.

This is the fun part. This is why your readers will keep reading. What will happen next? Will this greasy or terrible person use this nugget of power now or will they hold onto it and use it when the moment is best for them and worst for the character your audience roots for?

This is why I keep reading and watching.

This is why your audience will too.

Write these villains well.

Cheers,

Bob

 

Excuses – And Why They’re Your Fault

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips3 Comments

I can think of a billion reasons why I have not sold a novel or taken over the literary world. Is it because I am bad? Lazy? I don’t think so. It’s because I constantly throw stupid hurdles in my path just like you.

They’re called excuses.

  • I’m too tired.
  • The yard needs raking.
  • I don’t have a good idea yet.
  • I’m waiting for inspiration to strike!
  • I have to do laundry.
  • I can never been like xyz writer. So why bother?
  • I’m bad at grammar.
  • I’m not smart enough.
  • My novel is terrible.
  • I just don’t have enough/adequate time.
Leaves
A picture of someone else’s backyard. I’m too ashamed to show my own.

Some of these are responsibilities. You should see my yard. It needs raking.

But why is it so easy to create this list?

I believe, if we are honest, we are the ones permitting ourselves to stop pursing our dreams. Whether you want to be a novelist or news anchor, it’s so much easier making excuses or finding other things to do.

But if it is the thing we love, the thing we long for and maybe even hold inside because we are too worried about what people with think or say if we uttered it aloud, we must stop this excuse business. Stop it now.

It’s up to you my friend. Are you going to keep making excuses or go and get the life you want?

Me?

I’m going to publish books.

Cheers,

Bob

ROE And Why Writers Should Care About It

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips2 Comments

I don’t like acronyms. If you tell me you went to DRT to learn YUR, you might see my eyes glaze over and be given a polite excuse that my phone is ringing or my house is on fire.

Okay, I’m not that much of a jerk, but I don’t like acronyms for their exclusivity and lack of description.

So why am I talking about ROE? If you’ve read any books by James Scott Bell recently, you are probably clear on why, as a writer, keeping ROE in mind is important. If not, let me induct you into the group. Here’s the Kool Aid.

If you are in the business world you might be aware of its cousin – ROI – Return On Investment. How much you expect to get back for your efforts/investment. ROE – Return On Energy is just as important to the time-strapped novelist.

Time is our enemy. We scramble to cobble together three minutes to whittle a sentence or two and hope it doesn’t have a lot of adverbs. We must be intentional with all of our time and projects to ensure our efforts are productive and we get the proper ROE.

So how do you ensure you are getting the proper ROE? Good question.

I firmly believe in writing when you have the time, not meandering around Facebook/Pintrest or throwing together a writing playlist. You sit down and write on your novel/article/blog post. All of this screen time and usage of time is making sure you are getting the proper return on the energy spent. This means keeping your end goal in mind and working towards it.

Sometimes you must leave a bit of editing and move forward with your work or plotting your book for the eighth time, so you don’t veer off course like an errant firework. Maybe it’s simply taking time away from marketing and blogging and actually work on your next project.

Whatever this might mean for you writer, keep writing and keep aiming. Keep searching for the best Return On Energy.

See, I still can’t do acronyms.

Cheers,

Bob

A Prolific Writer

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips3 Comments

The writing advice on this blog is learned from my own experience and failures. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I treat my writing. Am I a slave to it? Do I treat it like a job, as it should be, because I want to do it as a career?

I listened to an interview by James Scott Bell recently and I think it would be helpful for you to hear from him as well. I posted it below. If you have not heard of him he is a best-selling thriller writer. He also has written several books for Writer’s Digest about the craft. I suggest visiting the library and reading a few of them if you want to strengthen your fiction.


Write well today my friends.

Cheers,

Bob