writing Archives - Jan Cline

“I’m done,” he said.

My husband has been a farmer for 34 years. He has worked very hard at his profession. I’ve been encouraging him to retire. I continued to hear, “one more year.” Then we would make time to travel.

Then one day, he came home, took off his boots and announced he was ready at last.

Just like that.

But he was worried about what to do with his time. I wasn’t. I mentally pulled out my honey-do list and sighed. “I wouldn’t worry about not having things to do.”

So, we put our lake cabin up for sale and bought a nice 5^th wheel.

Isn’t that what everyone does?

Talk about whirlwind life change. I had been so settled into the idea of “one more year”, that I hadn’t really thought through how life might evolve. We have a new home, a boat, a cabin, a trip to NC once a year to see our daughter, soccer games for grandkids, and farming in between. That was it. Plenty. More than most people.

We were grateful. And still are. And grateful to be done.

Now my husband has the bug to travel. As I write this we are nestled in the woods at an RV park in beautiful Montana, enjoying the peace and quiet, taking naps, walking the dog, and doing whatever we feel like doing. No schedule, no worries except how and when to plan the next trip. On our list is Mount Rushmore, Gold Beach, CA, Fort Stevens, WA, and Yellowstone. Maybe not all right away, but, you know.

I guess this is retirement. I hope I have time to write.

Are any of you retired? How did you handle it?

Blessings and safe travels!

Jan

It’s Where You Belong

by Jan Cline 1 Comment

You belong there. Pick up where you left off. Begin again. Start over. Get back to doing what you were doing when you quit doing what you were doing.

I hear these words so often in my head, and sometimes I blow them off as meaningless. I have done all the above so many times, what’s the use? You may have asked yourself the same thing a time or two.

But if my brain is continuing that driving drone, there must be a reason.

The reason, I’ve come to know, is that trying to deny your purpose in life, trying to avoid what you have been given to do, isn’t worth the struggle. Your brain, and most likely your heart, have figured it out. It’s your bruised ego that has yet to surrender.

I have no ego, you may say. Yeah, I used to say that a lot too. Yes you do, just as I do.

The reality of life is that we don’t like to fail, stumble, waver, be a fool, or sit at the bottom of the success ladder when it comes to our talents and gifts. It’s hard to keep plugging away, standing below those who are near the top rung of that ladder you love so much.

Our egos take many hits when we are striving to achieve a place in a field where there is so much competition. I have learned that the writing/publishing world is highly competitive and therefore has the potential to become my source of discouragement instead of my favorite place to be. I know in my head that comparing myself to others in the field is only going to hold me back. It’s the beckoning crook of my ego’s finger that gets me every time.

What’s the cure for this common disease?

How do you get back to where you belong?

Tell your ego to take a hike – a back seat to the truth. The truth is that if you keep going back to it, you are probably doing what you were designed to do. Can’t stop picking up that paint brush? Keep pulling out that computer to jot down a story idea? Is the five lines on that blank music paper still calling you? Putting up with some discomfort, discouragement, disillusionment, and fear is the price for being on the chosen list. I’d rather be chosen to be or do something than spend my life being or doing something I’m not supposed to do at all.

Time to get back to doing what you were doing when you stopped doing what you were designed to do.

Keep reaching,

Jan

Do You Work Without A Net?

by Jan Cline 2 Comments

April 14, 2016

Even trapeze artists occasionally fly without a net. They risk their lives, trusting their skills and training to keep them from falling. I’ve often wondered at what point did they roll up the net and fly free without something to catch them if they miss the bar.

How good do they have to be before they trust their instincts and talents?

I’ve been learning some news things through my recent book launch and subsequent planning of another book. One is that I learned more about writing than I thought I had. All I have absorbed during the studying of the craft, the coaching, and the workshops and classes, is finally starting to show in my writing.

The foundation has been laid, and the house of prose I’m building is on pretty steady ground. But I also stand ready to add another strengthening layer to it when I can.

Sure, I will still make mistakes, and I have a way to go before I write a GREAT book. But I’m ready to take down the net.

What is my net? It’s a tightly woven fabric made of several things.

Rules of structure and method.

While plotting, structuring, and planning are good things, trying to conform too much to them only kept me constrained and a bit frustrated. I had to find a happy medium of joy riding and sticking to the map of novel writing. My nature is to write by the seat of my pants. Tempering that with some structure allows me to fly free.

Fear of never being good enough.

Repeat after me: I will get better.

I’m a work in progress and so is my writing. It’s okay to not be a best-selling author. I do the best I can, knowing I will improve with practice – just like anything else I do. What is important is that I am NOT afraid to learn something about myself in my stories and then pass that along to my readers. Then it doesn’t matter if my writing is perfect, it’s usable, and I am usable.

Self-imposed unrealistic writing schedules.

I have a busy life. Yeah, yeah, so does everyone. I’m no spring chicken (sorry for the cliche) and I have an auto-immune disease that cuts into my productivity. I have to give myself permission to be less productive than the prolific writer I really want to be like. It is what it is, and by expecting too much of myself, my creativity takes a hit.

So, while I know that I need to rely on a safety net from time to time, I am hoping to drop it often enough to discover my best voice, hone my natural talents, and feel the freedom of the breeze in my hair as I fly through the air of writing my next novel.

What is your safety net? Do you feel you’re ready to let go of it?

Like the trapeze flyer….

Keep reaching!

Jan

Navigation Pane as Promised

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In my last post 5 Editing Tools I Use, I mentioned using the Navigation Pane in MS Word. Here is an explanation of how it has helped me.

Note: This tool will not help you much if you have a separate document for each chapter in the book you’re writing. It is most helpful to those of us who have a continuous manuscript in one document. I used to separate my chapters to have their own document, but it drove me crazy to try and find certain characters or pieces of story when I needed to. So I went back to one document and began to use the Navigation tool.

Now I can see as I go what is happening in what chapter or scene because I make notes at each chapter and scene change. All I need to do to maneuver through the manuscript is to click on the chapter heading or scene subheading in the pane.

I just learned about the feature from my friend and fellow writer, Suzanne Kuchynka. She is the master of organization and tools to do that with your plotting and writing. I’m not one to go to great lengths to be organized, but I do like using this tool in at least a minimal way. You may want to take it to it’s full level. I’m just going to share how I use it. Simple as it is, it really helps me keep track of my story as I write.

You will find the Navigation pane toggle under the VIEW tab in the menu at the top of your document.

(It’s the same thing you see when you click on “Find” to search for a word in your document.)

Simply click in the box and it will bring up a sidebar.

When I start a new chapter, I title it, i.e. Chapter Two, and then assign it as Heading 1 in the Styles bar that shows up in the Home tab.

If I put any subtext under the chapter title, I assign it as Heading 2.

You do this by highlighting the Chapter Two or Scene 1 and then clicking on the Heading you want it to have.

Here is an example of what mine looks like:

When I click on any of the headings in the Navigation Pane, it goes to that place in my manuscript.

Under the Heading 2, I usually put the scene number, word count of that scene, and a little description of what happens in that scene.

If you click in the Nav. Pane on Pages, it will give you a view of all your pages.

I know there are other uses for this tool. Here are a couple links for tutorials:

Tutorial One

Tutorial Two

I plan to take some time soon and dive deeper into this feature. I hope you are finding your own tools to make your writing and editing easier.

Happy Navigating!

Jan

3 Easy Ways to Stay Overwhelmed

by Jan Cline 6 Comments

As a writer, I find that nothing prevents my fingers from tapping on those little black keys more than feeling overwhelmed. I had planned on a leisure, uncomplicated summer. But I haven’t been able to break some old habits and allow myself the altitude I hoped for – time and space to finish another writing project.

So just in case you don’t come by it naturally like most humans, I thought I would pass on some wisdom on the subject of being perpetually overwhelmed with writing, responsibilities, and life in general.

I find that if you follow these simple steps, you can maintain a state of turmoil, panic, disorganization, and disappointment for the better part of each day.

1. Take yourself very, very seriously. Believe everything you think as it pops into your head. Know that you are probably right about everything and make sure those around you understand this. Make sure you are staying in charge, and keep telling yourself there is no need to listen to others’ opinions. This is a very effective device to keep you barely afloat in the ocean of life.

2. Always say yes. No request is too big – no task too much for you. After all, there are so few people in the world who can do things as well as you can, and you have an unending supply of time to spare. Deadlines? Scoff at them! Sleep? Who needs it! You are there to save the day and everyone in your world should know about it.

3. Forget about your obligation to be and do what God designed for you to be and do. He will understand. You can repay all His grace and mercy when you get everything else done. Actually, you probably have some pretty good ideas of what your life really should look like, and God will warm up to the idea if you just keep proving yourself.

Now, just keep following these simple guidelines and you’ll be overwhelmed in no time. Isn’t that what a good wife, mother, grandmother, writer, professional, Christian is supposed to be?

The world, our ego, our pride, and even our dreams tell us that’s true. Maybe it’s time to listen to our broken spirits, aching hearts, throbbing heads, and that small, still voice we have crowded out with the noise of our own voice.

What other ways can you suggest to stay overwhelmed? Have a particular thing that is keeping you from acquiring enough peace to write that book, go on that vacation, take a nap?