Writer Mama Riffs on Raising A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids

Have you heard about Debbie? Not only is she a talented writer, she’s also a terrific illustrator. I especially love her comics!

Check out this one she did about writer mamas. And while you’re there check out this one on juggling virtual life with real life.

AND—oh this is too great and just my cup of tea—Debbie has pulled together a terrific list of holiday gifts for writers.

You simply must check it out. Here’s a bit more about Debbie from her “About” page:

Debbie Ridpath Ohi is a freelance writer and illustrator based in Toronto. She’s author of The Writer’s Online Marketplace (Writer’s Digest Books), and was also the creator/editor-in-chief of Inkspot. You can find more information about her in her personal homespace or my workspace.

In the February issue of Writers on the Rise, Kristin Bair O’Keeffe illuminates the technique of compare and contrast for writers, briefly and thoroughly.

If you are stuck with whatever you are writing, stop and try this quick and easy trick. It really doesn’t matter what genre you are working in, this technique is helpful whether it’s a feature article, a novel, or even a poem.

I’ll let Kristin, an seasoned writing instructor, take it from here…

Shanghai vs. Beijing: Compare and Contrast

I am doing some housecleaning today…on my websites and blogs.

I’ll tell you what, there are a lot of tasks that are website and blog-related that I find fun. The kind of stuff I am doing today (transferring data) does not fall under the “fun” category.

But there are some real bright spots. Like this short article, “Pitch it Good” by Abigail Green that comprehensively answers the question: “How do I pitch my article ideas?”

If I were you, I would turn it into a checklist (like some that I offer in Writer Mama) and use it to check your work before you submit.

Need more help than this with query writing? Sign up for my Pitching Practice Class that begins on August 15th. In it, you’ll write six queries in six weeks and, as a result, you will master the art of pitching…your way, not according to a rote form.

Okay, I’m not allowed to blog any more until I get this drudgery done. Back I go. Pinching my nose…

There should be a winking smiley face at the end of that title so you’ll know this is all very tongue in cheek.

However…I have proof.

A study of 72 married couples from Iowa found that wives, on average, exhibit greater situational power — in the form of domineering and dominant behaviors — than their husbands during problem-solving discussions, regardless of who raised the topic. All of the couples in the sample were relatively happy in their marriages, with none in counseling at the time of the study. (“Quick Look” at the study.)

Call it a  “family meeting,” call it “a sit-down talk,” call it whatever you want to call it. If you want to fight for your time to write, you now have a study that’s got your back.

Of course, I had it all along. But your husband doesn’t even want me to come over.

Well, I have just finished reviewing the 2007 Willamette Writer’s Conference schedule and I all I can say is, “WOW!”

If you are a writer in the Pacific Northwest, simply put, you do not want to miss this learning and career-growing opportunity.

In fact, if I had to say what has made the biggest difference in my writing career, ever, I would have to give credit to my membership and participation in Willamette Writers and the Willamette Writer’s Conference.

As a member, I go to informative monthly meetings, keep tabs on the all the latest publishing industry breaking news, keep up with local goings on via weekly e-mail announcements, and get to enjoy hanging out with new and old writer buddies!

I write a column on platform development for the monthly newsletter, which is a valuable resource for both traditionally published and self-published writers.

As a presenter at the conference, I get to give workshops, critique manuscripts, have a signing for Writer Mama, hang out at the Writer’s Faire with fellow authors, meet attendees, spend time with awesome folks from the publishing industry (like Writer’s Digest Books Writer Mama editor, Jane Friedman) and so much more.

I think that the organizers of this year’s conference deserve a standing ovation!

And this year, Retrofit Films will be making a documentary film of the agent and editor pitching process! How totally awesome. I can’t wait to see it!

If you are thinking about coming but you are on the fence for any reason, all I can say is:

Do not miss the Willamette Writer’s Conference.

You’ll thank me later.

And if you are not in Portland or the Pacific Northwest, I suggest that you find a writer’s conference near you OR make plans now to be here for next year’s Willamette Writer’s Conference.

And be sure to look me up if you come.

It’s Sarah Ban Breathnach’s birthday and she’s giving away this awesome poster:

Ten Authentic Truths to Live By

I love it. So I’m sharing it will all of you.

You can download it here.

One of my favorite lines is:

“The more risks you take, the luckier you become.”

That is so very true. At least, I have found it to be true.

Check it out! And let Mother’s Day week begin!

I stumbled across this post and it was so kind that I had to share it:

http://deanaland.blogspot.com/2007/04/writer-mama.html

Also I REALLY like seeing a plug for Writer Mama right next to a BESTSELLER.

See Writer Mama here and help me imagine it next to The Secret on the bestseller list!

(Isn’t that what The Secret is about? I haven’t read it…but hopefully this summer.)

http://www.mommytoo.com/inthisissue.htm

Thanks, Deanaland blog and Mommy Too Magazine!

Dan Barden has written a hilarious essay that appears in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers. It’s called “Writer As Parent: No More Aching To Be An Artist” and it appears in the “The Literary Life” column.

I laughed, I nodded along, I read quips out loud to my husband. Barden sums up much of the parent-writer perspective with all the appropriate irony and humor. I love it! I’m going to keep it handy for what Elizabeth Lyon calls “blue days.”

It’s so good, I wish I could reprint it here. But instead, I’ll just tease you with my favorite excerpt:

I expect to be paid for my work because, to put it quaintly, baby needs new shoes. I also engage in a lot less of what my wife calls “aching to be an artist.” That kind of self-torture has never been particularly productive for me, and these days it just seems silly.

At last, a cure for creative self-torture. Just add baby and you’re cured!