Writing Plans And Keeping On Track

Photo by Chad Peltola on Unsplash

As you know my plan this year is to write a book a month.

We’re now into February and I’ve written and published my first book and I’m now working on my second which means I’m writing to schedule, but I want to do better. I want this year to be my most productive.

To that end, I downloaded and read the book ‘How To Write Pulp Fiction’ by James Scott Bell, to find out how the pulp fiction writers wrote over a million words a year. It was an insightful and fascinating read. 

Now I’m reading ‘Wake Up and Live’ by Dorothea Brande which is all about a formula for success that is extremely simple (and has been there all the time but you just couldn’t see it) that can alter every aspect, attitude, and relation of your life, including writing, and it can help to make your writing flow and fast so that you can write more than you ever thought possible.

And all it takes is a shift in attitude and perspective that releases your energy for writing as well as improving every aspect of your life.

This too is a fascinating book. I’m only partway through reading it but already it’s opened my eyes to how wrongly I look at things, and how, without me even realising what is happening, it’s causing me to fail, and doubt myself.

This book was written in the 1930’s but it’s still relevant today. It’s available from the kindle store for as little as 99c. https://amzn.to/3gs6WU4 

I hope your writing plans for 2022 are on track too. But if they’re not, there’s still time to download your own copy of the 12 Month Writing Challenge: Write and Publish 12 Books In a Year.

For a short while you can still get a copy for only $9.99 using the discount code “12mthpromo”. The usual price is $24.99.

So don’t miss out.

https://ruthiswriting/books/12MTH.html 

P.S. The 12 Month Writing Challenge also comes with a free copy of the One Month Author

Why I Hated Writing And What I Did About It

A terrible thing happened when I was writing my latest book. 

I hated writing it.

 

I kept going and finished the first draft, but I wasn’t enjoying the process at all.

 

And as we all know, if you don’t enjoy writing it will always result in bad writing.

 

We can’t hide our feelings from our writing.

 

I sat there dumbfounded, staring at all the useless garbage I’d just written. No matter how many different ways I looked at it there was no way I could save any of it.

 

So what had gone wrong?

 

I realised that I’d written it from the vaguest of outlines and I’d forgotten where I was going with it, so I’d simply ‘winged’ most of it, not even knowing what points I was trying to make along the way.

 

So I scrapped the whole thing, thousands of words and hours of time lost. But it had to be done.

 

I then planned it out, outlined it thoroughly so I’d know exactly what I wanted to say, and rewrote the whole thing.

 

And this time I enjoyed writing it and I managed to finish it in just one week. In fact, I was enjoying working on it so much, I was disappointed when it was finished.

 

No doubt the same thing happens to you sometimes too. You start writing a new book, but you’re not enjoying it and it’s not your best work. Something is wrong and you need to figure out what that is.

 

It may be that you simply need a better plan, a better outline, and clearer direction of what you need to do.

 

Take the time to figure out where you’re going wrong, and get a clear plan of action.

 

 

The 12 Month Writing Challenge: Write and Publish 12 Books in a Year

Use the introductory discount code ‘12mthpromo.’

BONUS copy of The One Month Author

https://cheritonhousepublishing/books/12MTH.hml

 

The One Little Secret That Separates Prolific Writers From Clueless Wannabes

I’ve been a writer for a long time and one thing I love, is having written. Don’t get me wrong, I love to write, but when one of my books is written and published, it’s a great feeling of accomplishment. It also motivates me to do it all over again.

And it’s this immense feeling of satisfaction that prolific writers feel over and over again.

It’s also the feeling that writing wannabes know nothing about.

So is that the difference between a prolific writer and a wannabe?

Nope.

The secret (that is absolutely no secret at all) that separates prolific writers from dreamers, is that the prolific writers write. They not only write, they work.

Writing is what they do for a living. It’s what they spend most of their time doing.

I always think that what makes a writer prolific is that they’re organised. They make time for their writing and they stick to it.

They also know exactly what they’ll be doing before they even sit down.

Their writing plans aren’t just day to day, but year to year, sometimes planning 5 years in advance how many books they’re going to write and how they’re going to expand their writing business over time.

Writing is like anything else in life, in that you can’t get what you want until you know what it is that you want.

So, what if you decided that you want to write 12 books in the next 12 months?

How would you do it?

You’d need a plan. A plan to write, publish, and market a dozen books in a year.

And it all starts with clicking the link below to learn more.

https://cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/12MTH.html

(Use the discount code: 12mthpromo)

Over 200 Writing Markets and a Writing Competition

Here is a list containing over 200 writing markets to choose from, and a play writing competition, to help you earn even more money from your writing.

And when you've finished with the list, go over to https://ruthiswriting.com/books/12MTH.html and use the discount code, 12mthpromo, to download your own copy of The 12 Month Writing Challenge for only $9.99 while this less-than-half-price deal lasts. It's already proving popular.  :)

Happy writing and earning.

Speculative Science Fiction Stories

Proton Reader is a new, not-for-profit speculative & science fiction semiprozine.

Accepting stories ranging from 250 to 15,000 words.

Speculative fiction involves speculating in some form or another (directly, indirectly, metaphorically, etc) about the human condition in the immediate or distant future. 

Prefer stories that use technology over stories that use magic.

Payment: $0.08/word for the first 2,000 words, and $0.02/word after that.

Deadline: Midnight 31st January 2022

https://protonreader.com

The Financial Diet

TFD is “the #1 destination for women to talk about money.”

Looking for pitches of personal essays and experience about money.

No topic is too serious, or not serious enough.

Saving money by going to free yoga meet-up groups is just as valid as hard-learned investment advice. It’s all part of living smarter.

Everyone has a story to tell about personal finance, whether it’s living with six figures of student debt or buying a home at 25.

Pitch via email with Headline idea(s), and a 2-3 sentence description of your proposed article(s).

Article length: 800-1,000 words.

Payment: $250 per article

https://thefinancialdiet.com/write-for-us/

10 Literary Magazines Open to Fiction, Poetry, Essays NOW

Here are ten literary magazines with no firm deadlines open to submissions right now.

These publications want everything from horror, to SFF, to social commentary, to anarchist poetry, to Yiddish humor. The sky's the limit. None charge submission fees and all are paying markets.

https://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com/2022/01/10-literary-magazines-open-to-fiction.html

Playwright Competition

The 2022 Platform Presents Playwright’s Prize. 

An open call for distinctive, dynamic, heart-stopping, extraordinary, wonderful plays.

Plays to be no more than 10,000 words.

The prize includes ongoing mentoring and producing the winning script, as well as the £5,000 cash prize.

Closing Date: 7th March 2022

https://www.nycplaywrights.org/2021/12/2022-platform-presents-playwrights.html

94 Poetry Manuscript Publishers Who Do Not Charge Reading Fees

Most traditional poetry manuscript publishers charge their readers a fee to submit.

This is the longest and most accurate list of poetry manuscript publishers who do not charge fees for online or postal submissions. 

https://authorspublish.com/94-poetry-manuscript-publishers-who-do-not-charge-reading-fees/

Children’s Picture Books

Cardinal Rule Press are accepting unsolicited submissions for children’s picture books that empower children through meaningful stories for readers, age 4-11.

Stories must be realistic fiction, meaning, it could happen in our real world.

Word Count: Up to 1,000 words.

Deadline February 1st, 2022

https://cardinalrulepress.com/submissions/

100 Websites that Pay Writers in 2022

In this list, you’ll find a variety of websites that pay you to write, covering various topics and pay rates.

https://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/websites-that-pay-you-to-write/