Plowing Through Procrastination

By Maureen Bonatch

 

When I read stories full of magic and unique abilities there are many that I’d like to have, although one often comes to mind for the everyday world. That’s the ability to tap into ongoing motivation. 

You know, those days when you wake up and hit the ground running. When nothing can stand in your way from tackling that To-Do list with ease. Those mountains from yesterday suddenly seem like mole-hills—as if you’d drank a magic elixir that made most of your worries disappear.

 

It seems very much like some kind of super power because often the next day, or week, I’ll wake up and that motivation has fizzled away and I’m slumped in a pool of procrastination or weighed down by tasks that seem insurmountable. 

I’m left wondering what caused my motivation to depart and wishing I could’ve bottled that magic elixir full of motivation to draw upon as needed.

 

Bottling Up the Magic

 

Sometimes the only magic elixir necessary might be your morning beverage of choice—coffee here. Other days, it’s just plowing in and hoping that once you get warmed up to the tasks, things will seem easier. 

Other things I’ve found that might affect my productivity can include:

 

Attitude

Perception of the task at hand, and the attitude surrounding it, might make a difference in the ability to complete it with ease. I’ve heard this referred to as starting the day by ‘eating the frog’. I’m not certain how a poor frog came to represent the most undesirable or dreaded task for the day, but the idea is to do the most difficult task first and get it out of the way so the rest of the day goes more smoothly. That way you feel awesome for crossing that big item off your To-Do list!

 

Time of Day

Most of us relate to thinking of ourselves as an early bird, or a night owl, which relates to our most energetic and productive time of day. As an early bird myself, by the end of the day even simple tasks can seem overwhelming. By then I’ve depleted my energy for the day, so I save the most difficult tasks for morning and make the most of my energy at then.

 

Benefits

What’s the benefit of completing this task? If there’s a reward at the end, even if it’s knowing you’ve gotten to the bottom of the laundry pile, it can provide a little motivation. If it’s a routine task that we have to do frequently, often we forget what benefits they might bring. Also the temptation to procrastinate might be stronger depending upon who this benefits. Such as who’s going to notice if I don’t do this? Or we may tend to do more for others than for ourselves.

 

Timeframe

Things such as how long a task takes can play into the desire to get to work. Sometimes a task—such as writing a novel—takes a long time before seeing the result and can make it easy to procrastinate. Although in the end, that makes that timeframe even longer.

 

Taking My Own Advice

 

It’s easy to dish out advice to others, look at their issues, dig into the root of the problem and then offer suggestions to get out of the rut of procrastination, it’s not always so easy to apply those principles ourselves. I procrastinated writing this blog by telling myself I had nothing to write about...because I'd been procrastinating on my writing.

 

 

How Do You Stop Procrastinating and Get Motivated?

 

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter

 

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HALF-EMPTY OR HALF-FULL? By Nancy Gideon

Writers are all about creating convincing and powerful dialog. But do we ever stop to listen to what we’re saying to ourselves in our daily mental conversations?

Self-talk is the constant tape of thoughts and impressions running through our head, over and over, in a never-ending loop. Whether your attitude toward yourself and your surrounding circumstances is optimistic or pessimistic impacts more than your outlook – it can also affect your chance of success, fulfillment, good health and all-around sense of well-being. Maybe it’s time to do some self-editing.

Is your glass half-full or half-empty in your outlook? Listen to your own self-talk. Is it positive or negative?

Negative self-talk sounds like this:

           “I can’t do anything right.”

           “Nothing looks good on me. I’m so fat (thin, old, ugly, short, tall, etc.)”

           “I don’t deserve any better.”

           “I didn’t make my deadline. My career/job is over.”

           “No one else has trouble doing that. I’m such a loser.”

Every time you replay one of these negative phrases, you’re making those irrational misconceptions stronger. Where do these ideas come from? Fear, anxiety, worries, and depression foster negative thinking. We compare ourselves to others until we passive-aggressively blame them for our perceived short-comings. The habit of being overly critical can be something learned during childhood. Poor past experiences can lead to the belief that the past always repeats itself in a never-ending loop of failure. Geez, now I’m depressed . . . Time to break that cycle of defeat.

Negativity breeds these unpleasant habits. If we can recognize them, we can change them. These are the biggest offenders:

Filtering: Instead of feeling good about your accomplishments, you push the positives aside to focus on the seemingly mountainous stack of what’s left to do. That boulder never gets pushed all the way to the top of the hill.

Personalizing: You blame yourself for anything and everything bad that happens, assuming it’s your fault (or narcissistically think every success is owed to your efforts that aren’t being appreciated).

Catastrophizing: You anticipate the worst that can possibly happen in any situation so you can’t enjoy it because you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Polarizing: Things are either good or bad. There is no middle ground. You’re either perfect or a total failure. And how often are any of us perfect?

Writers, because of our isolation, and helped by an enormous creative imagination, can see their career rise or fall because of those consistent(ly wrong) dialogues in our own heads. Advertisers know if we hear the same thing repeated at least three times, it become imprinted upon our memory. Repetition becomes supposed truth. And that truth wins out . . . even if it’s really a self-lie. What have you been saying to yourself?

           “I’ll never be as good as _______.”

           “If I haven’t made a bestseller list by now, I might as well give up. I have no talent.”

           “So-and-so stole that idea from me and now she’s got a six-figure contract. I was robbed!
           I’m so much better than ______. It’s not fair!”

           “My critique group told me my dialog is passive. Who am I kidding? I suck as a writer.”

           “I need to change everything in my WIP and start over because the contest feedback said
           I should change _______ to _______.” (And this replays every time new feedback is
           received . . . and the book – YOUR book – never gets better, just different and remains
           unfinished.)

Sooooo, how can we break this cycle of self-perpetuating self-abuse? In order to deal with negative self-talk, we need to start questioning it. Before we jump to those self-harming conclusions, we need to challenge them, to demand proof. Catch yourself before that autopilot kicks in. Start by not saying anything to yourself that you wouldn’t say to another. Be as gentle and encouraging with your own self as you are with friends and family. When that negative “truth” pops up, evaluate it, see it for what it is, and respond with a positive affirmation or something you’re thankful for. Here are some examples:

• I’ve never done that before. I’ll fail.> I’ve never done that before. How exciting!


• There’s no way this is going to work.> I can find a way to make it work.


• I’m never going to get any better.> What can I learn to help myself do better?


• No one ever talks to me. I’m invisible.> I’m going to walk up and start a conversation.


• This makes me look like a whale.> This is a great color on me.


• I’ll never finish, so why start?> If I start now, I’ll get a jump on things.


• She’s so much better than I am. I hate her.> I’m so proud of her success. She really put in the work and deserves it. I can and do, too.


• There’s no market for what I write. I give up.> I’m going to try something new and save this until the market turns around again.

Building your own self-image through affirming self-talk weakens the hold of negativity. Applaud every small step, every initial success no matter how tiny. “Hey, I wrote 250 words! Yeah, me!!” Even a ‘failure’ is proof that you were brave enough to try and gives you something to build upon. “I submitted a query. They weren’t interested in that story, but I have the opportunity to try again with something else, and have a name to submit to!”

Positive thinking doesn’t mean you ignore or hide from unpleasant situations, but rather you approach them in a more productive way by considering the best outcome rather than the worst-case scenario. And nothing strengthens a positive attitude like using those small successes to pave a wide, dependable path to travel.

Enjoy your journey!

♚♚♚♚♚

Nancy Gideon on the Web

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Where Does Inspiration Come From?

One of the more frequent questions I get from readers as a paranormal romance author is how I came up with the idea for whichever story they're most invested in. What did I start with? The character? The world? The plot?

I know this is different for every author, but for me, almost always, a series starts with a specific scene. However, thinking about it further, it starts even before that.

I am a fan of a good story in just about any format - book, movie, spoken, etc. I love to lose myself in the world and the characters. One of my favorite activities for my imagination is to invent new characters who I plop down into the middle of my favorite stories - just in my head of course. I've thought of a daughter for Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, a love interest for Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series, or just a random person who comes along after the story ends and picks up where things left off. Often I am inspired by several ideas from several sources - mashing them all together to create something different.

As an example, Blue Violet and my Svatura series got started--with several inspiration points. I loved the idea of a shifters in general. I combined that with different people having different shifts (rather than all the same), like the animagus in the Harry Potter series. Next I pulled in Malificent from Disney's Sleeping Beauty--adding a dragon. However, I didn't want anyone with magic to be able to easily figure out how to shift, so it needed to be an inherent ability.

As frequently happens, I then reinvented my initial idea several times using a series of "what ifs". What if my character could do this, or that, or the other? My new character started adding animals to her list of shifts. Because one animal is good, but more animals... better. At first they were all flying animals - I kept the dragon and added a falcon, a hummingbird, and a butterfly.

For those of you who've read Blue Violet, you can probably guess that my character eventually turned into Ellie. She kept the falcon (and maybe the dragon too ;) ) and added a jaguar and a wolf. I mean, if you're going to be able to shift into multiple animals, might as well make them powerful ones. Right?

But just having those awesome morphs wasn't enough for my character. I had to give her something to do with them.  I usually like stories where someone has a bad ass ability that no one else knows about. When they finally reveal that ability, it's a big deal. And that's how the initial scene I mentioned came about. I had my character protecting a group of people she knew but who didn't know what she was. From afar of course. And then she is forced to reveal who/what she is when they are actually attacked.

Can you guess which scene this became in Blue Violet? Yup - the scene where Ellie turns into a jaguar (after being a falcon) and fights the wolves who attack Lila, Adelaide, and Nate.

And that was the start of Blue Violet. From there, I had my own unique world and set of characters who I already loved--they needed their own stories, leading into a full series. But the inspiration came from sources that already sparked my imagination. I found the same situation has happened for each of my series. Ideas floating around that morph into a single scene and the series develop from there.

Authors, what about you? How do you find your inspiration?

**GIFs linked directly from giphy.com

The Actor and Dog off the Chain ~ @MeganSlayer #mmromance #novel #pets #dogs

Odd title for a blog post, right? I know it is. Follow me here. It’ll make sense in a moment.

When I wrote the book, What’s His Passion? Wild Card, I knew I had two strong characters—Kris and Zayn. I knew they were the focus of the book, but side characters can be just as important.

I’m an animal lover. I really am. Having three cats and three dogs, you could say I live in a zoo. You’d be right. When the mailman knocks on the front door, it’s a five-alarm panic. But I love it and this love showed up in Wild Card. Kris is a wounded man. He needs more than a lover. He needs a few friends, too. My dogs are great companions. They don’t talk back—although I’m convinced some of the barking is sassing—not that I mind. They stay beside me when I’m blue and are great for exercise. So how does this match up to Kris? And why would I bring a dog into a story about a gay man in porn?

In Wild Card, Kris lives in a nice private development, but even in the nicest places, wicked people exist. His next-door neighbor has a dog. You’ve probably seen the type—the dog is constantly outside. There’s no grass under the dog house and the circle he runs. Rain, shine, heat, cold…the dog is there. Kris sees a bit of himself in the dog next door. They’re both wounded. The dog needs attention and love. So does Kris.

So Kris’s in porn. He believes he can reach a little higher in life. He believes the same thing for the dog. They’re kindred spirits. The dog is a pit bull, so people think he’s dangerous. He’s actually very sweet and goofy. But out on the chain, he comes across as scary. He really wants attention. Same thing for Kris. People see the porn actor and think he’s dirty or nasty. He’s so much more once someone unlocks his potential.

Here’s an Easter egg for you—the dog is named Nugent. According to the neighbor, he’s named after Ted Nugent. That’s not where I got the name. I’m a huge Cincinnati Bengals fan and the kicker for the team during the writing of Wild Card happened to be named Nugent. The dog is named after a professional athlete. Grin.

Now I have to admit I’m the kind of person who can’t stand to see the dog/cat/etc hurt in a book or movie. For the dog in Wild Card, the feeling was no different. Nugent is a sweet dog. He and Kris as well as Zayn have to have a happy ending. Want to know what the happy ending is? Then you’ll have to read What’s His Passion? Wild Card. I hope you enjoy the love and the dog.

Here’s a little bit about What’s His Passion? Wild Card:

Following his heart and passion will be his biggest role of all.

Kris Hunter wants out. He’s done pornographic films for the last six years. The pay’s been good, but his creativity is nearly dead. His passion is to act and to be a star on the big screen in mainstream films. When he auditions for famed casting director, Zayn Mason, he’s convinced he’s on the right path. He doesn’t want to take the casting couch route to success, but he certainly wants Zayn in his bed. Can he follow his dreams and the man he desires or will forces beyond his control derail his progress?

Zayn Mason sees the potential in Kris. As a casting director, he looks for the right actor to fill the roles in movies. He’s seen plenty of talent come and go, but no one stirs his soul both creatively and physically like Kris. But Zayn knows the pitfalls of the movie industry. Crossing over from porn isn’t easy and Hollywood isn’t always forgiving. Besides, he’s got demons of his own. Can these men get beyond their pasts and find a future together under the bright lights of the silver screen?

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of voyeurism and intimacy with multiple partners.

Paranormal Brainz

I know, you all think I'm writing about zombies, but nope. I am writing about paranormal writer's brains!

Writing speculative romance is the most fun! It is daydreaming, with plot points. How many of us were awful daydreamers as children? Staring into space, thinking of castles instead of doing our long division? Or, in later youth, on a date with a Lost Boy you reformed with your love instead of doing an essay? How many of us 'trained' from childhood to be paranormal writers?How many books, TV shows and movies have we loaded into our brain? Who can stll quote zingers from Buffy or Young Frankenstein?

I know my paranormal love goes back to childhood. Ghost stories were pretty popular when I was young!

Now that we are writers such dreams can turn into the fabric of a story we craft.

Ideas can come from just anywhere. Recently there was a news story about a Russion ship stuck in ice. International ice breakers were off to the rescue, and the first ship to reach them was the Chinese icebreaker, Snow Dragon.

Ohhh. Snow dragon! Alabastor scales glittering in the icy winter light... I feel a character coming on. And they will have baggage, because how hard must it be to be a snow dragon shifter? Or maybe the heroine is a snow dragon--in the middle of LA! Or a single mom finds her adopted child is a snow dragon shifter...the brainstorming begins. Or her child brings home an unusual pet...

Don't you love your job?

I don't actually have time to write that story right now, but I can put the idea in a folder. And I can do a quick web search for a picture. Then one day, I just might write this!

Or maybe one of you will!

Melisse Aires

By Moonlight, a Collection of Paranormal shorts and novellas!

Amazon

Never Give Up, Never Surrender

I’ve been catching up on Glee since …well I think the last episode I watched was Rocky Horror Glee.

It’s been a while.

Anyways, I’ve been catching up with Glee on Netflix.

This week I heard Will Scheuster say this to Finn Hudson

“It’s not the broken dreams which break us. It’s the ones we don’t dare to dream.”

This quote spoke to me on so many levels because this year I made one of my goals come true when I sold to Harlequin.

I absolutely refused to sit there and “let” my dream come to me.

I never wanted to look back and regret it.

Plus the voices in my head wouldn’t let me.

I’m where I am because of hard work and never giving up. Rejections, sure I’ve got them. Any writer worth their salt gets them.

Bad reviews. Yep, got those too and though they sting it’s part of being an author.

I move past them after some chocolate. I don’t lash out.

I hold my head up high and work harder.

And I’m going to keep working hard, bettering myself, learning and becoming an even better author.

This is what I signed up for the moment I decided to become an author. This is what I wanted.

And I hope I write until I drop and it will be a life without regrets.

The point of this little ramble is to hopefully inspire aspiring writers or even just people who are trying to obtain any goal in their life.

Don’t give up the dream because you’re scared. You’ll regret it if you do.

And I’ll leave with a bit of an inspirational song:

You can find out more about Amy here: Website: http://www.amyruttan.com Twitter: @ruttanamy Blog: http://amyruttan.blogspot.com

Inspired By...

Every now and then, we sit down to sift through submissions calls. It’s not often that we actually submit to a particular call—we’re notoriously bad at producing stories on a timeline—but sometimes we’re inspired.

Like we were last month, when we saw a call for “new boss” stories. The obvious path would have been to look at contemporary story concepts, businessmen or blue collar heroes. And that's where we started too. But soon we got to talking about werewolves and pack leaders and regime change...

...and now we’re writing The Mercy Moon.

 We don’t expect to finish it in time for the submission call that inspired it (like we said above, we’re not so great at finishing things to a deadline) but when we do finish it, we plan to send it to the publisher who posted that call. We’re making an educated guess that they’ll still be interested in stories with that theme, even outside the call timeline.

About Us

Anah Crow and Dianne Fox write sci-fi, paranormal, and contemporary queer romance for Carina Press, Samhain Publishing, and Amber Allure. They’ve been writing together for more than 10 years. You can find them on the web at anahcrowdiannefox.com and on Twitter at  @anahcrow and @diannefox.

Writing Under the Influence.

Happy Manic Monday! My vaca is over and I'm off to the grind. Before I go, I want to talk about influences. Thing that make you go 'hmm?' That inspire a story or a character. Non written stuff that cause you to scrible notes on lunch napkins and try to descipher them later on at home.

There's the bad vices, drugs and alcohol, that some authors turn to. I can't go that route, they just make me sleep or write like I'm in kindergarten. Music is used often and one of my strongest influences but I'm want to talk but the weird things. The ones you keep in your closet.

Driving through a horrid snow storm in the mountains, where I live, gave birth to a new vampire. I haven't written her story yet, but she whispers to me. Watching an episode of So You Think You Can Dance last summer started my paranormal adventure in Budapest. Gardening this spring led to thoughts of aliens and brought my new sci-fi novella which I am presently working on.

What odd inspirations have you experienced? What did it make you write?