Category: Notes

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Thanksgiving writing

Thank you!

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks and what better way to do that as a writer than in a well composed thank you note?

We thought it would be nice, on this day of all days, to revisit the age old tradition of writing a personal thank you note. There are many occasions that call for a note of gratitude, such as, when you receive a gift or are treated to some kind of hospitality or kindness.  In every case, the following are some basic elements to include for a well rounded, thoughtful thank you note.

1. Depending on how close you are to the recipient, open with “Dear [name]”, then continue the letter by thanking them for the gift, hospitality or kindness offered.

2. The second sentence or part of the letter should give some elaboration of your enjoyment or use of the gift.

3. If you’ve been out of touch for a while, it could be nice at this point in the letter to share a little news. This is not a necessary part of the basic thank you note, but close family or friends who live far away and don’t hear from you all the time might appreciate a short update.

4. A strong closing sentence or paragraph should include a sentiment of looking forward to seeing or speaking to the recipient, especially if a reunion or holiday is approaching. Mentioning “thank you” again is also nice to emphasis the point of the letter and bring it full circle.

5. End with a personal phrase like “love”, “best wishes” or even “thanks again”. Try to avoid closing with “sincerely yours” as it sometimes comes across as too formal.

With that, here is our thank you note to you. We really wouldn’t be where we are today without you. So thanks again and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading our blog. Your comments and feedback are so encouraging and much appreciated! We are very touched that we can share our passion for writing with you and that we can grow together in our craft. We look forward to sharing more with you as we continue to learn and explore the writing life!

Thanks again and we’ll talk to you soon!

Sarah & Daytona

 

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Paralyzed

Have you ever had so many things to do that you didn’t know where to start? Lately that’s been happening to me in terms of writing. I’ve had so many ideas swirling in my head that I just didn’t know what to write down first! I felt literally paralyzed.

Earlier this week I decided to grab my notebook and pour my brain out onto the page. It was hard. I stuttered. I strained. Finally, I had a list started. Why was that so difficult?

It is like a new breed of writer’s block. For me, in this case, it was matter of organization and worrying about capturing every little thought before it got pushed out by another. I was so afraid I’d forget something that my brain was blocked up with everything trying to get out the door at once.

Shower crayons can be a writer’s best friend.

After I took a breath and looked at my list, I started thinking of ways that might make the ‘un-blocking’ process easier.

1. Talk to a friend. If you are unsure where to start, see what idea seems to be swimming at the surface. What topic do you find yourself talking about the most?

2. Read. Read. Read. Your subconscious has a way of letting you know what is most important. Start reading and as you find your mind wandering, jot down a key word or phrase to capture that thought and get back to reading. Do this every time your mind strays from the text. After you’ve finished a couple chapters, look at your list and see what themes emerge. Pick the primary theme as your starting place.

3. Purchase shower crayons. I love these! You can often find them in the toy or stationary aisle of your local store (or on Amazon of course). The shower is often my think tank and it really helps to be able to write down ideas they second they pop into my head.

4. Go for a walk. Fresh air and blood circulation really help untangle all the ideas bumping around the brain. Bring a notebook of course and before you know it you may be perched on  the curb, jotting everything down.

5. Go somewhere. Sometimes it’s a matter of getting out. At N&C we are huge advocates of finding inspiration in all kinds of places. Check out some of our Destination Inspiration locations for ideas of where to go to unclog your brain.

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Back to basics with Children’s books

I love stories. As a new mom and a writer, I couldn’t wait to introduce my little boy to books. Now my heart swells with joy as I see how he has graduated from chewing on the covers to giggling as he turns the pages and points to the pictures. As I read to him I’m taken back to my childhood with the sweetness of some favorite stories. A mouse hiding a strawberry, a little bear waiting for a goodnight kiss, a curious monkey, a little bunny saying goodnight to the moon, or a boy who becomes king of the wild things.

These stories are simple, sweet and have more in common than just pulling our nostalgic heart strings. I couldn’t help but make some comparisons to see how I might add something to my own writing.

However you feel about children’s books, as a writer they stand as a great reminder that it can be a good thing to scale back to the basics of your story. Here are some tips on plot and structure based on children’s books.

What makes a children’s book a children’s book is the simple concepts, limited characters and usually one main message…oh, and of course lots of pictures!

Several characters, multiple settings, emotional story arcs, messages and themes, layers upon layers of plot and sub plots. Adult reading can sometimes get cumbersome. Here’s a few steps to take it back to the basics:

1. Pick one purpose and stick to it. Kiddos at this age (0 – 3) don’t have the capacity or attention span to follow multiple story lines.

2. Limit your characters. There’s a reason there are only 3 bears. Too many main characters = too hard to follow!

3. Bright, simple colors and lots of pictures! Don’t weigh your story down with text.

4. Everything is black and white. The real world may have grey areas, but not for kids.

5. Bad guys never win.

So here’s what it boils down to, simple plot, simple characters, simple writing. While this may not apply to your current novel (which I assume will have many complex characters and twisty, turny, curvy plots and sub plots), it’s a great way to start the bones of your next story. Before developing your next plot, try outlining it in children’s book form, meaning, giving it a beginning, middle and end and have no more than three characters and one message to start. Once you have the skeleton laid out, you can put meat on his bones with more gown up text. But remember, we all start as babies, maybe it could help to let our stories start the same way!

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Nooks & Cranberries is back!

It’s good to see you! It’s been too long. We’ve missed you over the past year, but the good news is that 2012 is the year of Nooks & Cranberries’ return. After hibernating for a good part of 2011, your foodie writer friends, Sarah and Daytona, are back and hungrier and more inspired than ever.

2011 was the most amazing year for both of us, and since we’ve been absent so long, we feel we owe you an explanation: We both had babies! We’re both enjoying our new roles as mothers, and now that the pregnancy fatigue is behind us and we’re getting the hang of raising children, we’re back to writing. There’s no doubt the writing life will look different for us now that we have kids, but we’re excited for what the future holds and look forward to sharing our experiences and what we learn with you.

What to expect from Nooks & Cranberries in 2012 and beyond:

  • More great Destination Inspiration articles showcasing writing-friendly nooks
  • Quick Tips on craft and the writing life
  • Mouth-watering recipes to fuel your creativity in Writer’s Kitchen
  • Interviews with writers across genres
  • And whatever else suits our fancy… and yours! If you have a question about writing or a topic you’d like to suggest, write to us! We’d love to hear from you. While you’re at it, take a moment to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or RSS so you never miss a post!
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Scraps

Forget spring cleaning. I’m doing a pre-Christmas sweep of the house, trying to organize the odds and ends and simplify as much as possible. Tonight that means sorting through old papers, filing some and disposing of others. It’s tedious and I’m looking forward to it being over. But in the meantime, here are the three best parts of the job:

  • Being kept company by the cat, who has made a bed out of the cardboard box filled with recyclables
  • Rediscovering music I used to listen to, which is a fun blast from the past
  • Finding notes on scraps of paper

Regarding that last item, I just found a scrap with notes I appear to have jotted down in 2004. They’re for a writing exercise. They go like this:

Sit in a public place. Watch people’s behavior, appearance, speech. Write down character adjectives that come to mind. Write down specific details that led you to those conclusions.

I couldn’t remember where the exercise came from so I did a quick internet search and, sure enough, it’s paraphrased from Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute. Once upon a time I thought it was worth remembering, and then I forgot about it–and Clark’s great writing tips. Thank goodness for found scraps of paper!

What scribbled treasures do you have scattered around your workspace?

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Daily Writers’ Fix: December

Dear fellow writers,

What a lovely autumn we’ve had here in Seattle: long sunny days, brisk yet bright mornings, and finally even a little early snow! I hope you’ve enjoyed the daily inspiration with our Daily Writers’ Fix posts. Now that December and the holiday season is upon us, I’m going to take a break from the daily posts and do them sporadically as they come to mind. You still have over two months’ worth of inspiration, so I doubt you’ll find any excuse for writer’s block this month. However, in the odd case that you run through all the prompts more quickly than I’m posting new ones, please let me know. Otherwise, Daily Writers’ Fix will be back soon.

In the meantime, happy writing, happy holidays, and Merry Christmas!

Daytona

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NaNoWriMo: A Goal Met!

Whew, I just reached the 50,o00 word mark this evening, completing the NaNoWriMo challenge this year. As I mentioned yesterday, it was a close call, with over 10,000 words–a fifth of the total–to go with just over 24 hours left to write. But I made it!

I won’t say my prose is beautiful, or even good enough to share, but the outcomes were similar to what I had hoped one month ago (italics from one month ago):

  • Establishing a good new writing habit: I learned that writing a novel, even in large volumes such as this month, doesn’t have to take up a ridiculous amount of time. I can still find a writing-life balance.
  • Completing a draft–albeit a very rough one–of the novel I have partially outlined, which will reveal weaknesses in the plot and characters at an early stage of the writing and editing process: I hardly scratched the surface of my deadline, but I did get to know my characters better and helped to solidify parts of the plot!
  • A lot of fun! It was fun, especially when scheduling time to write with friends!

Did you participate in NaNoWriMo this year? If not, I’d encourage you to next year! It was definitely a worthwhile endeavor, and a lot of fun.

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NaNoWriMo – Yes or No?

It’s 8:45 p.m. here in Seattle, which means there’s barely over 24 hours left before National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, ends. It hardly seems like it’s already been a whole month since I started the 50,000 word writing challenge. Tonight my word count stands at 39,125, leaving me with 10,875 words to write to meet the goal. Will I? Or will I not? Right now I’m not sure, but in any case participating in NaNoWriMo has helped to kickstart my stalled novel and reestablish writing as one of my top priorities. Whether I meet the deadline or not, it’s been a productive exercise. If you’re doing NaNoWriMo this year, how is your progress coming?

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Countdown to NaNoWriMo

Wow, it’s already October 29. Can you believe autumn is already in full swing? The last few weeks have flown by, and NaNoWriMo is coming up more quickly than it should! I first heard about National Novel Writing Month a few years ago, and though I’ve used the concept as an inspiration to increase my writing in the past, I’ve never actually committed to doing it. Until now.

One month.
175 pages.
50,000 words.
An average of 1,667 words a day.
One big commitment.

A new member of my book club recently asked how I’m going to manage our monthly reading and doing NaNoWriMo (my book club reads the classics, and has a tendency to pick the long ones–like Anna Karenina and Les Misérables). I said, “Eesh, good question. Haven’t exactly solved the Life aspect of NaNoWriMo, but I’ll figure it out by trial and error!”

We’ll see how it goes. I’m actually really looking forward to it. I’m anticipating several positive outcomes:

  • Establishing a good new writing habit
  • Completing a draft–albeit a very rough one–of the novel I have partially outlined, which will reveal weaknesses in the plot and characters at an early stage of the writing and editing process
  • A lot of fun!

Have you participated in NaNoWriMo in the past? If so, what advice do you have for those of us doing it the first time? If you’re participating this year, what are you hoping to get from the experience?