"Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing." ~ Laurie Buchanan

Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

The Key of Sea – A Music Playlist to Write By

I’m often asked about the details of my preferred writing environment — the setting, the ambience. I’m a bare bones writer who enjoys solitude and appreciates nothing more on my desk than a laptop and a tea light — my six hour “contract” to show up, stay put, and write.

To avoid diversion, I turn off my cell phone, and limit my writing screen to two ingredients: a white page and a black background.

My desk is situated by a window that overlooks a well-seasoned, rugged oak tree in our front yard. When there’s noise distractions outside, I put on headphones, turn the volume low, and listen to instrumental music.

For me, the essential element for music to write by is that it must transport me to the ocean:

  • I want to hear the seagulls screeching overhead and waves crashing on the shore.
  • I want to taste the salt in the air, and dig my toes in the sand.
  • I want to squint from the brilliant shimmer of sun glancing off the waves.
  • I want the sea breeze to ruffle my hair as it carries the briny smell of seaweed.

Encinitas, CA

With this in mind I created The Key of Sea — a music playlist to write by. Even though I’ve listed specific tracks below, all of the recordings on each album are transportive. Bon voyage!

Nova Scotia

Album – Ocean Dreams
Artist – Dean Evenson
Track – Lightly Salted

Whale Point, Eleuthera Island — Bahamas

Album – Earth Spring
Artists – Frank Smith & Kat Epple
Track – The Open Sea

Bellingham Bay, WA

Album – Ocean Waves
Artist – Deuter
Track – Théoule-Sur-Mer

Coronado Island

Album – The Property of Water
Artist – Paul Adams
Track – The Serene Dance of Thunder

Footsie on the Beach

Album – Simply Beautiful
Artist – Nadama
Track – Whale Song

Aberdeen, Scotland

Where do you want your music to transport you?

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Discovering the Seven Selves     Life Harmony     Facebook

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan – All Rights Reserved

About these ads

Category:

Inspiration, Music, Writing

Tagged with:

I Ran Away!

Periodically I run away from home to get some good, solid writing accomplished. Most recently my destination was George Williams College on William’s Bay in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

An unexpected guest, they treated me like royalty! I was escorted to what seemed like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise with a commanding, second-floor view of the campus and William’s Bay.

I broke for lunch at noon. The dining hall at the Beasley Campus Center served up a wonderful meal they packed in a to-go box so I could enjoy it down on the shore.

Mesmerized by the hypnotic comings and goings of sailboats and yachts as they glided past on the shimmering bay, I admired the nautical skill of the day sailors.

This adventure was the exception, rather than the rule. I usually run away to the library, a coffee shop, or a bookstore. But trying to hide in your own town is difficult because inevitably you’re recognized.

The next time you see someone with a mustache, the bill of their cap pulled low over dark glasses, hunkered over a laptop with their fingers smokin’ the keys,
it’s not me...

When was the last time you ran away from home?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Please visit my book trailer, HolEssence, and our Facebook page

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Life, Writing

Tagged with:

Discovering the Seven Selves

For those of you who’ve already shared with me in my excitement via the HolEssence newsletter or Facebook, thank you! 

For those of you who haven’t seen it yet…

Last week the trailer for my up-and-coming book was completed and it’s available for viewing. Simply click on the “play” button below.

Discovering the Seven Selves:
Your Key to Offloading Baggage and Increasing Joy – Now!


The Buzz…

“An invaluable resource to help individuals transform life’s obstacles into opportunities, develop a healthier level of self-esteem, and cultivate a splendid sense of joy, now!”

— Sheila Glazov, author of What Color Is Your Brain? A Fun and Fascinating Approach to Understanding Yourself and Others

“Laurie walks you through the web of your own life and gives you practical exercises to explore your deepest desires, fears, and motivations, and shows you how to move past yourself to create the life you want now!”

— Julie Murphy Casserly, author of The Emotion Behind Money: Building Wealth from the Inside Out

“This book is unique in that it goes beyond the usual simplistic discussion of the chakra system to a comprehensive but practical understanding of the seven dimensions of identity.”

— Susan Wisehart, author of Soul Visioning: Clear the Past, Create Your Future

Are you ready to offload baggage?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Please visit HolEssence, Discovering the Seven Selves, and our Facebook page

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan – All Rights Reserved

Category:

Life, Personal Growth, Spiritual Awareness, Writing

Tagged with:

Squishy Buns – My Favorite Writing Tool

Question
What do Barnes & Noble, the public library, and coffee shops like Starbuck’s, Caribou, and Conscious Cup all have in common?


Answer
The Goldilocks Syndrome—Papa Bear’s hard wooden chairs!

When writing, I sit for extended periods of time. This can result in painful bunuelos—not the tasty Mexican fritters; we’re talking sore butt cheeks!

I love my squishy buns. This ergonomically designed chair-topper feels like thick, gel-filled neoprene. The crease where it folds for easy storage in my backpack has a center-relieved groove that eliminates pressure on the tailbone—ahhh—making it comfortable to sit for hours on end (pun intended).

When our mind isn’t focused on sore buns, it’s free to court creative thoughts and original ideas and spin them into gold.

What’s your favorite writing tool?

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like A Chair for your Derrière? Take a Stand!

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Please visit HolEssence and our Facebook page

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Life, Writing

Tagged with:

Write Tight – From Flabby to Trim

Last week I promised to share some of the material I covered at the Writers’ Institute. “Tight writing” was one of the subjects I addressed when Christine DeSmet and I presented “Why Critiquing is Necessary.”

Before critiquing my manuscript was 110,000 words
After critiquing my manuscript was 73,000 words

Trim the Fat
If it can be said with fewer words, eliminate the unnecessary and make every word count.

“That,” “just,” and “very” can almost always be cut from your work eliminated.

Examples:
Flabby: She smiled slightly at the photographer.
Trim: She grinned at the photographer.

Flabby: With a pagoda-style roof, it had a distinctly asian look to it.
Trim: With a pagoda-style roof, it had a distinctly asian appearance.

Flabby: She was a very pretty woman.
Trim: She was beautiful.

Show, Don’t Tell
In the previous example, I broke the first rule of writing—show don’t tell. “She was beautiful” is classic telling. Here’s how to show she was beautiful:

“Framed with a mass of auburn curls, her oval face was complimented by mesmerizing bottle-green eyes and red lips that curved into a captivating smile.”

And while this sentence is longer than “She was beautiful,” clarity trumps brevity every time.

Eliminate Redundancy
Eliminate words that aren’t needed unnecessary words:

Her doctor asked her the question again, “Where does it hurt?”

The words “ask” and “question” are redundant. Can you ask anything other than a question? Here’s how it looks when redundancy is removed:

Her doctor repeated the question, “Where does it hurt?”

“Huge skyscraper”—it has to be pretty darn big to scrape the sky.

“Advance planning”—all planning is done in advance.

Avoid Repetition
Avoid using the same words repeatedly. Substitute another word with the same meaning:

“In the white winters you can sled or cross-country ski to Lake Tahoe’s many resorts. In the hot, bright summers there’s hiking through giant forests and climbing the Sierra Buttes. In the autumn the deciduous trees glow with vivid fall color, and in the spring, masses of wildflowers create a psychedelic dreamscape.”

Here’s the same paragraph, replacing the last three instances of “in the.”

“In the white winters you can sled or cross-country ski to Lake Tahoe’s many resorts. During the hot, bright summers there’s hiking through giant forests and climbing the Sierra Buttes. Come autumn the deciduous trees glow with vivid fall color, and when spring arrives, masses of wildflowers create a psychedelic dreamscape.”

Do you write tight from the get-go, or do you have to go back and trim the fat?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Please visit HolEssence and our Facebook page

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Writing

Tagged with:

Write to the Top!

Packed with agent pitches, workshops, speakers, critique feedback, panels, networking opportunities, and an abundance of add-ons, the sold out 23rd annual Writers’ Institute at UW-Madison was educational, inspirational, and just plain fun!

Between concurrent sessions and speaking myself, I had windows of opportunity to attend a few sessions. Here are two nuggets of gold from each session I attended:

The Writer’s Life – John Vorhaus
“Practice makes perfect progress.”
“As a writer, our job is to close the gap between where the work is, and where it needs to be.”

Agent Panel - John Bolger, Joelle Delbourgo, Linda Konner, Laurie McClean, Andy Ross, and Gordon Warnock
“Literary agents manage people’s expectations—you have to be realistic.”

Ask a literary agent who has expressed interest in you:
Who are your favorite clients?
What are the last three books you sold?
What impressed you about my writing?
How invested are you going to be in my literary growth?

The Play is the Thing – Brendan Sullivan
We respond to ideas in two ways:
“Yes, but” is negative and down pulling
“Yes, and” is positive and uplifting

“The most creative people on the planet are children between the ages of 3-7. They ask ‘Why?’ all the time. Get back to asking why.”

Anatomy of a Book Trailer – Susan Reetz
Similar to a movie preview, a book trailer is a 30-second to 3-minute video teaser for a book. It’s designed to generate buzz and interest. It can also be used to promote your work to agents and publishers.

A book trailer is a marketing tool you promote on your website, YouTube, Vimeo, Goodreads, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn—everywhere!

The Writer’s Magical Publicity Tour - Brian Christian and Jim Pappandrea
Once you’re book is published—Congratulations!—you’re now on the marketing team of your publisher.

“My antidote to nerves is preparation. Know your topic.” – Jim Pappandrea
“Think about nerves as energy, harness it and put it to good use.” – Brian Christian

Secrets of Famous Prolific Writers – Angela Voras-Hills
“You will never find the time to write. You have to make the time to write.”
“A schedule helps you [and your friends and family] take your writing seriously.”

Creative Bypasses & Detours for Better Driving – Brendan Sullivan
“Inspiration is a matter of observation.”
“There’s more than one right answer, but there’s only one best answer. To find it you have to look at them all.”

Publishing in the Post-Paper World – John Vorhaus
“The publishing world as we’ve known it is changing. We can no longer count on publishers to distribute, market, and promote our work. These responsibilities now fall squarely in the writer’s lap.”

“We are digital immigrants. Our children are digital natives.”

Whether you’re an aspiring or seasoned writer, I hope you’ll consider attending next year’s Writers’ Institute at UW-Madison. You can join their mailing list here.

Not just for writers—when was the last time you showed your creative work to someone else?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Please visit HolEssence and our Facebook page

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Writing

Tagged with:

Write as Rain

I’m totally stoked for the Writers’ Institute at UW-Madison this coming weekend. The past few years I’ve been there as a student, this year I’m thrilled to be one of the instructors.

There’s a wide brushstroke of workshops to choose from. For some that means learning how to incorporate the first rule of writing—show, don’t tell. For others it means wielding the sharp-edged blade of write tight—trimming the fat. And then there are those who will:

  • master the do’s and don’ts of a query letter
  • take the opportunity to pitch their project to a literary agent
  • familiarize themselves with constructing a writer’s platform
  • learn how to leverage social media
  • have their work in progress critiqued
  • discover the in’s and out’s of a book proposal
  • start blogging, or become even more proficient at growing their current blog

Rain or shine, it’s going to be fantastic! In fact, it’s going to be write as rain.

What’s your favorite writing weather?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Please visit HolEssence and our Facebook page

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Writing

Tagged with:

Short Story/Flash Fiction Challenge

I think I’ve lived up to the challenge Rachel gave Writer’s Platform—Building Campaigners. The rules are:

Write a short story or flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall.” These five words will be included in the word count. If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:

  • end the story with the words: “everything faded.” (also included in the word count)
  • include the word “orange” in the story
  • write in the same genre you normally write
  • make your story 200 words exactly!

And you all thought I was kidding when I told you I had aspirations of being a magician, an international spy, or a mad scientist. Here’s the story as told by my 10-year-old self…

Shadows crept across the wall of the garage, dance-like, as the orange flames licked up the curtained window. “Oh crap, I’m in so much trouble!” I shouted grabbing the fabric, to yank it from the rod and stomp the flames out on the cement floor.

“It would have been so much smarter to stick with a stink bomb,” I scolded myself. “There’s never been a hitch with a putrified egg stored in a Nestle Quick box; at least nothing more than an assaulted sense of smell when the hydrogen sulfide stink invades the air.”

Ignoring the “parental supervision” suggestion, I decided to make this year’s science fair volcano on my own. I’d worked with vinegar and baking soda in the past, but this year I wanted a ribbon—a blue ribbon.

Having made a test-run volcano from paper mache, I decided to use yeast combined with hydrogen peroxide for a larger explosion. Pleased, but not completely satisfied, I added the element of fire. “Yowza!” I thought as I smelled my past-tense eyebrows!

While stomping the flames in my new Keds, I heard the wail of sirens coming up the street, and then overcome with smoke, everything faded.

———————————————————————————————

Check out Rachel’s site here, where there’s a list of other participants and their stories. It’s fun to see how everyone has a different take on those first five words—Shadows crept across the wall—take mywithershins for instance…

What was your favorite science fair project?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Please visit HolEssence and our Facebook page

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Humor, Writing

Tagged with:

Write or Wrong

Last year just before I left for the 2011 Writer’s Institute at UW-Madison I posed the question “Why do writers write?” and shared my thoughts on the matter:

I don’t think writer’s write. I think they’re written through. Somewhere along the way they gave themselves over to being a vessel through which words flow. A writer can’t not write—they’re compelled to write. Even if it’s only for themselves.

The creative experience of writing unleashes ideas, emotions, and thoughts. This unleashing is euphoric—a state that becomes addictive—a way of being in the world that opens the door to endless possibility.

In an eloquent presentation of words and photographs, Winsomebella recently shared why she writes in a post titled, “If You Want To Know Why.”

In my perspective, the only time that writing is wrong, is when you don’t…write; when you hold back because of fear or discouragement.

I admire the tenacity of author Darcie Chan, who after receiving over 100 rejection letters from various literary agents decided to self-publish her book, “The Mill River Recluse.” To date it has sold more than 400,000 copies—landing squarely on the best-seller lists!

As I was contemplating this post, my friend Leanne Dyck posted the following letter (below the photograph) to her 12-year-old self on her blog, “The Sweater Curse”—cannily named after her most recent book published by Decadent Publishing:

Leanne Dyck age 12

Dear younger Leanne,

You know those stories that you’re working on. Well, you might think that you can just throw them out—unfinished. You may think that because they belong to you, you can do whatever you want with them. Well, you’re wrong. You can’t. You can’t because they belong to me—older Leanne—not you. So, instead of tossing them away, you better file them away for safekeeping. You better or else…

Oh, yeah, and another thing. You might think that by writing all those stories you’re just having fun. WRONG! You’re doing important work. However, you’re only doing half the job. You also need to get someone who can spell and knows grammar to edit them. Ask Mom she’ll help you. Then you need to submit them to literary journals or short stories contests. 

Oh, yeah, and don’t just do it once and think you’re done. Don’t just say, “Oh, well, I submitted it. I didn’t win. I don’t have to do that again.” Don’t think, I tried, failed and now I’m done. The only way you failed is by being done. Simply by continuing to submit your stories you’re proving that you are a winner. If you don’t continue working until the job is done, well then you’ll leave all that work for me. And trust me, I won’t be pleased.

Oh, yeah, and the most important thing. You may not think you’re smart, but I do. I know how talented you are. And you’re doing a grave disservice by not sharing your talent. So do it. Do it now!

Love,

Leanne

If you wrote a letter to your 12-year-old self, what would you say?

Please join me at the 2012 Writers’ Institute at UW-Madison April 13-15. Follow this LINK for details.

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Please visit HolEssence and our Facebook page

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Writing

Tagged with:

Painting a Word Picture

Laurie Scheer has made the details of this year’s Writers’ Institute available on the UW-Madison website. Needless to say, as an instructor I’m beyond excited!

The first person who introduced me to the concept of “show, don’t tell” was Laurel Yourke. The person who hammered the idea home was Christine DeSmet. You can learn more about all three of these creative and engaging women on the “Instructor” page.

Those of you who know me well are aware that Len and I haven’t had a television for almost 32 years. We’re avid readers. As such, I’m always asking friends and clients about books. My friend Sandi introduced me to the work of Dorothea Benton Frank. Now there’s an author who can paint a word picture: 

“To her right, the creek was completely placid and the shrimp boats were reflected in the water in perfect mirror images. Great beauty did not always require great sums of money, she thought. Sometimes something as easy and undemanding as an old shrimp boat, moored to an ancient piling battered from salt and time, could stop your heart in the same way as might a great work of art.”

Ms. Frank’s description immediately called to mind one of our favorite locations in Nova Scotia. But even if I didn’t have that memory to fall back on, her words painted a vivid picture on the canvas in my mind.

Who is your favorite word painter?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

www.HolEssence.com and our Facebook page

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan – All Rights Reserved

Category:

Writing

Tagged with:

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 3,441 other followers