I Was a Wrimo Again

Hello writers, from Adair Heitmann. With the recent, tragic and unimaginable losses in the Sandy Hook community in Newtown, CT, I can barely focus on this post. Yet, writing helps me through grief, it has universal curative powers.

Kahlil Gibran wrote, ”When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” Much of our collective grief has to do with the senseless killing of innocent children. Children who were in a safe place, school. Children who were with teachers and administrators, loyal to the children’s welfare and capable of taking care of them, until, the unthinkable happens. Gibran’s quote helps me see that I cry because I love children, because I’m a mom, because I’m a teacher, and because I love teachers. All those things, when taken in the balanced order of life, bring delight. I mourn, with the rest of our country and the world. As a writer, I write, to help me get through this grief. So, I am going to continue with the essay I planned, an article about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

Dipping my toe in the NaNoWriMo seas again this year was truly delightful. This past November, I managed to participate in NaNoWriMo and still keep my job. Plus keep all my diverse professional and personal plates spinning. The purpose of NaNoWriMo is to inspire writers of all ages to write 50,000 words in one month. I entered with my eyes wide open, knowing that reality prohibited me from having the spare time to write a 50,000 fictional novel. However, if I added up all the words that I wrote for work, I’m sure I’ve written several full-fledged novels during the month of November. I used NaNoWriMo as a way to fertilize my own writer’s platform, by playing in a national arena. I knew I couldn’t complete a new novel, but my day job gave me the opportunity to participate as part of a community outreach. (It’s nice to write for a living.)

To complete the participation in NaNoWriMo, I needed to look into my own resources of what I’d previously written. I brushed off a parable, for children of all ages, that I wrote 21 years ago. I re-worked some sections, and wrote some with fresh eyes. NaNoWriMo inspired me this year. I had to submit something to get the dandy “Participant 2012″ icon you see above. I submitted my children’s parable in a word document to the official NaNoWriMo word count counter on their website. The word count added up to a spanking 2,369! Like any good teacher who acknowledges an advancement that his or her student makes, I’m giving myself an A for effort.

Being involved in NaNoWriMo writing circles also gave me a chance to learn more about their Young Writers Program for kids and teens. It looks like an energizing and creative way to engage young writers. I’d encourage any teacher out there, reading this post, to incorporate this into next year’s Language Arts syllabus.

I end today’s piece in a dedication, with love, with compassion, and with inspiration to all the children and teachers of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

On a holiday note: All of us at the Fairfield Writer’s Blog wish you a peaceful season and a New Year filled with hope.

Until next time, keep on writing.

A Writer’s Website: Part Five

Hello to all you writers out there! This is Adair Heitmann reminding you that one of the most important ways to build your author’s platform is to have a website. Your website can be as simple as a one-pager, or more elaborate with videos, social media plug-ins and e-books. I’m glad to be able to continue to help you take manageable steps in creating your website. Please go to June 2011 for Part One, then proceed to July, August and September 2011 for earlier information on building an author’s website. Like a proud new mama, I’m happy to announce that I finished my own website makeover, and it’s serving me well. The time I spent researching what I wanted in the revised site, learning new technology, and making it happen, paid off. Did I have moments when I pulled my hair out in frustration? Yes, but the end product has been worth the grief, like labor in childbirth.

Today I’ll share information for those of you who want to keep the hairs on your head and prefer to hire out. You can do so by hiring a web developer, a web designer or both. Or as a member of my writing critique group did, get by with a little help from her friends. Find tech-savvy friends to do the technical pieces for you.

First let’s clarify terms:
1. Web developer – knows the tools of the techno trade, usually has several already prepared themes for you to choose from, and can technically provide you with what you ask for. A web developer can provide some customization. In the Northeast an average hourly rate is $40/hour.
2. Web designer – is more of a, just what the name implies, designer, someone who knows the graphic and artistic end of website communication. A web designer can create a unique website. Again it depends on the part of the country that you live in, but here in the Northeast an average hourly rate is $75/hour.

What stays the same is that you, the writer, need to research what you want. You’ll want to give the developer or designer your website wish list. This way, you are in the driver’s seat. You’ll also want to think about if you want to update the site yourself. If so, you’ll need a CMS (Content Management System) type of site. Remember that once your website is up and running, if you don’t have a CMS site, you will be paying your developer or designer a fee for every update.

This brings us to cost:
1. Know your budget and respond accordingly.
2. Research other writers that you know, if you like their website, ask them how much their website cost.
3. Find out the name of the developer/designer and get an estimate from them. Ask them to include future revisions, and update charges.
4. Since more and more people are using mobile devices, be sure to ask your developer/designer if the layout will look good and work efficiently on smart phones.

A cost estimate for a simple 5-page website can run approximately $500.00 and up.

Last but not least, be sure you love your site. An author’s website is a writer’s online face to the world. You want to make the best first impression you can.

Until next time, keep on writing!

A NaNoWriMo Virgin No More

Hello to all you writers out there, this is Adair Heitmann writing today about my NaNoWriMo experience. Last October’s blog shared information about November being National Novel Writing Month. The contest is billed as “Thirty Days and Nights of Literary Abandon.” It hosted 337,618 writers from 45 countries this year. The purpose of the challenge was to complete a new 50,000 word novel in one month.

Imagine all those writers feverishly writing within the same erudite community during the same month. How could anyone not be psyched? I certainly was. Becoming a member of this intergenerational writing society was so cool! As authors we are often alone at our kitchen tables writing longhand on yellow legal-size pads, as our dishwashers churn away. Or, with open laptops, sitting isolated in a busy coffee shop, hammering out our stories, while blends of French Roast fill the air. Being an active participant in the NaNoWriMo literary adventure helped me feel a part of something larger and greater than just me.

However, I knew from the start that I only had time to brush the surface with NaNoWriMo this year. With my other professional deadlines and personal responsibilities, writing a new novel 2-3 hours a day would be out of the question. But I still wanted to play. I figured, I may as well enter and see what NaNoWriMo was all about from the inside. I had a ball, and the memories from my month are keeping me all a-flutter.

The entry form asked for a genre, which made me pause and think. As a mostly non-fiction author, how did I want to spend my infinitesimal NaNoWriMo fiction prose time? It was a toss-up between Satire, Humor & Parody or Erotic Fiction. Going into this with an open mind and a cavalier attitude helped free me up to recognize that I had nothing to lose. I may as well stretch my creative muscles, and write something outside my comfort-zone.

As November progressed I straddled my world of by day being a mild-mannered literary consultant and by night flying wildly in free expression. This lack of inhibition, however, caused me to be confronted with literary questions that I don’t ordinarily have to face.
1. As an author of non-fiction, my articles, books, essays, and blogs don’t require a disclaimer. But as I wrote in my chosen NaNoWriMo genre I started to realize that I may want to change my name. You see, I need my day job and wasn’t sure if the genre of my fictional piece would jeopardize it. Entering “NaNoWriMo-Land” had really inspired me to let my hair down, I’d become downright reckless.
2. As a parent of a budding teenager, I wondered if what I was writing might be an embarrassment.  I can mortify my child very easily on my own without intentionally adding to it.

Then, through a Facebook connection I learned of a writing contest in one of my genres of choice. Hmmmmmmm, could I be published and paid very nicely for my new novel? I wondered that I might be able to pay for my child’s college education by writing with such freedom and frivolity.  November found me juiced up every time I sat down and wrote.  I didn’t even need an oven; the heat coming off my pages cooked the Thanksgiving turkey. Then I got to wondering, with all the time and effort I’ve spent building my writer’s platform with my real name, if I had a nom de plume for this new genre I’d have to start creating an entirely new writer’s platform for my pen name. Oh, when would I find the time?

My NaNoWriMo month ended as I finished fleshing out tantalizing characters, entwined with moments of dizzying delights. At the end of the contest, I leaned back, inhaled deeply, and smoked a cigarette. My month was like a good one-night-stand, filled with tantalizing memories, but I didn’t end up marrying the man. Will I date him in 2012? You bet I will. Delving into fun fiction was like stroking my hand along luxurious silk. Could I wear it every day in my active life? No. But would I put it on for certain occasions? Yes, oh yes.

As 2011 draws to a close, all of us at the Fairfield Writer’s Blog wish you a very happy holiday season. May Santa fill your stocking with your heart’s desires, and may the New Year bring you ecstatic hours of literary abandon.

Until next year, keep on writing!

Connecting

Hello from Adair Heitmann. Are you finding ways to stay cool and focused this summer?

I’ll continue my ongoing blog about creating a writer’s website later in August, when I’ll post A Writer’s Website: Part Three. For now if you are new to this blog you can find parts one and two on June 3 and July 1, 2011.

For today’s post I’ll share a quote and let you know of some upcoming writing events.

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. ” -Helen Keller

I hope to see you on Tuesday night August 9 at 7pm at Darien Library where I’ll be presenting Create a Writer’s Platform: Why You Need One and How to Build It. The program is part of their Adult Reading You’re Connected series. We will have fun and I’ll share hints and tips on building your writing platform. You will walk away with clarity and useable information.

Then on November 1 and 8, (mark your calendars now!) I’ll be back at the Fairfield Public Library giving a two-part program, Write On! Hands-on Help in Building Your Writer’s Platform at 7pm both nights. Bring paper, pen (or your laptop) and an open mind, the programs will be part lecture, part inspiring writing exercises.

Until next time, stay cool, find new ways to connect with your readers, and keep on writing!

Creating Your Writer’s Platform

Hello to all you writers out there, it’s Adair Heitmann here writing to you on this snowy winter day about: Writer’s Platforms. If you are anything like I was a few years ago I was overwhelmed by the programs at writing conferences and articles in the press about “Literary Platforms.” At the time I didn’t think I had one, wasn’t sure exactly what one was, or even how to go about getting one. I took dubious notes, listened to keynote speakers and was still like a deer in the headlights.

Then it dawned on me, a writing platform is simply a tool you use to promote yourself and your writing. It can be in person, online or a combination of both. A writer’s platform is a marketing term to get known before you get published. This way agents, editors, publicists have more confidence that you have a following before they commit to your project.

After spending dedicated time and focus building my platform, now I think of my writing platform in metaphorical terms. It’s like a swimming platform. My writing platform is solid, I can go to it for safety, it’s out there working for me even as I rest. I can hang onto it or sunbathe, even dive and jump from it in joy and abandon. It’s a springboard for all my writing endeavors.

Basic First Steps in Creating Your Writer’s Platform:

1. Network, go to conferences and programs.

2. Have business cards printed up and use them. A cost-effective online solution is Vistaprint.

3. Create an effective and accurate email signature, this way your platform is always working for you every time you send an email.

4. Increase your online presence with a website, and with blogs and tweets.

5. Figure out your specialty or niche and build around that.

If you want more in-depth information about how to build a writer’s platform and have fun doing it, be sure to sign up for the Writer’s Platform program at the Fairfield Public Library on Tuesday February 15, 2011, 7pm. I will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about writing platforms and you will leave inspired.

Until then, keep on writing!