Freelance Writer and Social Worker

5 Things Stephen King's "Misery" Taught Me about Writing

Stephen King's book On Writing has helped a generation of writers find ways to express their ideas. I loved it, and it's always one of the first books I recommend to newbies.

I have to confess, though, that I learned even more about writing from another book of King's. A novel. Misery.

For those unfamiliar with the plot, it's about a writer, Paul Sheldon, and his biggest fan. Paul's historical romance series about an empty-headed character named Misery has made him a fortune but shredded his self-respect.

Finally, in self-defense, Paul decides he must kill Misery. She will die in childbirth. Unfortunately for him, just as Paul's final Misery novel is released, Paul is involved in a horrible car accident in middle-of-nowhere Colorado.

Annie Wilkes, the nurse who saves his life and brings him to her home to heal just happens to be his number one fan who is so looking forward to reading the new Misery book. She just loves Misery.

And when she finds out that Paul has murdered her favorite character, her vengeance is swift and brutal. She buys an old, manual typewriter, slams the still-critically-injured Paul in front of it, and orders him to write Misery back to life.

Or else.

Here's what I learned from this nail-biter of a book.

1. You can write under any circumstances. Paul writes with two shattered legs and while he is under the addictive influence of pain killers. He writes when he's scared, thirsty, hungry, tired. He even writes after certain parts of his anatomy have been removed during Annie's rages. And I was complaining the other day about having to write with a migraine? Wow.

Dear Debra - A Letter to My Sixteen-Year-Old Self

A few days ago, I read the book, "Dear Me: A Letter to My Sixteen-Year-Old Self," edited by Joseph Galliano. Celebrities from Alan Rickman (Snape, Harry Potter movies) to financial guru Suze Orman weighed in with what they wanted their younger selves to know.

That book literally crackled with ideas and hope. In fact, I thought the concept was such a good idea that I decided to look back across time and write a letter to myself, a letter that I would have been thrilled to receive when I was that age.

I've taken out some of the embarrassingly personal parts, but I've left in the advice for me as a young writer. Maybe it will help someone else out there who's struggling to make a living from words. If not, at least writing it was very cathartic. Here goes...

Dear 16-year-old Debra,

You're smiling in this picture, but I can still see the sadness in your eyes and the hurt in your heart. I know you are being horribly, methodically bullied. I also know that the next 24 months will leave you broken, exhausted, and wondering if there is any point to going on.

Don't give into those feelings of despair, child. I'm living proof that you make it through the hard tmes and come out on the other side...

...And you will live your lifelong dream of becoming a self-supporting writer. No, not writing lurid novels like the ones you like to read now--though never forget, a pseudonym is a wonderful thing--but you will be best known for your nonfiction. Your work will appear on the Internet (you'll find out what that is later) and in print.

And because I feel like I'm supposed to be the voice of wisdom here, or something, I've put together a few tips to help you along the way. I don't expect you to listen to me. Most of this shit (yeah, we curse now) is stuff you'll have to figure out as you make your own way. Then you can slap a hand to your forehead and say, "You know what? That crazy lady was right!" Anyway, here goes.

You've Got Mail! Why Freelance Writers SHOULD Check Email Frequently

If I've read the advice in one time management book, I've read it in a dozen: Never check email first thing in the morning. Only check email once or twice during the day. That little "ding" that lets you know when new mail arrives in your inbox is the enemy.

Rubbish. If you're a freelance writer, not checking email regularly is a habit that can cause you to lose both time and money.

Take what happened to me last Monday. On Sunday, I'd accepted a wordy, high-research, quick-turnaround job from a client. I woke up before sunrise on Monday morning, staggered my computer, and--just like all the time-management books advise--I put in two full hours of work before I checked my email. That turned out to be a big mistake, because if I'd checked first, I would have known that the client sent me an email late Sunday night canceling the project I'd just spent two hours researching.

As if that wasn't annoying enough--and it was plenty damned annoying--later that day, I missed out on an opportunity to bid on another well-paying rush job because, just like the books suggest, my email notification as turned off and I didn't get the message in time.

Hospice Tails Is Going on a Blog Tour

Over the next four weeks, my newest book, Hospice Tails, which describes my experiences as a hospice social worker with clients and their pets, will be featured on a dozen popular blogs.

If you have a moment, stop by to visit the blogs hosting Hospice Tails. You can read reviews, interviews with me, and guest posts that I have written. I will also be responding to readers' questions and comments. Better yet, many of the blogs are giving away free copies of Hospice Tails to a few lucky winners.

So, be sure to follow along as Hospice Tails tours the Internet.

Hospice Tails Blog Tour Schedule:

November 21 - WOW! Women on Writing Blog, The Muffin 

November 22 - Writers Inspired

November 23 - Sugar Peach

November 28 - My Reading Room

November 29 - Lisa Is a Bookworm

November 30 - Kritter's Ramblings

December 6 - Mom-E-Centric (listen to my very first podcast)

December 7 & 8 - Crazy for Books

December 13 - Selling Books

December 14 - Me and Reading

December 15 - The Caregiver's Voice

December 23 - Reviews by Molly

Who Are Your Favorite Harry Potter Characters and Why?

Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope your day is full of treats rather than tricks. First, let me apologize to non-Harry Potter fans. Today's blog probably won't hold much appeal for you.

Now, for all those who did--and do--enjoy the Harry Potter series, let me ask you a question. Besides Harry, who are your two favorite characters, and why? What techniques does author J.K. Rowling use to make these characters stand out in your mind.

There are many characters that I enjoy in the Harry Potter series. I like the no-nonsense Professor McGonagall, the werewolf-with-a-heart Lupin, and the ever-conniving Fred and George. I even have a soft spot for Peeves the Poltergeist.

But I would have to say that, aside from the obvious choice, Harry, my two favorites are Hermione Granger and Severus Snape.

Book Review: Goal Setting for Writers by Regan Black

As I've expanded my writing and editing business from part-time to full-time, I've read everything I can get my hands on about goal setting, time management, small businesses in general, and the freelance writing business in particular.

I was skimming through the offerings on Kindle one day when I came across Regan Black's Goal Setting for Writers: Making Revisions Work in Life and Art. The ebook only cost $2.99 - the book is not available in print - and I had read some of Black's fiction which I enjoyed very much, so I decided it was worth the price.

I'm glad I did, because Black has a lot of experience and wisdom to offer writers.

Does Your Fiction Pass the Bechdel Test?

Taking the Bechdel Test, named after award winning writer, artist, and cartoonist Allison Bechdel, is a good way to make sure that your female characters are real, fully-fleshed out human beings who have lives that extend beyond being a romantic foil for the male protagonist.

In order to pass the Bechdel Test, your fiction must meet three criteria:

Do You Believe in Writer's Block?

Do you believe in writer's block? I couldn't throw a much more inflammatory question at a group of writers if I tried! Some writers are firmly convinced that they have been and are afflicted with writer's block on a regular basis. Other writers suggest that the blocked writers are nothing but a bunch of malingerers.

And where do I stand on this polarizing question?

Somewhere in the middle. I've experienced times myself when I had difficulty writing. Back then, I would have called myself "blocked." Looking back with 20/20 hindsight, however, I realize that the block was always the symptom, not the disease.

Book Review: Time Management from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern

For the last several months, ever since I knew I was going to be running my own business, I've been struggling with time management issues. Work isn't the problem. My assignments are always done well and turned in by the deadline.

No, my problem has been finding a place in my life for things besides work, such as self, friends and family, a nice home, pets, bills and other financial issues.

I've read a plethora of time management books. Some offered a few nuggets of genuinely good advice that I was able to put into practice. Most of them, however, just didn't fit my situation very well, and I soon gave up on them and deleted them from my Kindle or put them in my donations bag. Thus, I didn't have high hopes when I picked up Julie Morgenstern's book Time Management from the Inside Out from a local thrift shop.

I was in for a pleasant surprise. Morgenstern had me at the phrase, "Time Management from the Inside Out is about designing a life that is a custom fit for you, based on your unique personality and goals."

Ten Great Books and What They Taught Me About Writing

I had the good fortune to be born into a family of readers. I learned the alphabet while I was in preschool. By the time I got to kindergarten, I was sounding out words in grown-up books.

Even today, I spend more money on reading material than I do on any other item in my household, including clothes and food. If there is anything I love more than being a writer, it is being a reader.

I justify my time spent savoring a novel by telling myself that I'm learning about my craft. That claim is far from untrue. Take the lessons I learned from these ten books.