New Looks!

You may have noticed that my blog is taking on some new looks! Look for a few more throughout the next few days and enjoy!
Creatively yours,
Kat Callaway

Dr. Wicked's Writing Lab: Great Writing Tool!

I thought I would share a helpful link with my fellow writers! It's known as Write or Die: Dr. Wicked's Writing lab. It's helpful in the sense that it keeps you on track. It may not work for everyone, but it has been helpful for me. It's almost like a beat the clock game for writers.

You plug in the word-count you wish to achieve, the time that you wish to achieve it in, and the level you wish to work under (which includes gentle, normal, kamikaze, and electric shock). After selecting your settings, you click the "Write!" button and are taken to a page with a box to type in. Begin typing right away to begin your time but be careful! As soon as you begin typing the first word the count down begins! If you stop typing, consequences will occur (all depending on the level you chose). I usually use the normal mode and this entails first the box changing shades of red (the longer the deeper the color), and eventually it will start making awful noises.

The warning sound varies on different days but is usually equally annoying! On the kamikaze mode, the consequences are worse! If you sit too long without writing, it will begin to erase words (I am not a fan of this and rarely use this mode, but it depends on your style)!

Last but not least, when you have completed your goal, it helps transfer your words to a document and give you a cool image to post on your blog/facebook/website that showcases your success! It looks like this (image varies depending on the settings and goals you chose):

Overall, this lab is very creative and has been helpful to me on many occasions! Check it out and see if it work for you! It's worth a look into! If it doesn't work for you, then no worries, we all work in unique ways! ;0)

http://lab.drwicked.com/

Creatively yours,

Kat Callaway

Very crazy (bad luck) weekend!

Thursday of last week began a long and drawn out case of bad luck! The event that started it was as work, where I managed to superglue the cup I had been trying to glue back together to my fingers. quickly pulled it off and secretly hoped that no one had seen my idiotic move. However, I had set the cup down on my desk and turned to look at something else for a brief moment. In this moment, I somehow managed to lean against the cup long enough that it attached itself to my rear! Needless to say, that was harder to keep under wraps and by the time I had gotten the coffee cup detached from my butt, the circulation desk workers were rolling (as was I)! It was a lesson learned (don't let Kat use superglue)! As crazy as it was, I soon brushed it off and moved on. Two hours later, the 4th floor began to flood again in the library. Part of me knew it was going to be a long weekend!

Friday came, and the weather was taking a nasty turn. The forecast included rain, sleet, and eventually a lot of snow. However, I needed to get to El Dorado and since it wasn't too bad in Emporia yet I thought I could make it safely. That didn't happen! It got very bad very quick and I was following a SUV at a good distance for awhile. However, he started to slow down so I did too. I made the decision to pull into the left lane just to be careful not to get too close to him as we slowed down. This is when the ice took over. I was going approx 40 to 50 when I lost control. My car first headed towards the ditch/big drop-off. Luckily, I started sliding the other way before going over. My car then swerved back into the lane, spun around 2 times, and then (facing the opposite of traffic) the passenger's side slammed into the concrete median rocking my car slightly before it slide back into traffic vertically across the two lanes. I managed to get it turned around and going in the right direction and no other cars were involved. I was very lucky! I don't know how, but my car only had a slight dent and a few scratches. The way I hit, the entire side should have been crushed but it only caused a slight dent and a few scratches (the auto shop people later told me that I was incredibly lucky that I hit where I did because it handled the pressure of the impact well. If I would have hit at slightly less turned angle, it would have smashed it)! As for me, I walked away with just bruises on my chest from the seat-belt, a tooth that chipped a little in the back from biting down so hard when I hit, and my neck and back are very sore. I was very lucky.

I stayed in the next town and got my car and myself looked at. Everything was ok, and I ended up spending the night at my grandparents while the Blizzard continued to throw everything it had at us! While at my grandparents, I had a light bulb explode in my hand as I was changing it. That was a painful occurrence that scared not only me but my grandmother... who was standing right behind me when it happened. We both screamed and then my grandfather started laughing at the both of us! This was a few hours before half of the town lost power. I was in Wal-Mart when this occurred and was the next person to check out... needless to say, I didn't get to check out! ;0)

Later on Saturday I decided to brave it and get home so I could be here for work, etc. The turnpike was pretty clean and had little snow coverage. I made it home safely and was excited to get into my own home... yet, I didn't quite make it! As I carried my groceries up I managed to stumble and drop an entire cube of coke. It then smacked onto the balcony, exploding at the seams and pop cans went flying everywhere!

After this experience I went into my house, closed the door behind me and vowed not to leave the house again... and I didn't! I stayed in the rest of the night and did nothing that could potentially be hazardous!

Once I stayed inside things started to calm down. I had a visitor that brought me out of the bad luck streak/bad mood and I spent most of the night cooking pizza (he handled the sharp objects as I am not too be trusted, obviously), watching movies, smiling and being lazy as weekends were intended for in the first place. It was enough to make a horrible weekend much better, which I really needed! ;0)

In summary, it has been a hectic weekend! Not all bad, but for the most part crazy! All of this activity did wreck my original plans to spend the weekend writing, but hopefully I can do that some tonight and this next weekend. I continue to stick to my theory of one step at a time. For instance, so far (knock on wood) today has been ok. Nothing has crashed, blown-up, fallen down or been glued to the wrong place! And above all, the snow is melting! If we can make it through today, I'm a happy girl!

Creatively yours,

Kat

How To Overcome Writer's Block (according to Kat) and Other Bits of Inspiration!

1. Create a schedule: Set aside time for writing and stick too it.


2. Create goals: Come up with reasonable and achievable goals for yourself.


3. Create deadlines: Set deadlines for your goals but make these achievable. Deadlines you can't meet just make writer's block worse because it increases your fear. Know what works for you, but stay true to what you set. Start with little goals and work your way up.


4. Create a comfortable and inspirational writing space: If you have chosen writing as a career, it deserves it's own space just as an artist would have a studio or a lawyer a home office. Even if space is limited, section of a corner of a room. Get a comfy chair, or a beanbag, or a desk if you can afford it. Fill this area with things that inspire you. I have chosen to fill the area with items that inspire the project I am working on at the time as well as photographs and quotes that make me smile. Do whatever you need to do to increase inspiration.


5. Take breaks: If you are having trouble writing, leave it for a night. Sometimes taking a break and working on something else is a good escape. The important thing to remember is to not give up. The greatest novels were not written overnight, but over longer periods of time.


6. Try writing exercises: Sometimes the best way to break writer's block is to write, about anything! Often times, if you can start writing about other random things you can break out of your shell and get inspired to continue writing what you need to be.


7. Take a walk, drive, or dance around your apartment: I'm not kidding! Not only do these activities get you moving and increase brain-flow, they are a fun way to find inspiration. Who knows what you will see while you are on your walk or driving. Many times I have found inspiration in the most unexpected places!


8. Call a friend: Friends are great for brainstorming sessions. Try out your story on them! Have some fun and see if they have any good ideas. I don't know what I would do without my best friend. Together we come up with really random ideas that many times form the base for a new story idea that I take to paper. Also, I have a good friend who is very amazing at finding random things to inspire me such as books or movies or just talking to me about various ideas. You'd be surprised at who is willing to help out!


9. Chill out: Usually the biggest cause of writer's block is a combination of fear and anxiety. Your inner-critic is often the harshest critic of all and outside pressures don't help at all. Breathe, and remember that you won't get anything done if you are freaking out! As my little brother would say... "take a chill pill frill dill!"


10. Remember why you started writing in the first place: Today's society is all about "right now" and "instant gratification." However, the best writer's know that writing isn't all about the money (as nice as it is). There is a reason you started writing in the first place and it probably wasn't because you hated it! Remember why you wanted this career to begin with, and why risking becoming a "starving writer" was worth it. Worry about whether it will get published or not later. After all, if you get so freaked out you can't write it really won't ever happen. Stay true to you, and always remember that inspiration that got you going in the first place. This is your passion... keep dreaming. You can do it!

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Here are some fun quotes that I found to be humorous in regards to the ups and downs of writing! Proof that you're not alone!

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"Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials. It's a matter of doing everything you can to avoid writing, until it is about four in the morning and you reach the point where you have to write."-Paul Rudnick

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"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." -Mark Twain

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"The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair."-Mary Heaton Vorse

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"The easiest thing to do on earth is not write."-William Goldman

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'The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof shit detector. This is the writer's radar and all great writers had it.'
- Ernest Hemingway
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"One of the most difficult things is the first paragraph. I have spent many months on a first paragraph, and once I get it, the rest just comes out very easily."-Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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"Never, never, never, never give up." - Winston Churchill

Short Stories: Write one right now! ;0)

I have never been one to sit down and just write out random short stories. However, lately it's become a fun way for me to relax and live out different situations or stories that bounce around in my head. Last night, for example, I completed a 2 page story about two random characters that had formed in my head at some point. It was a sweet story and not something I would usually write about. But at the time, it was something I needed to get out so I sat down at the laptop, lived vicariously though my characters, and wrote for fun. Yes, I said FOR FUN! I have been working really hard to get my Willow Heights Manuscript finished and it has been driving me crazy. Deadlines have the tendency to suck the fun out of writing if you get too wrapped up in it. So finding a new way to relax for a bit has been fun! So if you are suffering from writer's block, or just need an escape from your everyday writing, try a short story. They are quick, fun, and can be as random as you like! Have some fun!

Creatively yours,

Kat