Writing tips: if you show me yours, I'll show you mine…. by Brenda Janowitz

This cycle on the Girlfriends Book Club, we're talking about writing conferences. But, true confession time: I've never been to one! It's not because I don't want to. I think a conference could be a great experience. Hanging out with other writers, meeting agents and editors, what could be bad? But with two small children at home, I just haven't been able to find the time.

I bet there's a lot of you like me out there. So, let's make our own little writers conference.  If I share some of my writing tips, will you share yours?!  I'll go first:



Keep writing! It’s so easy to get discouraged or feel like you don’t have the time to write. But like anything else that is important in life, you have to work at it and make the time for it.


This is the advice I give to every writer I meet.  There will always be excuses to avoid writing-- I have no free time, I have little kids, I have big kids, I don't have kids yet, my job is too demanding, I need to find a job...  you fill in your own.  If writing is really your dream, make the time.  Start with a writing class, and then find a writer's group.  Once you commit to taking the time to write, you'll be able to find the time to put pen to paper.  (Or fingers to keyboard, as the case may be.)



Edit! Editing your work is almost as important as the writing itself. Sure, you’re telling your story, but it’s also important to consider the way that you tell it. You want your writing to be tight, elegant and polished. It can only get to be that way through careful and thorough editing.




Develop a very thick skin. You’re putting yourself out there when you write and not everyone is going to love what you do. But that’s okay! You’re not writing to please everyone out there. You’re writing because you have a story that you want to tell. So start getting used to criticism and then see tip #1—keep writing!


Now, I've told you my best writing tips.  What are some of yours?

I’m the author of SCOT ON THE ROCKS and JACK WITH A TWIST. My third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, was published by St. Martin's on July 2, 2013. My fourth novel, THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB, will be published by Polis Books on May 6, 2014.

My work’s also appeared in the New York Post and Publisher’s Weekly. You can find me at brendajanowitz.com or on Twitter at @BrendaJanowitz.

RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE by Brenda Janowitz

My third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, came out yesterday.  And I'm feeling a million different emotions all at once: excitement, fear, happiness, joy, terror.... you name it.

It's not the first time that I've had a book come out.  In fact, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE is my third novel.  But there's something about putting your work out there into the universe for all to see.  

And judge.

I was recently chatting with a memoir writer about how we put ourselves out there as writers.  I was telling her that I found it brave, the way she was able to tell the truth.  But then I thought about it: isn't that what we do as fiction writers as well?  Sure, I won't have family members coming to me to complain about the way they were portrayed in my novel, but aren't we truth tellers, too?  Aren't we trying to tell the world what we think, how we think, and how we process it all?

RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE is about three generations of women with a culture all their own.  When Hannah finds herself spending the summer with her glamorous grandmother, a widow six times over, at her sprawling beach-front Hamptons estate, she learns that there’s more than one recipe for happiness. 

A story of mothers and daughters, grandmothers and grandchildren, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE is a quirky story about correcting the mistakes from your past and trying to create a future for yourself. 

Julie Buxbaum called it "a great summer read" and Ellen Meister said it was a "wise, tender and poignant story." Melissa Senate said "this gem of a novel sneaks up on you with just how powerful it truly is."

It's the most personal book I've written to date.  It is, at its core, about how I see the world, what I think about relationships.  It reflects who I am now, the person I've become, and it's terrifying to think that I've put that out there, for all the world to see.

I just hope you will all enjoy it.

I’m the author of SCOT ON THE ROCKS and JACK WITH A TWIST. My third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, was published by St. Martin's on July 2, 2013. My work’s also appeared in the New York Post and Publisher’s Weekly. You can find me at brendajanowitz.com or on Twitter at @BrendaJanowitz.

T Minus 29 days

The last time I had a novel out, it was 2008.  Since that time, I've gotten married, moved out to the suburbs, and had two kids.  So, you could say I've been busy.  But since that time, the publishing landscape has changed-- bookstores are disappearing before our eyes, book reviews are practically a thing of the past, and anyone can publish a book by simply clicking a few times over on Amazon.

Through all of this, I continued to write.  And my agent sold my third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, to St. Martin's in a two book deal, while I was in the hospital with my second son.  To say I was excited is an understatement.

RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE is about three generations of women with a culture all their own.  When Hannah finds herself spending the summer with her glamorous grandmother, a widow six times over, at her sprawling beach-front Hamptons estate, she learns that there’s more than one recipe for happiness.  

A story of mothers and daughters, grandmothers and grandchildren, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE is a quirky story about correcting the mistakes from your past and trying to create a future for yourself. 

It's a book that was inspired by my own grandmothers, and very much informed by my own journey into motherhood.  It's deeply personal, and I think it says quite a lot about where I am in my life right now.

When you sell a book to a large publishing house, it takes about 18 months for the book to be on shelves.  Since my book screams "summer"-- the setting, the gorgeous cover-- the pub date was important, so it will actually be a full two years from the time I got my deal until the book hits shelves.

And we are now at T Minus 29 days.  29 days until my baby (my third baby in every sense of that expression) sees the light of day.  29 days until I put myself out there, completely bare, for all the world to judge.  29 days until I find out if anyone likes the book-- if it means as much to anyone out there as it does to me.

It's my third time having a book published, but every time it's the same: you're scared, you're excited, you're thanking your lucky stars that you even got a book deal and you can feel all of these conflicting emotions all at once.

So, for the next 29 days it's just that: I'll feel scared, I'll feel excited, but most of all, I'll just feel lucky.

I’m the author of SCOT ON THE ROCKS and JACK WITH A TWIST. My third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, will be published by St. Martin's on July 2, 2013. My work’s also appeared in the New York Post and Publisher’s Weekly. You can find me at brendajanowitz.com or on Twitter at @BrendaJanowitz.

When EB White talks, I listen by Brenda Janowitz

One of the things I'm most often asked about the writer's life is my writing schedule.

I've heard all about this mystical "writing schedule."  In fact, I hear all the time about writers who have one-- they wake up every day at 5 am and write until 7.  Or they sit down and don't get up until they've written 1,000 words.  Or they go to writers colonies and hammer out entire books in the span of a month.

I envy those writers.  I really do.  I wish I could have such discipline.  But I don't.  Because the thing is, the thing that no one ever wants to hear, is that I don't have a writing schedule.  What I do is write whenever I can and as much as I can.  Simple as that.

My life is filled with little kids running underfoot, and carpools, and figuring out what to put on the table for dinner.  (Wow, I sound really glamorous, don't I!?)  I try to make the most of those times in between.  The few hours I have between dropping my son off and nursery school and pick up.  Whatever precious time I get if and when the kids nap.  A quiet evening here or there when the kids are in bed and my husband's stuck at work.

I wrote my entire first novel in the space in between.  When I got home from work early, when I had time on weekends, on lunch breaks.  I'd edit while riding the subway downtown, on the bus crosstown, on the Long Island Rail Road on trips to see my family.  And it worked.  Sure, it took longer than if I'd been writing every day until I hit the 1,000 word mark, but that wasn't my life.  So I fit the writing into the life I had then.  And I still do the same-- I fit the writing into the life I've got now.

EB White said "A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper."

Words to live by.



I’m the author of SCOT ON THE ROCKS and JACK WITH A TWIST. My third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, will be published by St. Martin's on July 2, 2013. My work’s also appeared in the New York Post and Publisher’s Weekly. You can find me at brendajanowitz.com or on Twitter at @BrendaJanowitz.

January 15, 2013 by Melissa Clark

Holiday Break: A Tale in Diary Entries

Dec. 14, 2012

Woo Hoo! Grading complete, grades submitted, one whole month to shower attention on the WIP and read the pile of books by my bed! 

Dec. 15, 2012

Why do I have 3 holiday parties this weekend? After Sunday it's all about the WIP and digging through the pile of books by my bed!

December 21, 2012

Not sure where the week went. Why, when you go to acupuncture, do they make you come back so often? How am I supposed to get work done? A friend invited me skiing for the weekend in Big Bear. Woo hoo! Time to visit my WIP and bring a few of those books that are by my bed.

December 24, 2012

Xmas eve? How? When? Why? Skiing was amazing - days on the slopes, nights by the fire and bed by 10. Next week is gonna be a big writing week. Big.

January 2, 2013

When I bought the Yoga Groupon I didn't realize I'd use it almost every day - that made yoga classes about 3 dollars a pop. Score! I've seen so many good movies - Les Miz, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty... someone actually wrote those. They put pen to paper and wrote them. Impressive! One day, before school starts, I'm going to write my book. Uh huh. Truly.

January 7, 2013

Downton Abbey is the best thing on television. I watched seasons 1 and 2 in the past few days. Brilliant acting, amazing directing, and the writing! THE WRITING!

January 11, 2013

Last weekend before school starts up again. From Friday to Sunday I'm going to hunker down - stay here in my home since there are no flu germs inside and the weather outside is frightful, and print out my WIP. I'm going to lay it out on the floor, reorganize scenes, revisit my outline, rewrite the ending... I'll write 20 page a day to make up for the month of lost time. Nights, I'll try to get through at least 2 of the 10 books on my bedside shelf and mornings I'll rise and do it all over again. This is going to be the most intense, productive weekend ever. Bring it!

January 14, 2013

First day of classes. Thank God I remembered to create the syllabus last weekend, and tweak the assignments, and prep for my tutoring gig, apply to those artist residencies, help my friend get a cat at a shelter, do karaoke, get a flu shot, watch the Golden Globes, chat on the phone, do yoga, clean house, go on a date and get the car washed. 

Melissa Clark is a sometimes-writer, sometimes-blogger and sometimes-skier. 

Writing and Holidays

Here in the West, we stress ourselves out around our holiday season. I know I do. I'm an introvert, like many writers, who would rather spend my time with the familiar and comfortable, including the interior world of my writing. Writing does a
lot of things for me, including earning income. But it's also something I love.

I've already had the crisis point when I realized that even if I never published another word, I would still write stories. That fierce love of words and story keeps me going when the business aspects get me down.
 
One thing I've tried to do over the years is recognize and eliminate pain points that put me off my writing game, and, therefore, my general-happiness game. There are some things I can do little to control but there's a lot I can do to to reduce or eliminate stress.

Holiday spending, for example. Used to be, I spent too much at the holidays: I love finding the right gifts. I'd end up stressed about the budget busting and stressing about the credit card bills afterward. Then, along with the local-shopping movement a few years ago, I decided I would be an all cash holiday affair. And so, for the last several years, every payday, I take all the cash left in my wallet and put it in my secret holiday spending pot. And by the end of the year I have a darn decent amount of money. But more to the point, I have ALL the money I am allowed to spend for the holidays.

I take that money downtown and spend it. Because that's what it's for. If there are presents that can only be bought online (and there are a few) I deposit that cash into my checking account so it's covered.

I look forward to asking clerks "Do you mind if I pay you in ones?" Store clerks are generally delighted to get a lot of one dollar bills. The stress of shopping is just about nil.

Family. Hoo Boy. Family can stress you out. Mine does. But I've come to recognize that with two exceptions, my immediate family does not support my writing; extended family not at all. This was not an easy or happy realization, but it's accurate. They aren't deliberately undermining me. It's more that I can't seem to get them to understand that writing is a job, and it's a hard one. I sign contracts that obligate me to turn in my work on time. With self-publishing in there, it's plain and simple fact that I need to put out high-quality content on a regular schedule.


Now that I've come to terms with the reality of family forces that work against my writing, it's actually easier for me to carve out the time I need for writing and not feel guilty. I'm also far less resentful. Of course I want to spend time with extended family, but that comes when I know my writing life is in a safe place.

It's no fun for anyone if I am at a family holiday event stressing because I have word count to make and will it EVER be time to leave? When I have paid my dues, as it were, I say, "I have work to do, so I am leaving now. Thank you so much, it was lovely to see you."  And then I leave. And that means I am far more relaxed when I am at that event.


A writer needs to carve out time, space and mental peace for her writing. What's within that space belongs to you. Do not share it with people who are destructive to the peace and safety of your writing. YOU draw the lines. Do not invite others to cross that line when you know they are not safe. Now, if I'm asked, I say things are going well, and then I change the subject. Do not volunteer your good writing news, (or any news) to people you know do not support your writing. DO share that news with those who do.

Other people may find the best solution is to schedule their projects so that time off at the holidays is a welcome break. That does mean telling your editor, no, you cannot deliver a book on December 31. Negotiate a due date that allows you to take that time off.

The time you spend writing does not need to be vast. It doesn't matter if your writing time is 5 minutes whenever you can, or 5 hours every evening. Over time, the words add up, and before long, your goal-per-day adds up to a novel. Keeping the writer part of you safe makes that happen.