Regarding my writing ambitions, how long does a volcano have to be dormant before it is declared extinct?

from Wikipedia:

Extinct

Whether a volcano is truly extinct is often difficult to determine. Since "supervolcano" calderas can have eruptive lifespans sometimes measured in millions of years, a caldera that has not produced an eruption in tens of thousands of years is likely to be considered dormant instead of extinct. Some volcanologists refer to extinct volcanoes as inactive, though the term is now more commonly used for dormant volcanoes

once thought to be extinct.

 Dormant

It is difficult to distinguish an extinct volcano from a dormant (inactive) one. Volcanoes are often considered to be extinct if there are no written records of its activity. Nevertheless, volcanoes may remain dormant for a long period of time. 

This subject seems appropriate as a I embark on a new goal for a new year of writing -- namely, 

to finish, submit, and publish a book. 

I read some advice recently about new year's resolutions, which I will share here for anyone who has a new year's resolution or two:

1) Select 1-3 things ONLY so that you can have clarity and focus on a really important goal or two.
2) List all of  your really compelling reasons to accomplish this goal. They have to be huge, because they will have to TOWER over the reasons you would like to quit later on.
3) Judge yourself on your honest effort -- NOT the validity of your excuses. Soft lies we tell ourselves kill goals and dreams.
4) List those things that will distract you from accomplishing your goal -- forces that will try to keep you in your comfort zone. You will have to be committed to make this change and work hard to avoid these distractions.
5) Recognize that you will be on your own to accomplish this goal, then hold yourself accountable. Do not blame anyone else.
6) Make a strategic plan. What will you do specifically to accomplish your goal? How will it work? List steps in a hierarchy of importance.

So here is my analysis based upon these steps:
1) Goal Selected: FINISH, SUBMIT & PUBLISH A BOOK
2) My really compelling reasons:

• Because it has been a goal my entire life. I've always known that I am / should be / could be a writer. (To avoid regrets later on in life if I have not really written anything.) 
• To share my vision and insights with the world in a quiet but effective and permanent way. (Someone once observed that people want to write because they want to be heard -- maybe that's it. I also thoroughly enjoy words and ideas.) 
• To demonstrate (especially to my children) that through dedication and hard work, you can fulfill your dreams. 
• To contribute to our household income in a fulfilling, artistically satisfying way. 

3) I will judge myself by my honest efforts by tracking how many minutes I devote each day and how many words I write. 

4) Anticipated distractions: 

• The lure of the Internet, especially Facebook and news sites. 
• My tendancy to become embroiled in other people's projects and problems. 
• Fear, self-doubt, worry. I will need to believe in my own voice as a writer and my destiny to write. I am the only one who can say what I have to say. 
• My tendancy to avoid the hard work of writing by throwing myself into other hobbies and interests. 
• Not having a good daily schedule. Being reactive instead of proactive. 
• Fatigue from staying up too late doing unproductive things. 
• Interruptions. 

5) I will hold myself accountable by:

• working on no more than two writing projects at a time (probably one fiction, one non-fiction) 
• Leaving the house each day for another environment if there are too many distractions and temptations at home. 
• Keeping track of how much actual time (in minutes) I am devoting to writing. 
• Keeping track of how many words I write in each session. 

6) My strategic plan: 

• Pray daily for divine guidance and assistance. 
• Spend up to 30 min. each day doing the business of writing: research, inquiries, etc. 
• Spend about 30 min. each day "free writing" on a blog or elsewhere to warm up. [Record minutes and words]
• Spend 30 min. or more each day working on a piece of writing. [Record minutes and words]
• On Tuesdays, tally up # of minutes and # of words for the week. Make specific goals for the coming week. 
• Submit pieces for publication every two months (The first day of March, May, July, Sept., Nov., Jan.) Track progress. 

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.  Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. – Goethe

25 Days of Success with the Red X Method

I should probably wait until I've officially gone a full month, but I have to tell the world about the "Red X Method" (for lack of a better term), which I have been using for the past 25 days without fail.

I learned about this method from a link to a link online. The first snippet I read had been published at entrepreneur.com. It related the story of a comedian who crossed paths with the great Jerry Seinfeld at a comedy club. He knew that Seinfeld had been extremely successful at everything he had ever done in comedy -- stand-up, sitcoms, movies, etc. One year he made over 200 million dollars. So he asked Seinfeld the same question hundreds of others have probably asked Seinfeld: How did you become successful in the business?

Seinfeld told him that years ago when he was first starting out he posted a one-year calendar on the wall (January through December, all on one page) and every day that he wrote jokes he could mark a red X over the date. In order to mark the red X he had to actually write jokes -- not just research jokes. (I know from experience it is easier to retreat into 'research,' which may be interpreted as surfing the web.)

What Seinfeld discovered was that he did not want to have a date without a red X, so he wrote jokes every single day in order to avoid breaking the chain. It became essential to his daily routine.

Seinfeld believes that consistency, day in and day out, has kept his comedy fresh and relevant and has been one of the secrets to his success.

So the very day that I read this story I started writing consistently, every day. I began with the book I was closest to finishing, and within a week it was done (I had worked on it for months a couple of years ago before giving it up for some reason.) Twelve days in, I was sending it off to an agent in New York with a newly written query letter (still waiting to hear back, still hopeful, also realistic).

Since sending that book off, I have written every day, but I have floundered a bit in deciding which book to work on next. (I have started and finished at least a dozen fairly serious projects.)  I've chosen a book now and I am making slow but steady progress. New book ideas have been coming at me left and right, too, like they used to when I was writing more frequently. I'm a conduit again for the writing muse, and it feels great.

Of course I've known forever by reading dozens of books on writing that you have to do it every day, but the red x method has been the best motivation I have found. On at least two occasions over the past 25 days I have wanted to bag it and leave the date un-exed, but then I have convinced myself to open up the file and do a little writing. Soon I am absorbed in the work and glad that I didn't miss the opportunity.

Of course the Red X Method can be applied to any endeavor, not just writing or writing jokes. Anything you  want to be doing every day but never seem to find the time for -- mark it with an X!

Quotes on Writing

I have a HUGE collection of quotes about writing. I thought I would share a few from time to time. These are offered in no particular order - just as I come across them in one of my quote journals (in this case, the green one):

As a young man, I realized that I was doomed, or elected, or sentenced for life to the writing of poetry. Edwin A. Robinson

I like to write. I love to write. But I write just for myself and my own pleasure. J.D. Salinger

I have drawers in my mind, so many drawers. I have hundreds of materials in these drawers. I take out the images and memories that I need. Haruki Murakami (Japanese novelist)

From "How to Be a Writer" by Lorrie Moore: First, try to be something, anything else. A movie star/astronaut. A movie star/missionary. A movie star/Kindergarten teacher. President of the world. Fail miserably. It is best if you fail at an early age - say 14. Early, critical disillusionment is necessary so that at 15 you can write long haiku sequences about thwarted desire.

If there were a special hell for writers it would be in the forced contemplation of their own works. John Dos Passos

Dickens makes his books blaze up not by tightening the plot or sharpening the wit, but by throwing another handful of people upon the fire. Virginia Woolf

If only I could manage, without annoyance to my family, to get imprisoned for ten years, without hard labor, and with the use of books and writing materials, it would be simply delightful. Lewis Carroll

Medicine is my lawful wife and literature my mistress. When I get tired of the one, I spend the night with the other. Anton Chekhov

And my favorite from this little group of quotes:

Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. Anton Chekhov

A Writing Analogy

Getting ready to write fiction is a lot like building a fire without matches.

I choose a patch of dusty earth in an airy but windless cove, then make a small mound out of twigs, dry leaves, steel wool, if I have it, lint, wood shavings, bits of bark...anything that will burn. (There is a quaint term for dry, flammable material: tinder.) Crouching into a ridiculously uncomfortable postion, I strike a steel blade against a splinter of flint over and over again, as rapidly as possible, until sparks begin igniting in quick succession. At first they are almost instantly, mysteriously extinguished. I begin to think that the tinder isn't dry enough or that I do not have the energy to continue, that I am becoming exhausted in the effort and should just go do laundry, when one spark lands on the edge of a withered leaf, which sends up an orange plume.

Quickly setting aside the stone and knife, I move the tendril of a dry weed to intersect the flame. Soon the whole mound is glowing, snapping, spitting, but I know that it it will burn out soon if I do not breathe on it to keep it alive. I must hover over it and give it air while blindly selecting combustible fodder from a secondary pile of wood close at hand. I lay pieces carefully on the fire, hoping not to smother the now flickering, now flaundering flame.

I coax it into a larger and larger conflagration, not wanting a bonfire or an inferno, exactly, but something small and warm that I can work with. On a good writing day, whole trees are reduced to powdery ash as I tend this fire, pausing from my task to rotate a log or stir coals.

Eventually, the fire is completely gone. Only a half dozen computer screens remain.

Desparately Seeking an Agent

Each Friday for the past several weeks I have visited the local post office to send out my book proposal to one agent per week. (It's a non-fiction children's book that I've been working on for several years now...) To date I have received one official rejection - a form letter, nonetheless, from the second agency I sent to. (I neglected to send an SASE to the first agency, so I may never hear from them at all.) I wouldn't say that it's frustrating yet, but it would be very nice to have a nibble, a hint of interest from SOMEone in the publishing industry. In reality, I understand that first books are almost never published without some real effort. If the book is picked up (i.e., sold), I will throw myself into the remaining research and writing until it is complete and published. I'd love to see it happen because I really think it would be a wonderful book for families.

In other news, I am processing loads of laundry and dishes today. (Yes, more than one load of dishes! I made a special dinner last night for Scott's birthday and used every mixing bowl we own, multiple pots, baking dishes, etc. As an aside, I must admit that the lasagna was particularly delicious...)

Tom woke me up before my alarm went off this morning to kill a spider who was dangling from the light fixture in the hallway. He described it as bungee jumping, springing up and down as it spun its web, but when the spider saw me it dropped to the ground and disappeared into the chocolate chip carpet. I couldn't see it at all, couldn't even detect movement. (That's why we chose this carpet. Scott asked the salesperson to show us carpet that already looked dirty.) So I dragged the vacuum cleaner up two stories and vacuumed all over the place before the sun had even come up. I really needed a housework day like this anyway, I suppose.

I think I finally told my first potential reader the address for this blog last night -- my husband. I'm still not sure exactly what to do with it, but I suppose the real purpose fr this blog will reveal itself over time. Meanwhile, it's nice to have one.