Addiction: The Good Kind

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Ann Roth

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m an addict. I love every one of my addictions, and am eager to share them with you. In no particular order, here they are:

1. Writing

If I don’t write something every day, I feel… odd. I enjoy writing. Focusing on writing anchors me. Steadies me. Makes me sing inside. Even when the writing is going badly. Well, that isn’t quite true. When I get stuck and can’t write another word until I get unstuck, I angst for hours, sometimes days, hashing over what to do to fix whatever the problem may be.

During this time, don’t expect me to be in a good mood. Trick I have learned over the years to get unstuck: jot down ideas, no matter how ridiculous they seem, get away from the work by doing something totally unrelated, phone a close writing friend for input. From experience, I have learned that the solution will always come… in its own time.

2. Reading

Three of the six bookshelves in my home. The top two are in my office, and include my own books, some of my keeper books (books I reread occasionally and can’t part with) and reference books. The bottom photo is in the family room.

My husband is an avid reader, too, and we have three more bookshelves and a window ledge or two filled with books. Don’t even ask about the books on my e-reader…

3. Coffee

As a naturally caffeinated woman :), I don’t NEED coffee, but I like everything about this drink, from the smell, to the ritual of grinding and brewing, to the taste. I also love treating myself at Starbucks, which I do once or twice a week.

4. Exercise

These are three of my newest exercise T-shirts. Exercise keeps me in shape and makes me feel terrific, and I work out six mornings a week. As you may know from my post last week, I also try to squeeze in a midday walk whenever possible.

Some of my most creative thoughts occur when I’m moving. Don’t ask me why, but I suspect all that physical activity occupies my brain, which allows my subconscious mind to jump to the forefront with really cool ideas.

5. Chocolate

I can’t do without chocolate. I try to keep it to a minimum, with a square after dinner. But sometimes (who am I kidding: a LOT of the time), one little square is not enough. I like all kinds of chocolate – dark, milk, with or without nuts, with or without fruit, with or without coconut…

I especially enjoy baked goods of all kinds, hot fudge sauce, chocolate malts, candy… Really, all things chocolate.

So there you have it, my top 5 addictions. I’m sure there are more, but I’ve taken enough of your time.

What are your good addictions? I would love to know, and I’m guessing others would, too!
Until next time,
Ann
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Springing Ahead… Way Ahead….

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Ann Roth

Here in the Pacific Northwest, winter has been unusually mild. Flowers are pushing up through the earth and trees are blooming– a full month early!

forsythia in our front yard

flowering magnolia across the street

I hope we don’t have a frost that will kill these flowers–or hurt our orchard mason bees.What are orchard mason bees, you ask? These amazing critters are used throughout the U.S., to pollinate fruit trees in orchards, as well as flowers and vegetables. They are gentle creatures (they avoid humans and don’t sting!), and are active for only a short time each spring. We buy them at our local hardware store. They come in a glass vial and can be stored in the refrigerator until the weather is warm enough to release them. (I wanted to show you the vial, but it got thrown away…)

orchard mason bee

Once a female works her magic, she lays eggs in a partitioned house, adds the pollen she has gathered, and seals each partition with mud. These bees aren’t able to bore into wood and make their homes, so we bought this little house at the same hardware store where we purchased the bees.

our orchard mason bee house

The female leaves the eggs to gestate and grow until the following spring, when as full-fledged bees, they break free and work their magic. This year, despite placing the bee house in a sheltered and relatively safe place, a predator of some kind ate all the eggs! We had to buy more.

With the sunny, warm weather we’ve been having, our orchard mason bees are already hard at work. I can hardly wait until the fruits of their labors bring us an abundant crop of veggies and fruits.

If only writing worked this way, with a big burst of work and creativity, and then a long period of seemingly nothing, while ideas hatched and grew into full-fledged, mature ideas. Instead, I’m hatching ideas all year-round, so many that I’ll never be able to turn them all into stories! Ah well, we writers to what we can…

Until next time,
Ann

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Time Flies…

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Ann Roth

Where does the time go? I have no answer to that! All I know is that February will soon be behind us. Which got me to thinking about this apt reminder:

I fritter away so much time on social media or plunked in front of the tube, time I will never be able to get back. Sure, after a day spent writing, I am brain dead, but there are better things to do than sit some more. Things such as: take a walk and see what Mother Nature is showing off. Work in the garden. Clean out the closet. Buy a new plant or some seeds and plant them. Volunteer someplace. Cook. Open a book and read. Okay, I already do the last two. But you get the gist, right?

What can you do with your time?

Something to think about…

Until next time,
Ann

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It’s My Party…

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Ann Roth

If you constantly compare yourself to others, you’re at the wrong party.

Truth: Your party is strictly about you, and begins and ends with you. I know this, and yet time and again, I catch myself chasing after someone else’s success and happiness, and wishing it was mine.

Yes, I’m multi-published author. I worked hard to attain this dream and I love sharing my stories with others. Readers often email to let me know how much they enjoy my books. As wonderful as I feel when I hear from fans, I still catch myself in the ugly trap of comparing myself to others. I’m not as good as this writer, or as successful as that one.

This is not good for my self-confidence or my happiness, and certainly does nothing to improve my writing.

Which is why I like this sage advice:

This makes perfect sense. Because, let’s face it, the only writing skills and output that I can control is my own, and the only person I can control is myself. The same goes for you.

Of course, I can learn a great deal by reading a particular author and noting how s/he crafted their masterpiece. I can learn new ways of promoting myself from others’ successes. I’d be crazy not to do these things.

But ultimately, my party is inside of me. Just as yours is inside you.

Food for thought…

Until next time,

Ann
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If You Want to Write… Read

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Ann Roth

The other day, I came across a quote by Jeff Goins (http://goinswriter.com/good-writers-read/) that mirrors my own belief: Nothing inspires a writer like reading someone else’s words.

If you want to be a decent writer, ya gotta read. Read anything and everything, and not just in your chosen genre. The more you read, the more you learn about the craft of writing. Grammar, sentence structure, story development, description, and so on.

Obviously, reading alone won’t get you there. Writing is a craft. Like any skill, becoming a good writer takes hard work and practice. Classes and workshops help, as well as finding like-minded people and forming a critique group. Most important, plant your behind in the chair and do the really hard stuff: the actual writing.

Writing isn’t for sissies, and don’t I know it. I’ve been writing for years, including seven long years as an unpublished author. Eventually persistence and my willingness to grow paid off. To date I have published over 25 novels (for a list, visit www.annroth.net).

You’d think that by now, writing would come easy for me. And in many ways, it does. But as I get better at crafting stories, some things only become more challenging. My growing skills push me to dig deeper into a character’s psyche, an often painful and difficult process.

Why put myself through this? Because my character demands it. Usually the payoff is worth the effort. Unmasking hidden depths and richness that I had no idea existed leaves me awed and excited to share the treasures with you.

Until next time,

Ann

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Hello, Monday

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Ann Roth

I like Mondays. New week, new beginnings! Even if I am in the middle of revising my current rough draft. It’s part a new series I’m writing, and I’m loving it.

More later– I’m eager to get back to work!!

Until next time,

Ann

I Am Writer

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Ann Roth

One of my favorite things about creating stories to share with you is the magic that seemingly springs out of the blue.

So I’m writing away, working from a synopsis, which is like a road map that tells me where I should go in order to reach that optimistic ending that is the payoff for all the suffering I put my characters through. Oh, yeah, I so enjoy making them suffer. :- )

As I labor to bring the story in my head to life on the page, suddenly the plot takes a turn I never planned for. Always an enjoyable surprise. Or the characters take charge and speak or act in totally unexpected and unanticipated ways. I love when this happens! Mind you, I don’t let them veer off on tangents too far removed from their story. Otherwise, you readers tend get frustrated–and so do I.

But when I trust them enough to give them free rein, amazing things happen. For that, I am beyond grateful.

I love my job, and it’s time I got back to it and let the magic unfold.

Wishing you magic, and until next time,

Ann

Graffiti I Actually Like

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Ann Roth

Much of the time, graffiti turns me off. Not these amazing creations:

Turning otherwise drab or ordinary surroundings into something wonderful-now that’s exciting! Writers do the same thing with words. Turning ordinary words into a captivating story that entertains, enlightens, enriches–that’s what I find most rewarding about my work.

Until next time,

Ann

Projects, projects everywhere…

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Ann Roth

This week, I am madly working away. I’ll be back another day.

Until next time,

Ann

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Caution… Woman at work

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Ann Roth

I am busy at work… and will be back another day.

Until Friday,

Ann

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