Jan Fishler

Author and Happiness Coach

Janfishler

Writing Prompt:January 4, 2014

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January 4, 2014: Writing Prompt

Who is the one person you can count on to help you meet your most important goal? What qualities, traits, and attributes allow you to rely on him or her? If you don’t have someone like this in your life, create a fictionalized character who would be your most supportive friend and confidant.

Speak Your Truth, Write Your Story

Ask me about Writing Workshops: Write Your Story Memoir, Writing as a Pathway to Healing Trauma, Free Yourself to Write, and How to Plan Your Novel. Email me: jan@janfishler.net or call: 530-264-5105

Buy my adoption memoir: Searching for Jane, Finding Myself Kindle edition on Amazon.

Writing Prompt: January 3, 2014

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Writing Prompt: January 3, 2014

What is the most important goal for 2014? Why is this a priority? How will accomplishing this goal make you feel?

 

Speak Your Truth, Write Your Story

Ask me about Writing Workshops: Write Your Story Memoir, Writing as a Pathway to Healing Trauma, Free Yourself to Write, and How to Plan Your Novel. Email me: jan@janfishler.net or call: 530-264-5105

Buy my adoption memoir: Searching for Jane, Finding Myself Kindle edition on Amazon.

Writing Prompt: January 2, 2014

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Writing Prompt: January 2, 2014

Look at the goals you have written. What might prevent you from reaching them?  What are the ways you have sabotaged your efforts in the past? How will you prevent this from happening in the future?

 

Speak Your Truth, Write Your Story

Ask me about Writing Workshops: Write Your Story Memoir, Writing as a Pathway to Healing Trauma, Free Yourself to Write, and How to Plan Your Novel. Email me: jan@janfishler.net or call: 530-264-5105

Buy my adoption memoir: Searching for Jane, Finding Myself Kindle edition on Amazon.

 

Writing Prompt: January 1, 2014

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Writing Prompt: January 1, 2014

Write at least three personal and three professional goals for this year. Why are these goals important to you?

Speak Your Truth, Write Your Story

Ask me about Writing Workshops: Write Your Story Memoir, Writing as a Pathway to Healing Trauma, Free Yourself to Write, and How to Plan Your Novel. Email me: jan@janfishler.net or call: 530-264-5105

Buy my adoption memoir: Searching for Jane, Finding Myself Kindle edition on Amazon.

365 WRITING PROMPTS BEGINNING ON JANUARY 1, 2014

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365 WRITING PROMPTS BEGINNING ON JANUARY 1, 2014

SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG AND RECEIVE A PROMPT-A-DAY IN 2014

Writing a 600-800 word blog post takes me about an hour, but since I’m in the process of writing two books, I decided to try something different. For 2014, I’m going to provide writing prompts that will hopefully help you–my readers–flex your own writing muscles.

When you subscribe to my blog, you’ll get the prompts delivered to your inbox every day.  My recommendation is that you write for a minimum of 15 minutes without over-thinking the content. Remember, these prompts are a warm-up exercise.  If a prompt inspires you, please feel free to post your response in the comments section, or insert a link to your own post.  Remember…Speak Your Truth, Write Your Story.

Why I Write

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Why I Write

Writing is the one thing I do simply because I love it. I can’t help myself. Writing grounds me and helps me find my center, especially when I’m tired, emotionally drained, or preoccupied with the “should and musts” that constantly seem to present themselves. Without writing I would be as wilted as the tomatoes I forgot to water on more than one occasion this summer.

Unlike some writers, who stick with one project until it’s completed, it’s not uncommon for me to tackle several writing projects at once. Take the past few months for example. Since I haven’t been blogging, some people assumed that I haven’t been writing, but nothing could be further from the truth. In the past three months, I’ve revised 100 Tips & Prompts, started writing fiction, have been collaborating on a non-fiction book, developed a new workshop, and have been writing two 500 word blog posts a week for a client. No wonder I forget to water the tomatoes from time to time!

The non-fiction collaboration—Just Plan It!—is a small book designed to help writers plan their fiction. We were hoping to have a release in late September for this year’s National Novel Writing Month—when thousands of people actually commit to writing 60,000 words during November, but the editing is taking longer than expected so publication might have to wait until 2014.

The fiction is on its way to becoming a novel. Set in the 1940s, it’s about three generations of women, some more successful than others, in getting what they want. The main characters are loosely based on my birth mother, her mother, and her grandmother. I say loosely because I know so very little about them, and am having a great time making things up. Because I’m fairly new to fiction writing, I’ve joined a fiction writing group. We meet every other Monday evening and the feedback I’ve been getting has been incredibly helpful.

The workshop, Free Yourself to Write, a collaboration with another writer, is designed to help writers tap into their right brain and make writing—regardless of the content—quick, easy and fun. We’ll offer it locally a few times and then take it on the road. During the half day workshop, writers will learn 10 tools that we have used to avoid writers block and keep the words flowing.

Because I’ve gotten such good feedback on my memoir-writing workshops, when I’m not writing I’ve been marketing them, and soon I’ll be having workshops in various surrounding areas.

Anyway, it’s been a very busy summer and I’m looking forward to a busy fall, one with a lot of rain, so I don’t have to remember to water the tomatoes.

A Hot, Hot Day in July – Writing Prompt

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A Hot, Hot Day in July – Writing Prompt

Oh my, it’s going to be a scorcher, again.  The heat reminds me of hot summer days in Ohio where I grew up.  Until I was seven, my grandparents lived downstairs and my cousins lived next door. We didn’t have air conditioning and summers were spent outdoors in the shade of the crab apple tree. While the grownups drank iced coffee and ate watermelon, my cousin Mimi and I would run through the sprinklers and swing on the hammock, only taking a break to eat frozen orange juice popsicles my grandmother made in ice cube trays.  I don’t think we felt the heat much back then. We were too busy being kids and having fun.

At night, when it was too hot to stay in our apartment, my parents would take the 1955 Buick, windows down, wind blowing in our faces, for a ride in the country to see when the corn might be ready at the farm stand. It had to be “as high as an elephant’s eye” before the farmers would pick it, before we could buy it, bring it home, steam it, and slather it with butter and salt.

The best part of July was my birthday. Regardless of the heat, my grandmother would bake my favorite treat–cinnamon buns frosted with a thick, gooey, sweet glaze. After I licked the icing from the pan, my grandfather and I would go outside.  I’d follow him around the yard while he watered the garden, squealing with delight when he missed a plant and watered me instead.

The highlight of my birthday was snowballs. That’s right–snowballs in July.  During the inevitable winter snowstorms, my grandparents would make snowballs and store them in the freezer. At the hottest time of the day, my grandmother would bring them out on a platter and the games would begin. Over the years, we played a snowball version of hot potato, catch, snowball baseball, and snowball tag. And, of course, there was always a snowball dessert, some version of a snow cone, made with maple syrup or strawberry jam.

Today, the temperature is supposed to reach the triple digits.  I don’t live in Ohio any more, but  this afternoon, I plan to make a pot of iced coffee, cut a thick slice of watermelon, turn on the sprinkler,  sit out under the Japanese Maple, and give my cousin Mimi a call to see what she remembers about the hot, hot days of July.

WRITING PROMPT: WRITE ABOUT A HOT SUMMER DAY FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD

Mastering the Art of the Interview

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Mastering the Art of the Interview

A few weeks ago, my friend Hollie, who is a radio broadcaster at KNCO radio 830 AM, asked me if I’d like to fill in as host for the Monday afternoon show, “On The Town–Tell Me Something Good,” which is broadcast from various locations—mostly restaurants and coffee shops. Who wouldn’t want to interview members of the community about positive activities and events taking place around town—and receive a free lunch in exchange? As someone who spends way too much time in front of her computer, the idea of getting out and talking to people is really appealing. Three weeks ago I officially went into training, and last week I conducted my first on-air interview.

Although I am not trained as a radio broadcaster, I do understand the art of the interview. During the two plus decades I spent producing corporate videos, the first step was always information gathering, talking to a wide range of employees—from factory workers to CEOs.  A big part of my job was interviewing non-professional talent—making them comfortable in front of the camera, and asking the right open-ended questions. The answers would reveal pertinent facts and information that could later be edited into a training or promotional program. While I prepared in advance for these interviews, there was no pressure to get it right the first time. It didn’t matter that a CEO might require four or five takes before his statement was the way it needed to be, or that a particular question didn’t prompt the ideal response. In the final edit, everything flowed and looked flawless.

“Tell me Something Good” is a live thirty minute show, something that really hit home moments before conducting my first interview. I didn’t exactly panic, but I was worried. What if I couldn’t think of the right question? Forgot my guests’ names? Didn’t remember when to take a station break? Hollie has been doing the show for so long that she doesn’t do any prep. She books the guests, chats a few minutes before the show begins, jots down a few notes and talks like she’s known them forever. She explained her method, “Just be curious and let the questions come to you.”

Unfortunately, I won’t be booking my own guests until July, so in the meantime, I’ll be following Hollie’s method and hoping for the best. But when I’m doing the show on my own, I’ll want a strategy that makes me feel more secure. It also occurred to me that there might be others—especially article writers and bloggers—who also need to master the art of the interview. So, I did a little research to see if I could come up with a simple approach that would guarantee success.

Here is my 5-step plan for mastering the art of the interview:

  1. Know the guest. Pick someone who is articulate and knowledgeable and passionate about their subject.
  2. Learn about the topic ahead of time. Be able to answer basic questions: who, what, when, where, why and how.
  3. Prepare questions in advance. Ask the guest to provide a list of questions they would like to answer.
  4. Have relevant information on one sheet of paper. Use this information to fill air space and right before station breaks.
  5. Have fun. Keep it light and go with the flow. Let it be okay to make a mistake.

Listen to my first KNCO radio broadcast.

 

How to Write Fast

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How to Write Fast

Recently, I’ve been collaborating on a project with another writer who is amazed at how quickly I crank out new material. “How do you write so fast?” she asked. Because I didn’t realize that my writing speed was faster than anyone else’s, I had to think about how to answer her question. In hindsight, perhaps I do have a few tricks up my sleeve. Good news: It’s easy to learn how to write fast.

Planning is always my first step. Before I write anything, I think about it and develop a strategy. Sometimes, I do this in my head, but for more complex projects I complete a list or make an outline. This approach stems from my days as a corporate scriptwriter and video producer where pre-production planning is built into the process. Because of the cost involved (before everyone and their brother started making videos on their smart phone), no producer would ever proceed without a detailed plan and a budget. If I’m writing something short, like an article or a blog post, it’s so much easier to jot down my thoughts and arrange them in some logical sequence before I begin looking for the right words.  To write fast, you need to plan.

For me, part of the planning process is research—making sure I have more information than I need to write about a particular topic. Google is a lifesaver, but depending on the size of the project, I often take time to read books on the subject or interview experts. Once my brain is filled with information on a particular topic, it’s very easy to get out of my way and let the words flow. To write fast you need to know your subject.

Getting out of the way is something I learned many years ago while videotaping a series of hypnosis training classes. Because the brain is so open to suggestion, it is easy to take a few deep, calm, relaxing breaths and plant a few simple suggestions, like: I write quickly and effortlessly. I complete my writing assignments in record time. I know everything I need to know to quickly write this article. You get the idea. This approach can be even more effective if you also visualize the desired outcome such as seeing a happy client hand you a large check or picturing your novel on the shelves of the major bookstores. To write fast, you need to visualize the desired outcome.

Letting the words flow is really the key to writing fast. Because I have an outline and a lot of information in my head, and I’ve pictured the desired outcome, when I do sit down at the computer to write, I don’t spend time thinking about sentence structure, grammar or whether I have the facts straight. Typically, I bang out a first draft and then go back and clean it up.

Another trick is setting a kitchen timer for five minutes and writing non-stop until it goes off. Try experimenting and see how many words you write in this amount of time. Generally, when I do this, I can produce an average of 250 to 300 words. I also use this technique when I’m looking for a way to begin a story or article. I give myself five minutes to try out opening sentences. When I step out of the way, I’m always amazed at what magically appears on the page.