I started my writing journey to tell the stories that were cluttering my head. Stories float and flit through my mind as numerous as fireflies on a summer’s night. But I shared Tony’s concern. Would there come a time when I ran short of ideas? Where would I get new ideas? How could I continue writing if the well ran dry?

Despite my fear, I write stories, flash fiction stories, short stories, and novels. I started with ideas for two novels and now have ideas in various stages of development for four novels. Writing stories is like cutting the head off a Hydra. Each story I write creates more story ideas, and my idea list grows exponentially longer.

Does your writing inspire more stories?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I enjoy writing flash fiction and short stories. Attempting to write a story with a beginning a middle and an end in 100 words, is a real challenge. Every word must pull its weight, helping to develop the setting, mood, plot, character arc and everything else that makes a story successful. Concise, compact writing is the order of the day.

Like William, I use my daily flash fiction to try new things, explore the art of storytelling, test genres and have fun. I take the germ of the idea, write freely, then edit, edit, edit. I spend more time editing than I do writing the piece. Once my warm-up flash fiction is complete, I can start the days writing goals.

How do you structure your writing day?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I have learned I am not a morning person.  Early morning quiet, the new day’s stirrings, the first bird calls, the gradual coloration of the night’s black sky is my favorite time of day. I don’t attempt to string conscience thoughts into meaningful prose. It is too tortuous. Ideally, those early hours are better left to strong coffee and morning chores. It is also time for my morning characters meetings which is often a melee of conversational snippets, random impressions, and implausible situations.

With morning chores done, I have a primed pump, and I can spend several hours writing, transcribing the morning’s words and ideas. I take a break, waiting for my second wind, sometime around 9 or 10 pm., and I work until midnight.

When is your best writing time?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Leave it to the chattering voices droning in my head. They destroyed a wonderful plan, a plan filled with rest, relaxation and fun. No writing, no lists, no alarm clocks, no worries. Morning coffee, a deep breath, the voices saw an opening and jumped.

“Hello?” they said. “You’ve had your coffee?  Awake? Feeling rested?  You’re always saying you’re busy, you don’t have time. We see you’re not busy right now. Is it a good time? Nothing major. A few words perhaps?”

Can you say “Guilt” with a capital “G”? Well played voices. How can I say no? Yeah, okay, a few words. They are a sneaky bunch, you must watch them, anticipate their subterfuge. A few words, then a few words more, became filled pages. Devious, they are. They artfully derailed my plans, advanced their agendas, and made sure I had a fun day.

Do your voices interrupt your plans?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Lately, life has been a flurry of activity, appointments, deadlines, and demands. I rush from task to task, hurrying to complete each item by its appointed deadline. I pivot, twist, change directions and comply with new requests, additional information, and tactical adjustments.  Even my writing time has become one item to cross from my list, morphing and threatening to become more work than fun.

This is not acceptable. Time for a reset. Today I will take a break, breathe, and clear my schedule. No writing, no lists, no alarm clocks, no worries. A morning coffee, open space, a change of venue, and an opportunity to let my mind run wild. Today, it is dedicated to fun.

How do you remember why you started writing?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

No matter how you plot, plan, block writing time and commit to keeping the time scared, life happens. The dog needs a walk, a friend needs a shoulder, or you fall asleep at the keyboard. If I waited for celestial alignment and ideal circumstances, I fear I would never write.

Luckily writers are creative, muse-driven, inspirational lightning rods and we must write when the ideas strike. While I am not sure my motion sickness would allow me to write in the back seat of a taxi, hotels, airports, and airplanes would work. I am enamored with writing in a Walden Pond environment. Maybe I should start a bucket list of writing spots.

Where is your oddest or favorite writing spot?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The origins of Valentine’s Day go back to Lupercalia, an ancient Roman fertility festival honoring a long-forgotten deity who protected herds from wolves. Then in the third century, Emperor Claudius II Gothicus martyred two Roman priests. They were both named Valentine. Legend says one Valentine sent a letter to his jailer’s daughter and signed the letter “from your Valentine”.   Or perhaps Valentine performed weddings for soldiers, who were forbidden to marry. And this Valentine handed out paper hearts.

In medieval times, Chaucer helped popularize courtly love and the writing of love poems and songs. Later, even Shakespeare got into the act when Ophelia called herself “Hamlet’s Valentine”. February 14th became a great excuse to write verses filled with love and send them to your beloved.

Will you pen a poem to your Valentine today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

This is smart advice. You wouldn’t run a marathon on the first day you take up running. You wouldn’t consider climbing Mount Everest if you have never taken a hike in the woods. Writing a novel or a multi-book series requires training, developing endurance, gaining experience and finding your voice.

I try to build my writing muscles a little each day. Flash fiction serve as my daily burpees, developing concise writing habits and ruthless editing.  Short stories allow me to test character arcs, plot development, and effective storytelling. The shorter formats allow me to practice, developing and reinforcing my daily writing habit. I learn from less successful pieces and expand on the stories which work well.

How do you hone your craft?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The world is full of successful people with little talent, and talented people with little success. We can find countless reasons, attribute good luck, bad luck, and timing. But as Mr. Cobbett suggests the difference may boil down to perseverance. The ability to go to work every day, day after day, fixating on details, drilling on the basics, creating a plan and working the plan.

Everyone sees the glory of success. They overlook the boring, the tedious, the drudgery, the late nights, the early mornings and countless minuscule decisions. Unfortunately, success does not come with an arrival date and time. Perseverance keeps us on task in the face of difficulties, and uncertainty. It keeps us striving when things look bleak, and we fear of ever attaining our goal.

What will you do today to bring you closer to your goal?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Writing goes beyond putting words on the page. Much work goes unseen, unknown to the reader. But if we leave the work undone, its absence seeps into the writing. The germ of an idea is vetted, researched, tweaked and developed into a plot. We create logical subplots and stakes, access their value and devise ways to weave them into the story. Whether you outline or fly by the seat of your pants, thinking consumes us as we explore ways to make the story stronger.

Thinking days rankle my senses as I feel compelled to add words to the page, and progress slows. Then the story congeals, the words bloom, and all is right in our writing world.

Which activity are you engaged in today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer