There's Still Writing by Wendy H. Jones

It's a strange old time, where we are all stuck indoors with many of us on our Jack Jones. Our heads are full of a virus, not literally I hope but the knowledge of said virus. Time and energy is subsumed by it. A lot of writers are saying they are struggling to write as their mojo has flown out of the window. I get that. My Mojo is telling me it needs a holiday. Whist this is okay for a short time, it is not good in the long term. If this social isolation carries on for any length of time, we need to slap our mojo around the 'not keen' and drag it back to work. 

As well as being the Webmaster for the Association of Christian Writers, I am also the President of the Scottish Association of Writers and run an ACW and SAW affiliated writing group. This found me cancelling the yearly conference and calling a halt to the writing group, which means I am thinking of ways to motivate, inspire and keep members writing. If you are in a similar boat here are some ideas to use.

1. My writing groups are doing word sprints together at 10.30 each day.

2. I am keeping in touch with my writing group via WhatsApp Chat and we are encouraging each other.

3. One of our members is running an online critique group for a small number of people. We are using oneclick.chat to do this. You an also use zoom.

4. I am running mini competitions for both SAW and my writers group. The first week was a 10 word story. The second week was a limerick. The only prize is a certificate but there have been numerous entries and members are enjoying themselves. 

5. Whilst the SAW conference was cancelled, we held a virtual awards ceremony for the competitions. All the adjudicators put a video together announcing the winners. Our final competition was for a poetry wall at the conference. We have now put the poetry wall on the website and the poems are being pinned anonymously. The winner will be chosen on 14th April. As this is an official competition a trophy will be awarded once we can get the trophies back from last years winners. There's only so much we can do to keep things normal.

There are many ways in which you can encourage each other to keep writing and to support writers during this time. If you are still working, buying the books of those who are not, and have lost income, is a great way to do this. Many ACW members are self employed and the current situation has affected their earnings. You can find books on the ACW Website  and click on bookstore. There is something for everyone. 

One of the ways in which I am passing time is doing bible colouring books. Yes, I had these at home but you can buy them online. Many Christian bookshops are still doing online orders, so again it is worth supporting them. Here is my latest one to encourage you

Now, here is a wee caption competition for you all. I love penguins, hence the picture at the top. Write a caption to go with the picture in the comments below. In one week I will choose a winner and a certificate will be issued. This is not an official ACW competition, just a bit of fun. So, have at it and enjoy yourself in the process. 

If you are really struggling for motivation, I have reduced the ebook version of Motivation Matters to just £1.99 for the next week. 

      

Today's podcast is also about Motivation for Writers, so plenty of inspiration to help your writing mojo. 

The Writing and Marketing Show

These may be difficult times but there is still a loot we can do to help ourselves and each other and as I say in the title, There's Still Writing

About the Author

Wendy H Jones is the Amazon Number 1 best-selling author of the award winning DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries. Her Young Adult Mystery, The Dagger’s Curse was a finalist in the Woman Alive Readers Choice Award. She is also The President of the Scottish Association of Writers, the Secretary of the Association of Authors in Scotland, an international public speaker, and runs conferences and workshops on writing, motivation and marketing. Wendy is the founder of Crime at the Castle, Scotland’s newest Crime Festival. She is the editor of a Lent Book, published by the Association of Christian Writers and also the editor of the Christmas Anthology from the same publisher. Her first children's book, Bertie the Buffalo, was released in December 2018. Motivation Matters: Revolutionise Your Writing One Creative Step at a Time, was released in May 2019.

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