For all of you following my efforts as I write my first book, I thought you might enjoy a brief progress report on my work thus far. I’ve just sent two sample chapters and short blurbs on the content of the fifteen chapters to a professional editor who will assist in making the manuscript as clear and clean as possible. After I complete a book proposal, I’ll send sending the lot to publishers to see if any are interested in my work.

I may as well start from the beginning with this, my first, progress report. The idea for the book to assist Baby Boomers who want to travel came as a result of the hundreds of travelers we met on our 26-month ‘round the world trip (RTW). more…

Being a full-time writer doesn’t mean that I can generate new prose for 40+ hours a week. It does mean, however, that my mind is on writing 100% of the time.

I discipline myself to write five hours a day and sometimes even manage eight hours – but by then my brain is complete mush and so it may not be my best work. On those days when only half my hours are dedicated to producing new material, I apply the rest to writing-related work. more…

Writers find all sorts of reasons for not writing. A lack of concentration is a common one. Anything that breaks focus on the work at hand becomes tantamount to crossing the Gobi desert, on foot, with no water. This is especially true if the writer’s fount of ideas is running dry.

That’s what sets off Jack Nicholson in “The Shinning” – okay, that and being cooped up with just two people, far from other living beings (lots of ghosts, though), and hemmed in by snow up to his eyeballs.

For me, the challenges come from the never-abating din of living in a large city with houses touching one another, no insulation whatsoever to block noise, neighbors who don’t understand or care that you can hear everything and streets busy with every kind of traffic imaginable. more…

If you are contemplating a writing vacation to get away from it all – not to vegetate – but to write, you’ll find many retreats, workshops and on-going classes (both over the Internet and in person) across Canada and the United States. You might not be able to make it to an exotic location such as Italy or Spain, but just removing yourself from your everyday life will free your creative juices.

Canada has a good number of interesting locations from the east coast Maritimes to British Columbia in the west. more…

Continuing with last week’s theme of getting away to write, here are more resources for those of you inclined to combine a little vacation with writing time. This week we’ll focus on Spain and Portugal, with beautiful cities, countryside, mountains and beaches, which can inspire us to write:

7 Day Wonder offers a number of week-long get-aways in Spain and France for vacationers to practice a number of the arts including writing, comedy (writing and performing), book groups, as well as singing and songwriting. The company has been operating for six years and operates out of Devon, England. (7 Day Wonder)
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