I went to see the new Toy Story movie on my birthday. I loved it! It’s deserving of all the hype it’s been getting and you should definitely check it out if you get the chance. In the mean time, here are some lessons I learned about writing courtesy of Pixar Animation Studios.

Patience

It’s been eleven years since the last Toy Story movie. It takes time to create something wonderful. Don’t be so caught up in “getting something out there” that you don’t spend the time to make sure it’s something worth having out there.

Keep your audience in mind

One of the things that makes Toy Story work (well, most of Pixar’s movies) is that it appeals to both kids and adults. Even though we may be writing for kids, we need to keep in mind who’s buying our books. This is especially true if we’re writing picture books.

Respect your audience

Kids are smart and often come with a better (and more mature) sense of humor than we give them credit for. Everyone loves slapstick but even young readers can appreciate a thoughtful story.

Pick substance over flash

The animation of the Toy Story 3 is stunning. But what makes it truly great is the *story.* You can have all the flashy tricks in the world going on it your book or following the latest trend. But if you don’t have a quality story, the work will ultimately fall flat.

Good characters are essential

One of the reasons the Toy Story franchise has been so successful is that it has memorable characters. They are clever, kind, smart, dedicated, loving and yes, flawed. We can relate to them and find their world believable.

Show, don’t tell

There is a scene in Toy Story 3 where all looks bleak for Woody and the gang. I won’t tell you what it is, but I will tell you that the characters simply begin to join hands. Without saying a word, these characters tell us so much about their love for each other. It’s amazingly moving. It’s also great writing.

Hey! It’s quiz time for my daughter and her friend, which is what they get for sitting around my den on Saturday instead of doing something productive. I have two 11-year-old girls here. What do they plan to read this summer?

M: Plans to re-read the Warriors books by Erin Hunter and is looking forward to the newest Warrior release; wants to read the fifth Percy Jackson book; wants to read more Madeline L’Engle and more of the Sisters Grimm series.

K: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer; wants to finally read the 13th book of Series of Unfortunate Events; wants to start the Warrior series.

Series are definitely the winner here! I haven’t had the courage to delve into Warriors myself, but the other books are great choices.

Kate

There’s been a lot of talk about the Student of the Year award around my house lately. It’s a special recognition that each team of teachers at my daughter’s middle school give to one student each year. My daughter was really hoping to be chosen and was crushed when she learned someone else got picked. She cried for hours and there wasn’t much I could do but tell her *I* think she’s amazing.

Wanting to be recognized for our hard work is simply part of being human. I think, as writers, we are keenly aware of that. But here’s the thing: looking outside of ourselves for validation and recognition rarely ends well. It’s taken me a long time and many years in the writing business to realize this.

Here are a few of things I shared with my daughter. (I was a little more subtle with her; 13 year-olds are not known for listening to Mom!) See how many of them also apply to having a manuscript rejected:

Someone else succeeding doesn’t mean you failed.

You can do your best and still not win.

There were lots and lots of other people to choose from; the decision probably wasn’t personal.

You don’t know how well other people did.

Don’t do the work because you want something. Do your best because it feels good.

You can only control what you can control. Let the other stuff go.

Success is not a pie with a finite number of pieces; there’s enough to go around. Your turn will come.

After the initial sting of disappointment, my daughter pulled herself together. I think she’ll be okay. After all, like Tom Hanks once said, “You learn more from getting your butt kicked than you do from getting it kissed.”

When I first starting doing martial arts, I struggled with insecurity next to more experienced belts. I felt like,  no matter how hard I worked at it, I’d never be that good. Everyone else seemed to pick up on things sooner and their techniques were so much more graceful than mine. A black belt gave me some great advice. She said that whenever I was tempted to compare myself to someone else, I should tell myself “I’m a white belt; I don’t need to know that yet.”

It was great advice because it *allowed* me to suck. My only job was to keep showing up and keep practicing the skills I’d be tested on next. Sure, I could aspire to be as confident and effective as those black belts I saw. But it was going to take time. And lots of bruises, tears and sweat. In the mean time, the joy was in the process and in the leap of trying something new.

I need to take this advice to heart these days. My work-in-progress is stalling out (curses, you monstrous middles!) and I find myself wondering if I’ll ever be good enough to pull it off. I look around and see so many others finishing their drafts, landing agents or publishing books. And here I sit – unable to get through my lousy rough draft.

But, hey, my job right now is to just keep showing up. Every day. Ready to fight with all my heart and to the best of ability.

I may not be new to writing, but I *am* new to writing fiction. So say it with me, “I’m a white belt; I don’t need to be brilliant yet!”

 As I approach the scary saggy middle section of my work-in-progress, I’ll do anything to distract myself. Today I even considered dusting, but I quickly remembered I had a blog post to write.

That’s the good thing about being a writer. I have willpower. What other qualities are helpful to a writer?

1. An analytical mind – You need to enjoy spending time thinking about situations and their possibilities, as well as all the problems that come up when your characters get themselves into tricky situations.

 2. The power of observation – You notice details in the world around you—smells, tastes, sounds or sights—that other people often don’t even register.

 3. An ear for language – You like the sounds of words and you have a natural sense of the rhythm of conversations.

 4. Good fine motor skills – It definitely helps when your fingers can keep up with the thoughts spilling from your brain.

 What other traits does a writer need?

 – Andrea

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone

I can see all obstacles in my way.

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.

It’s gonna be a bright, bright

Sun-shiny day.

I’ve always loved this song. My favorite line is the second one:

I can see all obstacles in my way.

Notice how it’s not the obstacles are gone; they’re still there. It’s just that I can SEE them now. I know what’s in my way. Isn’t that an exciting thought? Being able to see those things standing in your way is the first step to getting around or through them.

This song has been running through my head the last couple of days. I suspect it’s because after months of feeling my way around in the dark, writing with only some kind of vague direction in mind, I now have an outline for my new project. What brought on this sudden clarity was a combination of things my amazing critique group said. They were not bang-me-over-the-head comments, just simple nudges and questions. But they were enough to make things clearer, enough to blow away the dark clouds that had me blind. Sometimes inspiration is like that –  a soft breeze instead of a wind storm.

Yes, I have a lot of work to do. (A lot!) But I can see what needs to be done now and at least have some kind of plan for getting to where I want to go. That’s more than I had before.

It’s gonna be a bright, bright, sun-shiny day!

One of my favorite quotes hanging on the bulletin board over my desk is this one from Joe Namath:

“When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun and when you have fun, you can do amazing things.”

Today, my goal is to find the confidence and find the fun again and get back to my WIP after a month away. Wish me luck!

What’s your favorite, motivational quote?

Not being a big sports fan, this is one of the first times that I’ve really gotten into watching the Winter Olympics. It’s not just because it’s in my home country (Go Canada Go!).  Working hard to achieve my own writing goals has led me to really appreciate the level of dedication and commitment it takes to make it. A few things I’ve learned from watching that I can apply to my own writing:

Speed. Set a pace and get a rhythm going, but save something for that final push when it really counts.

Timing. One decision about which way to go or when to make a move can effect the entire performance.

Details. All the small elements–dramatic gestures, a simple step sequence–require attention to create a perfect routine.

The connections that writers make between writing and the Olympics are interesting, too.  More food for thought about the Olympics and writing by Lisa over at Author2Author, Susan Lyons and Eileen Cook.

– Andrea

See that tiny, black thing near the middle of the picture? That’s my mailbox. We’ve just had our third major snow storm in the last week-and-a-half. I’m tired of shoveling. I’m tired of cold. I’m tired of kids with cabin fever. I’m just plain tired.

As my friends can attest, I’ve had a crazy week on top of all the white stuff. It included, among other things, a sad trip to the vet and a potentially scary trip to Urgent Care. It shouldn’t come a surprise to anyone that I didn’t get much writing done this week. (Okay, try one lousy paragraph.)

It happens though. Life gets in the way. This used to frustrate me to no end. “Writers write EVERY DAY.” Right? Well, no. That’s not always possible. But I’ve learned that you just gotta cut yourself some slack and trust that your current project will wait.

So if other things need your attention today, don’t sweat it.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think my snowy driveway is calling. Again.

Once in a while, something happens that causes my whole outlook on writing to change.

When my father died a few years ago, it made me think about what I really wanted to do during my lifetime — write, of course! Instead of just dabbling and sending out the occasional submission, I took courses and workshops, set goals for myself, applied for freelance writing jobs, and ended up becoming a freelance educational writer.

This month, I had another breakthrough moment. This one was about what I do with my writing time. I decided to make more time for writing for myself. 

Since then, I’ve been working on my writing almost every day. The surprising thing is that now I can’t wait to get to my desk to work on my story. It could be because this time, I have an outline. Or because it’s my third [still unpublished] novel and I’ve finally developed a more efficient writing process. But I think that it’s because I’m more focussed on writing for me. I know it isn’t going to be perfect. It could be a practice novel, or it could be “the one that gets published”. It doesn’t matter. My writing is important for me and I just want to write.

 What breakthrough moments have had an impact on your writing?

– Andrea