Elora Nicole Ramirez's Blog, page 13

day fifteen: different stages of editing

I never edited a single thing until I got to college.

My first paper, ripe with wanderlust and naïvety and expectation, came back to me bleeding with professor notes and a big fat F on the top of the page.

Well. 

I struggled through refinement during the next four years, but still resisted the process of going back through my work to find the best word and the perfect phrase. I don't think I ever really showed anyone anything until I published EVERY SHATTERED THING the first time around — and even then, it wasn't for editing purposes.

I became a different writer between then and now. I changed my routine, wanting to make sure book two started off right. The editing of my first book was such a sore spot — and also such an incredible learning experience — the last few months before the re-release were amazing creatively and I realized just how electric the editing process could be if you allowed it.

So when I started writing in March, I immediately gathered people around me. 

And the editing began. 

Here's the process I used.

1. Critique Partners

Critique partners typically receive your manuscript as you write. They comment on any stray plot holes, character flaws, shoddy dialogue, and weak sauce writing. These are people you trust and who can offer you feedback without you freaking out and quitting altogether. They also need to be people who really love your writing and typically encourage the heck out of you, because of the above reason.

 Depending on the level of feedback you're wanting, you can also call these people alpha readers — those who simply read for surface level responses. Did it work for them? Are they wanting more? Is it engaging? Does it entertain them? Are the hooked?

I loved my group of people — about seven of them — because it provided a built in accountability system. I knew if I hadn't sent them any new words within a few days I would be getting texts, emails, phone calls and arm punches (they were gentle). 

Note: I encourage you to keep this group as small as possible. I used seven, and that's abnormally high. I also trusted each of these people implicitly with the plot and my story. These were people already invested in what happened to Stephanie, and they're also some of my closest friends and fellow arena dwellers. I can't stress it enough: choose wisely. 

2. Beta Readers

Beta readers get the entire manuscript once you're finished. These are the next layer of editing: does your story flow? Does chapter one move well into chapter two and does this scene make sense moving into the next? Critique partners get the initial microscopic view and can help you with plotting, stickiness of characterization and finishing. 

Beta readers help you catch the big content issues before you send it off to an editor.

For instance, a beta reader for SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WATER & SKY caught a huge inconsistency at the end of my book. She made complete sense when she gave me the feedback, and I immediately went to revise the issue. I was able to fix it before sending it to my editor in June. 

You want your beta readers to be cheerleaders, but also willing to tell you the truth. I always give a caveat in my emails to betas: I love you. Because I love you, I want to know the truth. Please tell me if there are any cheese ball scenes in this manuscript. 

And then if they respond, I listen. 

3. Editors

DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.

By this point, you've been through your book a few times. You know the dialogue, your favorite scenes, the moments resonating with other readers (because you've let people in to the process from the beginning). 

Do not stop there. 

Find someone you connect with — someone who you can trust with your words (because let's face it, this is a big deal). Your editor can be a friend, but if all you're getting is "gosh, this is really amazing! I can't find anything! It'll be a bestseller!" Drop 'em like it's hot and move on. 

I promise you there are mistakes you do not want the public at large to see within your precious story. I promise you there are entire sentences, phrases, paragraphs, pages and maybe even chapters that you end up deleting because you realize it doesn't serve the overall plot. Remember: good editors challenge you to become an even better writer. Ask around—who do other indie authors suggest? (My editor is awesome and I love her and you can find her here) Once you find a few who interest you, start early and inquire about their availability. 

And then send your manuscript to them by the deadline.

4. Yourself

After all of the stages, you still have one more: that moment you get your edits back and it's just you and the pages all over again. 

I approach this layer carefully. 

I consider all of the books I've read that year. What are the ones I remember? What are the ones I grimaced while reading because the dialogue felt forced or I couldn't believe the story? 

How am I wanting my reader to feel?

Hopefully, I've considered all of these questions while writing, but this is the stage I bring them back to my attention. I go with my gut. If I pause at a response a character makes, I look at it carefully. Does it sound true? Manufactured? Wordy? Why did I hesitate? Same with scenes, descriptions, mannerisms and plot points. 

Also: FOLLOW YOUR EDITOR'S SUGGESTIONS. Go back over your manuscript twice with your editor's notes right beside you. Did you miss anything? Was there a change you made in the last edits that created an awkward turn of phrase or stilted transition within the scene? Go back through and be relentless. Consider what makes a book great in your eyes. Those favorites you always return to when you're needing inspiration and a reminder of why you love the written word. 

What is it about those books? 

Chase after it. 

And then, when you're done, rest. Because before you know it, people — other people, people you don't even know — will be reading your words.

Need more inspiration? Introducing Hustle & Flow: a weekly letter with artistic visioning for the everyday creative. I would love it if you signed up, and I won't ever spam you. Promise. 

You'll get hints and anecdotes about getting unstuck and living your most artistic life within the midst of your every day poetics. AND, if you sign up during October, you'll get some special extras dealing with indie-publishing.

day fourteen: falling in love with editing

It was the phone call that changed everything. 

"This book is amazing," she said. "And I want to help you with it." 

I breathed in quick. 

"You do? Ohmigosh...thank you!" 

There was a brief pause. 

"It's an amazing book, Elora — but it can be better." 

"Oh."

And then we brainstormed. 

I told her how dissonant I felt about the ending and that I wanted there to be a second book. 

She explained what felt off to her as a reader and how I could make the story feel more true.

We came up with a plan: I would rewrite. Re-title. Recover. Be true to my characters and their arcs — and then we would push this book out into the world together.

I left that phone call awake and inspired.

It was the beginning of my secret love affair with editing.

Do you remember my first editor? That wasn't editing. Part of my dissonance was the awareness of just how many typos made it into the final — paperback version — of my book. Granted, typos are everywhere. I get that. But all of the run-throughs we did? All of the eyes that were on those pages? 

A good editor pushes you to great writing.

Editing is what I experienced when K.P. called me and in her gentle words nudged me toward the story I knew I was meant to tell. 

Editing is getting the notes from my friend Hännah where she challenged me to avoid stereotypes, cliches, vague references and shoddy dialogue. 

Notes from my first editor: sweeping and over-generalized. 

Notes from Hännah: honest and challenging.

As a writer, you cannot reach your best work without someone there to help you. Find someone who knows your writing and capability. I can't tell you how many times Hännah dared me to rewrite an entire scene because she felt it too juvenile. I deleted chapters because of Hännah. I added scenes between Kevin and Stephanie because of Hännah. 

My friend Lisa will look at me and ask, "do you really say this?" Outside of catching my comma splices, ahe's also saved me from more than one moronic plot-hole.

Lindsay Tweedle, my editor for SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WATER & SKY, caught mistakes that revealed my writing sprints and late night marathons. She always tells me, "good editing doesn't show itself in a manuscript. It's invisible. Poor editing — or no editing at all — is obvious." 

Find an editor you trust. Someone you know will take care with your words. Listen to them. Learn from them. And watch the story you were meant to tell unfold from your eyes.

Need more inspiration? Introducing Hustle & Flow: a weekly letter with artistic visioning for the everyday creative. I would love it if you signed up, and I won't ever spam you. Promise. 

You'll get hints and anecdotes about getting unstuck and living your most artistic life within the midst of your every day poetics. AND, if you sign up during October, you'll get some special extras dealing with indie-publishing.

day thirteen: on editing (a beginning)

I finished the first draft of EVERY SHATTERED THING in the middle of a coffee shop on a weekend afternoon.

I hit save, exported the document into a PDF, opened my email and sent the copy to what would soon be my publisher. They were a small press just starting out and looking for new material to share. To get their name out, they hosted a contest for new authors to win a complete publishing package. 

I made it to the finals. 

I made it to the finals with an unedited manuscript. 

This is not me bragging. I wish you could see the cringe on my face every time I mention that to someone. I often wonder what would have happened if I took the time to edit. 

I didn't end up winning the contest. However, finishing the book and submitting it to someone for consideration (and getting a head nod) was enough of a boost to make me want to actually publish Stephanie's story.

But how?

I was faced with the decision of how to get this book into the public's hands. I asked a question on Twitter about how to self-publish and got a massive amount of replies, most of them warning me against the idea.

And then I received a DM from the publisher who already read my manuscript. 

"Check your email," they said. 

They were impressed and still wanted to publish it. First, eBook format. If I sold enough copies, they'd move to paperback. There were warning signs even then (not receiving a contract being the most obvious) but I moved forward with editing. 

The editor I worked with didn't offer any advice outside of "develop characters and flesh out this scene." I thought I'd receive more guidance, and was open to making the story better.

Maybe this is how editors work? I thought. (Spoiler: they don't) 

I opened my document, scrolled to page one, and began reading through with as much detachment as I could create. 

I ended up adding close to 30,000 words, two characters, and more than a handful of scenes. 

The publisher loved the developments. So much so that they shifted the final publication date and made it an eBook / paperback release. I thought I hit the jackpot. I even wrote blog posts about how sometimes, editing means development — not cutting back.

And sometimes, it does. 

But most times, there is a beautiful art in killing your darlings.

This week, we'll be talking about editing. How to find an editor you enjoy working with; the difference between beta readers, critique partners, and editors; how to know when your story is ready for the public; taking criticism with grace and finally, listening to your story in a way that allows you to see what it's meant to be, and not only the words you've written.

Once you've finished the manuscript, it's very tempting to push it out and release it into the world. 

Resist it. 

Dig deep and find the story layered beneath the cliches, grammatical errors, and unnatural dialogue. You'll be amazed at the difference.

Need more inspiration? Introducing Hustle & Flow: a weekly letter with artistic visioning for the everyday creative. I would love it if you signed up, and I won't ever spam you. Promise. 

You'll get hints and anecdotes about getting unstuck and living your most artistic life within the midst of your every day poetics. AND, if you sign up during October, you'll get some special extras dealing with indie-publishing.

day twelve: how to write when your world falls apart

My husband and I rang in 2009 crying on our living room floor.

Seven months after we moved to Austin, a month after I started writing EVERY SHATTERED THING, and a few hours after experiencing what felt like a deeply significant wound. We felt betrayed, hurt, angry and exhausted.

I'd spent every single day that month writing thousands of words in Stephanie's story. Now? I had nothing. No words. 

Just blank space where my inspiration used to rest.

Days turned into months and soon, I was staring at my manuscript collecting dust on my dresser over a year later. I ended up finishing the book, and in a lot of ways the space between that night on our living room floor and the afternoon in the middle of a coffee shop proved fruitful and beneficial. I wouldn't have written what I did had I not experienced those in between moments. I grew as a writer, a person, and a storyteller. 

But life almost got the best of me.

So how do you write then? How do write when you get that phone call or lose that job or experience that loss? How do you find words in the midst of chaos?

1. Find your sweet spot.

I got the email on a Monday afternoon. It spoke lies into the very core of my being. This person took my words, twisted them, and then spit them back in my face. It was someone who should know better — someone who chose defend one who hurt me most.

I got up from my desk, walked to my bedroom, curled under my covers and cried for the rest of the afternoon. 

The next morning I woke up spent. The sting of words echoed in my bones, but even more were the words singing for release: the finalization of my edits for SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WATER & SKY, the email I needed to send Rebel Diaries, the words of encouragement I planned for a group coaching call later that night. I wiped the tears, squared my shoulders, and walked back into the rhythm. 

Sometimes, the story is what pulls us back up from the floor. We'll never know if we refuse to try.

2. Rest 

The exhaustion set in yesterday as I sat in my chair trying to write blog posts scheduled for this weekend. It was the brick wall of this summer coming and hitting me all at once.

"Today I feel emptied. Not in a bad way, just in the acknowledgment of everything that's happened. It's the first moment I feel overwhelmed with this week — this month — this season."

I sent the text to a kindred who often knows when I need a listening ear and closed my eyes and took a deep breath, thinking of everything I needed to finish: the email, the video, the blog posts, the reading.

I shook my head. There was no way I would stay awake.

So I took a nap. Once I woke, I felt refreshed and approached my to-do list with renewed vision. I didn't get everything done, but I did get done what needed my unbiased and focused attention. 

I'm writing this blog post a day in advance. Today hasn't felt any different than that moment in the chair. Russ and I slept until 11am this morning, unheard of for my morning-bird of a husband. Despite my eleven hours of sleep last night, all day long I've been fighting exhaustion. We got a letter in the mail today that punched us in the gut. I feel shaky inside like I'm coming down with something and am running a low-grade fever. 

I'm writing this post now, so tomorrow I can rest. No writing. No reading. No brainstorming. 

Just rest. 

Sometimes, life throws curveballs. I get it. Don't let these sharp lefts silence you. Rest well. Dust yourself off. Give yourself time for the wounds to heal. 

And then get back in the game.

Need more inspiration? Introducing Hustle & Flow: a weekly letter with artistic visioning for the everyday creative. I would love it if you signed up, and I won't ever spam you. Promise. 

You'll get hints and anecdotes about getting unstuck and living your most artistic life within the midst of your every day poetics. AND, if you sign up during October, you'll get some special extras dealing with indie-publishing.

day eleven: if you want to finish, you have to unplug

There are days spent wallowing in the dried up soil of my creativity. 

Whether it be for an email or blog post or curriculum or novel, suddenly the ideas I had are gone. Most importantly, the inspiration I had for encouragement and articulating the processes of artistic living disappear.

These are the days when I consider as I'm falling asleep: what happened? What did I get done? What did I actually digest? Did I even write anything? 

And far too often, it's screen time. Conversations within Facebook pages. Scrolling through my twitter feed. Attempting to tackle my inbox and forgetting about that one thing I need to check off my list which means posting on this one page and then — 

two hours later I'm still where I was at before, no email processed, no words written. I'm  exhausted and unfocused and trying to figure out what I was needing to do in the first place.

.::.

We cannot live life as creatives without the intention of noticing what we're breathing in every single day. 

Just this morning, I was reading a book on imagination and connections were firing off within me and I stopped — often — to jot down notes for future blog posts and 101 curriculum. But I was reading and breathing and refusing to check my phone for notifications. 

Notifications has become my own person four-letter word. 

Connection is important. All too often we can feel demoralized and alone and needing that swift, encouraging kick in the pants to remind us of what we're able to accomplish. 

But too much connection? Too much connection feels like drinking from a fire hydrant. If you're not careful, you can drown in it.

.::.

In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, society lives off connection. Written in 1953, there was no way for Bradbury to know the implications of his parlor walls (television screens that fill an entire wall of a house) and sea shells (essentially, in-ear headphones) and families living out their lives for all to see (reality tv). 

In one scene, Montag moves through the subway with an ad forcing its way into his presence with staccato like precision. He tries to fight it — whispering quotes from the contraband book he holds in his hands — but it doesn't work. 

Denham's Dentrifice echoes and demands attention and interrupts and Montag loses it, standing up and demanding the voice to SHUT-UP and gathering the attention of the fellow passengers, all of them tapping their feet to the rhythm of the ads and not even realizing what they are doing.

Bradbury continues — 

 

The train door whistled open. Montag stood. The door gasped, started shut. Only then did he leap past the other passengers, screaming in his mind, plunge through the tunnels, ignoring the escalators, because he wanted to feel his feet move, arms swing, lungs clench, unclench, feel his throat go raw with air. A voice drifted after him, "Denham's Denham's Denham's," the train hissed like a snake. The train vanished in its hole (80).

.::.

I wonder what would happen with this manuscript you're trying to finish if you looked for connections in the world around you. You know what I mean: those tangible spaces — ripe with opportunity and touch. I wonder what would happen with your words if you allowed your hands to carry the pen instead of relying on the pounding of keys. 

.::.

I get it. Putting up the laptop or wi-fi is a romantic ideal in today's assumptions of instant access. How do I approach this practice within my own writing? 

Anti-Social is a web-app that downloads on your computer and literally shuts down your social media websites + apps. I'll set this up in the morning and lock up Twitter, Facebook, and email for eight hours. It guarantees I won't be sidetracked by notifications and updates. Downside: there's still my phone. I remedy the phone issue by turning it off and keeping it in another room. SURPRISING, I KNOW, but those who need to get a hold of me will still be there after I finish writing.I've taken off the FB app on my phone to prevent me from checking the handful of pages I facilitate when I'm out and about with friends. This forces me to stay present and mindful of conversations, experiences, and setting — all things that influence my writing. I've been known to stop in the middle of a conversation and write down what someone just said because it will appear in a character's dialogue. If I'm distracted, I miss these opportunities. Also: just turn off the wi-fi on your computer. For me, this only works when I'm particularly driven since all it takes to get distracted again is a simple switch.Journal. A friend recently told me that in the wake of notoriety and more publicity, her blog has become an unsafe space for her to process her thoughts fully. So she journals — actually writes out her thoughts by hand — so can hear the voice inside rather than the barrage of voices she receives on a daily basis via social media. I love this because I can relate. The moment I stop journaling, I stop listening to my intuition.  

Once I get quiet and turn off the other voices, the writing comes easier. Words start flowing and suddenly I'm able to hear what I'm supposed to write about next. Because sometimes? The silence doesn't come.  Sometimes, it takes the habit of forcefully disconnecting yourself in order to know what words are waiting.

But first, I have to practice the quiet.

Creative energy has a source. Without it, we wither. 

What are you plugged into today? How is this influencing your writing?

Need more inspiration? Introducing Hustle & Flow: a weekly letter with artistic visioning for the everyday creative. I would love it if you signed up, and I won't ever spam you. Promise. 

You'll get hints and anecdotes about getting unstuck and living your most artistic life within the midst of your every day poetics. AND, if you sign up during October, you'll get some special extras dealing with indie-publishing.

day ten: using your best ideas first.

I shifted in my seat and looked around me. 

No one was raising their hands. I was at a book signing with Ransom Riggs and we were listening to him talk about writing: his process of finding creepy artifacts and pictures, how MISS PEREGRINES almost wasn't published, what being married to another best-selling author is like in the day-to-day routine. We'd moved from him sharing to Q&A and it was quiet, everyone too eager to get to the part where he inked his signature into their book covers, kindles, purses, and more.

I hesitated, and then lifted my arm so could see me. He caught my eye and smiled. 

Success. 

"You've written two books now. How did you move from writing the first one to the second? How did you fight that fear of never doing it again? What would you tell those of us who've written a book and are trying to write our second?"

I saw a flash of recognition pass across his features and knew I hit a nerve. For authors, the sophomore slump is just as real a fear as it is for any artist. Was that first time just a fluke? Am I a one hit wonder? Will anyone ever read anything of mine ever again? 

He shifted back on the heels of his feet and then moved forward, grabbing the podium. 

"You have to use your best ideas first." He paused. "Too many of us — myself included — come up with an idea and force ourselves to use it later, thinking it'll be wasted on our current project. There were a lot of times I was tempted to take the success of MISS PEREGRINES and try to ride it all the way to book three. But then book two is what, a bridge? It needs to be just as engaging as the first and just as satisfying as the third." 

"Best ideas first." He repeated. "Don't buy into the lie that it's the only idea you'll ever have so you need to save it for something good. Your something good is now." 

I've never forgotten this advice. I used it all through writing SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WATER & SKY and even in coming up with blog ideas. I have a journal where I put every stray thought and idea while I'm writing. There are tabs for blog posts, tabs for Story Unfolding emails, and tabs for manuscripts. 

About halfway through SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WATER & SKY, I got stuck. Part of it was because we moved and my routine was thrown off kilter. Most of it was because I was still trying to partition and prioritize the creative ideas I had for this book and other writing projects. Finally, I stopped trying to rank them and started at the top.

Best ideas first. 

I finished my manuscript a month later and in the process, structured out an entire new series.

Here's the thing. I believe creativity begets creativity. If we're being creative, in whatever capacity, we're making space internally for new ideas and connections. You never run out of ideas. As long as you're creating, and as long as you're willing to listen for connections and inspiration, the ideas will present themselves. 

You just have to use the best ones first.

day nine: developing a rhythm

"What if you coached in the morning and wrote during the afternoon? Or vice versa?" 

I was talking with a friend about this idea that wouldn't leave me alone about working with artists and those needing help articulating ideas. At the time, it was just a means to an end, a way to help pay our electric bill. 

"I don't want this to be a full time job," I said. 

Hindsight is 20/20.

I can't imagine not doing what I'm doing right now. Working with other writers + artists + entrepreneurs and helping them get their words and ideas out of their head and onto the page is exhilarating in the best way. But how do you juggle two full time jobs? How do you manage to wrestle with the story begging to be told and the to-do list that's demanding to be finished?

You develop a rhythm. 

I tried the split days at first. I thought it might work, but really, I was creating out of the same side of my brain and not really exerting my imagination the way I do when I write fiction. When I started writing SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WATER & SKY I quickly realized: I cannot write and do business on the same day. 

I started penciling in "writing days" on my calendar. I saw these moments as golden eggs — priceless and not to be touched. I never scheduled anything on these days. Conference calls, coaching sessions, coffee dates, library visits — nothing. I sat at my desk and wrote. I sat at my desk and re-read. I sat at my desk and wrote some more.

I tried cheating a few days. When I was nearing deadline and behind, there were afternoons where I thought I could catch up on word count after group coaching or a Skype with a client. 

Nope. 

I would just sit there, eyes on the screen, blinking cursor taunting me. 

My brain was in a different world — still solving problems and untangling thoughts from conversations I had during the day. 

Writing days are my rhythm. Blocking time is what's necessary for me to get my work done efficiently and within the deadline I've envisioned for my manuscript. 

But this is the most important sentence you'll read from me today: 

Rhythms are different for everyone. Just because I can't work on a manuscript the same day I've coached clients doesn't mean it'll be the same for you. 

You may appreciate the creative break, even thrive off of it.

What's important is that you make note: what works for you? What doesn't? When you're lost in the words and inspiration is overflowing, what's happening around you? Is there music playing? Is it quiet? Where are you writing? In your living room? A coffee shop? An office with the morning light streaming through the windows? When is the best time for you to write? 

Begin to pay attention. Energy ebbs and flows throughout the day. Our creativity is heightened after certain activities. Other things shut us down within a moment's notice.

Find your rhythm, and stick to it. Embracing your uniquely creative flow is one of the best ways to finish a project and write what you really want to write.

Need more inspiration? Introducing Hustle & Flow: a weekly letter with artistic visioning for the everyday creative. I would love it if you signed up, and I won't ever spam you. Promise. 

You'll get hints and anecdotes about getting unstuck and living your most artistic life within the midst of your every day poetics. AND, if you sign up during October, you'll get some special extras dealing with indie-publishing.

day eight: do not write for the critic.

When a piece of music no one has ever written, or a painting no one has ever painted, or something else impossible to predict, fathom, or yet describe takes place, a new feeling enters the world. And then, for the millionth time in the history of feeling, the heart surges, and absorbs the impact - Nicole Krauss, The History of Love

I'm going to tell you a secret. 

When I'm writing a book, I aim for words that make me gasp. I want the dialogue that breathes poetry. I reach for descriptors that capture the absolute beauty of every day living. 

The sun and the way it moves across the sky, the way a rush of wind makes your skin pop with tiny bumps and feel alive, the way a single glance can alter your world forever. 

I want to write about that. I want to remind us how every moment — every sentence — every breath — has the potential to change our world and flip our lives sideways.

This is how I approach writing.

It's what works for me. 

I have critics. There are those who say I try too hard and that my books aren't ready to publish and it's not believable and my psychology is horrible and the content is horrific.

(And here's my biggest secret)

I do not write for them.  

Did you catch that? When I'm writing, I can't think about the critic. I can only think about the ones who understand my characters and love them the way I do. I can only pay attention to the way my heart is beating and whether or not I'm owning this story I know I'm meant to tell. Style is subjective. Plot points are a dime a dozen. 

Opinions are far-too numerous to hold in the palm of your hand.

Do not write for the critics. 

First, write for yourself. Write the story that makes you feel alive. Write the words that have you smiling as you type, not because of how groundbreaking they are (although they very well may be) but because you're absolutely taken with delight. 

If my characters are making me laugh as I write, I know I'm doing well. 
If my scenes are bringing tears to my eyes, I know I've hit the vein. 
If I can't remember writing down the words in front of me, I know I'm experiencing alchemy.

Do not write for the critics. 

Write for the ones who whisper their belief in you. Write for the ones who ask if you've gotten down any words today. Write for the ones who light up at the mention of you working on your book. Keep this audience small. One or two people max. Write to them, and only to them, and write for the joy of seeing your words on paper. 

Anything more and too many voices will cloud your vision.

When John Steinbeck wrote East of Eden, he wrote it for his sons. He did not set out to write a magnum opus, but it quickly became his greatest achievement as a writer. Emily Dickinson wrote on a 17 1/2 by 17 1/2 table with no expectation of publicity. 

I started Every Shattered Thing with the goal of putting to page something a girl my husband and I mentored experienced with her family. She knew about it. I wanted to write the story I hoped for her — the narrative I wished to speak into existence. 

A few chapters in and Stephanie took over. I did not know yet the power of words. I didn't know that emails expressing the book being so horrible they couldn't get past chapter two would send me reeling for months and dry the reservoir of words I held inside. I didn't know publishers and their no's would feel like punches to the gut. I didn't know reviews could make or break my day. 

I didn't know the temptation in defending the story you bled and cried over for years. 

If I did, I wouldn't have written.

Do not write for the critics. 

Write for you. Write for the one who believes in your story. 

Everyone else is noise.

Need more inspiration? Introducing Hustle & Flow: a weekly letter with artistic visioning for the everyday creative. I would love it if you signed up, and I won't ever spam you. Promise. 

You'll get hints and anecdotes about getting unstuck and living your most artistic life within the midst of your every day poetics. AND, if you sign up during October, you'll get some special extras dealing with indie-publishing, including a PDF with the publishing calendar process I take myself through every time I write a book.

day seven: writing what you want

What would you do if it you weren't afraid? — Sheryl Sandberg

For a moment, stop thinking. 

Take a few deep breaths. 

Remember the thrill of words flowing through your fingers. 

Do you have it? The idea is there and you write the first sentence. The first sentence dances into the first paragraph. Soon, you've crossed the 1500 word mark.

Next, five chapters. 

You're glowing. Waking up early and going to bed late because the story is moving and breathing and creating an energy that pushes you to greater heights and deeper connections. You haven't said anything to anyone about writing. It's your secret and you love it that way. It's the best kind of love affair.

Secret.
Heated.
Addicting. 

I have a lion inside me and I have to feed it words every few days; when I don't, it begins to eat me instead. - Sophy Burnham

What would you say if I told you the story burning inside your bones is the story others desperately need to hear? 

I used to think my words were useless. I believed no one read them, no one cared, no one remembered. 

Then I started writing EVERY SHATTERED THING and I slowly stopped caring about what others were thinking. I only wanted to finish this story that captured me so completely. The feeling I experienced when they words came, day after day, was unlike anything I'd ever known. I felt alive — awake — pulsing with inspiration and purpose. 

And then the words stopped. 

Part of it was because life took over and I couldn't spend emotional energy on fictional characters as well as my own real-life-betrayals. Part of it was because suddenly I was looking outside of the story. I bought Writer's Market and began researching agents to send the manuscript. I made notes in margins and bought a publishing planner at Barnes & Noble. 

I wasn't writing for just me anymore. Most importantly: I wasn't writing for the story. There were a whole crowd of voices taking over my process — and most of them didn't even know. 

...the work is so large that we may be tempted to despair or abandon our part, but humility reminds us to honor our gifts and limits. We are called to be proactive and to bring our whole hearts to the task, trusting that a greater source than ourselves weaves those tasks together — Christine Paintner

This pattern wasn't new to me.

A few years before I wrote the first draft of EVERY SHATTERED THING, I took a writing class through Abydos Learning. It was a certification in writing instruction, backed by psychology and research and hands-on practice. 

We had to write two pieces: personal narrative and expository. 

We wrote them, and then we pitched them. 

The writing process proved ethereal. I wrote pieces I never imagined I'd be able to capture. It was my first taste in completing a writing project. I was hooked and desperately wanted to share these words I'd spent weeks hoarding through haphazard teasers in critique groups and editing partnerships.

I emailed. Sent hard copies. Made cold calls. 

Rejection after rejection after rejection.

The doubts came quick. I stopped writing, assuming that I was better at teaching, anyway. No one wanted my words.

There's no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you — Maya Angelou

A year after writing the article on legacy and summers spent with my Grandpa Joe, Idaho Magazine published the story as a feature. 

It was my first experience with publishing and the moment I considered that there just may be a book waiting for me inside. 

It was also the moment I realized the dissonance felt when you refuse the words time and space to breathe on the page. 

Answer this question: if you could sit down today and begin your book, what would you write?

I asked this on Twitter last night. 

A friend replied he thinks he knows, but that it may be a beast that eats him alive.

I think he's right. 

Write what you want. Write for you — for the story that's captured you for months, years even. Don't let the pauses or the doubt or the fear or the rejection grow louder than the book in your bones. 

Publishing will come later. 
Reviews don't matter now. 

Those words pulsing inside? The ones that feel as if they may eat you alive? 

They're meant to be on the page. 

Start now. 

Need more inspiration? Introducing Hustle & Flow: a weekly letter with artistic visioning for the everyday creative. I would love it if you signed up, and I won't ever spam you. Promise. 

You'll get hints and anecdotes about getting unstuck and living your most artistic life within the midst of your every day poetics. AND, if you sign up during October, you'll get some special extras dealing with indie-publishing, including a PDF with the publishing calendar process I take myself through every time I write a book.

day six: giving yourself deadlines.

When I made the decision to re-release EVERY SHATTERED THING, I thought all I needed to do was edit the book, change the cover, find a new title and then put it up on Amazon. We'll go over why this may not work for you in the marketing week, but as for writing, I'd never get anything done if I actually chose to go this route. 

I have to have deadlines.

I hired K.P. from Inkslinger PR and was given a deadline for when the final draft would be sent to book bloggers. But even then, it was just the deadlines of editing and revision. 

What about if I was writing an entirely new book? 

This spring, when the words of SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WATER & SKY began falling into place, I knew I needed to pause for a second and set some deadlines. First, I contacted Inkslinger again. They had openings in August and September for book releases, so I contacted my cover artist to see when she could have a design ready. 

End of July. 

This meant that my cover reveal wouldn't be until August, which pushed my release until September. It also showed me that I needed to have my final copy ready by the end of August for book bloggers who would read + review my book for the launch. 

So the book had to be finished by the beginning of June. Not impossible. I grabbed a handful of beta readers who would read the book as I was writing it (and expect updates) to keep me accountable. 

Between March (when I started the book) and September (the release date) I would be moving, visiting my newborn niece, teaching eCourses, hosting a writer's retreat, and working on The Story Unfolding. And that's just what I knew. 

This didn't include the sick days, the hard days, or the ones where I questioned whether this book would ever get out into the world.

So within these deadlines I gave myself some wiggle room. While discipline is necessary, so is grace. Things happen. I had to switch editors and barter services when funds ran low in June. I planned on allowing one more round of beta readers before release, but editing took longer than expected when real-life drama overshadowed the need to watch my dangling participles and hasty descriptors. 

But those hard deadlines: the ones where I knew I needed to send the rough copy to my editor, deliver the finished (and polished) copy to Inkslinger for reviewers, and the release date in September where it would be available to anyone — those stayed in the back of my mind and pushed me to write even when I didn't know how I would come up with one more sentence.

Give yourself deadlines and then share those dates with people you know will hold you to them.  It's the first step you can take to make sure you finish your book.

Need more inspiration? Introducing Hustle & Flow: a weekly letter with artistic visioning for the everyday creative. I would love it if you signed up, and I won't ever spam you. Promise. 

You'll get hints and anecdotes about getting unstuck and living your most artistic life within the midst of your every day poetics. AND, if you sign up during October, you'll get some special extras dealing with indie-publishing, including a PDF with the publishing calendar process I take myself through every time I write a book.