The importance of community for writers

John Green, author of beloved YA novels such as The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns, once described writing as “a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t want to make eye contact while doing it.”

While amusing, the quote points to an overwhelming belief that writing is something you do alone, without anyone else. In some ways this is true, and it’s part of the beauty of writing: you get to create your own world and your own characters, and then make them into real, live ink-filled things. But writing is far from a solitary pursuit. Of course you have editors and agents and publishers as the process gets farther along, but even before that, it’s important to have a community built up around you.

A writing and editing group

Okay, this is probably the most obvious one. It’s important to have a group of other writers you can meet with regularly, preferably in person. I found one through the website Meet Up, and spend every other Saturday morning writing with them and discussing our writing. The other writers vary widely in genre, stage of the process, writing style, and just about every other aspect of writing, but all are welcome, and we all learn from each other. I suggest using Meet Up to find a group, or checking at your local library to see if they host a group. If you can’t find one that exists, then make one! You can create a group on Meet Up, or talk to people at school, church, work—wherever you think there might be other people interested in meeting regularly, and just go for it.

Critique partner and confidant

This may grow out of the writing group, but you need somebody who is your trusted “writing person.” If you’re a Grey’s Anatomy fan, you know that your “person” is who you’d call if you murdered somebody and needed help hiding the body. Your “writing person” is who you call when you might as well have murdered your story with the terrible draft you just wrote, or you want to murder your story because nothing seems to be working…you get the idea. They won’t let you get away with bad writing, but they’ll be gentle about it. They’re a writer also, and you help each other by swapping drafts and editing, by bouncing ideas off each other, and by encouraging each other when the going gets tough. It can take a while to build up to this, but it’s worth it.

Online community

This is wide ranging, and depends on your level of internet interaction. For some people this means Twitter and other social media, and I definitely use that. It’s encouraging to follow other authors who are farther along in the process than me, and know that it can be done. I also pay to be a part of the Young Writers’ Workshop, for writers under 30. In addition to lessons, workshops, and interviews with published authors, there’s a community website that’s a little like Facebook, but only for members. We ask questions, get edits, share quotes, and make friends. It’s honestly one of the best things that’s happened for my writing life in a long time. The internet means you’re no longer limited to your geographical area in terms of finding a group, and that’s a wonderful thing. Reach out to people, discover new perspectives, and get inspired.

Your mentor

Having a mentor is incredibly important, but also a little scary. They should be someone who is farther along in the writing process than you, and can help you when you have questions, whether it’s about crafting your story or the publishing process. For this reason, they should also ideally be writing in a genre similar to what you write. Again, the internet is a wonderful thing, so they don’t necessarily need to live near you. They just have to be willing to communicate regularly, maybe via email, phone, or Skype, so you can ask questions and get their feedback.

Your circle of friends and family

Finally, the non-writers in your community: friends and family. Bless these people, who are willing to put up with you stopping mid-sentence to write down a thought for a new story and staying up at weird hours because you got into the groove of writing and you can’t stop or it’ll never come back. They put up with a lot from you, so never ever think they’re not a crucial part of your community. If your spouse, parents, or other significant person in your life doesn’t support your writing career, that needs to change. It’s important to sit down with them and discuss why you are truly passionate about writing, and why you want to make a career out of it. If you’re new to it, it may take some time to show you are actually dedicated to sticking with it, but it will happen. We need these people around to encourage us when we’re convinced we’re the worst, keep us grounded when we’re full of ourselves, and eventually to pop the champagne when we sign our first book contract! Never underestimate those people, and when you can manage to take your head out of the clouds long enough, be sure to thank them a million times for supporting you.

Building a community takes time, so don’t expect it to happen overnight. Take advantage of the resources around you to find people you work well with. You could write a book just by locking yourself away until it’s finished, but I promise you it’s a lot harder, and a lot less fun. As writers, your book feels like your baby, and so it follows that it takes a village to raise it.

Where did you find your community? How has it affected your writing life? Let me know in the comments!

Is writing really something you can only do alone? Or does it take a village? | Penn & Paper — *If you liked this post, pin it to share and save for later!*

Interview with author Kathryn Ormsbee

Today I am super excited to share an interview with author Kathryn Ormsbee. Kathryn writes young adult and middle grade fiction (the latter of which are published under K.E. Ormsbee) and got her first agent when she was just twenty years old! She has a total of six books currently published, with two more coming out in 2019. Her most recent book, The House in Poplar Wood, is a macabre folk tale set in rural Tennessee and is the perfect autumn read. Kathryn was a delight to talk to, sharing her advice on being published so young, how traveling and working in different mediums has influenced her writing, and the importance of stories in today’s political climate. We both graduated as English majors from Samford University, so I knew she would be fabulous, and she didn’t disappoint!

You can click on the video below to listen to my full interview with her (about 35 minutes long), and I also picked out some of my favorite parts of the interview to highlight below. Enjoy!

So you were comparatively young when you got an agent. Do you have any advice to share for other young writers looking to be published?
I suggest first do your research on your agents. There’s been a little bit of drama in the publishing community about agents who haven’t been acting in the best interest of their clients or been dishonest, so just try as much as you can to do your research. Especially if you’re young, it’s easier for people to take advantage of you, which it shouldn’t be, but it is. So a true agent will never charge you money. They will always only work on commission, so their interest will be aligned with yours—when you sell a book, that’s the only time they make money. So that’s more practical, nitty gritty advice, but on a larger scale, just keep writing and keep reading. The advice that I have heard from several authors who are mid-list authors like myself, all the way up to NYT bestselling authors, is you just have to keep writing. If your book doesn’t sell or you don’t get an agent, write another one. If it does sell and you do wonderfully and you get all the good reviews, keep writing another book. That’s the only thing as author you can really control. You can’t control cover design or the title of your book or how it’s publicized, anything about the marketing plan, but you can control the quality of your words, so persevere, don’t give up. It’s an industry where you have to develop some thick skin because even after all the rejections, once you do get in, you’ll still get people who just don’t like your book and you just have to be okay with that and keep on keeping on.

The House in Poplar Wood is a spooky, autumnal folk tale set in rural Tennessee about three middle grade characters: twin brothers Felix and Lee and the daughter of their family enemy, Gretchen. The brothers serve two Shades, Death and Memory, and Gretchen is the daughter of a Summoner, who can summon the Shades. When a local girl dies in town, the three join forces to try and get to the bottom of the murder, uncover dark secrets about the town, and break an agreement that’s kept Lee and Felix’s family separated. Can you talk a little bit about how you came up with the idea?
Generally when people ask about inspiration for stories, I’m at a loss. Because it’s often times a hybrid of a lot of different ideas. But with this one I can actually point to a source inspiration. And that’s the Brothers Grimm tale “Godfather Death.” It’s a really creepy tale—as most Brothers Grimm tales are—of how a young man who serves as an apprentice to Death and follows him all around as he makes his rounds and reaps lives. There’s this lore that, depending on where [Death] stands, whether at the head or the foot of the bed, the person is going to live or die. All is going well, until the woman the apprentice has fallen in love with comes up on Death’s appointment list. And he decides to trick Death by turning the bed around—which, you’d think Death would be smarter than that—but that’s the general idea.
I’ve always been fascinated by stories about Death incarnate and what that says about us as a society at the time. I think it gives us a good lens for how we view death, how we view life itself, and so I wanted to write my own story about Death himself. So the mythology sort of sprawled out from there. I also wanted to set a book in Tennessee because I spent a lot of my time growing up in Appalachia and I grew up in Kentucky so that region itself means a lot to me. I also wanted to write a book that is my love letter to autumn—that’s what I call The House in Poplar Wood. Something that was thoroughly spooky and creepy and felt like it belonged in the month of October.

You’ve published both middle grade books and YA books. What have you learned from writing and publishing for different ages?
I find it really refreshing to write—in some ways there are similarities in the books, but in a lot of ways they’re very different projects, my middle grade and my young adult, and it’s refreshing during the book process, once I come out of a hermit cave having drafted a young adult realistic book, to dive back into edits for a more fantastical middle grade book. It kind of keeps things fresh, keeps me from wanting to pull my hair out. Most of my middle grade tend to be in third person as well, and that’s very different from the first person point of view I generally use for my young adult. So it keeps things interesting, but it also helps me to sharpen different writing skills.

So in light of everything going on culturally and politically now, you know, it’s a very controversial and divided time, why do you think it’s still important to tell stories?
I think it’s more important than ever, because from my perspective, I think stories involve empathy. Good stories involve empathy. They put you in the shoes of another person with different experiences from you and they allow you to see the world, however temporarily, through their eyes. So I think it’s more important than ever now that we read books from diverse perspectives written by marginalized authors. There’s been a really big push for it in the industry and I hope that continues to happen. That we read the perspectives of people of color, from people in the queer community, from people of different cultural experiences than we do. It’s really easy, especially in today’s political climate, to just surround yourself with all the people who think the way you do. I know I’m guilty of it. I think it’s a human instinct. And to live inside of an echo chamber where you create an ‘us versus them’ mentality and everything is black white and you set up strawmen and you bet them and you engage with internet trolls and you don’t actually view the world through someone else’s perspective. It’s really easy to get self-centered. And I think books are more important than ever because they allow you to break away from that and to step outside of that circle. Hopefully, if you’re making choices to read books that you wouldn’t necessarily pick up or books from a perspective you’ve never encountered before. I think they do such a good job of educating and increasing our humanity. I think they still have really important work to do. I know I’m biased because I’m a writer, but I wholly believe in the power of stories to transform people’s lives and perspectives.

Which of your characters would you go on a road trip with?
It would be Gretchen Whipple, from The House in Poplar Wood! I really love Gretchen because she’s a lot of what I’m not, but I would want to be. She’s just very gutsy and doesn’t care who she’s…not offending, but she’s a very determined character. She’s not afraid to break windows to get what she wants. I think that if we went on a road trip there would be so many good stories to come out of it.

(FYI–This post includes affiliate links. I promise to never recommend anything that I haven’t loved and think you should try!)

If you want to learn more about Kathryn and her books, visit her website.
Buy The House in Poplar Wood here.

Interview with Kathryn Ormsbee, middle grade and young adult novelist. — *If you liked this post, pin it to share and save for later!*

Fiction Friday: “Spice & Sparrow” snippet

This summer I participated in a program called “Young Writer Lessons,” where I met weekly with a writing mentor to work on creating a story. The idea I chose to focus on was one from my senior year of college when I had to get an MRI. Nothing ended up being wrong, but for several days I was in agony, waiting for the results and wondering what it meant. I wanted to capture that in a story. It ended up growing far beyond that, but here’s a piece of the story that focuses on the original seed for the idea.

A few minutes later, a nurse calls my name, and I stand, take a breath, and follow her back into a hallway. She gives me a paper gown and shows me where I can change and lock my things in a cabinet. I eye the dusty locker and flimsy lock with suspicion, but finally decide I don’t have another choice and close my purse inside. I hear footsteps in the hallway, but instead of the nurse, it’s someone different.

“Hi there, Mrs. Rutherford?” The woman, probably in her early thirties, smiles, lips painted pink parting to reveal straight white teeth. “I’m Carla. I’ll be doing your MRI today.”

I nod, before saying, “Ms.”

Carla pauses. “I’m sorry?”

“It’s Ms. You said ‘Mrs. Rutherford.’ It’s just Ms.,” I say. “I think I marked that on my sheet.”

The woman—she might be younger than I originally thought—glances down at the clipboard in front of her. “Whoops, I guess you did! My bad. Ms. Rutherford, if you’ll follow me.” I obey, feeling very vulnerable as little every breeze rustles up the paper gown. It’s not a feeling I’m used to, or enjoy.

“Have you been having a good day?” Carla asked as they made their way down a hall.

Other than having to come in for an MRI? To Carla I smile and say, “Yes, it’s been fine. And you?”

“Pretty good, pretty good,” she responds, stopping in front of a door and opening it.

“How long have you been doing this?” I try to keep my tone light and conversational and not reveal the skepticism I’m feeling. I’m quite certain Carla can’t be more than a few years out of her undergraduate.

Carla, however, smiles reassuringly before walking to a computer screen. “Six years. Stand right here, please.” She motions next to the long tray that was currently outside a huge tube contraption. I shift my weight and tug at the paper gown, trying not to look at the huge whirring machine to my right. I can almost hear my mother telling me to stop fidgeting.

Carla finishes tapping on the screen, and then turns to me. “All right. Go ahead and lay down on that patient table behind you. Can you manage that?”

“Of course I can,” I snap. Get a few wrinkles and grey hairs and people assume you’re as breakable as a china teacup.

Carla, however, doesn’t respond, just leaves the computer to come stand closer to me. Once I’ve lain down, she tells me a few things to change about my position for “optimal results,” and then lowers something that reminds me of an umpire’s mask over my face.

“Six years,” I say, returning to our conversation in an effort to ignore the behemoth, humming machine that’s now located directly behind my head. “An MRI technician. Your mother must be proud.”

Carla smiles, but it’s tinged with sadness. “Thank you. She was. She passed two years ago.”

“Oh…” I begin, unsure of what to say. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Carla merely gives a grateful nod and refocuses on the task at hand. “All right. I’m going move you into the machine, and then I’ll go into that little room over there and begin the MRI. Sound good?” She points to a glass window in one of the walls, and through it I can see a desk with more computer screens surrounding it.

“Um,” I say, stomach suddenly twisting with nerves. “How long does it take?” I can’t see Carla very well through the mask, and it’s only adding to my anxiety.

“Just a few minutes. Not long at all.” I think Carla must have smiled at me, but it’s hard to tell because of the mask, and a second later I hear a whizzing noise as the narrow table I’m on is pulled backward into the machine. I feel like a human sacrifice, being scooped into the mouth of some great metal beast.

When I’m fully inside, it clunks to a stop, and Carla’s voice, distorted by a mechanical buzz, clicks on through a speaker. “All right. Joyce, can you hear me?

“Yes,” I say.

“Perfect. Remember to stay completely still. If you have any trouble for any reason, just say something, and I’ll be able to hear you. Okay?”

“Okay.” I swallow and focus on not moving. But my left elbow itches, and I want to scratch it, but I know I can’t, which makes it itch even more. And my knee hurts, the one I busted in college on a ski trip and it hasn’t been the same since. I know if I can just bend it, my knee would feel better, but right now it creaks in protest.

I set my teeth, determined to think about something else. My mind drifts to what Carla had said, about her mother passing. I swallow. Carla certainly isn’t any older than Riley, which means her mother probably wasn’t much older than myself. My knee cries out again, and suddenly I am aware of all the aches and pains throughout my body, the little things that have accumulated over the years like cobwebs in that corner you always forget to dust. I wonder what had happened to her mother. I wonder what will happen, to me.

A sudden, loud clunking sound echoes through the chamber of the machine. I almost jump, but force myself to stay still. Carla said this would happen, remember?

Carla’s mother was probably very proud of her. I wonder what Riley would think if she found out I had died…or am dying.

I try to tell myself I’m being ridiculous, but the loud clanking sound seems like it only exists to remind me of the very real possibility of having a tumor in my head. How would Riley react? When strangers at the restaurant asked if her mother was proud, would she smile in that same bittersweet way and say, yes she was? Or would she ignore the question, move on to something else, not wanting to tell a customer that the last time she had spoken with her mother had been in a fight two years before she died?

The clanking stops as abruptly as it had started, and after a pause, I feel myself being pulled back out of the machine.

“Great job, Joyce!” Carla’s voice comes through the speaker again, in a tone so perky I practically expect her to offer me a lollipop next.

I thank Carla after following her back to the changing room. I quickly put on my own clothes and jewelry, glad to be rid of that exposing gown. After stopping by the front desk to settle insurance, I make my way back to the entrance of the hospital and to my car.

I turn on my car, but stay in the parking spot. I’m not sure what to do next, actually. I tap my fingers against the steering wheel, thinking. Carla didn’t give me an exact timeline for when I would hear about the results, just that I should expect a phone call by the end of the week. They really couldn’t have been even a little more specific? I’m going to jump every time my phone rings now.

I pull out of the spot and turn towards the road that will take me home. A jogger passes in the distance, running along the sidewalk by the hospital. At the same time, an ambulance with flashing lights comes whizzing through the parking lot to the emergency entrance. I shake my head. It all seems so useless. Exercising and eating healthy, believing that it would result in a long, happy life and old age. Look at me now.

In school, they always told you that if you ate right and exercised and got a good night’s sleep you would live to see old age and great grandkids and have happy wrinkles from all the smiles in your life. Well, isn’t that a load of garbage.

I’ve been eating vegetables and avoiding desserts and going for walks every evening—yet, here I am, getting an MRI. It’ll probably reveal I have some tumor eating away my brain. It doesn’t even really matter because I don’t have anything to give me laugh lines or any grandkids and if I did Riley wouldn’t let me visit them anyway.

I might as well die at fifty-seven.

This last thought passes through my mind abruptly, as if placed there by someone else, and I almost slam on the brakes. Did I really mean that? Surely not. But I search myself, like rifling through a closet where everything looks familiar but you can’t quite remember how it got there. And I realize I’m not sure. I might mean it. Well, I think to myself, If I’m going to die, I can at least die happy. And that’s what I decide to do. But then I realize: I don’t know how.

Feature image by Ken Treloar

How having a routine can help your creativity (and how it can hurt it)

For any creative work, there is a myth of inspiration that surrounds it. Many people believe that writing, painting, or otherwise creating involves simply waiting for the Muse or Inspiration or something similar to strike you, and all of a sudden you have a perfectly formed piece. Or maybe it’s not that dramatic, but a belief along the lines of “you can’t create without that moment of inspiration” persists.

But in reality? It’s simply not true.

If you only ever wrote or created when “inspiration” struck, you’d never end up finishing anything. If you really want to be a writer, it’s actually much more useful to have a routine. You may be thinking, doesn’t a routine just make you feel like you’re in a rut and boxed in? And sure, it can. But if you use routines in the right way, it can actually be a boon to your creativity.

When you should use a routine

1. In your creative life

Creativity is more about training your brain to show up for work rather than waiting for inspiration to strike. Sitting down regularly and writing something, even if it feels like garbage, is a far superior method than not writing anything until you feel inspired. This is the first way routines can be useful: having a regular creativity time. It doesn’t have to be writing (although, if you want to be a writer, most of these sessions should be focused on writing). But just having a time every day when you create something–whether it’s doodling, photography, or working on a longer-term project–trains your brain to be in the habit of being ready to create, every day, regardless of what else is going on. Experiment with different times of the day. Are you more productive in the morning before everyone else is up? Or maybe in the evening when things have settled down? Or maybe it just depends on the day. Try to pick a regular time to write, but allow yourself flexibility in the when. The focus should be on consistency.

I’ve already written about the importance of writing regularly, but what about those times when you sit down, ready to write, only to spend half an hour (or longer!) actually getting into the rhythm? Is there a way to avoid wasting that precious writing time? The answer is yes: by implementing a routine that precedes each creative time. It’s pretty much the science behind Pavlov’s dogs–having a routine before you begin your writing session jumpstarts your brain to say “Oh yes! Doing this means it’s time to write.” Maybe it’s making a cup of tea, reading a poem, or lighting a candle. I like to open each of my writing sessions with a prayer. I recommend also having a regular “spot” that you use for writing that is away from easy distractions and can signal to your brain that it’s time to work.

2. In your personal life

Routines can help your creativity even when they’re used in other areas of your life. This is because of a little thing called decision fatigue. When you spend all day making choices, even little ones, you end up using so much of your creative energy that it can be hard to write or create anything. Routines can help alleviate some of this decision fatigue. If you always mean to connect more with friends, decide that each morning you’ll text a different friend to see how they’re doing, or each week you’ll set aside Thursday lunches to try and catch up with a friend. When you make decisions like these ahead of time, it relieves stress and gives you more mental space to focus on creating.

When not to use routines

1. When you get into a rut

I know, earlier I said that routines don’t equal ruts. And they don’t have to! But, yes, sometimes they can. If your routine, whether in your creative or personal life, suddenly stops giving you creativity and instead leaves you feeling bored and like all your ideas have dried up, then it’s time to do something new! This could mean trying a new routine, or simply taking a break from your regular routine for a while and then coming back to it to see if it works again. Sometimes you won’t have a choice, like traveling for any reason, and it can be okay to let yourself enjoy these breaks from routine and use them as a time to recharge and mix things up.

2. When it becomes an excuse not to work

Of course, it’s nice to have your ideal creativity routine set up. Maybe you get up every morning, make a cup of coffee, and settle down at the table just beginning to be illuminated by sunlight from the window and keep writing the next Great American Novel. Which is awesome! But–don’t let that be the only time and place you can work. Because life will happen, and sometimes you’re not always going to be able to have that routine.

Here’s a weird metaphor: when you have a newborn child (or so I’m told), it’s your instinct to be very quiet after you put them to bed, and to do everything you can to avoid making noises and waking them up. But in reality, you’re just training them to only be able to sleep in complete silence. Which is all fine and good now, but eventually they’ll go to camp and college and have roommates and maybe a spouse and they may not always be able to have complete silence when they’re trying to sleep. So you’re actually doing them a disservice in the long run. What does this have to do with writing? While it’s good to know your most productive place and time to work and have a routine in place to jumpstart your brain, still try to practice working during other times and at other places and even surrounded by distractions, so that you don’t train yourself to be unable to work except for within those specific parameters.

Do you have any routines that work for you? In what areas of your life? Let me know in the comments!

Are routines helpful to creativity? Or are they harmful? What if they were a little bit of both, and maybe also the thing your creative life needs — If you liked this post, pin it to share and save for later!

Featured image by Estée Janssens

10 picture books every adult should read

Even when you’re “grown up,” you still have a lot to learn. A surprising source of wisdom? Picture books. They may be meant for kids, but they’re chock full of fun, heartfelt lessons that are still applicable even after you don’t use the children’s section of the library anymore. I’ve rounded up ten of my favorite picture books below!
A quick note: These are all newer picture books–ones I discovered while working at a library, not ones I grew up with. So don’t get mad at me for not having classics like Leo the Late Bloomer or The Giving Tree on here!

Prudence the Part-Time Cow by Jody Jensen Shaffer

A funny story of Prudence, the cow who also wants to be a scientist and inventor, this book reminds us that sometimes standing out from the herd can be a good thing.

When Penny Met POTUS by Rachel Ruiz

#GirlPower

Stolen Words by Melanie Florence

A conversation between a Cree grandfather and his granddaughter, this story reveals the power of language and how connected it is to our sense of identity–and what happens when it is lost.

What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada

A poignant story about how it feels to come up with an idea and share it with the world, and how to be brave while you do it.

Pink is for Boys by Robb Pearlman

A fun way for kids to learn their colors, and a reminder to us adults that it makes zero sense to have gendered colors.

The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak

Read it out loud, and remember not to take yourself so seriously.

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

Jabari is scared of jumping off the diving board, but his story teaches us about facing our fears and realizing they may not be as bad as they seem.

Escargot by Dashka Slater

Meet Escargo, the funny French snail who just wants your favorite animal to be a snail. While trying to convince you, he also teaches us about making new friends and trying new things.

The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld

This might be my favorite book on this list. A simple but beautiful story about dealing with grief, and how to respond to others as they go through grief.

Eddie the Bully by Henry Cole

No one likes Eddie because he’s the meanest kid in class, but when the new kid Carla reaches out with kindness, we’re reminded that sometimes being nice is the best response.

(FYI–This post includes affiliate links. I promise to never recommend anything that I haven’t loved and think you should try!)

Have you read any of these books? What are some of your favorite picture books? Let me know in the comments!

10 picture books every adult should read | Grown ups still have a lot to learn from kids' books! — *If you liked this post, pin it to share and save for later!*

Fiction Friday: “Backstays of the Sun”

At the end of June I submitted a story to the inaugural Story Embers Short Story Contest. I recently found out that my story, “Backstays of the Sun,” was chosen as the first place winner! It was published on their website, and for this Fiction Friday I wanted to make sure all of my blog followers got a chance to read it.

From the judges:
A contemporary story about a man wrestling with regrets while his wife undergoes an emergency C-section. This entry instantly landed atop our pile of favorites and never slipped downward during the judging rounds. The characters, dialogue, and scenes felt very real.

Read the full story here!

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What did you think of the story? Leave a comment on this post or the Story Embers website!

The best way to improve your writing

I’ve wanted to be a published author for a long time, so naturally whenever I got the chance to go see an author speak, I jumped at it. I always had one question for them: what can I do to be a better writer? And no matter how many books they had published, how old they were, or what type of books they wrote, they always had one answer: write.

For a long time, this answer kind of annoyed me. I would think, Of course I’m going to write, but how is that supposed to make me better? I was looking for some insightful nugget of advice that would magically transform my writing, or a step-by-step guide of how to become a bestselling author. It wasn’t until I started writing consistently that I realized their advice to simply keep writing was actually both of those things. Still not convinced? Here are three things I’ve noticed since I started getting serious about my writing.

You stop relying on “inspiration.”
Creativity is like a muscle—the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, has a great TedTalk that expands on this idea more, but basically, we wouldn’t expect the muscles in our body to get stronger without working out regularly, so why do we think creativity, and therefore our writing skills, will get stronger by only writing once every few weeks or months? When you sit down and write regularly instead of waiting for inspiration to strike, you’ll discover your creativity can come when you want it to, instead of whenever it wants to. Yes, you’ll definitely still have days of feeling like you have nothing to write, but if you power through, you’ll be surprised at how much you can get done even when you’re feeling uninspired.

You change how your mind works.
You begin thinking like a writer, and not just when you’re writing. You’ll watch a movie or overhear a conversation at Starbucks or see some wild person at the grocery store and automatically begin crafting in your mind how you would write it—how you would describe the setting, convey the tension of the argument, or create that character. Suddenly, you’re always working on your writing, even if you’re not sitting down with a pen and paper or computer. And when you are sitting down to “officially write,” you have a wealth of knowledge and experience, just from going about your daily life, that you can draw on, either to put directly into your story or to incorporate a small detail or description that you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.

You start to enjoy it more.
When I would just write every few weeks, I always felt like I was forcing myself to open up the document on my computer and start writing, even though after a few sentences I was back in the zone and loving my story. Still, that initial aversion to it often kept me from writing to begin with, which then made me want to do it less, and it became this perpetual cycle of not writing. When I started writing regularly, even just a few times a week, suddenly it became easier to start writing, and then it became something I looked forward to, and then it became something that I put off doing other things so I could work on my story. It was exciting to see the word count grow, and I knew my plot and characters would be more consistent within the story since I wasn’t taking long breaks in between writing, which had plagued me before.

I know it’s easy to ignore this seemingly simple advice since we hear it all the time. But write regularly truly is the best way to improve your writing. Not sure what to write? Check out some writing prompts here. You don’t have to restrict yourself to working on one project–as long as you’re writing consistently, it won’t be long before you start noticing changes.

How frequently do you write? Have you noticed a change since you started writing regularly? Let me know in the comments!

Want to be a better writer? Here's the best thing you can do! — *If you liked this post, pin it to share and save for later!*

What’s Making Me Happy: August

Hello friends! It’s the end of the month, so I’m publishing a little bonus post. Here are a few things making me happy this month that may or may not be writing/reading related. Enjoy!

Phantom Islands – A Sonic Atlas. This is a super cool interactive map of “phantom islands,” which are islands that were at one point discovered, charted, and recorded as existing, but are now nowhere to be found. Sail around the map and listen to the soundtracks interpreting these imagined places.

The #StorySocial chat on Twitter. If you’re a writer, definitely check this out! Every Wednesday at 7pm MST, writers of all stripes gather for an hour to talk about, well, writing. Sometimes there’s a set topic, sometimes not, but it’s always a fun way to meet and discuss with other writers.

Imagine Dragons’ new single, “Natural.” I love Imagine Dragons, so I’m always thrilled when they have a new song out.

The New York Public Library’s Grow Up Work Fashion Library. Sort of a mouthful, but basically it’s a program from the NYPL where anybody headed to a job interview can check out ties, briefcases, handbags, and other accessories needed to make a good first impression. Can we make this a thing everywhere please?

This article from the Washington Post on spaces after periods. It sounds boring, but if you’re a nerd like me, it’s totally fascinating. Also, I love the way the writer plays with formatting in the actual article to coordinate with what he’s discussing.

Vox’s Explained on Netflix. These 20- to 30-minute episodes do a deep-dive into all types of subjects, from cryptocurrency to K-Pop to monogamy. With a new episode released each week, there’s no shortage of things for me to geek out over.

These tote bags. Full disclaimer, I knew the artist growing up, but I’m still obsessed with this bag that is perfect for carrying books!

Check out this tote bag by artist Nicki Newell — By artist Nicki Newell

What’s making you happy this month? Let me know if you check any of these out and what you think!

Featured photo by Daniel Chekalov

How to start writing your book

So, you’ve decided you want to write a book. You’ve figured out your idea, got a good handle on the characters and plot, and you’re ready to begin! But…how exactly do you do that? One of the hardest parts of writing a book is staring at that blank page, watching the cursor blink impatiently, and trying to figure out what comes next. But it doesn’t have to be this way—if you prepare beforehand and are in the right mindset, the blank page can be an inviting canvas, full of possibilities, rather than something you dread. Here are three tips to take the blank page from intimidating to inspiring.

Figure out if you’re a plotter or a pantser

What do I mean by that? In the writing world, these are the two rough categories of how writers develop their stories. Pantsers fly by the seat of their pants. They have an idea or character, then just start writing and see where the story takes them. Plotters prefer to outline things first and have a solid idea of how the story will pan out before they ever start writing.

There are pros and cons to both approaches, and, ultimately, almost every writer is a mix of both. It’s something that might even change the more you write. But having an idea of which side of the spectrum you lean towards can help you know how to start writing. If you’re a plotter but you’re trying to start writing your book without a plan, you may be intimidated by all the options and not knowing where it’s headed, so it might be helpful to take a step back and draft a rough outline. If you’re a pantser who’s trying to force themselves to write an outline but you keep losing interest, you may just need to dive in and see what happens as you write. The more you know your style, the easier it is to get started.

Begin with a question

No, it doesn’t have to be a literal question you type out. But your story should prompt the reader to wonder something—and preferably this should happen in the first paragraph. It doesn’t need to be a deep, existential question that introduces the theme of your novel. Just something that makes the reader wonder what will happen next. For instance, in the first few pages of my work-in-progress The Bell and the Blackbird, I incorporate several questions. At the end of the first paragraph, the main character Meredith is hit by a bike, so the reader is (hopefully!) wondering who hit her and if she’s alright. Once we figure out that it’s a college-age boy who is teaching himself to ride a bike, we wonder why he hasn’t learned yet. These short-term questions are answered quickly, but I also weave in questions that take longer to figure out. What is Meredith hiding from Jeremiah and why? Will this meeting turn into a friendship, or even a relationship? By causing the reader to ask questions right from the start, you can pull your reader into the story and make them care about the characters. Figure out what short-term questions you can incorporate to keep them turning the first few pages, and then longer-term questions that will have them invested in the novel and its characters.

Just write

Writing tips "You can't edit a bank page" More computer wallpapers to inspire you to write — Click for more computer wallpapers to inspire you to write

When it comes down to it, you just have to start. Whether you’re a pantser running with an idea or a plotter referring to your outline, you just have to get words on the page. Try setting a goal for how many words or pages you want to get done in your writing session. Even telling yourself you’re going to write a paragraph is better than nothing. And, more often than not, once you start working on that paragraph, you’ll get into a rhythm and end cranking out more than you thought you would. One of my all-time favorite writing quotes is by Jodi Picoult: “You can’t edit a blank page.” No matter what you write, it’s better than nothing, because you can always go back and fix it. You can’t polish something that isn’t there. So, do whatever planning and research you need to, but if you really want to write a book, the best thing you can do is to just write it.

What’s your ritual for starting a book? Are you more of a pantser or a plotter? Let me know in the comments!

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Fiction Friday: “Strange and Unusual Death Circumstances Support Group”

For today’s Fiction Friday post, I selected a writing prompt from the book The 3 A.M. Epiphany by Brian Kiteley. It’s one of my favorite book of prompts, and a great source for any writer to have on their bookshelf. I ended up choosing prompt 99, “Rashomon”:

Write about a group of several people, at least four, who have had some similar experience (for example, five people who’ve been struck by lightning [but not the same lightning bolt] and survived; or six people who witnessed an accident). They don’t know one another. The event may be the only connection between these fine folks. You’ll discover what policemen and insurance investigators routinely find–that not two witnesses to the same event recount the same story of the event, and that reality is flexible, fluid, and subjective. 800 words.

I ended up writing something a little different than I usually do, something with a little more dark humor. Probably inspired by watching too much of The Good Place on NBC. After reading the prompt, I gave myself roughly 5 minutes to plan, then 30 to write. I went a little over time, but here are the results.

“Thank you all for coming today,” Mark said as they slowly made their way from the table of refreshments, overflowing with all of their favorite snacks, towards the circle of cushiony chairs. Mark stayed standing as they each took a seat. “I know it can be hard to talk about, but it’s good to come. That’s why we have this group.”

They all nodded. They had heard this speech from Mark each week for a while, and could probably recite in their sleep.

“We have a newcomer this week,” Mark continued, gesturing to a man sitting to his right. He was young, and fairly attractive—but they all were, now—and he looked intensely uncomfortable. Everyone understood, though. They all remembered their first time coming to the group. It was a lot to take in. Mark turned a little bit to face the man, and smiled encouragingly. “Jackson, do you want to introduce yourself? Stand, stand!”

“Um, sure.” The man cleared his throat as he stood up. “I’m Jackson Wyatt. I live—er, lived—in Missouri. I…was an accountant.” He shrugged, looking at Mark. “Um, what else do you want me to say?”

“Well, we’d love to hear how you died,” Mark said, his face parting into that big, wide smile that he offered to newcomers. Jackson shook his head vehemently. “Oh, don’t be embarrassed.” Mark stood up, and Jackson quickly sat down, as if that would save him from the relentless cheeriness of Mark. “That’s what this group is for. ‘Strange and Unusual Death Circumstances Support Group.’” He tilted his head at Jackson. “The Afterlife is strange enough for people who die in ‘normal’ conditions. For a few of us, however,” here he gestured to the rest of the circle, “Well, it’s a bigger transition.” Mark turned to face the group. “Is anyone willing to share their story? Show Jackson how it works?”

There was a pause. No one liked talking about their death story. Why would you? They all knew other citizens of the Afterlife referred to it as the Embarrassing Death Group. Finally, a woman with dark brown hair pulled into a tight bun raised her hand. No one was surprised. She had been here longer than anyone else could remember.

“Emily! Thank you so much!” Mark clapped wildly for her as she stood up, and the rest of the group gave a half-hearted clap that would have been drowned out by a crowd watching golf.

Emily gave a terse smile, and clasped her hands in front of her, fidgeting with her fingers endlessly as she spoke. “Well, I was born in 1889 in Boston, and in 1919 I was walking back from buying some groceries for dinner that night. It was, oh, a little after noon, and I smelled something sweet, and heard people shouting. I turned around and saw a large wave of a light brown…substance, rushing toward me. Before I could do anything, it had swallowed me up.” She stopped to clear her throat. “I’ve since been told it was molasses from a tank that burst at the Purity Distilling Company not far from where I lived.” Emily glanced down at her feet. “It’s apparently referred to as the Boston Molasses Disaster.” She quickly sat down, still fidgeting.

“And how are you dealing with your fear of syrup, Emily?” Mark asked gently.

She pursed her lips. “It’s better. When they had Pancake Day in the dining hall last week, I even went in and tried a little bit.” She shook her head. “Too sweet for me, though.”

Mark nodded. “That’s okay! You’re improving.” He smiled around at the group.

There was a snort from another man in the room. Mark turned and focused on him. “Arthur? Do you have something to share?”

Arthur stood up, crossing his arms. “I just think that someone who died from drowning in molasses shouldn’t be in the same support group as someone like me.”

Mark rest his chin on his fist. “Would you expand on that?”

“I jumped into a window to prove it was shatterproof, and it didn’t break, but instead it popped out of the frame and I fell to my death!” Arthur said, almost yelling. “How is that anything like her molasses story?”

Mark nodded slowly, as if absorbing Arthur’s emotions. “I understand and I hear you, Arthur. All of us have died in unusual circumstances, and we can all support each other as we adjust to the Afterlife, even if there are differences in how we died.”

Arthur huffed as he plopped back down in his chair, arms still folded. The other members in the group didn’t react to his rant. They looked to Jackson, who seemed taken aback at the outburst, and knew he would adjust. They heard it almost every week, and they supposed it would be that way for all of eternity.

Writing Prompt: Write about a group of people who don't know each other, discussing a shared similar experience — *If you liked this story and the prompt, pin it to share and save it for later*

Let me know if you try using this prompt, and how it goes!

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