Happy Saturday!
I hope your weekend is going great! It’s, as my mother says, “hot as blazes” here in south Texas, but the coffee shop I’m currently sitting in is fuh-reezing, so I’m wearing a thick hoodie and sipping a hot espresso for warmth. I wouldn’t be opposed to sitting on the patio, but alas, too windy! I think it’s fair to say that if I were ever to be reincarnated as a fairy tale character, I would be Goldilocks…
In writing news, I’m working on the second round of edits on my comedic fantasy novel, The God Next Door (another excerpt coming soon!) and will be querying agents by the end of the summer (at least that’s the goal)! I’m also working with an illustrator friend of mine on a children’s series, which I’m super excited about/surprised by because I never ever thought I’d write children’s books, but neither did I think I’d be a mother. Lesson: never say never!
In this week’s Top 6, I share tips on perseverance in writing, the importance of poetry, staying focused, and being bold. I hope you enjoy, and have a blessed rest of your day!
Writer, Stick to Your Story!
I was 27 before I finally finished writing a novel, and I can honestly say that once that hurdle was cleared, each subsequent book has been much easier to stick with and see through to the end.
A few tips for building what I call “SFDP” ($h***y first draft – thank you for that term, Anne Lamott! – perseverance):
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Outline! If you prefer writing by the seat of your pants, that is, without a roadmap, at least plot out a solid beginning, middle, and end, and reassure yourself that it can all be changed in the second-draft rewriting phase.
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Resist shiny objects! You will undoubtedly get exciting new ideas for novels as you’re writing your current project. Take a few minutes to write down the idea(s) , but don’t abandon your WIP (work in progress), because I can tell you that no object is shinier than a finished work, so finish what you started and remember that it too was once a shiny object!
Prioritize Poetry for Your Children (and Yourself)
“Whether our children fall madly in love with poetry or not, her forgotten words of wonder will hide themselves in the nooks and crannies of their hearts and minds. They will always be there to inspire, exhort, and interpret life’s journeys. And one day, they will awaken to realize that their very lives are poetry – a sweet song, true and rhymical, meaningful, and more beautiful than words.” – Ainsley Arment (@ainsl3y)
Take These Steps to Exceptional Results (from James Clear)
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Do less. Stop dividing your attention.
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Do it right now. Once you have identified the essential, go fast. Maintain a bias toward action.
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Do it the right way. Acting quickly doesn’t mean acting carelessly. Get to work right away, but keep working on it until it’s right.
Consider: Will You Speak Up?
I love this hard-hitting quote from Lutheran pastor Martin Neimoeller:
“They came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
Choose Faith Over Fear
A little excerpt from my novel, Orchid Unfading:
“In the little time she had known and been in love with Brady, he’d taught her something about faith that she refused to forget: that it often felt like fear, like jumping out of an airplane for the first time and feeling your stomach leap into your throat, your nerves singing with both terror and bliss. It was walking in the ocean and feeling the sandy, seaweedy floor drop beneath you, leaving you no choice but to swim. But once you’re swimming, you’re weightless, calm, completely free.”
Produce Your Best Work
“If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.” – David Bowie
