Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

I listened to Allison Fallon’s The Power of Writing It Down while jogging through my neighborhood. Those weren’t my best runs, because I kept pulling out my phone to thumb-type a great quote before picking up the pace again.

And yet they were fantastic runs, because Allison’s words inspired me to re-establish a daily journaling practice.

On that first outing—with her voice in my ears—I listened through the first chapters and returned refreshed and motivated. Allison’s invitation to “unlock your brain and reimagine your life” spurred me to set a timer and launch the first 20-minute personal writing session I’d attempted in a long time.

I continued the practice the following days and discovered I was indeed “getting limbic,” as Allison calls it—I was slipping past the nagging to-do list items and scheduled tasks to explore feelings, memories, and struggles. Nothing dramatic transpired (yet), but I’ve found myself diving deeper and opening up on the page, in private, before the day presses in.

I’m not new to this practice, but I’d fallen out of the habit. I’m so grateful for Allison’s convincing call to return to it and reap the benefits.

In this interview, Allison mentions Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages, which reminded me of Writing Down the Bones and Natalie Goldberg’s explanation of freewriting as a way to get to our “first thoughts.” Allison makes a strong case for why and how a private writing practice like that feeds directly into our professional writing, whether through ideas or memories we unearth that can be woven into our work in progress, or through shifts in perspective that add depth and insight to our piece.

Will you join me in revisiting this simple but fruitful activity that can enliven and inform your writing pursuits and projects? I predict you’ll begin to see how a daily writing practice will truly unlock your creativity.

And please enjoy my discussion with Allison Fallon. Allison is an award-winning author, sought-after public speaker, and nationally recognized writing coach. She has worked with thousands of people to realize their writing potential and become published authors. She’s host of the podcast Find Your Voice, an excellent resource for writers, and author of The Power of Writing It Down: A Simple Habit to Unlock Your Brain and Reimagine Your Life.

On Allison’s writing practice:

My daily writing practice happens for 30 minutes every morning, and it’s me just sitting down and dumping out my first thoughts of the day. The great thing about this is it’s a beautiful practice for absolutely anyone whether or not you want to be a published author. It can bring so much value and goodness into your life, regardless of what other kind of writing you do.

On mimicry as a way to learn writing:

There’s something about being able to copy an author that we really admire, appreciate, and adore that helps us get into the groove of finding our own way to say it.

On the right to tell your own truth in your own voice:

Don’t I have the right to share my own unique experience of what it was like to live in that household? Don’t I have that right as much as he has that right? That’s what it means to find your voice. It’s to be able to stand on both feet, to say, “This is how it was for me.” And even if it was different for you, that doesn’t change the fact that this is what was true for me.

On how our brain’s “catalog” stories and we reinforce those stories through repetition:

If you have a detail in your life that seems to repeat itself, it’s a hint for you that there’s a story there that you’ve told yourself and it’s been cataloged. And that limbic part of your brain is driving the ship in ways. It’s not that it’s your fault. It’s just you’re helping co-create that reality over and over again.

On falling in love with writing instead of pursuing platform:

If I could only give one piece of advice, don’t grow your Instagram platform. Go fall in love with the act of writing. Don’t go chase down some big magazine that will publish your work. Go fall in love with the idea of writing stories and I dare you to do that for very long without finding an audience that’s really into what you’re doing.

• The Power of Writing It Down, by Allison Fallon (link takes you to her website where you can download a free chapter); purchase a copy at your local bookstore or use Bookshop, which supports local bookstores (Bookshop affiliate link for hardback)

EPISODE 235

Ann Kroeker (00:03):

You’re listening to the Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach podcast, where I’m sharing my best tips and training, skills, and strategies, to coach writers to improve their craft, pursue publishing, and achieve their writing goals. If you are a writer struggling with writer’s block, or you’re trying to find your voice, today’s interview is for you. Today we’re going to hear more about what’s going on inside your brain—and how to unlock it. Today’s guest is Allison Fallon. Allison is an award-winner author, sought-after public speaker, and nationally recognized writing coach. She’s worked with thousands of people to realize their writing potential and become published authors. Allison is the author of The Power of Writing It Down: A Simple Habit to Unlock Your Brain and Reimagine Your Life. Welcome, Allison.

Allison Fallon (00:52):

Thanks for having me.

Ann Kroeker (00:54):

Well, I cannot wait to get into your book to get into your deep understanding of the science of how the brain works and how it all connects to the writing life. But before we get too far, I do want to ask you this: I just read your well-crafted bio, and it’s amazing all the ways that you serve writers, but I would love to hear in your own voice—with your own words—a little bit more about how you view who you are and what you do.

Allison Fallon (01:19):

What a great question. Well, I always say I fell into this work accidentally because I didn’t mean to be working with other writers. I thought I just wanted to be a writer myself and I struggled to own the identity of writer. I remember as young as elementary school and middle school when people would say, what do you want to be when you grow up? I would say, I want to be an author. And I would get the feedback that I think a lot of us get when we talk about wanting to do art as an adult where other adults, well-meaning adults would say you need a backup plan. You know, you need a degree that you can get where you can actually go make some money. Are you going to teach on the side or? You know, just well-meaning adults trying to coax you to think through the challenges of being an adult.

Allison Fallon (02:01):

I started to really question that instinct to be a writer and think maybe people don’t make money as a writer so maybe I should just think through a different career. So I got on the track of becoming a teacher. I grew up in Oregon and in Oregon, you need a master’s degree to teach at the high s...

[Ep 234]

On this episode of the podcast, I hosted two novelists: Shawn Smucker and his wife, Maile Silva, for a literary discussion. Imagine you’re at a writing conference and we’re on stage to discuss the challenges they face as two writers at different points in the writing journey, living and working and raising a family together.

How do they offer support and input? How do they find time to write? What are they proudest of?

Shawn and Maile touch on topics like creative legacy, writing rejections, self-publishing versus traditional publishing, and being faithful to the work.

Shawn is an award-winning novelist by night and a collaborator and co-writer by day. He has an honors degree in English, and has been making a living as a writer for eleven years.

Maile has an honors degree in English, has written three novels, and is currently in the querying process, so if that’s where you’re at, she knows your pain. She has raised six children in the last 17 years and is beginning to have more time to dedicate to her first love…no, not Shawn. Writing. She has taught writing in different settings, including as a table leader for the Black Barn Online.

You might know them from their podcast, The Stories Between Us.

At the end of our chat, they’ll be filling you in on their program The Nine Month Novel. It’s currently closed to enrollment. In the meantime, learn from all the wonderful things they shared. Here’s a sample:

One thing that I’m always trying to get across to other writers is that it doesn’t matter where you’re at in the process, there’s always something else that you want. If you don’t have an agent, you want an agent, and then when you have an agent, you want to get a book deal.

Or if you’re self publishing, you want to sell more books than you’re currently selling. And then once you have books published, you wish you could sell more copies, or what’s the next series going to be about, or what’s the next book.

I think it’s good to have goals and it’s good to have things that you’re shooting for, definitely, but I think one of the most important parts of the writing life is to somehow also enjoy where you’re at and to enjoy the writing that you’re doing—and for that to be the thing that gets you by. Because if the thing that gets you by is getting to the next level, there are going to be certain levels that you don’t hit or certain levels that are really challenging to get to or take a really long time. And those can burn you out if that’s your only motivation.

So even though Maile and I are at different places in the journey, we’re always encouraging each other: Stay focused on the writing. Enjoy the writing. The writing is never going to let you down.

There are so many parts of the writing journey that will be disappointing, but the writing is always there for you. It’s always there for you to work on. It’s always there for you to dig into.

I think what I would be most proud of is the creative legacy that we’re leaving for our kids. And by prioritizing creativity in my own life, I see our kids starting to do that. And that just fills me with so much joy to know that they see the value of doing these things not because they’re making money, not because they’re getting notoriety from it, but because it’s a good thing to do—because it’s part of who we are.

I love that a creative inheritance is being passed down and they’re chasing after their creative dreams…And I love that more beauty and art is entering into the world just through our little clan of kids. And I think it’s because they see us pursuing it.

Because I don’t have any published work yet, I don’t necessarily get the one stars on Amazon that I have to work through, but you get your fair amount with the responses from agents and the rejection in it, and the criticism that comes in a rejection, even if it’s a form letter.

That’s been hard for me, if I’m honest. It has been a road, and I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress in that area with what Sean was saying, for me to acknowledge that you know what? This piece of work that I’ve created, it’s the best that I can do at that point. But I’m still writing and I’m still getting better.

And so I’m only growing as a writer, and if people want to point out what I’m not doing well, well, there’s something to be gained from that. Like, maybe there’s something that I need to attend to that they’ve pointed to, but also, that’s their opinion and everybody’s going to have their own opinion.

And it just goes back to the writing: Am I being faithful to the writing? Am I showing up each day and doing my part? If I’m doing that, that’s the best I can do. And I can’t ask more than my best from myself and people can have their opinion about that.

It’s still hard, though. It’s still hard.

There’s a problem that I recognize in a lot of writers, especially novelists, but I think all writers experience this, where early in your writing journey it’s really easy to start, and it’s really difficult to get through that middle…and to finish.

When I committed to finishing things, my entire writing career totally blew up in a good way. It totally changed. The first novel that I ever completely finished was The Day the Angels Fell. And I self-published that initially, and then it was picked up by a publishing house and that led to book contracts for my first five novels, which I don’t think I would’ve ever gotten if I hadn’t actually finished that novel.

So that’s what I always tell people: write every day, and finish what you start.

I would piggyback on “Write every day.” I think you have to find a rhythm. You have to find something that works for you. And going back to the expectations, goals, and dreams: you have to create an expectation for yourself and then work at it every single day.

For me, in the midst of we’ve talked about with kids, it’s hard to find the time to write. And I remember I was in the midst of my second novel and just really struggling to find that time and I’d finished one of Kate DiCamillo’s books. In the back flap, where it has her biography, it said at the end of her biography that she lives in Minnesota, “where she faithfully writes 200 words a day.”

And it hit me almost like a smack in the face, like, “Two hundred words a day? I can do 200 words a day!” And suddenly I had an achievable expectation for myself. Okay! Every single day I’m going to write 200 words.

And often I write way beyond that, but it gets me to the page every single day. And then the magic happens after that, you know? Then we see what comes from that.

But we have to create. If we’re going to be writers, we have to write—you have to be writing on a regular basis. If you want to see growth in your writing—if you want to finish things, like Shawn was talking about—you have to find a rhythm.

• Shawn Smucker’s website