Beth McMullen used to have a normal life. Until she had kids. Then, everything changed.

She has channeled her often hilarious and sometimes distressing experience with parenting into two novels that tell the tale of a life she is definitely not leading.

Her latest book title says it all: Spy Mom, the story of a stay at home mom who used to be a spy. Beth has another book coming out next year.

In this interview we discuss:

• how Beth finally started "being a writer"
• writing + motherhood = the truth: what s it really like
• the process of writing a book
• Beth's mindset so she can keep writing and move forward
• Two takeaways – what Beth wish she knew 5-10 years ago about this business

LISTEN HERE

"You have to be in it because you love it and have a story to tell."

~ Beth McMullen

Mentioned in this interview

• Spy Mom
• Beth's website

Beth and I talked about getting in the writer's zone and how she shuts out the rest of the world. I immediately thought of one of my favorite visual images of getting in the zone. It was from the movie For The Love of the Game with Kevin Costner.

Here is a clip of Costner has shutting out the noise from the fans and getting into the zone.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF8KJZev7u0&feature=colike

How often do you hear those words in your own head?

Next time, I invite you to practice "clear the mechanism" as Costner's character did and as Beth does in her writing process. Let go of outcomes and focus on the process. Beth does one page at a time and Costner's character did one pitch at a time.

smiling,

The post Beth McMullen: The Mindset of a Fiction Author appeared first on howshereallydoesit.com.