Mom Writes Podcast

Writer Melanie Parish struggles with the "burden of what she's already written." She also admits to feeling like she can't share her story ideas because she doesn't want anyone to steal them. Jennie Nash tells us why our writers' ideas aren't worth anything if they never finish their books!

Writer Abby Mathews needs to clear the clutter from her house so she can focus on what she really wants (hint, it's not cleaning). But will guilt and nostalgia keep her from being able to throw anything away? And will Melanie Parish be able to fight the power of the internet to clear more mental real estate to finish her book in 2018? This episode is for every creative, not just writers... or moms!

Author Abby Mathews and book coach Jennie Nash discuss the bookend scenes of Abby's middle grades novel. They talk about how nailing down the first and last scenes will help the rest of the story fall into place.

Jennie Nash talks about how thinking before you write and making decisions in the pre-writing process can buy you freedom when you actually begin to write. Author Melanie Parish also discovers that her story is actually way deeper than she thought, and Jennie encourages her to go big.

I still don't know how she did it, but somehow book coach Jennie Nash used her superpowers for story to dig under the surface of my super fun, middle grades, book world plot to mine the deep, dark heart of my story. In doing so she changed how I look at my writing and its purpose.

Writing forward shouldn't be scary, but somehow writers often get paralyzed by the fear of making the wrong choice-- the wrong choice for the plot, for their characters, etc... But writers should remember, there are these glorious things called erasers and the backspace key.

Let's face it. Writers get stuck. A lot. Jennie Nash has some wonderful advice for getting out of your own way and getting into the creative zone, cultivating your creative skill, and letting go of self-judgement.

When Abby gets a migraine but shows up for the podcast anyway, Melanie and Jennie send her back to bed. When they pick back up the conversation, they talk about how moms are the worst at self-care because they tend to power through ("mom takes care of mom when mom is sick"). They also have a discussion about the Blueprint for a Book Week 3 assignment & the importance of being open to feedback on your writing.

Jennie talks about how to marry the "what happens" in your book to the "why it matters." Connecting the two is what makes a story work.

When a writer asks WHY she gets down to the core of the story, the thing she actually wants to write about. Jennie Nash talks about how to make your story both universal and specific, and how to dial into who your book is for by making decisions in your writing.