The Rookie Writer Show

If you listened to Episode 036, you may be expecting an episode about the different kinds of edits. We’ll get to that soon, I promise. Just not this episode. Stay tuned!

I’m changing things up!

Starting today, I’m launching a 2020 challenge for myself, and I’d like to invite you along for the ride. I’ve set a goal to read 52 books on writing this year — one for each week — and then share my highlights with my fellow Rookie Writers.

You can expect the following for every book I read:

* An introduction to the author so you have some idea who’s offering you their advice and expertise* A BRIEF overview of what kind of book you’re dealing with* A maximum of three (and only three) major suggestions or points made in the book and one tip

Beyond that, it’ll be up to you to decide whether or not it’s something you’d like to delve into further.

Enough for the intro. Let’s get to it!

Okay, I have to say this: I’ve kicked off this challenge with a winner: Dear Writer, You Need to Quit written by Becca Syme and published in 2019.

The author is Becca Syme, the woman behind The Better Faster Academy, which offers classes and individual coaching for writers. In addition, she produces a writing productivity podcast and YouTube series of her own called The QuitCast. For the past few years, she’s also been co-hosting a book marketing show and will soon be launching “Dear Becca,” a weekly coaching column. She’s earned a couple of Master’s Degrees in coaching-related fields and has worked with thousands of authors, many of them pulling in six- and seven-figure annual incomes.

She does not in any way promise that you will reach this income, by the way.

Becca would be the first to tell you that her communication style isn’t of the “blow sunshine up your wazoo” variety, but she delivers the kind of advice you probably need to hear in a clear and often humorous way. She is not without empathy for your situation, she just isn’t interested in letting you shine yourself on either. She wants to give you the kinds of tools to start coaching yourself to the levels of productivity that are right for you.

If you like Lisa Cron’s approach to plotting, you’re going to love Becca Syme’s approach to writing productivity. This is a book that dips into brain science and applies it to your situation.

She emphatically states that this isn’t a book of tips and tricks. This is a book designed to get you to ask yourself deep ques...

The Problem

You have good taste.

I know. It doesn’t seem like that should be a problem, but we both know it is. Because your good taste is like rocket fuel for that inner critic of yours. The reason you can recognize that your work isn’t necessarily “living up” to the work that you admire by other people is because you have excellent taste. If you didn’t have an eye for good writing, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

And because of that, it also makes your own work seem:

a. Unimportant

b. Inferior

c. Not worth doing

d. More trouble than it’s worth

e. All of the above

When your inner critic uses your good taste in literature against you, here’s what you do.

The Solution

First, like most things,

Slow.

Your.

Roll.

There is no need to panic here. The Taste Gap is the puberty of your writing life. It’s not always pleasant, but it means you’re growing and shifting into a new, more mature phase of your (writing) life. It’s completely normal. It’s what’s supposed to happen. Try not to let it freak you out and make you wish you could quit. Because, c’mon, you’re a writer. You can’t quit!

Second, recognize that the book that you’re reading is not likely to be the first draft of the book that you’re reading. Take a look at this, and tell me: does this seem like apples to apples to you?

If you’re comparing your work in progress (especially work you’re doing mostly on your own, as in the example on the left above) to a commercially released book (like the one on the right in the example above), you’re not exactly playing fair with yourself.

Finally, reclaim the power of your good taste. It’s your turn to use it as your rocket fuel. Let it inspire you and guide you as you do your work and get better while you aim for the heavens.

The most important possible thing you can do is do a lot of work. Ira Glass

Next week, we’ll talk a little about all those different types of edits that published books go through, and how you can get some (or all) of them for yourself. Until then…

Happy writing, people!

Resources:

* The Taste Gap by Ira Glass – Video by Daniel Sax* The Taste Gap: Ira Glass on the Secret of Creative Success, Animated in Living Typography by Maria Popova (Contains a transcript of the same thing)

So here we are on the cusp of the start of a brand new decade. It’s tough for me to get my mind around. I would say it’s snuck up on me, in fact. I think in the past I would’ve made a big deal about this benchmark. It would’ve felt like a fortuitous start. I’ve always been a fan of things like that. New Year’s Eve Resolutions, reflective birthday check-Ins, the start of school years and even semesters. I’m a sucker for all of those kinds of things.

I love that feeling of pulling back long enough to examine my circumstances and any upcoming decisions or choices I may be facing. Chugging along with your work is only useful if you’re chugging along in the direction you actually want to go, right?

For a long time, I’ve had the dream of applying the kind of work I used to do for nonprofits — things like facilitating strategic planning efforts — to writing. I wanted to convert that process into a tool that would be useful for writers. I started with the things I knew about strategic planning and then filled up an entire file cabinet and bookshelf with resources that involved some aspect of strategic thinking for writers. It’s how I started thinking of topics in terms of breaking it down into the 5W1H approach, which as a reminder asks:

* Who are you as a writer?* What do you want to write?* When are you going to do that writing? * Where are you going to do that writing (and using what tools)?* Why are you inspired to do that writing? What motivates and sustains you?* How are you going to maintain your health and wellbeing throughout the process?

Eventually, I’ll be putting together a course and writing retreats to help walk people through this process. For now, however, let me recommend someone else’s efforts to help writers in much the same way.

I’ve mentioned it before, but here it comes again. Sarra Cannon is my virtual mentor, an experienced and accomplished writer, and a generous and engaging writing coach. Her HB90 System and her Publish and Thrive programs have both helped me immeasurably in the pursuit of my own writing dreams.

As a bedrock of her system, she advises quarterly planning. Over the last year, I’ve become a devotee of this approach myself. While it sounds all dry and business-y, seemingly at odds with creativity, I’ve found the following benefits:

* I basically get four times as many New Year’s Eves as I used to. In a lot of ways, I was always trying to create more opportunities to systematically check in with myself and the path that I’m taking. Quarterly planning gives you four chances to make sure that you’re still working on the things that matter to you in ways that are actually both productive and a good fit for your work style.* It helps me to keep an eye on the details. My husband always says that we’re a good team because I’m good about “getting meta” and thinking about whether or not what we’re doing is supportive of our dreams and goals. And he’s great at keeping an eye on the details and day-to-day stuff. Because that latter skill doesn’t come naturally, I find that quarterly planning is a useful and supportive tool to reinforce the skills I do have in this area. * I get four times as many chances to check in with myself and celebrate what I’ve accomplished over a three-month period. I have a tendency to think I should be able to do i...

If you’ve been listening to the show, you’ve heard me mention the 100 Rejections Challenge, which is the idea that we try to get 100 rejections, knowing that we’ll likely get some acceptances mixed in there. It’s a great way to take the sting out of your rejections and get more of your work out there.

Say you’re on board for giving it a whirl. What exactly does that mean in terms of brass tacks? Because just saying you want to do something will not get it done. Trust me. I’ve tried this (a lot), and it doesn’t work. What does?

Just like your writing, you have to:

* Ask yourself some questions first. * Where do you want to submit and why?* What fits your goals and resources? * Do you have funds to devote to entry fees? * What are you looking to get out of the publishing experience (prize money, clips, name recognition, etc.)? * What sorts of resources (e,g, Query Tracker, Manuscript Wish List, Duotrope, Writer’s Market, writing magazine listings, Google search) will you use to search for submission opportunities?* What pieces of work do you want to submit? * Are they already ready to go? * If not, what still needs to be done? When do you think you’ll have them done?* Make space for your business work. * How are you going to keep track of submission opportunities?* How are you going to track your actual submissions? * Do you prefer analog (e.g. a list in a notebook) or digital (e.g. spreadsheet)?* If digital, do you want to use a service like Submittable or Duotrope to keep track of them or create a spreadsheet of your own to track them?* Make time for your work. Here’s another tried-and-true quotable I tend to overuse: “Someday is not a day of the week.” * How often will you work on the business side of your work? * Do you want to make a little time every (or most days) like David Mamet advises in his Masterclass? * Or do you want to set aside a day a week (or every other week, or once a month, depending on your wants/needs/abilities) to focus on your submissions?* How will you use your writing business work to inform and motivate your creative writing work? For example, can you use contest deadlines to help you set a personal goal for that final revision?

Obviously, it doesn’t do you much good to spend a lot of time on your writing business work if you have nothing to submit or publish. HOWEVER, let me tell you a quick story about my work in progress (WIP), Molly Bright.

At one point, I found myself stuck in the middle of a novel I’d been working on. I found all kinds of reasons to procrastinate and my writing habit suffered. I decided to take a writing class through my local university...

With all of our focus on productivity, we’re working hard to find a way to get quality work out the door.

Quality (NOT perfect) work OUT THERE (NOT sitting in your cloud or in a drawer awaiting more attention).

We have all these things we want to accomplish, that we’ve committed time, energy, and other resources towards. And just when we’re humming along, getting our work done, enter that demon from Writing Hell: Perfectionism. Think of it like an evil Zeus, who is the originator of most of the other writing troubles. It spawns Procrastination, Writer’s Block, Revisionitis, Over-Preparation and more.

Perfectionism is born of Fear but beautifully disguises itself as the more virtuous “Professionalism.” In contrast, Professionalism, while still conscientious and earnest, evolves from self-assuredness and clear-mindedness. It will ask you to do your best without luring you into adopting self-destructive work habits.

Note Where Perfectionism Is Holding You Back

* Is it causing you to procrastinate?* Is it causing you to overprepare?* Is it slowing your work down too much?* Is it keeping me from finishing things?* Is it sucking the joy out of your writing experience?* Is it causing you to overedit?* Is it keeping you from submitting things?* Is it affecting your self-esteem and/or your perception of yourself?* Is it causing you to adopt unhealthy habits to balance out your stress?

Solutions

HABITS:

* Be Selective – Spend a little time thinking about and deciding what’s REALLY worth your “A Game” and what can sort of slide a little bit. On this front, I cannot recommend Heartbreathings HB90 Boot Camp enough. It. Has. Changed. My. Life. Not just my writing life. My life. * Let Your Work Rest – Put some distance between your writing and your editing process* Please (and) Express Yourself – Make a point to resist seeking approval from others. If you’re a people-pleaser, this one can be especially hard, I know. Do your best.* When in Doubt, Get Busy – Because as C.S. Lakin reminds us, “Action helps cure fear.”

CARROT APPROACHES:

* Set a Timer and/or a Deadline – Limit how long you can work on something. This is the brilliance of NaNoWriMo. If you did that challenge, don’t leave the skills you picked up during that month trapped in November. Carry them forward throughout the year.* Make Failing a Rewarding Experience and/or a Game – Like the 100 Rejections challenges out there, reward yourself for putting things out there, even if they “fail.” * Set a High Submission Goal – It will serve to reduce the amount of time you have to spend on any one project. Again, think NaNoWriMo. * Celebrate Small Success – These can be process successes (e.g. Daily Writing Wordcount Streak) or product successes (You made it to the second round of a contest?! Got favorable feedback from your critique group? Celebrate!) Jennifer Louden does a great class on CreativeLive.com where she really digs into this. Here’s a $15 coupon if you decide to check it out

We did it!! Hear what kinds of tactics got me, Zenni, and Robin across the finish line when everything but flying monkeys came at us in the last half of November. Fawn couldn’t be here for this episode, but she has some words of encouragement and wisdom. Listen in and see if you can pick up any tips or hacks that might help you in your writing adventures.

Next week and for the rest of December, I’ll return to the other format. We’ll be looking at balance. Hope to catch you back here next week! Until then…

Happy Writing, People!

Robin has already crossed the finish line, and Zenni and I are working to come in right behind her. Fawn will have to give her update next week. Keep showing up, keep writing, keep going until you cross that finish line! You’ll be so glad you did!

Catch you next week! Until then…

Happy Writing, People!

We’re rounding third! Check in with your virtual writing accountability group and see how Zenni, Robin, Fawn, and Dair are doing on their NaNoWriMo efforts.

Catch you next week! Until then…

Happy Writing, People!

This month you’re invited to be a part of a virtual accountability group! Join our panel every week to hear how our NaNoWriMo efforts are going. Hopefully, you’ll pick up a trick that will help make things easier for you or simply gain a sense of camaraderie.

This week, Robin Knabel, Zenni Abdon, and Fawn Allesee Russell stopped by to chat about the first week. Among other things, we touched on:

* Pomodoros (AKA Time Sprints)* Google Docs* Dictation* Experimenting with Different Methods, Times, Locations * The Pomodoro App’s Ambient Features* Slack* Remembering to keep showing up, break the rules you need to break, value every word you do get down while you build your daily writing habit. And don’t forget to have some fun!

It’s a busy month, so I’m keeping the notes simple. No links again this week, I’m afraid. If you’re doing NaNo, come find me and be my buddy! I’m listed as H. Dair Brown.

Catch you next week! Until then…

Happy Writing, People!

This month you’re invited to be a part of a virtual accountability group! Join our panel every week to hear how our NaNoWriMo efforts are going. Hopefully, you’ll pick up a trick that will help make things easier for you or simply gain a sense of camaraderie.

This week, Robin Knabel stopped by to chat about the first week. Among other things, we touched on:

* Sarra Cannon’s HB90 Method* The Goals-Motive-Conflict-Stakes Character Development Tool* The Basic Premise Tool: “Once upon a time _______. One day, _______. And because of that __________. And then__________. Until finally __________. The End* The IDEA (Ignore Delegate Automate Eliminate) Method* Pomodoros (AKA Time Sprints)* The Sticky-Note Trick for Reducing Interruptions* Google Docs* Scrivener* Dictation* Experimenting with Different Methods, Times, Locations * The Coffitivity App* Slack* James Scott Bell’s Notecards Method* Taking Yourself and Your Work Seriously So That Others Will, Too

It’s a busy month, so I’m keeping the notes simple. No links this week, I’m afraid. If you’re doing NaNo, come find me and be my buddy! I’m listed as H. Dair Brown.

Catch you next week! Until then…

Happy Writing, People!