Last
November I attended a writing retreat with a few friends—some I knew well, and
some I had just met. The lake home where we stayed was sprawling and beautiful
and on lots and lots of land, but the bedroom situation required roommates. I
had three: one who lived near me in the great state of Arkansas (Jenny B.
Jones—a good friend whom I had known long time), and two who lived in Dallas
(Nicole Deese—my “writer wife” who encourages me through every book I write,
and Tammy L. Gray—whom I had just had the pleasure of meeting).
So
one afternoon the four of us were all sitting on beds and working quietly when
Nicole said this: “We all seem to get along well and like the same kinds of
books. What if we all write one together?” We all looked up from our computers,
sat there quietly for a second, collectively shrugged and grabbed notebooks,
and then headed to the local Starbucks.
Thirty
minutes later we sat around a table with lattes and pens.
Two
hours after that, we had a plot.
The
next morning, we shot a bunch of author photos together by the lake.
The
next week, we talked book covers.
And
a few weeks after that, we traded finished stories, read through them, and then
sent them all off to two very gifted editors.
Six
months.
The
whole process took six months from the first idea to the publication date. To
say it was a busy time is like saying Mt. Everest is kinda hard to climb. But
it was worth it. The stressing and the writing and the crying and the wanting
to jump off a building (or maybe that was just me?). It was worth all of it,
because I love our stories. I love knowing it’s possible to work with other
authors, navigate through different ideas and writing styles, and come out challenged
and better for it in the end.
But why
am I telling you this?
Because
a big part of being a writer is learning how to wait. Waiting on story ideas.
Waiting on writer’s block to pass. Waiting for the story to come together. Waiting
on editors to tell you how good or bad your manuscript actually is. Waiting on
query letters to be read and answered. Waiting on offers from agents...from
publishers. And when you’re lucky enough to finally get a contract, waiting on
publication dates that seem forever on the horizon.
Waiting.
Waiting. Waiting. It’s what we all do because it’s what we’re all used to.
But maybe
you shouldn’t always wait. Maybe you should shake things up and jump in with
both feet and try something you’ve never done before. Don’t have a story idea?
Write anyway and see if brilliance will strike while you’re typing. Have
writer’s block? Scratch out some sentences—even if they’re awful—and push your
way through it. Not sure where to go
next? Grab a friend or three and talk it out together. Who knows? If you try
those things, maybe you’ll have a book ready to go in just a few short months. The
only thing I know for sure is that nothing much happens if you’re just sitting
there waiting for inspiration to strike. Inspiration happens at the weirdest
times.
At a
writer’s retreat. At a coffee shop. Who knows?
Just get
to writing. It’s a pretty good way to pass the time.
-Amy Matayo
****TRIPLE GIVEAWAY****
STEP 1: Share this post on Facebook to help spread the word about Nicole, Tammy, Amy, and Jenny's fabulous new collaboration!
STEP 2: Leave your email address in the comments section here AND if you can think of one, name one of your favorite authors you'd LOVE to collaborate with!
STEP 3: I (Amy Leigh Simpson-your AlleyCat Hostess) will draw three names out of a hat and gift the winners an e-copy of JUST ONE SUMMER! The perfect summer read! If we can get a bunch of traffic here I'll bump it up to FIVE WINNERS. Go forth, spread the word! And please, if you read, make an author's day by leaving a quick review. <3
--Four Best Friends. Four Love Stories. Just One Summer. Four college girls, best friends since childhood, have found one constant in their ever-changing lives--summer. Every June the girls choose a destination to reconnect, only this summer is different. This year, each one must face life's challenges on her own, overcome fear and failure, and learn the beauty of falling in love for the first time. --
Amy Matayo is an award winning
author of The Wedding Game, Love Gone Wild, Sway, In
Tune With Love, and A Painted Summer. She graduated with barely passing
grades from John Brown University with a degree in Journalism. But don't
feel sorry for her--she's super proud of that degree and all the ways she
hasn't put it to good use. She laughs often, cries easily, feels deeply, and loves hard. She lives in Arkansas with her husband and four kids and is working on her next novel. www.amymatayo.
Twitter: @amymatayo Facebook: www.facebook.com/amymatayo
Award-winning, best-selling author Jenny B. Jones writes romance with sass and Southern charm. Woefully indecisive, she writes YA, New Adult, and women’s romance. Since she has very little free time, Jenny believes in spending her spare hours in meaningful, intellectual pursuits, such as watching bad TV, Tweeting deep thoughts to the world, and writing her name in the dust on her furniture. She can be found at www.jennybjones.com. 
Nicole Deese is a lover of fiction. When she isn’t writing, she can befound fantasizing about “reading escapes,” which look a lot like kid-free,
laundry-free, and cooking-free vacations. Nicole is a Kindle best-selling author of The Letting Go series and A Cliché Christmas, book one in her new Love In Lenox series. She writes clean contemporary romance with an inspirational twist, and
lives in beautiful north Idaho with her swoony husband and rambunctious sons.
Tammy L. Gray is the kindle best selling author of the Winsor Series and Mercy’s Fight. She writes modern Christian romance and clean YA/NA romance. She believes hope and healing can be found through high quality fiction that inspires and provokes change.
Her books are about flawed characters who struggle in today’s world. She loves writing stories that offer hope to the broken, with the intention of taking the readers on a journey where they both cheer for and want to shake the hero/heroine. She aims to depict culturally relevant settings while presenting an uplifting message that will stay with readers long after the book is closed.
When not chasing after her three amazing kids, Tammy L. Gray can be spotted with her head in a book. Writing has given her a platform to combine her passion with her ministry.
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