The Balancing Act

One of the things I love most about the Writers Alley is that we are all doing this together. Published, pre-published, novice, seasoned, single, married… we all come from different places but we all share a common goal... or LOVE. Creating stories.

While we hope to inspire, encourage, and even teach on occasion, sometimes we just want to bond over what we share. Dreams. Struggles. Successes. Rejections.

Since the grind is so universal, it was my intention this week to come up with strategies for balancing the general craziness of life—whether yours includes any combination of marriage, parenting, dating, working, ministry, school, ect—AND finding time to not only WRITE, but build a platform, work your social media muscles, blog, edit, critique, and for the love of books… READ!

How do you do it all? Wear all of those hats and somehow managed to do even some of those things well? At some point we all get scattered. Too many pieces to juggle and eventually you will drop the ball. Maybe just one. Maybe the whole lot.

Where is that groove? That sweet spot? How will I know if I get there? And even I somehow manage to have a successful day spinning all those plates, how do I keep it up without burning out?

Man, I wish I had some magic formula! Some swear keeping a schedule is the best course. Even planning their day down to the hour. Social media for one hour in the morning. Check. Email correspondence from nine to eleven. Break for lunch. Noon to four, write your fingers to the nub. Check, check, check. Get the kids off the bus. Make dinner. Have some family time. Tuck in the little terrors. Compose a witty and brilliant blog post before it’s late. Write some more until your eyelids collapse. Check, check, check. Day over. Wake up. Rinse and repeat.

How many of you know it’s not always that simple. Schedules are great, but they meet an undeniable force that sadly holds no regard for your best intentions. Life. The unexpected. Change. Shifting the pieces to accommodate the puzzle you’ve constructed doesn’t always work.

Others claim you should wait for inspiration to strike. Then, you ride the wave, forsaking all else until it ebbs back out to sea. Not very predictable but full of passion and productivity for a time.

None of this to say that the writing life is a drag. It’s one of the most amazing things you can do with your mind. Create! What a gift!

But as I have been flailing the past few weeks, struggling to get my groove back (if indeed I’d ever had one) I realized there is no one size fits all. So instead of feeding you some bollocks about how you can be efficient and stress free like me (HA!) I thought I’d opt for a discussion.

Lets chat Alley Cats and Friends! What works for you? What tactics do you employ to help you stay afloat that actually work? What time management techniques have failed you miserably? What is your best advice for being a spouse, a parent, a friend, a co-worker, a crit partner, a minister, a constant student, AND a hopeless dreamer---AKA a writer? J

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Amy Leigh Simpson writes Romantic Suspense that is heavy on the romance, unapologetically honest, laced with sass and humor, and full of the unfathomable Grace of God. She is the completely sleep deprived mama to two little tow-headed mischief makers and wife to her very own swoon-worthy hero. Represented by the oh-so-wise and dashing Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary Inc.

What I wish I'd known

It was 2007.

I sat down at my computer, having experienced a divine urge to write again after many many years of doing so just for fun, never getting past chapter three of a book I'd plotted out just for kicks when I was 18.

So there I was, a wife, a mom of three young daughters, a fulltime corporate manager who worked way too many hours, and God was calling me to write?

Hmm...

But an idea for a new book swirled in my head and ignoring it was impossible. I wrote on lunch breaks. After the kids were in bed. On business trips in the hotel room at night.

And three months later, I typed The End on my 90,000 word Christian romance novel.

WAHOO!!! That was a fabulous feeling!

But then I realized something as I was reading back through it.

My book was HORRIBLE. I started joining writing groups and actually learning the process of writing. It was an enlightening experience!

The other day, I was thinking about what I would tell my "old" self if I could go back in time and give that newbie writer a few tips. Because it's now seven years later. I have an agent, I've traditionally published my first book and am looking to epublish my second one (a novella) later this year. I am far removed from that green writer who was writing with open abandon, not a care in the world, just wanting to tell a story.

So I thought I'd share those tips with you all today.

1.) More words does not equal better writing. You'll learn about overwriting and RUE and all those fancy writing terms later and that will explain more. But for now, just stop adding words and prepositional phrases everywhere to make things sound cool. 'Cause it doesn't sound cool.I promise.

2.) POV. Limited. Look it up. It'll save you a LOT of editing.

3.) Dream-mostly-big. Teaching your kids to follow their dreams, and being an example, is SUPER important. But not more important than giving your kids the time they need, and not to the point where they feel your dream is more important than they are. Balance, Krista. It's all about balance.

4.) Just Don't Do It. Those first two query letters you sent? The ones where you thought you were being so unique and cute and "stand-outish"? Don't send them. Because you probably would stand out. Some editors/agents will get a few GREAT laughs around the water cooler because of those letters. Save yourself the humiliation and learn how to write them first.

5.) Enjoy the ride. Later, things like deadlines and numbers and expectations will come. Don't rush so much, even though I KNOW you are super impatient. Your book will not be published anytime soon. And that's okay. You're not ready for it anyway. Just enjoy the process and have FUN.


Discussion: What would you tell your newbie writer self? Any words of wisdom looking back?

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Krista is a follower of Jesus, a wife, a mother, and author of Sandwich, With a Side of Romance . She blogs about finding JOY in the journey of LIFE at http://www.kristaphillips.com. She is represented by the fab agent, Rachelle Gardner.

Hearing God in Fiction

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by imagerymagestic

I recently read A Bride Opens Shop by Keli Gwyn and loved it! It had everything I love in a story - a great plot, awesome secondary characters, and heart-thumping romance. The unique thing about Keli's book was that I heard God whisper to me while I turned the pages. How cool is that?

In the book, widow Elenora Watkins is an independent woman. After being under the rule of a mean husband and then an overbearing father, Elenora wants some freedom. She packs up, heads across the country, and puts her savings into becoming a partner in a thriving mercantile owned by Miles Rutledge. Only he doesn't know she is a woman and refuses to allow her to be a partner when he finds out.

What I loved about Elenora is her independence and strength to do what women didn't normally do back in those days. Instead of running home to Papa, she opens up shop across the street, becoming the competition to Miles. Maybe I like her so much because I want to be like her...independent, confident in my abilities, unafraid to step out and try something new.

The problem comes when our independence gets in the way of seeing things clearly. It becomes all consuming...it becomes an idol. We want to be seen as invincible. We want to be the best. We want to win all the time and show others we are just as good - if not better - than everyone else.

Elenora faced that very thing. She felt like she had to prove herself in almost every aspect of her life...her business, her violin playing, and even in her shooting skills. Doing so caused a rift between her and Miles, because even though they had growing feelings between them, pride on both sides made them compete even harder.

Really what Elenora wanted more than anything was to be loved and accepted as she was...someone capable of being a partner, being a helper, being able to run a business and bring something to the table buisness-wise.

I could see myself in Elenora. I tend to want to prove to others I am capable, that I am skilled at many things, that I can be counted on for excellence. I compare myself with others and strive to be as good...or better. But really, all I want is to be accepted and appreciated, no matter what my accomplishments and giftings are.

And here's the kicker. I AM loved. I AM accepted. I AM appreciated...by the One who really matters. God loves me with an unconditional love. He is the One who has gifted me and enabled me to do the things I do. He would love me just as much even if I couldn't do a single thing! I just need to accept that love and revel in the beauty of it. I don't need to compete with others. I just need to be me and be open to the lover of my soul...my Lord and Savior.

Don't you love it when a piece of fiction like A Bride Opens Shop speaks truth into your heart? Stories have a way of showing us God's truths in way that really hits home, rather like the parables that Jesus told.

When God places a story on your heart, write the words boldly, knowing that God will use them to bless His kingdom. The stories you write will speak to encourage, to motivate, and to strengthen. They will be words of life to those who read them.

What have you written lately that you knew was from God? Or what have you read recently that touched your heart? 

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This post is brought to you by

 Sherrinda Ketchersid

Sherrinda is wife to "Pastor John" and mother to three giant sons and one gorgeous daughter. A born and bred Texan, she writes historical romance filled with fun, faith, and forever love.

The Value of Pausing for A Critique

I love getting criticism...I know that's a weird thing to admit, and sometimes it is a hard pill to swallow, but I have yet to come across a critique or suggestion that has made me worse off as a writer...as long as I can decipher the good from the bad, of course!

Whether it be from:

(all the below have helped me at some point in my short writing venture)

a manuscript review

comments from ACFW Genesis judges

an agent's rejection letter with the “whys” answered

the ACFW large crit group

or a fab crit partner....

If I can sit and take it, and then really chew on the advice and figure out how it applies, IF it applies (some crits just need to be taken with a grain of salt), I'll crave a keen eye and welcome a challenge like a writing olympian!

Once I get that invaluable crit, I must choose to either press forward on my wip, and ignore the holes pointed out, save them for later or never (I usually want word count under my belt, and strive to get to that exciting point in my plot, or that a-ha moment for my main character...) OR I can cave in to the nudge and press

   PAUSE,

then...

   REWIND

to the critiqued chapters...

                                          

and hash out the words of advice against the words of my wip.

The value of doing this has become more and more clear to me over this past year of receiving crits.

First, something as simple as grammar pointed out in the early chapters will allow me to not repeat the same mistakes throughout the rest of my writing...and if anyone needs grammar advice it is ME!

Second, my writer/creator eyes aren't the same as brand new baby eyes upon my work. Sometimes I am so invested in my characters and story, I assume everyone will read my words with the utmost clarity and delight. But I need to be sure to hook the reader effectively, and a crit partner is the first person to “test” my writing's believability and comprehension. If there is any question on their part, then I have a great opportunity to be sure that what I'm writing is what I intended to convey.

Third, sometimes a criticism may spark a deeper change than a couple of grammar mistakes or a tightening of pov...sometimes the spark might be plot changing, deepening of characters, or weaving the theme in such a way I will double my word count in a matter of hours because of the inspiration I've been given.

FAST FORWARD is the mode I most naturally want to write in-- it's the pace my creative juices thrive on...BUT, if I allow my crit partner or crit group to press pause every once in a while, and I steady my pace, REWIND becomes my friend, no matter how hard it is for me to initially push that button!


How do you manage your critiques? Do you stop and adjust the critiqued chapters, or do you wait until you go through your next manuscript edit? Have you ever been inspired to make a major change in your wip from a particular critique?