What's So Great About Community?

Something I wasn't expecting when I became serious about writing, was that I would be involved in community. Once I became a member of ACFW and got connected to the large crit group, I was amazed at how many people out there were on the same journey as me...and I was even more surprised that I grew true, honest-to-goodness friendships by virtual means, and then solidified them by meeting those friends in person at the ACFW conference over the past two years.

I've learned that community as a writer is such a valuable asset, as well as a necessity, in my opinion, to truly grow as a writer.

Being a part of the magnificent group of women at The Writer's Alley, is my greatest evidence of these things, and I want to encourage you to sew yourself into a community of writers, even if it's online.

Three musts to becoming part of a community fabric are:


Frequency: It would be easy for me to only contact the AlleyCats to tell them about my next post for the Weekend edition...but all ten of us have allowed our inboxes to fill up, really, REALLY fill up, with conversations back and forth, prayer requests, suggestions, questions, or even sillyness that always ends with a reference to chocolate in some form or fashion! You see, it's hard to consider yourself a part of something, if you are rarely making yourself present.

Transparency: Through all that frequency, it's hard to remain closed-off, unknown, masked. Your personality does come out...this is a good thing!! It makes you real and relateable. I have met some wonderful writers through blogland. And some of my most treasured friendships are with bloggers who don't just review books, but write about the personal life...motherhood, weight loss, what's going on besides the writing. Transparency is essential to knit yourself closely with your community.

Encouragement: It's easy to think of this business as “each man for himself” and a cutthroat kind of industry where your chances are slim, so why give anyone else an inch? Truly though, trust is key to community, and if you want to find a support group, a community of writers to journey with you, encouragement is essential too. And it is so nice to receive that encouragement also!

You may be saying...”What's the point, Angie? Sure, it's nice to have community, but is it really necessary?”

YES! I think it is. I have LEARNED so much from being in community. And I will give some examples:

P-R-A-Y-E-R …. To pray within your community, to know that others are praying for you in the midst of this journey, is powerful. Period.

Instruction: There have been more than one AlleyCat friend (ahem, Sarah, whom I will miss dearly as an AlleyCat), Writer friends, Authors...etc...that have given me specific advice through crits, phone conversations, emails...that only could blossom from relationship, from community.

A Sense of Self: Yep, it's true, you learn so much about yourself through the eyes of others, and community is a safe place to find this personal enrichment.

My biggest credits to this school of thought, are the AlleyCats and our followers. We have such great discussion in our comments section, as well as via email. As you can see, we are only one follower away from the big 5-0-0!!!! Woohoo...there's a party coming to the Alley! I hope you enjoy this community as much as I do!

Please consider this opportunity to nominate The Writer's Alley!!

Each year, Writers Digest releases a list of the 101 Best Websites for Writers. They come up with this list through a nomination and review process. And that's where you come in...

If The Writer's Alley has inspired you along your road to publication, would you consider nominating our website?

Here's how:

Just send an email to Writers.Digest@fwmedia.comduring the month of April explaining why The Writer's Alley is your favorite writing website. That's all there is to it!

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Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across cultures. She is an ACFW member and CEO of a family of six.

Throwing in the Towel...Again

This is a repost of one of my favorite posts by Krista. She was busy this week preparing for her little Annabelle's heart cath yesterday and so I found a post that many of us can use or relate to. Enjoy...

This publication thing is hard. The faint at heart need not apply.

So, you've decided you're in it for the long haul. You write a few books. You send out a few queries. You attend a few conferences.

Nuthin'.

So you get a critique group, you read a few writing books, you edit a few of those books you wrote, then start the process over again.

Nuthin'.

Nothing except rejection that is.

So when is enough enough? When do you throw in the towel, raise the white flag, slink back to your only-in-my-dreams world?

Some say never. And this might totally be valid. I've heard MANY an author encouraged to "keep going, keep persevering" because publication might be one step around the corner. The stories about pursuing publication for twenty years before it actually happened come to mind.

And that might totally happen to any one of us!!! (well, let's all hope it doesn't REALLY take 20 years!)

But... it also might not.

I don't have the answers to this for you. But I do have a few suggestions.

• Don't give up. If you're going to do anything, give in. Giving up says "I can't do it." Giving in says, "I can do it, I just want to do something else for a while first." One is quitting... the other is changing your mind. Quitting is for those who are weak, changing your mind or changing direction is for those who are wise.
• Don't listen to everyone else. "Keep going" might totally be right on track, but if God is whispering for you to move another direction for a while, keep going is being disobedient.
• Pray. Ask for clear guidance. Be in prayer, talk to your family, and make sure you are on the path God wants for you.
• Don't be overly sensitive. A rejection letter isn't necessarily a "no" from God about publication in general. Neither is a harsh critique of your work. Many times it just means, "Not yet" or "Not this agent" or "Not this editor" or "You have some more work to do."  It might be backbone building. But don't see every bad writing news as a lightning bolt from Heaven that you're doing wrong. You'll be shocked most every time:-) 
• Take a break. I can't remember where I heard this first, but I've heard it many times. When all else fails, walk away for a little while. Take a week, a month, a year sabbatical. Then reassess. If that pit desire in your stomach is still there, then go back. If it has fizzled, then you have your answer as well.

Most of all.... HAVE FUN WHILE YOU WRITE!!! This reminds me of playing basketball in the 5th grade. I was HORRIBLE at it. But I had so much fun doing it! And I tried my VERY best. Never got on the "A" team... but I sure had fun trying. If you're going to be writing for 20 years... it would stink to be miserable the whole time!!!

Having fun makes the journey, no matter the end, much more enjoyable!

Because there are sometimes... when you are scratching your head and about to take the throwing towel plunge, something amazing happens. Last week (revised... last YEAR now!) that happened to me when I finally landed my dream agent, Rachelle Gardner. I'd had a year of struggling with my writing while I went through a personal tragedy with my daughter, and when I was really trying to reassess just how much effort I needed to be spending on my writing, confirmation came that the towel needed to stay firmly within my grasp. 

Discussion: Have you thought about taking the throwing towel plunge? Since you are reading this... odds are you haven't yet, or decided to keep going. What kept you going? Have you ever taken a "break"?


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Krista is a follower of Jesus, a wife, a mother, and a contemporary romance author. She recognizes that life can be frustrating and just plain not fun sometimes, but believes that laughter and smiles can make the not-so-fun a little better! She blogs about the amazing things God has been doing and her journey as a busy momma of 4 and caregiver to a daughter with a rare congenital heart defect at http://reflectionsbykrista.blogspot.com. She is represented by the fab agent, Rachelle Gardner, and her debut novel, Sandwich, With a Side of Romance, releases September 1, 2012.

Give Yourself a Break!

I don't know about you, but I jumped headfirst into the waters of my first manuscript and didn't come to the surface for, oh, like six months.

Then I realized I had a family who wanted me to feed them and talk to them.

But then the pressures of succeeding pressed in again, and I had to keep writing, keep editing, to prove to myself that I could do it. I could get an agent. I could get a contract.

I pushed through the exhaustion, the doubts, and the prose I'd drafted with one goal in mind. Get published.

Last summer I came one step closer to that goal when I landed an agent. And praise the Lord, my agent understands how difficult my current phase of life is...living as a stay-at-home mom with two young children. But not all writers find themselves in such a flexible situation.

I've recently talked to friends who are unagented who are facing the doubts and the pressures. They keep hearing that they should meet a certain word-count quota or they're placing self-imposed pressure to get to the next step. In all these interactions, one thing keeps coming to mind.

SLOW. DOWN.

Yes, I'm shouting those words. You see, in this pre-agented/pre-published stage of your writing career, this is one time when YOU get to choose your deadlines. You get to soak in all you can, to write for the pure joy of it, without time pressure or content expectations.

Obviously if your ultimate goal is to get published, you want to craft a story that will be publishable. And sure, plenty of people recommend sticking to a regular writing schedule.

But I'm here today to take the pressure off of you. If you have a family who needs you, throw the writing schedule to the wind for a while. If you're facing a tough emotional struggle, write something to soothe your hurts rather than pumping out drivel that you don't feel.

This is one time you are free to write whatever you want, whenever you want. So embrace it! And enjoy the moment. Because once you're published, you can never go back.

What sort of pressures do you place on yourself or your writing journey? Do you find yourself anxious to make it to the next step of your career? How often do you slow down and just enjoy where you're at?

*Water photo by Koratmember / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
**Odometer photo by Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Sarah Forgrave is a stay-at-home writer-mom who feels blessed to pursue her calling and passion. She writes contemporary romance for the inspirational market and is a regular contributor to the webzine Ungrind.

To learn more about Sarah, visit her personal blog at:
http://www.sarahforgrave.com/blog

The Bus Route of a Writer

Transportation is a funny thing. Some of us like to drive a car and be in control. Some prefer to fly, reaching their destination at record speed. Some might prefer a train or maybe a bike to get us where we are going. What mode of transportation do you think we writers tend to take on the journey to publication? The bus. For those of you who have never ridden a bus, there is much to be learned in the busing experience.

You must have endurance to ride the Writer's Bus. You see, certain aspects of a bus ride are not pleasant. On a longer journey, a bus will have a toilet, and sometimes that toilet just plain stinks. Sometimes your seat neighbors are noisy, preventing you from sleeping. Sometimes they want to talk to you, keeping you from that book you have been dying to finish. For the writer, you have to endure the hard things on the journey to publication. There's rejection, poor contest results, a harsh critique, and the ever present fear that you aren't good enough. You have to learn to tune out the bad and keep your eyes on the road. The goal is straight ahead.

You must have humility to ride the Writer's Bus. We've all been there. You are riding along and the bus stops, letting people off and picking up others. Your ride seems to be taking forever as you keep stopping, letting off more and more people. On the Writer's Bus, you may have a long journey ahead of you. You will have to learn to have patience and a big dose of humility to watch those on the same journey get off earlier than you. You will be tempted to compare and get depressed that you haven't received "the call" to get off, but you need to know that everyone's journey is different. Some might be going across town, and then some might be crossing state lines, taking alot longer than expected. Keep your chin up. Your stop is coming!

You will experience joy on the Writer's Bus. There is such a variety of people who ride the bus, with a variety of experiences. You will meet people who will become life-long friends. You will meet those who will encourage you, critique you, and motivate you to keep spinning tales, even through the difficult times. This will be one of the greatest blessings on the ride...friendships that will help you along the way.

While there are certain aspects of the Writer's Bus that are difficult, the journey to publication is an exciting one. New people to meet, new stories to write, and new obstacles to overcome. It's a difficult trek, but one that will build character, discipline, and grit. It will be a journey that will bring you closer to the One who called you to board the bus. You will learn without a shadow of a doubt that He is the Bus Driver, opening the door for you to get on and opening the door to let you off at your destination.

Trust the Driver. The length of your journey rests in His hands.

What has been your experience on the Writer's Bus? Can you think of any other way the writing journey is like a bus ride? 



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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.

Goals-Schmoals: Here's What You Really Need

How many of us have read or heard that we should set goals? *raising my hand right along with you*

I’m here today to prove that long-term goals may be helpful, but they won’t get done without a detailed plan.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a lot going on in my life. My husband enjoys a home-cooked meal once in a while. I’m trying to raise two young children, one of which personifies the word “energy”. I strive to spend time in the Bible once a day (preferably for more than two minutes). I’m back in a workout routine with five one-hour fitness classes per week. I try to keep my house from looking like a sty. Oh, and let’s not forget that I like to actually do my hair and put on make-up once in a while.

Um, did I mention I’m also trying to write a book and keep up with social media?

*cough* Right.

I hit a wall earlier this year with my writing. I’ve usually been a self-motivated person who can set a self-imposed deadline and stick to it to finish a manuscript. This time? Not so much.

This time, I made all sorts of long-term goals. “I’ll finish the first draft by the start of the summer.” “I’ll get it polished before the ACFW conference.”

But did those things happen? Um, no. Granted, I had some unusual circumstances like my sister’s heart transplant that took first priority. But even after that crisis was over, I still didn’t move.

I was floundering from day to day, trying to do lots of things, but not really doing any of them. Tired of walking aimlessly, I returned to an old standby of mine: The to-do list.

My to-do list doesn’t just encompass writing. It includes everything I need to get done—housework, errands, phone calls to make, and word count goals. Here’s a sample day:

Zumba class @ 9am

Clean downstairs bath

Vacuum

1,000 words

Laundry

Line up babysitter for Saturday

Online time

Did you notice how those 1,000 words were neatly tucked in there? This sample is exactly what it looked like scribbled out on my calendar. Those 1,000 words were just as much a part of my to-do list as the laundry and fitness class.

By outlining everything, I have the ability to see my day at a glance and pace myself so most or all of these things are done before my husband comes home from work. Then my evening is freed up for family time. Obviously certain days have a mind of their own and don’t go as planned. In that case, the lowest priority items get bumped to another day.

The key is to take a long-term goal (i.e., writing a novel) and chunk it into smaller segments. Then put it on your daily to-do list and get ‘er done!

Are you a list maker? What goals do you need to chunk into smaller segments? Any tips for the rest of us to "get 'er done"? :)

*Target photo by Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
**Checklist photo by digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Combating the “I Bite” Blues

Editing first drafts will do it to you. Getting back a critique so marked up with red it’s difficult to read will do it to you. Discovering how often you use the word just and how frequently you begin sentences with ing words will do it to you. Anything can inspire that overwhelming feeling that makes you want to wallow in the mud with pigs. You know, the “I bite” blues.

So, are we supposed to roll over and play dead when we recognize that feeling? Heck no.

We need to throw on our gloves and put up a fight.

And what’s the best way to fight in our field?

We write. We edit. We do NOT give up when we are discouraged.

Ephesians 6 provides a step by step guide of how to equip ourselves when we come up against things that are meant to bring us down.

Here are some ways the Bible could relate to the tribulations we face in our industry as well:

belt of truth = we confront our weaknesses in our writing truthfully, but hold on to the hope of improvement

breastplate of righteousness = we go about our novel-building with integrity, weaving plots that inspire others

feet fitted with readiness = we read as much as possible, connect with other writers, and get a strong sense of what to expect in the industry

shield of faith = no matter how bumpy the road gets we stay the course and believe in our calling

helmet of salvation = we remember all that’s been done for us and the power in us enabling us to go on.

sword of the Spirit = we raise our swords to anything that tries to tear us down or dissuade us from our God-given dream.

Finally, we pray on all occasions! Get a manuscript request—pray. Get an agent—pray. Get a contract with a reputable house—pray. Get a new novel idea—pray. Feel like quitting—pray!

How do you combat the “I bite” blues?

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I’m giving away Winter’s End by Ruth Logan Herne. Comment for a chance to win!

*photo from Flickr

Who’s Walking Who?

How Writing a Novel is like Walking a Dog

Isn’t who’s walking whom the correct grammar for this post title? Anyway, now that we have that out of the way let’s get to it. The following indicate ways a stroll with your pet pooch resembles crafting a novel…

While writing a novel we find ourselves:

TuggedOur ideas and our characters pull us forth. My parents used to have a dog that wheezed so hard when they walked her I swore she would lose a lung on the sidewalk. What does this have to do with writing a novel? Some characters are tenacious. We lose sleep because they invade our dreams. Some ideas yank so hard we feel a visceral pull in our arm as we type away at the keys.

Performing Clean Up DutyWe all deal with the fear we are writing crap. It’s part of being a writer. Well at some point, if we’re determined enough we’ll avoid stepping in those thoughts and clean them up. We’ll pick up the “I can’t do it” thoughts and chuck them in the trash along the way. (All part of the journey.)

TangledNot the movie, tangled up in the leash. When she was a puppy, our dog used to nip at her leash and turn in circles whenever we began walking. Excitement at its best. When we write a novel it’s easy to get tangled up when we try to apply the right amount of conflict. We’re also easily pulled in different directions if we are SOTP writers and not Plotters. Even when we plot, a new brainstorm can cause us to sprint down rabbit trails. We have to work hard to make sure the story is still moving forward.

Checking in with FriendsWriting is a solitary adventure. Most of the time. Beta readers and critique partners can be comrades on the path. They help the whole editing process go a little smoother with their keen eye and their detailed feedback. Thankfully, because we are a more refined species our means of checking in with each other doesn’t compare to the way dogs touch base.

On a Hunt for WaterThe novel is written. Edited. Our readers have given input. Now what? The dog rolls on its back to have its belly scratched. Not quite. They want water. We have to get our novel published. So we search for agent. Said agent connects us with a publishing house and there you have it…simple, right? Something to keep in mind when we hit this stage—dogs are relentless about quenching their thirst. You have the satisfied feeling of completing a novel. Is it time to quench your thirst?

*photos from flickr