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Tag: inspiration

hey dreamer

hey dreamer
when did your dream become a to-do list?
a series of boxes to be checked?
when did that big, airy wonder
shrivel down to a sheet of paper?

hey dreamer
when did your dream become a memory?
an old photograph?
a distant crackle on the radio
reminding you of long-gone days?

hey dreamer
when did it become a mirage?
a trick of the light?
a shimmer of bitter possibility
in a strangely cold desert of reality?

hey dreamer
when did it become a burden?
a ten-ton weight laid across your shoulders?
a crushing suffocation
measuring your spine and timing your steps?

hey dreamer
when did it become a secret?
a well-worn hideaway?
a crumpled little trinket
you keep in a box hidden under the bed?

hey dreamer

when did the fire in your heart become the fire at your heels?
when did now lose its luster to back then?
when did someday become maybe become never?
when did summer-light wings turn to lead?
when did your banner fray and fade?

hey dreamer

can you tell me when?
tell me why?

i wish you’d remember
recall
recollect
gather up
stir up
cradle close to your chest:

the joy

the joy of the dream that once put a sword in your hand and the stars in your eyes
the wonder of the thing that pulled you around every expectant corner
the beat in your chest so loud and so hard some days that the joy of it all just hurt

hey dreamer . . .
it’s still there, you know
you can find it again

Realm Makers 2017 Recap

Greetings, fellow adventurers! As you’ve probably realized by now, I have returned! And boy, do I have stories to share about Realm Makers. I’ll try not to make a novel out of this post, but no promises.

Day 1

My parents and I woke up at an unholy hour (3 am, to be precise) to get to the airport on time. I’ve never flown before, aside from a few times in tiny crop duster planes, so this was all new to me. Despite being a complete newbie, flying turned out to be pretty straightforward. Follow the signs, ask for directions if you need to, and be on time. Easy enough. And thanks to Gravol and air plugs (these little rubber ear plugs that help with the changing air pressure), I made it with zero nausea.
From home I flew to Vancouver; then to Santa Ana, California; and finally to Reno, Nevada. I had a window seat during two of those flights, so I got to watch the flat prairies turn into the Rockies, and the Rockies turn into the Sierra Nevada range. I’ve never seen brown mountains before! (And I can now write airport scenes more accurately, so yay for that!)
Riding the shuttle from the airport to the hotel, I overheard conversations behind me about vampires and fictional races and how to find critique groups, and I couldn’t help but grin. It was so unlike anything you’d hear on a regular bus, I just knew I was in the company of writers. I was finally at Realm Makers.
When I arrived at the hotel (which was huge and had a casino on the main floor–it reeked of cigarette smoke there), I met Lisa Canfield, long-time friend, blogger, and one of my roommates! We had supper with an assortment of Realmies, then retreated to our room for an early night.

Day 2

Me and Lisa nipped across the parking lot for breakfast first thing in the morning.
Pre-conference day! I met a bunch more people, including Victoria Grace Howell! It was so surreal to be meeting online friends and fellow bloggers, and glimpsing familiar authors in the crowd.
Me and Tori! Apologies for the fuzziness in the photos. Hotel lighting isn’t the greatest.
The first half of the day was David Farland’s pre-conference workshop on creating a winning writing career. I learned SO. MUCH. Midlist authors vs. super lead authors, pen names, global markets, being a fast and consistent writer, growing my skills in concept/plot/prose, the neurobiology of readers, reaching a vast audience, writing beats . . . I scribbled a dozen pages of notes on this class alone!
David Farland, pre-conference workshop
Sometime that afternoon, I met my friend Mary Horton, who’s just as sweet in person as she is online!
With Mary Horton
Later in the day, the conference officially began, kicking off with an agent and editor panel where they answered questions we wrote in. One thing I was reminded of is to write the story I am passionate about, rather than worrying about trends, and that’s what will set me apart.
Ted Dekker’s opening keynote was next. If you’ll remember, he’s one of my favorite authors, so I was massively excited to hear him in person! I found he was as dynamic and powerful in his speaking as he is in writing. He’s been on an incredible journey and come to learn so much about who God is, what it means to be one with Him because of Jesus, and the power of our own perception. Much of what he talked about was similar to things he teaches in The Creative Way writing course, but it stirred my hunger for knowing God, clarified my vision, and provided a breath of fresh air and peace.
Ted Dekker
After that, Carla Hoch held a fight workshop. It was super informative, because she was teaching real fighting skills in order to help us write better fight scenes. It was also super hilarious, especially since she was demonstrating everything on the emcee, Ben Wolf! Some of the practical things I took away were: everything is a weapon, the deadliest person is the most willing person, and the first thing you should try to do when approached by someone aggressive is RUN.
Carla teaching us how to break Ben’s wrist with nunchucks.

Day 3

I had a lovely breakfast in the lobby with Mary H. and her mom, and then hurried off to my first class of the day: Robert Liparulo’s continuing session called “Embrace the Strange.” Sadly, I missed about half of his teaching throughout the conference because, being a newbie, I scheduled all my appointments during class times. But what I did hear was so encouraging and inspiring. He talked about how to write strange stuff without chasing people away (hint: hide the weird among the ordinary, the familiar, and the universal, especially universal human emotion). But the biggest thing I took away from his classes was this: trust yourself as a writer. And don’t hold back those good ideas you’re saving for fear of emptying your bag of tricks. Write those twists, those amazing characters and plots and ideas, now. And trust God to give you more for the next novel.
In the middle of that first session, I slipped out for a mentor appointment with David Farland. I asked him for advice on getting from where I am now to where I’d like to be (writing as a career), and got some great tips for how to prepare myself and grow my skills.
My next class was one on networking by Mary Weber! I was expecting social media strategies and marketing platforms, but what she taught was so much better: publishing is relational. Networking is just making friends. Of course she went way more in depth than that, but it was a wonderful reminder and eye-opener.
At lunch, I sat with Mary, Jonathan Trout, and a whole group of teens, a few I know from Goodreads and whatnot. They’re such a fun group, and I ended up hanging out with them a lot more during the conference.
Right after that, I had a class on plotting a bestselling series by David Farland (apparently I signed up for a lot of his classes, LOL). I know I’ll definitely be referring to my notes whenever I get back to working on The Prophet’s Quest and its sequels!
Next I had another of Robert Liparulo’s sessions. I missed part of it again for my first ever appointment with an agent. I was a bit nervous, but no more than I’ve been for job interviews, and the pitch went decently well. I was told my writing was good, so that’s a plus!
That evening was the awards banquet, where almost everyone showed up in costume, and I dressed as Emma Swan from Once Upon a Time! Aaaaand here comes the onslaught of pictures.
With Mary (as Bilbo), and roommates Brianna da Silva (as medieval peasant) and Lisa (as Arwen) // photo courtesy of Mary’s camera



Will all my roomies: Liv K. Fisher (as a fairy), Lisa, and Brianna
With Cassia Schaar (as Annabeth) and Olivia Hofer (as herself)
With Tori (as a fem Graham)
With Jonathan Trout (as Robin Hood, minus a bow)
With Hann R. (as herself)
With Keturah Lamb (as herself)

I didn’t catch their names, but when I asked Flynn Rider and Rapunzel for a picture,
Flynn said, “As long as you get my nose right,” to which I replied, “As long
as you give me the smolder.” This is the result.
Snow White and the cutest dwarf I have ever seen!

Author Jill Williamson (as Gamora) and her husband (as Star Lord)
With Jill

I met so many others too–I just don’t have room for all the pictures! There were characters from Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Doctor Who, Disney, and more. I saw Dr. Strange and the Ancient One (actually Scott and Becky Minor, who run the conference!), Katniss Everdeen, Belle, Gandalf, Wolverine, people in steampunk costumes, and so many others I either recognized or had never seen in my life. I’ve never been a part of any cosplay event before, but it was really fun to strike up conversations with perfect strangers based solely on the fandoms they represented!

As the banquet wound down, I got a chance to meet and talk to author James L. Rubart. He’s a super nice guy. We had a great conversation and I walked away encouraged!

Day 4

First thing in the morning I had a half-hour session with editor/author Lindsay A. Franklin for my ten-page critique. It was amazing. She was so encouraging and supportive, offered awesome advice, and was just really fun to talk to! (And her first novel is coming out in 2018, you guys! Be on the lookout!) Based on her comments and ideas, I’ll be reworking at least part of The Brightest Thread. Improvement is an exciting thing!

Afterwards, I had another pitching appointment. This one went very differently than planned, because as it turned out, TBT isn’t the right fit for this agent. But we had a good discussion in which he asked questions to stir my creativity and help point me in the right direction, so it was still a helpful learning experience!

I then caught the tail end of Robert Liparulo’s final session. Following that was a class on character motivations by Lisa Mangum, which offered practical tips for defining characters’ values, goals, and ambitions, and thrusting them into conflict and growth.

That afternoon, I sat in on a panel about reaching readers. The advice was aimed more for already-published authors (always keep copies of your books in your trunk; never be without a Sharpie for signing them; etc.), but it was still informative.

My final class that day was another one by David Farland, this one about building a magic system! One of the best things I took away was the idea of using magic to explore morality–what is the right use of all that power?

Then we had some free time! I hung out with friends in the vendor hall/bookstore and agonized over which books to buy. With limited room in my suitcase, deciding was hard. And then for supper, my teen friends kidnapped me right out of the hotel for deep dish pizza and deep conversation to match. I had so much fun with them! (They were fascinated by my Canadian currency. ‘Twas hilarious.)

picture provided by Jonathan Trout

Then it was back to the hotel for Ted’s closing keynote and Q&A (so good!) . . . and then, the reason I had packed probably ten pounds of books along: the book signing!

I got Storm Siren signed by Mary Weber! She’s like the nicest human bean ever.
Ted Dekker! I got Mortals signed by him. (Most of the Dekker books in my
house belong to my dad. I actually own very few of them myself.)
I didn’t have any of Robert Liparulo’s books with me, nor did I have room in my luggage to buy one, so he signed my notebook for me. XD

I also got a couple of books signed by Jill Williamson (she’s so friendly) and Kyle Robert Schulz (fellow Silmarillion Awards host), though I didn’t get pictures.

And then, to close it all off: the NERF WAR. I didn’t stay for nearly all of it, because I had a ridiculously early flight the next morning, but I stuck around long enough to play several rounds of zombies vs. survivors. Despite being tired, it was hilariously fun! (Seriously, when do you get to see a whole roomful of mostly adults running around shooting foam darts at each other? And having serious strategy huddles before each round of the game?)

Liv and I, happy assassins

Day 5

I got four hours of sleep and woke up at 4 am to catch my flight to Salt Lake City. I was exhausted and threw up once, but my next two flights went smoothly. By suppertime I was home again.

* * *

And that was Realm Makers 2017! Sorry for the beastly length of this post. There was just so much I wanted to share with you. Realm Makers was encouraging, inspiring, jam-packed, worth the money, and so. much. fun. I learned a lot and met so many awesome people. When others ask me what the highlight of my trip was, I’ve been telling them it’s the people. It’s being around so many other writers. The energy of a huge room full of individuals who love story, speculative fiction, and Jesus. People who get me. People amongst whom small talk consists of more than just “Where are you from?” and “What do you do?” but “What do you write?” It was an amazing conference, and I hope I get to go again next year!

The Steadfast Pen Blog Launch & Interview!

In my last post I promised a special guest was coming. Well, joining us today is my younger brother, Josiah! He just launched his blog, called The Steadfast Pen, this week. To celebrate his splashdown into the blogosphere, I’m interviewing him about his perspective on creativity and life, two of my main topics here at Adventure Awaits.

You may remember him from Four Elements of a Successful Villain, a guest post he did here over a year ago. Or you may recall that he and I shared college adventures recently. You may also be unable to forget that, ahem, darling picture of him and I dressed as Mario and Princess Peach (featured in S&S May 2017) .

Josiah neglected to give me an official bio for this post, leaving his introduction in my very capable hands. (I’ve known the guy for nineteen years, so I’d like to think I’m an expert at this sort of thing.) Josiah is the creatively inclined, fastidiously detailed, uproariously funny person responsible for many a brainstorming session or Marvel fest in my household. Stories were what paved the way from our squabbling phase of siblinghood to the friendship phase we enjoy now. He’s got a quirky sense of humor, an affinity for puns, and a boatload of patience developed by the trials of having three sisters.

Without further ado, please welcome Josiah Dyck to the stage!



Tracey: Art and life have a way of intersecting. How does your life
influence your art, and how does art influence your life?

Josiah: Interesting question! I think that my life influences my
art—or, more specifically, my writing—in a host of different ways. When I
struggle in life, I can work those struggles into my writing. My story The Tournament of Convicts is a good
example of this. The main character fights against the feeling of never seeing
his dreams come to pass. This is something I’ve had to fight as well, and that
makes it more poignant in the story. Another scenario is for my first book in
The Portal Chronicles. One of my characters, Mark, tries to prove himself
because he wants his parents to be proud of him. I can relate to this, which
strengthens the story’s emotion.

If there are things I’ve wondered and want to work out,
stories are good places to do that. For example, Of Beauties and Beasts toys with the concept of actions and
consequences, especially when said actions were bad, but the intentions were
good. Darkened Slumber deals a lot
with honor and asks if someone can be honorable when they’ve killed someone
else. Maelstrom is going to be
focused on grace versus judgement, especially when people don’t deserve grace.
Being able to figure these things out on the pages of a novel is always a joy
to do in the end.

Through this answer, I think I’ve also partially answered the
second part of this question. By working through the struggles and questions I
have, my art influences my life when I find the answers. Also, when one is a
writer, one pays attention to different things than most people would. I
sometimes try to remember how someone looks so I can incorporate part of them
into a character. I’ll notice quirks, habits, and mannerisms—all worth noting
should I someday want to use them. I could go on, but I think I’ve rambled on
long enough for this question, seeing it’s only the first one.

Tracey: You write, but you also engage in a number of other creative
outlets—both as creator and as an audience member. What creative art forms
influence your writing?


Josiah: ALL OF THEM. Well, I should specify that every art form I
engage in has an impact on my writing. That includes books, movies/TV shows,
music, video games . . . There are art forms (e.g. dance, theater,
painting/drawing) that either don’t have any influence, or only a bit, but
maybe that’s because I don’t participate in these outlets. I couldn’t tell you
which one has the most power in my writing, but what I do know is that my
writing is indeed impact by the major forms of art I engage in.

Tracey: Soundtracks are a big favorite of yours, and I know that
asking you to pick a favorite is cruel of me . . . but tell us. What’s your
favorite soundtrack? (You can stab thank me later.)

Josiah: Ha. Ha. Ha. You just had to pull this one, did ya? I can’t
pick one favorite, because I’ll think of another and think to myself, “Oh yeah,
there’s that one, and that one, and that one . . .” Pretty soon, I’ll be saying
all of my soundtracks are my favorite.
But whenever I’m asked this question, one soundtrack often
comes to mind, so I’ll just use that one. If someone were to ask me what you
just did, I might be tempted to say that the Mad Max: Fury Road soundtrack (the
extended version of it) is my favorite. “Why?” you might be asking. Because
Junkie XL is a phenomenal composer, that’s why. You start off with lots of
intense or suspenseful sequences, filled with scratchy strings, pounding drums, and
eerie sounds I can’t properly describe. Then, out of the blue, an emotional
theme appears in the music. You’re hit with tracks that seem to be influenced
by classical music. Suddenly, this soundtrack is very different than what you
initially thought. It’s just so amazing! Hans Zimmer himself describes the
soundtrack as being “absolutely phenomenal and mind-blowingly brilliant.” Which
should tell you something about the Fury Road score.

Tracey: If you had a theme song that played whenever you walked into
a room, what would it be?
Josiah: I have legitimately thought about this beforehand, and all
my answers are goofy ones. Like, if I walked into a room and the Imperial March
started playing, or the Black Rider theme, I’d find that absolutely hilarious. But
if I were to seriously consider a theme, maybe Rohan’s theme? Or perhaps Ballad
of the Goddess from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Ooh, there’s also the
LEGO Ninjago overture! So many to choose from, and I don’t which I’d pick. I would
probably change it . . . a lot.

Tracey: Who are some of your fictional heroes, and why?

Josiah: Obviously, the first one on this list is Captain America.
He’s such a patriotic hero who upholds his morals, and when he’s made a
decision, he’s determined to stick with it. He was one of the first superheroes
I saw in a movie, and I couldn’t help but love his character. I just don’t
understand people who think he’s lame. Obviously, such people don’t know a
great hero when they see one.
Another hero would be the Flash—as in, Grant Gustin’s
version. He strives to be a noble hero, but at the same time, he’s also very
human. He makes mistakes and doesn’t always admit it right away. He wrestles
with the punches life keeps throwing his way. I love the combination of
hero/human, because then I look up to him and identify with him. He’s a
relatable character, and that makes him awesome.
Finally, Charlie West from Andrew Klavan’s Homelanders
series is one of my heroes. He’s fiercely loyal to his country and will go
great lengths in his fight for it. He’s also got a family, friends, and a
girlfriend who he loves and wants to protect. I cheered for him throughout the
whole series. He has to be one of the most memorable protagonists I’ve read in
a book series. (I don’t know about you, but I’m detecting a theme here.)
Captain America // The Flash // Charlie West featured on the cover of The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klavan

Tracey: If you could spend a day with any character, yours or
someone else’s, who would it be? And what would your day together look like?

Josiah: Gah, this is so hard. I think I’m going to cheat and say I’d
love to hang out with the three main characters from my Portal Chronicles
books: Mark, David, and Warren. They would be so much fun to spend a day with!
We would probably do things like go watch a movie in theaters and then rave or
rant about it afterward; we’d play video games and probably do it loudly; we
would go to a cozy café, sit down with beverages, and just talk about life. Now
you’re making me wish I could actually do this. You wouldn’t happen to know how
to make book characters come to life, would you?

Tracey: You’re a very detailed movie-watcher. What things do you
look for or notice first in a movie?

I’ve never really thought about this. I guess one of the
things I notice is the music. Because I love soundtrack and am always on the
lookout for something new to listen to, I’ll pay attention to the movie’s
score. This, however, doesn’t happen all the time. There usually has to be
something that triggers it. One case of this is in Big Hero 6. During the chase
scene in San Fransokyo, the music changes from orchestral to electronic with
electric guitar. My ears perked up, and I decided to give the soundtrack a
listen.
San Fransokyo

There are other things I look for, such as an opening that
catches my attention, characters that I can feel emotional about, a gripping
plot, cool camera angles, realistic sets, et cetera. Like I said, I haven’t
even thought about this before. I suppose I’ll be paying more attention to that
now.

Tracey: You don’t hesitate to follow the advice, “Kill your
darlings.” Talk to us about character deaths—what is their value, how do you go
about it, what to avoid, etc.

Josiah: Ah, yes, I do tend to kill off a number of my characters. I
think they’re valuable because they heighten the emotion of the story, and
that’s our number one goal as writers: to give the readers an emotional
experience. Plus, there are other reasons for killing off a character.
Sometimes you need to raise the stakes and show the danger of what the
protagonists are doing. Other times, a villain’s demise is just satisfying.

The way I do deaths, if I want the readers to care, is to give
them plenty of reasons to become attached to said character. When readers love
characters, the scene of their death will be so much more powerful. There are
some character deaths where I do it “at a bad time,” if you will. If the
protagonists are at the crux of the plot, when things are getting darker and
hard, kill one of them off. Make things even more difficult for the others.

Another idea to do it is when there should be satisfaction,
like when a final battle has been won. Mortally wounding a character just at
the end increases the emotion. Or perhaps things are finally looking up for
your character; kill them, and your readers will become frustrated—in a good
way, of course. I’ll even give the villains a bit of humanity to spark even a
little bit of emotion from the readers.

However, here is my major precaution in character deaths: if
they’re supposed to matter, do not do
them just because.
See, when it’s a minor character, you can kill them off
easier because they don’t matter as much. But when it comes to major
protagonists, or even antagonists, tread carefully. Killing them off
willy-nilly doesn’t incite emotion in the reader if there’s no reason behind
it. I have to remind myself of that too sometimes. Whenever you’re debating
removing a character permanently, always ask yourself, “Do I have a sufficient
reason for doing this?”

I could give more advice, but this answer’s getting pretty
long. I guess I’ll just have to do a whole post on it sometime.

Tracey: If you couldn’t write, what would you do?

Josiah: I’d probably be a filmmaker. I would save up and get a nice
camera, establish a small crew, and make all sorts of movies. Even now, though
I am a writer, I wish I could pick it up as a smaller hobby. I think it’d be a
lot of fun to do.

Tracey: Quick—sort yourself! Which faction from Divergent?
Which race from Lord of the Rings? How soon would you die in The
Hunger Games
? Which Pevensie are you most like from The Chronicles of
Narnia
? (I’d ask you which Harry Potter house you’re in, but neither of us
has read it. #behindthetimes) (I took a quiz once, and I’m apparently
Gryffindor?)

Amity faction
Josiah: According to a test, I’m part of the Amity faction, but I
might prefer to choose Dauntless. I’d either be an Elf or a Skin-Changer. I’d
like to think I would win, but realistically, I’d probably die somewhere in the
middle. Eh, probably Edmund, after he’s done the whole betrayal thing. (I did
the HP house quiz, and I’m fairly equal in all the houses, which means I can
choose my own. Yay . . .?)

Well, thanks for allowing me on your blog, Tracey! I had a
lot of fun with this interview.

Tracey: So did I! Thanks for stopping by, bro! To all my fellow adventurers, head on over to The Steadfast Pen to read Josiah’s very first post. Hint: if you like pizza, you’ll get along just fine. Feel free to leave him some comments, here or there (or both!). I think I can persuade him to loiter around my comment section and chat with y’all. 😉

11 Things to Do When Your Writing Feels Like Rubbish

graphics mine, image via Pinterest 

What happens when you spend your week absorbed in writing and putting in your hours at work and neglect to plan ahead? The blog schedule falls by the wayside, that’s what! I apologize for missing Saturday, folks. (Although you did get a bonus post last Wednesday, so you can’t complain too much.) I decided to pop in this fine Wednesday as well, because I’ve got something important to discuss with you.

A couple days ago, a lovely young lady reached out and asked for advice on her writing dilemma.

“I’ve had a lot of trouble writing lately, feeling like my work is rubbish, and sounds cheap. I took a little break and want to get back to it now but I still feel like my work is not cutting it.”

Her timing was uncanny, because that’s similar to what I was going through last week. In fact, it’s something every writer contends with. So here are some ideas to get out of that slump!*

*I’m pretty sure about 72.8% of the items on my list are things I’ve unconsciously pilfered from other sources, but that’s neither here nor there.

1. Study other writers’ work

Sometimes when you feel like your writing is junk, it’s not because you’ve fallen out of love with your idea, your plot, or your characters, but with the very writing itself. I sporadically go through slumps where it feels like I’ve forgotten how to string one word after another. Every paragraph sounds the same, and I get sick of it very quickly.

One way to jumpstart your way out of that is to pick up a book by a favorite author, someone who really knows his or her craft. Copy a few pages of their book out on paper or a fresh Word doc. The physical act of retyping every word will make you pay attention to their style, voice, and sentence construction–and it may just breathe some fresh life into your own.

A slight caveat: when you return to writing your story, this may make your first chapter or two sound like Jane Austen or J.R.R. Tolkien or Maggie Stiefvater or whomever you copied. (That happens to me sometimes even when I’m just casually reading! Suddenly half a page sounds like a knockoff of somebody else before it returns to my voice.) It’s pretty much the writer’s version of osmosis, but it will pass, and some editing later on will get those copycat words to sound more like your own.

2. Reread the parts of your writing that you love

I wrote/edited my way to the end of The Brightest Thread recently, but it’s still too short, so I’m rereading everything to see where else I can make additions. As I was reading over it, my mom pointed out that I was grinning at my laptop. The scene I’d been reading was just too wonderful not to smile!

I don’t say that as a pat on the back, but merely to point out that remembering the scenes you’re proud of is a great way to produce another good one. When you’re deep in the drafting or editing stage, your focus is often on one scene, one sentence–goodness, even one word–at a time. You’re too close to your work, especially when editing, and so it’s easy to see all the flaws. But going back to refresh your memory will bring to mind the parts that really shine, which may be just the boost of confidence you need.

3. Give yourself permission to write junk

I picked this lesson up from Gail Carson Levine’s lovely little book called Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly. Sometimes you’re just in a slump, okay? That’s no reason to beat yourself up, because we all have been there, and unless you find the magical elixir that allows you to transfer your brilliant stories from your mind to the page with a snap of your fingers, you’ll fall into a slump again. That’s not meant to be a discouragement, dear writer. Just a reminder that you’ve been there before, and you got out of it. You’re in it now, but you’ll get out of it. And you’ll be there again, and once more you’ll get out of it.

In the meantime, allow yourself to write junk.

Even if it means typing I AM NOW COMMENCING THE GARBAGE FEST AND ALL WORDS FOLLOWING ARE JUNK, JUNK, JUNK on the page, do it. Even if it means talking to yourself in the middle of a scene–Bartholomew drew his sword and yelled, “That’s the last time you’ll do anything of the sort!” Good grief, this is lame. Bart has obviously been reading cheap comic books and picking up bad habits. Gotta get him some better reading material. The dark knight chuckled darkly and replied, “The dark will always win, little hero.” AYE KARUMBA, EVERYTHING IS DARK AND DASTARDLY AND UTTER GARBAGE–



Do it.

Eventually, you’ll find that the junk gives way to something halfway decent. Write yourself straight through that slump! I’ve heard it said that done is better than perfect.

4. Write something else

Take a break from that story you’re so worried is rubbish, and switch gears. Pull out a writing prompt, make up a writing exercise, write some fanfiction, whatever! Try your hand at a genre you’ve never attempted and scribble out a page or two. Dream up some new narrative technique and experiment. If you normally write lyrically, go for something stark. If you’ve been writing in first person, try omniscient. If fantasy is your gig, try out a Victorian mystery. You don’t have to finish it; the point is simply to limber up those writing muscles again. Creativity feeds creativity.

5. Stop comparing

One of the quickest routes to feeling depressed as a writer (or as a person) is to play the comparison game. We tend to place our worst flaws alongside someone else’s greatest strengths. Of course that’s going to be discouraging! Put everyone else out of your mind and just write. Write your story, your way. This is especially crucial when you’re on a first draft! They’re never perfect.
It’s also important to remember that everyone is at a different place on their journey. It isn’t fair to yourself to compare your WIP with a bestselling author’s thirtieth novel. I would even go so far as to say, if you’ve completed stories in the past, don’t even compare your WIP to your polished drafts. Those two stories are at different stages. It’s like complaining your apple tree is dying because the apple you just picked is green and unripe, and not at all like the beautiful red one you bought at the store.

6. Give yourself time

I can be straight with you brave souls, right? If you’re sensitive to criticism, skip to the next point, but if you want the unvarnished truth, then here it is:

If you feel like your writing is rubbish, you might be right.

I refused to even think it back when I started writing seriously. I thought my stories were amazing. Some of them were amazingly awful, but I didn’t realize it at the time, and that’s okay. It’s okay I didn’t see it, and it’s okay that they were awful. The beautiful thing about any skill is that it can be grown. And when it comes to something growing, time is absolutely necessary. You may not be where you want to be as a writer just yet, but you’re on your way! Accept where you are right now, dream about where you’re going, and then put in the work to get there.

Malcolm Gladwell said in his book Outliers that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert at anything. Whether that’s scientifically accurate or not, the principle remains: you need practice and time to grow your skill set.

On another note, you need to give yourself time with this particular story. Maybe it hasn’t had a chance to fully develop, and both you and the story are experiencing growing pains. Be patient, and as I said before–you can write your way through this.

7. Read voraciously

This is the more organic sibling of point number 1 (study other writers’ work). When my writing is suffering, one of the frequent common denominators is that my reading is suffering too. Give yourself a few days away from your manuscript–or weeks if you’re in a really bad place–and consume someone else’s stories for a change!

8. Learn voraciously

As you’re giving yourself time and giving yourself permission to write junk, you know you don’t want to stay there. You want to improve. So if writing is something you’re serious about pursuing, read some good books or blog posts about the writing craft! If you can afford it, attend a workshop or a conference. Go to book signings or author events. Ask questions.

On the topic of blog posts, by the way–you may want to be choosy. I’m totally undermining myself here, but look for the blogs/websites of people who are “ahead of you” on the writing road, so to speak. Of course, I believe you can learn from absolutely anyone, including peers and also those who may be “behind you.” But you’re more likely to learn something new from someone who’s more experienced than you are. Many published authors provide helpful advice online. (I’ve actually wanted to do a post on writing resources ever since I started blogging. One of these days!)

But the main thing is that you learn.

9. Get critiqued

Alone, you can only see 180 degrees, yes? But with a friend, you can see 360 degrees. No matter how good you are at writing, you’ll miss something, so it’s helpful to get a few more sets of eyes on your work to help you pick out the trouble spots, inconsistencies, and snags.

Peers make great beta readers, and if you can manage to get feedback from a professional, that’s golden! You might not be able to pinpoint what’s wrong with your writing, you just know something feels off. But someone with more distance might be able to give you that eureka moment.

10. Recognize outside factors

I mentioned earlier that last week was rough writing-wise. Partway through, I realized it wasn’t just because the actual writing was slow. So, feeling frustrated and unhappy, I examined the issue and found out that:

a) I was filling all my free time with writing, and then staying up too late doing things like reading books or blogs to relax–so I wasn’t getting the rest I needed
and b) there had been a few stressful incidents at work that made my shifts more draining than usual.

Feelings are just signals! A negative feeling is like a window popping up on your computer to tell you that something is wrong. It doesn’t always mean your writing is trash, and it certainly never means that you are trash.

Life isn’t separated into neat little boxes. So many things can affect your writing: health, sleep, relationships, stress, finances. So when you hit an authorial slump, consider what else might be a contributing factor, and give yourself the grace to deal with that situation.

11. Pray

Everyone makes tidy lists of ten, but I couldn’t leave this eleventh point out. The biggest outside factor is your relationship with God. Take this from someone struggling with her devotional life as we speak: when you’re not spending time with God, whether that be reading the Bible, praying, or taking a walk while listening to worship music, everything else in life suffers. Including your writing.

I know, I know how it feels. Not all of you are task-driven people, but for those of you who are: I understand that putting off writing to pray or even to relax with a good book feels like . . . well, not necessarily time wasted, but time not spent writing.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. -Matthew 6:33 NIV

The thing is, you can’t afford not to pursue God. And when it comes down to it, isn’t He the most creative being to ever exist? Didn’t He hang the stars and fashion chimpanzees and create thunderstorms with just a word? You, dear writer, dear soul, are created in the image of the Creator! You are a creative being–that’s part of your very nature–but your creativity flourishes best when it is fed by a thriving bond with your Creator.

And that’s all the advice I have today, my friends. I’m off to go practice what I just preached (The Brightest Thread, here I come!), but before I go . . .

Stay tuned for Saturday, because I have a very special guest joining us!