Writers in the Storm

By Miffie Seideman

When people find out I’m training for another Ironman triathlon, they usually ask me why I would spend countless hours working towards a single goal that I might not even win (or finish?).

Wait until they find out I’m a writer!

Honestly, though, triathlon is a wonderful sport. It’s full of very supportive, if not competitive, people from all walks of life. It’s also extremely demanding physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Yes, but writing and triathlon training are polar opposites!

Well, actually, I’ve come to recognize strong parallels between lessons learned in triathlon training and
my writing health- particularly over the last year. Hopefully, these insights will help you, too!

Shift Efficiently

Some inexperienced cyclists use the big gears when climbing hills. These gears make you go really fast on flat roads, but make it extremely hard to climb a hill without exhausting leg muscles and putting excessive force on knee joints. Usually, these cyclists get slower and slower going up the hill, pushing harder against the big gears to make any progress. Some cyclists think it’s a sign of weakness to shift to the specially designed hill-climbing gears. These “granny gears” make pedaling hills easier.

Watch good hill climbers and you’ll see them shift to hill gears while cranking up steep inclines, saving their legs (and knees) for the rest of the ride.

How is this like writing, exactly?

When writers force themselves to keep up with rigid writing schedules, despite other life stresses, and don’t listen to their mind or body, they’re pedaling up that hill in the big gears. They risk emotional exhaustion, brain fatigue, and burn-out. After long, hard days filled with chores and work, I’ve sat at my computer, trying to force words onto the page to hit a daily word count. I finally realized how exhausting it was and how much joy it took away from writing. So, I’ve switched gears. Now I work on story scenes over a whole week and find I can better maintain my excitement for writing.

Do you feel like your creativity is drained? Are you cranking uphill in the big gears? Maybe it’s time to shift.

Even if you have to shift into granny gears once in a while, setting realistic, long-term goals is extremely important. In triathlon, that means signing up for a race. Many triathletes live, eat, and breathe triathlon, always focusing on the next race, that next personal record. When racing isn’t possible, like for all of 2020, training for months with no end goal can lead to apathy, mental exhaustion, depression, and a loss of identity as an athlete.

Goal Setting

The same way triathletes identify psychologically with being triathletes, writers identify as writers. Writing and editing endlessly, without direction, can eventually feel futile with a negative impact on creativity, excitement about the craft, and sense of identity as an author.

So…sign up for a (writing) race!

It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming goal. No one signs up for Iron distance races all the time. In fact, those that do often get burned-out or injured (some permanently).

Identify something your daily or weekly writing process can culminate towards. Start simple: pick a date to swap chapters with another author. Or expand horizons by planning to be ready for a short story writing contest, a pitch contest, a writer’s conference, or an online seminar.

Just pick something! And be prepared to use those granny gears, if you need to.

Get Some Exercise

Triathlon training is great exercise. Rotating through three different sports helps avoid injuries, while building a healthy heart and body. I also find I do my best creative thinking on bike rides. There’s something about just getting away from life’s chores and pedaling off into the sunset that helps my characters come to life. I always come back mentally refreshed.

This makes sense according to a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which showed exercise enhances mood and creativity.

But you’ll be glad to know you don’t have to swim, bike, and run for hours to get a positive effect. According to the study, just 25 minutes of aerobic exercise can elevate mood and enhance creativity. Some artistic circles use this approach to overcome mental creativity blocks.

There are days when I would much rather curl up on the couch after work. But I have learned that just a few minutes after I get into the pool or on that jog, my attitude gets much better and I return with more emotional energy, ready to tackle my story.

Walk it off! Next time you have writer’s block, maybe a simple 25-minute walk will have you dashing back to that manuscript!

Rest and Recovery

One of the most important lessons triathletes learn is about recovery. You can imagine how training too much in three separate sports each week can lead to physical exhaustion and risk overuse injury. And the sheer competitiveness of triathletes can be at odds with the idea of resting.

Lately, recovery has become accepted as mainstream and is now considered part of training. Recovery ranges from naps after workouts (my favorite!) to fancy compression boots and specialized nutrition. In addition, triathletes watch for signs of overtraining, such as high resting heart rates and apathy toward workouts. Without adequate recovery, athletes are bound, sooner or later, to get injured.

Reset heart, soul, and mind!

Writers are subject to overuse syndrome, too. Instead of pulled muscles, we can suffer writer’s block, mental exhaustion, loss of interest in writing, and creative stagnation. According to Ferris Jabr in Scientific American, taking breaks can help us recharge, refocus, and be more creative.

Learn to watch for your own signs of overuse and know when to take that break. Feel free to pick something that causes you the most mental relaxation and regeneration. Anything will do, from a walk in the woods to a night off from writing, an afternoon of Tai Chi to sitting by a babbling brook skipping rocks. And keep in mind, you may need a couple of days to refresh, not just one brief break.

This is your permission to stop and smell the roses.

Cheers to you and your happy writing (health)!

I’d love to hear tips on how you manage your writing health! Are you involved in a sport or physical activity that has positively impacted your writing? Have you learned to shift gears?

* * * * * *

About Miffie

Miffie Seideman has been a pharmacist for over 30 years, with a passion for helping others. As a published non-fiction author, her articles have appeared in several professional pharmacy journals. When not training for a race, her writing projects include a (soon to be announced) writer’s handbook and a fantasy adventure that started as “What if Romeo and Juliet didn’t live happily ever after they died?” An avid triathlete, she spends countless hours training in the arid deserts of Arizona, devising new plots.

Miffie can be found hanging around her blog onwemerrilystumble.com examining the intersection of triathlon and writing and on Twitter @MiffieSeideman…you know…tweeting.

Above Image by Melk Hagelslag from Pixabay

by John Peragine

One of the hot new forms of writing right now is serialization. This is breaking up a story into smaller digestible parts, much like episodes of your favorite TV series. While the trend is hot and fresh, the concept of serialization is not new. In the 19^th Century, Charles Dickens wrote the Pickwick Papers. It was a story told in 19 episodes over 20 months. More recently, Stephen King wrote the Green Mile as a serialized novel.  Many other famous authors such as Hunter S. Thompson, Margaret Atwood, and Harriet Beecher Stowe also serialized some of their stories.

In genre fiction, creating a series of books is often preferred over one-offs, but that can take years to produce. Consider if you could serialize each book into smaller episodes. You could release those episodes as you create and edit them. You wouldn't need to do any fancy layout or covers, as many serializations are read through apps or online.

There are several benefits of writing in a serialized form.

1. Building an Author Platform- I have used Bookfunnel.com to build a newsletter list. I want to create newsletters that provide content and don't feel spammy. I am sending new episodes of a side story to my book Max and the Spice Thieves. This keeps up the interest in the series while I finish the second book and introduces new readers to my characters. It keeps the subscribers' interest and gives them something of value for continuing to receive my newsletter.
2. Getting Stories Out Faster- It takes time to write a full-length book. In genre fiction, once your first book is published, your fans are wanting book two. You can create a serialization of the next book or create other shorter tales that exist in the world you have created. You can write 500-3000 words easier than 48K words. It will keep your fans engaged and your books top of mind until your next full-length book is released.
3. You Can Experiment- If you allow your fans to comment on your serialization, you can create new works and test the waters. If you find that people are enjoying it and are hungry for more, you can continue the series. If the response is not as positive, you can stop and move onto another project. You can find out early on what people like or do not like about a particular story, and their expectations can even influence and shape future installments.
4. Gives You Space to Make Changes. You can decide if the direction of your story is making sense or if you need to make changes to your plot. It provides you space and perspective in between episodes to read and reflect on previous episodes.
5. Keeps the Pace Moving. Each episode must create a complete scene or scenes and often leave a cliffhanger or unanswered questions to keep the reader wanting more. This cuts out the glut and slow-moving pace that can sometimes plague books and creates more complete and exciting chapters of a book should you decide to compile your serializations. The pace needs to move, or readers will become bored and disengaged.
6. It Keeps You Moving. Unlike a novel that can take any amount of time to complete, serialization has a built-in clock. People expect a new installment in whatever amount of time you decide upon. You have to keep writing and moving the story along. There is no time for procrastination.

Here are some sites to consider to begin your serialization journey:

• Royal Road
• Webnovel
• Tapas
• Moonquill
• Radish
• Dreame
• Wattpad

In part 2, I will discuss serialization on Kindle and their new platform Vella and some rules for creating serialization episodes.

Have you considered serializing a story? What platforms have you used? How successful have your serializations been?

About John

John Peragine has published 14 books and ghostwritten more than 100 others. He is a contributor for HuffPost, Reuters, and The Today Show. He covered the John Edwards trial exclusively for Bloomberg News and The New York Times. He has written for Wine Enthusiast, Grapevine Magazine, Realtor.com, WineMaker magazine, and Writer's Digest.

John began writing professionally in 2007, after working 13 years in social work and as the piccolo player for the Western Piedmont Symphony for over 25 years. Peragine is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. You can learn more about his books at JohnPeragineBooks.com. 

His newest book, Max and the Spice Thieves, was released on April 20, 2021. Click here for a free first chapter. 

by Eldred Bird

While perusing the Twitterverse recently, I happened upon a question that caught my interest. Author Jeff Richards asked, “What is your LEAST favorite common writing tip?”

We all have that one piece of advice that makes us roll our eyes when someone feels the need to impart that particular kernel of wisdom. Below, I’ve collected some of the most popular responses from Mr. Richards’ query. Everyone has their own interpretation as to the meaning of these gems. Let’s take a deeper look and I’ll give you my opinion (I’m full of them).

Write Every Day

“Write every day” is the one I hear most often and was also high on the Twitter list. The most common complaints about this piece of advice involve finding the time and/or the inspiration. Both can be quite difficult at times. You need to write consistently, but that may not mean every day in your particular life situation. I like to approach this tip more as, “Make time in your schedule for writing and stick to it.”

The truth is life doesn’t always give us a choice, so do your best and don’t kick yourself to hard when you stumble and miss a day or two (or in my case sometimes weeks). There are times you need to give yourself permission to say, “It ain’t happening today…”

Show, Don’t Tell

“Show, don’t tell” is something I see run up the flagpole at every critique meeting I’ve ever attended. It’s good advice in general, but not something you can avoid in every situation, nor should you. There are many times where telling is not only appropriate, but the most expedient way to get the point across.

Rather than rehash this one, I’ll just point you to a WITS post by Lori Freeland. I’m pretty much in agreement with everything she has to say on the subject.

Don’t Use Prologues

I have to admit “Don’t use prologues” used to be one of my favorite pieces of advice. I always felt the need for a prologue meant you were starting your story in the wrong place. I also found a good number of the prologues I encountered were simply data dumps of back story that could have easily been woven into the fabric of the narrative or eliminated completely.

I’ve flipped my opinion on this one a little. Sometimes a prologue can set the proper mood for a piece or help the reader get anchored in an unfamiliar setting, especially when it comes to fantasy and science fiction. I think the key is to keep it short and don’t overload the reader with details you can work into the story when they are necessary. A lot of back story can be implied by context and world-building done by your character’s interactions with their surroundings.

Avoid Adverbs

We’re all familiar with the Stephen King quote “The road to hell is paved with adverbs,” but what does it really mean? Some people say never, never, never, ever use adverbs and preach it with fire and brimstone! Come on folks, we all know there’s no such thing as never when it comes to artistic endeavors like writing.

Yes, you are allowed to use adverbs, but like any other element of writing, don’t over-use them. If your work is being propped up by a multitude of adverbs, it means your primary verbs aren’t doing the heavy lifting. Look for stronger action verbs to do the work. Your readers and your story pacing will thank you.

Write What You Know

“Write what you know” is fairly popular and top of my own list. Most people complained that if we only stick to what we know, we never grow as writers or members of the human race. A few also pointed out that following this advice would preclude you from writing fantasy and science fiction. After all, none of us mere mortals have been to space or Middle Earth or been blessed with the power of magic.

I think the real intent of this advice is that you should bring your own experiences into the writing as much as possible. When writing an emotional scene, recall your own emotional state during a similar situation and apply that to your narrative. The same applies to locations, be they real world or fantasy. Think about the things that catch your eye and give a location character. These details are what make a location real to the reader as well. When building characters draw on people you know or have observed. It will give them more depth and make them more relatable.

It can also mean before you write about a specific subject you need to do a little studying first. I like to twist this piece of advice around to, “Do your research and write what you want to know.”

Some Final Thoughts

When we hear a piece of advice like those above, we should keep in mind that most, if not all, have roots in the truth. They’ve come from the experiences of others who are trying to help by passing on lessons learned from experience. It’s up to each one of us to determine what we do with the advice. Mull it over to see what applies to your work and how it applies. Experiment with it, twist it around, play with it, and when you find what works for you, pass it on.

What do you think of these writing tips? Do you have a favorite (or least favorite) piece of advice? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

About Eldred

Eldred Bird writes contemporary fiction, short stories, and personal essays. He has spent a great deal of time exploring the deserts, forests, and deep canyons inside his home state of Arizona. His James McCarthy adventures, Killing Karma, Catching Karma, and Cold Karma, reflect this love of the Grand Canyon State even as his character solves mysteries amidst danger. Eldred explores the boundaries of short fiction in his stories, The Waking Room, Treble in Paradise: A Tale of Sax and Violins, and The Smell of Fear.

When he’s not writing, Eldred spends time cycling, hiking and juggling (yes, juggling…bowling balls and 21-inch knives). His passion for photography allows him to record his travels. He can be found on Twitter or Facebook, or at his website.