By G.L. Gooding

My path to becoming a published author didn’t begin with a burst of confidence or a degree in creative writing. Instead, it was driven by a long-standing promise to my elderly mother.  I had once promised her I would write a book. She was nearing her 100^th birthday, I was retiring, and the time to write that book was now or never. 

So, I dived in.

I soon was challenged in unexpected ways that nearly stopped everything before any of it could really begin.  

What I learned could help you with your own promises to write.

1. Use Your Limits as Launchpads

The first draft for my first book was too long.  It clocked in at over 800 pages. Turns out I wasn’t just wordy, I was epically so. 

But editing that monstrous manuscript wasn’t going to be my biggest hurdle. Chronic illness and caregiving were the real challenges ahead.

Just as I began writing (and rewriting) in earnest, my vision—which had already suffered through four retinal detachment surgeries—took an even more serious turn. I was diagnosed with Ocular Histoplasmosis, which left me with blind spots scattered across my visual field. Soon after, although I was not living in blackness and could see in a very limited way, I was declared legally blind.

I had already been struggling with what to do with the litany of recommended changes to my 800-page masterpiece. Now my vision issues made me consider the idea of giving my lengthy draft to my mother and declaring victory in completing the book. 

But that didn’t feel right. So, I tackled a complete rewrite. 

Since I could not see the pages myself, my wife Sarah patiently read aloud all 800 pages of the draft. I stopped her constantly so I could make endless changes. Whole chapters vanished. Characters died. Hundreds of my darlings laid murdered at my feet. It was truly amazing that our sanity and marriage survived, barely.

Tip: What I learned in this process that may be helpful to anyone confronting such a daunting task accompanied by daunting barriers:

Don’t wait for perfect circumstances. They rarely show up. Instead, write within your limitations—and let them shape a voice only you can offer.

2. Ask for Help (Then Say Thank You a Lot)

My first novel was torturously whittled down to 323 pages from 800 using my existing tools --- traditional computer and saintly wife. Before starting another book, I looked long and hard for more help. I was fortunate to find excellent support from the Earl Baum Center for the Blind. Besides traditional skills training --- using a cane, traversing busy streets, managing clothing, preparing meals - they introduced me to tools like large monitors and voice-activated software, which made writing easier for me. I still had Sarah—my committed editor, critic, and cheerleader—by my side during this transition to a new way of writing.

Ironically, as my quest to be an author continued, a second shoe of challenges fell. My dear Sarah was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s. Our supporting roles slowly began to reverse. I became her primary caregiver, which was not difficult at first but quickly intensified. Ultimately, we moved closer to her family in Ohio, and with the help of kind and capable paid caregivers, I continued writing—even as my pace was slowed by evolving circumstances.

Tip: During this phase of my journey, I learned what likely should have been obvious but wasn’t: 

Writing is not a solo endeavor. Accept help—whether it’s assistive technology, a loved one’s support, or community services. Find tools.  Welcome the tools. Support is the road to overcoming barriers and building resilience.

3. Redefine Success—and Keep Going

Since retiring, going blind, and becoming a caregiver, I’ve published seven books. I have many more in the works. Some days, just finding the right file on my computer feels like an Olympic event. 

But I keep going.

Writing helps me stay connected—to my purpose, to my memories, and to my late-night conversations with the woman who once sat beside me, reading every word out loud. Plus, reading my drafts helps me maintain my sense of humor. I have laughed myself silly reading some of the “new” words I invented in my writing. 

Keeping a sense of humor every day is, in itself, a success.

Tip: Success doesn’t have to look like a bestseller or having 5,000-word writing days. Sometimes success is showing up. Sometimes it's one paragraph. Sometimes, it’s just thinking about optional directions. Sometimes it's simply not quitting.

Think about what success means to you and consider resetting the bar if it is impossibly high. But don’t allow yourself to make excuses, either.

I have realized I cannot blame being blind or needing to care for Sarah as justification for not writing.

But, I have also discovered it is normal to get frustrated when writing feels hard. 

I still silently curse my screen. 

But I also feel blessed. Writing through a chronic illness and caregiving hasn’t just made me a writer. It’s made me a real writer—the kind who knows that stories don’t wait for the perfect time. Your stories simply wait for your courage to hit that first letter.

What tips do you have for writing with a chronic illness and/or juggling writing and being a caregiver?

About G. L. Gooding

G. L. Gooding is an American novelist with a growing catalog of mysteries and historical novels.

He’s best known for Where Courage Began, the first book in his uplifting Velma series inspired by his mother’s life in Depression-era Iowa—a sweeping family saga that has captivated readers with its heart and historical detail. 

https://www.glgooding.com Check out G.L. Gooding books

Featured image by WikiImages from Pixabay

Second image purchased from DepositPhoto.com

by Julie Glover

When Christina Delay and I became critique partners, we didn’t imagine the deep friendship we’d develop. But even more surprising, and welcome, was becoming coauthors.

Could one of your writing friends become a valued writing partner?

Getting Started

We decided to cowrite a series out of frustration with our individual writing careers not yielding the results we’d anticipated. If we could self-publish a nine-book series within a year or two that made money, we’d have more options for our individual writing careers.

Very soon, we discovered that: (1) we weren’t willing to lower our standards and thus needed more time to produce our best work, and (2) life has a way of intervening. Many of you can relate to having your plans interrupted by a worldwide pandemic as well as personal challenges. C’est la vie!

Even so, we have published five novels together, with four more planned, as well as our most recent release, a nonfiction book for writers titled Together, We Write: An Author's Complete Guide to Cowriting. Throughout this process, we have learned a lot.

First of all, your coauthor should be a friend.

They don’t need to be a close friend, like we are, but you should enjoy spending time with this person, because you’ll spend a lot of time together when you cowrite a book.

Second, you should adore their writing.

You’ll be reading a lot of your coauthor’s words, so you should already enjoy their independent work before becoming partners. I’m regularly in awe of Christina’s viscerals and plot-twist brilliance, and she has often told me that my dialogue is spectacular. (I’m wincing at that characterization, but it is what it is.) That mutual respect has made it much easier to work together.

Third, you should agree that the prefix co means a lot.

You’ll each need to check your I’m right arrogance at the door and let yourself be edited and challenged by your coauthor. Such openness has made us not only better coauthors for our shared books but better authors for our individual novels.

Choosing a Process

Once you find The One—and wrangle them into writing with you—there’s still plenty to figure out. You must discover the how of writing together.

Will you write in the same room? Pass the manuscript back and forth? Divide up points of view? Lean on one of you to write setting and dialogue while the other focuses on internal thoughts and viscerals? Or something else altogether?

Coauthors have many options available. Take stock of your personality preferences, writing strengths and weaknesses, and time constraints to determine how to proceed.

For us, having a story structure was key. Even though I’m not a super-structured writer on my own, that framework helped us to navigate the path forward. We also discussed when we’d each write, with the happy coincidence that Christina wrote best in the mornings and I wrote best in the evenings. You’ll need to decide what software to use, what editing approach you’ll take (Track Changes or something else), deadlines, and all that coauthor jazz.

Navigating Challenges

While cowriting has been an amazing experience we’ve loved, we won’t deny that it comes with some challenges.

For one thing, you’re sharing profits with another author. Your per-book income won’t be as much. That said, you’re also sharing the work of writing, editing, and marketing with someone else. It’s half the work for half the profit, but we believe our profits are exponentially improved with an ally at our side!

Other challenges include working through different perspectives on plot or characterization, finding time to write and edit with one another, and deciding what promotion opportunities to embrace or let pass. But honestly, none of these has come close to insurmountable.

Because we respect one another, we’re committed to resolving any differences and embracing a third way that works well for both of us.

If you’re worried that cowriting will keep you from your solo projects, breathe easy. For us, cowriting doesn’t keep us from doing our own thing. Christina also writes psychological suspense that’s definitely darker than I write, while I pen novels about teen friendship and romance. We enjoy reading one another’s books! But we write in different genres—except when it comes to our shared series.

Loving the Story

What we’ve created with our supernatural suspense series is bigger and better than what we could have done alone. We’ve fallen in love with characters the other writer introduced, plot twists the other devised, and prose that kept us on the edges of our seats. Just the mention of Muse Island (the name of our series) takes Christina and me to a magical place in our minds and hearts—a world we built together.

But that’s not the only story we love. We love our story of writing together. It has deepened our friendship and helped us grow as authors. This journey isn’t always smooth, but it’s the sort of adventure you wouldn’t trade for anything. And we’re excited to tell others about it, knowing that some other authors would really relish the cowriting experience.

If you’re intrigued about cowriting, consider who you might want to take that adventure with! And then pick up our book, Together, We Write; this short read will walk you through everything you need to know to have a successful coauthor experience.

 What questions do you have about cowriting? Julie is here to answer them for you down in the comments!

About Julie

Julie Glover is an award-winning author of young adult and mystery fiction. She has also coauthored five supernatural suspense novels and two short stories in the mythology-based Muse Island series under her pen name Jules Lynn. With her coauthor, Christina Delay, she recently published Together, We Write: An Author's Complete Guide to Cowriting, currently available as an e-book and soon coming out in print.

Julie holds a master’s degree in counseling, has taught conference workshops and online courses, and served as sidekick and sometimes-host for Cruising Writers. A native of Texas, she now lives in Denton with her hottie husband, her loquacious cat, and her large collection of cowgirl boots.

Top image by GaudiLab via Deposit Photos

by Sarah (Sally) Hamer

Our imagination is one of the most powerful things we humans own. And, whether it’s a journal entry, a blog post, an emotional and loving email, or a novel, writing helps us make sense of who we are. It’s not just about putting words on a page. It’s about finding clarity, connection, and direction.

For many of us, writing is more than a task. It’s a way of showing up. It’s how we process what matters and how we pass it on. It’s opening up our imagination and allowing ourselves to take a deep breath. Too often, and for too many reasons, we squelch our artistic and inventive mind, stomping it back down into a reality that may not even be our own. It takes courage to be ourselves, to push back against what others think we should be.

The Page as a Place to Begin

For creatives of any kind, finding North matters. When we’re lost, whether physically or emotionally, we first have to establish where we are. Maybe it’s in a forest or in the midst of a chaotic family or even stuck in a sagging middle. But discovering North can be the first step to the first step out of a quagmire.

Only then, can we create a route out of the problem, no matter what it is.

As we find ourselves, we get to be honest and shape our ideas into something useful, turning lived experience into something that supports our creativity. And, we find the ability to go in different directions –East, West, South, around the bend, up a hill -- based on a strong foundation of what we really, truly want to say. 

A blank page can be intimidating, but it’s also an open invitation to forge our own path. We may not know which way North is when we write the first words on that page, but just the act of beginning can open doors in our writing soul.  We don’t need perfection. We only need presence.

When we write, we slow down. We listen. We begin to notice what’s underneath the surface—what’s been waiting to be named. The page becomes a safe place instead of a scary one.

Using the Compass

We each have a personal compass, a tool that helps guide us and keep us focused and aligned to our true North. It could be almost anything that can bring us from a safe (or uncomfortable) spot to go forward. Some ideas are:

• A set of words or phrases that remind us why we write. 
• A visual symbol, maybe a compass or a flower or a review that reminds us that we are appreciated. 
• A audio symbol like a playlist that helps us to feel stable.
• A olfactory symbol. I use different essential oils that help me concentrate.
• A text or phone call from a supportive fellow writer. 

Tools don’t need to be fancy. They just need to be meaningful, to help us stay connected to our values and our voice, especially when the work gets hard or the message feels unclear.

Letting Go of Perfection

One of the biggest blocks to writing is the pressure to get it right. But the truth is, writing doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful. In fact, the most impactful writing often comes from a place of honesty and vulnerability. It’s okay to write a messy first draft. It’s okay to not have all the answers. And, ultimately, it’s okay to throw everything you’ve done that day away and start afresh in the morning. You are sovereign and get to decide. 

When we let go of perfection, we make space for authenticity. We give ourselves permission to show up as we are.

Writing as a Way to Leave Something Behind

Writing is a way to pass on wisdom. Doesn’t mean that every story must have a moral, of course. We’re not required to force a change on our readers. But it’s certainly okay to present an experience in our own lives or imagination that might be helpful to a future reader. A lot of classic stories do teach. For instance, I learned courage in the face of a friend’s death in Charlotte’s Web and the ability to stand up to evil in A Wrinkle in Time when I was a child. Both books still resonate with me. 

Remember, books don’t have to be long or formal or morality tales to make a character come alive. They just need to create a sense of reality in a reader’s mind. 

Writing becomes part of our legacy. It’s how we share what we’ve lived and learned. It’s how we make sure our voice continues to support others, even when we’re not there to speak it.

Staying on the Path

Bottom line, becoming aware that we do indeed have the power to forge our own path and determine our destiny is not only the first step, but one of the most important. I don’t care what you write. It’s a good thing for writers of any genre or style to make a living at it, of course. But it’s more about the creative expression than the monetary gain, in my humble opinion. Money is easy, compared to a lot of things in this crazy world of ours. I believe that satisfaction with what we do and how we live our life is much more important. 

Do you know what your path is? Is it joyful and satisfying? I wish that for you!

Sally, Lisa Norman, Jenny Hansen, and several others of our amazing WITS folks will be presenting at a Virtual Writing Conference on October 24th and 25th, called "Creating Creativity: The Soul of the StoryTeller. http://www.penandpotential.com 

There's still time to sign up as an Early Bird for 50% off (until October 1st). 

This is on GoBrunch, which will give you a glimpse of some of the new technology Lisa has been raving about!

(If you sign up after the symposium, you won't be able to join live, but you will be able to view the recordings.)

About Sarah (Sally)

Sarah (Sally) Hamer, B.S., MLA, is a lover of books, a teacher of writers, and a believer in a good story. Most of all, she is eternally fascinated by people and how they 'tick'. She’s passionate about helping people tell their own stories and has won awards at both local and national levels, including two Golden Heart finals.

A teacher of memoir, beginning and advanced creative fiction writing, and screenwriting at Louisiana State University in Shreveport for over twenty years, she also teaches online for Margie Lawson at www.margielawson.com and for the No Stress Writing Academy at https://nostresswriting.com.  Sally is a free-lance editor and book coach, with many of her students and clients becoming successful, award-winning authors.

You can find her at info@mindpotential.org

Image Credits

Featured Image by p2722754 from Pixabay