Writers in the Storm

Last week, Fae Rowen discussed her reading habits in Beware: Voracious Reading Ahead. Like her, I remember reading way more than my friends and classmates when I was young, devouring every book that came my way.

I started with the marvelous for Laura Ingalls Wilder and Nancy Drew. Then a very strange novel in 5th grade captured my young heart — A Wrinkle in Time. (Is anyone else on the edge of their seat awaiting the movie rendering of this tale?) The Chronicles of Narnia kept me in fantasy world.

High school English introduced me to classic literature. While some of my friends tossed the reading list and opted for bodice-ripper romances instead, I fell into the world of classics like Alice into the rabbit hole. Indeed, for a long time I couldn't fathom becoming a writer, because in my mind, writers were people like Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, D.H. Lawrence, Edgar Allen Poe, and Leo Tolstoy. What on earth did I have in common with those people?

In college, I returned some of my focus to commercial fiction — first drawn in by an odd book about a vampire. Yep, when I picked up Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice, it was the first contemporary fiction I'd read in about five years.

After that, my reading list expanded to include all kinds of books, including classics, but also mainstream fiction and genre favorites. I read Agatha Christie and re-discovered my love of mysteries — the same love Nancy Drew had fostered in me years earlier. (Thank you, Mildred Benson.)

A book club I joined in my 30s got me reading more women's fiction, and raising children got me into middle grade and young adult novels. So basically, I've meandered all over the place.

But while I feel like I still read a lot these days, I'm a slacker compared to some fellow writers!

According to the Pew Research Center, the Average Reader reads 12 books per year — one a month. Compared to that, I can strut pretty, feeling good about clearing well more than twelve a year. In fact, I land in the Voracious Reader category of 50 books a year. In 2017, I read 47 books and about half of seven more.

But many writers fall into the Super Reader group, sucking down 80 books or more per year like water through a straw. Oftentimes, I find someone who reports reading 100, 150, or even 200 books a year. Good gravy, y'all! Do you sleep?

This is also why I get really and truly panicked when I read the array of writing advice that says:

• Read a lot of the bestsellers, so you know what sells
• Read a lot of books in the genre you write, to know what's out there
• Read a lot of books outside the genre you write, to broaden your perspective
• Read a lot of craft books, to hone your skills
• Read a lot of marketing and business books, to know how to be successful

Oh dear heavens, how can I do all of those things? (And still sleep...)

Knowing I will never plow my way through 200 books in a year — though impressed by those who do — I become very selective about what I read.

First off, there are some books I have to read for my day job. So that's takes about 10% of my reading list right away. Then there are books I copy-edit, which takes another 10%. The remaining 80% gets populated with a little of all of those categories above, with the largest emphasis on the genre I'm currently writing.

While writing young adult, I tend toward books that teens are buzzing about, books on state reading lists like the Texas Library Association's Tayshays list, and books recommended by trusted friends. I also read young adult books nominated for the Romance Writers of America RITA awards.

While writing mysteries, I'm drawn to cozies with some bite. For instance, I've enjoyed Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness series, Stephanie Bond's Body Movers series, and Charlaine Harris's Aurora Teagarden and Lily Bard Shakespeare series. Also, one of my clients writes creepy paranormal mysteries/urban fantasy I'd read even if she didn't pay me to copy-edit them — Peri Jean Mace Ghost Thrillers by Catie Rhodes.

Then I throw in a historical romance, a romantic comedy, a women's fiction book, and a classic here and there. I read a couple of craft books — usually cracking each open with the sense that I should read it but finishing because it hooks me with lessons I want to learn.

On top of that, I listen to success and marketing books, having learned that audiobooks are the best way for me to take in that information. Gaining business savvy while folding laundry or perusing grocery aisles is a good use of my multitasking skills.

Somehow or other, I end up with my 50-ish books every year. Would I like to read more? Sure. Maybe I can reach 60 this year. Maybe.

As for what genres I'll read in 2018, I'll lean toward mystery because I'm writing that now. And for the rest, I'll meander through genres picking up a novel here and there.

How many books do you try to read each year? Does what you're writing influence what you're reading?

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About Julie

Julie Glover writes cozy mysteries and young adult fiction. Her YA contemporary novel, SHARING HUNTER, finaled in the 2015 RWA® Golden Heart®. When not writing, she collects boots, practices rampant sarcasm, and advocates for good grammar and the addition of the interrobang as a much-needed punctuation mark.

Julie is represented by Louise Fury of The Bent Agency. You can visit her website here and also follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Orly Konig

Like most writers, I love craft books and workshops and blog posts and insight into writing better, smarter, stronger. There’s always room for improvement, and I’m absolutely convinced that somewhere out there is the magic ingredient for a bestseller.

I keep a notebook with those gems from each workshop that will change my writing life. I highlight and sticky-note passages in craft books that elicited a moment of “ohhhh wow.” I listen with awe as fellow authors talk about the life-altering moment when a particular method brought their story into focus, then promptly run out and devour that same material.

In August, I jumped at the chance of seeing Donald Maass present The Emotional Craft of Fiction in person after doing several online workshops with him.

And in September, I was at the Women’s Fiction Writers retreat where Lisa Cron presented a two-day workshop. I’d read Story Genius before the retreat, and I sponged every bit of additional information that came from her mouth. I marveled as fellow authors typed away on their story notes, excitement building with each new element they figured out. For weeks after the retreat, I exchanged messages with my critique partner as she applied what she’d learned and plotted out her next book.

I knew, just knew that when my time came to start on my next project, I’d rock this writing gig. Then a couple of months ago, I started a new project. First time in a couple of years when I’ve sat down with a fresh Word document and a shiny new story idea. I pulled out the notes and workbooks and started brainstorming character arcs and origin scenes and inciting incidents. I pondered the dark moment and backstory. This new book was going to be the best one yet. Because finally, FINALLY I was doing it right. I was going to have all the pieces in place and the story would be a breeze to write.

Yeah. Not so much. Because here’s the thing … while I love workshops and craft books and learning new awesome approaches to writing, I absolutely, positively, cannot apply the methods to my work. Writing, for me, is an organic process. The nuggets of a story grow and branch out piece by piece. When I force the various elements, they shrivel.

Character profiles? I know enough about my characters to get a story started. I learn about them as we grow together. When I sit with a character profile sheet and attempt to flush out who they are and where they came from, they get shy and clam up.

I know all about the various act structures — even have a huge poster board with handy, dandy guidelines for the six-stage act structure and space for sticky notes that I made after attending a weekend workshop with Michael Hauge.

Dark moments? We all face them and so will my characters. But I can’t tell you what it’ll be before I’m armpit deep in it. And forcing the plotting of it turns it from dark moment to boring beige.

I tried. I reread a couple of the books and scanned through notes. I printed worksheets and bought more sticky notes. And, the harder I tried, the worse it got. After a couple of months trying and failing and falling further behind on my deadline, I gave up.

While my writing colleagues were thriving, I was floundering. And I was embarrassed to admit it. How can I be the only one who’s not getting it? What’s wrong with me?

But sometimes you just have to admit defeat, suck up the shame, and move on. I put the craft books back on the shelf, shoved the worksheets into a desk drawer, and dove into writing. Once I gave myself permission to not have to follow a path, the story came together.

So, am I suggesting that you abandon the workshops and stop reading craft books? Absolutely not! Take as many workshops as you can, read every craft book out there. Yeah, you’re scrunching your eyebrows at me — I see you.

Here’s the thing … bits and pieces of what I’ve learned are in my head. I hear Donald Maass reminding me to explore emotional misdirection. I chuckle and rewrite when a cliché attempts to escape from my fingertips. And when the story is done and I’m ready to revise, THEN I bring out the poster board and sticky notes.

Ass-backwards, sure. Efficient, not necessarily. But it’s what works for me, and I’m okay with that. Because at the end of the day, it’s not how you get there, but that you get there!

That’s my confession. Anyone else have something that they feel they should be doing but can’t or am I the only flunkie out there?

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About Orly

After years in the corporate world (most of it in the space industry), Orly Konig took a leap into the creative world of fiction. She is the founding president of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, an active member of the Tall Poppy Writers, and a quarterly contributor to the Writers in the Storm and Thinking Through Our Fingers blogs.

Her debut women’s fiction, The Distance Home, released from Forge, May 2017. Carousel Beach will release May 8, 2018. Find her online at www.orlykonig.com.

Colleen M. Story

As part of one of my recent freelance projects, I read an interesting survey about how women and men differ when it comes to setting and achieving goals.

You can read the full report at Leadership IQ. For this post, I’m zeroing in on one result that sort of surprised me. The survey showed that in general, while women tend to feel more emotional attachment to their goals than men do (a good thing when it comes to personal motivation), women are not as good at envisioning their goals.

Of course there are always exceptions, but the survey found that more men than women imagined themselves achieving their goals—essentially playing movies in their minds—and created drawings, charts, and other visual representations to help them picture how they were going to get there.

That’s a good thing, because visualization increases the likelihood of success. In fact, when you look at the studies, you could say that visualization is the key to achieving your writing goals in 2018.

Yet many of us—no matter our gender—don’t feel very comfortable with visualization. Just how do you do it, and what are you supposed to focus on? Turns out there is a “right way” to use the power of visualization.

The Brain Responds to Imaginary Situations Like Real Life

According to the survey mentioned above, those who can very vividly describe or picture their goals are between 1.2 and 1.4 times more likely to accomplish them than those who struggle to visualize.

Whether you use visualization techniques or not, you already know how powerful they can be, because you’re a reader. You know that when you’re in the middle of a good book, you can actually feel like you’re going through the motions the characters are going through. You’ve experienced reading or even writing a stressful chapter, and feeling worn out afterward.

Studies have found that when people read, their brains respond in ways similar to how they would in real life. In 2006, for example, researchers found that when participants read the words “perfume” and “coffee,” the part of their brains linked to smell lit up, as if they were really sensing perfume and coffee.

A few years later, researchers found that phrases like “velvet voice” and “leathery hands” roused the sensory cortex in the brain, while “pleasing voice” and “strong hands” did not. (A good note for creating strong descriptions, as well!)

Words describing action also affect us physically. A study out of France found that when participants read about a character grasping an object or kicking a ball, brain scans revealed activity in the motor cortex—the same area that coordinates body movement.

Even more fascinating—the area stimulated was concentrated in the area responsible for arm or leg movement, respectively.

The brain, apparently, responds to imaginary characters and situations similarly to how it responds to real ones. That’s why visualization works.

Visualization Can Improve Performance

A number of experiments have shown that people can use the power of visualization to help themselves succeed. In one oft-referred to study, Australian psychologist Alan Richardson divided basketball players into three groups:

1. The first group practiced free throws every day for 20 days.
2. The second group made free throws on the first day and the 20^th.
3. The third group also made free throws on the first day and the 20^th day, but in between, they spent 20 minutes every day visualizing free throws. If they missed, they “practiced” getting the next shot right, focusing on their movements and follow-through.

No surprise that the group that practiced every day improved by 24 percent. The second group that threw only twice didn’t improve at all. The third group, however, who hadn’t practiced any more than the second—but who had visualized their practice—improved by 23 percent, almost as much as the first group.

Other studies have found similar results. In one, volunteers were asked to imagine flexing their biceps as hard as possible. After a few weeks of visualizing it, the subjects actually showed a 13.5 percent increase in strength!

It’s not just athletes that use this power, though. Public speakers, visionary leaders, musicians, and painters use it as well. You can too, but you do need to be careful to approach it the right way.

5 Tips to Harness the Positive Power of Visualization

The key is to visualize the process as well as the end goal, and to add as many details as you can. Richardson wrote in his study that to truly experience the power of visualization, the visualizer must feel and see what she is doing—feel the ball in your hand, hear it bounce, smell the dirt and sweat in the gym, hear the fans shouting, and see the ball go through the hoop.

Visualizing only the end goal—you holding your published book in your hands, for instance—can actually work against you. Some studies have found that when people imagined “fantasies of success,” they actually experienced a drain in energy that made it less likely they would achieve their goals.

In other words, if all you picture is your finished book all polished and perfect, you may actually lose the energy you need to make that dream come true. The brain is tricked into believing you’ve already achieved that goal, so you can relax now—not the result you want.

Instead, to truly harness the power of visualization, try these five tips:

1. Imagine the process. Seeing everything finished and done may sap your energy. Instead, picture the journey you’re going to take. Visualize it like you might visualize a European vacation. If you were going to travel, you’d see yourself landing in London, enjoying the sites there, then taking the plane to France, and to Germany, and to Switzerland, picturing the different sites and sounds in each location. In a similar way, you can visualize each step you’ll need to take to market your books this year, say, or create a new collection of your short stories. Break it down into each “leg” of the journey and imagine each one as vividly as you can.
2. Add in as many details as possible. Let’s say you’re goal is to finish your book and find a publisher for it. Conjure up all the details of your daily writing practice, as well as your weekly research on publishers, your query letters, your synopsis creation, your process of submitting to one publisher and then the next. See yourself doing each one of these tasks. Imagine how you will do it, which computer you will use, where you will be sitting (or standing), what time of day or night you will do it, etc. This will empower your brain to take action when you’re ready.
3. Practice visualization for 5-10 minutes every day. See your visualization as a type of meditation. Schedule 5-10 minutes to work on it each day. During that time, sit somewhere comfortable, close your eyes, and see yourself taking each of the steps you’ll need to take. This can be particularly effective if you visualize yourself achieving the step you need to take that day, and then visualize the next step after that.
4. Make a visual representation of the process. Map out the process in a chart, list, table, or some other visual representation. Create a collage, Excel document, process sheet, or sketch out the journey in a sort of board-game fashion. Give yourself as many actual visual tools representing your process as possible.
5. Always see yourself succeeding. Don’t be surprised if while you’re visualizing, you see yourself failing. It’s common, but it can be disturbing, and you definitely don’t want to rehearse failing, even in your imagination. If this happens to you, ask yourself what you can do to boost your confidence. Usually increasing your practice does the trick. In other words, take more action toward your goal. Work with an editor. Submit to more contests. Get more feedback. Take a class. The more steps you take and the more you succeed, the more confident you’ll feel. Meanwhile, continue your visualization. Practice seeing the process and your eventual success and gradually, you get better at it.

Do you use visualization as part of your goal-setting process?

(From now until the February 2018, click here to get your free “Start the Year Off Right” bundle, including your free guide, “How to Meaningful and Motivating Writing Goals,” the “Goals for Productive Writers Worksheet,” and two free chapters of Overwhelmed Writer Rescue.)

ABOUT COLLEEN

Colleen M. Story is the author of Overwhelmed Writer Rescue: Boost Productivity, Improve Time Management, and Replenish the Creator Within—a motivational read full of practical, personalized solutions to help writers escape the tyranny of the to-do list and nurture the genius within. Discover your unique time personality and personal motivational style, and learn how to keep self-doubt, perfectionism, and workaholism from stealing your writing time. Available at all common book retailers.

Colleen is also a novelist and has worked in the creative writing industry for over twenty years. She is the founder of Writing and Wellness. For more information, please see her author website, or follow her on Twitter (@colleen_m_story).

Sources

Annie Murphy Paul, “Your Brain on Fiction,” New York Times, March 17, 2012.

Keith Randolph, “Sports Visualizations,” Llewellyn Encyclopedia, May 15, 2002.

Rick Maese, “For Olympians, seeing (in their minds) is believing (it can happen),” The Washington Post, July 28, 2016.

David DeSalvo, “Visualize Success if You Want to Fail,” Forbes, July 8, 2011.

Heather Barry Kappes and Gabriel Oettingen, “Positive fantasies about idealized futures sap energy,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, July 2011; 47(4):719-729.