Writers in the Storm

Colleen Story

A girl goes into a bar. A guy takes a seat in the chair beside her. Using his most charming voice, he says, “Hey, girl, what’s your time personality?”

It could happen. In fact, the guy would likely find out more with that question than with the typical, “What’s your sign?” 

In fact, some psychologists believe our time personalities may be just as important as other major personality traits like conscientiousness and openness when it comes to our ability to achieve success and happiness.

As a writer, you need to know your time personality if you want to boost productivity and manage all your writing projects without going crazy. There are many facets to this characteristic, and I talk about them all in my new book, Overwhelmed Writer Rescue, but you can get started by figuring out one thing: How do you prefer to perceive time?

How Do You Prefer to Perceive Time?

Stanford University professor Philip Zimbardo is credited with discovering “time perception.” After years of research, he found that our attitude toward time is a personality trait, much like our level of optimism vs. pessimism, or whether we’re introverted or extroverted.

Curious about your time perception personality? You can take Zimbardo’s test here. It consists of 61 easy questions. When you’ve finished them all, you’ll get results showing you which of the personalities you tend to gravitate toward most often.

Meanwhile, here’s a brief summary of the three major types. There are subtypes, too, but I’ve left those out for simplicity. By reviewing these, you can begin to get an idea of the differences, and a sense of which one may best describe you.

Past Oriented

Overall, you prefer to focus on the past rather than the present or the future. You base your decisions on what you’ve experienced before, as it’s difficult for you to imagine things being different. “New” things don’t impress you just because they’re new. You probably enjoy honoring certain family traditions, but find it difficult to allow new people (strangers) into your inner circles. 

You’re nostalgic by nature, and like activities that connect you to your past, but this can make you hesitate to step out of your comfort zone. You may also remember traumatic experiences you had as a child, and nurse old wounds that you haven’t been able to heal.

Present Oriented

Overall, you tend to focus on the now, particularly on what your senses are telling you. You seek out physical and social pleasures, and focus on making yourself feel good today rather than tomorrow. It’s difficult for you to grasp abstract concepts about the future, as they just don’t seem real to you.

Real is what you can see, touch, and smell right now, which means you may be easily distracted and give in to temptations more than you should. You do not believe in the “no pain no gain” idea, as you prefer to just avoid pain, period.

Future Oriented

You are all about creating a better future for yourself and those you care about. You tend to base your decisions on where you want to be 5-10 years from now, rather than on where you were in the past. You find it easy to imagine the future, and look forward to it as being a better world for you than the present is.

Because you can imagine the future so easily, you are good at delaying gratification, and are likely to make good choices in terms of health and finances that will set you up for long-term positive consequences. On the downside, you may find it hard to enjoy the present moment.

How Your Time Perception Personality Affects Your Writing Career

Once you have an idea which of the three types fits you best, you can use that information to help push your writing career forward. The main idea is to capitalize on your strengths, and then work on those areas that tend to be weaknesses for you.

Past Oriented

The good news is that you are a stable person overall. You have solid relationships with your family and friends, and that can help you weather the ups and downs of the writing life.

You may have difficulty, though, imagining a future that’s different from what your past has been. Even if you dream of publishing a book or building an editing business, your dream rests in some distant time, so it may seem out of reach. You may also find it difficult to try things you haven’t experienced before, which could hold you back from experiences that would boost your career.

Action Step: What you need is to help yourself see the future more clearly. Create a visual collage of where you will be five years from now. Add your own personal touches to images, such as putting your book title on an image of a book, or your name and class title on a schedule of writing workshops.

Next, plan to do something new this year related to your writing. Maybe you’ll submit to some new publications, attend a new conference, join a public speaking group, or take some marketing classes. Realize that your tendency to hesitate when thinking about new experiences may be holding you back. Schedule the activity on your calendar, and when you feel that resistance, push forward and do it anyway.

Present Oriented

The good news is that you enjoy today for today. You like writing for writing’s sake, and are likely to have lots of work that you will never publish, and that’s just fine with you.

Where you may struggle is in taking that next step in your career. You may want to earn more money from your writing, for example, but procrastinate when it comes to learning how to do that. Or you may find it difficult to finish a novel when it gets tough in the middle, because it’s hard for you to see past your immediate experience.

Action Step: First, make “finishing projects” just as high a priority as having fun with your writing. Particularly if you have lots of unfinished stories in the drawer, redirect your efforts to finalizing and submitting more of your work.

Next, focus on creating a step-by-step plan for your writing career. If you want to be earning money from your stories in five years, get out a calendar and decide where you need to be by the end of each year to make that happen. Then break it down further so you can set monthly deadlines for yourself. Deadlines can help you bypass your tendency to put things off. If you can focus on the “fun” facets of each task, that will help, too.

Most importantly, create frequent rewards. Present people like feeling good now, so reward yourself for small tasks completed to stoke your own motivation.

Future Oriented

The good news is that you are tailor made for the long haul of the writing business. You’re focused on the future, and have no problem toiling away for years working toward your goals.

Your problem is that you tend to work too hard and worry too much, which can create an unhealthy sort of neuroticism and tunnel vision. Your constant focus on the future can also rob you of the joy of writing today, so much so that you can exhaust yourself to the point of burnout.

Action Step: Take time off much more frequently than you think you should. Plan an annual long vacation, at least three shorter (four-day) vacations, and weekly days when you enjoy leisure-time activities that restore you.

Watch for signs of burnout, such as fatigue and insomnia, weight loss or gain, skin breakouts, headaches, muscle aches and pains, and a growing apathy toward your work. Remind yourself that it’s not healthy in the long run to ignore your close relationships, or to make life all work and no play. Find ways to tap into your inner child to keep your creativity alive.

Which time personality best fits you? What is your biggest time challenge?

Sources

Jane Collingwood, “What’s Your Time Perspective?” Psych Central, May 17, 2016, https://psychcentral.com/lib/whats-your-time-perspective/.

Zimbardo P. and Boyd J. Putting Time in Perspective: A Valid, Reliable Individual-Difference Metric. The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 77, 1999, pp. 1271-88.

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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. (Get your free chapter here!)

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).

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

No matter what form it takes, conflict is at the core of every story. It’s part of what drives the plot, and it’s what makes readers eager to read on to see if the protagonist succeeds. Characters face problem after problem, and with each trouble found, they’re forced to make tough decisions about what to do next. It’s this constant flow of dealing with problems that keeps the story moving.

But conflict also exists in the world around the characters which has nothing to do with them personally—it’s just the inherent conflict of the world. The setting can be rife with problems that prevent your protagonist from solving her problems and even add to her internal conflicts.

These environmental conflicts are the issues and situations that make it harder for the protagonist to face the challenges of the novel. Getting food when you live in a big city is different from getting food if you’re lost in the woods with no gear or survival training. Dealing with a backstabbing co-worker during a team-building ride in a hot air balloon is more problematic when you’re terrified of heights.

Let's say you have a scene where you want your protagonist to feel uncomfortable because she's confronting a coworker who just stabbed her in the back at work over a promotion. She’s uncertain about her actions, because it could backfire on her and create more trouble than losing a promotion.

Where would you set it?

The most obvious choice is at work, since that's where she interacts with this person. She'd likely do it somewhere familiar to her, because she'll want a position of strength for this confrontation. But that means she'll be in familiar and safe territory, which will probably keep her calm and lessen her apprehension of this meeting. Being calm and feeling safe will not add conflict to this scene, so the setting is doing nothing to help it.

Instead, let's move this meeting to a location that puts the protagonist at a disadvantage, so the stakes go up and the tensions are raised. Instead of work, let's choose a place that makes her uncomfortable and let the setting reflect the emotions we want both the character and the reader to feel.

For example, if she wants to confront the coworker in private, let’s force her to confront her coworker in a public place where anyone might overhear. What she’s willing to say to someone in private changes when she has to say it in a room full of people. If she's a recovering alcoholic, we'll send her into a bar where drinks are flowing heavily. If she dislikes kids, we'll make her attend a birthday party for twenty ten-year-olds. Whatever triggers her discomfort is a potential setting, because it will add another layer of difficulty to her objective.

If we use the environment to push the emotions of the protagonist to new heights, we'll make her goals harder to accomplish, which adds conflict and raises tensions, since it's far more likely something will go wrong.

Let’s look at some ways you might use your setting to add conflict to a scene.

1. Choose a location that puts the protagonist at a disadvantage.

Look for places that will force the protagonist into a position of weakness. It might be on the enemy’s turf or an unfamiliar location, as long as the setting strips away whatever inherent advantage the protagonist might have had.

2. Choose a location that has inherent conflict of its own.

If there’s conflict all around, that naturally spills over onto the protagonist and her current problem. A war-torn land, office politics, political strife, even the teenage cliques and social hierarchy of high school can provide additional challenges to solving a problem.

3. Let the environment add another layer of difficulty to the task.

Weather can be an interesting factor here, as overcoming a challenge is usually much harder when the weather is bad. Unfamiliar terrain is also a problem that could hinder achieving a goal, such as being in a new city, or being forced to go out onto a lake when you’re not sure how to sail—or swim.

4. Let the setting mirror or echo the emotional state of the character.

Tone and mood can be useful tools here, with stormy weather or creepy locations adding atmosphere, but the setting can also contain elements that resonate with the protagonist’s current conflict. A reconciliation dinner with a loved one who betrayed you is going to be much harder if there’s a couple at the next table who is clearly having an affair.

5. Use an environment that presses one of the protagonist’s buttons.

If there’s something that sets off your protagonist, why not have elements of that during a difficult time? If your amateur sleuth has strong views on sexism, put the witness she needs to question behind the bar during a wet t-shirt contest. Give her reasons to trigger a side of herself that will cloud her judgment or color her opinions.

6. Use a setting that shows others having a similar conflict.

Being stranded by a delayed flight at the airport is a pain, but being one of thirty passengers all upset over the delay exacerbates the problem. Tensions rise and everything becomes more difficult. People who would have normally been agreeable don’t want to compromise. Sometimes, problems shared do not ease the burden at all.

Environmental conflicts are often smaller elements of the story, but they can add a rich and textured aspect to that story. Take advantage of what your environment can do to layer in emotions, create conflict, and make a character really work to resolve her challenges.

Because sometimes the world really is out to get you, and just getting through the day is a huge challenge.

What ways have you used setting to create conflict in your stories? Do you have examples of how other authors have used setting to amp up the conflict?

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Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the fantasy trilogy, The Healing Wars, and multiple books on writing, including Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It), Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure and Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft. She's also the founder of the writing site, Fiction University. For more advice and helpful writing tips, visit her at www.fiction-university.com or @Janice_Hardy.

 

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Looking for more tips on creating conflict? Check out my latest book Understanding Conflict (And What It Really Means), an in-depth guide to how to use conflict in your fiction.

Janice Hardy takes you deep inside one of the most important aspects of storytelling--conflict. She'll help you understand what conflict really is, discuss the various aspects of conflict, and reveal why common advice on creating conflict doesn't always work.

With in-depth analysis and easy-to-understand examples, Understanding Conflict (And What It Really Means) looks at how to develop and create conflict in your novel. It also explores the things that affect conflict (such as tension), and the misconceptions that confuse and frustrate so many writers.

Understanding Conflict (And What It Really Means) is more than just advice on what to do and what not to do—it’s a down and dirty road map to how conflict works, designed to help you create the right conflict for whatever genre you're writing. By the end of this book, you’ll have a solid understanding of what conflict means and the ability to use it to craft strong and compelling fiction.

Ella Joy Olsen

Answers for Those Awkward Conversations with Readers

My whole life I’ve had a star-struck, rock-star admiration for authors. Before I even imagined writing a book I’d pour over back flaps, studying author bios and photos, wondering how much of the novel was inspired by real events.

While I drafted what would become my debut: Root, Petal, Thorn, I dreamed readers would savor the subtle connections and deeper themes in my novel, like I’d done as a reader over the years. They’d ask insightful questions and I’d provide profound answers. They’d know me via my story and I’d know they loved it.

I was in for a Reality Check.

Yes, I’ve had fantastic conversations with readers about my work, but in truth many conversations (especially those which occur in passing) are far from the imagined ideal. Below is a list of the most Frequently Asked Questions, my canned Answers, and What I’m Really Thinking:

Q: How is your book doing? How many copies have you sold?

A: It’s hard to track all of the sales but I think it’s doing well. Enough. *modest shrug*

Really Thinking: I have no solid idea. Turns out it’s very difficult to determine how many copies are sold until that twice-a-year statement arrives. And even then the royalty statements are difficult to read. In this age of constant connection I believe this royalty system should be a little more precise and if not more precise, more transparent, and if not more transparent, at least more timely.

Q: Have you made a lot of money?

A: Not enough to pay the mortgage. Turns out most published authors make less than $10,000 a year. *smile as they gasp in horror*

RT: After I finished Root, Petal, Thorn (but before I got an agent) I must have lived in a bubble. I guess I didn’t read the proper blogs about a typical advance. I dreamed of taking all of my beta readers (and their families) on a far-flung vacation to thank them for their help (I was thinking a Greek Island). About this time I went to a small, local conference where one giddy woman had just sold her book to an actual publisher. I was in a bathroom stall as she stood at the sink washing her hands, discussing her advance loudly over the rushing water. I stopped mid-stream to hear her say, “Seven Thousand Dollars.” I couldn’t finish.

I found that girl later at the conference to confirm. Face pulsing from embarrassment and fingers crossed behind my back that I’d misheard, I stuttered, “If you don’t mind me asking, I overheard you say you received an advance of $70,000. Is that typical?”

She laughed. She actually spit a little of her Diet Pepsi into her hand. “Drop a zero.”

Huge reality check (sadly not a huge advance check…)

Q: I have this great idea. You could write a book about it and we could share the money. You see, there’s this guy and he…

A: *listen quietly for five minutes, then break in* That is a great concept! But it’s really your story to tell.

RT: If you only knew how many fantastic ideas I have. Coming up with story nuggets is the very best part of writing a book because they’re all so perfect at conception. The real work is taking that shimmer of an idea and turning it into 90,000 words.

Q: I found several mistakes in your novel. Things like the true syndication date for The Brady Bunch. I’ve made you a comprehensive list on my Goodreads review.

A: Thank you. I’ll take a look. A team of people read the book before publication but we’re all human.

RT: Are you kidding me? I better also see five stars!

Q: I’ve written six hundred pages about my great-great-great grandfather’s journey from Norway to the United States. I’m wondering if you’d give it a read and provide a little feedback?

A: Actually, you would be better served finding a group of other writers who are at the same place in their writing process. I currently have a group of beta readers who I work with.

RT: No, oh lord, no!

Q: My grandma loved your book but I didn’t read it.

A: Grandmas tend to love my book but so do a bunch of young people. You should read it.

RT: Was she being rude? I think that was a subtle dig. She thinks my book is boring.

Q: The cover isn’t something I’d pick up. Did you choose it?

A: I didn’t. The publisher has the last say about cover art.

RT: The cover for Root, Petal, Thorn wasn’t exactly what I imagined when I wrote the book, but it grew on me over time. I’m still working to embrace the cover image for Where the Sweet Bird Sings. I wish I had more input on my cover art but sometimes we authors don’t always get what we want.

Q: In your second book, where does the title Where the Sweet Bird Sings come from?

A: The story is about secrets hidden in the branches of a family tree. That’s where the sweet bird sings, you see, in a family tree. It’s a search for identity through ancestral and genetic records. It’s about accepting and loving a family even after betrayal, even after tragedy. I hope you read it!

RT: See above. I do hope you read it!

What are the craziest questions/observations you’ve received from your readers? What is a question you’d like to ask your favorite author?

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Ella Joy Olsen was born, raised and currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, a charming town tucked at the base of the massive Rocky Mountains. Most at home in the world of the written word, Ella spent nearly a decade on the Board of Directors for the Salt Lake City Public Library System (and four decades browsing the stacks). She is the mom of three kids ranging from just-barely-teen to just-flown-the-nest-teen, the mama of two dogs, and the wife of one patient husband.

Though she’s crazy about words Ella is also practical so she graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Finance. After years analyzing facts and figures Ella gave up her corner cubicle and started writing fiction. Fun fact: she now teaches a historical fiction course at her alma mater. She has also lived in Seattle, Washington & Savannah, Georgia.

ROOT, PETAL,THORN (September 2016) was her debut and coming in September 2017 – WHERE THE SWEET BIRD SINGS.

Connect with her on her website http://www.ellajoyolsen.com/

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Or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ellajoyolsen/

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