Writers in the Storm

Jamie Raintree

The publication of my debut novel, Perfectly Undone (shameless plug), is only a couple of months away now and because of that, I've been getting asked often if I'm stressed out about it. There's certainly a lot to prepare for, with marketing strategies, guest blogs, book signings, etc. And maybe more importantly, there's the anticipation of how the book will be received. There's simply no preparing for that. No checklist to mark off there.

The truth is, though, I'm not actually stressing out about it. Maybe I'm naive, never having done this before, but over the last year, as the date has grown closer and the "published author" expectations have become a part of my daily life, I've made it a priority to find ways to keep stress from overcoming me. With everything there is to do in the pursuit of building a successful writing career, it can be too easy to get caught up in taskmastering and forget to enjoy the ride. It can be too easy to forget to enjoy life.

If you've followed my journey to publication at all, you know it has been a long, sometimes tough, road for me. It's been 3 1/2 years since I signed with my agent, and 5 1/2 years of full-time writing, blogging, and platform building before that. This gig is a heck of a lot of work without any guarantee of ever succeeding and I sure would hate to miss the moment I've been doing all this work for. What a disappointment it would be if I forgot to honor myself and everything I've done to get here at the time it matters most.

It's not easy to let go of the idea of being stressed. We forget that stress is a choice--it seems like an inherent part of releasing a book, or anything else we want to accomplish. I fall into moments of panic when I get too caught up in my head, but then I remind myself of the kind of life I want to live--published author or not--and words like fulfilled, healthy, joyful, and adventurous are at the top of my list. It's hard to feel that kind of success if I allow stress to take the wheel. But the mindset we carry with us in any situation is absolutely our choice.

As the quote by Charles R. Swindon says, "Life is 10% of what happens to me, and 90% of how I react to it."

Here are some things I'm doing to protect my sanity as life gets busier, that you might try if stress has become your main operator:

1) I have come to accept and love that I have my own approach.

There are a million lists out there of what writers "should" be doing to prepare for a launch, or build their platform, or write their book, or raise their darn children. And I've stopped reading all of them. In fact, just like with raising children, we all know in our hearts what is best for our own unique approach, if we listen to it. If we get all the noise out of our heads.

2) I am being diligent about questioning my own thoughts and expectations.

Where do they come from? Is this really my own voice speaking or is it my parents, my past experiences, or my community? I have found, through much soul searching and honest conversations with my friends, my agent, and my publisher, that much of the seemingly outside expectations we carry around are actually our own expectations. (Hint: Most of them aren't as expected as we believe, if at all.)

In our desire to be perfect, we feel like we have to do all the things we've been taught are necessary to be accepted by our peers. I know that's some heavy stuff that you might not be prepared to dig into, but for now, ask questions--of yourself and of the people you're working with. What are the true expectations, and what are you willing to release in order to enjoy the process, in each moment and for many years to come?

3) I am honoring my process.

Over the years, I have been an eager examiner of what works and what does not work for me when it comes to writing and my business. For instance, I know I don't do well when I'm up against a deadline, and release day is pretty much the most looming and immovable deadline of all. To account for that, I requested the promo list from my publicist months ahead of time so I could work through it in my own way, in my own time. No matter where you are in your career, or what you might be working on, don't be afraid to ask for what you need in order to create the time and space to honor your own process. Boundaries, with other people and with yourself, are the essence of a stress-free life.

I've recently fallen in love with the quote by Fritz Perls that says, "Fear is excitement without the breath." Fear and excitement originate in the same place in our bodies (the adrenal glands, if you're curious)--we choose which one we experience by whether or not we take the time to breathe. So we choose whether or not we experience the joy of our accomplishments by how high we prioritize or own happiness.

Stress has become such an accepted part of everyday life that the struggle to overcome it is a long, arduous road, but I do believe it's a goal we can accomplish with patience, forgiveness, and fierce determination. And I feel a lot closer to achieving it on the days I let my heart guide me.

Jamie is on a wonderful vacation, but we can still talk about how you deal with every day—and writer—stress.

ABOUT JAMIE

Jamie Raintree is an author and a writing business teacher. She is also a mother of two girls, a wife, a businesswoman, a nature-lover, and a wannabe yogi. Her debut novel, PERFECTLY UNDONE, will be released on October 3, 2017 by Graydon House. Subscribe to her newsletter for more writing tips, workshops, and book news. To find out more, visit her website.

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acronym: a word, such as NATO, radar, or laser, formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term; also, an abbreviation, such as FBI, formed from initial letters.

Acronyms are a type of abbreviation. Chances are, your characters see, understand and use acronyms. And that can be very useful to you, the writer. 

How can you use an acronym?

1. Give a context to the world your characters inhabit: You'll use acronyms that everyone will recognize, like AMEX, TSA, IRS. You don't have to spell out the meanings of common acronyms; in fact, omitting the cumbersome definitions is exactly why you use this type of acronym.
2. Succinctly enhance setting: If you read AI in a blurb, you're probably going to be reading a science fiction or contemporary/near future work involving computers and artificial intelligence. Think HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey or Bladerunner. I write science fiction military adventure romance (how's that for a sub-genre?) so SOL, SNAFU, and FUBAR and other acronyms that originated in the military let you know you've entered my world.
3. To convey mood: If you're an actor, when the cast hears the play is SRO, the mood backstage is energized, happy, expectant. Standing Room Only means your job is guaranteed past tonight. It means big names in the business will take notice, and maybe that break you've been hoping for will materialize after the next performance.
4. Give readers "in the know" an "Easter egg": If you're in a hospital and you overhear a nurse say that your roommate is going to get a 3H, you can be glad you're not in line for that procedure. 3H is a medical slang acronym for an enema that is "high, hot, and a Hell of a lot" that is given to troublesome patients. You don't need to define all your acronyms, but you can show their meanings through context. When you don't define an acronym that's been used in dialogue, it probably won't impact your story, but a reader who knows what those letters mean can smile, knowing they've found that secret surprise you left for them.
5. Reveal unknown information:  You can make up your own acronyms and reveal the definition when it will make the most impact. In my debut YA book, PRISM, the name of the planet matches the landscape of a world where government and military leaders were exiled to twenty-five years ago. Instead of plants, crystals and crystalline forms grow. The reader sees the sunlight streaming through prisms of different shapes and colors. It's a harsh, but beautiful, planet. Late in the book, the hero sees a top secret folder stamped P.R.I.S.M. The cover page reads Prisoner Relocation Internment Security Management. This information changes the mindset of the hero—and, hopefully, the reader. Because this prison world was never meant as a place for a thousand people to survive and thrive. 

6. 

   Avoid overused acronyms. ROTFL was fun when it first became widely used. Now, it's not so fresh, which means description, either visceral or using the senses will have much more of an impact.
7. Add humor: What if my character uses acronyms but can't spell? What if she changes the meaning of the acronym with one letter. Say she types ROTFS for rolling on the floor screaming. She thinks its hilarious, but no one knows what she means. If I wrote anything funny, I could see this used as a running gag to reveal her character. Imagine she texts, "HM, I had my first VT at lunch today." HM: holey moley, VT: vampire taco  Warning--PSA (Personal Story Ahead): I guess it's been a long time since I've been out to eat, because today, I saw a "vampire taco" on a menu. I asked what it was and the server described it. It sounded innocuous, and who doesn't want to brag they've eaten a vampire taco? So I ordered it. Let's just say the server needs to talk to the cook. But I have eaten a vampire taco.

Have you used acronyms in your writing? How might you add them to your WIP?

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ABOUT FAE:

Fae Rowen discovered the romance genre after years as a science fiction freak. Writing futuristics and medieval paranormals, she jokes  that she can live anywhere but the present. As a mathematician, she knows life’s a lot more fun when you get to define your world and its rules.

Punished, oh-no, that’s published as a co-author of a math textbook, she yearns to hear personal stories about finding love from those who read her books, rather than the horrors of calculus lessons gone wrong.  She is grateful for good friends who remind her to do the practical things in life like grocery shop, show up at the airport for a flight and pay bills.

A “hard” scientist who avoided writing classes like the plague, she now shares her brain with characters who demand that their stories be told.  Amazing, gifted critique partners keep her on the straight and narrow. Feedback from readers keeps her fingers on the keyboard.

P.R.I.S.M., a young adult science fiction story of survival, betrayal, deceit, lies, and love, available for pre-order October 2, 2017.

When she’s not hanging out at Writers in the Storm, you can visit Fae at http://faerowen.com  or www.facebook.com/fae.rowen

Christa Allan

Once Upon a Time, I Had a Writing Groove…then the music changed. Finding your writing groove after life transitions
A post made possible by the fact that my husband doesn’t read anything I write…except checks.

Four years ago, I retired after teaching high school English for twenty-five years and grooved myself right into being a full-time writer.

I basked in my writerly world for six months until my husband announced he was starting his own business, and he needed—guess who—to work for him. The groove became the rut my writing fell into and out of my reach. But he assured me I’d be able to take my laptop to work and write…between answering the phone, filing, and clients that barked, growled, pooped and peed. Did writing happen? Well, I took notes because how can you not when a man arrives with his snake in a cardboard box and tells you it has a cold, and he’s sure of it because the snake’s been sneezing. My journal/morning pages became my refuge, and I comforted myself with the knowledge that I was at least still capable of forming coherent sentences.

Then, six months later, after increasing my meds (let’s all agree to no judgment here) and his hiring more employees, I re-retired to being a writerly person again. Rescued the stories I’d abandoned, salvaged what I could, and filled the rut with enough hope to get my groove back. Until…we (he) decided that converting part of our home into a vacation rental would be a brilliant idea. My new job description included bedmaking, washing, cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, and scheduling. And once again, did writing happen? Well, I took notes because how can you not when a neighbor calls to tell you that the bachelorettes left a penis-shaped piñata in your front yard?

I managed to cobble together enough chapters to publish my first indie…a Christmas novella. Maybe because of the constant craziness of my life at the time, maybe because I was simply grateful to have an idea, regardless of how wacky it was, I allowed myself to have fun with a cast of characters who grew out of these first lines that baked in my brain: “It took Beulah Grace three tries, but she finally killed my mother. The first time was in June when she accused her, her being my mother Nancy Jane Pressfield, of diverting $29.54 from the Magnolia Springs Garden Club into her personal account. For fertilizer.”

In the meantime, my husband had neck and back surgery following an accident (more on this later). 

And because the husband and I can take crazy to a whole new level…we did. We converted the entire home to a vacation rental.  Which meant we had to move. Which meant I had to pack. Which meant my writing groove transformed into a rut. Again.

Months later, my groove returned when the writing gods smiled upon me, and I was offered a contract. This provided me legitimate grounds for escaping post-moving responsibilities because my mantra became, “I have a deadline. I have to keep writing.”

A year later, we sold the vacation-rental house, sold the house we moved into and, after a lifetime in NOLA, we moved to Houston. I wanted to be closer to my kids, my husband retired because he could no longer work due to his injuries, and my book was finished. Of course, this meant more packing followed by more unpacking.

Writing? Nada. Nothing. Zilch. Zero.

Now, for months, I’ve been coping with RHS (Retired Husband Syndrome), which is only slightly related to RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome). Instead of having irresistible urges to move your legs, RHS is characterized by irresistible urges to move your husband. To another planet. At least temporarily.  Because how the hell else am I going to write when…

• the television in the room next to my office is belching high speed car chases and crashes, and universes exploding, and weapons firing at volumes that make the floors tremble
• when, if my fingers aren’t glued to the keyboard, I mustn’t be writing, so questions like: “Do you know where ___is? Can you print this for me? I’m going to Home Depot. Don’t you want to come with me? How about we leave in two days to drive to Omaha for the College World Series? We’ll only be gone ten days.”
• a text summons me upstairs, and I bolt to the second floor thinking something is wrong, only to find said texter on the ladder, pointing to the floor, and asking if I mind handing the (insert name of tool here) to him so he doesn’t have to get down off the ladder

One of my writer friends, who also deals with RHS, says she shuts her office door, but her husband still walks in. She said she never knew he could talk so much.

My PSA: In all fairness, my husband didn’t want to retire, and the man who could play two rounds of golf a day is barely able to play six holes. I mean, if I could find a play group for retired men, I’d be delighted. He probably would be as well.

So, now what? How do I find my groove before it becomes a rut again or, worse, a trench?  To segue from Orly Konig-Lopez’s post on Juy 21, how do we move from “Working World” to “Retired World”?

My first thought was maybe I should consider a part-time job.

But, seriously, it was recognizing that we’re in a season of our lives where the bucket that holds the list of all the things we want to accomplish is much closer to our feet than we’d like it to be. So, how much time away from the man who made my own retirement do-able, who made my dream of living closer to my kids possible, who’s blessed my life beyond measure, am I willing to sacrifice in the name of writing?

And I had a come-to-Jesus meeting with myself about my own bucket list as a writer. What book(s) would I regret never having written? How do I, gut-level honesty, spend the time I do have writing, not trying to write? Cory Padgett wrote an article, “6 Ways to Waste Your Time as a Writer,” and I’m guilty of all of them, plus about ten more she didn’t mention.

I could sit myself somewhere else to write, like Starbucks or the library, for a few hours a day. We could schedule days as yours, mine and ours. I could pimp myself and my writer friends (let’s all agree that’s marketing) on social media during one of those butt-thrashing noisy movies he watches. We’d at least be in the same room and that counts for something, right?

So, maybe the music of my writing groove changed. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop dancing.