Writers in the Storm

Colleen M. Story

I recently spent a good six months struggling to make progress on my next novel. The sole reason: I couldn’t hear what my writer’s intuition was telling me.

In an effort to solve the problem, I returned to craft, seeking solutions in plot, characterization, and timelines. All of my efforts produced a whole lot of nothing, so I put the story away for awhile. I took walks. I slept well. I tried other things. Nothing worked.

Finally, as luck would have it, my yearly vacation came up. I spent two weeks hiking, walking the beach, and soaking up the atmosphere of the great Northwest. When the vacation was over, I realized what my writer’s intuition really wanted: for me to get going on the non-fiction book I’d been planning for about a year.

I hesitated. As a full-time freelance writer, I didn’t have enough time to work on both books. I feared leaving my novel behind for awhile would kill the story, but I couldn’t deny my muse’s wish. When I returned from vacation, I dove into the non-fiction.

The clouds parted and the sun came out. I wrote one chapter after another at breakneck speed. Rather than feeling frustrated and discouraged, I started to enjoy writing again. I had my creative mojo back.

Wouldn’t you know it, after about a month of this, I was driving home one night and bam!—a new idea hit me for how I could approach my novel. I tried it out on the first chapter, and then compared the old to the new. The new was much better. It was going to work! As I wrapped up the first draft of the non-fiction book, I returned to the novel newly inspired and motivated.

Lesson learned—the writer’s intuition is always right.

What’s difficult are two things:

1) how to hear what it’s saying, and

2) how to trust it.

10 Things That Mute the Writer’s Intuitive Voice

No matter if you’re a plotter or pantser, you likely use your intuition for at least some things, like developing characters, plots, and settings, and when planning the next steps in your writing career.

In today’s hurried and noisy world, though, it can be hard to hear what your intuition is really telling you. The lines between what the mind thinks, the heart wants, and the intuition knows tend to blur, and it becomes more difficult to distinguish one from the other.

In my case, my mind wanted me to finish the novel by the end of the year, and my heart desperately wanted the story to turn out well. Meanwhile, my intuition was lingering on the periphery whispering about the non-fiction book. Looking back now, I realize I did hear it, but I hushed it by saying, “Not now, I have to finish this first!”

My tunnel vision prevented me from really listening to what my intuition had to say.

There are a number of other things that can drown out that quiet voice you have inside. Here are a few of them:

1. Busyness: To-do lists often loom large in our thoughts, squeezing out that little space where intuition lives. You may have a vague sense that it’s trying to tell you something, but you rush on to the next thing and the next thing, never pausing long enough to listen.
2. Distraction: Television, games, social media, Internet, books, yard work, home improvements, ski club, etc.—these can all be distractions that keep you from tuning into your intuitive wisdom.
3. The heart’s desire: If you really want a certain outcome, that desire can drown out what the intuition is suggesting you should do instead.
4. Strong beliefs: If you believe strongly that things should go a certain way, you may subconsciously ignore your intuition’s suggestions. Say you strongly believe you should get a traditional publisher for your book­. You may then ignore your intuition’s suggestion to self-publish, or vice versa.
5. Other voices: Your intuition may be telling you something that goes against what you’ve been told by experts in the field, or by other people you respect. That can lead you to ignore your intuition, for surely these other folks know better.
6. Logic: You may be used to approaching problems with logical and rational thought rather than by using your intuition. In some cases, your intuitive nudges may seem completely illogical, causing you to ignore them.
7. Fear: You may sense that your intuition is guiding you in a direction that frightens you. It may be urging you to do more signings or to try public speaking, for instance. If these things make you nervous, you may ignore your intuition’s suggestions.
8. Denial: You’ve muted the volume on your intuition because you don’t like what it’s saying. A good example: Your publisher wants another romance book, and you’re sick of writing romance. You try anyway, as you don’t want to lose the contract, but your heart’s not in it. Your intuition tries to tell you it’s time to do something else, but you turn down the volume because you don’t want to hear it.
9. Stress: Stressful life events produce powerful emotions that easily drown out the intuitive voice. You may fall victim to knee-jerk reactions and poor decisions made when you’re not at your best.
10. Inattention: The intuitive voice is quiet and subtle. If you don’t make a point to tune in carefully, it’s very easy to miss what it’s telling you. In fact, it takes practice to become better at hearing your intuitive voice.

The writer’s intuition is critical for guiding us forward in our work and our careers, but it’s extremely easy for that voice to get lost. We must practice listening more carefully, and trusting what we hear.

7 Ways to Better Hear What Your Intuitive Voice is Telling You

I could write a whole other book on this topic, but for now, here are a few suggestions. The main goal is to create space in your head, heart, and environment to allow the intuition room to come forward.

1. Get away: We often think that an afternoon in the park will do the trick, but sometimes, that’s not enough. Americans are not good about taking their vacations, especially for more than a few days. But sometimes the only way you can thoroughly relax and hear what your muse wants you to do is to get away from it all for at least a week.
2. Listen for repeated, random thoughts: The intuition speaks quietly, but regularly. If you don’t listen the first few times, it will keep nudging you. Listen for messages that you continue to hear whispered over and over again. These thoughts often have a “pop up” character to them—they pop up in your head when you’re thinking about something else.
3. Let go: Other thoughts and emotions jam up the communication lines between your intuition and your ears. If you’re attached to one desired outcome, you’ll have a hard time hearing what your intuition is saying. Judgment also stops intuition in its tracks. Try to spend some time during a walk or meditation period where you allow yourself to let go of all expectations, hoped-for outcomes, desires, judgments, etc., and just listen to what your intuition knows. Practice by simply playing the game—for 30 minutes, let go of everything you think your story or your writing career should be, and wait for your intuition to tell you what should come next.
4. Listen to your body: The body is a great source of information unless you’re tired, achy, stressed, bloated, or whatever. Take some time to eat good foods, rest, exercise, and get yourself into better shape. When your body starts feeling better, you may notice intuitive nudges through gut feelings, waves of emotion, tingling on your skin, or a sense of excitement. When these physical symptoms occur, take a moment to stop and ask yourself what they are telling you.
5. Invite your intuition in for a chat: This method can be extremely effective if you like using your imagination. Sit quietly and invite your intuition to come in for a chat. Imagine a room where you sit across from each other. Feel free to ask questions to get the conversation started, then listen to what your intuition says. You can also do this in writing. Write your question down, take a moment to listen, and then imagine yourself transcribing what your intuition says in answer.
6. Drive: A car can be a very effective place to isolate yourself. Take a Sunday afternoon and go for a drive. Keep it quiet inside—no music or audiobooks—and head out into the country. Allow your thoughts to go where they will. After awhile, you may hear your intuition whispering in your ear.
7. Journal: If you use your journal simply to record the events and thoughts of the day, you’re likely to stay in your head without reaching the realm of the intuition. If you free write while allowing your thoughts to go where they will, however, you may stumble upon some unique findings. This type of journaling can be really effective, because it provides a record of your intuitive nudges, which you can refer to at a later date. This can also help you learn to trust your intuition.

Can I Trust My Intuition?

I mentioned that listening to your intuition is not enough—you have to be able to trust it. That’s not always easy. Messages from the intuitive voice are often fuzzy, garbled, or present only in feelings and sensed words rather than in clear, indisputable directions. That makes it harder to trust what we’re hearing or sensing. We have to take a leap of faith.

To get better at it, practice listening, and when you hear a message, take a small step in the direction it leads you. Most of the time, you’ll find that the action feels right. If you’re concerned, take baby steps forward and see what happens. Keep a journal of your results, as it will provide you with evidence when you need it.

It’s not always easy and it’s not always clear. I’ve been at it for years and still stumble, as evidenced by my story at the beginning of this post. Writers need that little voice, though, both for their work and their careers, so it’s certainly worth the time and effort.

As the great poet William Butler Yeats said:

"People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind."

How do you work with your writer's intuitive voice? How have you learned to trust it?

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About Colleen

Colleen M. Story is a novelist, health and wellness writer, and motivational speaker specializing in creativity, productivity, and personal wellness. Her literary novel, Loreena’s Gift, has been recognized with five literary awards, including first place in the Idaho Author Awards, solo medalist in the New Apple Book Awards, and Foreword Indie Awards finalist. She’s authored thousands of articles for a variety of health-centered publications, and ghostwritten books for clients in the health and wellness industry. As a speaker, she enjoys helping writers and other creative artists break through mental barriers and tap into their unique creative powers. She is the founder of Writing and Wellness, a motivational site for writers and other creatives. Find more at her website, or follow her on Twitter.

Susan Spann

As a publishing lawyer, I often hear from authors hoping to terminate old (or unfortunate) publishing contracts and obtain a reversion of rights to their works.

Rights reversion is tricky, especially when the contract doesn’t give the author the right to terminate without the publisher’s agreement or approval. However, it’s important for authors to know their rights (and options) when it comes to requesting contract termination and a reversion of their rights to published works.

Here are the steps an author should follow to try and obtain a reversion of rights from a traditional publishing house.

Step 1: Review the contract.

 Most publishing contracts contain language that controls when and how the contract can be terminated (and rights reverted), and by whom.

If the contract allows you to terminate, follow the instructions in the contract to request reversion. The process normally requires the author to send a written notice to the publisher (often, by certified mail) stating the reasons for termination and reversion. Comply with the contract terms exactly. If you have questions, don’t understand the contract, or can’t tell if reversion is permitted, consult a publishing lawyer (or agent).

Step 2: Ask the publisher to agree to a reversion.

If the contract doesn’t give you the right to request reversion, or if your current situation doesn’t meet the contract’s requirements for termination, you can still ask the publisher to agree to terminate the contract and revert your rights. Legally, the parties to a contract can always terminate the agreement by mutual agreement, even if the contract doesn’t say so.

Some publishers will agree to terminate a contract and revert the rights to the author if sales have dropped so low that keeping the work in print becomes a burden. However, the publisher has no obligation to agree unless the contract requires it, so be sure your termination request is polite and professional—and be prepared for the fact that the publisher may exercise its right to say no.

Step 3: Consult a publishing lawyer.

If the contract doesn’t grant you termination rights and the publisher refuses a polite request for termination, consult an attorney for an evaluation of your individual rights and obligations under the contract.

However, in most cases the author’s right to terminate a contract and obtain a reversion of publishing rights is controlled—and limited—by the contract language.

If the contract doesn’t give you termination rights, and the publisher hasn’t violated the agreement, you may not be able to force termination or obtain a reversion of rights—at least for the moment.

Step 4: In future contracts, insist on unilateral termination rights and out-of-print clauses tied to royalty-bearing sales.

This doesn’t solve the problem with your old agreement, but it helps ensure you don’t end up in this situation again with another work.

Make sure your future publishing agreements contain:

1. A unilateral right for you (the author) to terminate the contract if the work goes “out of print” and
2. Language defining “out of print” status to a specified number of royalty-bearing sales within a stated period. (For example: “the Work will be “out of print” if Publisher fails to sell at least 250 royalty-bearing copies of the Work in any twelve consecutive months during the term of this agreement.”)

Sometimes the publisher may require an additional 6-12 months to increase sales and return the work to “in print” status before the author can terminate. Some version of that is fairly standard.

Giving the author the right to terminate the contract if the work goes out of print (as measured by sales numbers) makes the contract more balanced and stops the publisher from claiming the work is still “in print” as long as the ebook is available for sale.

Unfortunately, once a contract is signed, an author’s rights are generally limited by the contract terms (unless the publisher breaches the contract or agrees to termination).

When it comes to publishing contracts, the best defense is a good offense—so negotiate for fair and effective termination rights before you sign.

Do you have additional questions about a reversion of rights? Other contract issues you'd like explained in a future post?

ABOUT SUSAN

Susan Spann is a California transactional attorney whose practice focuses on publishing law and business, and is also the author of the Hiro Hattori (Shinobi) mysteries, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo. Her fourth novel, THE NINJA’S DAUGHTER, released from Seventh Street Books in August 2016. Susan was the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2015 Writer of the Year, and when not writing or practicing law, she raises seahorses and rare corals in her marine aquarium.

Find her online at http://www.SusanSpann.com, on Twitter (@SusanSpann), and on Facebook (/SusanSpannBooks).

I’m assuming pretty much everyone out there has either done the hokey pokey or been amused by a group of kids doing the hokey pokey at some point in their lives. It’s one of those rights of passage and some of us are unfortunate lucky enough to get to experience it over and over.

You put your right hand in,
You put your right hand out,
You put your right hand in,
And you shake it all about,

You do the hokey pokey
and you turn yourself around
That what it's all about.

The other day I was chatting with a non-writing friend about my upcoming book launch and the various things writers do as part of the “job” of being an author. Mid-discussion it suddenly dawned on me ... I’m doing the writer equivalent of the hokey pokey.

Stay with me, folks …

“You put your right hand in” … designing your website

This is the place many of us start. It’s the safest of the “establishing your platform” checklist items. And one of the easiest (although if you’re left-handed this and the next item would probably be switched for you).

For those just starting, it’s hard to think what to put up there. But here’s a little incentive for ya … years ago, an agent contacted me because she stumbled across my website and loved the description of my WIP. It wasn’t anywhere near ready but a year later when it was, she remembered me and promptly requested the full. Okay, so it’s a long-shot that an agent will find you like this, but hey, it can happen. And even if that scenario doesn’t play out, an agent will be looking at your website when (not if) they’re interested in you and your book!

Then, of course, is the connection with readers. I love getting emails from people who’ve read my book and then checked out my website to learn more about me.

“You put your left hand in” … blogging

For some, this is a no-brainer. For others, it’s a tough slog up a muddy hill in slippery shoes. Blogging is like doing anything with my left hand. Hard. I struggle more with writing blog posts than with writing novels. Every. Single. Time.

I put my blogging hand in, take it out, whine a bit, rewrite a lot, wine whine some more, then under threat from Laura, post it, and that’s what it’s all about. With a bit of luck, my posts are helpful and/or interesting (amusing?) to others, but after all the whining and complaining, I almost always walk away having learned a little something about myself.

I can’t promise that you’ll learn something from doing the hokey pokey (except maybe what body parts don’t move as easily as they used to), but I’m pretty sure you will from blogging.

“You put your right foot in” … joining Twitter

I joined the Twitter party when everyone told me that’s where I had to be. I still stick my foot in the middle every so often, but I always feel off balance and promptly put my foot back down and step away. It’s just not a natural fit for me. I know a lot of folks who can’t live without their Twitter.

The message here is to try. And remember to step back before you fall and embarrass yourself. J

“You put your left foot in” … joining Instagram

It took a while to finally jump in with my Instagram foot. It seemed like something more appropriate for my kid. But now that I’m in, I’m having fun shaking it around, maybe because I feel more balanced and that gives me the confidence to shake harder.

It’s quick but it makes me think. And since I’m a visual person, this appeals to me more than Twitter.

“You put your head in” … setting up Pinterest boards

Pinterest is one of those places that if you’re not careful, you can lose your head and an entire week (or more; definitely more). The more you shake, the more you find and holy cow, how much fun is that?!

I’m still getting my bearings about me but I have boards for each of my books and have started ones for various other interests.  

“You put your butt in” … entering the world of Facebook

Does anyone else feel ridiculously exposed on Facebook? Kinda like when your bum is out there for all to see? Yeah, that’s what Facebook does to me.

But it’s also one of the best places to “meet” other authors and readers and it’s the social media hangout I spend the most time in. My author Facebook page is still fairly new and there’s still quite a bit of cross over between what I post on my personal page, but I’m getting there. Despite being a reluctant troll, I feel more comfortable here than most of the other platform spots which means I do way more shaking over here (luckily for my followers, I’m not posting videos).

“You put your whole self in” … promoting your book

The closer we get to May 2, the more people want to hear about my book. I love talking books and writing, but talking about MY book makes me sweat. But here’s what I’ve learned, to play the publishing hokey pokey successfully, I HAVE to put my whole self in – there’s no skipping this step.

Yesterday, I was at a Barnes & Noble buying something for my son (okay, okay, and for myself) and got into a discussion with their senior bookseller (actually, my son ratted me out as a writer; I’m still a nervous novice). She was delightful and generous and so very excited, and I left the store with a bag of ideas (and books).  

I even have a couple of book events lined up in support of my book launch, which is a huge stretch for this Troll Queen introvert.

We write because we want people to read our words. And for that to happen, we have to promote our books. So here I am, shaking everything I’ve got, turning in circles, talking the talk, and guess what … except for tweaking my back during a shake and turn, I’m actually enjoying it a bit. J

I admit that I still bypass some of the “moves.” Not everything works for me and that’s obvious by the effort I put into it. Instead of falling on my behind, I step out of the circle on those. I know where I’m most effective and those are the ones I shake harder and pirouette like a ballerina.  

Who’s doing the hokey pokey with me? Joining in on only a few of the moves or shaking and turning for all you’re worth?

About Orly

Orly Konig is an escapee from the corporate world, where she spent roughly sixteen (cough) years working in the space industry. Now she spends her days chatting up imaginary friends, drinking entirely too much coffee, and negotiating writing space around two over-fed cats. She is a co-founder and past president of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and a member of the Tall Poppy Writers. She is rep’d by Marlene Stringer, Stringer Literary Agency LLC.

Orly’s debut, The Distance Home, will be released by Forge on May 2, 2017.

You can find her on on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, or on her website, www.orlykonig.com.