Writers in the Storm

Anne Clermont

Do you remember the first time you rode a bike? How about the first time you flew in an airplane? You definitely remember your first kiss. Was it everything you expected? Did you practice kissing on the back of your hand before then? I sure did. My best friend told me I had to, otherwise I’d be considered a bad kisser. When the first kiss happened, I never expected to have that weak-kneed feeling—nor did I expect to be so focused on the boy’s tongue entering my mouth that I forgot what I should be doing in return. It was over before I knew it.

There’s something mind-opening about doing something for the first time. You might have an idea of what to expect, but it’s vague, like the memory of a dream from the night before, flitting in and out of your consciousness. Maybe your expectations are really wild. Or you might not expect anything.

In my yoga class last week, our teacher switched up our usual routine several times. Instead of doing Upward Dog after a Chaturanga, she made us go back to Plank. When I expected to go from Warrior II to Reverse Warrior, she made us pause, turn, and squat into Goddess pose. She tripped many of us up, and though some laughed, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt frustrated, wondering why she was messing with us.

Then it clicked. There’s something beautiful about letting go of your preconceptions. Even if you’re experienced at something, let your beginner’s mind take over. Don’t expect a certain outcome. Detach yourself from what you think will happen. Listen to the immediate, not ingrained cues. Be in the moment. Just accept.

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”
—Shunryo Suzuki

The concept of beginner’s mind has become extremely important to my writing. I wrote the first novel under cover of darkness, in secrecy, hidden from the world. I had no idea whether anyone would ever read the crazy pile of words I’d been typing. I wrote because it calmed me. I wrote because of the driving need within me to tell a story. I wrote because it felt like an emotional cleanse. I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know much about the craft of writing. I didn’t know about three act structures, or character development, or literary agents or the world of publishing. I had a computer, an idea for a story, and an intuition of where it should go. I focused on the writing. That was it.

That first novel is almost ready for release into the world and I am having the hardest time sitting down and writing the second novel. I want to write the second novel. I want to write many novels over the course of my life. And it’s not that I don’t have an idea for a story, because I do. I have characters that are talking to me. I see the setting, and the horses (yes, there are horses in the second one, too) and I have an almost physical, tortured need to write. But I’m afraid. I’m afraid of how much work it’s going to take. I’m afraid that now that I’ve studied the craft, gone to conferences, read more than a couple dozen books on writing, and taken many classes. I should know what I’m doing. I know so much more about the craft of writing and the world of publishing that I want this next book to be perfect (okay, really good would suffice). I know the difference between showing and telling. I know each scene needs an arc and a hook. I know I need conflict on every page. I know my dialogue needs to sing. I know where my plot points and reaction beats should be. I know all of this — and it seems so big, so damn overwhelming, that the magic of writing has disappeared, hidden somewhere in that ‘expert’ mind.

Has all the knowledge I’ve tried to gain taken over my creative, intuitive mind? What about stepping back and writing for that one reader I imagined would love my first book? What about opening up again to the unknown possibilities?

It’s vital that we, as writers, step back and allow for the spontaneous, creative possibilities that happen when writing.  It’s vital not just for us, but also for the imaginative spark it elicits in others as they read our words.

And you know what? All that you’ve learned, and everything you’ve experienced, will naturally flow into your writing. (Besides, we’re going to be revising the sucker for several months anyway.)

A beginner’s mind is innocent of preconceptions, judgments, prejudices, and expectations. Having learned so much, I know that I must somehow return to beginner’s mind and allow the writing itself lead me somewhere new. Somewhere exciting. It is, in the end, all about the journey.

What about you? How do you move forward with writing your second (or third) novel? How do you clear your mind and begin on a new journey, knowing all that you now know?

About Anne

Anne Clermont is a Canadian living in the U.S., born in Kraków and raised outside of Toronto. She spent fifteen years in California before relocating to the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She holds a BS in animal biology, and an MBA. Her background ranges from studying animal behavior to carrying out pancreatic cancer research at one of the world’s largest and most innovative biotech companies. Inspired to write Learning to Fall (releasing August 2) in part by her own experience of running a show jumping business, she now devotes her time to writing and working as a developmental editor. She lives on an island in the middle of Puget Sound with her husband and two children.

Find Anne online at:

Ella Joy Olsen

Libraries are magical places. At least they always have been for me. As a child I wanted lots of stuff – an unending supply of Bubblicious, a puppy, checkerboard Vans, eyes that didn’t need glasses – and I managed to collect only a few, except when we went to the library. I was a lover of books, and everything in the library I could have. For free. If it caught my eye, into the library bag it would go. The smooth pages and colorful bindings were a rainbow of promise.

Throughout much of my life, my view of the library was only this: It was a peaceful place, beloved and wonderfully generous. But it became so much more when I crossed over from patron, to part of a library’s inner workings. In 2008, I became a member of the Board of Directors for the Salt Lake City Public Library, a 5-Star–rated system consisting of a 250,000 square-foot downtown library and seven busy branches scattered about the city, and I began to understand the bigger picture: the importance of libraries to civilization, to democracy, to the future. It’s just a library, you might be thinking. It’s just a roomful of books on shelves. But no. There’s so much more, here’s why:

Free access to a library is the first step toward literacy. So why is literacy so important? And why is access so important? Because the world is full of information, and the ability to read that information is critical for equality (the most basic of all democratic ideals). Unequal access to information, meaning only a select few control the words, creates inequality. Think the middle ages (or parts of the Middle-East).

But reading isn’t simply about enjoying a good escapist novel (though sometimes that’s just what the doctor orders). It’s about the practicality of navigating things like health insurance forms, employment applications, contracts. It’s about sensing a scam…or finding an opportunity.

And yet, reading and literacy are not only critical for the practical applications mentioned above. A story (fictional or not) is also the nexus of imagination. As a reader, you imagine a setting and you speculate at what comes next. Imagination is the root of innovation and innovation is at the core of technology and progress.

In  British fiction author, Neil Gaiman’s fantastic lecture delivered to the Reading Agency in London (see link below), he talked about attending a Science Fiction conference in China in 2007. Science fiction had been disapproved of by the government for decades and Mr. Gaiman wondered why they had recently embraced the genre. He was told by a top official that the Chinese were brilliant at making things as long as others brought them the plans. But they didn’t innovate or invent. So the Chinese government sent a delegation to top technological firms: Apple, Microsoft and Google and asked the inventors what inspired them. They wanted to get to the root of innovation. The correlation? All read science fiction when they were young.

But there’s more. Reading inspires empathy. In a story you feel things or visit places you otherwise wouldn’t. And you learn from the past – what worked, what didn’t, what seemed fair. Many would argue these things can be obtained from watching (television, YouTube, a film), but here’s where I would argue that reading wins. When viewing content you are force-fed another person’s vision. That vision may be award-winning, but it’s not of your own making. In taking the symbols of the English language – twenty-six letters with a smattering of punctuation – and creating a world in your own mind…that is the part that changes a person. Plus, reading forces a slower pace, contemplation between the action sequences, a moment to take a character’s experience and incorporate it into one’s own context.

And what about the physical space of a library? Sure, you can Google all sorts of information that, in the past, was exclusively held in the stacks. And that’s great for equal access. It’s awesome, in fact. But we humans are social creatures. According to the latest State of America’s Libraries report from the American Library Association, libraries are becoming Third Spaces – a social area apart from home or work. Libraries are, “No longer just places for books, libraries of all types are viewed as anchors, centers for academic life and research, and cherished spaces.”

The library building, itself, is a community builder, a neutral place that doesn’t push a product, where people can innovate together. It’s also a safe place – warm when it’s cold outside, cool when you might collapse from heat. There are people who need a quiet space to study or who don’t have access to a computer, and guess where they can find both? A library. It’s a spot where all people are welcome, regardless of age, socio-economic status, or race. It’s the great equalizer. It is the server to the underserved.

As a writer and a reader, I value the written word. I’m enamored with books and the stories they contain. But as human being, I love libraries.

How often do you visit your local library and what are your favorite library sponsored events? Do you have a treasured childhood memory of time spent in a library?

** (http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming). This is an edited version of Neil Gaiman's lecture for the Reading Agency, delivered at the Barbican in London.

About Ella

Ella Joy Olsen was born, raised, and currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah – a charming town tucked against 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 pre-teen to edge-of-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 spent typing boring stuff, Ella eagerly gave up her corner cubicle and started writing fiction. She has also lived in Seattle, Washington & Savannah, Georgia.

She is a member of Tall Poppy Writers and Women’s Fiction Writers Association. You can find her at www.ellajoyolsen.com, Twitter @ellajoyolsen, or Facebook at www.facebook.com/ella.joy.olsen.author/

ROOT, PETAL, THORN (September 2016/Kensington) is her debut novel. And coming in September 2017 - WHERE THE SWEET BIRD SINGS.

Amy E. Reichert

Hi, my name is Amy and I’m a writer—a writer on a deadline. You can identify me by the slightly greasy hair piled on top of my head, coffee stains on my well-worn t-shirt, and yoga pants streaked with Cheetos dust. I keep irregular hours and have earned the circles under my eyes. My butt goes numb from so many hours of sitting and I can’t tell if my hands are stiff from so much typing or because arthritis is finally kicking in. My children are spending way too much of their summer break entertaining themselves with iPads and Just Dance 4, and right now all the neighborhood boys are in the basement making sounds like angry elephants. I should probably be concerned, but they’re leaving me alone and no one has shouted for an ambulance.

I don’t often know what day it is without looking at a calendar, but I do know my birthday is on Friday, a date that fills me with panic not because I’m aging (I’ll be 42 and proud of it), but because it means my deadline is almost here and I’m no where near done. This deadline is for my third novel, THE SIMPLICITY OF CIDER. I’m insanely excited about it and still haven’t reached the “I hate you” phase of drafting. I have a solid outline, thorough character sketches, and an enthusiastic editor cheering me on. It’s a dream scenario.

Even with the looming due date and clear path, I still have those days where I stare at the screen digging for the right phrase, clueless how to take a scene from point A to point B. I wander through the words—a babe lost in the woods. It sucks. But it’s not my first rodeo (truly, I’ve been to a real rodeo in Wyoming) and I’ve learned a few tricks of the trade.

Tip #1 - You are your own muse. Anyone waiting for some mystical inspiration will never finish a book. Inspiration is never going to strike if you aren’t already at the keyboard waiting for it. Okay, fine, sometimes it strikes while driving or in the shower (why is it always the shower? A place where no electronics or paper can go). Bottomline, if you aren’t already working one something, inspiration isn’t going to know where to find you. So get your butt in the chair and start typing.

Tip #2 - Revising is where the real writing happens. The first draft isn’t really writing, it’s word-vomiting ideas out of your brain and onto a plane where you can do something with them. If you can accept it will be horrible, drafting will go much more smoothly. Understand that you’ll then need to take that manuscript, smash it, and put it back together and this process might break you, but everything will be more beautiful in the end.

Tip #3 - Building on the idea that first drafts are always awful, now is the time to let your imagination go crazy and have a little fun. Try out the ideas you know your editor will make you cut later because you never know when you might discover pure gold. Want a unicorn assassin? Put it in. Want Chris Evans to propose to you? That’s chapter 11. Letting your brain explore different paths could uncover something exciting and different. It’s where all my rocking 80s flashbacks in LUCK, LOVE & LEMON PIE came from—I was brainstorming ridiculous ideas and a few of them stuck.

Tip #4 - Leave yourself notes—not encouragement “you can do it” notes, but jots about things you want to change. As I’m flushing out that first draft, I have ideas for what I want to change, and then I’m tempted to stop my forward momentum and go back to fix them. DO NOT DO THIS!! But, Amy, why not, you say? Well, dear reader, because your brain is popping like a bag of microwave popcorn, and if you open it too soon, you might not pop all the kernels. Forward momentum is everything, do not stop it. Instead, leave yourself a few notes about the ideas, maybe even a paragraph or two so when you go back to revise, that lovely idea is waiting for you.

Tip #5 - The only way out of the draft stage is through it. There is no short cut, there is no ladder to take you from square 28 to square 84, there is no special card that lets you pass Go and collect $200. So suck it up, buttercup and write.

What are your favorite tips and tricks for making to “The End?” Share them in the comments!

About Amy

Amy E. Reichert, author of THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE and LUCK, LOVE & LEMON PIE, loves to write stories that end well with characters you’d invite to dinner. A wife, mom, amateur chef, Fix-It Mistress, and cider enthusiast, she earned her MA in English Literature and serves on her local library’s board of directors. She’s a proud member of Tall Poppy Writers.

Links:

Website - www.amyereichert.com

Twitter - www.twitter.com/aereichert

Facebook - www.facebook.com/amyereichert