Writers in the Storm

Kathryn Craft

Turning Whine Into Gold

 As I reflect upon the challenges 2015 thrust upon me, the dark chill of the winter solstice sets an appropriately gloomy stage. It wasn’t all bad, of course. May 5^th brought the publication of my second novel. Other highlights existed. But much of my year was marked by accumulating personal loss, professional disillusionment, and financial setback that rocked my typical equilibrium and sorely tested my optimism. For kicks and giggles, at the end the Universe threw in a badly sprained wrist, which even now is turning my typing into a painful scramble.

On most days I shore up my faith by thinking of myself as a character plugged into a story so grand that I’ll never have access to the whole of it—at least not while I still reside in this earthly realm. But I had lost my ability to meet adversity with any form of equanimity. As the nights grew longer grief had me holed up, detached, and unable to find my footing.

Is that enough whining for you? It’s enough for me. Good riddance, 2015. I don’t even want a do-over. I want to move on.

But moving on isn’t so easy when your resources are drained, is it? Inspiration flees. Creativity shrivels. Problem solving eludes. How, exactly, do you turn whine into gold?

I found solace in the form that never fails to inspire: story.

Here are some of its many healing elements.

Story creates meaning. In story, tough circumstances can create a purposeful progression toward a final note of hope, even when the protagonist herself cannot appreciate this.

 Characters will always reveal themselves. Even when I was clearly in no shape to pen a magnum opus, and wasn’t feeling at all like myself, there were many less demanding tasks that reminded me of my character. I taught a few workshops. Recommended a worthy new author to my agent. Blurbed a debut novel. Signed stock at my local indie bookstore. Continued to support my fellow authors with reviews and social media promotion. Helping others is like opening a spiritual faucet that allows a backflow of grace in your direction.

A story has more than one character. Even in the movie Castaway Tom Hanks’ character had a relationship with a volleyball. I was not alone in my slog through the grief’s mire; others have blazed a well-worn path to firmer footing.

Change always requires conflict. Unless we-as-protagonists want our stories to end in the same place they began, we must change. Change exacts from us many deaths: our outgrown roles, our old ways of thinking, our expectations of how we thought our lives and careers would progress. Death is hard to accept—that’s why we’d rather read or write about it rather than struggle with it ourselves.

Conflict is inevitable. Because no two characters are identical in backstory motivation, personality, or spirit, how they pursue their goals will eventually cause their paths to intersect in a way that causes conflict—even if they’re on the same team. Story encourages us to accept this inevitability.

A good story is always hardest on the protagonist right before the climactic fight. You can only take so many hits lying down. Living through my own dark moment made me see it was time to get up and fight for the life I want.

I do not intend to suggest that reading a story will heal those suffering from clinical depression, which requires medical intervention. But 2015 reminded me that there are times when even the most diehard optimists can’t see beyond the crush of external complications. Somehow I forgot story’s promise: that the most impactful gifts can smell like fear, taste like defeat, and sound like heartbreak. These gifts can be poured into a new story. They can change us, perhaps painfully, but for the better.

We live within seasons of change. In the coming weeks the sun will rise earlier each day, and stories will continue raising new questions. Even at the end of a beloved plot line, readers and characters alike wonder: what will happen next?

Let’s find out, shall we?

Happy New Year to all of the readers here at Writers in the Storm!

What are you happy to leave behind in 2015? What are you approaching with optimism in 2016?

About Kathryn

Kathryn Craft is the author of two novels from Sourcebooks: The Art of Falling, and The Far End of Happy.

Her work as a developmental editor at Writing-Partner.com, specializing in storytelling structure and writing craft, follows a nineteen-year career as a dance critic. Long a leader in the southeastern Pennsylvania writing scene, she hosts lakeside writing retreats for women in northern New York State, leads workshops, and speaks often about writing.

Kathryn lives with her husband in Bucks County, PA.

Twitter: @kcraftwriter
FB: KathrynCraftAuthor

Like many NY published authors, I've watched the publishing landscape change over the past years - watched friends opt to self publish. I was curious, even, at times, envious. But there were contracts, and deadlines, and edits (oh my!) so even a trial-balloon-novella was out of the question. 

I've had an idea for a book for years. You know, the one that keeps tapping your consciousness, saying, 'I'm here. I'm waiting.' I finally couldn't resist any longer - see, this was my sister's book. The baby sister I lost to cancer, twenty six years ago. I wrote it in a blizzard of emotion, the story pouring out of me in ways that surprised me. The plot is not autobiographical in the least, but the underlying theme is (don't you love when that happens?). When it was done, I felt it was a fitting tribute to the most important person in my life. I loved this book.

But. I'd written it from the inside out; I hadn't thought a second about the market, or a publisher. I think readers are going to love it, but New York was not going to want this book.

Hello indie!

I'll be releasing this book January 11 - but it's available for preorder HERE.

Here are some of the zillions of lessons I've learned.  I hope they help anyone considering self publishing.

CAVEAT: I’m an experienced author, fairly tech-savvy, and a marketing loving extrovert.

Your results may vary.

The Good:

• It’s not as hard as I thought. There is a ton of software out there to help you. If you're not techie-inclined, there are many experts who you can contract to help you. My best tip? Vellum. Randy Ingermanson recommended it for formatting manuscripts in his November e-zine (If you're not signed up for his ezine, you should be. Great tips for every level of the journey). It only works on a Mac, but you can format a book in two hours (one, if you've done it before) for $30. And it comes out beautifully; it even breaks out chapters, has drop caps, and pretty ornaments for chapter breaks. When I was done, the only errors I found were mine. It then dumps into every format known to man.
• It’s freeing. It's my title. My cover. My blurb. I have control of everything, from placement to pricing. I can't tell you how good that feels.
• It's great for a one-off book. I'm not done with NY (and thankfully, they're not done with me). But it's wonderful to have this option for a book that doesn't fit the narrow confines of what NY wants. 
• It’s MINE. When you sell a book to NY, it's no longer yours. Yes, it's your story, and your name on the cover, but it doesn't belong to you any longer. I don't have to let go of this very important book. I can keep it forever. Ahhhhh.

The Bad:

• Mistakes are costly. Hire the wrong editor? Formatter? Cover designer? It can be costly, not only monetarily, but legally. And that's not even considering the weight of stress. Personal recommendations help, but this is a relationship - just because someone works well with a fellow author, doesn't mean they'll be your style. Don't be afraid to interview them as you would any vendor in your day job. Be sure they're professionals (have a contract, etc). 
• No one else to blame. Mistakes in a NY published book? Not my bad. In this one? All my bad. I've edited it many times, it's been critted, professionally edited, and read by my agent twice. And still, when I read it to check for formatting. there were errors - and they were all mine. And anyone who finds a mistake in the finished book will know it.
• This is a huge time suck. I haven't written on my WIP in weeks. I've been searching for cover photos, playing with fonts, formatting, researching info . . . I start out at daybreak, and realize I'm hungry at two. Don't get me wrong, I love doing this, but nothing else is getting done. Nothing.
• It’s MINE. There's a certain stamp of approval that comes with a NY publisher's name on the copyright page. I don't have that this time. It undermines my self-confidence in ways I hadn't foreseen. Dumb, I know, but it's there.

The Ugly:

• Nail biting. Will readers judge it differently than one of my NY published books? We can talk all day about the line blurring, but has it been wiped out completely? We'll see, I guess. 
• Waiting isn’t over. One of the most frustrating things about NY is the waiting. Every. Step. Along. The. Way. Guess what? Anything you're not doing yourself, you're still waiting! Ugh!
• It’s MINE! A critical review of my other books stung, but it didn't bite deep. After all, I'd sold the book, so it put a distance between myself and the story. It became a product to a certain extent. Not so, this book. This is close to my heart, and if readers doesn't like it, it's going to hurt. 

CONCLUSION:

I've enjoyed every step of the process so far. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

How about you? have you considered self-publishing? If you've tried it, what was your Good/Bad/Ugly?

About Laura

Laura Drake is a city girl who never grew out of her tomboy ways, or a serious cowboy crush. She writes both Women's Fiction and Romance.

She sold her Sweet on a Cowboy series, romances set in the world of professional bull riding, to Grand Central.  The Sweet Spot won the 2014 Romance Writers of America^®   RITA^® award in the Best First Book category.

Her 'biker-chick' novel, Her Road Home, sold to Harlequin's Superomance line (August, 2013) and has expanded to three more stories set in the same small town. The latest, Twice in a Blue Moon , released in July.

In 2014, Laura realized a lifelong dream of becoming a Texan and is currently working on her accent. She gave up the corporate CFO gig to write full time. She's a wife, grandmother, and motorcycle chick in the remaining waking hours.

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Jamie Raintree

What do you imagine the most productive writing life to look like? The most creative? The most dedicated? Do you imagine it, like I often do, to look like a cabin hidden away in the woods with no wi-fi and food that appears with the snap of your fingers? Do you imagine a life of coffee shops and really good noise-cancelling headphones? I'll be the first to admit, I've often created elaborate fantasies of being imprisoned if that was what it took to shut the rest of the world out so I could focus solely on my novel. In today's world, the expectations on our time and energy have grown exponentially, but I'm finding that solitude isn't actually the best way to be the most healthy, and therefore, the most productive, creative, or dedicated writer.

We've all heard the story--the one about the writer who finally earns enough money with her work (or not, but has other means of financial support) that she quits her day job to focus all her time on her writing. And then she writes nothing. For months. She got everything she thought she always wanted (what we all want) but once she finally got it, things began to unravel.

We're Humans First

Over the last week I've engrossed myself in the book Daring Greatly by Brene Brown (some of you maybe familiar with her viral TEDx Talk of the same subject). Reading this book has confirmed everything I've been suspecting over the last few years since I moved 800 miles away from all the people I loved to find myself with no friends, no family, and no idea how to start to rebuild my tribe. Sure, I didn't have dinner commitments, no one stopped by my house unexpectedly, and my weekends were wide open, but not only did my happiness and mental health suffer greatly, so did my writing.

Studies have equated the health risks of loneliness and social disconnection to level of destruction caused by smoking cigarettes and obesity. For some reason, our culture has placed a high value on being able to do it all on your own, to embrace "independence," and to not need anyone. But what people may often forget is that we hardwired to need connection in order to not only thrive, but to survive. And that's before we even get to the issues of happiness and creativity.

Social Media Isn't Cutting It

But we're more connected than ever, right? Uh, not so much. Don't get me wrong, some of my online connections have blossomed into genuine, heartfelt relationships and even those on a more "in passing" level have brought me immense joy. I've been thrilled to meet some of my online friends "IRL" to discover that our sense of connection was as true in person as it was on Facebook. Our first meetings felt like getting together with a friend I'd known for years because, when people are genuine online (which I find is most of the time), those friendships can be very real.

But the truth is, those online connections simply can't replace eye-to-eye conversations. Studies show that the more real-life friends a person has, the higher their overall life satisfaction, whereas there has been almost no link to an increase in life satisfaction and online friends. Human beings rely on body language and physical touch to deepen emotional connection. And there's simply no replacement for having people in your life that you know will show up on your doorstep when you need them.

The Benefits of Connection

If you've ever been to a writer's conference or retreat, you know what I'm talking about. There is nothing that beats the energy in those rooms and often, the people you meet there will become friends for life. You come off that high with the feeling that you can conquer the world and any plot hole your WIP throws your way! And you also know the feeling that sets in as soon as the day you come home, or maybe a week or two after, when you realize that it's going to be another year before you get to see those people again, before you get to feel that energy again. Suddenly, that plot hole starts to grow from a crevice to a grand canyon. That's not a coincidence.

A few months ago, I started a local writer's group and I can't even begin to tell you how much it has meant to my happiness, my health, and yes, my writing. You see, the more strong connections you make with people, the more you feel valued, increasing your self-esteem and confidence. Being around other people who love and support you also lowers stress hormones. And what does self-esteem, confidence, and lower stress add up to in your writing life? It leads to trust--that what you have to say matters, and that whatever curveballs your art and your career throw at you, you are capable of handling it.

Put on Your Brave Face and Reach Out

Listen, I know it isn't easy. As adults, we simply have less opportunities to make friends. It isn't like in school where you had hundreds of people to try to build a connection with. Some of us have day jobs and may find friends there, but if we work at home alone (or in a cabin in the woods) we are hard pressed to put ourselves around other people. Even if we manage it, the older we get, the more intimidating it is to be vulnerable and just say it: "Will you be my friend?"

But start where you are. Start by building stronger connections with the family members you trust, or by calling that friend you always think about but struggle to make time for. Make the time. Put building connections with people first, and see if your writing life doesn't grow too.

What do you do to connect with other writers? Do you have tips on how to make writing friends?

Jamie Raintree is a writer, a writing business and productivity instructor, and the creator of the Writing & Revision Tracker. She is represented by Regal Literary and is currently working on her second novel. Subscribe to her newsletter for more blogs, workshops, and book news. To find out more, visit her website below.

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Jamie Raintree
Women’s Fiction & Romance Writer
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