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Nov 30

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Three ways to start writing your book now

People often tell me they want to write a book. They’re stuck, they say, because they just don’t know where to start. The thought of writing a book can be daunting. In fact, the more I learn about writing, the more I feel the enormity of what it takes to create a well-written manuscript. Compiled from workshops, personal experience, and advice from mentors, try these ideas to get your story moving.

Write the ending first. Many writers have an ending to a story in mind before they even know what comes first. If you know your ending, write it out first and use it as a springboard to create the story that comes before. If you know your ending, you likely have a sense of the themes and emotional throughline that will drive it forward. Read more

Nov 29

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One writer’s law: trust that more will come

I tend to view the world in terms of poetry, finding meaning and metaphor in everything from the way the rain falls here in the Pacific Northwest, to the process of replanting a lilac tree, to how my grandmother drags branches to her burn pile or shells peas while watching the sun set over the Olympic Mountains. This may be why I admire Raymond Carver’s poetry so much—because he writes about common people and events, yet manages to transcend their commonness into something beautiful.

When I first discovered Carver, nicknamed the great “American Chekov” for his short stories, it was his poetry that drew my attention. Carver’s last book of poems, A New Path to the Waterfall,written while he was dying of cancer, quickly became my favorite as I read it over and over, each time moved to tears, especially over the introduction by his wife and fellow poet Tess Gallagher. Read more

Nov 28

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No power? No problem. Write On

As winter sets in for many of us, it’s more important than ever to have a plan in place for power outages.

One day last winter, I left my day job to dive into my writing at home. I hoped to interview someone for a project with a looming deadline. As I drove into my neighborhood, I realized the power was out. The sun was beginning to set, so I quickly collected several flashlights and loaded them with fresh batteries. Read more

Nov 25

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Give yourself permission to play on the page

Sometimes, I take the title of “writer” too seriously. I worry and fret about my stories and characters. I stress out that every choice I make is the wrong one. When I get in this mode, I forget the joy of writing. I forget why I write in the first place. Writing, I’ve discovered, is not for the faint of heart. This is why I’m so excited as I read author Alan Watt’s book, The 90-Day Novel: Unlock the story within.

Instead of promoting a stiff set of rules for finishing your first draft in 90 days, Watt encourages writers to spend a good amount of time loosely playing on the page. He has a list of prompts or questions to write about from the protagonist’s and/or antagonist’s point of view. He suggests setting a timer for five minutes per prompt and just writing down what comes, not worrying about whether or not you’re going to use it. Read more

Nov 24

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Transform your life by writing thank-you notes

While I aim to live each day with a spirit of thanksgiving, I love having a holiday to reflect on gratitude.

Expressions of gratitude reinforce the good I see in my life and remind me that the intangible gift of creative passion and the chance to make a difference with words are more important than any material object money can buy.

This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful for everyone who has inspired and fueled my writing passion: Parents who supported my aspirations from the very beginning; teachers who didn’t give up on me, including a second-grade teacher who helped me learn to read; and mentors who read my very bad first drafts and still saw the promise of something good. Read more

Nov 23

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Writing to the beat of a different drummer

Sometimes, getting into my writing groove is about as easy as slipping on my favorite pair of jeans from my freshman year in college. In other words, it’s impossible.

I have various tricks for when my muse needs to be conned into action: wearing headphones to help myself focus, doing a five minute timed write to warm up my writing muscles, or giving myself a reward when I reach my word quota for the day—maybe a small piece of chocolate (hmm…is this why I can’t fit into those jeans?).

Sometimes, I write to music to help myself stay focused. For my current project, I’m creating a playlist that so far includes Moonlight Sonata, Adagio for Violin, Bach, and Lorenna McKennitt. While writing my memoir, I listened mainly to Norah Jones and Brandi Carlile. Different books inspire different music and vice versa.

But sometimes other sounds can help me write too. Read more

Nov 22

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Three common pitfalls that prevent a compelling beginning

One of the pleasures of reading a new book is sinking into the world of the story. But almost nothing annoys me more than being ripped out of my dream state by having to back up and re-read the beginning of a story to figure out what is going on.

I experienced this recently and in my quest to be a better writer, I decided to analyze a few stories to figure out what was pulling me out of the story world. Here’s what I discovered:

The author introduces too many characters at once. Readers have a hard time keeping the characters straight and knowing their roles in the story because they haven’t had a chance to get to know them yet. Read more

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