Have you ever thought of writing a book? I do. I'm really happy to have an editor over to visit Colorimetry and share some on Writing a Book... all week. Yeppers!! This is Part I of III. If Laura Carlson looks familiar, that's 'cause Dan Rix mentioned her...
Speaking of soul mates, I met mine five years ago and have been hopelessly in love since:D She’s an independent editor, and we spend our evenings drinking wine and talking like crazy people about writing, editing, and the future of book publishing.You do have Entanglement by now, right?
While you go get your copy, grab a cookie and some coffee... Laura Carlson has arrived!
Today I want to
discuss something both exciting and incredibly frightening, writing a book.
You’ve always wanted to write a book; you’ve promised yourself you would one
day, but it hasn’t happened.
My discussion
will tackle why books seem so difficult to begin, and why this mindset is
really a mirage. I will go over common lies would-be writers tell themselves.
Lastly, I will discuss how to burn down these fears and get started writing
that book you’ve always promised yourself you’d write.
Introduction
Many of you who
are reading this have never written a book. Now your time has come. Writing is
not an exclusive group, and the only thing that separates you from writers
who’ve written a book is that the latter group has developed a habit of sitting
down and writing. This difference is not based on “talent,” or something
outside of your control; this difference is based on habit formation.
So let’s
discuss that story you’ve kept bottled up for months, years, decades, and let’s
identify what prevents you from writing that story. Grab a pen a sheet of
paper—you’ll want to write down some of your ideas while reading this.
If I can manage
to get you excited enough about you story, and if I can convince you that your
mental blocks are all in your mind, then I will discuss how to motivate
yourself to write your book!
Your Story
I am absolutely
positive each and every one of you has a story to tell; some may have several
or dozens. But every individual has one. Some of these stories are completely
fictional. Others are based on real people and real events.
This is where
you’re going to need that pen and paper. Think about this story. You might have
shelved it a long time ago, so this exercise could be a little difficult. Let
me help you by asking a few questions, and write down your answers.
·
What’s
your story about? If it’s just a fascinating idea, extrapolate—what story could
come out of it?
·
What
drew you to this story?
·
Why
is it worth telling?
·
Have
you thought of the characters involved in that story? If so, what are they
like?
·
Are
there any details of that story that really grabbed you? If so, what are they?
This is where
you begin.
Action Time!!
Go ahead and get out a pen & paper and jot down some thoughts. Ok... or a keyboard. You could just reply, even, although then I'll have your story ideas. *waggles eyebrows*
I'll start. I have LOTS of stories. Stories upon stories. Everywhere I look I find more stories. Like, the field next to my house has horses sometimes and there was this super-dirty white one, the sort of pony that looks like no amount of scrubbing could ever produce the color it looks like it was supposed to be born with. I was picking blackberries with a friend... and glanced over at the field... and there was that horse, standing in a patch of sunlight on the other side of a dark grove of trees. I swear the thing was radiant. It glowed. Maybe you'll say I need glasses, but the way it stood there, in that sunshine... I realized it thought it was a unicorn. Yep. All this time.
I want to make the plodding beast a hidden otherworldly thing in a fae story... although, maybe it would be better from the horse's point of view, like he's so darn misunderstood. Lol. Ok... maybe I'm goofin' now, but I did see that horse and it did look like it wanted to be in a story, not just the sunshine.
Come back tomorrow (with your notes) to tackle Reasons We Avoid Writing!
Laura Carlson,
Editor
American
Editing Services
Laura Carlson is founder and editor of American Editing Services, an editing business based out of Santa Barbara, California.
Free Manuscript Critique
Earn Yourself a Free Manuscript Critique!
For many writers, spending money on professional luxury is an expense they cannot afford. I believe that hard work is the key to success, so Between the Lines is now allowing writers the chance to earn themselves a manuscript critique.
The rules are simple: successfully recruit 20 writers to publicly follow my blog and join my blog by email—both options are on the left hand side. Make sure they send me a confirmation email tolaura@americaneditingservices.com to let me know you referred them to my website. If you are interested, make sure to email me as soon as possible, as the number of members needed to earn this critique will likely increase as I get increasingly busy, and by emailing me you’ll lock yourself into the current number.
For more information on what a manuscript critique is, please click here.
For many writers, spending money on professional luxury is an expense they cannot afford. I believe that hard work is the key to success, so Between the Lines is now allowing writers the chance to earn themselves a manuscript critique.
The rules are simple: successfully recruit 20 writers to publicly follow my blog and join my blog by email—both options are on the left hand side. Make sure they send me a confirmation email tolaura@americaneditingservices.com to let me know you referred them to my website. If you are interested, make sure to email me as soon as possible, as the number of members needed to earn this critique will likely increase as I get increasingly busy, and by emailing me you’ll lock yourself into the current number.
For more information on what a manuscript critique is, please click here.
