The Joy of Writing or A Story About Ash McGrath and Writer's Digest

This is a story about what I might have missed without Writer’s Digest and the kind of authors it inspires.

It is a story that might have never been told—or at least a story I might never have heard. It is a story about the great feeling of winning. It is a story applauding the kind of loyalty Writer’s Digest inspires (including me for I have been reading it for decades!) But mostly it is a story of just one of those readers.

My memories of this event are a bit fuzzy. It happened at least a year after I had entered my latest book of poetry, Imperfect Echoes, in a Writer’s Digest contest and probably a month or two after the Writer's Digest issue announcing winners had disappeared from the newsstands. I had received a beautiful critique from one of the contest judges and after that...well, nothing. I have learned not to mourn losses but to look for the positives in them. So, I excerpted a lovely blurb from the critique and moved on.

Enter Ash McGrath. She is a friend I have seen only in online images. I think she knew me because I have displayed my how-to books for writers in a book fair sponsored by Valerie Allen's AuthorsforAuthors group for years. As an author of marketing books, I understand that frequency is important to any campaign; as a realist, I know that one can't expect marketing for a series of nonfiction books for writers to cross genres for a book in another genre. So when I received a tag on Facebook from Ash that offered me her copy of the issue that announced winners of the contest I had entered my book in...well, I was puzzled. And thrilled. And appreciative.  I gave her my address but didn’t dare to expect to see it in my mailbox any time soon. These are busy times. Online friendships are often fleeting. Ash's writers group is mostly made up of writers who live 3,000 (at least!) miles from me. I had never presented at their writers' conferences--or even attended.

Shame on me! I underestimated the generosity of authors. I underestimated not the reach of Writer’s Digest but the loyalty of its readers. I underestimated the connection we writers often have with one another based the simple fact that we write. When I asked Valerie Allen, the director of several book fairs and conferences in Florida I mentioned before she said, “We call Ash our ‘Conference Ambassador’ because she volunteers at all of our events.”

I call her my writing angel. Her copy of Writer’s Digest is now my copy of Writer’s Digest. It means more to me because the memories it holds are layered. It lives on a bookshelf in my office I keep for writing successes. It’s a little like a vision board. I sometimes peek at what I have stowed on that shelf to keep me moving forward during my most discouraging times.

Let me introduce you to Ash.
She signs her emails: “Ash” Ashley McGrath

And then—to make us all aware of one very important thing in her life, she adds:
“UnabASHed by Disability”

I shall never underestimate the ties that bind author-to-author again. Or to include those ties among the many joys of writing.

My best to all Writer’s Digest’s grateful authors out there, And special thanks to Ash McGrath.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program. The books in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers have won multiple awards. That series includes The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor which won awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award.  

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Recapture the Joy of Writing

When I'm working on a writing project and things are going well – meaning, the words are flowing and the work is almost effortless – I call this "going under."

It's like I've gone deep under water and left the world above the surface behind to live in the world of my characters or my topic (if I'm working on nonfiction).

This is more commonly known as "working in flow."

I'm sure you know the feeling, whatever you may call it.

You're writing and suddenly you look up and notice the time.

You thought you'd only been working for a short while, yet hours have slipped by.

Writing in flow or going under is a wonderful feeling.

In fact, I think it's the real reason many of us love to write.

It's the writer's "high."

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to work in flow or go under when you have many projects ahead or a tight deadline looming.

Over the years, I've learned a few tricks of the trade that help me go under on a regular basis.

Maybe they'll work for you, too.

To Write In Flow...

First, it's hard to write in flow if you leave your writing to the last thing each day or you simply write whenever you can grab a few minutes here and there.

Your mind will find it difficult to relax and simply focus on the work at hand.

For that reason, schedule specific times to write.

For example, you might schedule time during the early morning to work on your novel – perhaps from 5:00 to 7:00.

If you get in the habit of writing regularly at this time each day, your mind will start preparing for your writing session as soon as you wake up each morning.

It won't be filled with thoughts about other things that happened earlier in the day yet, so it will be easier to focus on your writing.

Next, find a quiet place to work, away from all distractions.

You don't want someone or something pulling you back up just as you've gone under.

Next, if you find it difficult to move from one project to another during the day and work in flow on each project, take time to transition from one project to another.

For example, I may work on fiction in the morning.

Before I move to nonfiction in the afternoon, I take a break.

I might sit and meditate or listen to music for a few minutes so my mind is ready to make the switch from fiction to nonfiction.

Have Fun!

Most importantly, don't forget to have fun as you're writing.

Just write what comes naturally.

Be yourself as a writer.

You can rewrite later.

Now...go under today and recapture the joy of writing!

Try it!

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Suzanne Lieurance is a freelance writer, writing coach, and the author of over 40 published books.