Writers - Don’t Let Your Fears Define You

Guest post by Irene S. Roth

Most writers are fearful of something. And for most of us we are afraid of any public acknowledgement and presentation of our work. So, for many of us, this can be a really difficult thing to overcome.  But it can have a negative impact on our health and well-being as writers.

    One of the most important ways to deal with your fears is to ensure that they don’t define you. Most of us take our fears personally. The important thing to remember is that our fears are out there just as your face and body image is. Also, our fears are merely negative stories that our mind keeps telling us over and over again. The real difficulty is that we usually end up believing these stories over time. And this is where our real problem lies.

Embracing Your Fears

    So many writers are plagued by fears when they write, regardless of whether they are beginning writers or more mature ones. They have so many negative thoughts and feelings about their writing career and their ability to complete these projects.  This negative mindset can wreak havoc with a writer’s self-confidence and overall productivity levels.

So, it is important to deal with these fears and embrace them as much as possible because if you don’t your fears will define you and possibly many of your writing projects. So, you have to deal proactively with your fears and come to terms with them before they start running your writing life.

    Here are a few ways to take steps to embrace your fears.

•    Sit down with your writing journal and write down all of your fears. Take your time coming up with your list. Be as honest as possible. The more honest you are the better it will be.

You may want to spend a week or so compiling your list. One way for you to generate this list is to carry your notebook with you at all times, especially when you sit down to write. As soon as you have a negative thought, write it down right away.

•    Once you have your list of fears and negative thoughts, examine them. Write down the recurring negative thoughts on a separate sheet of paper. Then, choose one of the most common negative statements and work at stamping it out over the next few weeks. Choose one that isn’t very emotional but yet consistently on your mind. Then beside it, write a positive statement to replace the negative one. Practice saying the positive statement for a few weeks.

For instance, if one of your negative statements is that I will never finish this project, change this statement to I plan to finish this project this time. And keep repeating this positive statement.

By taking these steps, you will be gaining self-confidence as a writer, and you will be embracing your fears. This is not a recipe for success and happiness but for overall health.

    So, you don’t have to be defined by your fears. Instead, you could problem-solve around your fears and resolve to be the best writer that you can be one step at a time. Just determine your worse fear and then work from there. In other words, work through your fears to eradicate them. By dealing with your fears directly, you will be taking steps to lessen their negative impact on you and in the process you will be taking control of these negative mindsets.

For a lot more tips on how to be a healthy writer, double click on this link: http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Writer-Irene-S-Roth-ebook/dp/B0176Y6NWG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1446101541&sr=1-1

Irene S. Roth, freelance writer and author, writes for teens, tweens, and kids about self-empowerment. She is the author of over thirty books and over five hundred online articles. She also writes articles for kids, tweens and teens and her articles have appeared in Encounter, Pockets, Guardian Angel Kids Ezine, and Stories for Children Magazine and Online. She also has five hundred published book reviews both online and in print. For more writing tips, please visit my website at: http://irenesroth.wordpress.com/

MORE ON WRITING AND MARKETING

The ABCs of Writing - Tips for New Writers
5 Ways to Get Unstuck
What is the Lifespan of Your Emails? And, Other Email Marketing Tidbits

Writers: Pin Down Your Alter Ego(s)

Give your garden sunshine, water and food. Watch it thrive.

 

Whatever the origin of your character, whether it be a kid you knew in your childhood, a composite of kids you've known as in the character of Tom Sawyer who was based on a number of boys, or other observations you've made of kids; identifying and understanding the different sides of your own personality can only help.

A helpful resource in character development is Elaine Marie Alphin's (1955-2014) book, Creating Characters Kids will Love. Alphin, author of Ghost Cadet and Ghost Soldier, as well as YA books and books for very young children, said in an interview, "There's a little of me in just about every character I write. I think there has to be, in order to give each character life." 

 

Some of your character creations may surprise you. Those are the best ones. Alphin said, "This comes into play when you try to make the character do something you thought was essential, but he refuses to do it! He wants to do something else. He has just surprised you. This is a wonderful moment! When it happens, let him do it and see what happens. Often he'll do something that's more effective than what you had in mind in the first place."

 

Keep a Character Journal

A good way to begin is to keep track of your "persons of interest." Describe the way he dresses, her mannerisms, what attracted him to you, etc. In her book, Alphin goes into great detail about capturing what the people were like in your childhood, the things they did and what you thought about them.   

• Who were you as a child? Were you the oldest, youngest or in the middle? An only child?
• Write in detail how you felt about where you were in your family, what your family members were really like relative to their relationship with you.

Ways to Inform Character Creation

1. Make your character care:

• Alphin: The easiest way to make the reader care is to make the main character care. Something must be at stake for the character - something he wants, something he needs, something he desires, something he'll lose if he fails. The more critical the problem is to the main character, the more eagerly the reader will turn the page, desperate to find out What happens next?
• What you can do: Make a list of what you care about. Your character can find ways to show that he cares about these things, too.
• Make your concerns personal: My concerns center around loving and respecting nature and encouraging children to feel the same way. All my stories have taken place in natural surroundings (still, that includes apartment living, as in many children's lives, but having much of the action take place outside, hearing birds, etc.) Animals, plants, trees (insects, the sky, mountains, grass--the list is endless!) become a backdrop to the action.

2. Create a plot that propels your character to find a solution to a problem, solve a mystery, and in the process change to become a better person.

• Alphin:Character motivation is the heart of what makes a story work or not! Writers are like directors in a play - we know what we want our character to do and where we want them to move to, so we're tempted to just pick them up and move them around in order to get them there, much like pulling the strings of a group of marionettes. But if that's all we do, we end up with two-dimensional characters who are less believable than a row of marionettes dangling from their storage hooks. Characters come alive for readers when we as writers know their motivation - why they want to do or say what the writer wants them to do or say. A character's thought process has to be as believable as our own.
• What you can explore: What issues did you and your childhood friends face? Do other children you know face? Visit and re-visit these issues. Chances are these are the same that kids have always faced, described in a nutshell as "Children's Basic Needs," by Lee Wyndham in Writing for Children and Teenagers:
• The need to love and be loved.
• The need to belong.
• The need to achieve.
• The need for security--material, emotional, spiritual.
• The need to know.

3. Throughout the book there are exercises that are great for ways to develop your characters, as in this example:

• Choose a situation; write a conversation between two characters. Next, make one character your main character and add that character's thoughts and feelings. Next, add the action. Then, show each character as he or she moves or gestures. Use facial expressions to reflect his or her feelings.
• In my current WIP, I've used this example to analyze conversations between and among my characters. Some places skimped on one or more elements, i.e., I left out my mc's thoughts or feelings or how one of the characters moved, gestured or made a facial expression to reflect their feelings.

3. At your story's resolution, show how your character has changed and grown.

• In the chapter on character growth, Alphin describes in detail how to show how your character grows and changes; an element I find particularly challenging. The example that has helped the most is in the beginning of the book under the subheading, "Characters do things."
• Alphin includes a scene from her book, The Ghost Cadet, about how Benjy, her 12-year-old mc climbed down a roof for the first time. She writes, "You can tell that Benjy is afraid from his slow progress, and that he probably hasn't done this before from his awkward movements. You can see his frustration about being short. You can see the way he talks himself into doing what he doesn't want to do . . . the next time he has to climb something" he'll be more confident.
• My mc is unfamiliar with country life and in a similar scene she climbs a dark, narrow staircase, not knowing where it leads, and finds a trap door that leads to the roof. Alphin's description of how Benjy has learned from his first scary experience has helped me show better how my mc can gain confidence from hers. From there, I've been better able to show her become more adept at each new thing she tries until she is fully capable by the end to do what it takes to solve the mystery.
• Alphin: In another example, Marc wants to find the treasure in order to hold onto a person who may be gone from his life. Perhaps he will discover not only hidden treasure, but also the hidden truth that friends sometimes go in different directions and that growing apart isn't the end of the world, because you're open to new friendships. Or perhaps his friend will get caught up in the search, and Marc will realize that they're still friends after all. His friend is the real treasure, and he just needed to reach out to him in order to hold on. Either way, Marc doesn't just find the treasure, he grows and changes because of the actions he takes in order to achieve his goal. His inner problem is what makes the story unique and meaningful.
• What I've learned: What began as curiosity about the meaning of alter ego(s) led me to discover Alphin's terrific book and embark upon more in-depth thought about who my characters really are. Not just sides of my personality struggling to show themselves, but living, thriving beings with backgrounds, feelings, desires, likes and dislikes.

Photo: From Linda Wilson's collection, taken on a warm fall day in Alaska

 

                                                      

Linda Wilson, a former elementary teacher and ICL graduate, has published over 100 articles for adults and children, and six short stories for children. Recently, she completed Joyce Sweeney's online fiction courses, picture book course and mystery and suspense course. She is currently working on several projects for children. Follow Linda on Facebook.

 

More ABCs for the New Writer - F-J

If you are a new writer and you missed the A-E tips be sure to review them to get you started in your writing career.

F is for fear. 

It can be scary to begin a new endeavor. It's normal. But if it paralyzes us to the point of not moving forward, we will never be a successful writer.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Are you trying to be perfect? Nothing is perfect. 
• Are you afraid of rejection? What one publisher rejects, another will accept.
• Are you afraid of change? Me, too! You have to do it anyway. Watch what happens

G is for grammar.

Brush up on your grammar. A poorly written cover letter or query tells all. Be meticulous or else you may find your article or transcript submission passed over.

Thanks to the internet, grammar help is one click away.This site gives you 10 websites to assist you.

H is for hook.

To get your reader's attention and hold it, you've got to hook them with the first sentence.

Whether you are writing a book, magazine article, or resume - that first sentence is critical.

Start with a question, use descriptive words, or make the reader curious with some missing details.

• Do you want to get in shape without going to the gym?
• Swirling, sparkling snowflakes appeared to fall in slow motion under the yellow glow of the street lamp.
• The air was thick with rotting garbage. We were afraid to find out what was behind the vine covered door.

I is for inspiration.

Sometimes we reach for the stars when there is no place like home.

What I mean is there is plenty to write about in your own life. You may not be aware of it.

My daughter is a photographer. When she met with the owner of a wedding site, the conversation revealed what her passion was: photographing children and families. It's not that she couldn't do weddings well, but she never realized what really inspired her and she had been doing it all along.

What are your experiences? 

What do you enjoy doing? 

Start out writing what you know. You will be amazed how effortlessly the words flow!

It doesn't stop there. In time, your interests will broaden and you will learn more about what interests you. I recently decided to take an online course on resume writing. I had done a few in the past for myself and family and enjoyed doing it. When I first started writing 4 years ago it wasn't in my mind. Recently, a resume job was posted on one of the job boards and it got me thinking. I live in proximity of 4 colleges. Advertising would be a breeze. And oh my goodness I like writing resumes! So, here we go!

J is for job boards.

As you work consistently, you are sure to connect with successful writers and authors online. I am thankful for them directing me toward reputable sites.

Freelancewriting.com is one of those valuable sites. Here is where you will find some tried and true job boards  to assist you in looking for freelance work.

Looking at job boards every day is part of a good routine for a successful writing career. I am amazed at the need for writers. It never ends. You are sure to find something you can do. Even if you are not sure, go for it anyway. You will feel accomplished as you regularly apply for jobs.

Next month we'll look at K - O. Stay tuned!

Please leave feedback in the comment section if you are a new writer and have tried one of my tips that have helped you.

 Image courtesy of  Naypong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

~~~

After raising and homeschooling her 8 children and teaching art classes for 10 years, Kathy has found time to pursue freelance writing. She enjoys writing magazine articles and more recently had her story, "One of a Kind", published in The Kids' Ark. You can find her passion to bring encouragement and hope to people of all ages at When It Hurts - http://kathleenmoulton.com

Online Editors - Which to Use?

Common sense and publishing experts all stress the need for careful editing before submitting for publication. And no matter how experienced you are in doing your own editing and proofreading, there is always room for another eye on your work.

The odd typo or missing punctuation mark pops up even in the best-edited books from famous authors and prestigious publishing firms.

But--and this can be a big but when you're starting out--editors cost a fair amount.  If you're only earning minimal royalties per book, you would need to sell 1000 copies at least to afford an editor. Add another few hundred sales to pay for a designer cover. And you may well be working at a loss, considering the average number of copies sold per book is said to be around 500.

So if you need to go the self-editing route, read your work aloud. That helps you hear where words are missing, misspelled, or where the dialogue sounds unnatural. At least use the grammar and spell checker options provided by Word.

Do your best to provide a manuscript that

• a) follows all the guidelines laid down by your prospective publisher and 
•  b) is as free of errors and as perfect as possible.

I don't think I have ever read a perfect book. Readers are forgiving up to a point but too many misspellings and awkward grammar mistakes get between a reader and the story.

And that leads to bad reviews. Amazon, too, is threatening not to publish poorly presented work. So, enter the robotic editor.

Try Online editors

Interestingly more and more online editors are appearing. And these can do a good job of catching things you  missed. Though, like those that tackle translation work, they are certainly not infallible.

Four that I looked at in the past month were EditMinion,  from Dr. Wicked--remember his Write or Die? ( A software download that punished dilatory writers with a shocking noise or even by deleting words if ever you stopped writing for too long to think.).

EditMinion is in beta at the moment, meaning it is still looking for bugs to iron out before its official release. But it looks for all the things most editors focus on when reading--too many adverbs, passive verbs, weak words, cliches, obtrusive dialogue tags, word echoes, homonyms and poorly placed prepositions.

I also liked Ginger. It is a great app but may not be for you if you hate seeing your errors highlighted as you go. As well as spellchecking. proofreading, and grammar inspection, this one gives suggestions for rephrasing sentences.

After the Deadline like the others offers a demonstration version on its website. I inserted the introduction to this article and it picked out one example of passive voice--which I dispute--and suggested provide was too complex a word. Its suggestions were "give" or "offer."

Grammarly is perhaps the best known for its browser extension which is well reviewed by many writers. Again it is free , checks against grammar rules, lets you know the reasons for its decisions. See what you think.

Download Warning

Be careful with any downloads to your computer or browser. Free software can come bundled with toolbars or allow search systems which do not agree with your computer. Keep reading to check exactly what is being downloaded.

My Avast antivirus and Comodo firewall complained hysterically when I tried to download some of these. Is it worth it? I'd find at least one of them very handy. The choice is yours. Let me know if your computer says no :-)

But at least try out the demonstration pages and see what you think. As good as a real person or not? For me, people are best. But the robots do an excellent back up check on tired days and can suggest interesting changes.

Anne Duguid Knol

A local and national journalist in the U.K., Anne Knol is now a fiction editor for award-winning American and Canadian publishers. As a new author, she shares writing tips and insights at Author Support

Her Halloween novella, ShriekWeek is published by The Wild Rose Press as e-book and in print  included in the Hauntings in the Garden anthology. (Volume Two)

A Critical Skill for Every Writer

by W. Terry Whalin

With the ease of cranking words into a computer, it's easy to get lulled into the idea that anyone can be a writer. Yet the specific words you write are important. Which words are you selecting when you write and are you using the right combination?

Whether you are writing a children's book or a novel or nonfiction or a personal experience magazine article, your word choice is critical. How do you learn this skill? You will use it in many aspects of the work—from the title for your book or the headline for your article. Or the words on the back cover of your book which helps a reader know if they should purchase your book or press on to the next one.

In the writing business, creating words which sell is called copy and the specific skill is called copywriting. The good news is you can learn this skill as a writer. 

First, you need to be aware your word choice is important and can drive sales. Years ago as a young journalist, I learned the power of writing great headlines to draw readers. When you write a headline or the words on a website, what is drawing readers? Be aware of the response. Do people click your button and buy your material or do they breeze past it? Awareness is a critical step.

Second, practice. When you write a blog post or a magazine article or a book proposal or a book manuscript. Think carefully about the title or headline. Are you telling a story that pulls the reader into your writing? What are the words doing and are they achieving what you want? This type of internal analysis will help you be more deliberate about your word selection.

Third, there are skilled teachers who teach copywriting. One of the best in this area is Ray Edwards. Recently Edwards has published a new book, How to Write Copy That Sells. The book is less than 160 pages and covers key topics like headlines, emails, bullet points, irresistable offers, secrets of product launches and much more. Each chapter begins with an inspirational quote. Here's how chapter four begins, “Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” — Leo Burnett

As an acquisitions editor, I read a great deal of unpublished pitches and manuscripts. Some writers have learned their words have power and they pull me into their manuscripts. Others lack this critical storytelling skill. If you learn this skill, it will increase your sales potential. It doesn't matter what you are writing at the end of the day you are selling something. The sooner you can learn this skill, the sooner your writing will be published and sell.

Tweetable:

Do you have this critical skill for every writer? Learn About It Here. (ClickToTweet)


W. Terry Whalin is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He is always looking for good books to publish and his email address is in his twitter profile. He has written more than 60 books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and for more than 50 magazines.

Keeping a Writer's Notebook

As I have written almost consistently since I was a child, the notebook has also been a pretty constant companion. At least once every year or two I go through these treasured books and pick out the ideas that stand out.

Even today, when I write most everything on a laptop, I still have a number of moleskin notebooks, generic notebooks, sheets of blank paper and other assorted places where I can write down the things that come to me when I'm not at my desk.

For me, I find the process of sitting down and writing on a laptop wonderful for getting the plot and story on the page, but then comes the rewrite, when I'm looking to surprise my reader on every page and my notebook becomes critical. How is it possible to surprise your reader on every page? Well, it's easier if you expand your reader's vocabulary, which means expanding yours, or through the use of interesting dialog - in my case, this is otherwise known as eavesdropping and modifying conversations heard in the check out line at the grocery, at the coffee shop or library, or finally using simile and metaphors - which means I spend time in nature getting my head in that space where I can let go of day-to-day challenges and instead think creatively.

I would love to say that my notebooks are organized with appropriate headers: quotes, vocabulary, plot ideas, similes & metaphors, but I'd be lying. And sometimes in those notebooks you will find a receipt from a gas station just stuck in between the pages with a brilliant thought.

Bottom line, having a place where you can store precious thoughts is critical for the writer. Ideas that seem unforgettable one day are too often gone the next. I've tried to use computer programs to manage my notes but I've found it just doesn't work as well as my disorganized paper stash-all.    

Where do you write your ideas? Your snippets of conversation? Your precious writer's notes?

__________________________________

D. Jean Quarles is a writer of Women's Fiction and co-author of a Young Adult Science Fiction Series. Her latest book, Solem was released February 2016.

D. Jean loves to tell stories of personal growth – where success has nothing to do with money or fame, but of living life to the fullest. She is also the author of the novels: Rocky's Mountains, Fire in the Hole, and Perception, and the co-author of The Exodus Series: The Water Planet: Book 1 and House of Glass: Book 2. The Mermaid, an award winning short story was published in the anthology, Tales from a Sweltering City.                                                                                             

She is a wife, mother, grandmother and business coach. In her free time . . . ha! ha! ha! Anyway, you can find more about D. Jean Quarles, her writing and her books at her website at www.djeanquarles.com                                      

You can also follower her on Facebook.

Can Marketing and Networking Harm Your Writing Career?

Can you market your work and network too much? My writer friends and I have discussed this question several times over and it can be quite controversial depending on where an author is in the process of a writing career. Early on in the beginning of my writing adventure  marketing and networking was part of every course I took. Build your platform, network with other writers in your genre, network with writers, publishers, illustrators on social networks to help get your name out there, blog to build an audience, and offer to write for free to get your feet wet. Everywhere I turned, someone was telling me to get myself out there.

 As I began finding my way, the advice included Query, query, query.... find a publisher you want to write for and send your ideas. Worry about the writing when you have an accepted idea. Write for various free sites and build your article folder, make yourself an expert and the work will find its way to you. Etc. Etc. Etc. New and seasoned writers know the drill. Does all this sound familiar? But when is too much marketing and networking harmful to your career and when is it enough?

Here is what I have discovered over the past 10 years of writing and trying to build a niche...it takes discipline to stay on course and courage to promote yourself in a humble way, Yet marketing and networking is essential even when  it can be too much and it can be harmful. Here is a quick list of when and how it can hurt your career.

1. Marketing and networking can be harmful if all you do is market, network, and never sit down to write or create a product. You loose your authenticity when you say you have a product or you promise your book to your audience but you do not deliver. It is only a positive reflection on you as an author if you have something valuable to offer your audience and you continue to provide what you promise in your marketing campaign. 
2. Social media is a fabulous tool but it is only a positive tool if you are using it to either promote your product, book, or service. It is also a positive career move to promote others through social media especially those in your field of interest and those who can help you to grow as an author. Social media can have a negative impact on your career if you find yourself distracted from your writing or if you get caught up in the negative or false leads that social media can trend or if you use social media to procrastinate from the job you need to be finishing. 
3. If you see positive results with the marketing techniques you are currently using and you can schedule your time like any other task it can be positive for your writing career. If you focus all of your free time on marketing and networking at the expense of writing time or family time it can be detrimental to both your professional and family relationships. There must be a healthy balance between writing, marketing, and family obligations. 
4. Marketing can be self-absorbing if you are the only one saying good things about your work. While we need to be our own best horn blower,, at some point you must count on the opinions of others in the form of reviews of your work, comments on your blog, notes from editors, and such to balance and provide an objective view of your products. Someone somewhere must notice your work... your tried and true product or story. It can harm your career if you are the only one saying you are a great author. Networking with authentic people in your area of expertise can validate your work and in turn promote your career in a positive way. 

Marketing and networking must be guarded and planned just like the story you create or the product you develop. Care must always be taken to make sure the actions you take to promote your career are helping and not harming your reputation as a writer. 

About the author: Terri Forehand writes from her home in Nashville Indiana. When she is not writing, designing, or crafting she spends time working in the neonatal intensive care, spending time with grand kids, and running the small fabric shop she owns with her husband, She is the author of The Cancer Prayer Book and The ABC's of Cancer According to Lilly Isabella Lane. She is currently working on an picture book about first aide for first graders. http://terri-forehand.blogspot.com