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| Being a Writer is Like Being an Airplane |
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February 18, 2022
Oakland, CA
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| | When I was 20 years old, I knew I needed to write if I wanted to be a writer, yet I had nothing to say. And, I criticized myself about that. Still, I needed to move hand across page if writing was what I wanted to be doing.
So I did. I'd get to my summer library job at UC Berkeley 20 minutes early and sit on a bench in the courtyard and write, or scribble, rant, and complain. I didn't know what else to say. I stuck with it, even though it was hard. I was feeling my way into the unknown and it was uncomfortable, like a new outfit that scratches a little.
What I didn’t know at the time was that I was developing the mind-heart-hand muscle, or circuit, and that I was cultivating the relationship between my parts:- my heart full of yearning to be a writer
- my head, trying to figure it out "How to do this thing called being a writer?"
- and my body scribing my thoughts and feelings, observing, capturing the turbulence inside
Since I was a child, I’d been blessed with a role model (my great grandmother, Meridel Lesueur, was a writer and passed this advice to my mother who passed to me {thanks Mom!}) that writers write.
According to the family, my great grandmother would write every day, regardless of the weather, regardless of her state of mind, or the chaos around her in the house or in the world. (Born in 1900, she lived through 2 World Wars, the Great Depression, the McCarthy Era, and onward. She died in 1996, when I was 28 years old.)
This story wasn’t explained to me in so many words, but the gist of that message was there. So from as young as eight years old, I remember wanting to be like her: a writer.
Fast forward to 15 years ago, when I was getting my business off the ground. I knew I could and I had helped writers. I was passionate about it. And, I was aware that I only had 3 books under my belt at that time. Was that experience enough to build this business?
Then, I reminded myself that I have 3 books under my belt, years of teaching experience, and a deep desire to be of service.
That would have to be enough — because that was where I was. And I dearly wanted to be in action.
I also realized, looking back on my life, that I had been working on being a writer, actually writing for a very long time -- since childhood -- and now I was ready to help others in a committed way.
Writing is Like Being an Airplane
I liken being ready to write like a jet liner getting ready for take off.
Let’s say you want to write but things aren’t moving yet. You’re not writing, just dreaming.
That’s like the airplane at the gate, getting fueled, preparing for flight.
Now you’ve started writing, notes, noodling, journaling.
You're on the runway, taxing for take-off.
Some people stay on the runway longer than others. But eventually the plane takes off, in most cases.
Now you’re rising in elevation; it feels hard, like a chore. You’re ascending.
Finally you get to cruising speed at 30,000 feet and things are going great, until you hit turbulence. Who hasn’t hit turbulence in a flight? Or in the writing of your book?
Then there’s the descending and arriving process. As in writing, there’s a completion phase where you arrive at your goal: finishing the book or publishing it.
Each book has these phases. And each creative process has stages of readiness before they take off into the doing phase.
Before you're actually writing, you're also already in the process.
Maybe you want to write, but you’re not sure of your destination, so you're gathering ideas, researching, noodling, day dreaming, night dreaming, brainstorming with buddies, or just listening to your muse.
Maybe you know where you want to go — you know the kind of story you want to write — but... you’re not ready to start.
Or maybe you're rushing to the airport because you’re late for the flight, because you were fighting with yourself. Or with traffic.
All part of the creative process.
I feel like I’ve extended this metaphor far enough, maybe even too far… LOL
You may recognize your own stages of readiness; they will probably look differently than mine.
That's okay, Make this metaphor your own, or choose another.
Take the time to map out your process. Doing so will help you befriend this process and includes all parts that may look like detours to others, but are essential to your process.
If you need more prompts to muse on your creative process, use these questions as starting points:
- Where are you in your stages of readiness? Where is your turbulence?
- Where could you be more kind with yourself about the process of writing your book?
- Where do you need a role model or a mentor, if at all?
- Where do you need support or resources?
Hit reply and let me know your ruminations on the questions. I’d love to hear how you’re doing and what your needs are. Your replies inspire me to create more resources for you.
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| Coming Soon! Adventures into the Unknown! Launching: Red Running Deep, Janey McCallister Mystery, Book 4 |
| You know the feeling when you're at the bottom of a deep, dark well, and it feels like there's no way out? No fun... You've hit rock bottom and have no idea where to go or what to with your life. You don’t know what your purpose is… You wonder: what am I good for?
Maybe you feel you need to figure out your purpose in life before you take action, and yet, when you look within, there's no answers, only a tangled web of confusion and pain.
But what if you didn't have to know your purpose to take action? What if it was about moving forward in the face of uncertainty? What if it was about taking action, serving others, and in that process, discovering your purpose?
Then in the process of serving others, you realize that you're finding the resources you need, one step at a time.
And you realize that sitting and waiting to discover your purpose wasn't helping you gain the strength and experience you needed to become the person you want to be, the person who could actually live your purpose.
You realize that by taking one step into the unknown, then the next, that you are able to gather the strength, the resources, the allies, and the wisdom to be living in your purpose.
... this is what my upcoming novel and all the books in this series are about...
If you'd like to follow along on my upcoming launch, click the red button or the book covers.
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| | | | | | Writing Masterclass Replay! Today and Tomorrow
Traci Skuce and her team let me know that her summit replay is up today and tomorrow -- f.ree --
If you want to dive into some inspiring, thought-provoking, and motivating writerly conversations, then check out this summit!
You can upgrade to an all-access pass for $35 CAD. The below link is a tracking link for Traci, but not an affiliate one.
Sign up for this no-cost event here:
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Have a happy and creative week! Happy Writing!
All my best,
Beth
PS. Page Turner Awards are open for 2022!
Receiving an award for your fiction can validate your efforts, offer you recognition from strangers, and be a great feather in your cap for marketing.
I'm a sponsor of this contest (and a former winner!) and am giving away 2 prizes this year: - For published authors: the Branding for Authors course bundle, plus 3 months of one-on-one support
- For unpublished authors: Edit Your Novel course, plus 3 months of coaching and manuscript review.
Contest open until 31st of May 2022.
All the details and how to enter here:
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| Recent Posts on Writer's Fun Zone blog- Storyboard Your Tale by LA Bourgeois
- Author Q&A with Shannon Lawrence, featuring her book The Business of Short Stories: Writing, Submitting, Publishing, and Marketing
- Author Q&A with Amanda Krill, featuring her book, Feisty & Non-Compliant,and its Kickstarter campaign
- Write The Story As You Want To, Not How Others Tell You To Write It by Janelle Riley
- The Power of No by Lisa Towles
- Is Visualization the Key to Success? by Catharine Bramkamp
- Author Q&A with Bobby Nash, Thrillers, Mysteries, Media Tie-Ins
- The Copyright Claims Board is Coming Soon! by Kelley Way
- Author Q&A With Tinthia Clemant, featuring her book, My Immortal Beloved
- Fuel for the Flame: New Years Goals by Nevada McPherson
- Should You Escape the Amazon Monopoly: the Pros and Cons of the Retail Giant by Thao Nguyen
** Write for us and gain experience and clips, and share your wisdom! ** |
| | | | | You have been reading the Creativity Sparks Newsletter!
Now in its 16th year, this newsletter is a service of my coaching and consulting business, helping genre fiction writers write, market, and publish their novels to the delight of their readers.
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| ABOUT BETH BARANY
Beth Barany is creativity coach for writers, a teacher, workshop facilitator, and speaker, who helps fiction writers experience clarity, so that they can write and polish their novels, and proudly publish them to the delight of their readers.
Beth speaks to groups locally, online, and internationally. For more details and how to book, go here.
Owner of the Barany School of Fiction, an online training hub, Beth takes great interest in how humans learn, create, and grow, and includes all her students’ life experiences, including the ancestors, into the moment.
Want a course to help you prepare to write your novel? Discover the comprehensive Plan Your Novel course here to help you vision, brainstorm, and plan your next novel. Planning for panthers, who want some structure but no too much. A road map to guide you on your way to writing your novel. By the time you're done with this course, you'll be ready to write because you know where you want to go and are excited by it.
Beth Barany is also an award-winning novelist and writes magical tales of romance, adventure, and mystery to empower women and girls to be the heroes in their own lives.
Uncover her Henrietta The Dragon Slayer series here (YA Fantasy), her Touchstone series here (Fantasy/Paranormal Romance).
beth@bethbarany.com
Barany School of Fiction
Writer's Fun Zone blog
Photo Credit: by c. 2018 Ezra Barany
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