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| Talk To Your Book, An Intuitive Approach
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November 1, 2019
Oakland, CA
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| | | Recently, I attended an online talk about intuitive editing by Mark David Gerson, another writing coach, teacher, and author.
I had just come back from Saudi Arabia where I taught three workshops in three days and I wanted a turn being the student. I've been feeling stuck and disconnected from my own editing process.
I'm editing and revising a four-book science fiction detective series. It's already written, and I've been revising it on a light level for the last few years. I want to publish this series next year.
Book One is already on preorder! I have my book blurbs, I have my covers, but I know the books aren't ready.
So, I went to Mark's lecture online. Cool thing... he was delivering the talk at a bookstore in Sedona, Arizona, and I think I was the only online attendee.
Mark said some useful things, and one of the most useful things he said was to tune into what the book's vision is for itself.
So on Monday, I sat down at Peet's coffee on the corner of Piedmont Avenue and Glen and used the Mythulu deck to create prompts to ask the book what its vision was for itself.
Almost two hours later I came out of that with an answer that I didn't like but felt true.
I'm writing about a woman who's dealing with grief in the midst of remaking her life.
It's so different from what I wrote about in the Henrietta The Dragon Slayer series, about a young woman searching for her place in the world, asking how she can be a leader, how she can channel her power in a constructive way.
These books I'm currently working on are set against the backdrop of a space station hotel casino high above Earth, very separated from daily concerns. People come here to party, to gamble, to play, to hook up, to make shady deals. Even to study the stars.
My detective, the lead investigator, Janey McCallister, must solve crimes, and in each book solves a murder mystery, all while she's dealing with her grief. She's dealing with the grief of her mother who’s sick and with the grief of her best friend dying some years before that propelled her into this life.
I'm trying to figure out who she is amidst her new job and what she wants. She knows she wants justice and to bring some rest to the dead, to bring a sense of rightness into her life and the lives of those around her.
I really didn't like realizing that my story was about transforming one's life amidst grief. I find it such a sad prospect. But the reality is it's what's up for me and for the book, all four books. And at the same time, I have to face what's real. I have to listen to the book.
So if you are stuck with your editing process or even in your first drafting process, I invite you to ask the book -- talk to the book...
Ask it: what is your vision for yourself?
Yes. This is an intuitive process.
Notice what shows up.
If it's helpful use divination cards, or Tarot, or the Mythulu deck. And see what flows out of your dialogue.
Write it down. |
| | Talk to the Book
In a meeting with one of my clients yesterday, Jeri Lawson, I asked as her to reflect on what her book's vision was, and she pulled this card, "The Monk" from my Mythulu deck.
She said the card gave her a big Aha and smiled with certainty.
Jeri is an Energetic Healer and Clarity Breathwork Practitioner. She has had a full-time healing practice in Oakland, California since 1996 and is working on a book about her 23 years of practice.
Image credit: c. Jeri Lawson 2019 |
| | Resources mentioned in this post
Mark David Gerson, Author, Coach, Speaker
Henrietta The Dragon Slayer series by Beth Barany
About my four-book science fiction detective series, the Janey McCallister series
First book on pre-order: Into The Black (Janey McCallister Mystery Book 1)
Mythulu Creation Cards
Jeri Lawson, Healing Touch |
| Have a happy and creative week! Happy writing!
Best,
Beth
PS. One of my colleagues is offering coaching to screenwriters, TV, and comic book writers. Here's a bit about her:
Allison Chaney is a trained screenwriter, published author, and comic book writer with over a decade of teaching experience. Her creative coaching is tailored to the individual and designed to help clients increase productivity and produce professional level writing. She focuses on screenplays, TV pilots, and comics. Email her for details: allison@theophilusfilms.com. |
| | In Good News: Fellowship of the Pen students
**Celebrating good news of the students and friends of Barany School of Fiction**
Reader Magnet Reveal Coming Soon! New Adult/Contemporary Romance novelist, C. N. Mobberly is about to reveal her reader magnet to her mailing list and reader group. If this genre is your jam, check out C. N.'s site and Facebook page.
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Build A Story: A Writer's Workbook (Novel Planning Workbook)
Diana Lynn is proud to announce her novel writing workbook, for sale on Amazon. She'll be a featured writer on Writer's Fun Zone next week. I like her workbook so much, I offer the PDF version as a bonus to our Plan and Write Your Novel: 60-Day Challenge students.
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On the Writer's Fun Zone blog this week (and last)*:
*I didn't send a newsletter last week as I was in Saudi Arabia last week teaching writing. - Can I Copyright a Title? by Kelley Way
Writers often ask literary lawyer Kelley Way if they can copyright their title. In this article, she discusses the short answer and the long answer.
- How to Spot a Professional Book Shepherd by Mary Neighbour
How do you spot a professional book shepherd. In this post, Mary Neighbour shares the telltale signs your book shepherd is a professional.
- Self Care for Authors by Willow Woodford
I believe there are a few misconceptions that lead us to put ourselves last where self care is concerned. And it’s not because we don’t love ourselves.
- Plot MD by Adrienne Bell (Book Review by Mary Van Everbroeck)
A review of Plot MD by Adrienne Bell. Plot MD a book on how to write a story using two tools Bell created, the Character Arc and the Stacked Funnel Tool Worksheets.
- Getting Ready for NaNoWriMo 2019 by Tinthia Clemant
NaNoWriMo 2019 is right around the corner. Are you going to participate this year? Here are some simple tips for pansters to help you prep from novelist Tinthia Clemant.
- Resources on Point of View (POV)
Check out our resources on POV — point of view — on Writer’s Fun Zone blog and beyond. Articles, webinar trainings, and books. Questions about point of view? Post in the comments below.
- How to Spot a Professional Book Shepherd: Questions to Ask Your Book Shepherd Before Hiring by Mary Neighbour
Use these questions to help you spot a book professional, a book shepherd, and make a good choice, by Mary Neighbour.
- Chef: A Movie Whose Heart is in its Food by MJ Post
Chef, a Jon Favreau-headed culinary movie, is an excellent example of using the culinary world as a backdrop for fiction. This movie analysis for food writers contains spoilers.
- Metaphors and Similes Improve Precision and Clarity by Kay Keppler
Using description that grounds the reader in time and place can make a powerful opening—and metaphors and similes can help readers see and feel more precisely what you want them to experience.
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Writer's Fun Zone has a Facebook channel as a way to get the word out to a broader audience. Check it out here:
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| NEWEST BOOK! Plan Your Novel Like A Pro
This book will help you get excited to plan your novel. The tools shared here are designed to spark your muse and give you confidence when you sit down to write your story. Plan Your Novel Like A Pro: And Have Fun Doing It! is for organic writers and pansters who want a roadmap to follow, so that they can let their creativity loose.
** Is this you? => Are you a podcaster or blogger and would like to feature PLAN YOUR NOVEL LIKE A PRO on your channel? Review copies available. Please hit reply and let me know. Thanks!
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| | | You have been reading the Creativity Sparks Newsletter!
Welcome!
You may share this content intact and with no changes with this attribution:
BTW, I'm a working novelist too, with two series published in two genres, and more on the way. :)
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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.
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, co-taught with award-winning, bestselling thriller author, Ezra Barany.
She's 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.
beth@bethbarany.com
Barany School of Fiction
Writer's Fun Zone blog
Photo Credit: by c. 2018 Ezra Barany
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