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| Traveling through unknown territory? Bring Trust đź’–
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February 21, 2020
Oakland, CA
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| | My life changed the day I received the Grand Prize for my first published novel, Henrietta The Dragon Slayer.
I went from wondering if I could write to being told that I'd written a wonderful story by perfect strangers.
I'd worked so hard on that novel for so many years and had received tons of feedback ripping into so many aspects of it.
Some people didn't like my heroine or thought the story was confusing.
But I stuck with the project, polished it, and finally published it after working on it for 7 years.
The responsibility I took was that I didn't give up on this book, even when the end seemed far off in the distance, even when I was lost on how to make the book better, even when others didn't seem to relate to my heroine.
I believed so much in this book that I submitted it to a few contests, finaled in one, and then won Grand Prize in another.
Wow. All that hard work listening to my instincts, finding ways to improve my work and to make my heroine relatable paid off.
I learned that people's feedback, while very useful in telling me what wasn't working, wasn't very good at telling me how to fix things.
For that, I had to dig deep, trust myself, spend lots of time with the book, take risks, and think and feel deeply.
I also learned that the process of editing a book isn't linear and I had to be uncomfortable with being in the dark and squishy unknown for an unknown period of time.
That didn't mean I was twiddling my thumbs, not working on the book, waiting for inspiration to strike.
No, this meant I was confronting head on the problems in the story and musing on them and letting my subconscious scurry away to find the answers.
Then my job was to listen to the answers and trust the revisions I was writing, trust the new ideas and the new threads and put them on the page.
From that day to this, when I'm revising a novel, as I'm doing again now, I've learned to release myself from the "should's" and sink into the question of: what does this book want to be, and how can I best bring that forth?
Then I edit, revise, re-read what I've written, and feel how it lands right now in the moment.
Editing and revising a novel to bring it to a finished place is a lot like traveling through unknown territory.
The destination is on the other end but you need courage and trust to travel through the darkness.
I know you can do it… Trust yourself.
Think and feel deeply. Give your book the time and the attention it needs. You can do this.
Hit reply and let me know how your writing and editing is going. |
| | | Do you dream of writing a novel?
Then check out our flagship course starting April 1st.
We will help you plan and write a first draft of your novel in 60 days.
Yep, it can be done.
How do we know? Because we your instructors have done it many times.
And to sweeten the pot, we have some Early Bird Enrollment Bonuses for you if you register now.
Go here: http://bethb.net/60daynovel
Early Bird Registration closes March 15, 2020, 9pm PT.
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Have a happy and creative week! Happy writing, editing, creating!
Best,
Beth
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♥
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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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