It’s been much too long since I’ve posted a blog on my website, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing. These past two and a half years have been some of the most challenging years of my life, but it’s also reminded me why I write. When I was going through some particularly dark moments in my life, writing was my lifeline, the only way I knew how to express what I was going through. Although there were stretches of time when I didn’t have time or energy to write fiction, I wrote poetry, essays, and articles. I’ll never call myself a poet, but poetry is what I turn to when I need to release those tough, gritty emotions.
 
A few pieces I’ve written in the past two and a half years have been published. I began to write about mental health while my teenage daughter was struggling with some of the worst treatment resistant depression I’ve ever seen. I was a mental health therapist for almost 12 years, so I’ve seen a lot. My articles about my daughter’s journey and our family’s journey were published in the Des Moines Register and the Cedar Rapids Gazette as well as on some mental health blogs. It’s become one of my missions to erase the stigma that surrounds mental health. While my daughter still struggles, we’re finding some things that are helping.
 
I didn’t give up writing fiction during this time either. I edited a novel I wanted to query, and I planned/thought about my work in progress a lot. I also wrote my first short story (if you can call 10,000 words short). For my own self-care, I went to as many of my critique groups as possible so I could stay connected to my writing friends/community and stay motivated to keep writing.
 
During this time, I entered a few contests and was thrilled to be a finalist in 2018 Sun vs. Snow, a finalist in Sequestrum's 2018 New Writer Award, and a semifinalist in the Faulkner-Wisdom Contest. I managed to do a bit a querying, too.
 
Last spring, I finally finished the WIP I’d started almost three years ago. I took the summer to edit it and send it to beta readers. I plan to query it soon.
 
As I look back at these last two to three years, I realize how much writing is a part of who I am. I could have easily quite or taken a hiatus. 
 
This writing journey I’m on is always a crazy roller coaster, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s my passion and my outlet. I know it sounds cliché, but writing is my light in the darkness.

I’m sitting in my quiet little room on the last morning of the RMFW Retreat, reflecting on all of the helpful nuggets (and boulders) of wisdom I’ve gotten during my time in beautiful Colorado Springs. I’ve learned so much from the agent and editor who are here, as well as from the incredibly talented writers I’ve met. The talent here is seriously amazing.

My experience here only strengthens my belief that we can always grow and learn as writers, no matter how long you’ve been writing or how many conferences you’ve gone to. Yesterday I attended an hour long workshop about revision strategies led by literary agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan from Handspun Literary Agency. I’ve heard and read a lot of advice about revising manuscripts, but Courtney presented some revision strategies I’ve never heard before—ones I’ll definitely use. I asked her if I could share some of her tips with my writing community and she graciously said I could. You can check out more of Courtney's tips on twitter.
​
Instead of sharing her entire list, I’ll share the strategies I’ve never heard of before.

• Print your manuscript and attack it with highlighters. Use one color for dialogue, one color for character action, and one color for exposition. The main thing you want to watch for are big chunks of exposition that either need to be cut or spread out more.
• Change the font and read the manuscript in a font you don’t normally use. If you normally use Times New Roman, change it to Courier or another font that looks very different. Doing this tricks your brain and will help you see your manuscript with fresh eyes.
• Make an EKG of your novel’s conflict. Chart the conflict in your novel from beginning to end. There will be tall peeks where the highest conflict is and some lower peeks where you give your characters a break, but there should never be long periods where your story flat lines with no tension or conflict.

• Plug your manuscript into a Word Cloud like Wordle and see if there are certain words you overuse.
• Put your manuscript away for a month, then write a full synopsis. Were there scenes you left out?

Courtney had some other great advice that a lot of us have heard such as cutting anything that slows the story down and making sure you have beta readers and critique partners read your manuscript. Now it’s time for me to put that advice to work. My main objective during the retreat was to revise my manuscripts and to lower the word count. Now I feel like I have more tools that will help me do that.
​
It’s so peaceful here at the retreat center. The only thing I hear are the magpies and the occasional voices of other writers passing by in the hall. Five deer graze on the hillside outside of my window. Now it’s time to get back to my manuscript with new eyes and renewed enthusiasm.

Two and a half years ago I helped start the Des Moines Writers' Workshop with a handful of other dedicated writers. This group has been a huge part of my writing journey and I credit the group members for much of my growth as a writer. We launched our Website in April of 2015 and since then the group has seen substantial growth. We're looking at offering a lot of opportunities for writers in the Des Moines area that don't exist right now.

One of the most exciting thing for me as one of the founders of the group is to get feedback from new members. I'm sharing a blog post written by one of our newer members, Francis Sparks. He's a great addition to our group and he recently shared the fantastic news that he just signed with a small press who is publishing his first novel, Made Safe. 

Here is what Francis wrote about his first two months with the Des Moines Writers' Workshop:

Red Shirts & the Importance of a Critique Group
​
By Francis Sparks

I haven’t always been involved in my writing community. I’m an introvert.

But for the last few years, I joined every writing group that I could find, but none of them were a real critique group. A few months ago I was toying around with the idea of starting my own group when I did a google search that turned up Des Moines Writers Workshop. One of my favorite anecdotes about Napoleon centers around the promotion of a young officer to general. His advisor tells Napoleon about the various strengths of the young officer when Napoleon stops him and asks the simple question.

“Is he lucky?”

In the glorious struggle that is writing, we are all competing for attention and exposure for our work. I think a fair portion of success is striking at the right time. Luck. I lucked into finding this critique group at the perfect time. The members are the original founders of the workshop and are extremely passionate, talented and knowledgeable writers, writing in a broad range of genres from literary to science fiction to historical fiction.

Which brings me to my point. Find a group. If you can’t find a group, start your own. There are other people like you who want a writing community to turn to for support, for help, and to in turn help their fellow writers.

Here’s an example of why. The first month I submitted a heavily polished short story to the workshop. It was a story I had worked on for some time and knew was good. Why? I wanted to impress the other writers and lend some credibility to myself as a writer with some talent. The workshop went great, I got some good compliments, but I didn’t learn a lot. I had worked on the story for over a year and it had been edited into a pretty good piece that didn’t need much help.
​
Fast-forward to earlier this month. Full disclosure, I’m a pantser. I don’t want to change into a plotter, I like being pantser. I’m digging up the fossil that is my story as Stephen King says. So this month I decided to submit the first 2500 words of my new manuscript to the group. It’s a fantasy novel that I’ve written to a grand total of 14,000 words (expected to be full length 80,000).

The group again had lots of praise for my writing which felt good. Yay, I can write! Then we turned to the critique portion and several of the members pointed out some big no-no’s if I decided to submit to an agent and go the traditional route with this book.

First No-No: I introduced a character just to kill them (known as a Red Shirt). Sounds fun, right? I thought so too. I love killing characters, but apparently that is frowned upon in the traditional world. More on that later.

Second No-No: The scene with the Red Shirt was told from his POV. When I killed said Red Shirt, I jumped out of his POV and went omniscient!!! No, you say, you cannot write! You, sir, are a fraud! I could only agree when I discovered my rookie mistake.

So what happened after that? They kicked me out of the group right? They said wow we really thought you could write but now, with your POV F-up it is clear we are mistaken.

No, that didn’t happen. They picked me up off the floor and gave me suggestions on how to fix it! WTF you say? Yes, they helped me with my story and gave me constructive ideas on how to fix the problems. The great thing is, I’m only 14,000 words in and while I am a pantser and cannot return to edit that problematic area until later (that’s just how I pants) I already have ideas on how to fix this glaring POV issue. The original Red Shirt issue I’m not so sure on. I really like killing this guy right away, but I’m thinking about it and I’ll come back and address it in some fashion on the rewrite/edit.
​
Anyway. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GET A CRITIQUE GROUP!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out Francis Sparks' website here.

Writing a novel is hard work. That probably sounds like an obvious statement, but many people have the idea that writing a novel will be a grand adventure…kind of like marriage. The idea of it is beautiful and romantic, but once you dive in, you realize it’s a lot of hard work. As much as I love writing, there are times when I get stuck or hit an unexpected roadblock. Sometimes the plot sags or sometimes I struggle to get a character in and out of a scene. There are times I simply can’t figure out what’s going to happen next. And there are many many times I doubt myself as a writer.

There are also days when writing feels like magic. Those are the days when my fingers can’t type fast enough and the words just come to me. Those are the days when my characters write their own dialogue and I’m just the messenger who writes it all down for them. I love those moments.

During those moments when I struggle or when I’m filled with self-doubt, there are things that keep me going and keep me motivated to see my novel through to the end. Here are a few of my motivators:

• Music: I make a playlist for every novel I write. I search through songs I already have that fit with the theme of my novel or that are reflections of my characters and their struggles. I also search for new songs. I can’t write and listen to music at the same time, but I play my playlist whenever I’m driving or doing dishes or taking a walk. While my music plays, my head is in my novel and with my characters. I often have breakthroughs or “aha” moments when I listen to my playlist.
  

• Support: My family has been incredibly supportive of my writing since the day I typed the first word of my first novel. They’ve gotten used to me pulling out my notepad in the middle of dinner because I have an idea I need to write down before I forget it. I can’t imagine how difficult this journey would be if my family didn’t believe in me.
• My writing group: I don’t know where I’d be without the support from everyone in the Des Moines Writers’ Workshop. I highly recommend that all writers find a writing community. Just being around other writers is energizing. Your fellow writers are the only people who truly understand the highs and the lows of writing (and everything in between). The people in my writing group challenge me to be the best writer I can be. They cheer me on through every success and they help to pick me up and keep me going when I get discouraged. I am so grateful for everyone I’ve met in the Des Moines Writers’ Workshop.

• Writing what I love: This seems obvious, but not everyone does this. Some people try to write to current trends so they can have the next bestseller. That doesn’t work for me. I have to write whatever story is banging the loudest in my head and in my heart. If I’m writing a story I love with characters I love, then I can muscle through the hard stuff because I want to see my characters and their journeys through to the end.
  

• Knowing when to take a break: I never take long breaks from my writing – usually not more than a day. Sometimes when I’m stuck, I just need to take a break to clear my mind. When I take a break, the solution often comes to me while listening to music or doing something mindless. I find that I usually get in my own way and the answer isn’t as complicated as I thought it was.
  

• Knowing when to push through: Sometimes there are places in my novel I just have to push through and force myself to write. If taking a break doesn’t work, then I make myself write through the difficult parts. Sometimes what I write doesn’t work, but then I know I need to come at it from a different angle or a different perspective. Sometimes those scenes I force myself to write end up working. 
  

As difficult as it is to write a novel, the joys and the rewards definitely outweigh the rough patches. I can’t ever imagine giving up or quitting. It’s a gigantic part of who I am.

I’d love to know what motivates other writers.

I'm reposting a fantastic blog post by author Robin LaFevers. It's for any writer who's been in the trenches for a while and is feeling a little discouraged. I am most definitely at the "Nearly There Stage" and it's a very exciting, but  sometimes difficult place to be. I'm getting great feedback from beta readers, I've gotten requests from agents, I've done well in contests, but getting to that next level of finding an agent and getting a book deal is a long, sometimes discouraging process. But every time I move through a difficult place I come out a stronger writer and a stronger person. I've never thought about quitting because I can't imagine not writing. Writing is not just what I do, it's who I am.

Here is Robin's blog post in its entirety:

One of the hardest stages of your writing journey—one that will take the most dedication, commitment, and self exploration—is the ‘nearly there’ stage. This is the stage where your critique partners love your work, you’re getting personalized rejections from agents or editors and highly complimentary reports from your beta readers, and yet . . . no sale or offer has materialized.

Remember those old cartoons, the ones where the character is in the desert, hot sun beating down on him, parched throat, covered in dust, nearly perishing of thirst as he slowly drags himself to the enticing oasis that is just within his reach—only to have it disappear just as he reaches it because it’s a frickin’ mirage?

That’s what the ‘nearly there’ stage feels like. Especially if you’ve been stuck in it more than a couple of years.

But the nearly there stage is a vital, absolutely critical part of our writerly development. In fact I know many agents and editors who would argue that this is exactly the stage that is missing from so many aspiring authors’ journeys and that lack has held them back. So I thought I’d share some thoughts on how to not only survive, but hopefully thrive during this stage.

Yes, I said thrive, because the truth is, this ‘nearly there’ stage where you’ve mastered the basics of craft can be a really, really fun part of your journey—especially if you take your focus off the finish line for a while and throw yourself into the spirit of experimentation and improving.

It can be a gift, a chance to strengthen your writing and your voice so that when you do get published, you have a greater chance of being published well, rather than simply being published.

The critically important tasks of the nearly there stage are mastering the craft at an advanced level, enriching the depth and quality of your stories, and coming to terms with the relationship between you and writing.

Most of us expect to take some time to Master The Craft. A year or two, maybe three. But when our apprenticeship starts to draw out far, far beyond that, it can become dispiriting and discouraging, and all too easy to throw in the towel.

We are so in love with the idea that someone is so naturally talented that they can sit down and write a book in six months, their first book, mind you, and have it published to great fanfare. Those are the publishing stories that get retold the most, so often that they almost become urban legend and that then becomes the expectation rather than the true outlier it is.

But as a society, we are far less enamored of the idea of long years of hard work, mastering the craft one component at a time, until we become proficient enough to master all the elements of craft within the same manuscript.

Donald Rumsfeld once took a lot of flak for talking about the known unknowns vs. the unknown unknowns, and while I’m not a big Rumsfeld fan (at all!) I do think he was on to something.

As writers entering the craft, there are things we know we haven’t mastered, and then there are things we don’t even realize are aspects of craft to be mastered—depth and layers and nuance and white space and subtext and all sorts of advanced techniques. This is partly because many of us come to writing without having been a critical, analytical reader. We come to writing out of the love and enthusiasm we’ve felt for books and we want to, in turn, create that same experience for others.

We often think we know how to write a story. After all, we’ve read thousands of them! It’s only after we dive in and our initial works are met with lukewarm responses, that we begin to realize that good writing makes stories seem effortless, when they’re simply not.

Improving doesn’t happen by accident. If you write a million words or invest 10,000 hours without the express intention of improving your craft and skill—and a plan for making that happen—you can easily end up no closer to your goal.

When I’ve done seventeen drafts of a book, it’s not that I was polishing my words seventeen times, but that it took me a draft to master each of the separate craft elements: character actions in one draft, plot in another, deepen motivation in the following draft, then add in description. Now redraft that description so that it is character specific and carries dramatic weight. Now refine character actions to include subtext, etc. and so on.

Now luckily, I no longer have to do seventeen drafts, but it is highly unusual for me to do less than six.

It has been years of practice that has allowed me to get better at juggling all those elements in a single body of work.

So, dive into this stage. Embrace it. Revel in it. You are about to set out with the sole intention of becoming a writing craft GEEK.

• Reread and analyze books you love—if you get caught up in the writing, stop and see what swept you away.
• Or it might be easier to study books you don’t love, but others do. You might get less sucked in by the writing and are therefore better able to analyze.
• Audiobooks can also be a good way to see what works and what doesn’t because you can’t skip or skim.
• There are scores of amazing writers conferences with workshops for all skill levels. Take full advantage of these. BUT, do not make the mistake of doing those things without also putting in consistent and regular writing time. One is not substituted for the other, but instead feeds the other.
• Consider developing a curriculum for yourself. I know that can seem a bit anal, but if you’re not getting a sense that your work is improving, create a road map to mastery using blogs, online workshops, real life workshops, and how to books. Alone or with others such as critique partners who are familiar with your writing, look at your strengths and weaknesses, then devise a program of study—and dedicated, specific writing time, to address those weaknesses.
• Many published writers get better because they are working closely with an editor who guides and shapes the story. If you’ve attended a number of conferences, consider spending some of that conference budget on a mss critique by a qualified, recommended and respected book editor. You’re looking for big picture, meta level editorial input rather than line editing, although that too can be wildly helpful, but you want to make sure you’ve nailed the big picture down first.
• Oftentimes authors, agents, or editors will offer critiques as prizes for contests or for charity auctions, so keep an eye out for those great opportunities as well.
• Instead of starting a manuscript with the intention to create a marketable, salable story, start it with the intent of mastering certain aspects of craft: compelling description, evocative subtext, nuanced language, layered characters. Give yourself permission, for just this one manuscript, to ignore plot or structure. Or to concentrate on plot and structure if you normally avoid them. Not all of your million words need be in pursuit of one goal. I would actually argue that they shouldn’t be.
• Then, once you’ve spent long hours learning the rules and perfecting the craft—now play with it! Experiment. Color outside the lines. Be daring. Be brave.

Perhaps the most important component to the nearly there stage is better developing the Stories We Tell. Take this opportunity to embark on a journey of self discovery. Dig deeper, look under the rocks and stones of your own soul and write as raw and real as you are able.

• Experiment with your voice—trying always to uncover your most unique, genuine and authentic voice and core stories.
• Find and do exercises to develop your most authentic, strongest story telling voice once you find it.
• Give yourself permission to write as if no one—not your mother, not your sister, not your spouse, not even another living, breathing soul—will have to see it. There is great freedom in slamming that door shut while you write.
• Force yourself out of your comfort zone, not only craft-wise, but subject-wise.
• Spend some time un-learning conventional publishing wisdom and marketing advice and write what you truly love. Reconnect with the sorts of stories that first awakened the love of reading in you and that have provided you with your greatest reading pleasure. What blew your mind? Showed you the full scope of what was possible? Shook the foundations of your world? The seeds of your own voice likely are hidden in those books.
• Spend some time thinking about the complex relationships in your own life. Do you characters have equally complex and dynamic relationships? They should.
• Are you giving your characters as rich and varied an emotional life as you possess? Do some timed writing exercises—spending twenty minutes tops—and write about the following: Your first kiss, your first loss, your first experience with shame, your first betrayal, your first major mistake in judgment.
• Once you’ve captured your emotional milestones in writing, look to your characters. Do you know how they reacted to similar moments in their lives? You should, because the answers to those questions shape our entire worldview and how we interact with everything around us and will therefore play a large part in shaping the story you are trying to tell.

Self knowledge is also a huge factor in surviving nearly there.

This is where the rubber meets the road. Will you have what it takes? Are you truly committed to this writing thing? Even if it takes more than two or three years to achieve your goals?

There is no wrong answer here. Writing might be something that only holds a certain amount of appeal for you, an appeal that will evaporate when it does not come easily or quickly, and that’s okay.

You must know yourself. Come to terms with why you write and who you are and where the two of those intersect. Some people do write for validation and no matter how much they wish that away, it won’t change. Which is fine as long as they are aware of that, the risks involved, and understand how it shapes both their journey and their frustrations. Others write to better understand the world, to make connections, to explore the issues that haunt them, or simply because they can’t NOT write. It is helpful to know which category you fall into.

• Take the long view.
• Practice being in the moment and enjoying the stage you’re in rather than assuming the grass is so much greener elsewhere and pining to be someplace you’re not. As with life, each stage of the writing journey is full of valuable lessons and opportunity for growth, if only we let it be.
• Find a way to get more process minded. Try to remove the onus of publishing=success. I highly recommend Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way as a good place to find help in shifting that perspective.
• There are so many ways to define success! Challenge yourself to find/list ten milestones of success that have nothing to do with being published.
• The same goes for a publishing career. There are all sorts of highly different and yet successful publishing paths. Spend some time understanding what is important to you: wide readership, critical acclaim, a large fan base, number of books sold, financial metrics.

And speaking of journeys, in the writing journey, this nearly there stage is the equivalent of the Dark Night of the Soul, when all feels lost and as if all your efforts have been in vain. Just like a character in a novel, you will have to dig deep, take a leap of faith, and recommit.

You may even have to quit writing for a while, decide it is taking up too much of your life, distracting you from other things that require your attention. But there is a good chance that the writing monster has already sunk her long, seductive claws into you and you will not be able to leave her behind as easily as you thought.

In fact, a huge number of successful writers I know have all at some point quit writing and walked away at some point. Only to find that they couldn’t not write. It was as much a part of them as their bone and sinew.

And once you discover that, you realize that publishing really is only one piece of it. That recognition can allow us to take a deep breath and step back from the sense of urgency that nips too often at our heels. Or at the very least, give us the perspective and patience to keep on cheerfully slogging our way forward.

At the beginning of 2015, I’d intended to write a blog post about my writing goals for the year. Apparently, that blog post was not a priority. Rather than go back and list my goals, I thought it might be fun to talk about the highlights of my writing year so far.

Highlight 1: Finding my focus: I have five and two-thirds manuscripts completed (all in various stages of editing and rewriting), and I had no idea which manuscript to tackle first. Luckily for me, I have the greatest critique partners in the world. In January, we traded some of our manuscripts with each other. Not only was the feedback I got tremendously helpful, I finally got some clarity as to which manuscript I should polish first and submit to agents. I no longer feel like I’m spinning in circles. Now I just have to figure out what to do with the growing list of ideas for novels I want to write.

(This is just a fun image that goes along with the manuscript I submitted to a writing contest. I like to make pretend book covers)

Highlight 4: Writing Contest: At the beginning of the year, I submitted the full manuscript of my novel, The Gathering, to a national writing contest. It’s the manuscript I’ve been polishing and getting ready to submit to agents. I primarily entered the contest because the manuscripts went through five judges, so I was looking forward to getting a lot of feedback. A couple of weeks ago, I got an e-mail stating that The Gathering is one of the five finalists in the contest. I had to sit there and stare at the e-mail for a while to see if it was really real. It still doesn’t seem real. As a finalist, I get to attend a conference where the winner is announced at dinner on the opening night of the conference (May 7th). The closer it gets, the more nervous I get. I’m so thrilled just to be one of the five finalists.

*Update: I received 2nd place in the contest, coming in one tenth of a point behind the winner. I was thrilled with the results.

So far 2015 has been a great year for me as a writer. Looking ahead, I know there are more exciting things to come. One of my critique partners challenged me to get one of my novels ready for Pitch Wars in August. I’d love to meet that challenge, but I’ll have to do some serious, hardcore writing. I also have the RMFW Colorado Gold Conference to look forward to in September.

For now, I’ll continue to write on… and edit on… and rewrite on…

Writing a novel is kind of like taking a road trip. There are a lot of different ways to get to the destination. If you ask any author what her/his process is for writing a novel, you’ll get a different answer every time. Although we all have our own unique process, authors generally seem to fall into two camps when it comes to writing novels. Writers are either planners or pantsers/discover writers.

Planners have numerous ways of mapping out their novels before they begin to write. Most planners have their novels nailed down before they ever begin writing the first words. They know almost every scene that will go into their novel and where the tension will build and where the story arcs happen. Some planners use extensive outlines, others storyboard. A lot of planners I know swear by Scrivener. Enough authors I know love that program so much, I’ve been tempted to take a look at it.

I, however, am not a planner. I’m a pantser, which means writing by the seat of your pants. I've recently heard the term "discovery writer" which I like better than pantser, so I'll use that term instead. There are different degrees of discovery writing – some discovery writers do a little planning beforehand and some just know the basic idea of their story and then let it unfold as they write.

Being a discovery writer can be messy. It means writing whatever happens to come to me that day. Although I might only have the first 20 pages written, something from 2/3 of the way through the novel might hit me and I have to write it. If I write ahead like that, I usually have to tweak it later because my novels constantly evolve and change while I write them.

Each time I start a novel, I say to my mom (who is always the first person to hear about a new novel), “I don’t know if I’ll have enough to build an entire novel around this idea. Maybe it’ll just be a novella.” I have yet to write a novella. My shortest novel is 84,000 words.

The two things I usually know about my novel before I write are the inciting incident (the beginning) and I usually know what the black moment/climax will be towards the end of the novel. Everything in between comes to me while I write.

I also usually know my characters before I start a novel. I think about them all the time - while I'm driving, while I'm working out, before I go to sleep. But even my characters surprise me while I'm writing. They take on a life of their own and take me to places I didn't expect to go.

Being a discover writer is a strange experience – there are times I’d even call it a spiritual experience. I often have no idea where something came from: a scene or some dialogue or a character who comes out of nowhere. Sometimes just one sentence or one idea or one piece of dialogue opens the floodgates and I can’t write fast enough. Those are the moments of magic, but in those moments, I have to take the time to write notes to myself or I’m afraid I’ll forget everything that was just revealed to me. So when that happens, I do resemble a planner just a little bit. As I begin to see scenes in my head, I write them down in order so I won’t forget.

I don’t think discovery writing is better than planning, or the other way around. I often envy my planning friends because they already have all the pieces in place. There are some definite pitfalls to discovery writing. Sometimes I get stuck, and it can take a little while to get unstuck. Because I write out of order, I tend to repeat myself and I have to be mindful of that when I’m editing. I also have to go back and tighten everything up, because as a pantser, I sometimes do a little too much wandering in my first draft.

So here's my road trip analogy. Planners know where they’re starting, what route they’ll take, how many miles they’ll drive each day and where they’ll spend the night. As a discovery writer, I get into the car and say, “I want to get to California, but I’m not sure which roads I’ll take, which people I’ll meet, or how long it will take me to get there, but c’mon…let’s go and we’ll see what happens along the way. Strangely enough, that’s kind of how I like to take road trips. I guess I’m just wired that way.

I love to hear about other author’s writing styles, so share yours in the comments section if you have the time.  

I was reading another author’s blog last week and she invited everyone to answer the question: why do you write? It was interesting to scroll through the comments section to read the various responses.

That author’s question of why do you write came at an interesting time for me. I recently went through a big bin full of notebooks and journals dating all the way back to my time in junior high school. The one thing that was apparent when I looked through my notebooks and papers was that I wrote. All the time. When I should have been doing math, I was writing the beginning of a short story. Little caricatures and comic strips of horses covered the pages where my history notes should have been.

In addition to all of the stories I’d started in my school notebooks and journals, I found a big three ring binder overflowing with papers from sections that were labeled: Finished Stories, Poetry, Novels, Unfinished Stories. I probably only found about half of what I’d actually written while I was growing up. My mom has a few of my very early writings, but the rest are gone.

Since reading that author’s blog post and finding my old writings, I wondered what my answer would have been as a child or teenager if someone had asked me why do you write? And I wondered if my answer then would be different from my answer now (as a much, much older person).

I think my answer as a child would have simply been: because I love to write. I’m sure that being a voracious reader helped to fuel my love of words and carried over into my passion for writing. I honestly don’t remember exactly what motivated me to write so much throughout my childhood and adolescence, but I do remember the constant stream of story ideas that came to me. In some ways, writing was probably an escape for me. I was painfully shy and I was a daydreamer who looked out the window of my elementary school and dreamed about horses and about living in the wilderness. I’m sure many of my story ideas were born from those daydreams.

If you read Journey to my First Novel in the About Me page, you’ll see that I took a hiatus from writing during a portion of my adult life. There were a lot of reasons for not writing: undergrad, grad school, marriage, kids, work, illness. But even during those years, a novel was sitting inside of me and every once in a while it let me know it was still there. Then three years ago, I finally wrote the novel I wasn’t sure I’d ever write. I loved writing it so much, I hoped I’d have enough ideas to write more novels. I’ve found out that’s not going to be a problem.

So as an adult, if someone would ask me why I write, my short answer is: because I love it. But it’s so much more than that – there are so many reasons behind the words “because I love it.” I love the way a simple seed of an idea begins to unfold in my mind. I love the way my characters develop as I’m writing their stories. They often take me in a different direction than I’d originally intended them to take. I could write an entire blog post about my characters and how they develop.

Not long ago during a meeting with my writing group, we talked about the things we loved about writing. One of my answers was: writing is the ultimate escape. Author Victoria Schwab recently tweeted this definition of a writer: Writer. Noun. One who spends more time in fiction than reality. It’s true. Just like reading a book is an escape, so is writing one. I guess that’s another reason I write – I’d like to give that to other people. I want to give readers a cast of characters they can go on a journey with – characters they can root for, characters they can laugh and cry with.

My final answer as to why I write is: because I have to. I don’t think I could stop. Sometimes I get discouraged, but I don’t ever want to stop writing. I have too many characters and storylines going through my head. They’d probably drive me crazy if I tried to push them aside.

So although my simple answer to why I write is because I love it, there’s much more to it than that. I think every writer will say something a little different when they are asked why they write, but most of us write because we love it and we just can’t stop.

Feel free to share why you write in the comments.

In the spirit of the holiday season, I've decided to share the things I am most thankful for as a writer.

There are so many people who have encouraged me along the way, or pushed me or challenged me. I had teachers all throughout my time in school who nurtured my love of writing. My best friend, Cheryl, and I grew up reading books together and spent hours writing our own stories. My family and friends have always supported and encouraged me, and they continue to do so.

The first people I need to thank are my husband and my kids. I’m sure living with a writer isn’t always easy. They know when we’re in the middle of supper at a restaurant, I might suddenly grab a napkin and start scribbling notes. They know that when inspiration strikes, I have to write soon or I might go a little crazy. They’ve been more than patient and understanding when I need to close the door and just write.

My husband, Scott, has been one of my biggest supporters and cheerleaders – although at 6’3” he looks a lot more like a football player than a cheerleader. It’s nice to know that he truly believes in me as a writer and encourages me to do whatever I need to do to continue to improve my craft.

I’m blessed to have a supportive extended family too. As hard as the writing world is to break into, no one in my family has ever said the words “you can’t” to me. That means a great deal to me.

My mom has been one of the most helpful people in my journey. She is my silent writing partner and my sounding board. She reads every book while I write it, offering just the right balance of encouragement and feedback. She knows my characters almost as well as I do and can help me if I hit a snag or if I’m having trouble making a decision about a character. Several of my novels are much stronger because of some of her questions and feedback.

One of the most helpful and enriching experiences I’ve had is connecting with other writers. I’d like to say thank you to every writer I’ve met at conferences and writing groups. Your willingness to share what you know makes the road a little less bumpy and lonely. I especially want to thank everyone in my critique group – your encouragement, your feedback and your suggestions have made me a much better writer. I’m blessed to be part of a fantastic group of writers who truly want to help each other.

I’d also like to thank the editors and agents I’ve had contact with at conferences. I know how busy you are and I appreciate the time you take to lead critique groups, to offer feedback and answer questions.

It might sound strange to say I’m thankful for the rejections I’ve received. The requests I’ve gotten for partial manuscripts are validating and encouraging, but the rejections I’ve received help me to build a thicker skin. They also reinforce my love of writing. Regardless of how many rejections I get, it wouldn’t make me quit writing. I write because I love it and I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Finally, thank you to everyone who loves the written word – whether you’re a reader or a writer. Thank you to all of the authors whose works have inspired me, who have made stories and characters so real, I cry and laugh along with them.

My writing group has recently been talking about expanding and offering a variety of groups that would accommodate a wide range of writers. One of the core themes we’d like to see woven throughout the groups is the theme of community – of writers helping other writers become the best authors they can be. I truly believe there is a small community behind almost every great novel and novelist. It's a community made up of: family and friends who offer encouragement,  other writers who offer support and critiques, agents and editors who often say things authors don’t want to hear, but need to hear.

There is a famous quote from Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” Although I don’t think I see further than others, I’m blessed to have a team of giants who surround me, encourage me, and make me a better writer.

In my first blog post, I wrote about the gamut of emotions I go through as a writer. Many of the joys of writing are fairly obvious, but even some of the things I thought would be tedious turned out to be very enriching experiences.  

Normally when I hear the word “research” I don’t get excited. It evokes memories of the long, grueling hours I spent in the library during my college years writing academic papers. The words “research” and “joy” have about as much in common as “root canal” and “Santa Claus”. Don’t get me wrong, some of the research I’ve done for my novels has been fairly tedious, but some of my research has led me to people, places, and issues, that have enriched my life.

The experiences I had and the people I met while writing my second novel (The Broken Road) will stay with me for the rest of my life. Two of my characters in The Broken Road have spinal cord injuries. Before writing this novel I knew next to nothing about spinal cord injuries and paralysis. Because my books are so character driven and relationship centered, I needed to learn about more than just the physical facts about spinal cord injuries – I needed to know everything about the emotional effects as well as effects on marriages and relationships.

My research led me down a fascinating path. I found some wonderful online forums and some very honest and brave personal stories that people shared on YouTube. I also came across a short documentary that tackled the topic of paralysis and intimacy. One of the people who was interviewed said she felt let down because almost no one in television, movies, or books realistically portrays what it’s like to live with a spinal cord injury. That one statement motivated me and challenged me to bridge that gap – to tackle the grittier issues and to write as honestly and realistically as I could.

One person whose story I followed on YouTube was a fantastic freestyle skier who became paralyzed during a training run. I watched his videos in chronological order and it was interesting to watch his transformation over time. If you’re interested in his story, here’s a good place to start: Josh Dueck. This is one of the earlier videos he posted. Some of it’s hard to watch and hard to hear, but he’s brutally honest about his injury. If you watch his later videos or clips of him on talk shows, he’s a different person. He’s gone on to do some great things including some inspirational speaking.

I watched and read everything I could find about spinal cord injuries. But I knew I needed to do more than just read. I needed to find people I could talk to and interview. I contacted a local rehab facility to see if I could take a tour and talk to some of the staff and possibly some patients. The person in charge was helpful, but she was concerned about confidentiality, so she didn’t know if I could take a tour. I told her I understood and thanked her for her time.

This was a moment in my life when everything happened at just the right time. I was doing my research at the same time I was preparing to go to the 2012 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference in Denver. As it turns out, Craig Hospital in Denver is one of the top rehab facilities in the world for people who have spinal cord injuries. They get quite a bit of media coverage – they were recently on the national news when former Olympic swimmer, Amy Van Dyken went there after she sustained a spinal cord injury.

I sent an e-mail to the people at Craig Hospital and told them about myself and my novel and asked if it would be possible to visit their facility while I was in town for the conference. The PR director told me he’d be happy to meet with me and show me around.

I can’t say enough good things about Craig Hospital and the people who work there. The PR director set aside an entire morning to answer my questions and to show me around. I got to talk to staff and patients and see everything from the therapy rooms to the patient rooms, to the modifications they make to vehicles, beds, and chairs. He showed me how they help people continue to pursue their hobbies and passions such as skiing and kayaking and other things that might seem impossible, but really aren’t. I even got to see a modified saddle for people who want to ride horses. Seeing the saddle was perfect since one of my characters was a horse trainer who thought she’d never get to ride a horse again.

There were so many inspiring success stories that came out of Craig hospital, including some people who went on to compete in the Paralympics.

The research I did for The Broken Road definitely enriched my life. I have stayed connected to Craig Hospital through Facebook and I enjoy reading about what they’re doing and the advancements they’re making.

Writing The Broken Road was an amazing experience in so many different ways. It did not end up being the novel I originally set out to write – it became something much richer and more complex. The storyline and the characters touched me very deeply as I was writing it. I just finished a very thorough (and hopefully last) edit of that manuscript and it still affects me emotionally when I read it.

Some of my research for other novels has led me to some pretty exciting places, but The Broken Road was the first novel that showed me just how rewarding and meaningful research can be.