A Letter to Your Inner Critic--How to Stop the Invisible Sabotage to Your Creativity

If I had a way to capture the self-talk inside most writers' brains, as they sit down to do their writing practice, here's what I might hear:

“You need a lot more backstory here.”
“This section will take months of research. Stop writing and get started. It’ll be a good distraction.”
“You need to explain what your character is thinking here. Your writing isn’t good enough to just let the action show it.”
“For God’s sake, use bigger words. Everyone will think you’re uneducated.”
“Get to the action. How is anyone going to know what’s happening if you go on and on about setting?” “This is pretty boring, you know. Maybe wrap it up faster.”
“Your mother will hate this section. Kill it.”
“Why don’t you run out and get the dry-cleaning now, then write when you get back?”

Who is doing all this talking?  Who is making us hate our own writing?  I call this being the Inner Critic, and we each have one.  The challenge is to figure out what to do about its venomous voice, its worrisome messages, and how to keep writing anyway.

I've interviewed hundreds of writers at every skill level about the Inner Critic.  Professional writers, even those who have published widely and won awards, are well acquainted with this inner voice.  Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's sad, sometimes it's menacing.  But rarely is it truthful--and too often it sabotages our efforts to make art, to do our writing.  Professional writers have learned to calm the voice, to write anyway.  Some relied on alcohol or drugs or distractions to get a word in edgewise.  I've found a better plan.

First, it's important to face the facts:  The Inner Critic is part of any book journey—no matter how many books you’ve published.

Facing Down the Critic Inside You
Your first step is to disable the Inner Critic's overwhelming influence. I call this renegotiating the contract.  You might think you don't have a contract.  Read on.

Common wisdom suggests you fight the IC--use any means you can. Engage it in its own Hunger Games.  But that often turns into a never-ending battle.

The way that's worked for me is this:   Get to know your Critic and make it an ally, not an enemy.

First, recognize when it's affecting you.  It can be both strong and sneaky. As you explore and plan your book, it might worry that you don’t have a good enough idea. It will rumble in the background, causing doubt that your ideas are serious enough or good enough.

Then, as you write your book and form the chapters, it will convince you the draft is definitely in OK shape to show your best friend—right now, today! This, of course, is a not-so-subtle sabotage attempt, made real when your friend asks about missing parts and you crumble with the realization that you have omitted half your story.

Or as you revise, the Critic will get bored with inner story, theme, or pacing, those essential fine-tuning steps each book writer must implement. It will even tell you to edit out the juicy parts because all your relatives will shun you when they read them. And as you try to sell your book, the Critic will come into full battle mode. It may suggest you stop now before any rejection letters arrive.

It's actually trying to protect you.  Sound impossible?  Here's how I experienced it, with one of my books that was published years ago.  The lesson taught me a lot about how to keep writing, and how to work with the Inner Critic.

The Inner Critic as a Gatekeeper

One morning, I was finishing up a chapter in my self-help/memoir that centered on my business bankruptcy back in the 1980s. As I wrote, the Inner Critic began flooding me with feelings of shame about my failure. I began writing more slowly, reluctantly. The voice inside my head got louder, warning me to stop my exploration. “Why bring up this all over again?” it argued. “Totally in the past, not helpful to anyone else. Let it be.”

I persisted, angry at its interference. Suddenly I had to run to the bathroom. I was very ill, vomiting and dizzy. As I lay on the bathroom floor, the cold tiles against my face, I wondered if this was the work of the Inner Critic. Had it escalated the sensation of shame so strongly, that it turned into a physical reaction?

After a while, I came back to my desk. I was shaken. How could I keep writing if I was going to make myself sick? But I knew in my heart that the bankruptcy story was important in my book. During the 1980s recession, I met so many people who were devastated by failing businesses and personal loss. I wanted to help them with my own and others’ experience. How could I do this if I couldn’t get past my own Inner Critic?

So I did what I tell my writing students to do: take a break and do a freewrite—write outside my story. I located my writing notebook under the manuscript pages. I began writing about being literally sick with shame. As I wrote, I got the idea to start a “treaty” letter to this Gatekeeper-as-Inner-Critic, thanking it for its help in keeping me safe all these years. I wrote about how I appreciated its role. I wrote how I understood why it brought caution to my writing life because it had my best interests at heart. With each sentence, I felt a lessening of tension in my gut, a softening in my heart. No longer waged in battle, I was able to see my Inner Critic in a new way.

Then I asked it kindly to step aside, to let me write this chapter. I explained why I needed to write it, reassured the Critic that this story didn’t have to end up in the final book. I just needed to get it on paper. When the letter was finished, I closed my notebook and went back to my desk. The chapter flowed out better than I could’ve imagined and the Inner Critic was noticeably calmer the rest of that writing session. My Inner Critic only wanted to protect me from the shame of fame: people looking at me in a different way because I told about a business failure many years before. By collaborating with this gate-keeping voice, instead of rejecting its help, I was able to proceed.

My book, How to Master Change in Your Life, was finally published, and I got more letters and comments about that bankruptcy chapter than any other.

My intuition was right—people needed to hear about self-forgiveness for big mistakes.

 Your Weekly Writing Exercise: A Letter to the Inner Critic 

This is an exercise we use in my Part 1 online class, Your Book Starts Here.  Try it yourself.  You'll need about thirty minutes.

1.  You're going to be writing a letter to the Inner Critic.  Do this on paper or on the computer--whichever is easier.  To start, describe your Inner Critic.  What does it sound like?  Can you picture it?  Does it remind you of someone in your past?

2. Ask the Inner Critic what it’s contributing to your life. Listen inside for anything that might come, even small things it does for you.  How does it keep you safe? How does it keep you connected to others? How does it keep you responsible? How does it make you feel intelligent? How does it bring you respect of peers?

3. Thank it for its help in these areas. If more comes to mind as you write, add your gratitude about those.

4. Now write a request to the Inner Critic: ask it to step aside for a week. Tell it you’ll be exploring a new avenue in your writing and you feel you need freedom. Ask for its help in letting you try it.

5. Mark on your calendar to follow up in a week. 6. After one week, spend five minutes freewriting about any changes you’ve noticed. Are there fewer blocks in your creative process? Is your writing any different? Do you experience less negative self-talk?

Benefits of a Regular Writing Practice for Book Writers--How to Fit Writing a Book into Your Over-the-Top-Busy Life

Scroll down for this article . . .

Summer and Fall Workshop Retreats: "Creative Process: How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book and Take It to Publication!"

Join me on

Madeline Island

in beautiful Lake Superior

at Madeline Island School of the Arts

for five days of creative exploration, fun, writing community, and learning.   

  

Workshop Retreat:

"Creative Process:   

How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book and Take It to Publication!"

 

July 16-21 (sold out)

July 23-27 (8 spots open)

September 24-28 (12 spots open)

    
You get:

● three-four hours of  classroom time with me each day, exploring new writing techniques and exercises

● one-to-one consultation with me about your project

● your own writing space 24/7 and unstructured time each day to focus on your book

● open time and structured gatherings in the evening, with writing/art activities and sharing of work-in- progress

● time to practice writing "islands" on the island--and take your writing to the next level--wherever you  start from

● immediate feedback as you test my simple three-act plan for your book

● the support of a small group of memoir, fiction, and nonfiction book writers

● free time to explore the beauty of Lake Superior and this charming island off  the coast of Wisconsin

Interested?   

Here's what to do:

Call 715-747-2054 or email Madeline School of the Arts at misa@cheqnet.net to ask questions or reserve your place.  Cost is $575.  Lodging (not included) is available on the island--wonderful B&B's, campgrounds by the lake shore, plus cottage accommodations at the school itself, if you prefer to be on site.   Click here to read more.

Benefits of a Regular Writing Practice for Book Writers--How to Fit Writing a Book into Your Over-the-Top-Busy Life

How do you find time to write?  That's a question I'm asked alot--by other writers, by students in my classes, by attendees at conferences where I give my book-structuring workshops.

 I've had a prolific writing career, with thirteen books published.  Yet I also have a family that needs attention and a teenager to raise, an elderly parent to care for, a huge garden that both gives me joy and takes a lot of energy, and a passion for painting.

How is it possible to do it all, and do everything as well as I'd like?

Answer:  I can't.  Nobody can.

But I've learned about what I can do.  And it's usually a lot more than I think.  If I can take an honest look at what is outwardly derailing my attempts to be a creative, fulfilled person--and what derailment is coming from inside--I can make time for the writing.

First, you need the five fundamentals in place.  Last week, I talked about these five fundamentals for writers.  See that post here.  Once these five are working in your life, even a little, you have a better chance of actually fitting your book into your life.  You must allow yourself to make room for writing, just like you'd make room for your grocery shopping or your kid's homework or your sleep.  If your writing is left to last, it will never fit in.

This morning is a great example, for me.  My wonderful spouse and I tag team childcare, and we talk about it ahead of time.  Mornings and evenings are the peak chaos moments, but usually if things are OK, only one of us needs to be "on duty."  While one person keeps the morning moving (waking the sleepy teenager, monitoring the clock, gathering stuff to take, heating up some breakfast), the other is allowed to retreat into creative work.  This morning was my time, and I woke earlier than usual, sat with my writer's notebook and thought about my chapter-in-progress, all before anyone else stirred.  By the time the family was up, I was already at work on the chapter--which is due this week to my writers group.  Around me was the normal morning chaos, but because of my agreement with my family, I was able to keep going, without guilt.

This sounds amazing, yes.  But when the writing begins to feed us, when we give it time to do so, it helps everyone around us. Writing posted, I had time to help clean up the kitchen, say goodbye to my teenager, kiss my spouse, and make myself something to eat before my own workday began.

I came away really energized.  Yes, it took negotiation--but as a family we are pretty good at it now.  It also took honoring my own time and space to write--despite the frantic nature of school mornings.  But most important, it took me believing in myself--that my writing was as important as everything else that was going on.

Radical Thought:  Doing My Writing Practice Heals Me, and Also Everyone around Me
I believe that my writing practice heals me, makes me a better person.  I am convinced that when I am creating regularly, my family, my work, and my relationships benefit as well.

You probably know by now that regular writing has been documented for its healing benefits. James Pennebaker, professor at the University of Texas, Austin, and author of Writing to Heal, studied the effects of writing on groups of medical patients. His landmark study showed marked improvements in immune function and general well-being from patients who wrote regularly.

Dr. Louise DeSalvo, in Writing as a Way of Healing, narrowed it down. She listed three areas writers must tap into, to benefit the most from writing practice.

Three Areas
1. How did the person feel then (during the event)?
2. How does person feel now, in comparison?
3. Which specific, concrete details, especially sensory detail, describe the past event?

This morning I was writing about a difficult crisis one of my characters is going through. For the writing to be transformative, it must reveal how the character felt when it happened, as well as afterward, and the comparison of feelings between the two. It must also use sensory detail to describe the past event. To test this theory, I applied it to my character, Molly, after the fight with her father.

If you're working on memoir, the "character" would be you--and incorporating the three areas would make the writing come together in an amazing way.  For nonfiction writers, the goal is to use these three areas to provide transformation for your reader.  How did the reader feel then, now, and what are the details around the change?  You use these three areas in your anecdotes.

In my classes, I ask students to prove this to themselves:  to scan favorite nonfiction books, memoirs, and novels from their bookshelves, ones they reread often and feel transformed by.

Here's what they usually tell me:  In every one, the authors showed people who (1) felt things in the present moment, and (2) remembered past feelings via backstory and compared the feelings of present and past, demonstrating change. Well-crafted scenes also used (3) specific sensory details to illustrate those feelings.

When I look at my own published books, my best-loved moments also showed these three healing aspects. So I try to include these three transformative areas in my writing practice, as questions to ask about my story. When I can, I find using these healing guidelines increases my joy in my practice of my craft.

Writing practice becomes easier as you do more of it. You see how it changes you for the better, how it helps you be happier, how it even keeps you out of trouble. “I create every day,” a painter told me, “because it keeps me happy. I’m less likely to cause problems for myself.” So it is with writing practice.

In Women Who Run with the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estés wrote, “It is the love of something, having so much love for something—whether a person, a word, an image, an idea, the land, or humanity—that all that can be done with the overflow is to create. It is not a matter of wanting to, not a singular act of will; one solely must.”

A radical thought: The act of writing can keep you so at peace that you don’t search for problems where there aren’t any.

Your Weekly Writing Exercise:  Negotiating a Regular Writing Practice 
(Time needed: ten minutes a day for three weeks)

1. Find ten minutes a day that you can devote to your book.

2. Put your writing time on your calendar. Make it the same time every day.

3. Talk with your family, roommates, spouse, or kids. Explain that you’ll be spending fifteen, thirty, ninety, or more minutes a day on your writing. Ask their cooperation: when you are in your writing space, you are off duty. You can’t be asked questions or talked with.

4. Make a sign that says “Writer at Work” and put it near your writing space or on your door.

5. For the first week, do freewrites for ten minutes each day. Write about something that stuck with you, something that happened recently. One student wrote about going to a movie that week where the audience was primarily elderly people and how the way they laughed, moved her. Another wrote about taking her son to dinner at a Chinese restaurant where large cylindrical red-and-orange paper lanterns hung along the walls and how the conversation blossomed in this colorful atmosphere.

6. Keep these writings in a file on your computer called “Week One.”

7. Start a new file called “Week Two.” Day one of the second week, make a list or freewrite for ten minutes on possible topics for your book—anything you can imagine including. The rest of week two, choose one of these topics each day and write for ten minutes on it.

8. The third week, write about a new topic from your list each day but add one observation of something you experienced, saw, felt, or learned that week. See if you can blend the exercises from weeks one and two.

Five Fundamental Practices That Professional Writers Lean On

Navigating a book is sometimes like traveling an unfamiliar pathway through murky waters.  Even though the scenery can be gorgeous--and inspiring--there are many times when the book writer is lost, confused, overwhelmed by all the options.

There are certain practices that help smooth the way.  They act like an internal compass for professional writers, who honor them without question.

They begin with willingness to ask for space, time, the privacy and solitude needed to do our writing.  How is this working in your life?

Creative People Require Creative Withdrawal 
Julia Cameron, in her book The Artist’s Way, talks about predictable reactions artists get as they begin to request time for their art. “Such time, space, and quiet will strike our family as a withdrawal from them. It is.” She explains that if we don’t honor our need for the private time and space to create freely, we begin to die a slow death. Often we don’t recognize this is happening. Or we may shrug it off—What can a busy person do? Of course, family, job, life responsibilities cannot be ignored. But there’s a place for creativity too.

Virginia Woolf wrote an entire book about the basic human need to be creative and have your own space to do so. Reading A Room of One’s Own spurred me on during my first few books. I learned that not having time and space to write is an excruciating experience, as not only did my book abandon me, but I abandoned myself. Whenever I compromised my need to have privacy and writing time in a busy life, I soon lost the threads of my creative ideas. But worse, I began to feel discouraged, so much so that I doubted I was ever creative at all. Re-establishing a writing practice again slowly helped me regain confidence in myself and joy in my creative life.

Writer David Ogilvy, author of Confessions of an Advertising Man, joked that he’s developed certain ways of keep¬ing open “the telephone line” to his unconscious, in case that “disorderly repository” has anything to say. Poet and essayist Lewis Hyde speaks of the invocation that’s an essential part of any artist’s life. “Part of the work cannot be made,” he says, “it must be received.”

But receiving requires taking a stand against the demands of our lives. And this conflicts with our desire to be good people, contributors to society, supportive of our family, to say nothing of showing up for our job. “We want to be generous, of service to the world,” Julia Cameron says. “But what we really want is to be left alone. When we can’t get others to leave us alone, we eventually abandon ourselves. To others, we may look like we’re there. We may act like we’re there. But our true self has gone to ground.”

Practicing art is a constant balancing act. How much time and energy you can devote to your book depends on your life responsibilities. Be realistic, but also realize that saboteurs come not only from without. They also come from within ourselves.

One way to keep a balance is to start small and negoti¬ate each stage. If you tell yourself you’ll write three hours each morning and know full well that life usually prevents that, it sets you up for failure. There is no benefit with man¬aging two days then giving up.

Build your writing practice gradually. Start with ten minutes a day for two weeks, the same time each day if possi¬ble. See if you can maintain this, get used to the new rhythm, grow confidence in your own trustworthiness and your own commitment.

What Are the Five Fundamental Practices?
So it isn’t talent that makes an artist succeed. Talented people fail all the time.

Success comes from practicing these fundamentals.  It also demands belief in yourself, persistence with your craft, within this good routine—setting aside regular, sacred time to make art.

To dedicate time, you must believe in your worth.  As the painter and author Frederick Franck wrote in The Awakened Eye, “You shall not wait for inspiration, for it comes not while you wait, but while you work.” You must believe your art is important and deserves your attention. So must your family and friends. I’ve found five ingredients that make a book writer’s practice successful.

If all five are in place, they will support and sustain the long journey.

1. Find and honor your best time to write.
2. Keep writing equipment private, secure, and in good working order.
3. Have a dedicated writing space.
4. Have a set time to write.
5. Close the door to the world when you are writing.

Use this week to upgrade your practices.  Be honest--assess how you're doing in each area.  If you are stuck, it might not be your determination or your material.  It might be your practices.
 Your Weekly Writing Exercise:  Practicing the Five Fundamentals
1.  Study each of these five practices.

2.  Honestly assess:  Which are in place in your life?  Which could be strengthened?

3.  Take one small step this week to create more support for your writing within one of these fundamental practices.

Imagination and Being Stuck--New Brain Facts for Writers

The topic of creativity and brain science has exploded in the past few years.  There was Daniel Pink's amazing book, A Whole New Mind, which explored how we're becoming more right-brain able and how it's causing creativity to blossom in our culture.  This week I've been reading another wonderful new book--Imagine by Jonah Lehrer.  Lehrer brought us Proust Was a Neuroscientist, an easy-to-understand exploration of senses and how we access them as creative artists.

The opening section of Imagine talks about Bob Dylan.  How Dylan was on tour in the early stages of his career and hated it so much, he told his fans he was giving up music.  He felt his songs were meaningless, that they no longer thrilled him in any way.  He didn't like who he had become.

He ended the tour and got on his motorcycle, and he rode to his cabin in Woodstock, New York, intending to hole up and do something completely unrelated to writing songs.

One day, Lehrer recounts, Dylan felt a sort of buzz inside, the first tingles of imagination stirring again, new ideas coming through.  Because he wasn't trying, because he'd given up the "right way" to write songs, the lyrics and melody of "Like a Rolling Stone" began pouring through.  You may know that this particular song changed the face of rock 'n' roll;even Bruce Springsteen and John Lennon were influenced by it.  It broke all the rules back then, and introduced us to a new era.

Why did it happen?  Because Dylan got stuck. Because he got sick and tired of how he was doing things and decided to stop.  Lehrer says Dylan's imagination was then free to engage in a completely new way.  This seems to be a key component of breakthroughs, creatively.

We need to get stuck, first, Lehrer proposes.  Before the imagination can take new pathways, we may need to really feel we're going nowhere. 

Julia Cameron also talks a lot about this, in her well-loved guide to creativity, The Artist's Way.  As I understand it, Cameron originally wrote it for creative artists who were stuck, who were not doing their art anymore.  The idea was to actually acknowledge the stuckness, to almost embrace it (morning pages), then begin to give yourself creative alternatives.  Try new things, let go of how we "should" be doing it.  Only then can the imagination stir, buzz inside us, give us those ideas that might lead to a breakthrough.  Cameron very gently assigned readers a weekly artist date:  to spend an hour exploring something completely unknown.

I teach online book-writing classes and week-long book-writing retreats.  In both of these courses, there's the keen possibility of getting stuck.  I watch many writers reach this place, and although they despair, I am quietly celebrating.  It doesn't mean I am a nasty person who likes to watch people suffer.  I just delight in the knowledge that this "stuck" writer is about to breakthrough to a new level, because I deeply believe that getting stuck--even for an hour--is a prerequisite to that letting go that allows the breakthrough to happen.

It's obvious that many writers give up when they are stuck, rather than exploring how to fill up the creative well, as Cameron recommends.  The Inner Critic gets excited, shuts the creative gate, and that's that for the book project sometimes.  I hope more writers allow their support networks to coach them through this stage, past the discomfort, and encourage them to explore something new.

Remember this formula is exactly how the imagination gets sparked.  Odd, isn't it?  Creativity is only partly the ability to be disciplined and responsible to the Muse, to sit ourselves in the chair and write.  It's also about keeping the imagination ever seeking the new and different to spark from.

Interesting that brain studies are finding out the same thing:  the brain doesn't court imaginative breakthroughs as often if it's plodding down the same road, taking things in sequence.  Discipline is great, but it alone won't make you a great writer. 

So the point is to let yourself daydream, go out of focus.  How do you incorporate this kind of activity into your writing life, especially when you are working hard on a book project?

Your Weekly Writing Exercise
1.  This week, put aside your project and go exploring.  Do something completely unrelated and allow yourself to become saturated by color, image, sounds, smells.  Spring is a great time for this--in our neck of the woods, the lilacs are in full bloom and the air is scented with heaven.  Go outside, barefoot if possible, and repair your nature deficient. 

2.  Get a copy of Lehrer's book, Imagine, and enjoy learning more about the brain and creativity.

Making Lists: A Way to Find Land When You Feel out to Sea with Your Manuscript

Many writers in my online book-writing classes get to the point where living with their manuscript is like living with a chaotic child.  

There are pages and pages, all over the place.  A storyboard keeps the overview, to some extent, but as the editing and revision get on, the book gets overwhelming.  It's hard to keep track of where you are, because the landmarks are all changing so fast.

This happened to me lately too.  I'm in revision with my next novel, and my wonderful writing group gave me some big suggestions this week.  Core changes for one of the main characters.  A lightening up of the downslide--"give them some good times too."  Maybe even a setting changed or gotten rid of.  Whew!  I really agreed with them--good suggestions like these help you see how to take your book to the next step.  But over the following days, I found myself avoiding anything to do with writing.  It all just seemed too much.

How to Get Out of the Overwhelm

At the same time, a writer from Texas wrote me about this very dilemma:

"I've been struggling for the last couple of months to get traction," she said, "because so much of my book is changing and I'm becoming overwhelmed quickly. It's hard to know where to start, and then when I do start and hit a bump, hard to keep going. It feels like a maze.
 

"One thing that is not helping is that I have notes and bits and pieces everywhere, and inspirations that I've written down are being lost. So I know I need to do something about that. When I start to pull them together, I tend to go wandering again... I know it's a personal thing but just wondered if you had any tips on systems. Actually, I know this is in your book (Your Book Starts Here), Mary. I'll go back to it this morning. :)
 

"I was also thinking about not knowing when paths are blind alleys or dead ends. Once you've done enough writing on your project to know that they exist, and you have all those little darlings hanging out to dry and cure, the Inner Critic has something solid to hook his claws into, that this next path you're on could be another dead end.

"Do you have any thoughts and tips on organizing things with where you are with your story?What approaches are you using? A to-do list?"

Yes.  That's exactly where I am headed.  Lists are lifesavers at the overwhelm stage of revision.

Three Kinds of Lists

I make three kinds of lists during this stage.  Some have been ongoing since the earlier drafts and some are new.  Each acts as a mini-map out of the maze of pages.  Each helps me orient and find that precious overview again.

They are:

1.  Questions List

2.  Location List

3.  Character List  (River of Life)

Questions List

First and most important is the Questions List.  This revision-stage list is basically a to-do list but made up of questions.  I find that tasks are well and good, but I can get equally overwhelmed by another list of tasks.  So I trick myself into a sense of exploring and creativity by turning the to-do's into questions.

I get a pad of paper and all the feedback and ideas I've accumulated thus far (printing them out is very helpful).  I don't refer to the manuscript during this exercise--it'll just bring back the overwhelm.  On the top of the pad, I write "Questions List."  I begin with anything I've been mulling about, based on feedback or my own ideas.  I list these as questions.

For instance, rather than "give Mel a fun scene in Act 2" I would rework this as "What could Mel do in Act 2 that would be fun for him?"  Questions get the creative brain juiced up and working.  To-do's make us feel burdened with tasks--and tasks are driven by discipline, which is part of the overwhelm (we're tired!!).

Once I have my Questions List started, I stop writing, get up, and do something completely unrelated to my book or my writing for an hour or so--fill the creative well.  The goal is to distract the linear self and allow the right brain to engage and the creative self to get cooking.  Tasks that help might include paging through a magazine and tearing out photos for collage, meditation or yoga, gardening, making food, reading a book in your book's genre, listening to music, taking a walk.  Gradually, as you disengage from the pressure, the ideas will start flowing.  I find that sometimes I'll get a new map, a sudden idea, a solution to a problem. 

If there's a desire to keep writing, then do it via a mind-map or cluster technique--where the question is put in the center of a blank sheet of paper in a circle and spokes come off of it with related ideas.

Location List

The second list that helps me during this stage is the Location List.  This exercise requires the manuscript.  I write down EVERY location in the book.  Every single one.  Usually this exercise takes only an hour or so--skimming the manuscript is pretty fast--and I come up with an astonishing list of all the places where I expect my readers to follow the story.  Here the kicker:  I try to reduce this to seven locations.  Even fewer is better.  Locations that are meaningful are like characters or people in a book--we can only get to know a certain number.

So I circle the ones that are most important to me/the story.  What can I eliminate?  What might deliver the same meaning as another location and be less redundant?  Getting rid of excess locations is like closet cleaning--it makes the story simpler and less overwhelming.  It brings air and light into the stuffy places. I've found this exercise very effective in helping me move ahead.

Character List (River of Life)

The final list is the Character List.  It's also called the River of Life.  You can use this for any key players in your book--no matter the genre.

Take a pad of paper and write the name of each main player in your book, allowing one sheet of paper per character.  Include yourself, if you are writing a memoir.  Begin listing the main events for that person, which are in your book or will be.  Write as quickly as you can.  Try to get 25 events for each person--this is an indicator that they are developed in your mind and preferably on the page.

When you run out of ideas, go to the next page and the next player.

Read your lists and highlight or underline the five most important events for each person.  Next to the event, write down how it changed the person.  What did they do or think or feel or believe differently because of that event?  Again, this is a way to check the relevance of your events--if the character didn't experience growth, then there's a good chance the event is not outwardly dramatic enough to feature in your book.

See if you have at least five events that are pivots for each character.  If you don't have enough, it points to why you may be overwhelmed--there are not enough "turning points" in this character's River of Life to build a book out of.  If you have a lot more than five, it also points to overwhelm--there's too much happening and not enough time in the book to process the changes.

Finally, if you wish, draw a river on a piece of paper (I have these as charts in my writing room--I use them for the entire book journey).  Place each player's key events on the river.  Note where they are in relation to each other.  This can help you with weaving multiple timelines and people's stories.

This Week's Writing Exercise

1.  Pick one of the three lists and try it.

2.  Post your questions and results here--or share them with your writing friends.

3.  If you're interested in working with these kinds of organization techniques with me, online, my next class for book structuring begins the week of May 14.  Check it out here.

Stepping-Stones to Publishing: The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing

My long career as a writer has taken me through the three different types of publishing:  agented manuscripts published by large houses, unagented manuscripts published by small presses, and self-publishing.  I've learned a lot from each venue.  I enjoyed working with my agents, I liked the book tours and promotional backing that used to be automatic with publishing with a major publisher.  I enjoyed the editorial help from small presses and the feeling that you were more than a byline.  And I loved the autonomy and product control that comes with self-publishing.

Each avenue has its pros and cons.  These days, I find that self-publishing is often the best option for writers working on their first book.

The media is coming out with many success stories about self-publishing.  One of the biggest stars is Amanda Hocking (read about her here) who sold so many of her self-published e-book, she was picked up by a major house and got herself a six-figure advance.  But Amanda had already made her millions under her own steam.  She knew how to write something good, and market it.  That seems to be the formula no matter which avenue you choose.

It used to be that writers only had to be good writers.  Write a good book and the publisher would do the rest.  Now, publishers want to know how you are going to market your own work--whether you have a platform, if you're prepared to broadcast your book on social media like Facebook and Twitter and Tumblr.  Which is one of the reasons I'm so sold on self-publishing--I do all the work of selling my book anyway, so why not keep control of the product and make the most money for my creative efforts?

USA Today ran an interesting article on self-publishing e-books recently.  It's no longer the province of authors who can't get a contract.  The stigma that's always surrounded self-publishing (formerly known as vanity press) is dissolving.

What Do You Need to Know about Self-Publishing?
Lisa, a reader who is working on a book project, sent me an email with some good questions about the self-publishing options she'd explored.  She wants to make a good decision and there are many options out there now.  Lisa writes: 

Until I was twenty-two years old I never consciously considered that I had been without a mother, even though my birth mother died shortly before my third birthday. My dad had remarried before I was five and I only remember my stepmother as my mother. However, I believe I was always searching for something, whether I knew it or not. As I became acutely aware of the fact that what I was missing and searching for was her, I began gathering as many stories, pictures, and information I possibly could. People have been very generous. 

My original goal was to create a biography so that not only myself, but also my children could come to know who she was. It has been a magnificent journey, but it did not turn out as I had envisioned. The whole experience has been more of an odyssey worthy of Greek mythology as I set out on a quest for knowledge but was subsequently sent on many unexpected detours, presenting challenges through which I learned more about myself as well as valuable life lessons. 

As a result, my project has become a memoir of my journey through the experience, with the addition of many photos and a collection of my favorite stories shared by her family and friends.

My main goal is to have enough copies printed for my children and my mother’s family, but so many people have encouraged me to share my story on a larger scale than I originally intended. I believe that self-publishing is the way to go. I have researched online, and have also spoken to about 5 self-publishing companies. They all have stated that they believe that they can handle the amount photos that I wish to incorporate and that “we would be a good match.” 

I am wary of being taken advantage of and want to make an educated decision. Each has their positives and negatives in the categories of cost, features such as editing, layout, cover design, and the royalty offers.

Lisa lists these questions:

1.  How can you tell if an offer is a good deal and actually fits your publishing needs? 

2.  What are the top three qualities to keep in mind when choosing a publisher? 

3.  What are the biggest pitfalls a novice should avoid? 

4.  Is one royalty structure better than another, i.e., more money up front, but better royalty structure, or less up front and then less in royalties later? 

5.  How important is help with layout and book cover design?

Specific Questions for Your Publisher

When you're looking at possible online publishers for your manuscript, you need to consider several aspects:  quality of product, cost, and ease of working with the publisher.  You need to research how they pay you when copies are sold (the royalty agreement), how the rights are handled, and whether the publisher automatically places your book in the two large wholesalers--Ingram (for bookstores) and Baker & Taylor (for libraries).  

Over 60 percent of books are purchased online, so you'll also need to be sure your book will appear in the large online bookstores, such as amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com, and the indie distributors such as Powells Books (powells.com).  

When I began researching publishers, I first asked friends who have self-published.  The best recommendations were for three companies:  LightningSource (which is owned by the wholesale distributor, Ingram); CreateSpace (which is owned by amazon.com); and iUniverse.  I also talked with writers who had published with Lulu.com and loved their customer service but not the quality as much (one person said the cover peeled off her printed book after a few months).

Then I went on the websites for each of these three and looked at the terms.  I liked CreateSpace because of the ease of getting paid each month.  It's also important to read the contract terms for specifics like who will hold the copyright for your book.  This is very important in the long run.

After I'd chosen a potential publisher, the next step was to put my book manuscript through the tasks that a regular publisher would normally take care of:  professional editing, typesetting and interior design, and cover design.  I needed to prepare my manuscript. 

Preparing Your Manuscript

Many self-publishing companies offer a package deal for the manuscript preparation, but I wanted to work with people I knew and trusted.  I'd been an editor myself for over thirty years and I had very high standards.

So I approached a former student who'd worked for a major publisher for many years; I liked her thoughtful understanding of how books were built and the importance of editing carefully.

She agreed to take on my manuscript.  Was I ever glad!  She saw things I'd missed and suggested rearrangement of some of the chapters.  We worked by email and postal mail, me sending her chapters in batches, she returning them to me with her red pencil marks.  It took many months to implement all her suggestions and produce a final revision that I was very satisfied with, time I hadn't really budgeted, but I revised my timeline and it was worth it, 100 percent.

Next was the interior design.  Because I've worked in publishing for years, I know that, despite good skills with desktop publishing, I could never churn out a book design on my own computer that I would still love in ten years.  I remembered a wonderful typesetter I'd worked with years before at one of the publishing companies where I was an editor.  I knew she'd gone freelance, so I approached her and asked her to typeset a sample chapter for me.

We worked for a few weeks by email to make the chapter closer to what I envisioned.  Eventually, I was so satisfied with the results, I negotiated a contract for her to typeset the entire book interior.  She made the book look professional, and I was able to add in wider margins and pull quotes, exercise boxes, and other extras I wanted.  Again, very worthwhile.

I traded services with two proofreaders to make one more run through the manuscript after typesetting.  They found a total of 32 errors which I hadn't seen--even thought I'd read it through carefully SO many times myself and I've been trained in proofreading.  This step was also very valuable to me.

Finally, the book cover.  I knew how important this was, so I found a designer and hired them to send me some ideas.  Again, money forked over up front but oh-so-worthwhile.

You can certainly choose not to do any of these steps.  They may not be essential if you are only planning on using your book to share family memories with family members.  But each of these will make your book more professional, more apt to be read by others, and more satisfying ten years later when you pick it up again to read yourself.

Royalty Structures and Self-Publishing

Traditional publishers used to (and some still do) offer an "advance" on royalties.  This was paid to the author before the book was published, then paid back as sales came in and royalties accumulated.  Royalties are the quarterly or semi-annual payments that publishers make to the author based on a percentage of sales, and standard royalties are 7.5% of sales. Sometimes this is net, sometimes it's gross sales.  The publisher also holds back an amount of royalties for bookstore returns and discounts to the wholesalers, so it's very hard to actually calculate how much you'll be getting.  For more information, click on this helpful website.

In self-publishing, things are simpler.  You pay a flat fee to have your book "set up" for printing; this is part of your upfront costs so the printer can format your pdf into a digital file to print your book.  Most charge under $300 for this set up.  That's it.  (Remember that some self-publishing companies offer a package that includes the editing, typesetting, etc., above, but the set-up fee is not part of that.) 

Next, you get a proof--a sample, usually in pdf format, that shows you how the book will look.  Once you approve that, a couple of weeks go by and then people can start buying your book as an e-book or as a printed book.

When do you get paid?  Each time a sale is made, your royalty account gets a deposit.  Most self-publishing companies pay out royalties each month--a process I found very helpful, like getting a paycheck--but this can vary so check their websites carefully.  You can choose to receive your royalty directly into your bank account or by check.

How much do you make for self-publishing royalties, compared to traditional publishing?  I've found it's about 5-6 times as much per book.  The online publisher takes a percentage, but it's a lot less than a regular publisher takes.  For instance, I make about $1.13 per copy of my novel (published by a small press) and about $5.49 per copy of one of my nonfiction books (self-published by CreateSpace).  In both cases, I have had to market the book myself.  Do the math. 

Even with the upfront costs of getting my manuscript prepared, I've made more with my most recent self-published book than with my last traditionally published book.  Plus, I got to keep control of the product.

All the avenues of publishing are worth pursuing, and which is the best one for you depends on what you want from the experience.  As Amanda Hocking has shown us all, fame and fortune do not just come from traditional publishing anymore. 

Your Weekly Writing Exercise

1.  If you're curious about self-publishing, give yourself an hour to do some research online.  Visit the main sites for CreateSpace, Lightning Source, and iUniverse, to start.  Maybe check out Lulu.

2.  Also visit some of the hybrid publishers, which select certain books to self-publish each year and guide writers through the process.  Two I like are Beaver Pond Press and Epigraph.  

How Do You Finally Get Your Book Finished (and Published)? Passion and Determination--An Interview with New Author, Atina Diffley

Atina Diffley, an organic vegetable farmer in her former life, is now an organic consultant, author, and public speaker. Her just released memoir, Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works, is called "a must read love story, a lesson in entrepreneurship, a master class in organic farming, and a legal thriller."

Atina showed up at one of my writing workshops at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis a few years back. She had a book in mind.  She was passionate about the topic, and--from her determination to make others passionate about it too--I could tell she would be successful at writing her book.  Although she'd written quite a bit, she needed help structuring and developing the material.  As an experienced organic farmer, she wanted to share what she knew, but in memoir form.  Her life, and her farming, were and are very intertwined.

From that first workshop, Atina got fired up.  She liked what she learned about book structuring.  And over the next year or so, I saw her again in a workshop, then another.  She began bringing along her writing friends to learn about structuring their books.

Flash forward to last Friday, when I was back in Minneapolis teaching at the Loft Literary Center.  It was the same two-day book-structuring workshop that Atina had first attended.  She wasn't there.  But two of her  friends were.

Before class began, they handed me a book.  Atina's just-published book:  Turn Here Sweet Corn.  University of Minnesota press had accepted it, and they'd done a great job publishing it.  On the back cover were strong endorsements, and I've heard since the class that Atina is getting good reviews and interviews.  As an author, she's launched.

I felt very privileged to share in her writing journey, from early days of crafting her manuscript to finally glory.  This happens fairly often in my classes, I'm happy to say.  One of my favorite moments is when a former student stops by and hands me their published book or sends me a copy by mail.  I'm so happy to celebrate with them.

So I asked Atina to share her writing journey, from seed to sprout to published memoir.  What did she learn along the way that might help other writers who are dreaming of a book?


When did you begin writing this book--and why was it so important to you to write?

I thought about writing a book for over a decade, but I’m glad I waited, as crucial parts of the story hadn’t been lived yet. It became a priority for me in November 2009.

There are so many reasons I wrote Turn Here Sweet Corn. To pass on the support and guidance I have received to other women and farmers, for personal healing for my family and myself, to bring more people into the conversation on food and farming, but the most powerful—the subconscious driving force that kept me on task—was the ecological collapse I experienced in the development of our first farm.

This was burning to be shared.

Any obstacles you encountered along the way?

Mostly myself. I had everything—all the support and teachers I needed. Sometimes self-doubt would interfere. I had to learn to trust.

What was the biggest turning point in your writing process?

Two weeks in, I wasn’t accomplishing much at home so I went off alone to write for two weeks. I didn’t really know what the book was about beyond being a memoir based on my farming experience. I started to write and it was like my life was on a Rolodex card file and each card contained one moment. I couldn’t figure out which belonged in the book.

 Painful memories piled up and became emotionally exhausting. The thought of publishing made me feel completely exposed and vulnerable. The card file spun faster and faster, and I became so overwhelmed that my body developed bursitis of the right shoulder. I was in excruciating pain, close to vomiting and passing out.

I spent the next week doing nothing but emotional work and by the end of the week the bursitis was cleared and I was one determined and committed writer.

I later learned in a writing class that the body sometimes acts as a “gatekeeper” to prevent a writer from going into areas that are emotionally painful.

What would you do differently, based on what you know now about book writing?

I LOVE the island method I learned in Mary’s class "How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book." It solved my problem of not knowing what the book was about. Once I learned to trust the process and my subconscious to bring forward the needed storie,s the islands literally poured out of me.

 I couldn’t write them fast enough. Next book I’ll start right in on writing islands.

Any advice to first-time book writers?

Believing in ourselves is the most powerful thing we can do. When I sit down to write, I thank my inner critic—her name is Sylvia—for all she’s done, and I assign her the role she has in my present work. (I learned this from Mary Carroll Moore in a class at the Loft Literary Center.) During freewrites Sylvia is sent on vacation. While line editing she is appointed the responsibility of “specific” and “constructive” feedback. If she’s having a bad day and insists on self-defeating criticism, or her ego is raging out of control offering talk shows with Oprah, I send her packing.

How did you land your publishing contract?

Every writer’s dream! Turn Here had a fairy godmother, food writer Beth Dooley, who not only mentored me during the writing, she also connected me to her acquisitions editor, who just happened to be a freezing-corn and canning-tomato customer of ours from twenty years ago. I never even wrote a query letter.
The University of Minnesota Press was fantastic to work with and many of the staff had eaten our produce over the years so they had a personal connection. May the stars align again for my next book!

What's it feel like to have your book out there? 

The thing I felt most vulnerable about--not having any control over the reader’s relationship with Turn Here or their interpretation of my writing--has turned out to be the greatest experience! Readers are telling me how the book is affecting them and of parallels in their own life. I am receiving stories of their own loss and grief, and celebration, in connection with land and nature.

Their relationship with the book has brought me deeper understanding of the inner story of Turn Here and of my own life!

What's the reader response so far?

Readers are loving it, and it is meeting my goal of a compelling read for people from all walks of life! But there may be some liability issues. The story is so engaging that readers are reporting irresponsible behavior. One person turned a kettle on high, started reading, and forgot until hours later when smoke was pouring out of the kitchen, another reported forgetting to pick his kids up from daycare, there have been marital disputes about who gets to read, and one reader laughed so hard, and for so long, that she couldn’t drive and was late for work.

How has writing your book affected your life?

I’ve heard that writing is cathartic, but writing Turn Here has transformed me! It gave me the structure to completely reevaluate my life experiences and what they mean. In the process I learned that bad things happen but me, I’m fine, in fact I’ve thrived.


Anything else you'd like to share with others who are writing a book?

The world needs your story. Trust yourself and the process. Make a commitment and let the writing happen.

Your Weekly Writing Exercise
1.  Evaluate your commitment to your book, especially your passion about or interest in its subject.  Does it meet the level required for the journey to publishing, as Atina describes?  Why or why not?

2.  Visit Atina's blog and see what else she has to say about her passion.  Think about starting a blog of your own.  If you already have a blog, post a comment at the end of this article and share your blog's URL with readers.

3.  Interested in attending the same book-structuring class that Atina took?  You can enroll now in my 12-week online version of the class--take it from your home, do the same exercises, and get feedback each week from myself and your fellow book writers.  Check it out at How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book.  Sponsored by the Loft Literary Center's online program, this class begins the week of May 14.

4.  And read Atina's article on the Loft's blog, Writer's Block, at .http://www.loft.org/writersblock/?p=2769 .

The Timeline of a Book Project--How Long It Can Take, What to Do at Each Stage

D.W., a reader from the West Coast, emailed me this week with some great questions about the timeline of a book project and how a writer can best assess her needs for feedback at any stage.  D.W. just read my new book, Your Book Starts Here, and is working on her first manuscript.  "Thank you for your wonderful book on getting published," she wrote. "It has been the biggest help.  But I have a couple of questions."  And she listed them:

1.  At what point do I spend the money for a professional editor?
2.  Does one wait until they find an agent and let the agent guide them or should it be done before the agent sees the work?
3.  When does one get their work copyrighted? Is that part of the work an agent helps with also?

D.W. is right to ask these questions.  Books have particular timelines, and they need different things to help them grow at different stages.

For many years--and the last eight books I've published--I've worked with a successful timeline for building a manuscript and moving into the editing, then the submission process.  Of course, it varies with each new book, because books, like babies, have their own plans.  Some take a lot longer than you expect; others are very fast because you've done so much of the "gestating" before you put fingers to keyboard.

Writers know that a lot of book writing happens solo.  You, your words, the dream worlds you're occupying, are not shared with others in the beginning.  No editors are involved because there's not a lot to edit yet.  This is as it should be.  You're gestating something very fragile, easily destroyed by other eyes.  I love the support of other writers and creative artists, including professional editors, during the writing journey, but if I share my work too early, their voices blend too easily with my own and confuse me.

I need time to listen to my own thoughts, let my own ideas emerge.

Unlike other creative artists who give themselves this important time to explore and "birth" their idea before sharing it with the world, lots of book writers have publishing in mind immediately.  I know very few new artists who paint with the goal of a gallery, few beginning musicians who are composing for that recording contract.  But writers tend to be motivated by the starry dream of seeing their name on the cover of a published book.  Or by the hopeful royalties that will let them quit their day job.

Give yourself the dream time, first.  Books aren't that different from paintings or a musical composition or a dance--there needs to be open, goal-less space in your timeline.  Space for just writing, for exploring your book idea, before you imagine an audience.

Truthfully, you must enjoy a dedicated one-to-one conversation with your book, before you are able to produce a publishable manuscript.

The essence of your book, the story only you can tell, comes from the unstructured part of the creative self.  This part loves the dream time of incubation.  Go into it and live in it for a while.  You'll gradually get a sense of what your book is really about.  Its voice is unique to you; you must have time and interior space to find it.

That the first successful step on the timeline:  to have a chance to explore.  A sabbatical from the goal of publishing it.  For this stage, I advocate the "island writing" method promoted by writers like Ken Atchity and Natalie Goldberg, where you allow yourself to scribe a collection of random scenes or ideas, then begin to structure them.  You allow yourself to be in the "process" of writing your story, exploring it and getting deeper into your material.

Moving into Conversation with the Reader
But at some point, you do need to think of the book as a "product" as well as a way for you to personally explore ideas and images.  At this second stage, welcoming the reader into the conversation is essential.

This is where we begin to work with structure.  The book moves out of the dreamy place forever--and we structure the islands so that the reader can actually understand the dream too. 

I find we cycle back and forth between these two stages--dreamtime and structuring--as we create the manuscript.  For instance, we may run into an obstacle or a big question--and we're not sure how to proceed.  So, it often helps to return to the exploration of the material, do some research or create a collage--a wonderful exploration tool used by many professional writers--to see which direction is best.

This two-part experience takes however long it takes.  I always advise getting a lot written before structuring, then pull the bits and pieces (islands) together into a rough draft before editing too much.

When It's Time for Editing Help
With my first books I didn't worry about when to bring in an editor.  I didn't need to hire one, because back then (the 1980s) publishers had in-house editors.  Part of my book contract was assistance from an editor.  They were trained to help me see the forest instead of just the trees, the whole book instead of just my individual words.

This doesn't happen as often anymore, except at some small presses.  Agents can help a writer with editing, but rarely the early stages of editing--only the final polish.  So it's up to writers to decide when their manuscript is holding together well enough to warrant an outside editor.

I encourage writers first to learn some editing skills and try to edit their own material.  How do you do this?  Take writing and editing classes.  Learn the areas you need better skills--characters, for instance, or dialogue or balancing your information with enough illustration (anecdotes) if you're writing nonfiction.  Study good books to see how those writers did it.  Read (a lot!) in your genre.


When I've polished as best I can, I work with my writing partner, my writers' group, to see what else needs attention.  I learn my blind spots as a writer.  Many things I'll be able to fix myself if I can see them. 
Then, when I've done all I can, I find a professional editor for hire, someone who is not familiar with my every word and can give me a clear perspective that peer reviewers can't.  I work with a professional editor for each book I publish.

Again, writers ask:  Don't agents give this kind of help?  Some do.  But only after the manuscript is very clean (well edited) or the subject matter is so compelling or the writer is so famous or well-connected, it's worth the agent's time to dive in.  Most agents I've known will not take on a manuscript that hasn't been through editing.  And usually, you only get one chance with an agent, so it's best to take care of the editing yourself, before you approach an agent.

Before Submitting--Do You Need to Copyright Your Manuscript?
Some writers feel it's important to register their unpublished manuscripts with the U.S. Copyright Office (click here to find out more).  For me, in all my years in publishing, I've found that few people steal other writer's works.  Of course, there are exceptions, but the reality is that publishing is a very small world, especially with the internet.

I've been happy to just add a copyright notice on my works that go out to readers either electronically or in print, just by writing (c) [year] [my name] and All rights reserved on the bottom page of the story, article, essay, column, or manuscript.  This serves as a warning and has protected me well without the hassle of registering the work officially.

Publishers take care of this process, as well as getting the book its ISBN, etc., and if you self-publish, you'll be guided by the online printer as to the steps to register yourself.

These are the different stages in my book writing timeline.  Be comfortable at the stage you're in now, give it the time it deserves before moving too fast to the next.  Your book will benefit.  

Your Weekly Writing Exercise
1.  Brainstorm on paper a possible timeline for your book project.  Ask questions like:
*  Where am I now in the process, based on what I just read?
*  With my work, family, and other obligations, how much time can I devote to my book each week?
*  Where would I like to be with my book in a year?
*  What editing skills can I learn in the meantime?  What is missing in my editing toolbox?