Writing for the long haul.

Penny Reeve is the author of more than 15 children's books.
She returns to CWD today to guest blog about writing for the long haul. 

  

As a published children’s author I’m often asked the question: "When did you start writing?" Now, most authors I know understand there are several answers to that question. There’s the academic answer: "I started writing in preschool." There’s the artistic answer: "I've always dreamed of becoming a writer and wrote mountains of soppy (or morbid) poetry when I was a teenager." And there’s the answer most people are really after, the details about when you started writing for publication. My answer is 14 years, and to this I tend to get quiet raised eyebrows in response. I haven’t yet figured out why they go quiet at this stage but one of my suspicions is that the 14 years of hard work with little to show for it (financially or fame wise) causes their illusions of author grandeur to be slowly dismantled. Typically, at this stage, the conversation turns by their direction to other topics. (Like ‘Where do you get your ideas?’ or ‘Are you still writing?’ or 'How old are your kids?')

The interesting thing is that if they were honest enough to admit their thoughts (their doubts about the legitimacy of such a passion etc) I would probably share them. I certainly didn't imagine myself 14 years after the acceptance of my first manuscript with the attitude that I now have. Somewhere between that first publication and my last the ecstatic excitement of the unattainable goal was replaced with a more solid work ethic. And I don’t use the word Work lightly. I’m sure many authors know what I mean: that dogged perseverance, the dodging of self doubt and of hopelessness for well written, well placed prose. Yes the thrill remains, and leaps of faith are often tested and blessed, but when I am no longer ‘waiting for the right inspiration’ or ‘working at my own pace’ the writing journey feels remarkably different to what I imagined it to be as an emerging author.   

There are, I think, a number of habits that become crucial to writing as a long term commitment. (And, I’d love it if other authors could share their tips for perseverance. Please comment below.) Here are some of mine:

1)    Write. It seems a ‘no-brainer’ but writing for the long haul means giving up the illusion of writing when you feel like it. You need to train your creative mind to deliver the goods (even if they’ll require a significant rewrite) whenever you sit down to work.

2)    Watch over-commitment. An over-committed writer cannot find time or mental energy to write. This balance will be different for each writer’s personality, but with the necessary pull towards marketing and other ‘authory’ demands we need to learn to guard and prioritise time so the writing actually gets done.

3)    Don’t procrastinate. Yep, I’m writing this one for myself. I am very good at procrastination! But I can’t afford to be (and if I’m honest, neither can my family!)

4)    Set challenging but realistic goals. Look ahead at what projects you want published next and make a plan towards that goal. Push yourself creatively but also be realistic about what can be achieved. (For example: the year my youngest arrived I did very little writing, this year he’ll be in preschool three days a week so it’s a different story, literally.)

5)    Refresh, recharge and remain stimulated. Don’t let your inspirations dry up. Meet with other authors, meet with other non-authors. Go places, read widely, feel deeply. Don’t let yourself get stuck in a rut but allow enough creative input so your creative output can remain fresh and relevant.

6)    This may be a bit controversial, but I believe we need to give ourselves the permission to stop writing. For me this is both a challenge and a blessing. I love writing and often describe it as ‘my heart thing’, but if I ever love my writing more than my family, more than my faith family, more than my Heavenly Father, then the priorities will be wrong. There may be a time when I will need to slow down, or perhaps stop aiming for publication (be it for a particular story or for a season). I need to hold lightly enough to my writing that I can stop if I need to. I am an author – but that is not all I am.

To find out more about Penny Reeve and her books visit www.pennyreeve.com  or 'like' her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pennyreevethepennydrops

MY FEISTY FOREBEARS

Grandmother and Great Aunts

For some strange reason I wish I could just sit and talk with female family members that came well before me.  I guess it's a touch of nostalgia or plain wishful thinking.

What would they have thought about my writing career? Would they have enjoyed reading what I write? I have a sneaking suspicion they would. They had the Brontes and Jane Austen of course, but not the plethora of faith-based novels we have today. Maybe they'd be shocked at the way we portray our feisty heroines...no, on second thoughts, I reckon they'd be thrilled. Yes, come to think of  it, some of the family tales told and retold down the years involved some exciting (for those times) scrapes and adventures. None of these girls seemed to be "under the thumb" of their lord and masters. Or were they simply not admitting it?

> To look at  my great great grandmother you would say she appears to be a disapproving type, but surely her expression is only because the photographer
was fiddling with his apparatus and her corset was killing her. However, my
darling tells me I can look at him like that at times when I am merely thinking of some plot twist and that takes concentration! I would hope she'd enjoy reading my stories.

My sweet faced great grandfather left his beloved wife to go to Heaven. She was desolate And maybe, according to my mother, that's why she became rather pessimistic. She began every sentence with "The worst of it is," before she ever got to the best of it. I suppose there is some merit in looking at the downside of something before committing oneself. No, I don't think she would have liked my heroines who tend to be optimistic even when one thing after another goes awry. Great grandma turned out to be a very practical no nonsense type of lady. And no wonder when she had three lovely young girls to take care of. Her dreams had to be tucked away while she looked after her daughters' future. A hurdle many young widows had to face in those days.

My feisty heroine, Megan Trevallyn, gets a lot more than she bargained for when she meets Captain
Charles Cantrell. This included two little surprises
with the outcome of being transported as a felon to a far flung colonial penal settlement of New South Wales - a world away from all she has known and
loved.

The question for her to face is, will this be a land of 
perdition ... or promise?

Although fiction, in my research I discovered this scenario was all too common in our early history. Yes, we had many convicts who had committed awful crimes, but there were always those who had arrived on our shores innocent of the crimes for which they were penalized.

While capturing this story I asked myself whether I could have survived such an ordeal and I knew deep down I couldn't have without the Lord.

 I am so pleased my historical romance with elements of intrigue is now online at Amazon Kindle at a reasonable $3.99.

* Rita Stella Galieh will leave this week for on an In Step Together Tour of Thailand with Thai interpreter, Somchai Soonthornturasuk. Her husband George is a violinist cum preacher and she sketches with Rembrandt pastels while he speaks. They will minister in Government Buddhist high schools, hospitals, men and women's prisons, orphanages and Christian churches.