It’s nice, at the end of the year, to look back on the last 12 months and celebrate accomplishments big and small. Time passes so quickly that it’s easy to wonder where the year went. Taking time to reflect on the last year helps to remember and appreciate that the time went to good use. Here are my highlights from 2019. What are yours?
Haiku Journal published my rain haiku in issue 63. (You can read individual issues of the journal online here, and there is a lovely print version as well.)
Lift Every Voice is a lovely new anthology that published my poem “You, the shadow you cast”.
My personal essay “Learning to Paint” was also published by Heart and Humanity in February.
I have three more publications forthcoming as well. Among them, Qommunicate’s Geek Out! II anthology will be publishing my poem/script hybrid geeking out about performance and semiotics, and House of Zolo’s first journal of speculative literature will include one of my poems when it’s released in January.
New job
I had a wonderful time working at RUSI, but moved on at the end of the year to the role of Development Editor at ICE Publishing. I’m excited to be working on books and taking a bigger-picture position.
Enneagram corporate training
Last spring, I was invited to my old city, Edinburgh, to do an Enneagram-based corporate training for Turnitin. This company makes a program I used in my old university teaching job! The leadership team purchased copies of my book, The Modern Enneagram, for all the attendees. They were a delightful, engaged group, and it was fun to spend time in Edinburgh again (despite the rainy weather). It was my first time leading a corporate training where I traveled out of town.
Work-life balance
With a new job and new financial opportunities, I’ve been able to say no to work that hasn’t been a good fit. I’ve moved into a new flat that’s nicer than my previous one. I’ve taken some time to travel and am appreciating the value that’s placed on holidays in the UK. I’m grateful to see improvements in work-life balance after a 2018 that involved a lot of “hustling”.
What was your 2019 like? What big and small things do you appreciate about the past year?
It’s hard to believe that 2018 is almost over. Hopefully the year has had bright spots for you as it has for me. Following the publication of The Modern Enneagram in 2017, this has been a fruitful year of career building in writing and editing. I’m celebrating these wins as we honor the year that’s coming to a close and move towards the next.
Freelance editing
When I moved to Edinburgh from San Francisco in May 2017, I left my long-held part-time job as a writing tutor/instructor at an art college and moved into full-time self-employment. Initially, I offered writing coaching and set up an Enneagram workshop as well as seeking out editing projects. Beginning in 2018, my money-making direction clarified itself. While continuing to copy edit nonfiction, I had opportunities for developmental editing on fiction projects and began working with a new publisher on manuscript evaluations. It’s been richly rewarding to dive into story structure, hone my constructively critical eye, and give input in a way that’s appreciated.
Anthology (and other) publications
While in Edinburgh, I participated in two lovely local writers’ groups and continued submitting my work. In addition to having articles and short pieces published, my work was accepted for four anthologies! It’s been exciting to have them arrive in the mail throughout the year and to discover gems from writers I wasn’t previously familiar with.
While words are the most natural source of steady work for me, I love the depth and impact of the Enneagram. In 2018 I traveled to Amsterdam to give the mini-workshop, “Writing Your Enneagram Journey,” that participants enjoyed at summer 2017’s IEA Global Conference. I was also approached by my friend Chloe Keric-Eli, a Montreal Enneagram teacher, to submit a joint proposal for 2018’s IEA. As immigrants between multiple countries and cultures, our shared experiences led to the idea of presenting on “Where Culture Meets Type.” Participants at both conferences dove fully into the exercises, bringing insights about their personal and cultural stories that were illuminating for many in the room.
A day job (and a move!)
Freelancing as an editor as my primary occupation provided wonderful opportunities to gain new skills, but it also highlighted additional things I wanted to learn. I realized that the most effective way to learn many of these would be to find an in-house role. Further, I hadn’t moved all the way to the UK to sit in my flat during working hours rather than engaging fully with the culture. Working with my primarily North American client base just wasn’t quite the same. I applied to day jobs in the editing field and was offered one in London working for RUSI, London’s venerable defence and security think tank. I moved in July, leaving a beautiful work-from-home space and gaining colleagues, increased confidence in my work, and skills ranging from project management methods to document design. When I’m not at my day job, I continue to work as a freelance editor on select projects. I’ve gotten quicker with my work, and more assured in making editorial choices. I’m committed and growing. I look forward to seeing where this career path takes me.
A novel draft completed
I have manuscripts sitting in my Dropbox folders that never made it to the book deal stage, and know from experience that finishing the first draft of a novel is a different beast from finalizing it and from hitting a chord that resonates with the reading public. I am, however, proud of the draft I completed this year. It’s a fantasy adventure story – the kind of thing I read for fun; the kind of thing I wrote as a youngster and teenager, and even then neglected to submit anywhere in favor of more “serious” stuff. I’ve been learning in the last few years that being fascinating does not make a thing less real. I put a lot of feelings about immigration and identity into this novel about magic. I got to invent a world with cities in caves and clouds, and I loved spending time there. I got to write “the end.”
In July I attended and presented at the International Enneagram Association Global Conference in Cincinnati. I’ve been coming to the IEA conferences on and off for the past ten years, and have noticed a marked change in the last few. The early Enneagram conferences I attended focused heavily on individual growth, experiential practices (such as shamanic journeying and breathwork), and theory. Recently, there has been an increased emphasis on interrelationship and community building, with panels, discussions, and highly interactive talks. The theme for this year’s conference articulated this sentiment explicitly: Building Bridges: Collaborating in Community.
The keynote address, by local author and consultant Peter Block, stands out as one of my favorite parts of the conference. His talk, “Community: The Structure of Belonging,” reached beyond the spiritual “icebreakers” I’ve experienced at many IEA sessions to facilitate small-group discussions that drew out people’s feelings around participation and reached beyond social niceties to a point of truth. He discussed ways to physically and socially restructure a room so that people are engaged with each other rather than in unquestioned power dynamics, and drew attention to the dangers of like-mindedness: how will we learn and grow if everyone in the room is thinking the same sorts of things?
My friend Chloé Keric-Eli and I made our own strides toward collaboration beyond our comfort zones. We are each certified with one of the two leading Enneagram schools, The Enneagram Institute in my case and The Narrative Tradition in Chloé’s, and she noted to me last year that these two schools seldom have crossover. Chloé teaches in French while I teach in English, although we each speak both languages. We are both under 40, making us “young” teachers in the Enneagram field, which skews older than most professional realms. (I was pleased to see that the number of younger conference participants is growing; when I first began coming to these conferences, I was one of about four people under 30, and was actually told by one participant that the field was “dying out” because “we’re all fossils”!)
Another factor we had in common was growing up and living in different countries, leading to our presentation topic of “Where Culture Meets Type.” I learned a great deal from working with Chloé, a committed, enthusiastic facilitator whose style differs dramatically from my own. As an Enneagram Type Seven, she generates wide-ranging ideas; in contrast, I could witness and appreciate the critical, structured aspects of my own mind. We both gained valuable insights from our session participants. I was struck by their discussions about how they fit or didn’t fit within the cultures of their countries and families, and how these intersections had affected their lives.
Another session I found particularly thought-provoking was Jessica Dibb and Deborah Ooten’s “Building Enneagram Communities That Last.” Both facilitators have succeeded at their session’s goal, with Jessica’s Inspiration Community in Baltimore and Deb’s Conscious Living Center in Cincinnati reaching many students and sustaining networks over the years. A cornerstone of this success is the acceptance and non-judgment they modeled from the front of the room. They encouraged facilitators not to “type” anyone for the next 30 days – an invitation toward this non-judgment – and led us in exercises that brought love and support to the forefront and had us reflect on our own challenges and engagement with communities, ending in an action step.
I appreciate that the IEA is thinking about questions of community. The Social Instinct has long been a blind spot in American culture. Contrived events and networking opportunities are created for “socializing” without reshaping the fundamental structures that might address true interpersonal needs, such as creating (or even acknowledging the importance of) social safety nets or genuine support networks. Many of us are isolated, with inner work movements such as the Enneagram often mirroring the individualistic focus we are accustomed to.
The challenge in moving an inner work sphere toward greater community engagement is to ensure it grows beyond the surface, reaching toward inclusivity without leaving other needs behind. In the spirit of Peter Block’s emphasis on asking “uncomfortable questions,” here are a few I am left with in the wake of the conference. How can future conferences address the needs of all three Enneagram Instincts, providing comfort, stimulation, and interrelatedness in concert? How can the Enneagram reach demographics its teaching structures aren’t traditionally set up to reach, without changing their fundamental wisdom – or is fundamental change called for?
How can the Enneagram community be big enough to hold contradictory views and approaches, and do these contradictions point to a common aim? How can people work constructively with their types within their preexisting relationships, outside of conference or workshop settings? Who gets left out of the Enneagram, and how can this movement ensure that no one needs to be left out – that anyone who wants to participate, no matter how different from other participants, is included and worked with?
I don’t have the answers. What I do have is a sense that these questions are important ones to grapple with. Perhaps, in searching for their answers, this work will have wider and truer impact.
This month I start the new adventure of living in London. I’ve been offered an editing job and am looking forward to this next phase of immersion in the culture of the UK. Depending on whether you count England and Scotland as one country or two, this is either my third or fourth country of residence. Even though the countries I’ve lived in have largely spoken the same language, English, the cultural differences have brought new learnings every time.
On July 20, I’ll be presenting with my friend Chloe Keric-Eli on “Where Culture Meets Type” at the IEA Global Conference. We’ve had a lively collaboration, switching between English and French and sharing deep-rooted stories about the impact of our cross-cultural backgrounds on our very different personalities. While similar personality types are found in individuals from country to country, cultures have their own stories that shape acceptable forms of expression for the people who live in them. Moving to another country is jarring for these social reasons just as much as reasons of geography and distance. Suddenly the people around us expect us to follow a script that we’ve never encountered before. The more deeply we become immersed in another culture, the more we are changed, yet the more we come to see the ways our own native cultures have shaped us. Here are some of the insights into the influence of cultural narratives that I’ve discovered, which our presentation will cover in more depth.
Our culture’s stories tell us who we “should” be. Growing up in Canada, the narrative of a “good person” revolved around contributing to the community. A “good person” volunteered and helped others. News outlets’ favorite feel-good stories were all about citizens coming together to support each other during tragedies. I learned that support was available, and if I had a goal in mind, I learned that connecting it to the common good in some way was the best way to accomplish it. Upon moving to the US, I encountered a different type of “good person” narrative. Even in the wildly liberal San Francisco, many of the feel-good stories focused on individual accomplishment. “Everyone is in this together” did not pervade life in the same way and individuals were encouraged to go after what they wanted, no matter how big or ambitious. In fact, big and ambitious were often considered “good.” My behavior changed accordingly.
These same stories tell us who we “shouldn’t” be. Every value has a shadow side, and for every trait that one culture encourages, sometimes in nurturing and sometimes in unbalanced ways, there is another culture that discourages its expression. Taking as an example the American value of individual achievement, countries like Australia discourage “tall poppies” for standing out too much and acting arrogant. Some of us find our own culture to be a natural fit for our personality, while others discover that the way they tend to express themselves and the way their culture wants them to express themselves differ drastically. Each culture has certain personality types it privileges, while others find themselves at a disadvantage. It can be rough to be a straightforward sort in a diplomatic, indirect culture, or to be an introvert in a milieu that rewards extroversion. If aspects of our temperament conflict with what our culture tells us to be, we may feel there is something wrong with us.
Our culture frames what’s possible. In Canada, one airline dominates the vast majority of flights, and they don’t come cheap. The country is sprawling and takes a long time to cross. In the UK, you can fly to multiple countries quickly and inexpensively. Western Europe encompasses a lot of countries packed into a small space, and budget carriers more akin in their service to buses than North American planes “hop” between them. Jobs in the United Kingdom are also mandated to give more time off, during which employees often travel. For these straightforward economic and geographical reasons, it’s common for the Scots and Brits I’ve met to take holidays during their long weekends to destinations such as the beaches of Spain. Just as the culture we live in dictates vacation possibilities, it also influences our language(s), fashion, food, career, and how we see ourselves. Certain ways of living, being, and even dreaming are facilitated by some cultures more than others.
Just like knowing our personality type, understanding our culture is a way of knowing ourselves better. When we learn how many of our default assumptions are culturally defined, we open the door to appreciating and witnessing the unique values and insights of cultures that differ from our own.
Writer’s block. We’ve all been there. You want to write but find yourself staring at a blank page, your mind void of ideas. Maybe you’ve encountered a block on a project you’re currently working on, or maybe you’re hoping to start a new one and the inspiration just isn’t flowing. Either way, the words aren’t coming easily. Here are some ideas to jump-start your imagination and get your writing going again.
Write something ridiculous: Sometimes writer’s block is a product of taking your writing too seriously. If you have a vision of how you’d like your writing to turn out but are finding yourself stuck when it comes to getting there, write in something silly. What’s the least likely thing to happen?
Brainstorm with a friend: Find someone you trust who’s interested in your writing and talk about your block. If you’re in the middle of a project, talk about where you’re stuck – they just might know a way out of that tricky middle. If you’d like to get started, try to come up with ideas together.
Take a macro view of your piece: Look at the big picture of what you’d like to write. Is there a particular demographic you’re speaking to? What point are you making? Consider the big questions and see what inspirations emerge. How can you most effectively say what you want to say?
Write something you don’t usually write: Try a new genre or style, just for fun. Take a break from your usual writing interests to engage in creative play. How about rewriting the lyrics to a song, or penning some fanfiction? Write as far outside your comfort zone as you can.
Research an interest: Spend some time going down an internet rabbit hole and researching something random that interests you. Take what you’ve learned and use it as a jumping-off point for some writing, either on your current project or outside of it.
Use writing prompts and exercises: Find some writing ideas online and try them out. Try changing up genre and point of view, answering “What if” questions, or writing based on assigned sentences and topics.
Look at the options: Make a list of everything you could write, either everything that could possibly happen at this point in your project or every new idea that comes to mind, no matter how outrageous. Pick two or three options to try out. Set a timer and write on each.
Get moving: Go for a walk, exercise, or clean the house. Moving your body can fill you with energy and get your neurons firing, too. Many writers find a solution to their block by taking a long walk and entering a relaxed state where ideas can emerge.
Take a break: Declare the day a writing-free zone. Don’t stress about your writing. Use your writing time to get other things done: finish those tasks you’ve been putting off, or catch up on your favorite show. Come back to your writing another day, once you’ve had time to refresh and recharge.
In 2016, I’d given up on getting a publishing deal.
I’d been writing for most of my life. As a teenager, I’d self-published two poetry books (in the day before digital publishing, when self-publishing meant going to Kwik Kopy to get paper books printed) as fundraisers for charity. I went on to study Creative Writing in graduate school and complete a novel as my thesis. I had poetry, short story, and children’s book manuscripts ready to send out, a track record of literary publication, and old projects sitting in my Dropbox. I was bound and determined to have a career.
So the submissions and query letters went out, and the rejections came rolling in. The next five years brought two close calls: after many no’s, one publisher accepted my children’s book, only to have the line of books they’d accepted it for fold. A new small press was interested in my short stories, but the press ended up not getting off the ground. I tried to freelance and occasionally shopped around old pieces, but my heart was no longer in it. I dreamed often about having a great idea for a novel, but my real-life attempts never made it past chapter 1. The energy had drained from my writing attempts, and I worked in abortive fits and starts. Was my lifelong dream of writing books a false hope? Despite my love of stories and the positive feedback I’d received in my early life about my way with words, I wondered, not for the first time, if I’d been cut out for this at all.
Meanwhile, I focused on studying and then teaching the Enneagram personality system. My co-teacher Kacie and I decided to create a little ebook about personality types at work as a freebie connected to our mailing list. I brought out my editing and design skills to shape bits of our previous writing into a coherent whole, and added Decoding Personality in the Workplace to my email signature. I also continued to edit books on a freelance basis, and one day, one of these publishers asked: “We’re looking for an Enneagram book, and I see you’ve written one. Would you be interested in doing one for us?” And in 2017, Kacie and I got to hold The Modern Enneagram, the published book I’d given up on, in our hands.
There’s more than one path to being published, and the journey can be long and hard. Here are some strategies to weather its ups and downs.
1. Be persistent.
Rejection is a fact of publishing. A quick Google search will yield lists of rejection letters, hilarious in hindsight, for best-selling novels, and Stephen King collected enough of the suckers to hang them on his wall. From my experience on the other side of the acquisitions desk, I can attest that a lot of good writing, for reasons related to fit, space, and chance, just doesn’t make the cut. Those same pieces might find a perfect home elsewhere. Keep submitting, and if the editor takes the time to give constructive feedback, read it carefully. Sometimes they just don’t get your story, but at other times they’ve identified flaws that will improve your writing if corrected.
Also, while many publishers and publications simply don’t respond to submissions they choose not to publish, if the venue doesn’t specify this, don’t be afraid to follow up if you haven’t heard back. Last summer, I sent a fantasy story to an online magazine and heard nothing in response. I assumed they just didn’t like my story, then discovered that another submitter had received a prompt reply. My follow-up email led to the publication of “Count Three Stones,” and a piece I’d loved writing finally found a home.
2. Be open to different doorways in.
If one approach isn’t working, consider another. I just heard a great story from a Scottish literary agent about a writer of paranormal police procedurals. Despite the quality of his work, he was repeatedly turned down by traditional publishers because there was “no market” for his books. This agent encouraged him to self-publish, and the popularity of his unconventional mysteries proved the publishers wrong.
If you’re committed to getting your work out there, be open to trying different avenues for publication (including self-publishing), different genres, and new approaches. Experiment and see where it lands you.
3. Take breaks when needed.
If you feel exhausted and disheartened from the submission-rejection cycle, sometimes the best thing to do is to take a break from the whole game. Step away from your favorite manuscript. Let go of the projects you’re invested in if they’ve been driving you crazy. Later, you can return to them with fresh eyes, able to revise when needed, take a new submission approach, or start something new and exciting. Remember that “not now” doesn’t mean “not ever.” Publication is a non-linear process, so be open for its cycles of ebb and flow, and expect the unexpected!
In 2014, Kacie Berghoef and I were learning about Ayurveda as a personal health practice, and we decided to present on this topic at two Enneagram conferences. Attendees at our first presentation were intrigued by our proposal that there might be connections between Enneagram type and Ayurvedic dosha, or psycho-physical constitution, and they invariably asked one thing: “Has there been any research on this?” There hadn’t, so for our next presentation, we did some.
Drawing on an Ayurvedic dosha assessment from a book we owned, we created an eight-question quiz that addressed psychological and physiological aspects of constitution. The aim was for it to be fun and not too overwhelming. We used SurveyMonkey, put the quiz online, and e-mailed each responder with a description and recipes tailored to their Ayurvedic dosha. We included preliminary results and quiz-taking in our next talk, to participants’ delight.
Over the next several months, we worked on this exploratory pilot study and a statistician, James Farnham, helped us analyze the results. Our survey had 232 usable responses, with some of them tied between two doshas. Suspecting there might be a difference between them, we looked at overall type-dosha correlations as well as each Enneagram type’s correlations with the psychological aspects of dosha.
I’ve had a lot of questions about our Ayurvedic research over the years, and I’m gratified to share with you that it has finally found a home. This month, the Conscious Living Center has published our complete study on their website. You can read the full write-up of our process and results here.
Why did we embark on this journey in the first place? Here’s what our research article has to say:
“Maintaining a regular, structured practice that fosters mindfulness is helpful for using the Enneagram’s insights effectively. A good practice builds up the capacity to observe oneself, in order to see one’s automatic type habits at play and choose to engage differently. Ayurveda is one such practice that draws on the body center’s intelligence.”
If you’re interested in the intersection of these two systems, check our article out and see what correlations our surveys came up with. While the results are preliminary rather than scientifically rigorous, my takeaway from this process is that systems of learning can intersect in revealing and beautiful ways.
The holiday season is approaching, and with it a focus on gifts. It’s important to many of us to find just the right thing for our loved ones. But this is also a fruitful time for us to reflect on our inner gifts, and the gifts we can bring to ourselves.
One of our greatest inner gifts lies in story, both the stories we have lived and those we imagine. Your stories belong to you and express your unique voice; no one else could tell the same one the same way. When you choose to write these stories down, you share this gift with readers. For some, it may be exactly the gift they need. And it’s a gift that works in two directions: your stories can reveal new insights and perspectives to yourself as well as to others.
The art of storytelling also has inherent gifts that you can invoke deliberately to bring out your writing’s meaning and coherence. When you write, it helps to keep in mind the following three gifts of storytelling, inspired by the Enneagram’s conflict resolution styles, as tools for revealing your story’s wisdom.
Gifts of Context
No narrative exists in a vacuum. All stories have greater meaning beyond their own existence. They have something to say about being human and existing in this world (even if they are set in a different one). What is your own story saying? Here are a few questions to keep in mind when considering the context of what you’re writing.
What will this story give the reader?
Reader experience is important to think about. Are you speaking to a specific group of people, with a directed message? What do you aim to give through your story, and what will readers receive? Here’s where feedback helps to see if your intentions are conveyed effectively.
What possibilities does this open up?
Most stories engage with questions and options. There are multiple ways to tell a story and multiple decisions to be made as you go along. First person or third person? Reality or fantasy? Car chase or romance scene? What about both? Don’t be afraid to follow tangents as you’re writing and let inspiration lead you.
What themes are you engaging with?
Sometimes this question is a starting point and sometimes it isn’t clear until the end. This is your “I want to write about ___.” Why is this theme important to you? Chances are that your personal connection to theme will yield powerful material. What have others already written on this theme, and how can you engage with this wider dialogue?
Gifts of Logic and Structure
Writing isn’t just about context. It is also a structured art. Thinking ahead and strategically will help you create something coherent and polished, as will revising and rewriting once you’ve finished a draft. The following questions touch on important structural and logical points to keep in mind as you write.
What rules and constraints will you follow?
Most writing has a genre (or multiple ones) and structure. Some people prefer to lay out structure and logic from the beginning, creating outlines and defining parameters for their writing projects. Others “discovery write” and build in structure later, revising as needed. Giving some thought to the rules and traditions you will work in will help grant your project a strong shape.
What is the “high concept” or interesting part of your writing?
The most successful narratives have an attention-grabbing hook. In your case, there must be something driving you to write your story in the first place. Follow your inspiration to its source to find this aspect, and let it guide your writing. Keeping your own interest in mind will keep your story lively for readers, too.
What knowledge and research do you need?
Often, our stories require knowledge we don’t already have. Cue reading, Google, and asking primary sources. Experts in a field often have the most informed and targeted answers. Some experts might even be willing to read your story and give suggestions. Decide what you need to know and start learning.
Gifts of Emotion
Consider the emotional undercurrents that shape your story. How does the project make you feel, and what feelings do you want it to evoke in the reader? Just as it’s useful to read in your genre, it’s helpful to look at sources that reflect a similar emotional landscape for inspiration. The primary source of your own experience is invaluable, too.
What elements of internal life are you portraying?
Keep this question in mind as you build characters and narrative voice. The same plot event can be told multiple ways to evoke different emotions. Just as your story is a journey of sorts, its emotional arc takes your reader on an inner journey, with different landscapes and realizations.
How do reactions drive the story?
When plot events occur, they impact both outer and inner worlds. Dive into their consequences by having your characters react, and allowing their reactions to drive events. Show the internal impact the events have, as well as the consequences of your characters’ decisions.
What goals drive the story?
This question shapes structure, but is also at the core of your narrative’s emotional landscape. Something needs to happen, and this “something” is never neutral. It presents high stakes for narrative and character(s) alike. How does the character feel about the goal, and about plot events in relation to it? How do you feel about these?
With these questions in mind, explore the gifts that your story brings. What is new and unique, resonant and true about it? What aspects will stay with the reader long after they put it down?
So, you’ve committed to writing a novel this month. The ambitious goal of completing 50,000 words of a cohesive story in 30 days is both daunting and exhilarating. Whether you’ve completed previous NaNoWriMo novels or are dipping your toes into these challenging waters for the first time, you’ve made the choice to face down that blank page right now. Where and how do you begin? Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, a veteran or a novice, here are a few ideas that will help you finish November with a draft you’ll be proud of.
1. Structure before you begin (or don’t). Some people prefer to have every detail of their story planned out before they begin (see above re: “plotters”), while others like to let their stories surprise them (these are the “pantsers” of the writing world). If you have a strong preference, it can be genuinely challenging to work outside of your preferred method. However, it can also be revitalize blocked writing. When you’re looking to write something fast (like a NaNoWriMo novel), having an outline speeds your progress, because you know what to write next. If your story isn’t moving as planned, though, try giving it freedom to develop and seeing what twists and turns pop up as you go along. And if you’re an obsessive plotter, writing a fast novel by the seat of your pants might be an exhilarating, and even time-saving, experience.
2. Work with others. Writing is usually a solitary activity: one person, one keyboard (or notebook, or typewriter). But it doesn’t have to be. NaNoWriMo offers a treasure trove of virtual support, as well as in-person opportunities in many communities to meet and write together. Take advantage of these changes to find support and camaraderie with others who are embarking on the same writing journey. Other fun ways to bring collaboration into your writing process include completing NaNoWriMo with friends, working with a writing group or coach, or coauthoring a novel. (My coauthor Kacie Berghoef has a great blog post about book collaboration, which might be helpful if you’re looking to go this route.) Collaboration means you don’t have to work alone. When you run into challenges, you’ll have others around you who will understand and help you through them.
3. Write to reader interest. You want to write the book you want to write. Maybe you’ve heard about “writing to market,” and cringed at the idea. Why would you want to follow ephemeral publishing trends? Conversely, maybe you’ve thought, “if (insert best-selling author) can do it, surely I can,” and decided to take up some broadly selling genre, topic, or formula, whether or not your heart is in it. Writing to reader interest is more complex than many of us think, though. It’s not about writing to a script; it’s about writing something that will be enjoyed. When it comes right down to it, most of us aren’t writing solely for ourselves. We write because we have a story to tell, and we’d like it to connect with an audience. And, my desired audience is probably going to look different from your desired audience. Consider the type of reader who gravitates to your genre and interests, and rather than writing to a general audience, write in a way that will keep their interest. Changes are you’re part of your own target audience. What book would you love to read? Write that book.
4. Write from personal experience. It’s an old truism that you should “write what you know.” This doesn’t mean that you need to limit yourself to things you’ve experienced in the real world. If this were the case, we’d have no imaginative science fiction, fantasy, or horror to enjoy. What is helpful is to draw inspiration from your experiences to ground your story. When your character’s in an emotional situation, look to your past to bring to life similar emotions that you’ve experienced. Your background can add color, detail, and richness: if you have a long career as a gardener, for instance, you can bring unique skill in describing the setting’s plant life. And don’t be afraid to mine your past for ideas. Your life is a wealth of inspiration, if you look at it closely.
5. Research what you need to know. There are lots of times when your story idea will extend beyond your current knowledge. Don’t be afraid to consult other people, books, or the Internet to learn the answers to your questions. From familiarizing yourself with your setting to getting to know the technical or medical details of your plot points, you’ll find that you need to research more factors than you’d expect to get everything right. In addition to information,relevant images, videos, and narratives (not just books–consider blogs and other internet resources) can make good sources, as can reaching out to people in your network who are qualified to answer your questions. Some of this research may come after NaNoWriMo, during the revision process. When the information is important to the plot, though, don’t hesitate to look it up on the go.
6. Throw in some danger. I’m not talking about endangering your own life as you sit in front of your treacherous laptop screen – I’m talking about imperiling your characters! Most novels are about people with problems. To maintain reader interest, keep the problems building until the end. When one problem is solved, might the solution create another one? Plumb plot possibilities by asking, “What could go wrong here?” If you want to write a can’t-put-it-down read, try ending your chapters with cliffhangers.
7. Keep the process fun and rewarding. External incentives make excellent motivators to keep going. NaNoWriMo is already great for this, with pep talks from prominent authors, relevant sponsor offer “prizes”, and the goal of “winning” built in. Build in intrinsic motivation by focusing on the fun parts of the writing process itself. Each day, focus on writing something that’s exciting and intriguing to you. If your scene is boring, cut it out. If it’s necessary to the plot but not that interesting, bring in fun details, dialogue, or other colorful touches. If you maintain your own interest through each passage you write, your writing will intrigue your readers too.
8. Use action to drive the story forward. Your story is about things that happen. Make sure enough happens to keep the pace going. Even a reflective story needs to have a consistent, interesting sequence of events. Your characters, too, need to be active – especially your protagonist. If you notice that things keep happening to your main character(s), give them more agency. Make sure they make decisions and initiate events rather than simply reacting. Give them a choice in every chapter. Give these choices consequences that significantly influence the plot.
9. Look at the story as a whole. If you’re a plotter, consider thematic elements and plot and character arcs up front. If you’re a pantser, watch them evolve and keep them in mind as you write. Beyond storytelling and entertainment, what meaning are you seeking to convey? What ideas do you want to explore? Who are your characters beyond their surface traits? What motivates them, and how will they grow (if they grow – iconic or static characters can work too)? What will they learn from the journey you are taking them on? Looking at your novel on a macro level will help it resonate with themes that speak to your target readers, ensuring it is both cohesive and meaningful.
NaNoWriMo is a wonderful challenge to take on, and you don’t have to do it alone. Feel free to reach out for support if you’d like some writing coaching, or to share what you’re working on in the comments. Happy writing to all of you!
Anyone who writes knows the challenges of editing. You’ve gotten your ideas down in that “shitty first draft.” Now you must look at your work with fresh eyes, fixing messy sentences and filling in plot holes. It’s useful to get help from others, whether they’re peers or professionals, but ultimately we have to edit our own work too. Some of us love polishing our writing, but for others, it’s an uphill slog. Our personalities stall our progress and throw roadblocks in our path. Here are nine that you might encounter during the editing process, along with tricks for dealing with them when they arise.
1. Perfectionism: If you’re a meticulous type of person, editing might come naturally to you. You enjoy reworking problem areas and finding the right word for the job. You might find, however, that your perfectionism sometimes leads to paralysis. The temptation to fix what you’ve written, again and again, makes it hard to know when your piece is done. Set yourself a “no more editing” deadline, or seek out encouraging others who will help you get your work out there and call it a day.
2. Focusing on Others: As much care as you put into your writing, you also devote a lot of attention to the people in your life. If this sounds like you, you might find editing to be a challenge. It seems selfish and daunting to block out time to improve your work. All of a sudden you need to help Grandma wash her car, or put in extra hours at the office. You get wrapped up in doing stuff for others while your draft sits there. Try getting others involved in the editing process, using their feedback as fuel.
3. Goal Orientation: You have big ideas about what you want your writing to do. You envision an impact bigger than the day-to-day grind of editing, which can make it hard to sit down at your desk with your red pen (or its digital equivalent). Maybe you’ve written with a market in mind, or dream of shortcuts to take your project where you want it to go. But quality takes time and authenticity. As you edit, look beyond results to the truths you want to convey. What do you have to say, and what’s the realest way to say it?
4. Introspection: The more introspective among us use emotions to fuel their writing, but those same feelings can get in the way of the editing process. You look over your draft and see only flaws. You wonder if your writing is any good, and if it’s worth putting in the time to edit. These thoughts are discouraging. Seek out reality checks about your work’s pros and cons, and work steadily, a little at a time, to polish it.
5. Intellectualizing: If your writing has an intellectual foundation, you may find yourself focusing on the ideas as you sit down to edit. The resulting work may be well thought out, or it may get bogged down in analysis. Look beyond intellectual concepts at other vital aspects of your writing. It might be helpful to have a list of criteria about clarity, structure, reader interest, and other elements important to your genre.
6. Committee Mentality: Some of us have a hard time seeking the necessary feedback to improve our work, but if you tend toward the opposite, asking all your friends and mentors for their opinion, you’ll find yourself listening to a lot of competing voices. Resources about writing and editing can also be expert opinions that confuse with their disagreement. Filter others’ ideas through your own goals: are they right for your work or not?
7. Distractibility: It was so much fun to write your first draft that you want to start something new again! Why spend time on a boring editing process? Or maybe you should change what you wrote so it’s completely different, make it much more interesting… Without focus, it’s hard to polish your work to its potential. Keep in mind how exciting it will be to have your project finished, and inject novelty into the editing process. Instead of working on new writing, edit in a new location, or intersperse editing time with other activities.
8. Impatience: This writing has been so much work that you just want to be done with it. Isn’t it good enough already? You’ve said what you had to say. Sometimes a light touch is wisest, but there are generally areas to improve that you’ll find with a further read-through. That in no way diminishes the impact or power of your work. If you’re fed up with it for the time being, set it aside, but give yourself a deadline to come back to it.
9. Inertia: You find it hard to summon the energy for editing. It’s hard work, it’s not pleasant, and it’s not part of your daily routine. You might intend to edit, but find that hours have passed and you’ve spent them puttering around the garage, or checking Facebook. An Internet-blocking program might help if digital inertia is an issue for you, and a new environment might give you fresh energy. If it’s novelty, build editing into your routine, so your inertia will work for your editing process rather than against it.
There are many roadblocks you might run into while editing, some of which are related to your specific project, rather than the personality-based ones I described above. If you’re looking for coaching through the editing process, or help from an outside editor, I offer both services and often provide them together. Feel free to reach out to set up a Skype call, or offer your own ideas in the comments. Happy editing!
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