Uniqueness of the Writer's Voice

I recently did a series of posts comparing our writing to birds. (Click here to read.) If you haven't figured out yet, I'm a big bird watcher. I have six bird feeders outside my kitchen window, along with a heated-bird bath and secluded bird house that was home to two families of sparrows this spring.

Because I love birds, I've learned quite a bit about them. I'm particularly fascinated with bird songs and calls. Each species has its own specific songs and calls. Cardinals make a different sound than chickadees and if we pay attention we can often learn to recognize birds just by their calls.

Interestingly, even birds within the same species have their own songs. I can't tell the difference between one cardinal's call versus another. They sound alike to me. But birds have excellent hearing and have the ability to distinguish even the slightest differences. A parent can find its chick in a crowd by its call alone, though to us, it would sound the same as every other baby bird.

If God created every bird with a unique song, then I'm positive he's given each writer a unique voice too. We often hear about writer's voice. But it's one of those terms that makes us shiver with dread. We wonder, what is voice and how do we find it?

James Scott Bell, in his book Plot & Structure, takes some of the nebulous fear out of the concept of a writer's voice. He develops what he coins "Bell's Pyramid." The foundation of the pyramid is passion. He says: Passion is the most important for your writer's soul. . .we writers must nourish and nurture our individuality. Only then do we rise above the commonplace."

Bell says that the reason so many novels are rejected is because they're "cookie cutter." Writers follow the crowd, thinking that if they imitate something successful, then they'll get published. Bell says this is a mistake. We shouldn't strive to sound like the crowd. Instead we should have a passionate commitment to the story we're burning to tell. Only then will we unleash our own original and compelling voice.

So, how can writers be like the birds and sing their own unique songs? How do we give expression our God-given voices?

Passion. We have to be deeply passionate about our stories. They have to burn within us until they ache for expression. The words have to stir us first before they can move others. They have to well up so forcefully that we're helpless to do anything but write them down.

Passion. That's how we writers find our voices.

How passionate are you about your stories? Have you unleashed your writer's voice yet? Or are you struggling to squeak out the words that are unique to you?

P.S. Thanks to everyone who read my interview yesterday! If you haven't read it yet, you can see it here.

My First Author Interview!

Today, Keli Gwyn, of Romance Writers on the Journey, is interviewing me. Please swing by and leave a comment. You'll not only find out the nitty-gritty about me, but you'll have the chance to win a prize too. What more could you want? ;)

Thanks to those who've already stopped by! You've helped this newbie feel a little less alone in cyberspace.

Click here to read the interview: Meet Writer Jody Hedlund

Have a wonderful day!

Uniqueness of the Story

My family likes to stroll along the beach of Lake Huron which is just a short drive from where we live. The first time we went, we spotted thousands of tiny shells in the sand.

As we gathered them, we were amazed by their exquisite complexity. Home to snails, the narrow shells spiral to a pin point tip and are not more than half an inch long. Hues of brown swirl together forming intricate patterns.

What struck me most about these delicate shells is that we never found two that were completely identical. While they were all shaped the same, each was unique in some way.

Writer's stories are like those shells. Whether we're writing fiction or non-fiction, the basic structure remains the same. We need hooks, engaging dialogue, characters who struggle and overcome adversity, and much more. The craft elements of story-telling are the same for all of us. We must study and learn them.

But the stories themselves? Our stories must swirl together in complex patterns that are like none other. The passions that color them, the experiences that make them shine, the life we breathe into them--all come together in a way that makes our story different than any other ever written.

And yet one of the writer's greatest struggles is discovering a story that is completely unique to ourselves. With so many other shells on the shore--stories already written, how can we possibly make ours different?

James Scott Bell, in his book, Plot & Structure, outlines some questions that can help us push beyond the ordinary to find unique ideas:

1. Has this type of story been done before? He says that almost always the answer is yes. But that we should brainstorm a list of possibilities until we find something no one has seen before.

2. Is the setting ordinary? If yes, then search for a place that has not been used as frequently.

3. Are the characters you're thinking of made of old stock? How can we make them more interesting? Can we find a fresh perspective? Again he suggests brainstorming and not throwing out ideas until we have a long list.

4. Is this story "big enough" to grab a substantial number of readers? What can we do to make it bigger? How can we raise the stakes? He says that death (either physical or psychological) must almost always be a threat.

5. Is there some other element that you can add that is fascinating? He encourages us to think about our idea from every angle and to find a twist or two that will enliven the story.

Bell says: You need to come up with hundreds of ideas, then choose the best ones to develop. . . By going deep within your own heart and soul, you will find a wellspring of ideas to write about.

Each of us has a unique story to tell. Have you struggled, really struggled, to push beyond the ordinary? Is your story swirling with the complexity of your ideas? Or are your stories too much like everyone else's? What are some ways you've dug deep inside and found your unique ideas?

Join in Friday when we'll discuss the uniqueness of the writer's voice.

Uniqueness of the Writing Journey

If you picture your town or city, can you think of any two roads that are exactly the same?

Each street is lined with different houses and trees with entirely different families or businesses. Some roads may have potholes, others construction, a few rare ones are perfectly smooth. We'll find detours in some areas and high-speed freeways in others.

If we traveled every road in the United States or the world, would we ever find two that are identical? My guess is that we'd be searching a long time.

We writers are on a journey. A few of us are running at top speed, most of us are plodding steadily upward and onward, and then some are limping along but still persevering.

No matter where we're at on the writing path, we tend to have a common affliction: comparison-itis. This illness is usually one that comes and goes, but we all suffer from it at one point or another. Whether it puffs us up or puts us down, comparison-itis is a disease that can harm us if we don't work at fighting it off.

Is there an antidote for comparison-itis? I'm sure we could all think of plenty of cures, but the one I want to focus on this week is this: we're all on unique writing paths.

None of our roads are ever going to be identical. The journey that stretches out before each of us will be like no one else's.

I've been very open in my blog about my steps through querying, getting an agent, and venturing into the world of publishing houses. I love being able share this journey with like-minded writers.

And yet my experiences, are, well, mine. You may not have to write seven books over an accumulation of about eight years before you get an agent. You might not have to win a contest to move out of the slush pile. Your agent may attempt to sell your books differently than mine.

But that's the beauty of the writing journey. We can take encouragement from one another and maybe even learn a thing or two, but ultimately we have to remember that we each need to forge our own unique paths. There are no set formulas for attracting an agent and no perfect number of years we have to write or books we have to finish before being ready.

There are no two roads exactly alike.

Let's encourage one another with our uniquenesses today! What's your road been like? How many books have you written? How long have you been writing? What's something unique to your journey?

When the Honeymoon is Over

If you've been married for any length of time, you know that it doesn't take too many months or years for the newness of marriage to wear off and for reality to set in. Those heart-stopping tingles that fueled our love affairs often give way to heart-rending difficulties.

The fact is, no two people are perfect, and no marriage will be either. Whether it's the little things like squeezing the toothpaste from the top or bottom, or something bigger like where to spend family vacations, issues crop up to cause conflict.

We might start marriage with high hopes and expectations, but those difficulties eventually creep in and threaten to steal the joy and love that once abounded. When the honeymoon is over we realize if we're going to make our marriage thrive, we have to work hard, often really hard to stay committed.

Some days we have to grit our teeth, pray for strength, and use sheer will-power to keep on loving our spouses. We aren't basing our love affair on feelings any more. We don't quit when the going gets rough. Rather, we choose to love and stay committed because we said we would.

The same is true with our writing. There will be times when our feelings for our writing will diminish. Problems creep into our stories, the small adverbs and big plot holes. Our high hopes and expectations are dashed with each rejection. We face incredibly hard, dry times when we want to give up.

It's at these times in the writing life, just like in marriage, that we have to fall back to the decision we've made. We don't write just when we feel like it, or when we're enthusiastic about our book, or only when we have high energy levels.

We keep writing because we made a commitment to it. We carve out the time, put our fingers to the keyboard, pray for ideas, and force ourselves to pound out the letters one word at a time. Successful writing careers, like successful marriages, take incredibly hard work.

Perhaps we may reach a point when we need therapy. (My husband is a therapist and does quite a bit of marriage counseling, so I couldn't resist stretching the analogy today!) We all need help from time to time and it's okay to seek it out--from critique group friends or even from a professional (author or editor).

Are you doing the hard work necessary to make your writing thrive? When the going gets tough and you feel like giving up, what are the ways that you motivate yourself to stay committed to your writing? Please share your ideas. Your encouragement will be writing therapy for all of us!

Making A Commitment

It’s easy to fall in love. Most of us have taken the plunge into love at some point in our lives. In fact we may have broken up and fallen in love on many occasions.

But there comes a time when we decide that we’re not playing around with love anymore and that we need to make a serious commitment.

We take those slow steps down the aisle, exchange shy smiles and golden rings. And we declare before God and witnesses to have and to hold each other from this day forward and forevermore.

Marriage. We enter it with such high hopes and dreams. The future stretches before us and we’re positive that nothing can stop us from having the greatest marriage ever, from beating the odds, from being different from everyone else.

In the last post, we shared how we fell in love with our writing. Most of us have indeed developed a love affair with our writing. Eventually we have to ask ourselves how serious we want to get. How far do we take our writing? How much commitment do we want to give to it?

Some of us may be at a point where we love writing but we're not ready to get married to it. Perhaps we’re too busy with other life responsibilities to be able to devote enough time to writing seriously. We're content to dabble, to write when we have time or energy. And we're looking forward to the day, sometime in the future when we can finally say "I do" and give it a full-hearted commitment.

There may be others of us who are getting more serious. We've been dating our writing for a long time. We're ready to take our writing career to the next level. We know we need to make a greater commitment to it if we want to succeed.

But then there are some of us who don't really know what we want. Maybe we lack vision or goals. Maybe we lack the discipline to commit. Or perhaps the idea of getting serious about writing gives us cold feet.

Personally, I struggle with how much commitment to give writing at this point in my life. Do I continue to view it as a part time endeavor that I squeeze around the other priorities of my life? Or should I start to consider it a full time career? This is a tough question for me, since my Mom-job is already full time.

My writing commitment has increased gradually over the past couple of years, so the transition has been relatively smooth for myself and my family. If there comes a point when I need to give even greater amounts of time and commitment, I pray for the wisdom to balance both my jobs.

Where are you at? Dating or marriage or somewhere in between? Do you ever struggle with how much commitment to give to your writing?

What happens when the honeymoon is over? Join in on Friday for more discussion!

A Love Affair With Writing

July is a popular month for weddings. My family and I spent the past weekend in Kentucky at a nephew’s wedding. The bride glowed with beauty, the groom couldn't stop smiling, and we were thrilled to be there to help them celebrate the start of their life together.

My husband and I were married eighteen years ago in July. In fact, today is our 18th anniversary and I woke up to a dozen roses!

As I watched the wedding this past weekend, so many memories flooded my mind—the silky rustling of my own gown as I walked down the aisle on my daddy’s arm, filled with such joy at the thought of spending the rest of my life with the man I loved.

My husband and I met when we were freshmen in college. A mutual friend introduced us, but at that time we attended different colleges in different states. We spent a semester writing letters and calling each other non-stop. One semester was all it took for my new man to decide he wanted to be with me. The next year he transferred schools. And so began a love affair. . .

The longer I brush virtual shoulders with other writers, the more I realize we have a love affair with our writing. It’s that love that keeps us going against all the obstacles. So, in keeping with the season of true love, I thought it would be fun today to share how we first fell in love with writing.

When did you meet this love of your life? Did you start off slowly as friends or was it passionate love at first sight? And did you ever break it off for a while or were you certain this writing love was the one for you for always?

I’ll go first. I was in elementary school when I fell in love with writing. And it was definitely love at first sight. From the moment I could spell and compose full sentences, I was never again without a spiral notebook and pencil. I luxuriated in long family trips across the country, spending endless hours with my love, filling page after page with stories.

Eventually I grew bolder with my love affair and entered and won a couple of writing contests. I even started college with every intention of getting a degree in writing. However, when I looked at other majors, I broke up with writing for a while in order to “date” around.

For a time I tried another career, but it didn’t take too many years for discontentment to settle in and for the longing for my first love to return with full force. I dumped the other “guys” and ran back to my writing, embracing it with all the passion in my heart. We’ve been together ever since.

Your turn! Here are the questions again: When did you first start writing? Did you start slowly or was it passionate love at first sight? And did you ever break it off for a while or were you certain this writing love was the one for you? I'd love to hear your story!

Writer's Life: Glory

So far this week we've talked about two traits writer's have in common: Guilt and Guts. Today we're on to the final G of the writer's life: Glory, or should I say lack of glory?

Writers spend countless hours creating, writing, editing, re-writing, querying, crying, querying again, then writing some more. We all know there's very little monetary reward in the process. Often there are far too few compliments and even fewer pats on the back.

On the surface, the glory of the unpublished writing life looks nonexistent. And the published author's life doesn't sound much better. We hear stories of tight deadlines, writer's block before those tight deadlines, massive marketing pressures, a poor economy for selling books, very low financial returns.

The bottom line is that most of us won't experience fortune and fame. Of course it's fun to dream big, but the reality is that very few of even the best of the best end up with the next Pulitzer or best seller.

I'm realizing the glory of the writer's life doesn't lie in the outward glamor. Rather, the glory lies much deeper--it's a satisfaction in having created, having breathed life into something that's so much bigger than ourselves that has the potential to touch other lives.

Each of us finds some kind of pleasure in writing other than money or prestige or we'd have given up long ago. In the comments of the previous post, some of you shared the deeper reasons you write. Here are just a few:

Heather Sunseri: That's also how I deal with rejection or lack of 'praise or pay.' I write for God, first, and for myself second. And He and I want to know how the story ends.

Jeanette Levellie: Words are in my heart and my brain and my blood and my hair, demanding to be shared. I can't not write. If one life is changed because of something I wrote, and God is proud to call me His child, it will be worth all the stuff.

Sherrinda: I have not wanted to give up on a dream. . . To say I have done it. I wrote a book! To write something that would give someone as much pleasure as reading books has given me would be the ultimate prize.

Katie Ganshert: I love it waaay too much to give it up. Plus, I would probably go psycho. My brain would explode with too many words stuck inside.

Others of you mentioned that writing makes us happy, provides a creative outlet, helps us grow personally, fulfills us. These are the things that bring glory to the writing life. Sure, none of us will complain when we get a royalty statement someday, but ultimately, the real glory, the real fulfillment, is what happens deep inside us when we write.

To end on a lighter note, we all like to dream that someday we might get a little taste of the glamor of the published author life. What glory are you most excited to experience once you're published?

Writer's Life: Guts

Writers often share a common feeling of guilt (see last post). I loved ALL of your comments. You proved to me that writers do indeed share another trait: guts or the courage to press on against adversity.

Here are just a few of your comments that give us courage to press on against guilt:

Joanne: We don't clock in and out regularly, and so in some eyes, our work lacks authenticity. But it's important to set a precedent at home, to expect respect as much as we give it to others. And our children learn then, too, there are options as to how we all can earn a livelihood.

Terri Tiffany: I needed to look at my writing as a career first--then it followed everyone else did.

Christa Allan: Don't try to absolve yourself of guilt. Write through it, love them (family)through it, and just keep writing.

Careann (Carol): I think the most important thing I did was take my writing ability seriously. If we don't value ourselves and what we do as writers, no one else is going to either.

In today's writing industry, if we're serious about developing a career, then we can't hide behind our computer screens, send out a book, and cross our fingers for good luck.

If we want to succeed, then we need to have GUTS. We need the courage to dream big, the determination to persevere, and the daring to push forward against all obstacles, even against guilt.

We have to be willing to work infinite hours, get little affirmation, and wait a long time, perhaps even years, for any monetary reimbursement. We're battered by the ignorance and misunderstandings of those outside the industry and often rejected by those within. We may lack support from those closest to us, maybe even doubt our own abilities.

When we think of all we have going against us, it's amazing that we persevere at all. I can't think of too many other professions where the outlook is quite as bleak. If I was, say, a scientist, and I had to work endless hours, with no praise or pay, faced rejection, misunderstanding, and self-doubts day after day, would I stick with it? I doubt it. At the very least, I'd have to think seriously about giving up and doing something else.

It's easy to give up on the writing life. I know I've been tempted to quit a couple of times. But the thing about us writers, is that against all odds, we keep going. We have a passion for writing that won't die. And that passion gives us the guts to persevere.

Has the going ever gotten tough for you? Have you ever been tempted to give up your writing? What kept you going?

Writer's Life: Guilt

Guilt, Guts, and Glory--the three G's of the writer's life. The longer I write, the more I realize aspiring writers are a unique group of people--especially in the guilt we bear, the guts to dare, and the glory so rare.

Lately, GUILT has followed me around like the bubonic plague. Last week my twelve year old son said, "Mom, all you ever do anymore is write." I promptly swallowed the rising lump of guilt and replied, "Now honey, you know that's not true. I still have to eat and sleep every once in a while."

Wink!

The truth was that my son has noticed a change in the amount of time I spend writing, especially in the past two months. It all started in May after I finaled in the ACFW Genesis contest (read about it here). I had a marathon weekend to revise my contest entries before having to return them for the final round of judging.

Then shortly after the contest final, agent Rachelle Gardner gave me The Call (read about it here). A new set of pressures fell upon my shoulders. I needed to complete one of my two books, finish the professional edits on both, and then write an enormous book proposal.

Most recently, I had to write another short proposal for a third new book. This included synopsis, hook, character sketches, and sample pages. I had about a week to work magic (and in that week I also had my son's birthday celebration and a 4th of July party!).

Yes, the amount of time I've spent on writing related work has increased during the past two months. But do I spend ALL my time writing, as my son accused me in his lovable but snarky way?

Some days are definitely filled with more writing than others (like when I've had deadlines). But mostly, what my family has noticed is that my writing has become more important to me, more apart of my life, and that perhaps I spend less time doing some of the things I used to do--like baking homemade muffins or planting flowers.

If I start to view my writing as a career, not just a hobby, then in some ways I have to consider myself employed and have a mindset that writing is my job. I'm starting to adjust, but perhaps my children will need more time, along with plenty of reassurance that even if I have to change some of my priorities, my family is still tops.

Why is it more difficult for others to accept writing as a valid career choice? Is it because we're unpublished? Not earning a substantive income? Working from home? Is it because it takes so long to see tangible results? Finish a book? Get an agent? Is it because the goal of getting published often seems so unattainable, much like a dream?

Or is it because we don't have enough confidence in ourselves and our abilities? Enough to shed the plague of guilt?

Why do you think non-writers have a difficult time validating writing as a career choice for unpublished authors? And what do you do to shed your guilt?

A Foot in the Door: Lessons Learned

In the last couple of posts I've shared the stages my book proposal is going through at a publishing house. So far my proposal has passed through the Editor and Editorial Committee. It still has to go into Publication Board, which will be brutal.

If my proposal survives Publication Board, then I'll be a step closer to publication. If not, then my agent will have to start sending it to other publishing houses.

Whatever happens, I've gained some valuable insights from my first experience getting my foot inside the traditional publishing door.

• Be flexible: The editor asked if I'd be open to writing a different third book than I'd originally planned. Although we all have our babies, the projects we love and labor over, I've learned that we can't get too attached. We have to remain open to new ideas and directions in our writing.

• Trust the experts: I don't understand the narrowness of market, the saleability of certain books, or the obstacles new authors face as they try to develop a readership. I have my opinions about what I think would be good for my books. But since I'm inexperienced, shouldn't I trust those whose blood pulses with the knowledge of the market?

• Stay humble: I've had to realize again and again, just how new I am. Like a recently hired employee, I have to start at the bottom. I have to work hard, have a teachable spirit, and respect the authors, agents, and editors who are further along.

• Grow in patience: I'm reminded that the writing life is synonymous with waiting. We wait for critiques, contest results, answers to queries, acceptance from agents/editors. Then once we have an agent/editor we wait for emails, phone calls, news on book proposals, editors to read our work, and committees to make decisions. The waiting is endless, which leads to my last point.

• Keep on writing: I've learned that I'm able to wait much easier if I move on to my next book and keep myself busy doing what I love--writing. Once we send off our work and it's out of our hands, then the best thing we can do for ourselves is start the next project and take pride in making it even better than the previous one.

I did a series of posts a while back comparing publishing to a set of doors. (Click here to read more.) The traditional publishing door is incredibly difficult for new writers to get through. I may have my foot in the door, but I'm not inside yet. I figure if I can keep on doing all of the above, than maybe, eventually, the door will open a little wider.

What do you think? Do new authors have a right to make demands on agents and editors? Or do you think we should earn the right?

Publication Board

I just have to start out this post by telling you how encouraging all of you are! My writing journey wouldn't be nearly as exciting without my blogging friends cheering me on. So thank you! Your enthusiasm is a blessing!

So. . .did my book make it out of Editorial Committee? Did the team of editors give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down? (For more about this stage of publication, click here: Editorial Committee.)

Most of you guessed right! Editorial Committee gave it a thumbs up. But. . .not without a great deal of complicated discussion. Because I'm an unpublished author, the committee had to look at my project from all angles: is the writing strong enough, will the story and series attract readers, are the settings and time periods saleable, etc.?

I think I can safely sum up their meeting by saying this: they like my writing, but we still need to work through some issues regarding the saleability of the settings and time periods. I'm learning that even though historical romances are very popular right now, the ones that sell best have American settings and take place between 1880-1900.

Since my historicals don't fall within those specific guidelines, the challenge lies in discovering how best to proceed! Every new author needs to build a strong readership with their first book. I'm soaking in the advice of both my agent and the editor and trusting they will lead me in the right direction for having the best first book.

So, will my book make it to the next stage: Publication Board? Hopefully.

If my book makes it to Publication Board, then a whole new group of people will debate whether to take on my project: company executives, presidents, vice-presidents, sales and marketing, and editorial representatives.

Agent Steve Laube describes the committee this way: It is this meeting where every objection possible is thrown at the book. Participants come up with reasons why this idea is a failure and why it should never be published. The discussion can be brutal.

So, my friends, I still have a rocky path ahead, but I'm learning so much from this whole process (more about that in the next post!). For now, I will leave you with one final thought: As writers we face incredible adversity. It's easy to get discouraged. But we need to keep moving forward doing what we love--writing.

Have you hit any rocks in the path lately?

Editorial Committee

*Update: My agent read through my blog posts and pointed out that Steve Laube's descriptions of the process (see bottom of post) are the more accurate way to describe the publication committees than my bumbling attempts! So I've changed a few things from my original post to reflect this.

In my recent posts I shared about my experience writing a book proposal. To read more about it, click here: Book Proposals.

This week I thought I'd catch you up to date with where my book proposal is at in this stage of the writing journey. As you know, I sent the completed book proposal back to my agent. Then she emailed it to the specific publishing house she thought would be best for my books.

I've learned that there are approximately three stages a book goes through at a publishing house: Editor, Editorial Committee, Publication Board.

Editor: Once the editor had my proposal, he had the opportunity to look it over and make an initial, yes or no decision. This is a critical phase, kind of like querying an agent. The proposal has to catch the editor's attention and the sample chapters have to spark an interest so that he or she wants to read more. Fortunately for me, the editor liked it, called my agent, and requested to see the full manuscript on one of my books.

Editorial Committee: The next step was the editor reading my book and then taking it to the Editorial Committee. This is a group of editors and people who work for the publishing house that meet regularly to discuss the various books that are "on the table," the ones they might consider publishing.

My book went to Editorial Committee last Wednesday. My agent graciously kept me up to date on all of the pro's and con's the committee was likely to discuss about my book (via emails from the editor.) This committee would now determine whether my book was something they could consider publishing or whether they would decline to look at it further.

Let me just say, I jumped every time the phone rang last Wednesday! I tried not to think about what they were discussing about my book and about me as an author. But my ears burned all day! Finally, Thursday morning, Rachelle called. What did Editorial Committee decide? Would my book make it to Publication Board or not?

To read about the next phase of the journey click here: Publication Board.

For an article that explains the various publishing committees in greater detail, check out Steve Laube's new blog and this article: Who Decides To Publish Your Book? Also, Rachelle Gardner has an excellent post: From Proposal to Publication.

Ready to Fly?

The sparrows who live in the bird house outside our kitchen window have birthed two sets of babies already this summer.

We were surprised at how quickly the babies grew and flew from the nest. After a week or two of constant tweeting and fluttering outside our window, suddenly one day, we awoke to silence and stillness. The birds were gone, already almost full size, ready to survive on their own.

How do we know when our books are ready to fly? We've prepared for their birth, nurtured and cared for them with loving dedication, but how do we know when we should push them from the nest into the wide world of agents and editors?

As I've traveled the blog, facebook, and twitter realms I've heard many laments about writers sending their books out too soon. Agents often remark that one of the top reasons for sending a rejection is because the writing ability is not strong enough.

Here's a quote from Rachelle Gardner: In the fiction queries I receive, the execution is the biggest reason for rejection. Some people have terrific ideas for stories that sound like they’re going to knock my socks off. But when I start to read, I realize this is probably the first draft of the first book they’ve ever tried to write, and they haven’t actually taken the time to develop their craft prior to submission. (Truthfully, it bums me out, because often the ideas are really good.)

Recently, I cleaned out a closet and came across the first five novels I wrote. As I browsed through them, I couldn't even remember writing one of them, probably my first one. All it took was one glance at the first page to see large paragraphs of background dump and setting description to know that baby had never been ready to fly. Thankfully, I never pushed it out.

But how many of the others did I send out too soon? Probably most of them. With each book I continued to study the craft of writing. And with each book, I continued to practice all of the things I was learning. But none of them ever reached a truly mature stage. They were all just part of the necessary process of growing.

Sometimes we can do everything possible to nurture our writing (everyone left great ideas in the comments of the last post about how to do that!). But ultimately, even with all of the food we shove at our writing, growth is slow and happens over time.

Maturation in our writing is not something we can rush. It's easy to get excited about the next stage--seeing our babies fly. But it hurts when we push them out only to see them fall flat, get stepped on and rejected. Sending a manuscript to a crit group or professional editor might be a way to make a practice attempt to see how close we're getting.

So how do we know when our writing is ready to fly? Here's my thought: if we've crafted the story well, if we've nurtured our writing skills, and we've allowed time and practice to mature us, then perhaps we're just about ready to stretch our wings and give it a try.

What do you think? Have you ever sent your work out too soon? How do you know when your work is ready to fly? I'd love to hear your opinions.

Have a Happy Fourth of July!

Nurturing Our Babies

In my last post I shared about the sparrow family that made its home in the bird house outside our kitchen window.

I was amazed at the amount of labor the momma and daddy put into crafting their nest and preparing for the birth of their babies (see previous post). But I've been even more impressed with how much work they spend nurturing the chirping newborns.

Never have I seen such dedication as I have with the momma and daddy sparrow. They spend every waking moment gathering seeds and insects into their beaks and flying back to the bird house to feed their babies who are constantly squawking for more. Patiently, consistently, determinedly, they nurture the tiny lives that depend on them for survival.

As writers, we prepare for the birth of our stories, spend time plotting, outlining, and researching. But how much time do we spend nurturing our stories once we start writing them? What are we feeding our writing and our stories to help them grow?

If we want our writing to mature and our stories to be ready to fly, then we'll have to approach them with dedication, hard work, patience, consistence, and determination--the same that the sparrows have with their babies. But what else nurtures our writing?

• Read writing craft books: I'm never without a new craft book in hand. I have two long shelves full and my library is steadily growing. I keep a running list of books others have suggested. I usually check them out from the library first and then if I like them well enough, I buy them. During the process of writing my last book, I read about five new craft books.

• Read writing-related blogs: I haunt several blogs that are jam packed with excellent writing craft advice: Camy Tang's Story Sensei, the Seekers, and others. (Check my side bar for More Help For the Journey.) When I find helpful information as I'm reading a blog, I jot it down on a notecard.

• Take notes: I have a stack of 4x6 index cards rubber banded together. These are the notes I've taken from writing books or blogs over the years. To remind me of the important things I've learned, I read through a few cards every so often.

What are you doing to nurture your writing? Are you approaching it with the right amount of dedication and determination? And are you giving it a steady diet of craft-related food? Please share ways you feed your writing, and if you've read any helpful craft books lately share that too!

Join in on Friday to discuss how to know when our babies are ready to fly!

P.S. Fellow writer and blogger, Heather Sunseri, just started a new blog yesterday. Check it out here.