The Book That Others Will Read

The Book That Others Will Read

The Book That Others Will Read

By Writing Gym Alumnus Brendan Thompson

I first got into writing on the conviction that I am a creative person with stories to tell. I have never surrendered that conviction, but in the thirty years since, I have taken a lot of time to reflect on what kind of stories I have to tell. In that time, I have done quite a bit of living, which has given me a lot more material to work with. I have read some fantastic books, visited some remarkable places, and known some amazing people. The richness of those experiences has continually added to my ideas for stories.

However, it’s not just about having ideas.

Any long time writer will tell you about the book they got halfway through writing, driven by the strength of its unique and compelling idea, only to see the project fizzle out and remain unfinished. No matter how intriguing, compelling, and alluring the idea was, it wasn’t a story.

In order to see the book through to the end, there had to be a story.

Let’s move forward, out of the 1990’s, through the 2010’s ,and up to the present day. I had assembled an oeuvre of around a million words that made up an outsized, grand, opulent, sprawling world of stories. I took my best work, a gunpowder fantasy epic, and walked it over to Annalisa Parent and her program, The Writing Gym.

It’s a scary thing to go from writing for yourself to showing your work to professionals. Often, it’s one thing to put your work in front of friends and family- I had done that. It’s also one thing to engage other writers to trade work, reading each others’ manuscripts in exchange for notes. I had done that, as well.

But to put your work in the hands of a professional writing coach, a literary agent, or an editor, is an experience of an altogether different magnitude.

I will always maintain that a good writer writes first and foremost for themselves. That’s how you get started, moving ideas into stories. However, selling your work requires moving your stories out of your own collection and into a market. You are asking people to pay money to read your stories. There has to be something in it for the reader.

Being a professional, Annalisa spared no time getting me deep, specific feedback that required extensive rewriting of my novel’s first fifty pages. Fantastic. That level of editorial interaction is what I had signed on for.

It was a double edged sword, to be sure.

It’s great to have good notes for rewriting, but it’s not great to have the task of rewriting. It’s great to find solutions to fix underlying problems, but that requires finding underlying problems. And you don’t want to find problems in your manuscript.

It’s natural to recoil in horror at the suggestion that you didn’t craft the best possible story on your first draft.

Professional writers with massive followings still get those notes from editors, and they rewrite their works accordingly.

It’s not a foolproof process, but it is a process that improves the work. Ideas move through the writer into stories, which move back and forth from the writer to the editor, becoming more and more refined, transforming into stories that are more comprehensible, more relatable, more gripping, engaging, and effective.

I found Annalisa asking me, with some reluctance, if I would go back to page one and start the process over. Completely optional, mind you, no pressure, but still her professional recommendation. Would I mind bending the narrative more in the direction she was pushing for, and doing it for the reasons that she had outlined?

And here is what I told her.

I already know the version of this story that is most for me. I had already revised, reordered, and recapitulated the narrative a hundred times, shifting the perspectives of who was telling the story, experimenting with the order of events, who did what to who, and who was the witness to it. A hundred variations on the story I was crafting. Through that, I had a hundred different versions of the story in my head, understanding the possibilities that are so tantalizing and exciting in this world that I have created. However, that is not what I want to publish.

I want to publish traditionally and for a wide audience. That means continuing the revision and the crafting of the story, refining its very carefully calibrated inner workings to find the version that appeals to a target audience, a core of readers who will engage with the book, fall in love with it, and recommend it to their friends.

I want to get beyond the story that is only for me, and get to the story that is for them.

So, write for yourself. That’s the only way to get started. When you are comfortable showing your work to others, go right ahead and do it. You might even get published right away, and if you do, congratulations are in order. For the rest of us, the next thing to do is to write some more. And start revising. Revise everything. Keep writing, and then revise that. As you keep growing, developing, and finding your voice, engage with literary professionals, get their feedback, and put it to use to further grow yourself and improve your writing.

What you will find, whether gradually or suddenly, is that you are no longer dealing in ideas.

Every time you sit down to write, you craft a story. You think in terms of story, and you can’t create in any other way. When you revise, you will revise in terms of story, and you won’t have any other way to do a revision.

You will find, as if by magic, nothing you write, no matter how personal, is ever just for you. Not any more. You will be preparing yourself for the life of a professional writer, preparing to write for your readers.

Brendan Thompson is a writer and alumnus of the Writing Gym. His film, Bae Wolf, will be available in March.

Resonate with what Brendan says? I help writers to transition from the art of writing into the business of publishing. This is what I do to help people publish and get the representation they need. If you are ready to accept what the guidelines are and are ready to sell your book, let’s chat.

How To Avoid A Character Takeover

How To Avoid A Character Takeover

How To Avoid a Character Takeover

I want to share a story about Sonee Singh, one of the members in the Writing Gym. Like many writers, Sonee has a very specific goal: traditional publication.

 Traditional publication is not easy, especially with strict industry standards. However for Sonee, the goal seemed unreachable, because she didn’t even have a completed novel. 

Sonee had trouble progressing with the plot of her novel. She felt stuck. She had most of the story put together, but saw holes, and wasn’t sure how to solve that problem.

In March of this year, Sonee had a draft of her novel that didn’t have a complete ending. She had an ending, but it wasn’t where she wanted it to be.

She knew she needed more work and more clarity, but wasn’t sure how to get there. 

Her plot had big events that marked her protagonist’s journey, yet felt disjointed because nothing tied the bigger events together. 

Sonee looked at her work and felt frustrated, and considered dropping the piece altogether. 

I kept coming back to it, I just had no idea how to do it.

Sonee knew she had a story worth telling, but didn’t have the tools to express her writing the way she wanted. Reluctant to give the story up, she tried out some resources. 

She initially turned to beta readers that provided unhelpful, conflicting feedback. Afterwards, Sonee decided she had enough. 

She decided to reach out to me.

We began working together, and I read through her manuscript twice. After some revisions, she created a second draft.

The first revision focused on details such as character arc, plot arc, the big picture, and how these could be used to create a cohesive narrative.

Through discussions around the revisions, I was able to help Sonee organize her thoughts and equip her with tools needed to look at these details on her own. 

I also asked Sonee guiding questions about her plot and helped her realize how to solve any issue she comes across in her writing. 

As a professional, I know what you need to do to make your book better, but most importantly I value your voice and want you to create the solutions to your novel.  

I think the beauty of what Annalisa does is that she has that insight, but she also doesn’t just give the answer. She just poses questions that force me to come to that answer and I think it’s become a very organic process.

With my help, Sonee has had multiple breakthroughs in her writing, and is on the journey to finishing her novel with confidence. 

Before coming to me, Sonee knew she had a problem to fix, and traditional publishing was a far-off dream.

Today, Sonee believes she’s capable of meeting industry standards, and she’s one step closer to achieving her goal of traditional publication. 

I’m so happy to see Sonee grow as a confident writer, and am excited to see where she goes from here. 

Do you feel stuck in your writing and don’t know where to go next? Have publishing dreams but have no idea how to get there? Let’s chat.

Until next time. Happy writing. 

Confused About Publishing? Got Writer’s Block? Let’s Fix That.

Confused About Publishing? Got Writer’s Block? Let’s Fix That.

Confused About Publishing? Got Writer’s Block? Let’s Fix That. 

 

In order to become an author, let alone a successful one, you have to do a lot more than write.

The path to publication is long and there are many, many places to get lost.

That’s why our VIP programs are designed to walk you through the whole process, or just the part you’re stuck on if that’s what you need. 

We give you the coaching, support, knowledge, and support you need to go from struggling writer to published author.

We work with writers at three different phases:

 

  • Write or finish a novel in eight weeks
  • Revise novel to publishable and find an agent
  • Expand author platform and sell their book

We’ve had many authors in different stages of the writing process get published. 

 

Sounds like something you’re interested in?

The Writing Gym is accepting select writers to join our community of successful, published authors.

If you’re serious about publishing in 2020, let’s chat. Drop yourself into my calendar here to talk to a member of our team.

Until next time. Happy Writing. 

Build Your Confidence as a Writer and Push that Fear Away

Build Your Confidence as a Writer and Push that Fear Away

Build Your Confidence as a Writer and Push that Fear Away

Today, it’s an absolutely gorgeous day in New England. There’s so much beautiful foliage, and I’ve been out here walking with my dog, Mia.  

I find that walks are really a great time to think through what you’re writing.

I spoke with one of the writers in the Writing Gym this morning, and we talked about shower moments or walk moments.

These are the moments when you’re doing something else, and you suddenly solve a problem in your novel.

Often in the group, I talk about the work we’re doing in the Writing Gym and other people’s novels, but today I wanted to share thoughts about my own novel, as I’ve been working on some revisions.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with knitting (I’m not a huge knitter), but I have tried to make some scarves before, and in knitting, if you drop a stitch, you have to like take the whole thing apart and go through all the rows. It’s a scary experience, because if you pick up the wrong thing or you drop one stitch, you have to start all over.

It feels like I tore my whole novel apart, but the cool thing about it is there was a time in my early writing life when that would have terrified me. 

I’m truly a beginner when it comes to knitting, but I’m an expert enough in writing now that I can see where all of my rows and stitches are. It’s still a daunting task, but no longer scary or overwhelming.

I share this because you know there are a lot of writing classes, programs, and workshops, but as I was thinking about the work I do with our brave writers in the Writing Gym, it occurred to me that we are open about our fears.

We say, “It’s scary to pull apart your novel,” “This is how I feel about this,” “I’m not sure if I can do this well.” In the Writing Gym, we talk through these fears and give people strategies to work with. 

Even my friends, who are multiple times New York Times bestselling authors, will often say when starting a new book,  “I’m terrified. I don’t know what I’m going to write,” “Maybe my editor’s wrong.”

Fear is just part of the process, and in the Writing Gym, we’re helping people through those fears by talking about them and giving strategies. 

I don’t know how much you’ve been paying attention to what’s going on here in the group and in the Writing Gym, but I’ve lost count of how many publishing contracts we’ve gotten this year. It’s at least a dozen for people over in the Writing Gym, and that’s exciting. That’s results.

Those results are important, because people come to us and say, “I want to live the author lifestyle,” “I want to publish books.” It’s wonderful, and I’m happy for these writers.

I can tell those people are more confident than they were when they started. 

  • They love what they’re doing.
  • They’ve found joy in writing again.
  • They’re publishing.

But, the skills to live the author lifestyle, to have that confidence, to take apart the novel and say:

“You know, this is a little overwhelming,”

“But I know what I’m doing I can see where my rows are.”

“I’m not going to drop any stitches. I know how to do this.”

“I got it.”

That to me is the most amazing thing that happens in the Writing Gym.

So talk to me. What’s writing like for you these days? What are you afraid of? What’s coming up for you? What fears do you have, and what would it be like to have that kind of confidence?

Tell me your story, let’s chat.

Until next time, happy writing.

How to Land your Ideal Literary Agent with Jeanne Covert

How to Land your Ideal Literary Agent with Jeanne Covert

How to Land your Ideal Literary Agent with Jeanne Covert

Jeanne Covert, a screenwriter and a member of the Writing Gym, came to us with a finished novel–a script that she novelized–after hearing conflicting information from different editors. 

Jeanne Covert

“A lot of the information they were giving me conflicted with a lot of things we do in film, especially when it came to the suspense and the pace. I was used to a very, very fast pace.”     

I took a brief look at her manuscript and, in her words, told her what exactly she was doing wrong and how to correct the situation. 

“And [coming to Annalisa] was the very best decision I’ve ever made. After working with [her], I saw what the editors were trying to tell me, but they didn’t know how to tell me because they didn’t understand screenwriting. But [Annalisa] did. It was eye opening the way she explained how elements in screenwriting translates over to the manuscript.” 

And [coming to Annalisa] was the very best decision I’ve ever made. 

 

Before the Writing Gym, Jeanne experienced a lot of frustration from the conflicting messages she received from different editors. But with the Writing Gym, she experiences a change. 

“Now I feel like I know what I’m doing. I feel like I understand the craft.” 

As a screenwriter, Jeanne worked more with the visuals. She enjoyed the pace, the action, and the internal development of her characters involved in films and writing for film. But at the Writing Gym, she also developed a love for writing novels.

“Now, I’m beginning to grow in love with the words, not just the visuals.” 

She’s also noticed an improvement in her screenwriting and marketing materials for a film. “No matter what kind of writing I’m doing, I can tell there’s been a huge increase in my skill.” 

As far as I can tell, this is a pretty good bang-for-your-back. Jeanne fell in love with writing and experienced a huge increase in skill and confidence. Besides these other accomplishments, we are celebrating two very exciting things for Jeanne. 

First, I just got off a meeting with her top-pick agent, who requested a script from her. 

“There was a manuscript request involved, which was extremely exciting to me because he is closed to queries at this point in time. So, even though he would be my top-pick agent, he’s not accepting unsolicited queries. It was off-limits until [Annalisa] was able to talk to him.”

Second, Jeanne received another manuscript request from a different agent–from a top agency, William Morris

“Because William Morris represents more media than just a novel writing,” Jeanne started, “I wanted them to represent me. I thought they would be a good fit for me. And it’s very exciting for me because you usually have to be recommended to that agency in order to get an agent to read your manuscript.” 

How does it feel to get two manuscript requests from two top agencies? 

“It is absolutely very, very exciting because as a scriptwriter and as a reader for a producer, I read a lot of scripts. I know what it’s like to be inundated with submissions. It’s exciting for me to have the scripts requested because that means it’s not just in that pile that piles up on their digital desk. I’m very excited that at the same time it’s like, is this really happening?”

It is exciting, indeed, and such a huge accomplishment. We asked Jeanne if she had any word of advice for the people at our Facebook group, Write to Publish

“There’s so much I’ve learned. But one of the things that I really value that we do in the Writing Gym is how we work on our mindset. What many people may not know is that I have a dissociative identity disorder. And so one of the things that I have been working on for years is rewiring my brain. The way that the Writing Gym is conducted and the way that Annalisa works with us helps with that. We are constantly doing things to rewire our brains so that we’re more creative.” 

“I’ve been doing all of these things for years, so it’s not like they were new to me, but all of a sudden I’m doing this with a group of people and we’re kind of all in the same place and we’re all supporting each other and we’re all doing these things. I was shooting light years ahead on my mind work. And I just, I can’t express how wonderful that is. ”

It is so great to hear that Jeanne found this kind of value in the work we do at the Writing Gym.

What she would say to anyone thinking of joining our Writing Gym?

“I would say join,” she stated. “A lot of people don’t realize it takes a lot of work and effort to be at the professional level.” And she’s right. Even people who have master’s degrees are not at the level where they can be professionally published. “You don’t necessarily have to have a degree, but you have to have the knowledge. And this is one of the things I really discovered with the Writing Gym.” 

“If I was going to spend the money getting my MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) or spend the money on the Writing Gym, there is no question that I’d put that MFA money into the Writing Gym. The MFA may or may not get you where you want to be. But the Writing Gym, the work we do in the Writing Gym, gets us to where we want to be.” 

“I’ve had other writing coaches in screenwriting and whatever, but [Annalisa] bats for us harder, stronger, more than any other writing coach I have ever worked with.”

Thank you Jeanne for your kind words and for celebrating with us. 

Until next time, happy writing. 

How to Finally Write that Book this Summer, Even if You Haven’t Written a Word

How to Finally Write that Book this Summer, Even if You Haven’t Written a Word

How to Finally Write that Book this Summer Even if You Haven’t Written a Word

 

In this summer of COVID, many of us may find ourselves with additional free time on our hands from fewer barbecues, farmers markets, or fairs. However, some would-be authors might overwhelmed by the size of a book-length project. 

How can you use this time to finally write your book? 

 

Here are some of my top tips from my writing coach archives: 

Write down your end goal. 

We’ve heard this one a million times. However,  if you don’t know what you want to accomplish, you’ll never get it done.

As Lewis Carroll famously wrote “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” 

 

Know what you want to accomplish. If you’re like most writers, when you start to untangle this “what I want” knot,  you’ll find it’s far more complicated than you first thought. 

For example, maybe your dream isn’t just a book, it’s a series, movie rights, and a worldwide book tour. Those are all great ideas, but one step at a time.

If you can hone in on the first step toward your dream, then you can break it down into actual action steps, moving it from nebulous dream to achievable goal. 

 

Choose a deadline

Choose a day you are going to have this project done. This step cannot be overlooked. 

While deadlines are a huge motivator, here’s a pro tip: Post your deadline out on social media.

Tell your friends, parents, and especially someone who intimidates you a little bit. Let these people hold you accountable and keep you motivated.

Once you set that deadline for yourself, you’re going to work backwards from that date to create your work plan. How much writing do you have to do each day to reach your goal, and how can you carve out the time to make it happen?

Remember that Creativity is Wonky.

Despite the best laid plans of mice and men (Thank you, Steinbeck and Burns) to write 5,000 words a day or a chapter an hour, creativity is not always a linear process. 

You may want to finish that chapter today, but your book and your brain have other ideas.

When our characters (or ideas) misbehave, they’re often right.

You may feel like you want the piece to take a certain shape or go in a certain direction. The brain is sending us a caution flag, though. When your creativity takes the lead, following it always bears fruit. I promise. 

Now, the piece you create today may not make the final cut for your book, but the information you garnered from the experience of following your creativity will always bring a benefit to the piece as a whole.

Find your best writer and be that writer 

All kinds of would-be mentors want to tell you that you have to do it one way in order to be a real writer. However, there are some rules, especially if you want to traditionally publish. 

That said, in the creative phase the most important consideration is finding your creative flow. 

Write with a pencil or a tablet, outdoors or in your bed, use an outline, or allow the natural flow of ideas. None of this fluff matters, but here’s what does:

 Find the place where you can be at your creative best to get that draft out of you. 

After all, you can’t publish until you have a book. And you can’t have a book until you get it done.

The biggest key to success I have seen in writers who finish and publish is that they find and embrace the writer they are, so they can write book after book with creative ease. 

Show up every day like it’s your job. 

My writing mentor, Julia Alvarez, wasn’t the first one to say it, but she was the first one to say it to me: Being a writer is 90% applying butt to chair. 

Write at the beach. Write in a hammock. Write on your lunch break. Whatever you do, make writing a habit, and you’ll see the results. 

You don’t get a dream body by going to the gym once, or even once a week. The same is true of writing a book. Show up. Do the work. Even when it stings. 

Remember that writing is art, and art takes time

Many writers get lost in the rabbit hole: Why is it taking me so long to finish my manuscript? This trap turns into self doubt. “I must not be a good writer.” “I’m never going to get it done.” Believe me, I’ve heard it all, and I’ve seen self-doubt and fear stymy project after project. 

What if you reframe this fear?  What if instead you say, “Writing is art and art takes time.” 

Consider the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo. It took four and a half years for him to complete that masterpiece, which–frankly, if you’ve seen the level of detail–you know it’s astonishing he completed it so quickly. 

What else?

The Washington Monument took thirty years to construct; thirty full years.

Let’s think about more writing-related references. 

It took Victor Hugo twelve years to write Les Miserables and Harper Lee spent two and a half years writing To Kill a Mockingbird.

Writing is art, and art takes time.  Completing your manuscript is not going to happen overnight, not because there’s something wrong with you, but because you are an artist.  Allow yourself to get into creative flow, and creativity will reward you with a cornucopia of ideas and finished pages.

Promise. I’ve watched it with my own eyes hundreds of times. 

Pace yourself. 

Working with the creative process and the brain’s natural function means you must be really honest with yourself about how much you can get done. It’s very admirable and ambitious if you say you’re going to get everything done today, but you also might be setting yourself up for failure. When you set yourself up for failure, you’ll feel yucky about yourself. You don’t want to come back to the project feeling like you failed. So, make reasonable goals for yourself and pace your project in a reasonable way.

 

If you’re ready to take the next step and follow these steps above, give us a call or book an appointment.

Annalisa Parent is a writing coach who has helped hundreds of authors to finish and publish well. She used neuroscientific principles to guide the writing process through her programs in the Writing Gym. To find out more, and to download her free e-book The Six Steps to Go from Struggling Writer to Published Author, visit www.datewiththemuse.com. 

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