August 2023: Revision Reflections

All Part of the Writing Life

Last week R(ev)ise and Shine! held our first “Zoomie”—a chance to meet the team. If you didn’t have the opportunity to attend but would like to know more about who we are, you can watch the video replay here.

We covered a lot of ground in one hour and many intriguing topics came up—both in the introductions and in the group chat. I thought it might be fun to provide you with additional resources to explore the topics that interest you most. In chronological order:

In my introduction (Jennifer), I mentioned savoring the writing life (in my control) over the industry milestones (out of my control). In this Substack Writing is Joy post, guest contributor Jennifer Savran Kelly provides a wonderful list of writerly activities she values: “We walk slowly and deliberately outside, eavesdrop on strangers conversations . . .meet interesting friends on social media.” After reading this brief essay, I invite you to make a list of all the gifts the writing life gives you. Post it above your workspace. (Last night I went to hear very talented poet Meghan Sterling read. She provided some wonderful writing tips, and my head is filled with lovely lyrical language. Yes, the writing life!)

Rob and Jo both mentioned their love of helping writers uncover their stories. The fact that the deeper, more meaningful story is not always known at the onset may surprise many. But any number of seemingly random things bring us to the page: anecdotes, memories, sometimes little more than an image or a scent. Writers follow the muse, knowing that somewhere down the line the story’s more resonant truths will likely be revealed. This is not an easy process. One place I go for encouragement is the First Draft Podcast with Mitzi Rapkin. Mitzi interviews an incredible lineup of adult authors and I find the years most of them spend writing a book, and their ability to describe their wrong turns, immeasurably comforting. Two recent authors, Luis Alberto Urrea and Alice Elliot Dark discuss the number of drafts it took to discover their stories. (One way to expedite the process, of course, is to have trusted readers examine your work and ask the right questions.)

Lesa reminded us that writers live in constant fear. It doesn’t matter how experienced we are, doubt is our constant companion. It is, as she says, part of being a creative person. At some point, we will offer a Zoomie on how to work with fear as you write. In the meantime, here are three helpful tips:

1. Watch this video of Elizabeth Gilbert and Rich Fernandez discussing the role of fear in the creative process.

2. Create a file containing pictures of people hugging! Seriously. Kate Murphy, in her 2017 NYT article titled Outsmarting Our Primitive Fear Response, writes: “Psychologists and neuroscientists are also finding that the amygdala is less apt to freak out if you are reminded that you are loved or could be loved. For example, seeing images of people with frightened expressions is usually a huge trigger for the amygdala, but that response is greatly diminished when subjects are first shown pictures of people being cared for or hugged.”

3. Let yourself write badly. Bad writing can often lead you to the story you really want to tell more quickly.

Other topics that came up:

Plot

When asked about plot, Rob offered the best advice that he had received from A.M. Jenkins: “Don’t force your characters to follow the plot that you as the author have envisioned in your head. Instead, listen and let them guide you. Let their decisions and motivations and goals and dreams guide the plot.”

It’s true that when we’re having difficulty with plot, it often means that we don’t know our characters well enough. Here are some suggestions for going deeper with character:

• At 43:09 minutes into the R(ev)ise and Shine Zoomie, Jo offers a wonderful activity to do with your writing partner or coach. Invite another to ask you probing questions about your character and your story and in doing so, many insights and new understandings are revealed.

• Use the Enneagram model to explore your characters' personalities. Discover their type, and how they perform when healthy—and when under stress. See how the different types interact when conflict arises.

• One of the more popular craft books of recent years is Story Genius: How To Use Brain Science To Go Beyond Outlining And Write A Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere) It helps a writer develop a character’s desire lines and misbelief—incredibly helpful for plotting.

Showing up 

• As Lesa mentioned, she treats writing like a job—clocking in and out at the same time every day. She also has her habits (green tea, lighting a candle, journaling) that let her brain know it’s time to get down to business. Here’s a fun list of unusual writing rituals of favorite authors to lighten your day.

• I told about my daily habit of meeting up with a writing team over Zoom and how powerful writing in community can be. If you do not have writing partners with whom you can make a regular date, consider joining Chris Tebbetts's Virtual Writing: Alone Together. Here are the guidelines:

  

And finally, we discussed the fear of failure. Ah, there it is. Fear again. For my final offering in this newsletter, I offer this terrific talk by Matt Bell titled No Failure, Only Practice. It’s full of great advice and encapsulates so much of what we’ve been discussing.

Happy Writing!

Jennifer

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There’s still plenty of time to reserve your spot via our Eventbrite page for our first meeting of The Writers’ Book Club.

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And don’t miss our next Zoomie, this time hosted by Jo Knowles who will be sharing her best revision tips and techniques. Reserve your spot now on our Eventbrite page.