WRITE FROM WITHIN by Michelle Somers

Just recently, a fellow author asked me to contribute to a book she's writing for beginner writers. She wanted one tip I believe newbie writers should keep in mind when they sit down to write. A small paragraph, no more.

Wow.

Never mind the ‘short paragraph’, I could write an entire book.

So, what would I tell her?

The question got me thinking, and reflecting back to the beginning of my writing journey. And I asked myself what is the one thing I know now that I’d have liked to know back then. One thing to have made my journey more expedient, more fruitful. My writing more meaningful.

O-kay.

Ideas bombarded me from left, right and center.

Yet another book I could write.

So many things I’ve learned through trial and error, through more experienced writers sharing their expertise and knowledge; words of wisdom around finding like-minded writers, joining writing groups, forming critique circles; learning and practicing craft, and in those spare moments in between, reading to continually fill the well of creativity.

Then there’s the actual sitting down and writing part.

I wish I’d realized the importance of voice. From those first few moments when I began to write, I thought my story – and the tone of my story – should sound like other successful authors. After all, the way they wrote was what made them successful, right?

So, instead of writing in a way that was natural and reflective of me, I tempered my tone and tried to write like someone else. Tried to sound like someone else.

Big mistake.

HUGE.

Not only did my stories sound stilted and unnatural, but they lacked the edge and special something that would make them unique – the voice that would make them stand out and scream ‘Michelle Somers wrote this’ to anyone who read them.

Through a gradual progression, and five complete novels, I slowly found my voice, and I’m happy to say, I love it! Imagine how different those five – unpublished, unpublishable – stories would have been had I written and, dare I say, embraced my voice back when I first started writing?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

There are other lessons I wish I’d known – the ‘show don’t tell’ doctrine, how to thread in backstory, how to layer characters and give them depth, how to construct GMC (goal, motivation, conflict) and make those very same characters 3-dimensional and believable.

But above all these tips that I would have found exceptionally useful back in the beginning, there is one that stands out in my mind, one that I’ve found a lot of authors tend to overlook or forget to do…

Write from within your characters.

Okay, I can see you squinting and shooting me a wary ‘what is she on about?’ sideways stare.  What do you mean ‘write from within your characters’? you ask.

It’s simply this: when you write a scene, put yourself in the place of your characters. Don their skin, their mind, their thoughts, their experiences.

Walk the journey that is their story in their shoes.

If your character is trekking through blistering heat, their body dusty and sweat-slicked, their brand new, unbroken-in hiking boots rubbing their heels raw, step right inside and write from within their experience. And write from within yours.

In a situation just like theirs, what would you think? Feel? Say? Do?

Write as if their experience is your experience. If they hate trekking, fear it even, ask why? Maybe it’s because the last time they slipped into their hiking boots their best friend died after falling into a crevice. Feel what they would feel. Find a parallel in your life.

Then ask more questions. Why are they out there now? Why would they put themselves through that trauma? That pain? Maybe it’s because their child is lost and they must find them before they meet the same fate as their friend?

Now feel those emotions.

Find more parallels. When did you last feel scared? Stressed? Panicked even?

What thoughts battered through your mind at the time? What visceral reactions racked your body?

Write from a place of experience and understanding. Write from your character’s point of view but draw from your own life to give the writing depth.

If your character laughs, think of the last time you laughed.

If they cry, think about the last time you cried.

For my debut, Lethal in Love, my central character lost someone they loved. Someone who meant the world to them. Those moments when they felt that loss were some of the most challenging I’ve had to write. There was one scene in particular, just moments after the death. I have to admit, I struggled over this scene. I wrote draft after draft, until finally one made me cry.

And how?

I drew from experience. I remembered the day my father died. Remembered the shock, the pain, the utter and unbearable loss, and then I wrote.

Writing can be a painful business. It can dredge up memories and emotions that we’d rather leave buried deep beneath the surface of normalcy. But those memories, those emotions, are what makes a great writer. They allow us to write from a place of understanding, a place of empathy, a place so deep inside our characters, the line between us and them blurs.

They become real. Three-dimensional. They take us to a place where fact and fiction collide. And they make us feel with every fiber of our being.

So, what advice would I give to a budding writer above all other advice?

Write from within your characters.

Make your characters feel. Make them hurt, laugh and love.

Make them grab the attention and heart of the reader and never let go.

What about you?

For the writers out there, I’d love to know the one tip you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started writing.

And for readers, what is it about characters and an author’s style that drags you into their story so you don’t want to stop until the very last page. I’d love to know!

Thanks so much for reading and commenting and general awesomeness! I look forward to seeing you all back here again the first Thursday of next month 😄

Until then, have a fabulous month, and MAY THE FORTH BE WITH YOU 😊

Michelle Somers is a bookworm from way back. An ex-Kiwi who now calls Australia home, she’s a professional killer and matchmaker, a storyteller and a romantic. Words are her power and her passion. Her heroes and heroines always get their happy ever after, but she’ll put them through one hell of a journey to get there.

Michelle lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her real life hero and three little heroes in the making. And a cheeky, furry feline called Emerald. Her debut novel, Lethal in Love won the Romance Writers of Australia’s 2016 Romantic Book of the Year (RuBY) and the 2013 Valerie Parv Award. Her second book, Murder Most Unusual was released February this year.

I love hearing from readers, and I’d love you to visit my website www.michelle-somers.com, but it’s currently under construction, soon to be filled with awesomeness 😊 So, if you’d like to stay in touch, find and follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, or email me at michelle-somers@bigpond.com to sign up for my newsletter and a FREE copy of my novelette, Cold Case, Warm Heart.

Three deaths, one clue, and twenty-four hours before it's too late...

Homicide detective Calamity Dresden has twenty-four hours to catch a killer before he kills and disappears underground. Estranged lover Sebastian Rourke wants justice for his father and every other victim of Melbourne’s sadistic Trifecta Terror.

But can the pair overcome past hurts and catch the killer before he catches them?

Shutting Up The Inner Editor

For most of us authors, when we first ventured into writing, we were aglow with unbridled creativity, and the story flowed unhindered through our fingers onto the page (or screen). I know it was like this for me with my first novel, and similar still with my second.

Then, by the time I started the third, something had shifted. I got stuck. A lot. I found myself second-guessing every sentence, every word, and--on the big picture level--the whole idea itself. What had changed from when I'd first picked up pen and notebook and just spent hours happily writing away?

Answer: I had started actually learning the craft.

Along with the (very necessary!) immersion in and acquisition of the standards of fiction writing, the rules and conventions, came a new filter in my brain, one that would come in handy at revision time. All that learning and honing my craft had awakened my inner editor. And don't get me wrong, she's great! So nitpicky, so discerning, so merciless, she slashes through the sludge of First Drafts with the ease of a hot knife sinking into butter. She's just what I need after I finish writing the story and start on the crucial polishing.

Problem is, she's exactly what I don't need when writing.

Photo by Laura Ritchie, available under a CC BY 2.0 on Flickr

In that initial phase of getting the bare bones of the story down onto paper/screen, the presence of an overly critical, persnickety, question-every-word inner editor is counter productive. It's inhibiting to the point where I will sit in front of my PC, fingers hovering over the keyboard, and discard every thought that pops into my mind as not up to par with the high-polished standards of my inner editor. I type something only to backspace the heck out of it the very next second. "I've used this exact phrase three times already. Gotta come up with something better." And then I'll sit there, pressuring myself to think of a more fitting description while the minutes tick by. If I'd just used the lame description I'd had before, I could have already moved on with the scene and gotten more of the story down. I could always edit it later--but you can't edit a blank page, as La Nora so succinctly put.

But such was my fate after having absorbed that much knowledge about writing--when it came time to write, it took me far too long to get anything down. I overthought everything. Ev-ery-thing. My inner editor wouldn't shut up.

Until I stumbled upon a method of shutting her up that's so easy it's mind-boggling.

To sum it up: It's writing in sprints with a set word goal. Yes, I know. It's ridiculously obvious. But I'd never written like this. I'd set myself word goals for the day, but not in combination with a set amount of time, and so I'd sit there, squandering away my time for writing because I didn't exactly have a deadline. Turns out, I work well with deadlines.

I saw a dear writer friend of mine--Melia Alexander--do these sprints of 15 minutes during which she had to write 250 words, and my first thought was, "I could never write 250 words in 15 minutes!" I really thought that was an unattainable writing speed for me. Until I tried it, and found--to my great surprise--that I could easily do this. With one condition, though: I had to forcefully shut up my inner editor.

Photo by Shawn Rossi, available under a CC BY 2.0 on Flickr

With only 15 minutes to write 250 words (that's a little more than 16 words per minute), I knew I couldn't stop to ponder the intricacies of "Is this too much telling?" or "What's a better word for 'thrust'?" I couldn't stop to edit myself, because I didn't have the time. So simple, and yet so liberating. Did my inner editor pipe up and start critiquing what I wrote? Sure she did. But I didn't listen to her. Every time she began speaking, I responded with, "No time. Will fix later." And I kept on writing.

Make no mistake, though, it niggles at me that what I'm writing isn't my best effort. I know much of what I jot down like this will have to be edited, but that's not important. I'm getting the words down, I'm getting the story out there, and I'm not mired in paralyzing self-doubt anymore. It's important to be able to write the whole story.

And once I'm done, I'll let my inner editor out to play and have her fun.

What tips and tricks do you have to outsmart your inner editor and be more productive? Let me know in the comments!

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Following her lifelong passion for stories and languages, polyglot Nadine Mutas went from tangling with tongues at a translation agency to wrestling with words in her writing den. She pens wickedly sensual paranormal romances, and her debut novel, Blood, Pain, and Pleasure, which was published on May 28, 2015, has won several awards for excellence in romance writing. You can find more info on Nadine and her books on her website: www.nadinemutas.com

Busy Season Writing Strategies

Though I love the holiday season, there is no denying that it is one of the busiest times of the year.  Between presents, cards, cooking, and decorating, there is so much to do.  When I am busy, it is far too easy to let my writing slip.  Priorities that once seemed clear begin to melt away, as quickly as the days of the month.  Is it only me who finds that December flies by much too quickly?

I am working on several writing projects right now and I knew before this holiday season approached that I did not want to fall into the old habit of letting my writing output fall by the wayside over the holidays.  I considered strategies I could use to keep writing, even amidst the bustle of these few months.

These are some of the strategies I’ve employed:

Catching inspiration on the go:  I have an hour long commute in the mornings and evenings and often come up with ideas for scenes, dialogues or even new stories while my brain is auto-piloting the tasks of highway driving.  Writing is not practical when two hands should be on the wheel, so I was thrilled to discover the voice recorder feature on my cell phone.  Even a few words can capture an idea which will trigger me to further writing when I finally get my fingers back on a keyboard.

Online writing files:  I love USB flash drives and often rely on them to carry my writing files from one computer to another.  However, in moments when I’m busy or have ten other things on my mind, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked away from a computer and left my USB flash drive in the USB port on the computer.  Online storage sites like Dropbox have been a lifesaver.  With a free account, I can save writing files to my online account and access them from any computer that has an internet connection.  More useful, however, has been the ability to access files via Google Docs, which is right there when I’m checking and answering emails in Gmail.  During my lunch break at work, I login to Gmail, check my emails, and then work on one of my current projects saved in my Google Docs.

Christmas cards are calling...

Paper and pen:  When I was a teenager, I wrote all of my stories out by hand in spiral notebooks or elaborately decorated journals.  I still enjoy working on plotting or jotting down story ideas with paper and a good pen.  In the past, I’d grab whatever slip of paper I could find in my purse when an idea hit, but those slips were hard to keep track of and might just as easily be thrown out.  Now I keep a pretty little purse-sized journal with me at all times and jot down plot points, flashes of dialogue, and new story ideas as they strike.  I don’t use my little notebook for anything but writing and it’s become a sort of Pavlovian response, as every time I see it in my purse, ideas come.

I must confess that I’m still working on Christmas cards, still have presents to buy and feel certain I’ll be late on delivering a card, a gift, perhaps both.  I can’t spend as much time writing as I would prefer.  However, I have used these few strategies to keep me focused on my writing, stoking the flames of inspiration and production whenever I can, even during this wonderful but busy time of year.

How do you keep your writing on track when you’re extremely busy?  What strategies work for you?