Anyone want to live a fearless life? Pursue your creative passions regardless of other’s opinion? I do! If you do, then I have something for you in this newsletter! But first..
Writing Update:
Despite my goal of having my historical fiction, Marry for Love, available for beta readers by October 1st, I’m behind. As I read through the manuscript, I needed characters and scenes to jump off the page. So, I’m taking my time to provide more emotional depth with main characters, add more details to settings, and intensify the tension.
Shout out to my husband. He’s a geographer, so he made me a map of Owosso and a few other important places in Shiawassee county. Having this map, it’s easier to “paint” the scenes of Owosso from 1940, so hopefully readers can feel the sense of place and how it affects the characters.
As a side note, my husband looked up my great-grandma’s property deed, so we could identify the farm where my grandpa was raised. Although their farmhouse and barn are gone, I could get a feel of the beautiful countryside where it was located, and write what my grandma would’ve seen as she met her future in-laws. My grandparents were raised in the same county but didn’t meet until they were adults.
Speaking of Grandpa, my husband and I got pictures taken in his ’37 Chevy. Back then, my great-grandpa who owned it, but Grandpa drove it when courting Grandma! My dad had it restored, and we all take a spin in it, especially at weddings. Here’s a wedding picture of my husband and I sitting in the car. It’s pretty cool to be part of my grandparents’ love story! (And my grandma, at 99-years young, attended our wedding. She was touched seeing us in that car.)
Captured by © Dan Stewart Photography
Here we are—
The Fearless Writing Workshop:
Fill in the blank: I fear ___.
Ever answer?
- I fear what people think about me as a ___ .
- Or I fear what they think about my ____.
- I fear I’m not good enough to be a ____.
In September, I took a Fearless Writing workshop Writer’s Digest offered. The instructor, William Kenower, provided an interactive workshop where we faced our fears and tapped into the creative flow. The workshop was better than I expected as it has helped me bypass the self-conscious fears that’s plagued me as a writer. (As he shared, various Scriptures came to mind such as Philippians 4:8 & Psalms 139.)
Lessons learned:
- Avoid the obstacles to flow. Guess what is the #1 obstacle that always stops the flow? Worrying about what others will think! This fear keeps us from writing freely.
- But, Sarah, how do I avoid self-consciousness when writing?
- Journal your negative feelings. By journaling, you identity these feelings instead of letting them run freely in your mind. It’s often the white noise you sense as you write. By shining light on these toxic thoughts, you remove their voice.
- Create a writing ritual. Bill gets up at the same time every morning, empties the dishwasher, makes coffee, then meditates and thinks about what to write. I’m trying to do this now, and it does help me get into the flow easier.
- Focus on the friendly association with writing, not the negative experiences. Think about how you feel on the best day of writing and recreate that feeling every time you write. (In the workshop, we wrote what we felt like on our best day of writing.)
- Don’t engage in problems or analyze them. Trust that the flow is enough and don’t force answers. Your imagination (and God) will help you find answers.
- Fan the flames of curiosity. Write about what you’re passionate about. You know, the story that has a magnetic pull on you.
- Feel first and write second.
The workshop had much more meat, but these are the highlights. If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, Bill has a book, Everyone Has What It Takes. I haven’t read it, but it’s on my reading list.
Author Highlight:
I’m highlighting inspirational suspense author, Lisa Harris. She’s a prolific, award-winning author and a missionary to Mozambique with her husband, Scott. I know Lisa from church, and enjoyed reading her fast-paced thrillers. My mom and mom in-love are also fans!
Check Lisa’s website here. Also, her latest romantic suspense book series, The US Marshalls. Book 1 is The Escape. Book 2, The Chase, just got released. And Book 3, The Catch, will be released in 2022.
October Goals:
- Have Marry for Love ready for beta readers. If I edit a chapter a day throughout October, then I’ll meet this goal!
- Work on prepping for NaNoWriMo (National November Writing month, where you write 50,000 words in November).
Giveaway Announcements:
Congrats to Kathleen Bailey! She’s the winner of the Rocket notebook giveaway. Hope you enjoy it!
October’s Giveaway is a $20 Hobby Lobby gift card. I won’t always be giving away a monthly prize, but I’m feeling generous with Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner.
What projects (writing or non) are you working on? Please share in Comments below. Thank you!
- Featured Image by Pepper Mint from Pixabay
- Panda vector Image by David Stephanus from Pixabay