Jeez. I haven’t written a blog on my site since December 2020. It’s not that I haven’t been writing…it’s that I haven’t been writing for myself or publicly. I’ve done some ghostwriting for agencies. I’ve journaled. But…that’s about the sum of it! 

Tonight, I was lucky enough to attend a writer meet up down the street from my “new” (1.5 years) home in central Maine (AND, I got a cannoli!) that was spearheaded by writer, martial artist, and Maine Sci-Fi & Fantasy Nerd Fest creator, Michael Huard. To say that it juiced me up would be an understatement. 

All kinds of writers were there; a writing coach and MFA grad, several self-published authors, people with secret Microsoft Word documents hidden away on their desktop computers, and even some DnD players. Together, we talked about self-sabotage, motivation, and self-publication, which was all very fascinating. 

As a newly re-ignited writer, I wanted to share some of the tips/reminders that resonated strongly with me…here we go! 

You Do Not Have to Let Life Attack You

One of the most poignant things said at our gathering was by Celeste Loring. She explained that life is all about choices and that we need to re-write our story so that we believe that we have control. We make choices. We are not being attacked by life (and all the chores that come with it). We choose how we spend our time and can also choose to take steps, no matter how small, toward what matters to us most. 

In essence, if writing matters enough, we should focus on it and let less important things fall away. It seems simple, but it’s always good to have it reinforced. 

Writing is Not Another Chore

I feel like a lot of us fall into the trap that Joseph D. Slater talked about; we lack the excitement we once had for writing. He said one of the reasons people lose steam with their writing is because it becomes another chore. It goes on a list of things like…do the dishes, take care of the kid, wash the laundry…it becomes work. 

Writing should not be “work”. It should be something that gets you excited. To do this, he asked our group to go back to what initially excited us about the project, to avoid thinking about the end game, and to enjoy the process. Even if you just get 300 words written, that contribution will allow you to eventually crest the mountain that is finishing a novel and according to him, nothing feels as good as finishing something. 

Vocal Writing

Michael Huard reminded us that not all writing needs to be done sitting in front of a computer! You can dictate it. Lots of people get hung up in the writing process because of an innate need for everything to be perfect. People like that may do better dictating their writing initially as it would take away that pressure.

That problem made me think of my husband, who is arguably a talented writer who struggles with style, but not with content. He is the type of person who has all the ideas, but lets grammar slow him down. Dictation may just be a hack for others like him. Editing can happen later!

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I am so thankful that I got to meet some people in real life this evening. It feels like I have been hibernating for the past two years and now I am finally awake. It is truly refreshing to feel the sun on my skin, the breath in my lungs, and the thrill of creativity in my brain once again. Let’s do this.

PS: I am going to start recruiting NOW for September 2022’s run of #GBWritesWithOthers. Want in? Hit me up on Twitter.