Lorna Faith

Clean Fiction Author

How to Embrace Imperfection as a Writer

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Most writers I’ve talked to, feel like their writing is imperfect. They feel like they’re failing in some way. They feel like the words they write just aren’t good enough.

As I’ve talked to more writers, I’ve realized most of the time the root of these feelings of wanting everything to be perfect… is fear.

Honestly, that’s been one of my biggest struggles as a writer. Fear of imperfection. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of failure.

Can you relate to those feelings?

If you’ve had similar thoughts in your own writing journey, please read on. I promise you’ll be encouraged by the time you get to the end 😉

how to embrace imperfection - lornafaith

Stop Worrying About things being Perfect…

As I’ve continued to write blogposts and books, this is what I’ve noticed. When you put your words out into the world anyway – pushing past the fear and resistance – most people will root for you. They will encourage you to keep going, to take a risk and try something new.

Of course, there will be the naysayers and those who don’t really get what you’re doing. But that’s okay. Just let them be.

Instead focus on those people who will encourage and root for you.

The biggest thing to remember: Stop worrying about things being perfect. Learn that good, is good enough.

Instead realize that just the fact that you are putting work into the world, regularly working on your craft, putting the time and effort into becoming a better writer and putting your work into the world, means you’re already doing amazing things!

This means that you are already far ahead of most people that keep saying over and over, one day I’ll write a book. 

So, please don’t shoot for perfection in your writing. Rather, let doing your work and sharing it with the world, be your goal.

Let’s choose to let go of the fear of judgement and the fear of people hating us or our work because they might not think it’s quite good enough.

As writers who love to share our stories with the world, let us choose to put out our best work. But let’s choose not going to wait until we feel it’s perfect to share it with the world.

Here’s what I’ve been learning. You’ll get better as a writer, with time. You’ll get better as you put more work out into the world. You’ll get better as you keep studying the craft of writing.

As you continue to write and self-publish your book, write a blogpost, or write other work to share with others, you’ll continue to stop, readjust, fix what wasn’t right and then you’re going to be even better next time.

I’ve learned that as you keep writing and putting more work into the world, the fear subsides.

It’s like a pattern that we as writers follow over and over again: You put more work out there, you learn from that, then you get better. Rinse. Repeat.

What you get used to, is continuing to push past the fear of not putting perfect work into the world.

I’ve noticed that it helps writers to make a commitment. So let’s choose to: 

  • stop worrying so much about perfect. Let’s kill that nasty creature called perfection…
  • work on getting over the fear of not having all ‘your ducks in a row’ before you hit publish.
  • not let ourselves be stopped in our tracks by letting procrastination take over(perfection’s twin sister), when we’re unsure of our work.
  • keep writing and taking steps forward, even when our writing feels like it’s not good enough.

It’s our time to choose – you and me both- to take our writing seriously. (Honestly, these words are as much for me to hear, as it is to encourage you).

It’s your time to not let the fear of imperfection stop us from writing. It’s your time to get ruthless with your writing career. It’s your time to finish your stories and put them out into the world, for readers who can’t wait to read them.

Most of all, it’s your time to embrace who you are as a writer… imperfections and all. Your words, and how you tell your stories – from your worldview, experiences and your personality – is uniquely one-of-a-kind. And that’s a beautiful thing.

So as you write your story today, remember this:

“The one thing that you have, that nobody else has, is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write, draw, build, play, dance and live as only you can.” Neil Gaiman

 

Have you felt resistance – like fear, self-doubt, insecurity – as you write? How do you push past it to write? Please share your thoughts in the comments… I would love to learn from you 🙂

020 Overcome Writer’s Doubt and Create Work that Matters with Bryan Hutchinson

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Awhile back, I had the privilege of interviewing an amazing writer and friend, Bryan Hutchinson. We had a great chat about how to work through feelings of doubt, fear and intimidation…  the dragon of resistance that most writers have to slay every single day. This was an inspiring and encouraging chat and I really hope you find it helpful in your writing journey.

Bryan has written a bestselling book that has helped thousands of writers, Writer’s Doubt: The #1 Enemy of Writing(and what you can do about it).

Since he wrote the book, Bryan has created a companion online course you can start anytime at  writerscrushingdoubt.com.

You can find Bryan at his award winning blog, PositiveWriter.com or connect with him on Facebook or Twitter.

 Summary of Interview

*Bryan talks about the fact that inhibitions and fears that hold us back as writers. He encourages us to write about stuff in our story that’s hard to talk about, because that will help free us from some of the doubts we have about writing. He learned to overcome many mental hurdles when he was a Professional Pool Player, which he later found helpful when he started to write.

*He tells his story. It was at his therapist’s suggestion, that he started to write out his story in his journal. He remembers in his childhood at school and at home being punished severely for his lack of focus and discipline. As he started writing about his story, he started to see what still held true for him and what he had learned and overcome. Working through this process helped to free him from his inhibitions and fears. Writing is unique from any other art form in that once you write your story you can read it back and see with more clarity what you’ve been thinking about all this time. By reading it back you can decide what to keep and what to let go of.

When you’re not embarrassed to share the truth of your story, it brings out a vulnerability in your writing. @ADDerworld

*Bryan talks about the two choices in publishing for authors. Choosing to go with Traditional Publishing or Self Publishing. Traditional Publishers are a business. They choose a book that they feel has the greatest opportunity to sell. Self Publishing is also a business, however with the rise of indie writing and publishing now you have the opportunity to find a readership whether you know you’re book will sell or not. It’s a “New Reader’s Market” now where readers are the ones that decide who and what story they connect to. Most of the time, in this new market, readers don’t look or even care who published the book. They just want to read what they like.

*As writers we still need to have our books written and edited well. You don’t just publish anything and think readers are going to love it. That’s not true. Don’t put out a book that’s so filled with errors that it distracts the reader from your story. If you do that, they probably won’t buy anything else from you. In writer’s doubt he talks about the most basic editing you need before you self-publish.

*If you’re a writer/author a platform is super helpful. Bryan and I talk about an awesome writing course where we’ve learned to find our voice and build our platform called TribeWriters.  When you build a platform, people can find you and you can get the word out there about your book. In the past you needed to wait to be picked by a publisher. That’s no longer true. The New Reader’s Market wants to read writing that’s new and that they love. That’s why right now it’s important to get your feet wet with self publishing. Today there are self published books that are selling well that probably wouldn’t have been picked up by a Traditional publisher.

*Bryan inspires new writers that are scared to begin, to just write.

If you’ve struggled with writer’s doubt, read Bryan’s book and get started doing the helpful exercises and be encouraged by others writers just starting out in the online course, WritersCrushingDoubt.com. It’ll change your world.

Start by writing for yourself every morning or evening. Even if no one else will see it.

Begin. Today.

Have you struggled with inhibitions and fear to get your story written? Please share your thoughts in the comments, and we can learn from each other 😉

 

 

 

*Photo credit: Bryan Hutchinson

*Some of the above links are affiliate links and help to support this blog

015 Story Structure and Success Mindset for Authors with Jennifer Blanchard

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I had fun interviewing story coach Jennifer Blanchard for this podcast. She is a professional novelist and story coach who turns struggling novelists into serious, emerging authors of amazing books that keep readers hooked from page one.

I learned a ton about story structure and having a success mindset from Jennifer, I hope you find the tips you need to write awesome books in this interview too 😉  You can find more about Jennifer on her website jenniferblanchard.net or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Watch the Video Interview

Here’s some resources I share in the update:

1.Jennifer mentions her 6 week find your story book. She encourages writers who want to learn more details about story to grab the FREE book at jenniferblanchard.net/findyourstory, or you can grab the Kindle version for 99 cents on Amazon here. You can also join her Facebook Group for Free here: Emerging Novelists Incubator.

2. Story Engineering  and  Story Structure – Demystified, by Larry Brooks have been really helped me break down my story… answering the questions: what do I write next?  And where do I put it?

3. GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict by Debra Dixon is a book every fiction writer should have in as one of their tools of the trade. This book helps fiction writers shape their stories and also lends urgency to their stories to keep readers turning the pages.

I hope these books will help you as much as they’ve helped me 😉

Summary of Interview

There are many helpful tips for struggling novelists on how write a story that is compelling in this interview.

*She shares how a few years ago, she first heard Larry Brooks talk about story structure and that’s when she had a light bulb moment, and really understood story structure for the first time. She decided from then on she would spread story structure as far as she could to as many writers as needed to hear it. In 2010 she put her first ebook out and began coaching writers.

 

Her first novel is a contemporary romance titled, SoundCheck.

Jennifer has just finished her second fiction book.

*Jennifer’s tips for writers who are just starting out writing stories. If you’re lacking ideas: 1) keep a journal. Journalling is a powerful tool for writers. Write down all the things you’ve been through and are doing right now. Writing down how you think about things is a good place to start. 2) Pay attention to what’s going on around you. Listen to other people’s life stories; listen for ideas seeds in little blips of things that are going on in the world around you.

*Once you have your story idea, let it marinate for awhile. Instead of madly writing a 50,000 word draft – think about it – get inspired by the truths you want to tell people. We tell lies in fiction to show a truth of some kind. This is the beginning point – then there’s story development that needs to happen.

*Jennifer recommends for each story you write, start by developing a concept and a premise. Concept: what is conceptual about your story? Is it a love story set on the Titanic? Add something more than just a man and woman meeting and falling in love. Add something that makes it interesting.  Concept is your story setting or landscape.                              Premise: is your plot. What’s happening in your story? Instead of just writing about the character’s life(which is an episodic narrative), write about what the protagonist wants. Short definition of story is: a protagonist that wants something, an antagonist that opposes what the protagonist wants and a journey that ensues because of it.

*Great questions to ask yourself as you develop your story: What is my core story? Who is my protagonist? What does my protagonist want? What opposition will they face trying to get to their goals?

*Questions for your protagonist: 1. What is their inner demon? What will they struggle with externally and internally? Sometimes we only have the internal battle going on and we don’t realize that there has to be an external battle happening at the same time.  2. What’s their goal in the story? It needs to be compelling for readers to be drawn to it. They have to have a goal of some kind. It will make them three dimensional… without that it falls flat.

*Questions for your antagonist: 1. What’s the opposing goal? What does the antagonist want that opposes the antagonist. In real life there doesn’t have to be a reason or motivation – but in a fiction story there has to be a reason behind why they do something.

*It’s important that your main character has grown from the beginning to the end of the story. In order for the hero to change and win, they need to change and to overcome their inner demon. During the course of the story they learn and experience things they need so they can defeat the bad guy.

Example: Happy Gilmore movie. In the beginning he wants to be a hockey player. But the First Plot Point is that his grandmother’s house is being repossessed and his goal now is to raise $250,000 by playing golf in order to save the house that his grandfather built. His hockey goal is put on hold for awhile.

*Jennifer coaches new fiction writers through a six week story planning process which she describes in detail in her book, Find Your Story: The 6-Week Story Planning Process or you can get the book for free at jenniferblanchard.net/findyourstory.

  • Week One: Idea, Concept, Premise.
  • Week Two: Creating Characters.
  • Week Three: Story Structure(Take 1).
  • Week Four: Story Structure(Take 2).
  • Week Five: Story Beat Sheet.
  • Week Six: Story Roadmap.

 

*Jennifer has a new perspective on how to create a success mindset as a writer. Instead of thinking that you’re always trying to move toward something, instead see yourself as if you already are at that specific place where you want to be. For example: if you want to be a bestselling novelist, act like you already are one. Ask yourself what would a bestselling novelist do? Would they skip their writing session that morning, or would they write until they got their word count finished?

Success Habits for Authors…

The following is what Jennifer does everyday to develop a success mindset – to get rid of the negative self doubts and limitations.

1. Journal. Write in 3 journals as soon as you wake up in the morning.

  • Write Morning Pages. This is 3 handwritten pages which is just writing down what’s in  your head. Write in the morning and before you go to bed. You can reprogram yourself by writing in your journal around those times.  It gets rid of all the negative unbelief.
  • Write your reality Journal. Basically this is where you pretend you already have everything you want. For example if you want to be a bestselling novelist write things like: tonight I’m going to the movie premiere for my novel. What ends up happening – is by writing this over and over again you program yourself to give our dream life.
  • Write statements about yourself.  Write a half page of I AM; I WILL statements. Write something like: I am strong; I am brave; I am excited for today… etc. After that write gratitude statements. Thank you for my bestselling novel… etc.

2.Write in short bursts using a timer. Jennifer says she times her writing and that has done so much for her productivity. Start with 10 or 15 minutes of writing bursts.

3.Follow a Checklist. Write down the actions that you need to do for that day. Do this for every single day. Each item on there should be timed. For example: write a blogpost = 1 hour.  A timer is very useful in improving your productivity.

“Writers tend to have a limited belief and negative thoughts about themselves. Much of these are from Societal things we’re told: you can’t make money as a writer; being a novelist is not a career choice, etc. You can create your own reality and you can do it based on the things you believe, the thoughts you think and the actions that you take. If you want something, go for it.” Jennifer Blanchard

Whenever you can, work on your mindset. Being positive and believing you can(fill in blank here) is 90% of success in anything.

To learn more about what Jennifer is up to, you can find her on her website where she has a ton of blog posts, videos and you can get access to her membership site here.  Right now you can get story tips from Jennifer on Instagram where she does 15 seconds of story videos and connect with her when you join the Facebook Group: Emerging Novelists Incubator.

What tips did you find most helpful in this interview? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

 

 

*Photo credit: Jennifer Blanchard

*Some of the above links are affiliate links and help to support this blog

013 Lorna Faith on How to Uncover the Author Inside You Interviewed by Parker J Cole

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This is an interview I had with Parker J. Cole on BlogTalkRadio PJC Media a little over a week ago. It is all about the process of getting past the fear of writing and getting your ideas from the page into book form.  I am still learning, so I hope this interview helps you too. You can follow Parker J. Cole on Twitter.

In the Update I mention helpful resources for writers:

  • Daring Greatly  by Dr. Brene Brown. This is a book that helped me to unlock creative blocks and understand how to have compassion on myself as a writer. It is so helpful to getting past writing blocks, fear insecurity and many other forms of resistance that we face as writers.
  • Iterate and Optimize: Optimize Your Creative Business for Profit by Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant and David Wright. This book really helps writers to understand how to grow their creative business wisely. How to 1)do a self-assessment so you can lay a solid foundation to improve yourself as a authorpreneur 2) learn by example 3)steps to take to optimize your business so it’s more profitable 4) lessons learned from other successful authors.
  • I also mention my online course for first-time writers or for writers struggling to get their books written, formatted and self-published. You can find more details at https://www.writeandpublishyourfirstbook.com.

Also, I’m excited that my next book in the Historical Romance series – Anchoring Annaveta – will be released April 1, 2015… that’s tomorrow!

I hope these resources are helpful to you. Please add your comments or questions below… I’d love to hear from you 😉

In this Podcast, you will learn:

About me and my own story of overcoming resistance and self doubt and why I started this blog and the Create A Story You Love Podcast.

  • How you can know if you are a writer inside
  • What is stopping you from writing your book and how an elementary teacher’s negative words stopped me from writing for over 20 years)
  • Steps you can take to help you give yourself permission to use your creativity
  • 3 Ways that you can tap into your creativity
  • How having a deadline can help you to finish the book you are writing or want to write
  • The aspects of a good story that grab your attention
  • 4 Part Story Structure and how this structure helps you to write popular genre fiction
  • Some tropes to great stories
  • I share how since I started blogging I share my writing and indie author journey and how my posts reflect what I’m continually learning.
  • that it’s okay to give yourself permission to make mistakes. That sometimes what it takes to learn and grow is for you to be a ‘not-so-good artist for awhile so you can be a good artist later.’
  • How by writing with vulnerability, helps us to understand ourselves and helps us to overcome fear and unbelief in ourselves and our ability to write the story we love.

How did you know you were a writer? Please share! I’d love to hear your story in the comments 🙂

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