Lorna Faith

Clean Fiction Author

057 Write Four Books A Year As A Juggling Author With Jim Heskett

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If you are working a day job, have a family and are wondering how you can find any extra time to write, you’ll find this interview with bestselling author Jim Heskett super helpful 😉

Jim shares how he squeezes in time to write while having a day job a wife and a toddler. Tune in, to learn his tips on how to be productive…

In the intro, I share what I’ve learned from an inspiring blogpost by Nina Amir this week on how to prepare yourself for opportunity. There are also some very useful books/resources that you might find helpful in your author journey: 1)Learn how to get unstuck and be a productive writer in Jim Heskett’s book for writers, The Juggling Author: How to Write Four Books A Year While Balancing Family, Friends and a Full-Time Job. 2) A really helpful book to help you map out your novel, that I’ve been re-reading is The Plot Whisperer by Martha Alderson.

Watch the Video Interview

Jim Heskett was born in the wilds of Oklahoma, raised by a pack of wolves with a station wagon and a membership card to the local public swimming pool. Just like the man in the John Denver song, he moved to Colorado in the summer of his 27th year, and never looked back. Aside from an extended break traveling the world, he hasn’t let the Flatirons mountains out of his sight.

Interview Highlights:

Writing tips for the Pre-Production process:

1.Keep a notebook of ideas.

2.When you’re ready to write your first draft, take an idea from the notebook and come up with a synopsis.

3.Next, figure out who the good guy and bad guy is. And write details about those characters. That’s a good jumpstart to brainstorming story ideas.

Secrets to Writing your First Draft :

1.Write fast and short. In this interview, Jim says that’s 90% of the keys to his success. He encourages writers to leave out some of the dialogue and flowery descriptions in the first draft and just write the spine of the story.

2.Focus only on writing and finishing the first draft. Get it out and onto the blank page as fast as you can.

3.Set and keep self-imposed deadlines. Adding deadlines can really help you get things done in a good amount of time.

Beta Readers and Self-Editing Tips:

1.Consider writing a second and third draft before you send your manuscript to the editor, so that you can send her/him as clean a manuscript as possible.

2.Ask for Beta readers after you’ve finished the 2nd draft. Jim encourages writers to meet their Beta readers on Facebook or Goodreads and get to know them. But, careful that you give your manuscript to someone you trust.

3.Read through the constructive criticism from Beta readers and if more than one person points out the same thing, then take a look at it.

 

Helpful Tools and Resources:

1.Pro-Writing Aid and/or Grammarly to check for errors in your manuscript.

2.Stephen King’s Book: On Writing.

3.Goal Tracker App called GoalStreaks to help you manage your to-do list.

Jim encourages writers to do something everyday to move your author career forward: writing, self-editing, writing emails to your mailing list, scheduling a promotion, etc. He then uses the GoalStreaks app to string days together to make a chain of ‘X’s for everyday that he checks off items on that list. As of this writing, Jim now has 4 1/2 years under his belt and is still going strong.

Tips on staying motivated to reach your goals…

Do you best, not to compare yourself with other writers. If you do, it’s too easy to get discouraged and want to give up.

Instead compare yourself to where you came from.

Hold onto the feeling you had when you reached certain milestones:

The first time you had a review from someone you didn’t know.

The first time you held a paperback of one of your books in your hands.

The first time someone paid good money for one of your books.

“Remembering important milestones will help keep you motivated and inspired to keep writing. Get that next book out. Take that next step. Do a little better today than you did yesterday. Most of all, keep writing.” Jim Heskett

Connect with Jim at his fiction website or at his nonfiction website for writers here. You can also chat with Jim on Facebook or Twitter.

 

How do you find time to write, while juggling family, friends and a job? Please, do share your thoughts in the comments 🙂

056 Tips for Writing and Self-Publishing Cross Genre Fiction with Casia Schreyer

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In this interview with multi-genre author Casia Schreyer, learn how you can write and self-publish cross genre fiction. Casia writes contemporary lit, fantasy romance as well as Science Fiction. With the added benefit of a BA in English, she also works with other authors editing their manuscripts.

You’ll learn Casia’s tips on how she keeps each story organized as she writes in two or more genres at a time.

At the start of the podcast, I share how I was ready to throw in the towel on my story a couple of weeks ago, and how by writing down my Big Why for writing stories and overall writing goals and dreams, it inspired and motivated me. Learn how to find your Big Why and get unstuck in this video.

A couple of audio workshops that I’ve been listening to lately given by Christopher Vogler and Michael Hauge: 1)The Hero’s Two Journeys and 2)Using Myth to Power Your Story.

Click Here to Watch the Video Interview

Interview Highlights:

Casia Schreyer was originally inspired to start writing and self-publishing because of her cousin’s suicide attempt. She felt there wasn’t much she could do except write because that was what she did best.

So she wrote a contemporary fiction novel, about a character who was like her cousin who hit rock bottom. The story is about the girl surviving and has a hopeful ending.

When the book was self-published, Casia gave the book to her cousin. That was how her writing and self-publishing journey began.

 

Casia then wrote the first book a light fantasy romance series. It was a coming of age romance which focussed on being a strong woman without being a warrior or a mother.

After that book she wrote another contemporary lit and after that she started a middle grade science fiction series.

Tips for Writing in a few Different Genres at the same time:

1.How to keep each story straight: Casia keeps a list of characters pinned on her wall, to help keep her characters straight for each story she’s writing.

2.Write an outline and continue to take notes as you get ideas: Even when you are writing in another genre, if you get ideas about the other novel, write it down and get it out of your head.

3.Keep a lot of lists and do a lot of brainstorming: It’s okay to fine tune an outline while you’re in the first draft in the work in progress of a different genre. Casia mentions that it’s a little tricky to write first drafts in two different genres at the same time.

4.Write out a time line: if you’re writing fantasy or historical it can help to keep a time line of different characters lives and events.

5.Create a map of your world and keep it on your wall near to where you write: This is especially important for novels like science fiction; fantasy; historical, etc.

Casia’s Top 3 Pieces of Writing Advice

1.Ask for recommendations from other writers, before you do business with anyone. Just because a certain company is coming up in the top 5 in search engine results, don’t make your decision based only on that. Ask around.

2.Be willing to invest in a great cover design and for an editor to edit your book. It really does make a difference to the quality of book you put out into the world. Having a good book cover and a well edited book, really makes a difference and helps your work stand out in a crowded book market.

3.Take a risk and experiment and try new story ideas. As an indie author you have complete creative control. Take advantage of that and try unique ideas. Not everything you try will work, but at some point you’ll hit on something that will. Never self-reject your work.

You can find more books on Casia’s Amazon Author Central page and read about what she’s working on next when you go to her author website: www.casiaschreyer.wordpress.com.  You can also chat with Casia on Facebook or Twitter.

 

Do you write in different genres? What do you find helps you to write in two different genres at the same time?  Please do share you tips in the comments below… we can learn from each other 😉

 

5 Ways To Help Inspire Your Writing

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Every writer needs to find inspiration from somewhere, in order to fill up their creative well, so they can write more words.

It doesn’t matter how much you love writing and storytelling, there will always be moments or days when you need to inspire yourself.

If you’ve been writing NaNoWriMo, you might be at that point where you need some inspiration to keep the ideas coming.

Below you can find 5 ways that have helped to inspire my writing, and I hope you find it useful in your writing journey too…

Some of my favorite ways to find writing inspiration…

Writers all need inspiration. Sometimes we discover exactly what will inspire our writing, from searching the internet or from other places we happen to pass by in our daily routine.

I have some favorite ways that I come back to time and time again for inspiration. Some of these are probably familiar to you, but I find it’s always good to have reminders to come back to when you need to fan the flames of your creativity.

1. Books.

This is one of my most favorite places to inspire my writing. To inspire my fiction writing, I’ll often re-read a novel that I love, to remind me of why I love to write. It also reminds my of why I adore stories. Re-reading favorite novels also is a great reminder of why fiction stirs my love of words, characters and overall story. This is one of my best ways to inspire my writing.

For nonfiction writing, I find that when I read through favorite nonfiction self-help and educational books, that it inspires me to write what I’ve learned too. For example, as I’ve read books by other writers talking about their writing process, it has inspired me as I’ve worked on my next nonfiction book, Finish Your Book(working title).  I’ve discovered that just by writing down my process and what I’ve learned about writing and finishing a book, has helped me to find the clarity I need. And the original inspiration came from reading many books written by other nonfiction authors. Try reading a couple of books by your favorite fiction or nonfiction authors, you might find just the inspiration you need.

2. Blogs.

There are so many amazing blogposts that have been written on many different topics. Since I’m a learner at heart, I love reading about new ideas or new adventures people have tried. Just reading their stories, often gives me a new perspective and is very inspiring. That inspiration, motivates me to want to write in my latest book project or to write in a blogpost.

3. Free Video Tutorials and PDF Downloads.

This is also one of my favourite ways to learn new and useful writing tips. Not only are you learning, but you’re also able to get the teaching for FREE. I also love inspiring new writers.  For example, I like to give away Free stuff to help writers…

4. Writing Groups.

Writing groups or communities are awesome ways to connect with others to get the inspiration and motivation you need for your writing.  I’ve had great chats with many writers through Facebook groups that are connected with online courses. I’ve learned so much about writing and it’s been so helpful to learn from other beginning or more established writers about their process and what they’ve learned along the way.

I love how writers are so willing to share what they’ve learned and what’s worked or not worked. I love the writing the generosity and masterminds that are often created in these groups.

5. Movies.

Our family loves watching movies. Sometimes either the characters will say something profoundly meaningful or the photographic lens of the camera will shoot the setting in such a way that really inspires my creative muse. Also many of the themes found in the stories of movies are memorable. For instance the movie Star Wars with it’s theme of hope, is inspiring. Or the Wonder Woman themes of self-sacrifice for others and that even an evil world is worth loving and saving, bring a boatload of inspiration. I could go on and on about movies, but I’ll spare you. I’ll only say this: if you haven’t seen a movie lately that inspired you, you should plan to plug one into the DVD player this coming weekend!

I hope one or two of the above ways of finding inspiration are helpful to you. And if you’re feeling stuck in your writing or writing feels a little like pulling teeth at this moment, seriously try one of the above tips. You might just be surprised at how your creative well starts to fill up and suddenly you feel like sitting down to write again!

 

What are some of your favorite ways that help inspire your writing?  Please do share your thoughts in the comments. We can learn from each other 😉

055 How to Set and Reach Your Goals to Make a Living as a Writer with Jeff Carson

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In this inspiring interview, full-time  mystery-thriller indie author Jeff Carson, shares how he originally set and has since reached his goal to make a living as a writer.

If you are interested in how to set and reach your writing goals, you’ll be inspired as Jeff shares the simple, step-by-step plan he used to become a full-time self-published author.

In the intro, I share about a couple of helpful productivity audio books I’ve been listening to lately: 1) Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon Acuff is super useful. He shares how we can kill perfectionism and by doing that, give ourselves the gift of “done.” 2) Another audio book that I’ve been listening to over and over to help with getting the most important tasks done first, is Eat that Frog: 21 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, by Brian Tracy.

Do you like reading Spy thrillers? #1 Amazon bestselling Spy Thriller author, Ethan Jones’ newest Spy thriller – The Cyprus Coverup – is available. Get your copy now, and enjoy exclusive bonus content!

Watch the Video Interview

Mystery Thriller Indie Author Jeff Carson shares how get got started writing.

He remembers early in life telling his family that he wanted to write stories and make money doing it.

Jeff remembered telling his Dad that it would be so cool to be a novelist. He always thought there was something else you had to do first before a person could be a novelist.

When he heard of other self-published authors who wrote novels and made a living doing it, he had a moment when he decided that he would make this his goal.

On Setting Goals…

Jeff decided to write 10 novels and then after than he told himself he would evaluate when he

got to that point, to see if he was making a good income from his books.

He had a conversation with his wife, who encouraged him to begin writing. Jeff’s wife encouraged him to do something he loved – writing novels – so that he could having a greater possibility of quitting his job to writing for a living. Jeff shared with his wife a couple of other self-published authors who were also making a living writing.

Jeff chose to work at odd jobs while he wrote his novels, until he made more than he was making at his day jobs.

To make a living with your writing you have to make it your goal & write down your goals everyday. @jeffcarson Share on X

Tips on how to set writing goals…

1.Write down your goals everyday Use a notebook and a pen, and write in present tense. For example: I write book 11 by November 22nd. Your goal needs to be present moment with a date attach

ed to it.

2.One key tip: never look back at previous goals(it’s too discouraging).

3.Write down conversations with yourself(a tip from David Morrell). Ask yourself questions like: What do you want to write about? What is it about this character that you love?  Jeff says when you keep asking yourself Why questions, it sparks ideas and helps you flesh out your story.

4. Write down for every scene/chapter: Goal; Conflict; Setback.

Writing books that Jeff recommends is the Red Sneaker series for writers.

These books will help you understand story structure, characters, dialogue and theme.

This series will also give you great tips on how self-editing your novel.

Jeff encourages writers to have a plan in place for self editing. Do word searches and get rid of passive voice. Words like: “they were”; “become”; “was”; “ing words”; etc.

Set a timer for thirty minutes and get as many passive words cut out of your manuscript as possible.

To connect with Jeff you can chat with him on Facebook, or find him at his website, www.jeffcarson.co.

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