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Tag Archives: writing blog

Two Ideas to Help You Write Your Book

29 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by michellestimpson1 in Books by Michelle Stimpson, For Writers, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

african american christian fiction, authors, christian fiction, gifts, talents, writing, writing blog, writing books, writing fiction

If you’re thinking about writing a book but you’re really not sure how to push through the often-frustrating process, you might consider hiring a writing coach or surrounding yourself with a group of writers to help you to “The End.”

stressed african woman with computer

Writing Coaches

In a nutshell, a writing coach is like a physical trainer. They don’t do the work for you, but they can help you through the process.

A writing coach offers guidance through the developmental process. He or she will help you outline your book and plan the chapters. After defining the scope of your book, you and your coach will decide upon a calendar. Every week or so (depending on what you two decide), you’ll send a chapter to your coach via email. The coach will give feedback on each chapter. You’ll move forward through each chapter of the book with your coach’s input and a sense of accountability along the way.

Some coaches provide other services, but this is the basic gist of what writing coaches do and how one can help you reach your writing goals.

For the record, I am NOT a writing coach. I don’t use a writing coach, but I know authors who have used writing coaches, particularly for their first book or two.

The writing coaches I know well are all booked up for now, but you can send me an email if you’d like their contact info. If you’re a writing coach or if you know if a good writing coach, please feel free to post your contact info. in the comments!

Writing Critique Group

Study group

My first experience with a critique group came at the home of award-winning, seasoned author Lena Nelson Dooley (thanks, Lena!).

Here’s how it worked: One evening each week, we met and circled up in her living room on chairs and couches—sometimes as few as 5, as many as 12 or so. Whoever had something to read (up to 10 pages double-spaced) read their work aloud. Everyone listened and followed along (if that person brought copies for everyone to read). Lena commented first, then everyone else went around the circle adding their two cents. Some of the comments were praise, most were suggestions for improvement, all were helpful. Even if I didn’t bring a chapter, I learned so much by listening to the other writers’ work as well as the following critique.

We all wrote Christian fiction or non-fiction. Most were members of the local ACFW chapter, but some were personally invited.

Several of us who used to go to Lena’s formed a smaller group, closer in proximity. It’s been absolutely amazing to celebrate the achievements of the group. Since we’ve been meeting, 3 have signed multi-contract deals with major publishers and several have self-published with amazing success.

If you don’t know any authors who might invite you to a critique group, consider forming a critique group of your own! Quick tips:

1) For safety’s sake, I’d host it in a public place (library or café) unless you know everyone

2) My groups have been all-women. When I hosted a group in my home, we did move it to a library when men wanted to start coming. I don’t think my husband would have taken kindly to some dudes sitting up in his living room with me when he came home from work

3) My groups have also been comprised of people who read and write in the same genre, for the most part. When people understand the genre’s expectations, they are able to provide critique that lines your work up with the standards

4) In my current group, we don’t bring physical copies of our work. We send it via email ahead of time. Everyone makes their comments through Microsoft’s reviewing options. We send the comments back to the author via email after having our conversations.

If you’re not the one for meeting face-to-face or one-on-one coaching, you might consider virtual support groups (Google hangouts, FB groups, etc.). Any more ideas for how to collaborate with others to finish your work? Please post in the comments!

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A Day in the Life of a Writer

06 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by michellestimpson1 in Audio / Video Posts, Books by Michelle Stimpson, For Writers

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Tags

african american christian fiction, authors, christian fiction, michelle stimpson, novels, publishing, self-publishing, writing, writing blog, writing books, writing fiction

For YEARS, I have been resistant to blogging. I’ve even blogged about how much I don’t blog very often because I just don’t have the time. But last week, after reading a blogger’s recap of her typical day, I caught the blogging bug. I mean, I really, really caught it.

Write Sign, Love for Writing, for writers and authors.

In hopes of inspiring those who have been trying to decide if writing is something you might want to do full-time, I’ll share my typical day (6 days a week):

7:30 am – Wake up but stay in bed. Change the channel from ESPN to TBN. Listen to Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, John Hagee and Joseph Prince while dozing in and out.

9:30 am – Get up, get dressed, eat breakfast. Replay episodes of ministers (from above) that I really wanted to listen to closely while I’m getting dressed. Stretch or maybe exercise for a little bit while listening.

10:15am – Go to the prayer closet. Read, study the Word, journal, pray.

12:15 pm – Write fiction

1:00 pm – Eat lunch.

1:30 pm – Return the morning’s phone calls. Handle inside-the-house business (i.e. update sales chart, schedule free books, sales, ads, read professional blogs, etc.)

2:30 pm – Write fiction, social media

4:00 pm – Handle outside business (i.e. post office, groceries, stuff my husband put on my list of things-to-do because he thinks I do nothing all day)

5:00 pm – Housework, listen to podcasts or other material that grows me professionally or spiritually. Eat.

6:00 pm – Write fiction

7:30 pm – Break. Watch TV with my husband while he unwinds. He likes reality TV shows or sports. I don’t like either of those, but I do what I have to do.

9:00 pm – Write. Might be fiction, might be a presentation, perhaps a blog J

11:00 pm – Update daily sales chart.

11:15 – Call it a night. Pack my husband’s lunch. Go to bed.

Following this schedule, I’ll get anywhere from 1500-2000 words of fiction written daily.

I answer email messages and phone calls as well as post on social media throughout the day. My husband is also home some days and may work at different times, so there’s some variety.

Sometimes I go to bed around 11:30 pm, sometimes I stay up until after midnight to write if I’m really on a roll or under a deadline. On those nights, I look like this video.

So, tell me…is this what you thought the writing life was like? If you’re an artist, what’s your typical day like?

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Avoiding Distractions While Writing

25 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by michellestimpson1 in For Writers

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

michelle stimpson, novellas, novels, publishing, writing, writing blog, writing books, writing fiction

Fellow author Jeaninne Stokes and I recently corresponded about a common question: How do you keep from getting distracted by your writing while writing. Specifically, if you’re working on chapter three, how do you keep from going back and fixing something in chapter one without getting stuck in chapter one again?

Just so you know: I am not the queen of staying-on-track. However, I have devised a few tricks that keep me from getting completely derailed when I write.

1. Write description later – If I’m writing a restaurant scene and I have no idea what the restaurant looks like, but I know exactly what I want my characters to say to one another at their table conversation, I skip to the conversation because I don’t want to mess up my flow. I make myself a note in the text (see below) and then I come back through and describe the restaurant when I revise (which is AFTER I finish the entire first draft). By the time I start revisions, I probably will have gone out to a restaurant with my friends and thought, “Oh! This looks like the kind of place for that scene!” and then I’ll insert the description. One note: Now that I’m more conscious of using “character as setting” thanks to my critique buddy Lynne Gentry, I want to make sure to include details that add to the mood of the scene.

point1

2. Research small things later – If a character was born on a Tuesday in October of 1947, I may need to know an actual date so I’m going to have to look this up. But if I stop writing and skip on over to the internet to look up the 1947 calendar, there’s a good chance I’ll get distracted by a whole bunch of stuff that took place in 1947 and I really don’t need to be in the internet at that moment. So, I make myself a note within the text (like above) and come back to it later. The internet is probably my #1 distraction when it comes to writing. I try to stay off of it when I’m composing.

3. Keep a document called “Things to Fix Later” – While I’m working, I keep another word processing file open entitled “Things to Fix Later.” Every single book I’ve written has had such a file in its folder. In that file, I keep notes about what needs to change in a previous chapter now that something relevant has unfolded in a later chapter. Even if I have a pretty good outline, things still change as I write.  (Spoiler alert – the picture below is from my book The Start of a Good Thing.

Screen shot of my list of things to fix.

Screen shot of my list of things to fix.

When I go through the revision process, I fix these issues.

Okay, my fellow authors, that’s all I have to share for today. I hope these little hints will help you make your way to the final chapter! Please feel free to add to the conversation in the comments.

Be blessed 🙂

authorsignature

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First-Person or Third-Person?

12 Tuesday Aug 2014

Posted by michellestimpson1 in Uncategorized

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

african american christian fiction, authors, christian fiction, fiction writing, michelle stimpson, self-publishing, writing, writing blog, writing fiction

Blank notepad and pencil

I had an interesting conversation this morning with fellow author Nigeria Lockley about whether to tackle a book in first- or third-person. Our conversation sparked some ideas worth sharing because this question comes up often in workshops and even in critique group. Of the 21 fiction books I have written, 11 are first-person and 10 are third-person narratives. I speak from this body of experience only and I do hope other writers will chime in on the comments.

My first book, Boaz Brown, came easily as a first-person novel because in many ways, I am LaShondra. We’re both educators, we both grew up in a Dallas suburb, we have the same church background and were raised in almost identical family structures. Couple that familiar background with the fact that I’ve been keeping a journal since the age of 12 and one can see how I found it fairly easy to sustain a first person book for 300+ pages.

Then came the challenge with my second novel, Divas of Damascus Road. It’s a book about several women in a family dealing with drama. I started off writing the book in first-person because that was my style, but I got about five chapters into it and realized the story wasn’t working. I called my publisher, Denise Stinson, and told her my dilemma. I felt like someone had turned on a light in my head when she said, “Why don’t you try changing it to third person and see how it sounds?” I ran with her suggestion and the book came to pass, but I confess: I didn’t like writing it as much because I didn’t feel as connected to the characters.

Since those experiences, I ask myself a few questions when it comes to deciding on point of view.

1. Who can tell the story best? If one very strong character has an excellent vantage point and has enough personality to tell the story, try first-person. Mama B is the kind of character who is very opinionated and has so many quirky little country, old-school sayings, no one call tell the story quite like she can. I don’t think she would want anyone else telling her story. I like the plots in her books, but (in my mind) it’s really all about being close to a godly woman like Mama B and seeing her relationship with God grow even at her age.

2. Is this more about the plot or the character? While ultimately good fiction brings both into play, if the book is more about what happens than who’s telling it, try third-person. You can be in lots of different places and know what’s going on “Meanwhile, back at the farm.” Unlike Kendra Norman-Holmes who always keeps men at the forefront of her books, I have a really hard time writing male main characters. I don’t think like a man, so it’s hard for me to go first-person with a male character. Anyway, my first attempt at a male main character came with the book Stepping Down. It was an especially tough go for me since it was a full-length novel rather than a novella. While the main character, Mark, does undergo his character arc, the message of this book was paramount in my brain. There was also a sub-plot going on behind his Mark’s back that needed to be told through is wife’s eyes, so third-person was the only way I could make it work.

3. Would I want to read this story in first- or third- person? This is kind of a tricky question because I’ll read a well-written first-person book over a good third-person book any day, but I still have to ask myself the question because if I’m not careful, I’ll write what’s easiest for me rather than what works best for the book. I started off saying that first-person comes naturally for me, and it does. But first person is harder for me to sustain now that I’m writing books that aren’t about a character who’s basically me. The beauty of a third-person book is that I can skip on over to another setting and pick up drama from different characters and households. Because of this, writing third-person is faster for me. The mathematician in me has estimated that I write about 900 words an hour third-person, 600 words an hour first-person. Sometimes I feel like I’m cheating, taking the easy way out when I write third-person. (I know – I’m taking it too far, right?)

Here lately, I’ve been experimenting with using more than one POV–sparingly! I wanted to write No Weapon Formed (sequel to Boaz Brown) in first-person, but there was some stuff going on with Stelson that I didn’t want LaShondra to know about. And I didn’t want Stelson to give this big explanation speech near the end of the book –that always sounds cheesy to me. So I called my friend Lynne Gentry (who reads like a gazillion books a month) and asked her if it was “okay” to have a few chapters written from a secondary character’s POV in third-person. She said to me, “You’re self-published. You can do whatever you want.”

I was like, “Oh yeah! That’s right!”

At the time, I was also reading Tia McCollors’ Friday Night Love and saw that she’d switched POV and gone from first- to third-person a few times for the male’s perspective and I was like, “That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout!”

So there you have it.  If you can write first person and get into the character’s head, give it a shot. But if the plot, your style, or even your genre dictates otherwise, stick to third. I realize that this blog comes down to the a age-old advice to “do what works for you.” I can only add to that wisdom by suggesting that you try your hand at both and develop your skill in both so that you can use them as each book demands.

Happy Writing!

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