Adventures in Beta Reading

By: Shannon Lawrence

Successful authors have a multitude of tools to aid in their writing. One of those tools is the beta reader. Not to be confused with critique partners, beta readers read the entire manuscript at once, preferably after it's been significantly edited and is in the final stages. The feedback you get from them depends upon what you ask for, but should be more thorough than what you'll get from the typical critique group.

We all know that it can be tricky to find the right critique group, but it can also be hard to find a beta reader who can provide what you're looking for. There are various pitfalls that come along with asking someone to put in so much effort for you, and it's hard to deal with it on your end, because you have to keep in mind that this is a big favor. Unfortunately, this can tie your hands when it comes to dealing with someone not delivering.

Recently, I put out a call for beta readers on Facebook. I got six responses, four authors (two published, two not published) and two non-authors. I felt this was a good mix, so went ahead and contacted them with information. Ultimately, two people got it to me by the deadline, one got it to me slightly after the deadline, and one got it to me a couple months past the deadline. That leaves two who never got back to me at all, though one did apologize and explain what had happened. What I got back from people varied significantly, as well. From what I've heard, this was all to be expected.

To be expected, sure, but frustrating on my end. In order to help out those of you approaching a beta reading situation for the first time, I'm going to lay out the process from the beginning, in hopes that you can take what I learned and improve on it, possibly avoiding some unnecessary frustration and heartache.

1. Gather Data - Look at what others have done. Ask them what worked and what didn't work, and if they have any recommendations going forward. Figure out how you want to go about it in advance.

2. The Ask - Do you want to post on your social media for volunteers or contact specific people and request their help? I've done both, and I doubt either one works any better than the other, so it comes down to your preferences and your circle. If you don't have people you'd think would be good for this, consider asking in a writer's group or related entity or posting in their social media. You can ask friends to put out a call, as well. Decide in advance how many readers you want. Provide yourself a cushion by asking for more beta readers than you need. This way, if some don't deliver, you still get a good amount of feedback.

Having said that, remember that you don't have to accept everyone who offers. Choose people you believe will be honest and reliable. Don't ask family or your best friend unless you know they can and will be honest with you. Otherwise, you'll get back a "good job," which, while nice to hear, isn't helpful. Be clear on the genre of your story, providing them an elevator pitch of sorts about it, so they accept knowing what they're getting into. Try to have both writers and non-writers in order to get different sorts of feedback. Often, writers will pay more attention to the writing dynamics and logistics, while non-writers will pay closer attention to the story and characters.

3. Be Specific - Write up a set of questions that specifically address your concerns. Are you wondering if your character is too much of a wimp or whether the love interest will read as sexy? Perhaps you're concerned about the slow spots, pacing, tension, setting, descriptions, etc. Be honest and ask the questions you want answers to. Point out details you want them to focus on. Ask them to jot down reactions anywhere they feel strongly. Did they especially like this action scene? Was this scene too slow? Did they laugh here? Cry? State whether you want grammar notes or if you'd prefer they avoid them.

Just because you send questions and suggestions on where to focus does not mean your readers will address them. Three of my readers (including one who jumped in to help when the others failed to follow through on their promise) both answered my questions and put feedback throughout the manuscript. The others were a mix of either answering the questions, putting feedback throughout, or doing a write up with their notes. You can give suggestions and try to lead where you'd like it to go, but people will ultimately do what they're comfortable with.

4. Time Frame - Pick a deadline. It should be reasonable. One to two months is fine, depending upon your needs. It's a good idea to state your time frame up front so only those who feel they can get it done in that time volunteer. If it's vital you have it before a certain date, build in a buffer of a week or two to better your chances.

5. Niceties - Keep in mind that you're asking a lot of your beta readers. Consider what you might do in return. Be friendly. Write them a nice letter with your expectations and thanking them for their help. I offered to beta read in return should they need someone. For the non-authors, I asked them to let me know in the future if I could return the favor in some way. I also thanked them once I got the feedback. No matter what, they volunteered to do this in order to help me better my manuscript.

6. The Send - After getting their email address (since I'd put the call out on Facebook), I sent an email with the manuscript in .doc as an attachment, as well as the letter and questions in .doc, and expressed my willingness to send it in a different format upon request. I forgot to initially include the deadline, even though I had one in mind, so that came later. When I gave it, I asked them to let me know if they had issues with that time frame. I actually recommend you give the deadline with The Ask, then remind them of the deadline in The Send.

7. Follow Up - When the deadline arrived, I sent out an email to those who had not returned any feedback. I stated that the deadline had arrived, and asked them to let me know if they felt they could finish it and when I could expect it. I assured them that I would not be upset if they could not finish, and that their honesty would allow me to find someone else to read for me instead. Everyone remaining assured me they would still get it done. I now know this not to be true, so here's where you can learn from my mistake. If people do not finish, feel free to reach out to them, but also consider opening your call back up if you don't feel you got sufficient feedback from the others. I don't recommend continuing to bug them about it. If they haven't done it by the deadline, chances are they won't. If life is busy, it will continue to be busy. While your manuscript may be your life's focus right now, it won't be theirs. Find someone else.

A beta reader can be a huge help. Looking at your story in one big chunk, rather than the piecemeal way of critique groups, allows them to see the big picture and find story mistakes someone reading a chapter each month might not. It lets them look at the finer details, check character and story arc, etc. However, you're opening yourself up to a possible let down when someone doesn't deliver. Learn from my mistakes. Choose your beta readers carefully and, if they don't respond in time, pursue other beta readers instead of waiting on the ones you already secured. After all, beta readers are human, and they'll have all too human issues that might eclipse doing you a favor. Hopefully, the feedback you do get will more than makeup for what you don't get, and your beta readers will have provided this valuable service.

Have you had beta readers? How did it go? What did you learn from the experience? What tips might you offer a first timer?

A fan of all things fantastical and frightening, Shannon Lawrence writes primarily horror and fantasy. Her stories can be found in anthologies and magazines, including Once Upon a Scream, Dark Moon Digest, and The Deep Dark Woods. When she's not writing, she's hiking through the wilds of Colorado and photographing her magnificent surroundings, where, coincidentally, there's always a place to hide a body or birth a monster. Find her at www.thewarriormuse.com.

The Writer's Inner Journey: Part Two

By: Deb McLeod

Last month I promised a road map to achieve the Zen of Writing. I’ll waste no time getting to it. Here is the answer in four simple steps:

1. Act as if 
2. Master the art transformation
3. Structure your life
4. Defeat the virus of fear

Collect the key to that illusive writer's club.

Act as If

Acting as if something is already here opens the pathways for that thing to come. Is that too woo-woo for you? Here’s a story: Once upon a time, in a between time, my husband and I were very poor. By between time I mean between jobs. We were so poor I had to be a coupon-clipping, penny-counting, budget-checking miser to make ends meet and we were sinking fast. Something had to change.

I was talking to a friend about this coupon system I found that was saving me a lot of money. She asked some questions, giving me the opportunity to brag about how little we were able to live on.

She looked at me, puzzled, and asked a life-changing question. “Are you sure that’s something you want to be good at? Living on next-to-nothing?”

Actually, no. I didn’t want to be good at living on next-to-nothing. I wanted to be good at living on abundance. 

Her question started me on a new path. I began focusing on what we did have and not what we didn’t. I began a gratitude journal. I stopped coupon clipping and all the other money-saving things I was doing. I worked on really believing. And things changed.

The woo-woo answer here is that I changed the energy of what I wanted to attract into my life. The right-brain, reality-based answer is that the political climate changed and environmental jobs opened up so my husband got work. My focus on abundance simply made the time more pleasurable while I was waiting.

Of course I believe the woo-woo version, but either way, if you act as if right now, you will get where you want to go. Don’t take my word for it. Check out the experts – start with Wayne Dyer.

I have a friend who was an oncologist. When she transitioned out of that field and into creative writing, the first thing she did was go out and buy some writer-type clothes. She wore them, started acting as if she already was that capital W Writer. She pulled on the identity and the identity became real.

So what are the elements that would help you act as if? Maybe it’s clothes. Maybe it’s writing a little bit every day. Maybe it’s hanging out with writers. Going to conferences. Joining a group. Maybe it’s calling yourself a writer when people ask what you do. Maybe it’s an assumption that you have something to say and the ability to say it.

Master the Art of Transformation

Stories transform. They often depict characters who transform throughout the story. The reader is transformed by absorbing the experience of the story. The writer is transformed by writing it.

Seeing life as story
Are you a narrativist? Do you see your life and the lives of others as stories strung together? Can you look back on the events in your life and see their beginning, middle and end? Can you see how the major events have shaped you as a person?

In my world, life is a series of growth periods. Lessons presented, accepted, worked, and absorbed. There are financial growth periods, relationship growth periods, health, parental, work or career growth periods. We’re all learning all the time. Every time something new enters your world, you’re in a growth period learning to master whatever you need to in order to move out of it. And into the next one.

Standing to the side, as observer-you, with practice, you can see what your growth period is and where you are in it. Simply knowing that makes it more manageable, to be sure. But studying growth periods, yours and those people around you, primes you to create them on the page. And stories are about transformation.

In life there is no real “sense of an ending” in our growth periods or our stories. Some say that’s one reason people read, to get that sense of an ending we don’t experience in life. Readers want to see transformation on the page – whether the character transforms (comedy) or doesn’t (tragedy), it’s the container of transformation that attracts.

Structure Your Life

Look around your world. Does writing come last? Is it the first to go when you get busy? Are there so many reasons you can’t write that acting as if is impossible? Granted there are times when you really can’t write. There are only so many hours in a day. And, if you’re going through a heavy emotional time, it’s also possible that sitting down with your thoughts is the last place you want to be.

But I contend that even during those times, it’s important to see how you might put your writing toward the top of the list. Small steps. Look for boundaries you can erect around your time. Look for writing solutions to deal with emotional pain.

Discover what rituals work for you to get into your writing space. Carve out a the time and a space. Find 30 minutes in a day, even if it means getting up early. Set a schedule. Put a sign on the door like I did when my daughter was old enough to read – Fire or Blood. When the door was closed as it was for an hour or two a day, I wasn’t to be disturbed unless there was fire or blood.

Prepare your family. Writing necessitates communion with the self. And that means you have to withdraw from what’s going on with family, friends, internet. My solution has always been to write early. When my daughter was young, I wrote in the middle of the night, when no one needed me for anything. I napped with her later.

When you’re ready to take your writing life seriously, you will start to put your writing, if not first, very close to the top. And you won't really be serious about it until you do. 

Defeat the Virus of Fear

• I don’t have time – fear based
• I don’t have an idea – fear based
• I’m blocked – fear based
• I have nothing to say that hasn’t been said – fear based
• What if the work isn’t good enough? – fear based 
• What if I get rejected, ridiculed? – fear based
• Who will listen to me? – fear based
• What if I can’t get a publisher, agent, audience? – fear based

How is “I don’t have time” fear based? Look at your world as it stands now. You have time for what you love, don’t you? You make time for your kids, your job, your spouse, your communities, your socializing, your entertainment, right? You make time because it’s not hard to do those things you love.

What is hard is to make time to do those things you fear.

There are all sorts of reasons why our first response to many things is fear. One of the most basic reasons is that that’s what we were taught. Writing is somehow not open to all, though all can write. Yet only those select few somehow get the key to the castle.

Here’s your key to the writer's club 

There is a magic answer. There is a key that is freely available to all though only precious few actually use it.

Focus on the process, not on the product.

That's the key. Work the process and before you know it you’ve taken a chunk out of your project. Perfect the process and soon it's so easy to write you're getting up before the alarm, like me. 

My clients have changed their focus from product to process and they're finishing books they’ve been working on for years. Their internal editor has bailed and they are suprising themselves creatively. 

Here's how to turn the key:

• Create a space in your life for your writing. 
• Do it every day even if just for 30 minutes.
• Break what you need to do into manageable pieces. Don’t get overwhelmed by the enormity of the project.  
• Find a way to know how a novel gets put together (craft). 
• Make a process. Or borrow one. 

Work on your project one piece at a time. Bring the happy (aka Stephen King, On Writing) into your world by writing daily and keep your focus on the process. Not the product. The product then becomes the by-product of all the days you wrote. And, I don't know anything that makes a writer happier than to "have written."

So in order to be happy, all you have to do is write every day for thirty minutes or so. I don't know anyone who can't find thirty minutes. The product will get created. And you will be focusing on what’s working in your writing world, not what isn’t working in your writing world.

Here’s the process I use and teach: 

1. Major character exploration first
2. Plot structure – I use Blake Snyder’s 15 beats and if I’m writing romance, I use romance beats to plot one liners for each scene in each beat.
3. Write the first draft as fast as you can. Pretend it’s NaNo if it isn’t. 
4. Take your draft through a revision process. (I’m teaching this later in the month, if you’re curious.)
5. Find a critique group for the editing phase – the nitpicky stuff. But don’t let them talk about plot. I wanted to add: unless they're really good, but even then they're going to be writing their book with their ideas, not yours. You don’t want to fall into that critique loop of writing by committee and changing the plot now. Just use them for what works on the scene level (tension, conflict) and fixing grammar. 
6. Repeat the process again and again. 

For more information about the methods I use and how you can join a supportive community that actually enables writers to get work done faster than if they did it on their own, check out this page: The Green Checkmark

About the Author: Deb McLeod, MFA, practices novel research immersion. For her novel, The Train to Pescara, Deb journeyed to Sardinia to study ancient goddess worship and spent time in the Abruzzi village her great-grandparents left in 1905. Her metaphysical knowledge for the Angel Thriller, The Julia Set, culminates from four years of studying and teaching meditation, clairvoyance and chakra healing. For over fourteen years, Deb McLeod has been a creative writing coach helping other writers to embrace their passion and get their words on the page. For more, see www.debmcleod.com.

The Writer's Inner Journey: A two-part series

By: Deb McLeod

As we near the end of the year it’s time to take stock, to look back and see where we met our goals and what we want our future writing world to look like.

I am in the midst of doing this work for both my novels and for my online coaching. As I am looking at what other programs offer and promise, I have been struck with how many deal with only one side of an author’s life and completely leave the other side out of the equation.

Let me explain:

Wayne Dyer said: "Before you act, do the mental work first—positive self-talk, inspirational readings, visualization, meditation, prayer. Begin acting as if what you would like to become is already your reality. This is a wonderful way to set into motion the forces that will collaborate with you to make your dreams come true."

To say I want to write is to begin a journey of self-awareness that, if you let it, will bring you the pride of accomplishment, the joy of creation, and will add your voice to the sum of all there is.

Outside of my family, I have found no other thing in my world that brings me more joy than my writing practice.

A close second has been my years of working with writers. Bearing witness to the discovery of their own voice and best process. Guiding and walking alongside as each one brings themselves to the writer’s choice point, a plot point in the through line of their writing life.

Just like a damn good story.

The writing life is two-sided.

Think of the double thread of a fiction plot. The Outer Plot is the "what happens" when a character has a goal. When she wants something, she moves through the story making decisions that affect the journey she experiences.

Then there’s the Inner Plot, or the why of her decisions. The "why of her" creates what happens. Why does this character make this decision over that? Who is she? What are her flaws? What are her habits? What will she have to confront and perhaps change before she can reach her goal? Win or lose, how is her life transformed by her taking the journey?

It is in the inner plot where the real story lives.

So it is true of the writer’s journey.

We live in a time where it's possible now more than ever to write and publish a book. Creative writing has been deconstructed enough so that learning the elements of story is a matter of studying craft. Good storytelling can be taught. Instinct can be awakened, directed, honed. Writers aren’t born these days, they’re created. And I say hallelujah!

Nowadays, publishing can be a matter of slapping your novel onto Amazon. Marketing is some ever-changing formula of social media. A writing career is forged by producing more and more content, faster and faster, smarter and smarter. And getting to know your audience.

The best news is there are no gatekeepers to your work going public. The worst news is there are no gatekeepers to your work going public.

You have to become your own gatekeeper. Which means you have to become the best reader of your own work. The best monitor of your writing practice. Because all successful writing careers start with the fact of a good book.

In the backwash of this new wave of publishing, courses, webinars, and an infinite number of blogs have surfaced that promise fast fiction. Solutions in four steps, five steps, a weekend.

There are ways to produce fast fiction. I use them myself. I teach them to my clients. I designed the 90-day Romance Novel program to fit just such a goal. Those ways produce the outer plot to the writer’s journey.

But what no one seems to talk about is the inner plot to the writer’s journey. It is there that the writers I have worked with are challenged. It is the inner plot that makes the writer. The inner plot that makes the practice a life-long one. In the story of the writer’s journey, it’s the transformation into a writer that creates success.

When the writer has put in the time, when she has acted as if, she will likely come to a dark moment in her writer’s journey. When she finally knows what it really takes, she will decide whether this is the life for her. Or not.

I contend that if you’re reading this, the possibility for you to reach that choice point in your own through line, the possibility of you choosing to become a successful author, exists.

All you have to do is take the journey. The outer journey to master the craft. And the inner journey to awaken your love of writing.

“Not being able to write is a learned disability.” Says Pat Schneider of Amherst Writers and Artists.

Once upon a time I took a screenwriting class at the University of Denver. A visiting Hollywood screenwriter, whose name I no longer remember, conducted an intensive weekend writing workshop. He asked the seventy-five or so writers in the room: "Who likes to write?" My hand went up. He pointed at me. Called me on it. Said: “I don’t believe you. No one likes to write.” What could I do but shrug and say, “I do.” He made a face and returned to the lecture that had been a bit spoiled by what he considered was my lie.

I love to write. I get up before my alarm on most days - anywhere between 3 and 5 am - depending upon how excited I am by it, by the possibilities of the day's writing. I open my Scrivener file, put in my earplug (only one as I am deaf in my left ear), tune out the world, and enter into the creative discoveries of the day for the next five hours. 

You know the feeling you get when you read and get lost in a really great book? I remember getting lost in novels in middle school. There was a pureness to reading back then - high adventure and possibility as hero conquered the stuff of life. That's how my writing feels to me. And it becomes easier and easier to slip into the fictional world the better I get at my process. I took the time to learn what works for me. And now I’m working it. And I have never been happier.

Think of marathon runners who love to run. Are there days when they must groan before they lace up their shoes? What about the days when it’s raining? Is it hard? Is it demanding? Of course. But they wouldn’t run if they didn’t love it. And they run every day. 

To go one more step with the running analogy, you know how they say when runners get through the burn, they reach a place where they feel like they could run forever? That’s what it’s like to love to write. To anticipate the writing and get up before the alarm.

If not being able to write is a learned disability, then is loving to write a learned ability? I believe it is.

I would wager that somewhere along your through line you were validated for your ability to write. A teacher. A parent. A contest. A paper you wrote. An essay that won a prize. Something or someone said to you that you have a way with words.

Some early writers keep writing from that moment and ease into a writing career somewhere in their 20s. But that’s probably not you. Or you wouldn’t be reading this. Perhaps, like me, you tucked it away inside. A bit of pride. A bit of difference from the rest of the world while you moved on to the rest of your life.

But then something else happened to make you bring that out from where you tucked it inside in a velvet pouch you kept close to your heart and forgot about.

Now when you reach inside you realize that nugget of truth about you has turned into something like a diamond, with the promise, and the glitter, and the shine.

I can write, you say.

Yes, you can.

And if you master not only the outer journey of the writer, but the inner journey too, you will have found true creative happiness in the creating. And the ability to make a career out of it. 

Tune in next time when I talk about the Zen of Writing and the writer’s inner journey. I'll provide as best a roadmap as I can to:

• Master the art of transformation
• Find focus 
• Structure a writing life
• Defeat the virus of fear

About the Author: Deb McLeod, MFA, practices novel research immersion. For her novel, The Train to Pescara, Deb journeyed to Sardinia to study ancient goddess worship and spent time in the Abruzzi village her great-grandparents left in 1905. Her metaphysical knowledge for the Angel Thriller, The Julia Set, culminates from four years of studying and teaching meditation, clairvoyance and chakra healing. For over fifteen years, Deb McLeod has been a creative writing coach helping other writers to embrace their passion and get their words on the page. For more, 

A Farewell to My Characters

By: Natalia Brothers

My publisher just sent me a photo of my ARCs. I no longer must call what I have written “a story,” “a manuscript,” “a novel”—the words I used in my queries and pitches. Now I can call it a book. But there’s something else in the fusion of delight and excitement I bask in as I await an announcement of the release date. The sentiment is bitter-sweet, reminiscent to a stroll through a garden on a bright September day. Chrysanthemums are blooming, the dew sparkles on the grass plumes after the night’s storm, and every leaf and berry looks beautiful and vibrant; but the scent of autumn fills the air and you know the summer is over.

So, what causes all this brooding when I’m only weeks away from fulfilling my ambition and getting published?

It took many drafts before the manuscript turned into the story I envisioned, the tale I aspired to tell. The cast—the characters—resided in my head throughout the process, and I had grown accustomed to thinking of my fictional crew as if they were real people. Her face and smile, his voice and mannerism, the food they liked, the melodies they hummed…Their fears, joys, heartbreaks, victories…I knew more about them than I know about some of my friends.

Every detail popped into my mind whenever I sat down to write a scene. My characters accompanied me on long mountain hikes, my brainstorming time. The heroine awakened me at three in the morning:

“Hey, this is what I’d like to do. Is it very bad?”

Whoa. Would she dare?

She always did.

I was taught that since our characters exist entirely in our imagination, they possess no will of their own, their actions are fully under our control, and they will do whatever we picture them doing. It seems this conception is only partially true. Yes, I had the power to create these personalities. But once I had my cast, all I had to do was devote my creativity to conceiving the wickedest fight-or-flight, sink-or-swim, life-or-death scenarios. Day after day for several years, I let my characters wrangle with the pressures of the unfolding plot, while I chronicled their struggle.

Day after day. For several years.

Then, all of a sudden, it was over. The last line written, the last revision finished. The end.

How happy I was last summer when the contest edits called for changes in a couple of scenes. I could immerse myself in the plot again. Experience the characters’ emotional states. The situation. The setting.

Speaking of the setting…I’ll miss it too. A sequel will take place somewhere else, and it’s still in a world-building stage. The new locale is more of an impression, a fluid vision, a mirage in the process of shaping up into a major element of the story. The cast is a bunch of strangers I’m getting to know. The new heroine tries my patience. I gave the role to a secondary character from the original novel, thinking it would be easier if I at least knew someone in the new crew. But it didn’t help; it’s as if she’s not used to being the focus of my attention and refuses to be as proactive as her predecessor.

Of course, the logical explanation is that I, a hopeless pantser, shouldn’t have tried to plot that sequel. I don’t enjoy writing a story when I know what’s going to happen. I crave my characters’ spontaneous dialogues and actions. I want a heroine who won’t hesitate waking me up in the middle of the night.

So maybe I’ll tear up the sequel’s outline and start from the beginning.

About the Author:  Born in Moscow, Natalia grew up with the romance and magic of Russian fairy tales. She never imagined that one day she’d be swept off her feet by an American Marine. An engineer-physicist-chemist, Natalia realized that the powder metallurgy might not be her true calling when on a moonless summer night she was spooked by cries of a loon in a fog-wrapped meadow. What if, a writer’s unrelenting muse, took hold of her. Two of her passions define her being. Natalia is an orchid expert and she writes dark fantasy.

Writing Alone Together

By: Deb McLeod

NaNoWriMo is mere weeks away. I use the annual contest as part of my process and I recommend it to all my clients, as long as they recognize it’s only a part of the process and not the end game. There will come a time in your writing life when you can write a pretty decent draft in thirty days, but unless you’ve been doing this for a while, you’re likely not there yet. But that’s fine. Because NaNoWriMo can create the foundation for your project, if you do it right.

Why NaNoWriMo works

There are a bunch of reasons why NaNoWriMo can work in your writing process. It works because it:

• Gamifies writing
• Provides a taste of the writer’s life
• Grants a breather from the infernal internal editor
• Is only 30 days long
• Creates The Zero Draft (Chuck Wendig’s words for it)

Gamification works. I didn’t realize it until yesterday, but the online coaching environment I use with my clients gamifies writing. We don’t earn badges (though maybe that’s a good idea). What we do earn is a seat at the exclusive, invisible, real writer’s table and stories that get finished, along with these addicting daily green checkmarks. I knew what I was doing was working for my clients. I just didn’t realize it was called gamification.

Gamification motivates, rewards, produces results, gives competitors competition, gives self-competitors measurements, and shifts the participant’s attention to focus on the parts, while achieving the whole. In novel writing, I think the ability to focus on the parts rather than the whole is the key to the kingdom.

For writers, gamification works in part because most writers enjoy certain things that make up The Writer’s Lifestyle. Take this little quiz to see if you agree:

• Did you enjoy (derive satisfaction from) starting and completing large assignments when you were a kid in school? Did you like getting those As on your papers? 
• Do you like solitary working within a group? Like reading together with someone who’s also reading? Or, writing at a table alone but together at Starbucks? Does it bring you joy to take your laptop to the library to work? 
• Do you like crossing things off your list? Are you someone who will write something down just so you can cross it off? 
• Or are you (like me) a process person? A habit person? Do you break things down into their processes and check them off as you move through them? 

All these things are parts of a writer’s lifestyle. Setting goals. Finding a way to achieve those goals, daily, whether you feel like it or not so you can create something from nothing. If you have any of these traits you might be looking at ways to capitalize on them, if you want to write. Participating in NaNoWriMo every year can help.

NaNoWriMo offers a break from the internal editor

When you don’t have time to pay attention to the naysayer inside, can allow yourself the freedom to create, and know how to read what you’ve created properly, you can use your NaNoWriMo Zero Draft as the foundation for your project.

If you’re familiar with the process of freewriting, if you’ve tried and succeeded at it, you already understand there is a natural resistance to corralling your thoughts and getting them down. Freewriting works because the timer is ticking and if you’re doing it right (pen to paper and don’t stop writing until the timer goes off) you will push your way through those pockets of resistance, usually to find there are golden thoughts or images on the other side.

That freewriting resistance is the same resistance you might feel about getting to the chair every day. Only chair resistance is a whole lot bigger. And I contend it exists because you’re looking at the whole and not just a part.

Gamifying writing offers a tool to break resistance and get you to the chair and to get words on the page no matter the quality. When you participate in NaNoWriMo and your goal is 1667 words per day, you don’t have time for internal editors.

I know from working with my clients in the gamified environment I’ve created for them, that the more often you break through your internal editor’s clutch on your creative life, the less power the editor has over you. My clients report a shift in their relationship to resistance. My own writing has deepened, and speeded up considerably since I began to use this gamification method.

NaNoWriMo is only 30 days 

Writing for thirty days straight is a challenge to most people who haven’t yet made their writing a daily habit. Imagine if you wanted to compete in an athletic event and you had to get in the habit of training. If you could get through 30 days of training every single day, you might continue once the 30 days were up, wouldn’t you? Having come that far in training your body, would you quit after 30 days and become a couch potato again? Let’s say you did quit, well, you might not meet your overall goal, but having done those 30 days you’d know what it takes, wouldn’t you?


It’s the same with NaNoWriMo. Once you’ve gotten through the 30 days, whether you accumulated 50,000 words or not, by the time you reach November 30th, and if you gave it your best effort, you would know what it takes to really have the writer’s lifestyle.

And whether you win or not, you will walk away knowing you can do it. There will have been a measure of days you spent achieving your writing goals.

For this alone, if you want to write, you should consider doing NaNoWriMo.


The Zero Draft (Chuch Wendig’s expression to describe the NaNoWriMo draft)

If you focus on NaNoWriMo as a way to create a foundation draft, every November can become the month you carve a great big chunk out of the process. Both goal-oriented and process-oriented people will succeed at using NaNo as a tool to get the work done. Editor-less, the draft you produce during NaNoWriMo will hold the gold of your finished product. Just don’t be fooled that that draft is the finished product. It’s a giant step forward in the overall my-book-is-finished process.

Enemies of NaNoWriMo

These are the things that might make your experience misery:

• Not making time every day
• Not having a place to write
• Not preparing your family
• Facing a blank page

Break down how many words you’ll write every day. Know where you will write and when you will write. Talk to your family about it and get their support. Some families don’t support a long-term writing habit, but most families will support a writing contest that will take you away a few hours every day for only thirty days. And the contest-nature of the event usually gets everyone rooting for you.

The best way to approach NaNoWriMo

This will be my sixth year using the annual contest to create my zero draft. This year I will work on book two of my 90-day Romance project. My trick to making the most of NaNoWriMo every year is preparation.

But the most important advice I can give is to prepare before November starts. Use October as NaNo Prep month. The blank page will invoke your internal editor like nothing else. If you have something to write about, you can do 1667 words a day for 30 days. I’ve seen NaNoWriMo change a writer’s life, time and time again.

Note: to the end of helping writers succeed, I offer a free 14-day NaNo Prep Countdown in the two weeks before NaNoWriMo starts. You can check out the 14-day NaNo Prep Countdown here.

Note two: for those of you who were following my 90-day Romance challenge, I finished in 82 days. Stats are available here.

About the Author: Deb McLeod, MFA, practices novel research immersion. For her novel, The Train to Pescara, Deb journeyed to Sardinia to study ancient goddess worship and spent time in the Abruzzi village her great-grandparents left in 1905. Her metaphysical knowledge for the Angel Thriller, The Julia Set, culminates from four years of studying and teaching meditation, clairvoyance and chakra healing. For over fourteen years, Deb McLeod has been a creative writing coach helping other writers to embrace their passion and get their words on the page. For more, seewww.debmcleod.com.

Ergonomics Pt 2 Eye Fatigue & Keyboard/Mouse Use

By: Catherine Dilts

Ergonomics for Writers Part Two: Preventing Tired Eyes and Aching Wrists

Mary Plehal, professional ergonomist, generously shared valuable information specific to writers. Last month, we covered correctposture and chair adjustment. Today we’ll learn how to prevent eye and wrist fatigue, proper desk organization, and monitor adjustment. Your particular needs should be verified by your health care practitioner.

What I take away from today’s tips is that we must adjust our work stations to suit our bodies, and not the other way around. As much as is possible in your situation, make your work environment ergonomically correct. Don’t let preventable aches and pains end your writing sessions early. The better you feel physically, the longer you’ll be able to write!

Prevent Eye Fatigue

Colorado is a dry climate. Dry eyes and eye fatigue are common. Mary’s tips will help you keep your eyes happy.

• The 20-20-20 Rule:
• Evert 20 minutes take 20 seconds and focus on something 20 feet away
• Closed Eye Rolls: Close eyes, roll eyes in different directions- up, down, side to side, circles
• Make sure your font is big enough for your viewing comfort
• Dry air? Consider moisturizing drops
• Avoid reading or doing crossword puzzles on breaks

Safe Keyboard Use

I have a tendency to stick my elbows out while typing, not unlike a chicken attempting to take flight. When I follow Mary’s next tips, I have less fatigue in my shoulders and upper back.

• Keep elbows close to sides
• Avoid repetitively or constantly bending wrist to the little finger side of the hand. People with broad shoulders or torsos may benefit from an ergonomic keyboard
• Use the lightest keystroke possible
• When not actively typing, rest your hands

Safe Mouse Use

That little critter next to your keyboard can be problematic. It’s not so much about your hand, as the position the mouse puts your wrist into, and where you place the mouse on your desk.

• Avoid repetitively bending your wrist toward the little finger side of your hand
• Position your mouse directly next to the side of your keyboard
• Consider a mouse that allows your hand to drape rather than hover (no gap should be between the mouse and your palm)
• A mouse that turns your thumb slightly upward prevents wrist contact pressure with the desk and rotates your arm in a more neutral position

Desk Surfaces

The next section some of you won’t like. I often claim I need the clutter, and that I know where everything is if people will just leave my stacks of junk alone. I have to admit, being organized has its advantages. Not only does a clean and tidy desk prevent fruitless searching for misplaced items, but it also has ergonomic benefits.

• Keep things organized and uncluttered. Clutter decreases mental focus and energy
• Make enough space for adequate keyboard/mouse space, wrist rests and forearm support
• Avoid contact pressure from resting wrists on desk edges- move your keyboard back or get a wrist rest (note: your body tolerates contact pressure better on the forearms than at your wrists)

Desktop Organization

• Keep frequently used items within reach
• Avoid frequently reading hard copy that is laying flat on the desktop to prevent neck bending and twisting

If a copy stand is used, place it in a location that is close to the monitor(s)

If a keyboard tray is used, don't place the mouse on the desktop if it requires reaching forward or to the side

Monitor Positioning      

No matter what type of monitor or desk you use, you should be able to make the following adjustments to encourage proper posture.

• The monitor(s) should be centered in front
• Monitors should be approximately fingertip distance away when reaching forward
• The top of the monitor screen should be approximately even with eye level
• For those people who wear multi focal or progressive lenses, the monitor should be lowered to prevent tipping the head back (consider task specific computer glasses)

Position Change

Now that you’ve gotten everything adjusted correctly, you need to cement all the settings, right? Wrong! Changing position relieves fatigue and prevents aches and pains.

• The best position is a new position– change positions frequently
• Tweak your positions slightly throughout the day:
• Move keyboard closer or farther away
• Move wrist rest closer or farther from keyboard or mouse
• Slightly change the tilt on the chair back
• Move the copy stand to the other side of the monitor
• Take micro breaks: Find reasons to stand up and move regularly

Non Traditional Work Settings

So you get your home work station adjusted correctly. That’s great, but what about when you work elsewhere? While traveling, at a coffee shop, or on a cushy chair in a sunny window?

• Regular long durations of laptop use are not recommended. Minimize sofa and coffee shop time
• When working on the sofa, place a pillow behind your lower back for support
• Pause frequently to stretch in the opposite direction of the position you’ve been maintaining (neck, back, hips, shoulders, hands)
• Try to create some forearm support on the tabletop or with pillows
• When at home, use a separate monitor and keyboard or a stand for the laptop and a separate keyboard (these are very portable and can be brought to a coffee shop)

 Thanks to Mary Plehal, professional ergonomist, we’ve learned about avoiding eye strain, and how to set up a work station correctly to minimize wrist fatigue. Join me next month for a continuation of the series. What happens when you do feel aches and pains? Stretching, the topic of next month’s ergonomic article, can help. Additional thanks goes to Mary Plehal for her professional advice and illustrations for Ergonomics for Writers!

About the Author:  Catherine’s fifth published short story appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine’s May 2016 issue. The second novel in her amateur sleuth murder mystery series, Stone Cold Case – A Rock Shop Mystery, is available on-line via Barnes & Noble and Amazon, and in e-book for Kindle. She anticipates a fall release for book three. With a day job as an environmental regulatory technician, her stories often have environmental or factory-based themes. Others reflect her love of the Colorado mountains, fishing, and running.

You can learn more about Catherine and her writing at:http://www.catherinedilts.com/