April 2020 – Selina J. Eckert

The Value of Finding Your Writing Community

Do you know why community is so important for writers?

It’s been said that writing is a solitary pursuit, and for the actual act of writing, usually that’s true. But just because writing is solitary doesn’t mean it has to be lonely. The online writing community is one of the most positive and friendly communities I’ve run into online (of course with exceptions). There is a lot to be said for finding a tribe of fellow writers to share your writing life with, and there is a special value in having like-minded individuals to talk to and learn from.

The Value of Community

There are a lot of benefits to finding a writing community to participate in, ranging from professional and creative development to fostering networks and friendships. Let’s look closer at three benefits to writing community: mentorship, fellowship, and growth.

Mentorship

One good reason to find community is mentorship. Especially as a new writer, there are going to be questions…and lots of them. And even writers who have been writing or publishing for years may have questions that more experienced writers can answer.

A good writing community can provide help to writers for writing craft, marketing, publishing industry, moral support, and/or the process of publishing. Just bear in mind that some communities will focus on specific aspects and will ask members not to post about unrelated topics. But that’s just another reason to join a variety of groups focused on different things!

Fellowship

Besides mentorship, online communities can provide places for writers to commiserate about the challenges of writing or just chat about craft and story. It’s awesome to have these kinds of connections, and they can be inspiring and uplifting conversations! You may find not only friends but colleagues with whom you can produce work together (be it co-writing, beta reading, editing, or any other act of creation and revision).

Regardless of what you find or the friends you make or don’t make, just having a place to go to chat with like-minded individuals can reduce that loneliness that can come with being a writer. These people know what you’re going through, and more likely than not, they want to help. Writers, more often than not, are some of the most generous people I know.

Growth

And finally, similar to mentorship, online communities can help you to grow. They can provide you with valuable tools, resources, and information to grow your writing and your business, and they can also help expand your thinking. By finding diverse communities, you can begin to find people who may not think exactly like you and who encourage you to try new things or to come at a story from a different perspective.

Finding communities can help you grow academically, professionally, and personally, and it is a great joy to both to be the one learning and to work with others to learn together.

Where to Find Communities

There are a lot of places online where you can find communities, but I’m going to stick with Facebook for today, as there are lots of groups on there that can get you started. I encourage you to look into a few that are relevant to you and join them to try it out…and if it doesn’t work for you, just leave and move on! Eventually you will find your people. 🙂

I highly recommend that those interested in indie publishing (or in finding new communities) check out 20booksto50k(R) on Facebook. This is a large business-focused group, but they have an abundance of “units” where they share the collective knowledge of their almost 40,000 members. They also have units dedicated to finding writers in your genre, which is a great stepping stone for new authors to network. They do strictly monitor posting, though, so be sure you read the rules carefully so you don’t get kicked out!

Another kind, positive group I recently found is Create If Writing, run by indie author Kirsten Oliphant. She is such a kind, knowledgeable person and maintains a wonderful safe community for authors to chat and learn. She also has a podcast that has excellent info for authors on marketing and branding.

Finally, I am also part of the Clean Indie Fantasy (Discussion) group, which also has an indie book club run by Fellowship of Fantasy. This is a great place for clean and Christian authors to connect, and it is an active, supportive group of authors who all help each other out.

In general, just search around and ask other writers what groups they’re in that they like. Sure, you may find some you don’t like, but you will get the chance to find the groups that are right for you, the groups that will encourage you, grow you, and make you new friends.

But most of all, don’t give up the search. Keep looking for your community, and let them support you as you support them in turn. Sometimes you don’t realize what you needed until you stumble on it.

Keep writing, my friends, and keep growing. 🙂

Discovery Writing for Outliners

How do you discovery write with an outline?

In the writing world, there are typically two types of pre-writing techniques that people discuss: planning and pantsing. Planning, or outlining, means the author takes the time to plan out each part of the book, every plot point, subplot, and character arc. Pantsing (writing by the seat of your pants), or discovery writing, as Brandon Sanderson puts it in his Writing Excuses podcast, is writing without planning out what you’re doing.

And then, of course, there is a hybrid of the two, which is usually about where I fall. So how does one plan and also discovery write? Well, I’m glad you asked. That’s the topic of today’s post!

Planning

To discovery write as a planner, you of course need to start with some sort of plan. What that looks like may vary from person to person, but here is the basic idea:

Plotting your story beats. Story beats are the points in the story when major things happen, such as your inciting incident, midpoint, and climax. I follow K.M. Weiland’s Helping Writers Become Authors method for this, with a 3-act structure, for many of my stories. In general, having these mile posts provide a loose structure and goal posts for your writing, giving you direction for your writing. For me, they also give me how many words I should have at each point so I can get closer to my final target word counts (which is good for marketing and querying).
Plotting out the beginning and end. Another method of pre-planning is to just explain what happens in the beginning and what happens at the end. Nothing else, just where you start and where you’re going.
Plot the character arcs. This is one other way you can pre-plot: you figure out where you characters start and where they are going. This might be more applicable for perhaps a contemporary story or character-driven fiction.

Discovery Writing

After you have something small plotted and your milestones in place, the next part is the fun part: you get to just write to see what happens. And it’s perfectly fine to have ideas for scenes already in your head as you start, too! But this will allow for more flexibility to grow your characters and your world, as you’re not constrained by your outline.

I have found when I use a combination of outlining and discovery writing that I develop richer stories with deeper meaning. Take the next Seasons of Magic release, All That Glimmers, for example. I started this book with a simple outline highlighting the main character’s need for academic validation.

And then, as I was writing between my outline points, I discovered that my main character was grieving. She had lost one of her closest friends. And she was desperate to get her back.

By allowing myself this flexibility, I provided the space to develop a deep theme and push my characters with intense motivations that ultimately led to a better story than I had imagined when I started.

And, to me, that’s the beauty of this hybrid method.

Disclaimers and Final Thoughts

Every author approaches their writing process differently, and everyone I’ve ever talked to has gone through a different writing process for every book until they find something that works for them. And that’s both okay and expected. Every person’s brain is different, and what works for one will not work for all.

That said, this is a method, found through trial and error, that works well for me! Using a hybrid, I have a road map that allows me to keep pushing toward each smaller goal, which is much less overwhelming to me than just pushing to the ending. But I also get to just have fun with the writing.

And I will tell you, I have tried both methods to the letter. I over-outlined early on…and broke the outline almost immediately because my new ideas wouldn’t fit. I’d wasted so much time creating the first outline, then making a new outline, then another new outline when I broke it again. I’ve also written a book entirely by pantsing, starting with nothing more than a character. Well, that book is still on a shelf waiting for a full rewrite. Because I figured out important points that completely changed the story as I wrote, and the beginning of it is no good anymore. And I will never pants a story with no outlining every again.

But you know what? This is the beauty of being a writer. It’s experimentation and creation. It’s trying new things and finding things you love. It’s creating the way you work so you can create beautiful worlds and stories.

So, even if this method doesn’t work for you, chin up my friends. You will find your methods. Just keep trying new things. 🙂

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What is your writing process like? Do you consider yourself a plotter, pantser, or hybrid writer? Let’s talk in the comments!

The Best Books I Read This Winter (2020)

Read any good books lately? I have!

I don’t know about you, but my e-reader is filled to overflowing from the generosity of so many authors out there! And so far this year, I’ve managed to complete 29 books ranging from contemporary to nonfiction to fantasy. So I figured why not have a recap of which books I’ve really enjoyed so far?

And by the way, I am offering my Rapunzel novella, “Of the Clouds,” free to newsletter subscribers, along with a contemporary fantasy short story titled “Queen of Mist and Fog.” You can pick those up here, and don’t worry…you can unsubscribe at any time.

Now on to the books! (And you can see EVERYTHING I finished this year here!)

Fantasy

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

This is a young adult contemporary magic realism that takes place largely in Taiwan and follows the aftermath of the main character’s mother committing suicide. It’s a beautiful exploration of depression, suicide, and the people left behind . One of the most beautiful books I read this year for sure. You can learn more here.

Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon

This is another young adult fantasy, and it is also beautifully written. It’s a debut for a duology that’s finishing in October 2020, and it’s a unique world where two sisters are torn apart by the customs of their people: one who is desperate to redeem her healer father’s reputation, and one who was chosen to die with their leader and accompany him into the afterlife. It’s amazing lore, great intrigue, and fascinating worldbuilding…and the author is also pretty nice and will chat with you on social media. 🙂 You can pick up a copy here (and take note of the AMAZING cover).

The Earth Magic Rises Trilogy by A.L. Knorr

I finished this trilogy this year, though I read book one last year. It’s a fantastic expansion of the Elementals world starring Georgie and the beautiful Scottish landscape, and it’s a nail-biting adventure of magic and discovery. Scary, atmospheric, and intense…I loved every minute!

Contemporary Young Adult

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

This was such an amazing book of friendship and PIZZA. Sydney is learning who she wants to be after her golden-boy brother is incarcerated for hitting someone when driving drunk one night. Now her parents’ attention is all on her as she copes with the guilt over what her brother did. A beautiful coming-of-age story. You can check out more here.

Sadie by Courtney Summers

This was a really well-done story…and might I just add that it’s worth listening to the audiobook? This book bounces back and forth between Sadie searching for her missing sister and tracking down the man she KNOWS is responsible for her disappearance and the podcast exploring the disappearance. And the audiobook really does this justice. You can learn more here.

Manga

Hakumei & Mikochi by Takuto Kashiki

This year, hubs bought me a new manga to try for my birthday. And he picked so well! Hakumei & Mikochi is an adorable story of two forest-dwelling spirits. It has everything I love: cute things, food, and all things tiny! You can learn more here.

Children’s

Floral Frolic by Cari Corene and Amanda Coronado

I don’t read too many children’s books, but I’m on the lookout for good ones now that I have a nephew and hubs and I are thinking about starting our family. This is a gorgeous book with watercolor art and foxes (two of my favorite things) and tells a really cute story involving flowers. Definitely a pretty, pleasant read for the young ones AND you. You can learn more here.

Nonfiction

Dear Author by Laura A. Grace (Illustrated by Hannah S.J. Williams)

I read a few different nonfiction already this year, but this one is definitely the best! It’s an encouraging and inspiring collection of letters written to their favorite author in a way that any writer can relate to. I found it to be so motivational, heartwarming, and inspiring for my own writing. Every author needs a copy of this book! You can find out more here.

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So what about you? How are you doing on your reading goals? Do you have any standout favorites for the year yet? Share below! 😀