Hello all! I hope you are having a productive creative week.
If not, I hope you are living to the fullest and taking notes until you get back to your WIP.
The Writing Cooperative published an article of mine last week. It is based on an essay I wrote for the virtual release event for Joseph Sale’s Dark Hilarity.
The transformational power of story fuels my writing as well as is the foundation for the Writers’ Mastermind.
This is for all the fiction writers out there.
You’re not mere entertainers.
You shape reality.
The Stories We Tell Ourselves
How fiction shapes reality for both writer and reader
If you tell some people you’re a fiction writer, they think you live in the land of make believe. You’re a dreamer, an entertainer at best. Yes, we fiction writers like to dream, both while we’re awake and asleep. Sure, we like to indulge in our fantasies. And of course, we like to escape. However, there is a much greater part of it that many don’t fully appreciate.
Fiction Teaches Us
Storytelling is humanity’s way of learning, or recording history, of remembering the great ones. It is our way to warn, to educate, and to inspire. We pass on our wisdom to the next iteration of humanity, so instead of everyone having to learn all life lessons from scratch, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
The Hero’s Journey, the 5 Acts, the Epic Quest — you see it in everything we do—in marketing, in conversation, in our entertainment. As an outside entity looking in, you would think we are obsessed with ourselves. We tell ourselves stories about ourselves over and over and over again. But we are just trying to figure it all out. We are trying to get it right.
As we move forward, evolving as a society, as a species, and as individuals, story shapes us. Fiction is the vehicle. Reality is too close to our noses to see. Story is easy to understand and an engaging way to learn. This is why the wise men of ancient times spoke in parables. Myths, fables, fairy tales. Which is more effective? Telling a kid not to lie, or reading him the story of a boy who cried wolf?
Think about the books that most impacted your life. Were they non-fiction or fiction? I bet the first story that swept you away when you were a child was a fairy tale or an adventure. You aspired to the qualities of your hero or heroine. Later you might find other literary heroes to follow, ones who answer the questions that no one in your circle has the answers to. These writers become just as much a part of who we are as our parents, friends, and siblings. They help raise us, in a way.
Fiction Tells Us Who We Are
I remember the first time I read Dostoevsky. I was maybe twenty, and I had never read anything like it before. An angsty and lost person, I couldn’t put my finger on why I was so miserable and frustrated with the way the world worked. He addressed my feelings with a story, lurking suspicions that I never knew I had until his words crystalized them for me. It was indirect, not accusing. I could absorb the ideas, any resistance or denial diluted by the narrative. As he put a name to this unease, it comforted me. It was okay. I was not the only one, even more than a hundred and fifty years later. Not wrong. Not crazy. Maybe I could pick up the baton and take his line of thinking further.
We can be a mystery unto ourselves until we find the right story to tell us who we are, how we feel, and why. The right book is like looking in the mirror. This can be unpleasant, curious, frightening, or exhilarating. It can be life changing.
Books are spooky in this way. They defy the laws of time and space. You can connect with an author’s mind from hundreds or thousands of years ago. You can read the stories of someone on the other side of the world. A tale can be transmitted through air in waves of sound as we read to one another, a message that encompasses the senses, emotions, space, and time, communicated by the vibrations in the throats of our fragile, degenerating bodies. Fiction allows you to transplant yourself into someone else. As the writer, it’s like taking possession of a body. As the reader, you are taking another’s thoughts inside your head. It is a conduit of empathy. It is telepathy … Read more.
NOTE: The Artist’s Way is a 12 Step Process to recover your creativity by Julia Cameron that we are doing in the Writers’ Mastermind. You can read all about it here. Today, you get a sneak peek into what we’re working on inside the group. If you’d like to join us, sign up here! —Christa
This month, we cover ABUNDANCE!
And we are going to talk about MONEY.
The Problem with Writers and Money
One of the most damaging clichés about creativity is the idea of the poor, starving artist.
Add to that the fact we live in this age of free content…
And write in a highly competitive market…
Writers get used to the idea that it’s okay not to be paid for our writing.
But even if it feels good to sacrifice yourself on that altar (another virtue trap!)
you don’t have to martyr yourself for your art!
Money blocks that keep fiction writers from financial success
Combine our romantic “poor starving artist” notion with traditional qualms about money, and you’re destined to become the cliché.
Common money issues:
It is the root of all evil
It turns people into greedy, self-centered megalomaniacs
It leads to addiction and vice
It is not for you (because of gender, race, class, age, etc.)
God/spirituality/morality hates money
That if you want money, you’re a bad person
That you do not deserve it
Getting rich off of writing will make you a sell-out
Money and fame will taint the purity of your art
That you’ll end up like Tony Montana in Scarface
You may not even realize you’re carrying around some of these ideas. But if you unconsciously believe successful, wealthy people are bad, it will only ensure you never become one.
Julia Cameron debunks the God/spirituality/morality issue below.
How can writers break money blocks?
The first step to breaking money blocks is to become aware of them. Do this exercise from The Artist’s Way to find out what beliefs are holding you back when it comes to going big on your dreams as a fiction author.
MONEY MADNESS, AN EXERCISE
Complete the following phrases.
I. People with money are
2. Money makes people
3. I’d have more money if
4. My dad thought money was
s. My mom always thought money would
6. In my family, money caused
7. Money equals
8. If I had money, I’d
9. If I could afford it, I’d
10. If I had some money, I’d
11. I’m afraid that if I had money I would
12. Money is
13. Money causes
I4. Having money is not
Is. In order to have more money, I’d need to
16. When I have money, I usually
17. I think money
18. If I weren’t so cheap I’d
19. People think money
20. Being broke tells me
It’s not all about money
Your ideas about what you deserve affect everything you do as an author.
If you don’t think your writing is worthy, you will fail.
Why?
You won’t put your best into your book because, what’s the point? It’s not going to sell anyway.
You won’t query dream agents and publishers because it will be “a waste of time.”
You won’t promote a book you wrote in fear and uncertainty, because you feel it’s inferior and it’s not good enough to be successful.
You will not be willing to invest in proper editing, formatting, cover design, marketing, advertising.
You won’t invest in yourself and your continuing education as a writer. you “can’t afford it,” right?
You will give up, thinking it was all a foolish dream (like all the naysayers and your inner bully told you). You proved to yourself it isn’t going to work. All because deep inside you believe you’re not deserving.
In reality, you only failed because of your half-hearted attempt.
Don’t deprive the world of your words. Don’t sit on your stories. Give them the best chance you can. They deserve it.
*****
Would you like to join us for more exercises like these? Take a step to becoming a better writer. Sign up here!
One of the most difficult parts of writing is figuring out when and where to squeeze it into our busy lives. But writing spaces are crucial, and there is a reason for this. As animals, we like to fall into the groove of routine. It makes things easier on our brains. A habit drops us into mode and eliminates the need to waste energy on making decisions.
A writing space may be a particular corner of the house, a Starbucks, or a closet. Wherever it may be, if you write there frequently, you will notice that once you get there, you are more likely to be ready to write (or ready as you’ll ever be when it comes to writing).
At this time last year, I was on my seventh month of being stuck in Florida due to COVID airport closures. I didn’t know when or if I would ever get home. This sense of waiting spilled over into my writing. Psychologically, everything was on pause. I was blocked creatively until life flowed freely again.
During that time, I began Zoom Write-Ins at the Writers’ Mastermind. Zoom Write-Ins are live meetings where writers from all over the world get together online for an hour of undistracted writing time. Afterward, we all stay for a quick chat and to trade resources and advice.
This write-in ritual gave me the routine my brain needed. When working alongside fellow writers in this virtual space, I felt motivated and inspired. These meetings have become my new “writing place.”
I know many writers struggle to carve out time to write, and the new normal is still restrictive. We wonder when or if life will get back to the way it used to be.
Claiming a writing space is an effective way to get our heads in the game, no matter how crazy the world is.
We may have to squeeze it in on the train, or in the middle of the night, or on lunch break or in a noisy household. We have to be adaptable and write wherever we can and make the most of what we got.
If we wait until conditions are perfect, we may wait forever.
It’s up to us to actively design a safe place for the muses to land and for creativity to flourish.
10 Tips to Create Your Writing Space
How can you make the most of your current situation?
What can you do to remove distractions and feel safe from interruptions?
How can you change the atmosphere or shape your environment to cue you creatively? Plants, paint colors, incense or essential oils
How can you ritualize your routine and transform whatever spot you’re in into your writing place?
Can you team up with other writers to hold yourself accountable?
Change the lighting–close the shades, brighten the lights, light a candle
Attach writing to another habit—start with the first cup of tea, after a workout, before bedtime
Cover your walls with inspiration—your favorite quotes, pictures of your writing heroes, artwork that stirs you
Cue your brain with sound—classical music, a writing playlist, or white/brown/pink noise
Wear a writing “uniform”—a favorite robe, a special pair of reading glasses, a lucky T-shirt
Where is the most unusual place you’ve written?
What is the best time and place for you to write?
What tip do you have for creating a writing space?
For all the things we humans talk about, we are far more interesting for the things we don’t talk about.
A small fraction of our thoughts are ever said out loud. The rest of them ricochet inside our heads.
We step quietly around uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, judgements, and observations. Gaping holes yawn where there should be understanding. Giant elephants crowd the room but we refuse to acknowledge them, even when they’ve stepped on our feet and are crushing our toes.
We’re all silently screaming.
That’s why we need writers now more than ever. To speak the unspeakable in the form of fiction. To seek understanding and let us know we’re not alone.
