When shit goes down in our lives, how do we keep writing? At best, we lose our ability to focus on our work. Sometimes it makes us question our work—question whether what we have to say will be relevant. Or at worst, become afraid to write what we write.

There’s no more tragic fear for an author than being afraid to give voice to her story because she fears persecution for it. And that’s what one of my friends said to me recently. She was terrified that her work would be misinterpreted or even ridiculed.

NaNoWriMo Made Me A Professional Writer

October 13, 2016October 14, 2016Leave a comment

It may sound like a bit of an exaggeration, but I don’t think it is. Writing 50,000 words in the month of November for the last three years, with the help and support of the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) community has made me the writer I am, and it’s not just because my 2014 NaNo book became my debut published novel this summer.

My NaNoWriMo stickers on the back of my old laptop from the three years I won.

The discipline to commit and write a novel in 30 days is a daunting but very professional task. The respect it shows one’s work with a specific goal and a hard fast deadline along with the accountability of the whole NaNo community is the mark of a budding professional writer.

The number one thing NaNoWriMo did for me was teach me to turn off my overcritical, often debilitating inner editor. I have a tendency to over analyze everything, often making it hard to achieve a goal because perfection gives me writer’s block. But the NaNo philosophy of Don’t-Edit-Just-Write helped me learn to write for the pure enjoyment and pleasure of it.

In the midst of achieving deadlines this year, I’ve been losing sight of that – the joy of writing. I can’t wait until November 1st. NaNoWriMo is fast becoming my yearly commitment to myself to remember I LOVE TO WRITE!

We’re two weeks out from the start of NaNo. The perfect time to start planning your novel for the month. Alexis Daria, NaNo veteran and municipal liaison for over ten years, will have lots of provoking questions and info for us on what NaNo is all about – this Sunday 4pm PST / 7pm EST.

Until then, think about what it is you would love to write next.

~Robin Lovett

From Graphic Novel to Manuscript

August 2, 2016Leave a comment

Here at #RWChat we’re all about hearing other people’s stories, so we’ve invited Shea Standefer to tell us about her first novel, which started life in comic form.

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Hi, I’m Shea! I’ve been invited to write about how I took my idea for a graphic novel and turned it into a fully-fledged, #PitchWars-ready manuscript!

When I was in college, I was heavily into the comic book scene and I spent a lot of time doodling my own short stories. One class in particular led me to illustrating a 30-page comic, which ended up being the basis for my current manuscript, DEFINING LINES.