Development in Your Author Journey Part 2

Hi, Kathleen Guire here. Welcome to this episode of helping writers craft authentic stories with courage. We have been talking our way through the roadmap (you can get it HERE).

Pit Stop Of Development

We are at the pit stop of development on our Roadmap For Crafting Your Authentic Story. We move through the desire to write is that tiny seed that we’ve had.

 And if you listen to some of the author’s interviews that we have once a month, they all mentioned that their book started with a desire that God had placed within them to write a book. Maybe they didn’t know what kind or maybe they didn’t know when, but that’s how our writing journey starts.

Then we move through denial, where we have that crisis of belief. And then finally we move on to not final, but next, we move on to development. And that’s what we were talking about last week, the development part of our author journey. 

That’s when you say, “You know, I am a writer,” and you’re putting this into action. You are actually doing it. 

1. Schedule time to write. 

You’re putting it on your calendar. You’re blocking off that time and you’re doing it. Even if you’re scheduling say, I’m going to do this seven times this week and you only do three or four, that’s still something to celebrate. That’s still a success because you are writing. And that is the point. And if you’ve been using the framework for putting together your whole book, that framework for it that we will talk a little bit more about at the end of this podcast, then you have something to work towards. You have a book to work towards, you’re framing that out. And even if you’re in the stage of your author journey where you’re just journaling things like this is a theme that you want to talk about.

 Or maybe you’re writing articles on your website, you’re still moving that needle forward in your author journey towards a book if that’s what your goal is. And I assume if you’re listening to this podcast, then that’s probably one of your goals. 

2.  Have a clear idea of what you are writing about and whom you are writing to

And then the second thing we talked about was have a clear idea of what you are writing about and whom you are writing to. And stick to it. Don’t get off track. Don’t look at the other authors that you follow on Instagram and say, oh, they’re writing about this now. That’s the hot topic. I should write about it. No, write your story. Write about your theme. Write about what’s on your heart. Whatever transformation you went through, you’re being authentic. You’re like digging deep into all of these.

 Maybe it’s a trauma that happened to you that you’re writing about and you overcame that trauma. Or maybe you had an eating disorder and it doesn’t even have to be that on the trauma scale. That dramatic. It can be. I was like a super unorganized, messy mom, and I was frustrated and angry all the time. But then I learned some organization skills and I’m finding some peace in my home. So maybe that’s what you’re writing about. 

3. Develop a writing process that works for you.

So the third point in your development journey is to develop a writing process that works for you. Now, I’m all about educating ourselves in our author journey, reading the books, and listening to the podcasts. Or maybe you like to watch YouTube videos. 

Or like I said last week, we authors, follow each other on social media and we read what they have to say. And that’s a good thing. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but you need to find out what works for you because some teachers and some books are going to tell you these are the three steps you have to take. You have to do it this way. And even if I say, hey, you have to do it this way, you do it the way that works for you as long as you are writing. So my process may look different than yours, I always share my process, but I also say, find what works for you.

 I like to Journal ideas for a book first. And I have, like, I’ll start as I’ve talked about last week having a document for each chapter. I’ll start those documents for each chapter. And I have a couple of books that I’ve started that I’ve saved. And I have, like, the chapters mostly outlined, and I’m saving them for the right time because I’m not ready to write them.

 Maybe you have several book projects, but that’s fine as long as you’re following one to completion.

 And then after I do some journaling, then I transfer my ideas to a document. And when I was writing this article on development, I would type things, and I do this regularly. If I had a quote I wanted to add, I type quote here in parentheses or research this in parentheses because writing is writing to me. I write when I’m writing. I don’t edit. I don’t research. I don’t revise because that’s not writing. That’s a totally different process. 

You need to find a process that works for you. But I promise you, if you are writing and trying to revise and edit at the same time, you’re going to get frustrated and overwhelmed and probably want to quit. So just write when you’re writing. 

One of the other things I do and you don’t have to do this, maybe you have a book that you have written. Well, when I have a book that I’ve completed, I print it and I put it in a three-ring binder. And then I begin the revising process. I read it. I write notes on it. I put sticky notes all over the place.

 I tab each chapter, and I write at the top of each chapter- What’s the theme for this chapter? It’s kind of like, what’s the point? What are you trying to get at? What’s happening in this chapter? 

 I talked about that in last week’s podcast. You know, what, what problem are you trying to solve? What transformation are you offering? And if you think, Well, I’m writing a novel and I’m listening to this because I wanted to get some writing advice. I do the same thing for novels. 

4. Don’t edit while you write.

All right. And then number four, in your development journey, which I’ve already been talking about. But I think it is so important. Don’t edit while you write. Shut down the voice of your inner critic. Don’t worry about spelling, or grammar, or stop to look up an exact quote. Just write.  If you want to, you can set a word count or a goal, a time limit, either one. But don’t get tripped up by it. Progress over perfection. And remember, I will say this a bazillion times. Writing is not editing. Writing is not revising. Your first draft is what I call a sloppy copy. 

And just in case you’re wondering, when is all this other stuff come in? Writing has multiple phases. First, you write, then you revise, then you edit, and then you publish. Don’t confuse them. And don’t confuse revising. And editing. Revising is a very important development in your author journey. 

Revising is reading through something to see 

• if it makes sense and has clarity. 
• If you need to reorganize your paragraphs, 
• if you’re sticking to your theme, 
• if you have a main point, 
• if you have sub-points

… and do not at this point of revising, edit because editing comes before publishing. But after revising. Because when you’re editing, you’re correcting spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, those nasty homophones that get you. But don’t do that when you’re revising. 

When you’re revising and you might rearrange some paragraphs, you might delete some of those words that you just corrected. So don’t do that yet. Don’t do it. Wait for editing. Wait till you after revising. 

And don’t confuse your sloppy copy with finished work. Don’t say, oh my gosh, I read this over. I just spent an hour and a half writing these words, and now they don’t make sense. So I shouldn’t write because they’re not perfect. No, it’s all just part of the process. Writing is a process. Enjoy it. 

5. Be authentic

Number five. And I’m going to stop after this one. But number five, in your development journey that you will keep working on. I’m still working on this one and I will always be working on this one. I will always be working on all of them. But this one is a difficult one. It’s being authentic. It’s tough to navigate this one. Being authentic doesn’t mean that you tell everything. It also doesn’t mean appearing to be picture-perfect like I have it all together. And if you listen to any of my podcasts or read any of my articles, you will know that I am not picture-perfect and I do not have it all together.

 But I am still a writer and my identity as a writer is still intact. But you have to be yourself. Share your struggles and how you have overcome and take some time and pray for wisdom about how much to share and what to share. And you can ask yourself this simple question, does what you are writing encourage and equip your readers? If there’s not a reason to be authentic, if it’s not about a transformation if it’s not about being humble and sharing your weaknesses so others know that they are not alone, if there’s not a reason to share something, then don’t share it. There has to be a good reason. 

I don’t know if you’re like me, but you’ve picked up those memoirs, maybe at the bookstore, at the library, and they’re just to tell all. I can’t read those. I get nothing out of them. I don’t want to know all. I want to know what you’ve overcome. I want to know what transformation you’ve had and how that transformation can help me as the reader. I like those kinds of books, and I hope that’s the kind of book that you want to write. 

We too have the opportunity to share our witness of the ways Christ has changed us with those who may feel there is no hope for them. By taking off our masks and being real, we can shine out among them like beacon lights, holding out to them like the word of life. 

-Marlene Bagnell. Write His Answer. 

It’s a Bible study for writers, which I highly recommend. It is a really good Bible study and I’ll try to remember to link that in the show notes, but I want to finish up with the framework. 

And by the way, if you’ve been following along with the roadmap and you’ve been doing the journaling exercises and working through the nonfiction book framework, that’s part of the free roadmap, you may get to the point where you’re like, hey, I want to write a chapter.

 Last week I talked about there is also a complete roadmap kit with a complete chapter on each pit stop. And we’ve talked about desire, the desire to write. And we talked about denial when we have that crisis of belief when we went over the parable of the sower,  Writers edition in denial. 

And now we’ve been talking about development in our author journey, which is the third pit stop. There are six pit stops on the roadmap for crafting your authentic story with courage. And there’s also a complete one which I’m talking about. I’ll link. And in the complete one, there is a chapter framework that walks you through each step of writing a chapter. And you can also find that chapter framework just by going to my home page. Kathleenguireauthor.com, there’s a chapter framework that you can download. (link)

 The reason I’m mentioning that now is if you’ve been going through the podcast with me sequentially and working your way through this framework, you’re probably ready to write a chapter. 

And even if you haven’t been listening to the podcast, maybe this is the first episode you’ve listened to. And you’re like, wow, you are throwing a lot of information at me. Then don’t worry about it. You don’t have to download any of that stuff right now. Just get the free roadmap and start working your way through that. But we have been working through the nonfiction book framework,

1. What’s the theme of your book?
2. Make a timeline of your life.
3. Highlight the portions of your timeline that apply to your theme or should be included in your book.
4. Plan blocks of time to journal each highlighted section. There’s a writer’s planner included in the roadmap to help you with that. 
5. Research. Start with yourself, and start researching the timeline of your life. 

So let’s talk about your theme, my pretend book, I’m writing Budget-Friendly Moms, or whatever my title was. You would go through the timeline of your life and you would pick out: 

• all of the epiphanies maybe you had about money, 
• the limiting beliefs you developed about money, 
• the freeing beliefs you developed about money. 

And you would start journaling about them, Journal out those scenes like you remember when Grandma would make Apple pie in the fall and suddenly you had this epiphany that somebody had to go buy the bushel of apples and how much did it cost? And you heard grown-ups talking about the money and you were like, oh, wait, so when we get something, there’s an exchange, it’s money. It’s not just free. And Grandma had to go pick these apples and buy these apples, you know what I’m saying? 

So you’re going to dig into those themes that have to do with what your book is about. You’re not going to use every single thing on the timeline of your life, obviously. And your research will start with yourself, your timeline, which we are just talking about.

 Then you could do a survey. You’re going to use books that you’ve read, podcasts you’ve listened to, and start compiling your research in documents. 

Document for each chapter

And I suggest that you make a document for each chapter. And at the top of each document, you ask yourself, what did I overcome or learn? So what are you talking about in that chapter? Something that you overcame or you learned what transformation am I offering my reader? 

And then you add the Journal portions or the portions of your timeline that you journaled out to that chapter to the theme it matches.

Do you see what I’m saying? Then the next step, which I wanted to get to just really quickly, is you’re going to outline each chapter using the document you created. You’re going to include a personal story. You’re going to include something you overcame, a transformation, and/or a lesson.

 And I say a personal story because, you know, you’re probably going to be writing about yourself. But when I say a personal story, it applies to the theme of that chapter, not just any personal story. 

We are crafting a book. You can pick and choose from your timeline. It doesn’t have to go linear from the time you were born to now. You can look back on your life and pick and choose like you’re making a quilt. I’m going to choose that square now. I’m going to choose that square next. I’m going to choose that square next, and I’m going to put them in this chapter, and I’m going to put them together and I’m going to be telling a story with a transformation, solving a problem, taking my reader on this journey with me. So they say, oh, my gosh, me too. 

I’ve struggled with that. For example, if you’re writing your book about having an eating disorder and how you overcame that and how you’ve learned how to eat healthily, then you know you’re going to pick from the timeline of your life the struggles that you had with food or those mental struggles because often we know that eating disorders are often not about food at all. They’re about control. 

 You’re going to pick those things and you’re going to put them on the documents on these chapters with these themes. 

And if you’re to that point where you want to outline a chapter and you want to outline each one of your chapters, then yes, go and get that chapter framework for writing a chapter that’s going to offer a really powerful transformation to your reader. Because that’s what you want to do, honestly, because one of the authors I was interviewing, we were talking about this. 

One of the main reasons that we want to write a book is because we want to offer that transformation to our readers. It’s not because we want to make a lot of money, and it’s what kind of impact do you want to leave on the world? What kind of legacy do you want to leave? Do you want to leave a story that’s going to help somebody else who is struggling with something that you have struggled with or still struggle with? That’s why we want to write a book. And I’m hoping that’s why you want to write a book. 

 I am going to finish up for today. I feel like I’m talking like Minnie Mouse because I get so excited. I could honestly talk about this for hours. But I like to keep these podcasts short so you have time to listen to them. And listening to once a week, that’s less than 30 minutes, I think is a good chunk of time for someone really busy and trying to write a book and manageable you can work through these exercises in this roadmap with me. So thanks for joining me and I will see you next week. Bye.

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