Save the Drama for Your Llama
On creativity, story settings, and focusing on what you can control
Hello friend, šš¾
This past weekend, I had an amazing time meeting readers and signing books at the Imaginarium Book Festival. Though it taxes my introverted energy, being in community with book people and authors also gives me energy. Itās so much fun to meet other authors in the trenches of this publishing career, and at the same time get a chance to speak with the readers who we do this for.Ā
Of course, all of this left no time for me to record my podcast over the weekend like I usually do. Iām hoping to get it up by tomorrow though, for those of you who are wondering where the Monday episode is.
The publishing industry takes a lot out of authors. My conversations this weekend definitely underscored that. And not being on Twitter anymore, I missed out on various other recent industry dramatic episodes (which Nathan Bransford does a great job of summing up here.) From AI tool, Sudowrite, releasing a feature that claims to actually produce long form writing, to literary agency shenanigans, and contracting traditional publishers and bookstore space, we deal with a lot, and so much is outside of our control.
I always tell new authors that the only thing we really have control of is the book, what we put out into the world. As Iām in the early stages of drafting my new novel, this is my focus. Being a writer is something that has always been with me. Iāve been writing in some capacity for four decades and I donāt plan on stopping, regardless of robot apocalypses or corporate instability.Ā
So wherever you are on the writing and publishing journey, and whatever drama ensues, hereās to more time creating stories and finding readers!
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š Leveling Up Your Settings
Author Susan Dennardās fantastic post on settings and world building really stuck out to me. When I was launching my world building course, I would get questions from writers who confused world building with creating a setting. As Dennard states:
World building is different from setting in that it is much largerā¦Worlds are big, but settings are intimate.
The concepts are definitely connected, and every writer, regardless of genre, needs to deeply consider both. I was speaking with another author this weekend about how often we find our scenes are taking place in the wrong location. But trying to simply drop the characters into another place often doesnāt work without tweaking. When done well, the location of a scene is intrinsic to its meaning.
Writers focus so much on characters and plot, but locationāwhether itās the room, or building, or country, or planetāwhere a scene takes place, often connects deeply to character development and plot progression. All the elements of fiction go hand in hand. This article has some great tips on ways to improve the intimate settings of your scenes to that end.
š Being Creatively Alive
Creativity often feels magical, like when the muse shoots an idea straight into your brain, but it is also a mundane part of everyday life. Connecting disparate things and coming up with innovative solutions requires just as much creativity as penning a short story or novel. This post from Ness Labs dives deeper into how to support and enrich creativity in your daily life.Ā
Whether itās the way you approach a conversation with a person you just met, changing your itinerary to go to work, or composing a little poem in your head while in the shower ā creativity can happen anywhere, at any time if you direct your mind to it.
Make space for unstructured creativity. You donāt need to create something useful or beautiful. You could doodle while watching your favorite TV show or imagine alternative endings to a novel you just read. In fact, you donāt need to produce anything at all. Dancing in your living room when youāre alone or dreaming about what the perfect city would look like ā these are also acts of creativity.
I encounter too many people who donāt believe theyāre creative, but itās such a core part of humanity that such a thing canāt be true. Sometimes we just need to cultivate it a bit more in order to see its effects in our lives.
š”Overwhelmed by Your Story?
If you donāt feel clear on your story idea and not sure how to take it from its initial idea to a fleshed out narrative, the Story Seed Mini-course can help!Ā
Youāll get a blueprint for setting a strong foundation for your story with a process that I use on my award-winning novels. The PDF workbook and video lesson guide you through a proven method to get clear on your idea, flesh it out, and start writing faster.
š Quick Bites
Selling your books directly from your website using Payhip? If you have a WordPress site, check out this new plugin which integrates to Payhip. Iāll be testing it on my site soon!
I love a good to do list. This site features 22 free templates for lists of all kinds to help you get a little more organized!Ā
Don't move the way fear makes you move. - Rumi
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š Read my books
Image: A llama wearing eyeglasses reading a book in a library. ā Canva text to image