I've been writing lots, hustling toward the finish line of getting the first draft of my fourth space station mystery novel completed by the end of May.
I'm facing all kinds of doubts...will the book be any good? Will it be a fitting end to the end of the series? Is the story interesting, suspenseful? Are the characters compelling and relatable? Is my writing any good?
Truth is I can't stop to discern the answers right now.
My only job is to write the first draft and trust all the prep and planning I've done, all the knowledge I've gained, all the life experience I've had up to this point.
My job is to trust my writer self and show up to do the work. That's all I can do.
I have to put on blinders and eliminate as many distractions as I can.
I make sure I write at the cafe, where I write best, and to take lots of breaks, or else the writing goes poorly. I make sure to eat healthy. That's important too. :) And to get a walk or run in daily.
Work and writing and movement -- that's my world these days. (And petting Leo and hugging Ezra. Priorities, you know.)
How is your writing going? Are you trusting the process? Do you have the support you need -- both in your environment and within you?
Hit reply and let me know! I'd love to hear from you.
You're in for a treat. If you've never attended a course with Ezra, you can get a taste of his style in a short video we did on "Essential Plot Tips" here.
I took a glance at Ezra's slides and can tell you he'll be touching on elephants, minions, and cats. And suspense techniques and how to add them to your story, no matter the genre.
DETAILS
Wednesday, May 17, 5:30-7pm Pacific
How to Write Suspense in Any Genre
(It will be recorded if you can't make it live.)
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
— Learn how the art of subtext can drive the story forward — Uncover the naked truth about why some chapter formats are boring…and what to do
— Discover the power of putting time-locks in your story to create a compelling page-turner
—The right (and wrong) ways to time your story’s revelations
— 3 ways you might be overusing suspense techniques and 5 signs you need more suspense
— How to use atmosphere, setting, subplots, secondary characters to amp up suspense
— How to build in suspense into your story planning process and while you edit
HOW WE DELIVER THE TRAINING +WHAT YOU'LL GET We’ll be doing the training live via Zoom. Once you register, you'll get the replay delivered with any other goodies including 90-minutes+ of training in video (MP4) and audio (MP3), a PDF containing all the slides, and a transcript of the live training.
BONUS!
We’re offering a bonus for people who register by May 17th: You get a free seat in our special webinar, HOW TO FIND CRITIQUE PARTNERS, on Wednesday, June 7, 2017, 5:30-7pm PT.
Hope to see you there!
Have a great rest of your week!
All my best, Beth
PS. Tomorrow the Nonfiction Authors Association will broadcast my interview with Stephanie Chandler on overcoming writers block. More details here. Enjoy!
PPS. I've been interviewed for two upcoming summits. More details coming soon.
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