I bet it’s the same for a lot of you. You make a plan and then life gets in the way. When my computer started whirring really loudly a couple of weeks ago and I eventually took it in, I didn’t expect them to send it away for days and days, taking with it passwords, stories I’m working on, my mojo… packed it all in and took the to Optimist Hill (have any of you been there! The clue is in the name ;_))))

Slowly, I’ve pieced together ways to get back into my bank, my mailchip (so I can write to you) and my inbox. Where I found this waiting and waiting for me:

Can I ask you to suggest ways I might nurture my love of writing? Do you have routines or resources that inspire you? An article I might read or a book that might guide me. I would appreciate anything you can share … putting pen to paper or fingers to keys bring me joy – from writing a sympathy card to a letter to cancer for my friend’s blog.
With gratitude and joy,
Susan Voitka-Seager

I love helping other people find their stories and so I asked Susan if I could share my answers with you, in case it helped any of you on your writing journey.

Ways to nurture your love of writing?

I think that reading is crucial for anyone who wants to write. But it’s not just what you read. When you read like a writer, every time you sit down with a book, you’re paying attention to how the author has made their story work. How have they connected (or not) with you? What do you love? What do you want to create yourself? If you can put aside some time every day or two for reading, I think that’s the first step to nurturing your writing self. Even before you dive into the world of books, I want you to do something. I want you to ask yourself WHY you want to write. For a lot of people, they want to write because they want to communicate with other people. They want to deepen a conversation they’re having in their head with others. Sometimes, we think that looks like publishing or being famous, but what I’ve learned is it looks like a journey.

And the journey is different for each of us. We all have our own experiences and our own unique way of being in the world, and when we decide to write that down, be that in fiction or personal narrative, or in poetry or a picture book, each of those ways are a gift to the world. It’s very hard to let go of end result expectations, but it brings us back to the true purpose of sharing our words, which I believe is to share, to give, and to grow.

When I first started writing, I wrote a novel that went to several agents. Eventually, I heard back from one. The envelope was addressed to me but the letter inside was a standard rejection. I immediately called the agent to see if there had been some mistake. Maybe there was an acceptance letter that should have gone to me. Then I’d know my book was good, that what I’d written was worth it.

That was not the case. During the call, the agent told me that my characters were flat and unbelievable, that the story didn’t grab their attention, that the book wasn’t something he wanted to represent. The standard rejection letter meant for me arrived a few days later.

I’m a lover of gin, and a large gin and tonic later I decided that was it. I was done writing. I was never going to waste my time again. Clearly, I wasn’t any good and I should give up completely. This agent was the decider in my mind. He knew good writing from bad and he knew I wasn’t good.

Can I tell you a secret? I still hear his words all these years later. Thirteen published books and millions of words later, this man, whose name I can’t remember, is still in my head.

So, I wonder, Susan, if there’s a voice in your head telling you that your words aren’t good enough. Perhaps success looks a certain way for you and the words have to be a certain way for you to feel free to write them. I have to fight that voice all the time. I have to remind myself that it doesn’t matter if someone else deems my work good or bad, what matters is whether the words fuel the conversations I want to have. Do I want to keep talking about the importance of stories and creativity? Yes, so I write about it. Do I want to help other people share their words, yes! So I write this infrequent but hopeful blog. Do I believe that books can change the world? Yes. That’s why I share other people’s books and write about them.

Do I think your words can change the world? I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s what you want them to do. Do I think they matter? Absolutely. You’re the only person who can share what you have to say. You’re the person generating the conversations with other people that your words create. So, if I can reassure you and help you nurture your words in any way, it would be to tell you to ignore any voice that tells you what you’re doing isn’t good or successful or worth it.

Now you’ve thought about that part, I have some practical advice, too.

1. I write 350 words a day. For joy. Could you try that? You pick the word count.
2. Perhaps you’d like writing prompts? I have lots on my site. Writer’s Digest shares loads. Sarah Selecky is also wonderful and generous with prompts.
3. Read anything and everything by William Kenower. A lot of how I think about writing comes directly from his wisdom.
4. Follow Jael Richardson in Instagram. She shares books and prompts and writing tips and is all round amazing! Be inspired by the incredible work happening right here in Canada and please do let me know what you’re writing.

I hope this helps you with your writing. I wish you joy, opportunities and great conversations as you trust yourself to create.

xxxx

Ali

If any of you are coming to Word on the Street here in Saskatoon on September 16th, here are the details for you

And if you want to hear about the authors coming, along with the book I’ve been reading this month, then here I am on #CTV sharing my interest in Brian Goldman’s book The Power of Kindness.

Here’s a question that came to my Instagram, and which has been dancing in my mind ever since:

Hey there! I’ve written almost an entire book and chunks of others. Tend to feel the fear sink creep in at a certain point though. The fear of doing something with any of it; of sharing my truth. Can I ask… do you have any advice to offer around pushing forward past mental blocks when it comes to writing? Past fear?

To me this is a question of confidence–something which I struggle with all the time as a writer. The self-doubt creeps in whenever I’m doing a public reading, whenever someone talks to me about one of my books (even though, often, they are saying something nice), whenever I start the day planning to write…it’s there nearly all the time. The only time it’s not there is when I’m actually writing. When I manage to push aside my anxiety that anything I’m writing is even worth bothering with, when I start typing and move my head from the outside of the writing to the inside of the story, then those nagging fears disappear.

The rest of the time, I live with those fears. And so does nearly every other writer and storyteller I know. I think if I didn’t feel worried that my work was worth it, I wouldn’t work as hard as I do. I’d settle with the first draft, maybe with the second, and I’d decide it was good enough. I’d never strive or push or dig any deeper. Every single book I’ve published reinforces my belief that I could have done a better job–not that I didn’t do the best I could at the time, but each book teaches me new ways to write, hopefully better next time around. I couldn’t learn if I didn’t keep writing, and so I keep doing it despite my lack of confidence.

I listen to The Moth whenever I can. For those of you who don’t know it, The Moth is a Podcast where regular people tell their stories. These people stand up in front of audiences and share their truths. These stories are heartbreaking or funny or wise; they leave me in tears or laughing out loud or stunned. The stories are always deeply personal and I listen in awe that people can be so brave. Although these aren’t written stories, the same conceptual framework is there as it is for writers–the urge to share a story, the cracking open of those words. But these people have the added fear-factor of being in front of a live audience. And they do it anyway.

I came to writing from a place of privilege, supported by my family, supported by my partner. I’ve gone on to publish eight books with two more on the way. And despite this start point and those books of mine in the world, I still find myself full of doubt and anxiety around why I do what I do. I’ve learned to take the feeling as part of the job, part of writing, and I live with it, like I might live with a hairy monster–it hangs out around the house, sometimes I say hello, sometimes I ignore it, sometimes I cower. Translating this to practical advice, I sit and I write, I send work out, I get rejections (still now, LOTS of them), I feel sorry for myself, I use that feeling to sit down and write… and so on.

For me, I write even though I feel scared to share my stories. Perhaps because I feel scared. I know other people are out there are feeling just as scared and doing it anyway–doing it even in front of audiences! I write because I am inspired to dig as deep as I can to find the stories that I want to share–not because I think anyone else should read them, but because when I’m actually writing the words down, then I feel strong.

If anyone else has a question for me about writing, you can contact me easily through the links at the top and side of this page. And if you want to come and join me on one of my writing courses, please start with Freeflow, which is FREE!