Blogger: Mary Keeley
An email a few days ago explained the alert beeping in the back of my mind that I’ve been dismissing since the holidays. We all have these nigglings from time to time that hint something is awry. When it comes to writing, it’s important to heed your inner author nagging.
I have learned not to ignore these subtle warnings, but you know how it is. When I think I need to keep plowing through to complete daily business or reach a goal, those subtle naggings are deemed interruptions to progress. Likewise, it can be tempting for authors to brush aside an inkling that something isn’t coming together well, choosing instead to continue plowing ahead on the same course. Why is this? Perhaps the author fears he or she will see a major problem, and the overwhelming thought of time and work lost drives the author to forge on. Or maybe the temptation to ignore inner nagging is fueled by a desire to avoid recognizing that the manuscript isn’t saleable in the current market and should be put aside. And maybe a little stubbornness is at play too.
Skip Prichard addresses this topic in a post on his blog for leaders. He poses some examples from within the business world, but the anecdotes offer compelling insights for writers too. You can read the entire post here.
In my recent occurrence, the email was reminding me I hadn’t yet provided topics for the workshops I’ll be teaching at a writers conference in May. The email was my thundering alert. I sent those topics right away to avoid causing the conference director further inconvenience. But authors don’t always have the benefit of external warnings. You’re better off heeding those flickers of uneasiness before you take your critique group’s time or pay more for your editor to help you fix problems throughout the whole manuscript later, at which time you will lose both money and time. Authors who are working against a contracted manuscript deadline would do well to be extra-sensitive to their inner-editor flashes early on until the manuscript if complete.
When you sense something isn’t coming together in your current work—and those times will occur—treat them as inner-editor blessings. Your attention to them at draft stage actually could save time, money, your manuscript, even your author reputation and success in the long term.
How sensitive are you to nagging thoughts in the back of your mind as you concept and write your book? Tell us your success story when you gave attention to your inner author nagging and how your book was much better for having done so.
TWEETABLES:
Pay attention to your inner author nagging. It could save time, money, and even your author reputation. Click to Tweet.
Plowing ahead is not always best when your book isn’t coming together smoothly. Here are insights. Click to Tweet.
Ahh, the pain of deleting a beautifully crafted sentence (or paragraph or chapter) because it is heading in the wrong direction. But I like it so much–maybe I should save it and write a whole different book around it . . . NOT.
That inner voice–might be the Holy Spirit. Not so much nagging as cheerleading.
exactly!!!!
It’s like baking a pretty cake, and then the beautiful cake had paprika instead of cinnamon.
it might look right, but umm, no.
Oh yes, Shirlee. The Holy Spirit, our Advocate.
I love love love the idea of the Holy Spirit cheerleading! Thank you for sharing this.
Hmmm…I tend to do a lot of plowing ahead and figuring out later. But I listened the other day when working on a story idea set in Siberia. Exactly how cold is Siberia? Cold right? So if my heroine loses her home and is dumped out on the street she would be in immediate peril, right? Well, I’d done some research and I thought I was OK to start writing along. I can always fix it later, but I decided to go back and do a bit more. Finally, I found an article written by a guy who told us exactly what he was wearing when he went outside in a town near where I want to imperil my protagonist. He was waddling with protective clothing…and lasted all of 13 minutes in the great outdoors. He ran back inside cursing and aching with cold. It took him 30 minutes to recover. Yep, I need to get my heroine rescued right away or see her die a terrible death in Ch. 2. Perhaps she is thrown out on the street if full gortex wear or a pile of furs? Anyway, my wasted time researching…actually vital. Now I can still cause all sorts of trouble for her, but I must do it in under 13 minutes. That saved me a whole lot of time.
Great story, Kristen! 🙂
Ahhh, Siberia. Or as we call it here, home.
If you ever need a cold weather guinea pig, I’m available, til about March. That’s when the sweater weather kicks in, at 30F.
I know friends who’ve lived “north of 60” which is the latitudinal line for the sub-Arctic. And yes, Goretex AND fur. Northing’s as warm as a fur lined parka.
At what temperature did you send your heroine outside? And yes, 13 minutes at Siberian winter temperatures is basically fatal.
I’d love to read that story!!
Yeah, I was doing a bit of research and the average temp in January is -40. Wow! I am thinking fur, lots and lots of fur and she would still be in peril. You are in Alaska right? So…an experiment. How long can one run around outside while being chased by crazed dogs or slavering wolves either one at -40. Perhaps this is too dangerous of an experiment. I would not want you to be injured due to my ridiculous curiosity. We live in the Cascades and it never gets lower than -20 and even then it doesn’t drop that low very often at all. Usually more like 0 on a really cold day. I bet you have lots of fun story ideas from Alaska.
Kristen, your success story is a perfect example. Thanks for sharing.
Mary, this is a super post. It reminds me of Cecil Murphey’s idea of our palace guards.
Just like the guards protect the royal family, these guards question us. Some may believe it’s an inner negative force, but Cec said it could be a way of self-protection meant for our own good. He urged us to realize that these inklings, even though they might seem discouraging, might not just be negative thinking from the devil. It could be a means of self-preservation
When he explained this at Cedar Falls last summer, it struck me then as to how important it is for a writer to stay in tuned with Christ so we can discern the source of the voice.
Melodie, Cec’s strong terms: self-protection and self-preservation, are not overstatements when writers imagine what could become of their work if those inner warnings are ignored.
When I first started writing several years ago, I was less in tune with that inner editor and hated to go back and fix anything that I might later regret fixing. As I’ve grown as a writer that’s changed. I’m now quicker to listen to my nagging and to my trusted critiquers. It’s interesting how we grow as writers, not just in semantics or story construction, but in having that writerly sixth sense.
Writerly sixth sense. That’s a good term for the nagging, Sondra. It gives parallel importance of the inner editor to all of our other senses.
No inner-editor nagging for me – the Hamster prides himself on imperviousness to advice, so I have to wait until he falls off his wheel from fatigue or distraction and do the edits myself.
However, the inner Life-Editor has spoken to me, and once, God said, “TIE YOUR SHOES!”
And thus began the short saga of the West Side Wannabe.
Ever one to listen to the Lord, I bent down to tie my shoes, and heard a quiet ‘snap’, and about a half-second later, a ‘crack’.
Hmmm, I thought, haven’t heard THAT in a while. And made haste to get eyeball-deep in the dirt, because being shot at in your own yard could portend worse to come.
For the next few days, I was a bit worried every time I stepped out the door. But what do you DO? Where I lived, flying bullets weren’t exactly rare, and the local law certainly wasn’t going to set up roving patrols on my behalf.
To make a long story short, I probably could have ignored God this time, because this individual was the worst sniper I have ever encountered. Over a two-week period, he unloaded perhaps twenty shots, the closest of which missed by maybe a foot. (I did find his hides – he used at least two, about 400m off…I should have been meat on the table.)
He lasted about two weeks, until his story came to an end. Doubtless he should have taken up something like macrame, because in the end he proved to himself the old adage –
Playing with guns is dangerous.
Wow!
To paraphrase Arthur C. Clarke, life is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we CAN imagine.
I’m sure they’re very fortunate not to have encountered you in person.
Very.
Yes, I think so, too. I was a mite irritated by the whole thing, and might not have been completely civil.
I’m so glad you tied your shoes that day, Andrew!
Great post, Mary. I’m learning to listen to that inner voice, but sometimes I don’t recognize it because my to-do voice is ringing in my head.
I’ve gotten a sense a story wasn’t going the right way. One time I brainstormed with a friend, and she couldn’t see any way to give one of my characters a happy ending (it was women’s fiction, so that was okay…..right?). That was enough of a drive to get me thinking through my story in a new light because I wanted my characters to have a happy ending. 🙂
Ah, the competitive bell ringing match between Miss To-Do and Miss Inner Editor.
Hopefully, the inner-editor uses her inside voice when she whispers nicely in your ear. 😉
Here’s a guaranteed happy ending…
Lose the guy, win the lottery, buy an island in the Bahamas.
Or is that a guy thing? (Except I’d lose the GIRL and not, for Pete’s sake, the guy…ugh.)
Grinning big, Andrew. But, that ending doesn’t quite work in a romance. 😉 However, I’ll take that thought process and use it in crafting my male characters. 🙂
Jeanne, aren’t you glad you heeded that sense and acted on it? The result could mean saving your story. If you’re writing inspirational women’s fiction, the main (good) characters should have happy endings.
I’ve been blessed to know what that inner-editor/voice of God sounds and feels like.
I had one beta (with a very, very short term of employment) suggest I make my Native American characters speak less like white man, more like….you get the picture. I almost asked this person if he could speak less like moron.
*I’ve known this certain person since I was 15, and let’s just say there’s a WEEEEEEE bit of an issue regarding professional competition. And respecting the fact that I’m not 15 and haven’t been for at least 20 years.
Okay, 25.
27?
I had a certain ending for my first story that I clung to like it was real. But somethng just wasn’t right, even though my early readers loved it. I liked it, but was too “Ohh, isn’t that sweet” when I wanted “whoa! Didn’t see THAT coming!!”
I prayed over it and pondered and waaaaaaaited…then one day(months later) BAM, out of the blue!!! It came in living colour and I just about flew to my laptop. So far, NONE of my early readers/betas have seen the ending coming and they all loved it.
This WIP, things are happening that I never planned, but I dutifully type and hope that I’ll have the same kind of “didn’t see that coming” ending.
I just keep praying for God to set the fireworks and for me to have my inner editor ready to take notes.
Waiting foe solutions to form is inconvenient, but thanks, Jennifer, for showing how valuable and productive the results can be in the long run.
One thing the nagging Voice sometimes does point out are different perspectives on faith that enrich what I am trying to write.
It’s like, “Look at this blog post, dummy!”
The title, when it came up in my email, didn’t really say what it was about, but I just kept coming back to it. The topic is arresting, to say the least, and the writing heartbreakingly lovely.
I hope it’s OK that I share it, in the wish that it would speak to you, and that some who read this might speak, in the comments, to the author.
http://hopeannfaith.com/2015/01/29/faith-in-the-suspension-of-time/
Great post. I wish I could share a fabulous success story, but I tend to ignore nagging sometimes until I get stuck. Even the time I finally listened, it took a stray comment from my pastor to get me on the right track. I get there eventually, but I probably make it harder on myself. It’s the curse of the stubborn.
It’s the curse of the stubborn…
There, Cheryl, is your fabulous success story. Those words.
You lit a dark room for me, and I think for others, and what is a success if its glories do not flow to our friends?
Thanks for the reality check, Cheryl. I smiled as I read your comment because so many of us are there beside you.
I’m there now. It is not a comfortable place to be. It colors my world. Stopping the forward movement (still ramping in my case) is hard to do. Time pressure is another nagging voice that’s hard to silence. But I know which voice should be heeded, at least today.
Oh yes, the Forward and Pause buttons so often vie for our attention, especially when a manuscript deadline is involved. Congratulations on knowing which needs to be heeded today, Lori.
Mary,
Thanks so much for this! I’ve learned to heed my “inner author” because so often it’s the Holy Spirit reminding me that something’s not quite right.
I also think as our writing improves, we’re more in tune to the prompts God gives us. I know when something’s not working, but I have this idealized version of how the story is supposed to go. That’s the kind of thing that must make God smile, because as we know, our “ideals” are manmade.
Cynthia, I think you’re right that the more writers grow, the more sensitive they become to the alerts God sends. But so often the struggle with inner stubbornness follows, as you and Cheryl point out. Fortunately, God is patient with us.
Mary, thank you for this post. It’s always good to be reminded about the importance of discernment.
Currently, I’m using my time in the publishing ‘waiting room’ to rethink and rework the focus of my blog. Last week I had a great brainstorming session with a media expert who knows her stuff. Time management and taking a unique angle to reach my prospective reader are at the forefront of my mind. Thus far, I’ve not blogged consistently because I wanted to find a niche rather than ramble, you know, like I am now. 😉
Jenni, good reminder. The inner nagging, aka discernment, is at work in all areas of an author’s career. Best wishes with you blog.
Thanks, Mary!
So true, I have certainly been there and your article made me think about the two pieces I am working on now. I am pleased with both pieces but I keep going over them looking for something to change,correct or revise. This is most unusual but my nagging internal editor is saying leave it alone. I need to enjoy this as I am sure it is a rare occurrence and the proof will be with the reader.
Susan, thanks for illustrating that inner author nagging can work in reverse also. Since you’ve looked and found nothing that needs revising, do enjoy this rare occurrence.
When I get that nagging feeling, my usual recourse is to stick to the plotted path and stay where it’s safe, but lately I’ve decided to explore and see where the story will go if I take that turn at the “fork.”
It’s pretty exciting so far. I may have a bundle of work in edits, but this one has turned out pretty streamlined, even with those little twists. I think they’ll make for an exciting read, too.
Great post, Mary! Thanks for encouraging us to listen to that inner author voice!
Congratulations on heeding the inner nagging and risking a new plot path, Natalie. It sounds like the twists are turning out well for your story.
I always listen to those little nags and doubts. They’ve never been wrong and have saved me from so many mistakes.
Twice now the little bit of nagging doubt has kept me from forcing myself to write a novel with a setup that was going nowhere fast. When I stopped, listened, and changed direction, everything came together.
Now if I could just figure out why my current scene is giving me such fits…
Rachel, your heeding surely paid off. You and your inner editor are a highly functional team.
Mary, your post made me lift my hands from my keyboard in surrender. You’re confirming what last month’s whispers in my head are now shouting, that I need to be in a more honest place in my writing.
I’ve been plowing ahead with a story that I started for the purpose of making it my workbook – to learn the craft of writing fiction. And I’ve held onto it too long.
You are spot-on and it’s time for me to get a move-on!