Escape Your Writing Cave By Marie Wells Coutu

Writers write.

Maybe NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) has you barricaded into your writing space, pounding away on the computer keyboard and churning out your next work of literary genius.

The familiar adage of BICHOK (butt in chair, hands on keyboard) works. Any writer who’s serious about his or her craft needs to follow that advice. When you have a deadline to complete a novel, whether it’s self-imposed or by contract, the only way to finish is to keep at it.

But there is a time for everything. Even during NaNoWriMo or when under deadline, it’s good to take some time away from writing and not feel guilty about it.

Too often, I find myself putting off other things I could be doing—family activities, exercise, visiting a sick friend—in order to “write.” Then I pour the guilt on myself for not doing those things. But if I do take time away from writing, in creeps resentment because I’m not writing.

Never mind that I sabotage my writing time with Facebook, Solitaire, or TV. I accept the blame for those times, but that doesn’t keep me from jealously guarding my time, while also feeling guilty about the “good deeds” I don’t do.

I repeat, a serious writer must spend time writing and guard against time-stealers. But there are occasions when we have to come out of our writing cave.

The other day, I finally took the time to visit a friend who’s in a nursing home. She loves to read, so I bring her books from my stash as often as I can. I confess to being grateful when I find her napping so I don’t feel guilty about dropping off the books and leaving. But I know how much it means to her to have someone take the time to talk. So this time I did.

As I drove home afterward, I realized how much I had enjoyed the visit. I had learned more about her life, episodes that may even find their way into a book in the future. And I resolved not to feel resentment when spending time with other people takes away from my writing time. If I allow myself some time for such things, I’ll have no need to feel guilty about the hours that I do spend writing.

Here’s my new motto: Don’t let word count stop you from doing what counts. After all, if I am called to write books that show God’s love to a fallen world, shouldn’t I also be willing to demonstrate that love to individual people in my world?

About the Author

Marie Wells Coutu

Marie Wells Coutu’s newest novel, The Secret Heart, from Write Integrity Press, was named a finalist in both the 2018 National Excellence in Romantic Fiction Awards and the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Awards sponsored by Florida Writers Association. Her debut novel, For Such a Moment, won the Books of Hope Contest. Thirsting for More, the second book in the series was a finalist in the Selah Awards Contest and a semi-finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Awards. An unpublished historical novel set near Golden Pond has been a finalist in five contests.

The Secret Heart by Marie Wells Coutu

You can find more about Marie and her novels on her Facebook page (Author Marie Wells Coutu), at her website (MarieWellsCoutu.com), or follow her on Twitter (@mwcoutu) or on Amazon.com.

Marie is a regular contributor to Seriously Write. For more posts by Marie, click here.

Writing Consistently By Terri Weldon

Terri Weldon

Well, here I am on the wrong Thursday again. A special thanks to Dora for her flexibility and kindness in switching with me. While I’m writing this I know my sister will be in surgery as you read the post on Thursday morning. Please say a prayer for a successful surgery and swift recovery.

Recently, I wrote a complete book in what felt like a very short amount of time – at least to me. I won’t deny the pace was grueling and there were times I wondered if I would ever finish something worth reading in such a short timeframe. I’m pleased to say I did finish and while it might or might not find a home, I had an epiphany as I wrote the novel. Writing consistently makes you a better writer. I know, you’ve heard that a million times before. So had I, but while writing this project I experienced the reality of it firsthand.

To finish my book and edit it in the allotted time, I had to write boo coos of words fast. What I discovered was the more I wrote, the easier it became to hop into my character’s head. Their voices came naturally, and I knew how they’d react in the harrowing situations they’d face in this romantic suspense novel.

Don’t get me wrong, like all characters they refused to stick to the synopsis I’d written 100%. Seems they had a mind of their own and they weren’t afraid to let me know when they didn’t like my original plan. But let’s face it, when have your characters done everything according to plan? Mine never do. They seem to think they know best.

Would I want to write all my manuscripts at the breakneck pace required to finish this one? NEVER! I think sleep deprivation would do me in. However, as I’m plotting the sequel to the book I just finished, I do want to meet a specific word count every day. I do want to write faster than I have in the past. I do want to write consistently, it reduced the amount of editing required. So regardless of what happens with this story, I’ve learned an invaluable lesson that will help me grow as a writer.

How about you? Do you write consistently? If so, has writing consistently improved your writing? If not, would you be willing to give it a try for two weeks and let me know how it goes? I’d love to hear your responses so leave a comment about your experiences.

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Misty Winslow is determined to find her prince, and she meets the man of her dreams through an Internet dating service. Or is he, because the new dentist in town also sets her heart aflutter.

It's love at first sight for Tyler Davenport, but before he can finish his first root canal, Misty is involved in an exclusive online romance with Wes99—Tyler’s online persona. How can he tell her he’s the man she’s been waiting to meet, and how rational is it for him to be jealous of Wes99! Soon Tyler's pulling out all the stops to woo Misty.

As Christmas approaches, Wes99 and Tyler both ask her to meet them under the mistletoe. Which man will she choose?

Terri is a lead analyst by day and an author by night. She enjoys gardening, reading, and playing in the hand bell choir. One of her favorite pastimes is volunteering as the librarian at her church. It allows her to shop for books and spend someone else’s money! Plus, she has the great joy of introducing people to Christian fiction.

She lives with her family in Oklahoma. Terri has three dogs – a lovable mutt and two adorable Westies.

Terri is a member of ACFW and OCFW, a local chapter of ACFW. Her dream of becoming a published novelist came true in November 2013 when Mistletoe Magic, released from White Rose Publishing. To learn more about Terri visit her website at www.TerriWeldon.com.

Don’t Skip a Word by Susan Tuttle

Image courtesy of JulesInKY on Morguefile.com

As writers we want each word we put on the page to mean something to the reader. If it doesn’t, we pull it out. We count each word—literally—and only keep those that add value to the story we’re writing. Each one is thought over and chosen with careful deliberation. And only the best word choice is used. We pour over synonyms to create the perfect picture that tells the story exactly as we created it to be seen.

We don’t want the reader to skip one single word.

This thought was with me recently as I remembered Hebrews 12:2 where God is mentioned as the author of our faith. It occurred to me that if the words I choose for my story world are selected so carefully, then the God who writes my story is doing no less. Just as we don’t want anyone to skip a word we put on the page, God doesn’t want us to miss any of the moments he’s chosen for us.

But we try, don’t we? We skip words, paragraphs, even pages out of the moments he’s penned into our lives. Sometimes they’re too painful so we avoid them. Maybe we’re incredibly busy, so we skim through certain periods. Maybe it’s a section that doesn’t hold our attention or a portion that we’re so busy rewriting in our head that we miss it all together. Whatever the reason, we skip the words.

Yet just as people won’t get the full effect of our stories if they leave pieces out, we miss out on the fullness of what God has for us when we don’t take it word-by-word. The happy, the sad, and yes, even the painful. Each word he authors in our lives is meant to build upon the next one, and when we stick around for the entire tale the end product is beyond what we could imagine. It’s our happily-ever-after.

Best of all? He meets you on every page of your story.

So don’t skip a word of it.

Susan Tuttle

Susan Tuttle is a homeschooling mom of three who is crazy about coffee, dark chocolate, and words—both reading and writing them. Combine that love of words with her passion for leading women to a life-changing encounter with Christ, and you’ll find her crafting Inspirational Contemporary Romance stories laced with humor, love, and healing transformations. When not cheering on her Ironman hubby, chasing the family dog, or tackling complex math problems to teach her kids (yes, even the third grader), you can catch Susan at her blog, Steps.