Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Birthing A Book: A Writer Delivers

GROWING A BOOK GARDEN
By Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson


— Once you’ve planted a story seed, it will grow with the flow of your attention. Just like how gardeners prepare the soil, writers plot pages. Both are excited to experience the fruits of their labor, but first, they must create.

A good gardner knows the manifestation of fruit requires focus. Your favorite author would say the same about books. Rows of sentences plant scenes in readers’ minds, linking meanings and ideas. Words connect worlds, and writing books is like having a direct line to the head boss. Catching the reader's mind's eye shapes their reality in that moment. 

Reading a story that moves you is similar to devouring delicious food, and hungry minds like to eat. When a writer delivers, the reader feels full and satisfied. 



Tips for cultivating story seeds



Step One: Tend the Story
This is important! When a seed isn’t fertilized, it will lay dormant, just as a story won’t develop if you don’t pay attention to it. Writing comes first. Validation is found in the process of honing your craft. When an author compels words onto a page, they’re driven by a force of insight, and the reward is watching a project evolve through success and failure, or rather, trial and error— the main two ingredients in progress.

Step Two: Fence in Creative Space
You can’t write without a comfortable place to work. External forces thrive in a literal ocean of information. They are distracting, and it’s easy to forget about your project. But, if your wish is to bring a book to life, it’s important to maintain self discipline and keep a sacred space where you can create in peace and comfort.

Step Three: Thicken the plot
Writing a book is realizing a dream. Stories are clouds of inner vibes before they’re scribed onto the page— this is raw, creative magic. But conjuring the right words into fluid scenes is the key to delivering a story; here is where you’ll need two real eyes, and the will to perfect spelling.



You may be a brilliant writer, but no author can edit their own book. As the creator, you know who the characters are, how they arrived on the scene, what the setting smells like, but no one else does. It’s vital to get reliable feedback from readers and digest their critique with the understanding that a new perspective will expand your story’s horizon.


If you take your writing seriously, and work with professional editors, you’ll feel confident that your message will have a good reception, and you will have successfully delivered a book!

Now, you just have to publish it, but that’s a whole other story.

Tune in for our next article in the “Birthing A Book” series:
Raising Your Book Right: Seeking a Story Home



Writing Resources


Editors 

Writing Tools








A Writer
Moments that arise may be a book birth in disguise. There are those with eyes to see all a scene can really be. They ask, "what if?" or "where'd it go?'- this person will imagine it so. A blank page is the space where they'll shave the story's face. Stringing words in lines, meanings point to signs. Inner space cosmonauts, creating with inky thoughts. 
Book bugs can be very helpful when they eat stories. They thrive in the garden of your mind, so feed them well. 😀
Catch our feature articles on 
WRITING MYSTERIES


Critique, Editing your MS

Working with editors, Collaborating using Google Docs

Skeleton's poetic interpretation on formatting a book

Origins of a story, Creative process

30 comments:

  1. I know I can't write unless I'm in my own comfortable spot.

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    1. Alex- Being comfortable is definitely important! :)

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  2. I love the idea of comparing writing a book to growing plants a garden. Hugs, Valerie

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  3. Getting input is crucial indeed, even if you don't agree, still good to know things.

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    1. Pat- For sure! Feedback is so important! :)

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  4. This is a great way to share writing tips! It's really fun and inviting! Hugs...RO

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  5. Wonderful writing tips! I love the comparison of writing to tending a garden. :)

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    1. Cherie- Gardens and writing definitely have a lot in common. :)

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  6. Great tips and analogies! I love learning new ways to tend my craft!

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  7. What a wonderful post. I love the comparison of gardening and writing. Good job!

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    1. Thanks, Sandra. So glad you enjoyed the post! :)

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  8. That's a great analogy! It takes a lot of effort to write something good, just like it takes a lot of effort to grow a garden that produces a lot of fruit, flowers, or vegetables.

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    1. Sherry- They are both a lot of work and so worth it in the end. :)

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  9. does that mean novels that stink have been overly fertilized? :)

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  10. What a clever and informative post! You ladies never cease to amaze.

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  11. Hi Jess and Stephanie - wonderful way to describe birthing your book ... and I' looking forward to the rest of your thoughts - love the way you've illustrated it for us too ... cheers Hilary

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    1. Hilary- So glad you liked the illustration and our description. :)

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  12. This is a very good and clever post! Really enjoyed it!! Thank you!

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  13. Wonderful advice. I'm staring at those blank pages right now and trying to "string" some words that make sense. I'll remember your post. Thanks.

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    1. Beverly- Wishing you the best of luck stringing your words together. :)

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  14. All very good points for when it comes to really growing your book. Closing off writing time and space is important for making sure the magic happens - and is pretty much the point I struggle with the most!

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    1. Olivia- We can understand. It can be hard to block off the time to write, but it is so important to treat that time with care. Otherwise the writing doesn't happen. :)

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  15. Enjoyed reading this ...
    Good points!

    All the best Jan

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