Am I Writing From a Place of Fear?

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

I was texting back and forth with my good friend and prayer partner, Beth Vogt, sharing a struggle I was having with a series of blog posts. As we talked, it dawned on me that instead of writing with courage and faith, I was writing from a place of fear.

Fear of failure.

Fear of expectations.

Fear of others and how I might be perceived.

No wonder I was having such a difficult time. The revelation stunned me. If there’s one thing I pride myself on (and that should have been my first clue I was about to fall flat on my face), it’s the thought that I’m not afraid of anything.

As I travel and speak to writers, that’s one of the first things I share with them. “You must approach this writing life with courage. Be brave and willing to try things that seem scary.”

So what did I do to overcome this roadblock?

First, I took it to God in prayer.

1.  I took it to God in prayer. His word is clear on the fact that we’re not supposed to fear. I acknowledged what I’d been doing and turned my fears over to Him.

2.  I made a list of all the things I was afraid of. I didn’t just think about them in my mind. I put them on paper. Know what I discovered? Most of the things I was worried about looked pretty silly on paper.

3. I looked at the things that weren’t silly and turned them upside down. For example: I was afraid someone I loved would misunderstand my motive. To turn it upside down I considered the possibility that someone God loved would see Him more clearly. Yes, what I was fearful about could happen, but so could the other things. After looking at things differently, I decided it was worth the risk.

I've chosen to spread my writing wings and soar.

4. I gave myself permission to write from a place of courage. I turned away from those voices that warned of the bad things that could come. Instead, I spread my writing wings and soared into the freedom of wordplay. I recaptured the joy of writing from my heart, exploring the whisperings of God in the depths of my soul. I rediscovered writing from a place of grace.

Today I’d like you to take a long look at where you are with your writing. Ask yourself if you’re writing from a place of grace or a place of fear. Then leave a comment below, committing to a new season writing from grace.

Don’t forget to join the conversation!

Blessings,

Edie

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Are you #writing from a place of fear? Thoughts from author @EdieMelson on @NovelRocket (Click to Tweet)

Edie Melson—author, blogger, speaker—has written numerous books, including her most recent, While My Child is Away. She’s also the military family blogger at Guideposts.org. Her popular blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and a member of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She’s the the Social Media Director for Southern Writers Magazine, Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy, and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com.

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Don't Look Back on Your Writing Journey With Regrets—9 Things to Avoid

Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains ChristianWriters Conference and the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy. She’s also the Military Family Blogger at Guideposts. Com, Social Media Director for SouthernWriters Magazine and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Life is full of regrets and the writer's life is no different. But since I'm a few years further down the path than a lot of you, I thought I'd share some things I wish I'd done differently. These are some regrets you don't have to have if you pay attention now.

1. Following the trends instead of writing what’s on your heart. It’s tempting to think this or that is hot right now and an easy sell. The truth is, nothing is an easy sell. It all takes work. And more than that, it takes time. Chasing a trend will doom you to always being behind.

2. Not investing more time in your dream. All around you are opportunities to grow as a writer. Whether it’s local writing groups, online classes or chats, or conferences. Making your dream a priority is important.

3. Letting others define success. Success is different for each of us. If we let someone else’s definition guide us, we’ve lost our way.

4. Not saying yes to stretching your writing muscles. Courage is essential in this business. It’s what so often separates success from failure. If I only did what I knew I could, I’d never grow as a writer.

5. Listening to the negative voices in your head. We all have them, no matter where we are in the writing journey. The only difference is whether or not we choose to believe them.

6. Not networking more. In this business, as much or more than any other, it’s who you know. Building relationships can keep you sane, give you valuable leads, and open the doors to publication.

7. Submitting stuff too early in the editing process. It’s tempting to get frustrated with the process and think something is good enough. Every single time I tried that short cut it ended in failure.

8. Not writing more. Isaac Asimov was once asked what he’d do if he found out he only had six months to live. His answer haunts me. “Write faster.”

9. Letting the jealousy and pettiness of others derail your progress. It’s a competitive field and for some, winning is everything. These few can beat you down to build themselves up, if you let them. Don’t.

This is what’s on my list. What’s on yours?

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The Journey of a Two-Continent Writer

by Edie Melson

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet debut author Heather Marshall at a local writers group. Her writing journey intrigued me from her introduction. She's originally from Scotland, but lives in South Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. We convinced her to share a reading from her new novel, The Thorn Tree, and I was totally captivated. I went home and purchased the book on my Kindle and finished it the next day. I knew she was a writer I wanted to introduce on Novel Rocket. She agreed to this interview and I hope you enjoy getting to know her as much as I have.

Heather G. Marshall

Originally from Kilmarnock, Scotland, Heather G. Marshall is a writer and teacher now living in Greenville, South Carolina with her children, dogs, cat, Royal Enfield motorbike and a set of great highland bagpipes. In her writing, she likes to explore the connection between—or disconnection from—the characters and the natural environment. When she isn’t writing, you can find her tromping or riding over the hills here or, when she can get away with it, on the other side of the Atlantic.

Give us a little background on your writing journey. I know you’ve won several awards for short fiction. When did you start writing?

I started writing when I was a child. I have loved books as far back as I can remember. One of my grandfathers had a shelf in his bookcase reserved for books for me. I could go and pick one, bring it to him and count on him stopping whatever he was doing to read to me. Writing seemed like a natural extension of that. A friend and I wrote a children’s picture book when we were eight or nine. I kept writing, majored in English in college and have worked as a writer for newspapers and magazines as well as doing technical writing and grant writing. Even with all of that, I didn’t really take creative writing seriously until I began in the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. I loved writing fiction, creative nonfiction and the occasional poem, but it was something I did on the side until Queens, even though I’d won a couple of awards. Part of what I got from the MFA program was my own full commitment to my work. 

I hear a lot of writers say that the first book they’ve written isn’t the first book published. Has that been the case for you or was The Thorn Tree your first novel?

The Thorn Tree is my second novel. (I’m not counting the science fiction novel I wrote in high school)! My goal with the first novel was just to get from beginning to end. I had started a few longer pieces and not seen them through. I finished, polished and submitted to a few agents. I got some nibbles here and there but ultimately decided to put it away and work on something else. I do not intend to go back to it. I’m glad I did it. And glad I moved on.

I know that you’re from Scotland, how has that played into your choice of publisher? I’m delighted to have found MP Publishing, and, obviously, that they like my work enough to publish it. I grew up in Scotland and still have lots of family and friends there. Over the past few years, I’ve won a couple of awards and had several stories published there. There are lots of wonderful writing communities there. In addition, The Thorn Tree is set on both sides of the Atlantic—more in Scotland than in the US—so I am thrilled to have a publisher that has a presence on both sides of the Atlantic as well.

Everyone has an opinion about how to launch a book these days. What are you and your publisher doing?

We are launching the book here in South Carolina and in Scotland. I’ll be over in the Isle of Skye for the Scottish launch in July. I think there are great connections in both places. In addition, partly because the book is set in Scotland and partly because I play that bagpipes in a band and am involved in that community, I’m hoping to make connections for the book there, through vendors at highland games and Scottish festivals across the US.

Can you give us a peek at your writing schedule and how you stay motivated?

My alarm goes off a 04:30 five or six days a week. I hit snooze a couple of times, usually, and then get up and get on with it. Most days, I love it. I love exploring new characters. I love researching places and elements in each story. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that the days where everything feels like a struggle are just part of the deal.

What do you have planned next?

I just finished the last story for a collection of short stories, so I’ll be looking to get that to publication soon. I’m picking back up with a novel-in-stories that is loosely based on my own adoption and reunion. Some of the stories are fiction and some are creative nonfiction, and, although they are all connected to the adoption and reunion, what’s at the core of all of them is an exploration of the creation or disintegration of identity.

Any advice for new writers?

Write. Every day. (At least five days a week). Get involved in a writers’ group. If you aren’t aware of one, start one. At first, it doesn’t matter what everyone’s skill level is; it’s more about developing a community and having some accountability. Yes, it is also important to read; however, if you find yourself reading and reading and reading and not writing then you are a reader (thank you—we need readers). Get writing. Trust your own voice. Commit.

Final question, if you could travel back in time, what would you share with your earlier self to encourage her on the writing journey?

See above! In particular, I would tell myself to trust my own voice.  I would give myself permission to fully commit to writing many years before I actually did.

You can also connect with Heather on her website .

Edie Melson is the author of four books, as well as a freelance editor with years of experience in the publishing industry. Connect with her on her blog – The WriteConversation, Twitter or Facebook.

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