Your Quality of Life by Beth Barany
I care that you write your novel, but I realized lately that I care more about your quality of life. All our courses are built with your full life in mind, including our upcoming Plan Your Novel October 2018 workshop.
This care of mine was brought to my attention by a lovely comment from one of Fellowship of the Pen community members:
“Beth and Ezra can teach you about writing and marketing and such, but one of the hidden values of [their courses] is the care and guidance of the writers’ spirit. That is something you will NOT find in the average writing group. It is invaluable.” — Nicole Mackey, Author
Thank you, Nicole.
I see writers contort themselves into all kinds of shame, blame, and guilt around what they are or are not doing. So much pain. So much angst.
I get it. I used to beat myself up too, when I’d realize that I hadn’t been working on my book for, like, months.
- How could I forget something so important to me?
- How could I forget that writing fiction was so essential to my well-being?
Then over time, I learned that my creative process involves writing with intensity, then taking breaks — time off.
I need those times off: I need to noodle and daydream, fill my creative deep well with other things besides writing. And do my favorite thing: absolutely nothing.
Then after a bunch of nothing, I need to connect with people, listen to music, watch lots of movies, go to a new town or new part of town.
I need to dance with my muse. And sometimes that takes me away from my work in progress. And sometimes that brings me back.
The most important thing I’ve learned is that I need to deeply listen AND respond to the needs of my muse—the ebb and flow of it, and how listening to my creativity (or muse, intuition, gut) is what makes me truly happy.
What my muse wants today is to start gently on this new story, easing in with writing 500-1000 words on the first day. And same for the following days, until the momentum builds organically, and I’m writing 1000-2000 words a day. Until that peters out, and I ease my way to The End.
How can you deeply and respectfully listen to your Muse, then act on it, in a way that’s deeply respectful of you, and all the rest of your life?
Post in the comments and let me know. I’d love to hear.
If you’re ready to ease into, or jump into, planning your novel, then consider joining us for our October Workshop. It may be too early for you to consider your October plans, or you may be ready act right now.
Plan Your Novel October 2018 workshop
Early Enrollment Open Now with special bonuses
— Plan your novel in 30 days and write with confidence!
— Get out of your writing rut!
— Discover that plotting and developing characters can be fun!And do all this in bite-sized, manageable steps!
https://school.bethbarany.com/p/plan-your-novel-30-day-challenge-oct-2018/
Have a happy creative week! Happy writing!
Best,
Beth
PS. Early Enrollment for Plan Your Novel October 2018 Workshop happening now: https://school.bethbarany.com/p/plan-your-novel-30-day-challenge-oct-2018/ — Valued at $3273. Available for $394.
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You have been reading an excerpt from the Creativity Sparks Newsletter!
Welcome!
Now in its 12th year, this newsletter is a service of my coaching and consulting business, helping genre fiction writers write, market, and publish their books through live and home study courses, a 12-month group program, and private consultations.
You may share this content intact and with no changes with this attribution:
c. 2006-2018 Beth Barany, Creativity Coach for Writers, www.BethBarany.com
Not sure which program or course is right for you? Contact Beth for a short chat.
BTW, I’m a working novelist too, with two series published in two genres, and more on the way. 🙂
ABOUT BETH BARANY
Beth Barany is creativity coach for writers, a teacher, workshop facilitator, and speaker, who helps fiction writers experience clarity, so that they can write and polish their novels, and proudly publish them to the delight of their readers.
Owner of the Barany School of Fiction, an online training hub, Beth takes great interest in how humans learn, create, and grow, and includes all her students’ life experiences, including the ancestors, into the moment.
She offers a year-long group program to help novelists edit and publish their novels. See more here.
Want a course to help you prepare to write your novel? Check out the comprehensive Plan Your Novel course here.
She’s also a novelist and writes magical tales of romance, adventure, and mystery to empower women and girls to be the heroes in their own lives.
Check out her Henrietta series here (YA Fantasy) and her Touchstone series here (Fantasy/Paranormal Romance).
Support her mission to empower women and girls with her fiction on Patreon here.
Read her latest book for writers, Twitter for Authors, here.
beth@bethbarany.com
http://bethbarany.com/
Barany School of Fiction
http://school.bethbarany.com/
Writer’s Fun Zone blog
https://writersfunzone.com/blog
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Photo Credit: by c. 2018 Ezra Barany
Image from Pixabay, Photographer silviarita
