No, you don't have to write every day 🙌
Today's guest is author Jessica Francis Kane
Even if you haven’t published yet, you’re still a writer.
Your identity as a writer isn’t determined by a book contract or a publishing house, but by your passion and effort.
The moment you put pen to paper or fingers to keys with the intent of telling a story, you become a writer.
Every idea you’ve shaped, every draft you’ve completed, and every revision you’ve fought through is proof that you are a writer.
If writing every day doesn’t work for you, don’t do it.
The often-touted advice that a serious writer must produce words daily simply doesn’t work for every author, and it does not define whether you’re a “real” writer or not. While some authors thrive by setting daily word count goals, others become stifled by it. As long as the words get on the page in their own time, you’re writing.
In today’s interview, author Jessica Francis Kane shares her approach to a productive writing day, how she made time for writing with a new baby, and the best feedback she ever received.
OUR SPECIAL GUEST TODAY IS…
Jessica Francis Kane
Author
Her latest novel, FONSECA, is about English author Penelope Fitzgerald’s 1952 trip to northern Mexico.
What is the most memorable writing tip or technique that you have heard, and how did it influence your process?
I don’t remember where it came from, but somewhere along the way I accepted the idea that you don’t have to sit at the desk every day to be a good writer. For years I was trying to be a daily-word-count writer, and that technique works for many. But it is not for everyone.
When I embraced the idea that I could make a productive day out of walking, reading, going to a museum, seeing a play, etc., it took so much pressure off, and I actually started writing more.
What’s been the toughest moment in your publishing journey, and how did you get through it?
When I was pregnant with my first child, I was also working on a first novel. I had published my first book, a collection of short stories, the year before, in 2002, and I really wanted to sell the novel before my daughter was born. I worked so hard to get about 100 pages together, sent them to my agent at the time (I have a different one now), and she went out with them, but there were no takers. It was such a blow.
I see now that I was rushing everything. I thought I had to have a book contract in order to still be a writer when I became a parent, and when the plan fell through, it was so hard. But in the end what I learned was that a book contract doesn’t make you a writer. (My mother used to say, “A grand piano doesn’t a pianist make” when I was envious of neighbors while I practiced away on our little Baldwin spinet.)
I proved this to myself by continuing to make time for writing even in the challenging, sleep-deprived, early years of having a baby. It took longer than I thought, but 8 years and another baby later, I did finally publish my first novel!
What’s the best piece of feedback you ever received? How did it change your story?
One of my early short stories is about a difficult mother/daughter relationship in which I worked endlessly on the description of the daughter’s room (the daughter is in her room a lot while the mother is downstairs drinking). The editor of my first collection gave me this note: “Leave the blue curtains alone.”
It’s so simple, but it was a revelation to me! I was going on and on in the story about the sad light through the blue curtains, and with this one short phrase he told me I didn’t need to. Ever since, I have taken a less-is-more approach. You don’t need a lot to set a scene. You just need the right details, and the reader will follow.
Ready for feedback that takes your story to the next level?
“Having Alyssa edit my manuscript was truly one of the best decisions I could have made. Her suggestions absolutely made my story better. Then, the very first agent I queried requested to read the whole manuscript after reading the revised pages we worked on!”
—Laura Geraghty, historical fiction author
What part of the writing process brings you the most joy?
My absolute favorite part of the writing process is when you have a book about 2/3 finished—a collection of stories or a novel. You can see the end, but you are so deeply in it that everything in your life suddenly seems to point to the book in some way. I get a bit scatterbrained and sleepless, but it’s so exciting. It’s like the universe is colluding with you to get the book finished.
What’s one thing you do (creatively, mentally, or physically) that helps you stay in it when writing gets hard?
I set a deadline. I imagine how I will feel when a draft of the story or novel is done and I can send it to my agent or editor for the first time. I don’t know why, but this visualization really helps and inspires me to keep my head down and keep working.
ICYMI…This week on YouTube, I’m breaking down the Seven Basic Plots, ranking each one from worst to best. Which one are you writing?
