Stop waiting for the perfect writing day 🛑
Today's guest is USA Today bestselling author Halley Sutton
Waiting for inspiration to strike? Good luck.
Every writer dreams of that magical flow state — the one where the words pour out, time disappears, and writing feels effortless. But that magic rarely happens. 90% of the time, writing is messy, clunky, and hard.
If you only write when it feels easy, you’ll never finish your book.
Show up anyway — even if you have to trick yourself into it.
Don’t wait for inspiration. Set the bar absurdly — hilariously — low. Light a candle, pour a drink, or do whatever silly little ritual it takes to get yourself in the chair.
In today’s interview, editor and USA Today bestselling author Halley Sutton shares why her first drafts are intentionally rough, the seduction trick she uses to coax herself into writing on hard days, and the simple plot advice from grad school that still guides her novels today.
OUR SPECIAL GUEST TODAY IS…
Halley Sutton
Editor & USA Today Bestselling Author
Latest novel, THE HURRICANE BLONDE, available now!
What part of the writing process brings you the most joy?
I love when I get into the flow state with writing, where time melts away and you feel like you’re under the skin of the story. I love it when it feels like the words come out in the exact right order, and it’s all easy.
That said, that happens maybe...ten percent of the time I write?
When I was younger, I used to want to write only when I got into that flow state. What I’ve discovered, particularly in writing books, is that that’s a nice-to-have, not a need to have.
Now, my first drafts are often very, VERY messy because I’m not living under the skin of the book yet—I’m teaching myself how to get there. That’s also a necessary part of the process, especially to actually get through a draft of a book!
What’s one thing you do (creatively, mentally, or physically) that helps you stay in it when writing gets hard?
Sometimes I have to seduce myself into writing, when the writing gets hard. For me, this looks like cleaning up a corner of my house, lighting some candles, turning on my record player (because it’s way vibey-er than Spotify) and pouring myself a little nonalcoholic beverage. I have to coax myself into writing like a scared little fawn into a meadow by cosplaying a Romantic Writer Who Writes, Dammit.
That may not be what your romantic writing setup looks like, and if I had to do this setup every time I tried to write, I’d never get anything done. BUT when you’re really struggling, I’ve found that sometimes really making the effort to curate my setting signals to my brain that we’re serious about our creativity, we’re making the time and space for it, and now we need to get into it.
What is the most memorable writing tip or technique that you have heard, and how did it influence your process?
In grad school, I had one professor give me a really simple piece of plot advice that I’ve held onto ever since. This is something that I suspect many of us know intuitively, but hearing it spoken aloud really clicked for me: You should solve your plot strands in reverse order of importance.
For example, your C plot should be resolved first, then your B plot, and finally, your A plot. I think this is most helpful when you get into really plotting out the second half of your book — whether you plot ahead of time, or do a reverse outline after a first draft — it basically gives you a roadmap to the end of your book.
Like I said, this is something that I think a lot of us intuitively understand, but hearing it said out loud was a lightbulb as I was trying to figure out how to bring all the strands of my first book together.
Psst: I wrote a book! Check it out ☺️
When life gets busy, how do you protect your time to write?
The current best tool I have for protecting my writing when things get busy is to set the bar for writing as low as it can be. For me, that looks like telling myself I only have to write two hundred words a day. And they do not have to be good words! Two hundred words is a really small chunk for me but sometimes, even that might not be manageable. Then I halve it — one hundred words.
The point is forcing myself to sit down and engage with my manuscript daily, even on days when I’m exhausted. That doesn’t mean I manage to write every day. But even on most of my busy days, I can manage, if I make the goal small enough, to achieve it.
Life comes in busy seasons and less busy seasons. I think the key is just to not let the busy seasons take you so far away from your manuscript that it’s really hard to get back to it.
Ready for feedback that takes your story to the next level?
“I have greatly benefitted from my collaboration with Alyssa; I would not be where I am today without her! Her developmental ideas and vision for my novel taught me so much and helped to elevate my work in highly effective ways. Her editorial fingerprint is evident in the final result—a novel on bookshelves nationwide.”
—Jill Beissel, author of Glitter and Gold
What’s one thing about the publishing process no one tells you, but should?
There’s so much waiting! When you start to query, you’re waiting to hear back from agents. When you’re out on submission, you’re waiting to hear back from editors. You’re even waiting for your editor’s feedback for different lengths of time, depending on how busy they are.
You really, really, REALLY need good outlets to distract you during all that waiting. That might be starting a new book if you can manage it, or taking up a new hobby, or watching every single James Bond film in order. Whatever it is, find something to distract yourself that you can submerge yourself in for many, many, many long waits!
What’s a myth about publishing or being an author that you wish more people understood?
That your book has to be a big hit to be a success. Most books that get published do not sell hundreds of thousands (or even tens of thousands!) of copies. Most books do not earn out. That doesn’t mean your publisher didn’t make money on it, by the way. That’s another myth.
But besides the feeling of personal accomplishment, being published can bring other opportunities your way: speaking opportunities, book review opportunities, teaching opportunities. Your career is not over if your book doesn’t hit the NYT bestsellers list!
In your publishing journey, there are going to be things that happen that disappoint you majorly, and there are going to be things that happen that are beyond your wildest dreams. I think that’s true of every book, from biggest hit to smallest launch.
ICYMI…this week on YouTube, I’m sharing which overused character tropes are hurting fiction right now and what I’d love to see instead.
Being at work more than I'd like to, I try to be consistent with my writing. Taking advantage of my lunchbreak and doing sprints. Heck, sometimes I write in my car at my workplace's parking lot if I'm really hellbent on finishing the rough draft of a certain scene or chapter. Now that I think about it, I hardly write at home and I chill on the weekends. Sometimes I write 100 words a day, others, 3000. Just depends. Regardless of daily word count, I try to be consistent when I can. 😊
Also having a Freewrite helps me focus more than my laptop.
Love this. They don't have to be good words! Just write. Great encouragement and reminders here.