Last night my husband and I finished watching Friday Night Lights. We’d been working our way through the five-season series on Hulu all summer and it seemed appropriate, on this holiday weekend before the chaos of our Fall started, to stay up and finish the remaining episodes. It was a delightful binge.

Throughout the summer, I’ve shared with people that we are watching/re-watching the show. When I mention Friday Night Lights, I get an array of reactions. Most of them sound something like this.

“Ahhh, I love that show!”

“I failed so many finals because of that show.”

“It’s the best, isn’t it?”

“We should watch that one again.”

These comments come from people of a wide variety of ages, careers, and stages in life. As a writer, it makes me wonder what made this show so great. How was it able to reel in so many different people? I’ll try to digest this in the points below.

One of my favorite tasks as a classroom teacher was buying books for my students. Whether they were for our classroom library, for lit circle selections, or for my favorite part of each class, our read aloud, I loved picking out books! I tried to choose stories that would not only entertain my students, but books that would also help them grow their reading skills, their empathy for others and their understanding of the world. 

More than ever there is a push for diversity in the books we as authors, educators and booksellers offer to children. The ultimate goal is to write, share and sell books that will allow kids of all backgrounds to see themselves on the printed page. This call for diversity goes far beyond the racial and cultural issues that dominate our news. One trusted resource available for teachers, parents and even writers, is We Need Diverse Books. The goal of his organization is to help promote literature for children and young adults that features a diverse cast of characters. 

I’ve tried to help these efforts in a few small ways.

As a creative I find it hard to experience something magical and not wonder at the process that created the result. As I sit in the Orlando International airport waiting to board my return flight, I find myself doing exactly that – reflecting on just what exactly did Disney do to create the magic we experienced the last seven days? What, as a writer, could I learn from my vacation experience? The answer is oh, so many things!

I’m offering up a little something different on my blog this week, a photo essay. I recently went to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, home of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Instead of spending my time behind a desk, this week I have been putting in full, memory making days with my family. Thus, I haven’t had time to write a proper word (outside of a Facebook post or seven). So rather than a typical Writing Wednesday post, I am giving you this. Also, I figured a few of your word nerds might enjoy the sights and accompanying captions!

A word of warning. If you’d prefer to be surprised when entering this magical world yourself, stop reading right now. Spoilers are contained! I believe, however, that nothing on the internet can truly capture the magic one feels when physically entering a world that previously existed only inside your mind, so even if you do plan to travel to Florida to see this dynamic destination, I’d encourage you to continue forward and join me on my magical journey.

The writing world can be a frustrating place at times. The normal rules of business communication often do not apply. The speed at which our modern culture moves seems entirely absent amongst the methodical plodding projects in the publishing realm. The people in charge, the feedback, the validation are forever seeming beyond arm’s length, behind closed doors and maddeningly out of reach. I mean, in what other industry do people straight up tell you, “We’ll likely take six months to respond, and then, only if we are interested”???

And yet, here I am. Here we are. Writing, submitting, hoping. Either gluttons for punishment or humans with dreams who refused to be deferred, we stay in the game. We keep showing up, trying, writing.

Today’s post comes from guest author, writing friend and marketing guru Valerie Biel!

When I began writing fiction professionally, I had no idea the number of things I would need to learn on the way to publication and beyond. I will never forget the many people who provided kind mentorship in those early months. Now, ten years later, it’s incredibly fun to do the same for other writers.

But let’s back up for just a minute. It was 2009, and I made a decision to radically change my professional world. My sister had been diagnosed with a terminal cancer—the same cancer that took my oldest sister a few years prior. I was devastated and reevaluated my priorities. Having always wanted to write the stories germinating in my mind, I stepped back from many of my other responsibilities to create my first full-length story—a novel. Daunting!

It took a year to finish the rough draft. That’s when my real education about publishing began.

This week I’m spending time at our family cabin. Actually, it’s not ours, we rent it. But one week a year, since the time I was 12, my family goes north to a lake to swim, golf, play cards, sit by the campfire, eat, sleep, and swat bugs TOGETHER. All 35 (or so) of us. Together for one week. It’s heaven. Honestly, my kids would pick CABIN over CHRISTMAS.

So I’m sorry, but I’m there, and not here, on my blog, as I usually am, each and every single Wednesday. I am on a Blogcation. But never fear. I have not totally abandoned you.

For the last year or so I have been working with a start-up company called Big Shared World to build, edit and share their projects with the world. Big Shared World is a cultural connectivity company hoping to inspire curiosity. Their overall goal is to bring people together in both shared spaces and shared conversations. When founder Colleen Waterston traveled the world (40 countries over the course of a year and a half!) she discovered that even though we are more globally connected than ever, we as humans are not connecting. She wants to fix that and I’m doing my best to help.

For Big Shared World I sometimes act as an editor, sometimes a content creator, sometimes a graphic designer, sometimes an event booth worker and sometimes I just hang out, listen and learn. It’s been a great experience, and now, for the first time, I want to show you some of this work.

Something you may not know about me is that I’m a bit of an environmentalist. On my recent nine day writing road trip I carried bags of plastic bottles and aluminum cans home with me because Northern Michigan only recycles Michigan made plastic through the depository system, and the cabin I was at in Northern Minnesota didn’t have a recycling pick up in it’s rural community. This might sound absurd, but just like the man in the famous starfish story, I believe every little bit counts and helps keep our planet habitable longer.

I’ve written about the environment in the past. You can check out 4 small changes I made last summer as I endeavored to do my part for the planet in this blog post, and read about the interesting relationship I, as an author, have with trees and paper consumption in this post.

Lately the news about climate change and the rate of our eventual destruction has been alarming to say the least.

Today’s Writing Wednesday post was written by my friend Angela Lam. Once, a few years ago, Angela traveled all the way from California to speak to my middle school students in Tomah about her memoir Red Eggs and Good Luck. She shared with us the ways in which she wrote about her life in her pre-teen years and how real life can be a source of inspiration, even when real life is hard or confusing. It was a great experience for all of us. Today, in celebration of the release of her new book, The Divorce Planner, Angela is here to talk with us about creativity.

Just like any natural resource, creativity needs to be nurtured and replenished. Otherwise, the creative well dries, leaving you stranded in the middle of a project. How do you keep your most precious commodity fully engaged and optimally functioning? Over the past twenty years of writing, painting, and other creative pursuits, I’ve learned a few techniques to keep your creativity flowing.

Perhaps there was a time twenty-five years ago or maybe as long ago as a century, that people believed writers were reclusive, loaners, separate from the world as they did their work. It’s not hard to believe in the stereotype that authors live their lives away from everyone else wrapped in the world their words have created. This may still be true for some people on some days, but for the most part, a working writer is no longer allowed to live on their own, kept company only by the characters they create. These days in order to make a living, a writer must venture outside their office, outside their den, outside their cave of creativity to interact with readers and teach and travel and experience… and I personally would not have it any other way.

On this Writing Wednesday I will be coming home for the first time in nine days. For the past week and a half, I have divided my attention time and driving miles across three states and three different tasks, all that fall within the new realm that is authorprenuership.

One of my favorite things to do as a writer is respond to a prompt. It takes that intimidating white page and landscapes it with way points. Plainly put, it gives you a place to start. I often try to take a random prompt and apply it to a project I’m working on. Sometimes it feels like a stretch, but other times it forces me to look at my characters or story world from a new angle and I come up with something interesting. Whether I’m adding words to my work in progress or just playing around (which is good too!) I’m actively improving my craft by putting words on the page.

Occasionally, you can even get paid to write for prompts. I’ve gathered a list of them here.

I have so much fun submitting my writing to these types of opportunities that I wanted to give the whole, “hosting a writing contest thing” a try myself. So, today I have gathered for you a variety of interesting prompts and created a writing contest. Choose one, write to it, polish it up and then email it back to me. I will choose one talented writer to give the following…

I’ve often said that I don’t particularly enjoy the genre of realistic fiction. I choose to read as an act of escape – to get lost in an adventure far from home, be it in the past of a historical fiction or a new world presented in a fantasy or science fiction novel. It’s why I rarely watch TV… it’s so much like real life… and I already spend most of my day there.

But lately the books I have most enjoyed reading take place firmly in our real world. This realization made me think about how much fun I had writing Champion Chocolatier and Reality Bites, both light-hearted chick-lit and also REALISTIC FICTION. I’m at the beginning stages of a new adult book and I’m betting it won’t take you too many guesses to figure out it’s genre. All things considered, I feel like I am turning over a new leaf and looking at this genre through a new lens.

Exactly one year ago today I made the leap from full time teacher to full-ish* time writer. I’m proud to say that I have not only survived this first year, but thrived. I was able to financially contribute to my family’s budget, increase my connections and events, and manage to balance a schedule of many diverse writing tasks… all while having a great time. I often tell people that I am now living my best life.

As I reflect on this past year, there are a few things that stick out as I transitioned from “hobbyist” to “pro”. If you are thinking of taking a leap into a new career, especially a creative career, read on to vicariously pick up a few lessons I’ve learned on my own journey down this path.

One of my school visit presentations is titled: The 7 Pieces of the Storytelling Puzzle. In it I talk to students about the seven pieces I think are necessary in putting together a solid story. Do you know what piece #1 is? The element that is more important than any other? Here are the clues I give the students to help them figure it out.

The answer? Time.

Just like any other skill, writing requires and investment of time. Want to be a fast swimmer? Gotta get in the pool. Want to improve your free throw shooting percentage? Better get on the court. Want to be a better writer? Then you need to spend some time getting words on the page.

But it’s more than that.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about the advice, “write what you know”. In it, I shared how I used my real life to create characters, conversations, and setting details. I explained how I was, for the first time in my life, able to use authentic details from my own life to essentially word vomit eight chapters of a new story onto the page. This week I’m going to walk you through an exercise that will step by step, help you to do the same.

I’m not making any promises, but I’ve run this writing workshop twice – once with both my local critique group (a part of the Mississippi Valley Writer’s Guild) and a second time with a group of talented writers at the North of 45 Writing Retreat – and both times participants found it yielded topics ideas and details they hadn’t previously considered fodder for stories. I am hopeful it can do the same for you!

Being an author is one of the biggest blessings in my life. I love that writing stories is my job, one I sometimes even get paid for. :) But I think I’d be kidding myself, and the rest of you, if I said it was easy all the time.

The fact of the matter is that writing can be difficult. Muses can be elusive. The publishing industry can be a cold-hearted, ghost of a boss. At times competitors seem to find the answer, the trend, the right connection, the words sooner and faster than you.

So today’s blog post is one of motivation. A little boost, to you and your writer’s soul. Hang in there. Keep writing. Tell your story. But first, pause, read these words of encouragement and know that you are not alone in your struggle and pursuits. I’m happy to ride the wave alongside you. Sometimes all you need is a little inspiration!

If you are a writer, you have undoubtedly heard the advice, “write what you know”. Honestly, I’ve always kind of dismissed it. My favorite genres to read and write have always been fantasy and adventure. My middle-class, Midwestern life didn’t’ really seem to match up with the stories I wanted to make up and tell. I could occasionally pull from a vacation location for setting details and mimic my students’ preteen language in my characters’ dialogue, but that didn’t really seem to truly encompass the advice to “write what you know”.

Last week when I started writing scene snippets for a story idea I had involving the relationship of four cousins living in La Crosse, Wisconsin, I think I finally understood. All of a sudden, a lifetime of experiences came rushing out of my head and onto the page. Summers at the cabin, phrases from text message threads, personalities of people I know, motherhood experiences, doctors’ office visits, even a stinky fish tank. I couldn’t get one scene fully fleshed out before another would come hurtling out of nowhere with blinding speed.

For the past two years writers, book lovers, fangirls, academics and general literature enthusiasts have gathered in Green Bay  for a wonderful event called UntitledTown. The fact that the festival name is wordplay itself (hinting to its shared roots as the home of famed hometown of the Green Bay Packers) will tell you just how much fun this event and the crowd of people it pulls really are.

This year was no exception. Below you will find a recap of ten takeaways from two author friends who hit the road with a trunk full of books and Diet Pepsi on Friday, and emerged on Sunday cheeks sore from smiling, hearts full of friendship and minds whirring with ideas and inspiration to put into practice.

Here are… Amanda and Christy’s Ten Take-Aways from UntitledTown 2019.

As a word nerd, I consume a LOT of paper. I prefer paperbacks to eBooks. I prefer bookstores to the library. I prefer to write longhand and then type my work, only to print it out, edit on paper and then repeat. I used to say that I WASTE a lot of paper, but in the past few years I’ve amended that mindset to confess that I USE a lot of paper. But this doesn’t change the fact that two loves of my life are in conflict. Books and our planet.

To celebrate Earth Day (week) I’ve gathered several facts (the good, the bad and the ugly) about the publishing and printing industry and paper. Hopefully, armed with these facts, we can make a can make environmentally conscious decisions when it comes to our work creation, book production and overall paper consumption.