Find Your Motivation
Do you have a story inside you, burning to get out? Or do you have a nonfiction book that could help people or improve the world? Then you must write it!
Once you’ve written a number of stories, scripts, or books, you may find that writing becomes something of an addiction — or at least part of your routine. Personally, I find that writing aids my mental health and that setting a schedule helps me feel good about what I have accomplished — and the life balance I have achieved.
You can set a writing schedule using this Writing Schedule Worksheet.
That said, writing projects are complicated, and require a large time commitment. Whether you are writing a novel or a nonfiction book, a play, or a script, there has to be something at the heart of it that will keep you going when the writing gets hard. What are you passionate about? What would you write if no-one was ever going to see it? What would you want everyone to know?
Explore that with the Who Am I as a Writer Worksheet.
Different writers find different motivations. A lot of this is based on learning style and personality type. While you will soon figure out I am all about the worksheets — I don’t actually have a worksheet for that. But there are tests you can take to determine those things. And once you have an idea of the kind of things that motive you, you can arrange your writing space, writing time, and organizational files to accommodate your strengths and preferences. For example, I’m a kinesthetic learner, so I tend to block out scenes with whatever objects are handy. (Okay, here Kyle’s the saltshaker and Esteban’s this sugar packet, and they have to get past this bowl of salsa to reach the time machine.) My secondary learning style is visual, so I color code everything, including the notes in my manuscript — to the point where my husband, who is my alpha reader, can be like, :so you just want me to read the purple, and later we’ll talk about the green.” I like charts, so it motivates me to see a word count goal for the day and know I at least hit it. As an instructor, I have to say, even with adult classes, you’d be surprised at the motivating factor of a sticker. Or of a competitive timed word count challenge with prizes from the hundred Yen store.
You Can Do It!
I know that sounds like trite advice. But honestly, nothing can stop you from finishing a book if you keep showing up at the keyboard. If you are writing a long work, and you manage only a page a day, you’ll have a book or a script within a year. If you work in short form, you could set a goal to write a short story or an article within a week or two.
Most people who set out to write a book never do. Even those who start a book often have no plan for what to do. According to a survey by The Synergy Whisperer, ninety-seven percent of people who start to write a book don’t finish it. That can often be attributed to not having a plan for completing the project. I have a lot of students who walk into my classes and are completely bemused by the idea of having a writing schedule or a timeline for completing their projects. Some folks sweat when they realize that writing homework is going to be due on a weekly basis. But once they get used to the idea — it changes everything.
Even if you’ve published or have completed multiple writing projects, you can still find yourself lost in the middle of a sagging act 2, or face an unexpected roadblock. I’ve been teaching creative writing for adults (yes, I also teach kids and teens camps) since 2008, and I have been an author coach since 2015. I won’t say I’ve seen it all when it comes to hitches in otherwise functional writing — but I have seen a lot. A common issue somewhat experienced writers face is needing to put new tools in their writing toolbox. Discovery writing works if you have a clear vision for the project, but if you find yourself needing to turn in the next book in a series and you don’t have time to develop that vision naturally — or you’re just blocked, you may need to learn how to outline. If you just can’t get a bead on a particular characters, you may need to study a bit about psychology.
As Hemingway said, “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
Level Up Your Writing Skills!
If you want to write for publication, it is essential to keep working as that metaphorical apprentice, learning technique so you can present the most polished book, story or script possible. Even if you write as a hobby or for a legacy project, it can be rewarding to improve as a writer. Some of this will come with practice, but classes, writer’s groups and textbooks / media resources can help grow your skills exponentially faster than writing in a vacuum.
Check Out:
I offer classes through continuing education at UT Arlington and at Kaimichi Tech, in Oklahoma. These are predominantly Zoom-based courses, so feel free to attend from anywhere. I am in the process of recording videos for an on-demand video-based course as a companion for Story Like a Journalist, the textbook I wrote to go along with my UTA Novel Writing Units 1 – 6 classes.
I am the founder and discussion leader of Saturday Night write. As I said above, I’ve been a writing instructor since 2008 and an author coach since 2015. I started Saturday Night Write in 2009 as a way to help writers keep growing after they had completed my continuing education classes at UT Arlington. Since then, the group has grown into a supportive community of dedicated writers — but still remains friendly to newcomers. We meet once a month for an hour and a half discussion, usually on a topic that isn’t broad enough for an entire multi-session class.
When dealing with student homework or a client manuscript, I focus on sound psychological character creation, and will help you ensure that your characters are displaying agency right off the bat. This will ensure that your story has the kind of momentum agents and editors are looking for.
My textbook/workbook Story Like a Journalist expands on my editorial philosophy, focusing on creating a logical story world and a plot that forces characters to arc in a way that gives a story meaning. The idea is to create a Story Bible as a reference resource for your fictional world, and to use worksheets to fill in details you may not have even thought to ask. You won’t need all the worksheets for a single writing project, but you will have the tools you need to craft vivid, sensory fiction. James Scott Bell said the workbook is, “Full of helpful tips and worksheets a writer can use at any stage–brainstorming, outlining, writing the draft, revising. By taking a journalistic approach it encourages thinking of your story, settings and characters as real, deepening the fictive dream for the reader.”
Enjoy your writing journey! — Amber Royer.
Q&A on My Writing Process
Q. Are you traditionally of self published?
My Chocoverse space opera series was traditionally published by Angry Robot Books. My Bean to Bar Mysteries are Independently Published through my personal Imprint, Golden Tip Press. This gives me experience with a variety of publishing models and the ability to give advice for writers hoping to pursue both.
Q. Where else have you taught?
I worked for multiple years with Writing Workshops Dallas, and during the pandemic I frequently did submission package critiques for Writing Day Workshops. In addition to working with adults, for both UT Arlington and Wiring Workshops Dallas, I have presented numerous camps and workshops for teen writers. When I was still an aspiring writer, I spent five years as a youth librarian, where I organized teen writers’ groups and teen writing contests.
Q. What are some of your nonfiction interests?
In addition to two cookbooks co-authored with my husband, I have published a number of articles on gardening, crafting and cooking for print and online publications. . You can find me here, blogging about creative writing technique and people I’ve met who do craft chocolate.
Q. Do you use your own worksheets?
Sometimes, yes. I’ve been writing for a long time now, so a lot of mechanics just come as second nature. But for a new project, I tend to go back to character interviews, letting the characters speak to tell me who they are. And when I’m looking at a project that isn’t part of my cozy mystery series (which already has a set structure) a beat sheet is a must to test if I have a sound structure. Whenever I give a class an update on my writing and mention that I’ve used a worksheet or a technique taught in class, the students giggle. But then I say, “I’m not just teaching this stuff.” These are writing concepts I learned the hard way, and worksheets I built to help folks implement concepts that can be difficult to apply when you are learning them.
Q. Can you describe your overall philosophy on fiction writing?
For the most part people write fiction to heal. We tell ourselves the stories that allow us to make sense of the world, and we take our characters on journeys to become better people. Usually, inside that is something we don’t understand, about ourselves or the world, that we would like to make sense of. Or we design a character flaw caused by the same (or somehow adjacent) trauma or lack that we have experienced. So when the character arcs past it, we gain a little bit of a key about how to heal ourselves too. I am certainly not the same person I was before each of my books, and I’ve told myself a lot by writing them. Even something like the Chocoverse, with the paparazzi and the carnivorous aliens, had a lot to say about not caring too much about what others think of you, which is something I’ve always struggled with. That said, you must also write to entertain. This means creating characters that appeal to readers—flaws and all. And you have to craft a plot that not only pushes your characters to arc, it must keep readers turning pages.
Q. How do you approach writing nonfiction?
Much the same as I approach writing fiction. I look for the characters involved and the story to be told. My writing textbook Story Like a Journalist discusses how journalism techniques can be used in fiction writing, because story has the same basic building blocks whether you are using them for fiction or fact. You can flip the idea back. Even when you’re looking for a need your audience has that your book or article can address, understanding the narrative that led them to that need can help you write in a way that will truly address it. And including narrative stories in your nonfiction can bring home points in ways a mere recitation of the facts can’t.
Q. What is the point of fiction?
Aristotle said the whole point of tragedy is catharsis. And I believe that expands to fiction writing. Catharsis is the emotional cleansing that comes at the end of a good story. We have laughed with your characters and cried with them, seen their setbacks — and in the end we finally see them succeed, to varying degrees. We have been moved by what we have witnessed, and sometimes irrevocably changed. We talk a lot about character arcs and catharsis. It’s true, even in comedy. If there isn’t some weight underneath the jokes, something about the story that changes your character, I don’t care how funny it is, it’s not going to be memorable.
Q. What is the point of nonfiction?
The point of nonfiction is to change the reader’s life in some way. Sometimes this is obvious, as with pieces showing life in different parts of the world. Or those outlining a serious concern, with the intent of broadening the reader’s perspective. But even if you are presenting a recipe, or ten tips for decluttering a bedroom, you are hoping the reader implements your advice and that his life is changed incrementally for the better. You would feel satisfaction if a reader contacted you to say she enjoyed the recipe and it was a hit with her family. Not a big thing. Not lifechanging for you. But that sense of connection is what makes nonfiction writing worthwhile.
Q. How do you handle editing?
It’s an essential part of writing. I tend to put placeholders in my drafts as I go. (I color code everything, so instead of stopping to look up the description of, say, a secondary character introduced two books ago who has a bigger part in this one, I’ll just type, Insert description of character based on info from BOOKNAME,” highlight it in green and leave it for future me to deal with. I actually enjoy editing. It is taking something rough and fixing the comic timing so the joke lands, or filling in the setting details so the emotional scene carries more weight. It is also a bit like checking in the mirror before going out in public to make sure you don’t have spinach in your teeth. Once a reader experiences your work, even if you revise it later, you can’t recapture the weight of a first impression.
Q. What does your writing space look like?
I’m a have-laptop-will-travel kind of gal. I write in coffee shops, in otherwise boring rooms, such as while waiting for being called for jury duty, even sometimes in a spare cubicle at Jake’s office. I mean, his office has freely flowing coffee and an ergonomic setup, after all. Technically I have a desk at home, but I don’t feel creative facing a wall, so I’m more likely to be in the living room, or at the dining room table. I have a background in the dining room, above our coffee nook, with some of my books displayed where I take Zoom calls and record podcast interviews.