Thursday, March 3, 2011

More Writer's First Aid: Getting the Writing Done--Book Two, by Kristi Holl



Quickie Question: What's THE MOST important factor in a would-be writer's success?  

Talent level? High-concept story ideas? Those matter, no doubt, but publication doesn't always go to the most talented or most commercial. Mastery of craft? Well, yes, but what enables us to stay the course long enough to even begin to achieve it? Having time to write? Nope, you're getting colder. :) If you're thinking along the lines of perseverance, you're getting warmer, but I'd like to state it this way: The single greatest aid to your success as a writer is creating a writing life that works for you. In her latest book, More Writer's First Aid, Kristi Holl, the author of almost 40 books and a writing instructor for over 25 years, helps you do just that.

If there's one thing Kristi knows, it's that dreams, broad goals, and well-laid plans are one matter; but working through the daily grind, interruptions, fears, procrastination, illnesses, vacations, disapproving family members, computer crashes, Facebook addictions, job demands, and too-frequent trips to the fridge are quite another. Too many days of the latter, and we won't accomplish the former. Too many days of the latter...and that becomes our life. The writing doesn't happen. But it doesn't have to be this way.  For those bugaboos that are usually our first snares--no matter how long we've been writing--there is first aid.

In a conversational, writer-to-writer style and short-chapter format, Kristi discusses many aspects of enjoying the writing life, good work habits, a writer's emotions, and home and family concerns. For example: Did you know that procrastination is a cycle? I never thought of it that way, but the good news is that cycles can be broken! Kristi shows how. And though it may be no surprise that lots of time gets eaten up online, if we can control even one aspect, such as compulsive email checking, we'll gain not only time but sustained concentration. “If the average e-mail checker takes 64 seconds to recover her train of thought," Kristi writes, "I'm guessing that the average creative writer takes longer than that. For fiction especially, you have to take time to re-enter your pretend world. You have to re-immerse yourself in your characters, the setting, the problem, and the emotional place in the current scene.” Italics mine, as I couldn't agree more!

Do you need "permission" to write what you love, what you're passionate about, instead of what you think will sell and bring in an income to "justify" your writing? You'll receive that encouragement here. Do you need to make time to write with preschoolers underfoot--or college kids home on break? There's a whole chapter on writing during the various stages of parenthood. And, sometimes, we all need to weather things much tougher than mountains of laundry, phone calls bugging us to chair this or that committee, or friends who don't get why we don't just quit already. For those hard times, there are chapters titled "Writing Through the Storms of Life" and "Writing After Major Losses." 

More Writer's First Aid: Getting the Writing Done, Book Two is available NOW in e-book format through Kristi's website (a more colorful .pdf version) and on Amazon Kindle (black and white version for Kindle, iPad, Blackberry, etc.). Having this book at hand is like having a good writer friend right in your own office.

10 comments:

Bish Denham said...

This sounds like a book I need right now....

Diane J. said...

Sounds like a great book and now I'm interested in the first book, I'm going to look up book one. Thank you!

Anne Spollen said...

Definitely an area that needs to be addressed if you are going to succeed as a writer.

Love that phrase "sustained concentration" - exactly the opposite of what happens to us once the Internet is opened.

Andrea Mack said...

Marcia, this sounds like a wise perspective.I could use this book (especially when it comes to the compulsive e-mail checking). Thanks for the review.

Marcia said...

Bish -- Yes, this is a "Help, I need a talking to" sort of book. A place to turn when you can't quite make things come together.

Diane -- I have the first one in paper, and I thumb through it often.

Anne -- Boy, isn't THAT the truth. I'm reminded of the book that said the internet is changing our brains. That we're actually losing sustained concentration. Ack!

Andrea -- This is kind of a "no temptation has come to you except what is common to man [writer]" book. It can really help to know that everybody faces their own forest of daily difficulties, but also that we have to handle them before they handle us.

Jeff King said...

Thx for the info… I’ll have to check it out. I can always use help being a better writer.

Mary Witzl said...

Yes -- this sounds like another writing book I need.

I like to think that I know all of this stuff instinctively, but I need to be reminded of it by someone more shrewd and experienced.

How to handle those people who wonder when I'll quit this loser idea of trying to write when I'm clearly not making big money -- if this book shows me how to do that alone, it'll be worth buying.

Morgan said...

Thanks for the heads up, Marcia! In the past two days I've been following your advice about "taking in" some creative writing after months and months of constantly "giving". I mustve been ravenous because in the last 36 hours I plowed through both Marcelo in the Real World (hello, wonderful, visceral descriptions!) and After Ever After. I'm feeling recharged and inspired, and I admire Kristi Holl so much for her successes. At the moment, my fondest dream is to "get the writing done" as I prepare to put the oldest son into Kindergarten, the second son through another series of brain scans and give birth to the third son. Perhaps Kristi's book would be a great manual to have around for those dark days I see looming...

Marcia said...

Jeff -- You might enjoy the first volume as well. They really are fine "grab this when you need help NOW" books.

Mary -- Even when we know it, it helps to hear it at vulnerable moments. I fear, though, that some are fixated on "big money" no matter what the pursuit is, and those may be beyond our scope.

Morgan -- I love both those books, glad you enjoyed them too. Brain scans for your son? Oh Morgan, I pray everything will be all right. Congratulations on son #3.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Kristi has a great website...I have no doubt that her book will be wonderful.