Outline of Choose Your Own Writing Adventure Talk

In the last few years, I have become increasingly fascinated by

choices. It is estimated that adults make 35,000 decision everyday. That

number may seem wrong, but think about all the choices that you have

made just in the last hour. You made choices about what you would put on

your plate at dinner, where you would sit, what you would say, if you would

clean up your tray. That’s a lot of choices we get to make!

That is what we are going to do tonight. And you are the main

character, and we are going to look at your writing adventure and choices.

If you follow me on social media, or hang out at Go Teen Writers, you

may already know that I am completely obsessed with this quote from

Pastor Andy Stanley: “Decision by decision, you are writing the story of

your life.”

I think about this quote every day. It shapes the way I view my life,

and for that I am grateful.

comments on Instagram, or catch up with friends on Facebook.

But you know what I have started doing? When I catch myself doing

this, I have started asking myself, “Is this what I want the story of my

morning to be? That Eli colored by himself, and I pretended to be

interested while I was really glued to my phone?”

No. Of course that is not the story that I want. But sometimes it is the

story I choose to tell, the story I decide to create with my decisions.

And with how long I have been writing professionally, I have seen

writers find themselves telling stories they never wanted to tell. Stories like

this:

I didn't think that agent was right for me, but I signed anyway

because a bad agent seems better than no agent.

Or

I am really passionate about immigration reform, but nobody wants

to read about that. So I am writing romance novels instead.

And, so as not to pick on romance novels, “I really want to write

romance novels, but I am afraid that everyone will think less of me.”

So tonight, we are going to talk about the question, “What kind of

writer do you want to be?”

The question is much bigger than what genre you write, or if you’re

The idea that we are accountable for our own choices and are free to

make better ones is fundamental to the QBQ. Sometimes people think they

have no choice. They’ll say things like, “I have to” or “I can’t.” But we always

have a choice. Always. Even deciding not to choose is making a choice.

Realizing this and taking responsibility for our choices is a big step toward

making great things happen in our lives.

There are things about your writing adventure that you will not get to

choose. I didn’t get to choose that I started writing before the online world

was social. I didn’t get to choose that my first book would release in an

economic depression.

But you will always get to choose what kind of writer you want to be

in the face of it. You will always get to choose how you react to new

technology, new revenue streams, new story ideas.

There is nothing wrong with not being a writer who wants to write

every day. I know there is a big push in the writing community to do that,

and in theory I'm in favor of it, and the discipline you learn is important.

But I don't think that we should feel like less than writers on the days that

we choose not to.

What I am saying is that you have to own the choice. The choice is

yours. I see lots of writers who spend time on social media complaining

about how little writing time they have, and I get it. I have very little writing

time too. But often I have found that if I am looking, I have more pockets of

When is a much more effective question. When means pulling up

your calendar and saying, “I think I can fit it here.”

If you are like me, if you let yourself ask, “Am I going to write today?”

then you spend a lot of time coming up with all the reasons why you can't.

because what you really want is obvious and ideal time.

You are looking for an entire morning, or an entire afternoon. You are

looking for time when you have already taken care of everything else on

your to-do list. you feel inspired, and you can be guarantee that nobody is

going to bother you.

But when you start asking, “When am I going to write today?” that is

when you find the little pockets of time that add up to so much.

In Rising Strong, Brené Brown says, "I've learned...if you don't put

value on your work, no one is going to do that for you."

As uncomfortable as it can feel at times, WE have to take the first

steps in respecting our writing time. If you want people to respect the time

you need to create and what you're creating, you will have to lead. You have

to choose, “This is the adventure I want to go on. This is when I’m going to

write.”

Choice: What am I going to do with my fear?

things about fear and creativity that I really love in her book, Big Magic.

“Your fear will always be triggered by your creativity, because

creativity asks you to enter into realms of uncertain outcomes, and fear

hates uncertain outcomes.”

What we get to choose in our creative adventure is what we’re going

to do about the fear. Is that how we’re going to make decisions? From

fears? How do I think that’s going to play out?

I guarantee you that you don’t want your story to be, “I didn’t do

anything with writing because I was afraid.” You may decide for lots of good

reasons that you don’t want to publish or pursue a career in writing, but

fear is not a good reason.

Choice: What am I going to write?

I was always drawn to writing young adult fiction, even before I

realized that was a genre that existed. And I thought I would outgrow it. But

even after I got out of high school, that was what I was naturally inclined to

write.

What I wanted to write was serious literature, like authors my English

teacher praised. Toni Morrison. Barbara Kingsolver. I tried super hard to

come up with ideas for these kinds of books, and I just felt blocked. I

couldn’t come up with a single thing.

That was a big moment for me of deciding, “This is the writing

adventure I’m choosing. I’m choosing to write for teens, even though I feel

a bit uncomfortable about it. It also feels right.”

I could’ve chosen to stay with literary fiction and be a frustrated,

blocked writer. It would’ve been a very boring adventure.

It’s okay if you don’t know what you want to write. It’s okay if you’re

still exploring that. It’s okay if your friends write other genres, or if you feel

like your genres isn’t as acceptable as others.

None of my writer friends write the same genre as me. My closest

And still we can sharpen and encourage each other. We don’t need to

judge what each other is writing. We just don’t.

Nobody but you is asking you to be Maggie Stiefvater or C. S. Lewis or

Jill Williamson or whoever else you look up to and admire. We have those

people and their stories already, we need your uniqueness. Your creativity.

Your stories. And you’re the only one who can do the hard work of figuring

out what those stories are.

Choice: Am I going to reach out and connect with others?

had to write was when I took a creative writing class for a semester in high

school. Other than that, I have had to chase down every idea. I have had to

chase down every opportunity.

Getting social:

This is where the most value is in social media, by the way. If you’re

wanting to build your presence, build your platform, then I strongly advise

helping other authors. Follow them on social media, interact with them,

offer to help with releases. Promote books you love.

This can be uncomfortable, but it’s huge when it’s your turn and you

need favors and endorsements.

Critiques:

This is how you get better. How you grow. Writers ask me all the time

how you know if you’re ready for an agent or editor, and my honest is

answer is, “When an agent tells you, ‘This looks good. I’m interested in

Choice: What kind of attitude am I going to have?

My senior year of high school we read Music for Chameleons by

Truman Capote. There was a forward written by him in the beginning, and

the way he described creativity really confused me. (See slide)

This wasn’t at all what I experienced when I wrote. I was only 17, and

I did not have near the experience that he did, so I thought maybe

eventually I would understand what he meant.

I am now 34, and have been working as a published writer for over 10

I have certainly had some low times with the writing business. I have

gone through droughts. I have been a disappointment to my publishing

house, which no writer wants to be.

And I have had books that are difficult. I joked that Within These

Lines was going to be the last book I ever wrote because it was hard. But I

have never felt like creativity was using a whip on me or painful to me in

any way. Or that God punished me giving me a passion for writing.

I don't mean to criticize Mr. Capote as a person, but I just don't think

it has to be that way. I don't even think it's particularly helpful, even if you

write gothic horror novels. Feeling like you are an abused slave to your

creativity, or pretending to be that, is not very sustainable.

In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert says, “If it’s bad for you, then it’s bad

sickness and in health until death do you part, then don’t make the mistake

of assuming that getting published is The Goal.

Instead the goal of the professional writer should be to grow. Unlike getting

published, “to grow” is a writing goal you will never fully accomplish. You

will never cross this off your to-do list. If you’re like me, that thought might

make your eye twitch, but recently I’ve become excited by the idea that

there’s no limit on my potential growth as a writer.

I read this quote several years ago in one of John Maxwell’s book, and it’s

challenge and see what all you can do?” - Jim Rohn

You have the choice about growing as a writer, or as a creator. That means

part of the adventure you choose is how far you’re going to go, how much

you’re going to challenge yourself.

The most important things in my life are things that I’ve taken a risk

on even knowing there will be pain and mistakes and flat-out failure at

times. Marriage. Having kids. Publishing books. Following Jesus.

I struggle with perfectionism, which is just fancy, socially acceptable

And I’m still writing. If my contemporary YA titles had taken off, I never

would have started writing historicals, and I’m so happy with that.

My first blog failed. The only person who read the first blog I created

was my mom. I learned from it. If that blog had been successful, I never

would have started Go Teen Writers.

I tried hard to write perfectly, blog perfectly, publish perfectly. And it

just doesn’t exist.

shelves, what would you say?”

Her answer was:

“Don’t be afraid.