Interview with writer: ANNABELLE! *NEW YEAR SPECIAL*
Updated: May 22, 2022
You feel like you’re doing everything humanly possible to finish writing your manuscript, but you’re just not reaching the goals you set for yourself.
Here’s the thing…
When most people set goals, they forget about them in a few weeks, and it doesn’t take long to lose focus of your writing goals and fall back into the normal routine that doesn’t work.
But what would happen if you actually achieved your goals?
Would you be filled with ultimate happiness that people were reading your books? Finally able to buy that beautiful house you’ve had your eye on? Leave your boring day job and take up writing full time?
Seriously, how different would your life be if you actually chased your goals instead of letting obstacles get in the way?
What if I told you that achieving your writing goals the right way doesn’t have to be hard?
Most of the time, the hardest part about achieving your author goals is the fears and limiting beliefs you probably tell yourself to keep you safe.
Instead of writing that chase scene through an enchanted forest full of ferocious beasts, it’s much easier to sit in front of Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.
That way, you’ll never have to face the pain or embarrassment of rejection from literary agents or readers, and you’ll never experience failure…because without trying, you can’t fail.
One of my all-time favorite quotes is: “Chase down your passion like the last bus of the night.”
If you want to change your life and become a full-time, published author, you need to try, and run like like there's no stopping!
Once you push through the fear of failure, rejection and self-doubt, you’ll learn that achieving your goals is much easier than you initially thought.
So, it’s time for you to start telling yourself that you CAN achieve your author goals. I promise you that it’s 100% possible!
A Happy new year 2022, my dear readers! I decided to kickstart this year by doing two new things: 1. Publish my workshop on how you can clarify your book idea by using a plot formula that works for anyone and everyone, you can hear more about it at the end. and 2. Another podcast interview with a close writer friend of mine! Annabelle is a writer friend of mine who goes by a pen-name when online. She's always posting content on writing and is keen to share the writing tips she has learnt throughout her journey. The name she goes by is Annabelle Monroe, It’s really a pseudonym of the character she created, who’s name she choses to go by, she absolutely adores writing! Annabelle says that it is a beautiful form of self expression and reflection of God as creator and grand story teller of life itself! When she writes she feels true joy that she has never felt doing anything else, and her hope is that her future readers will feel even feel some small part of that joy! Annabelle is currently writing a novel in a 10 book series, 5 of which she have mapped out and 3 of which she's started on. she hope to be starting college in the fall for creative writing! I hope you enjoy this interview and look out for the podcast episode later this week!
Why do you write ?
A: I love this question because I feel like it’s easy to get caught up in the “how” and forget the “why“. I’ve often said that I feel like I have hundreds of people (characters) crammed in my head, screaming to get out, for their stories to be told… so the short answer would be; I write because I can’t, not write! Writing is built into the fiber of who I am, like marrow in a bone. It allows me to process my life while still staying other centered as I try to truthfully convey the life of another. So at the root of it, I write so that just maybe, in some miraculous way, I might be able to bring joy to people through the characters who bring be such great joy everyday! C: This is a question I sometimes get a lot from my blog readers and social media followers. I don’t write for my family, I don’t write for my career, I write for myself. I want to grow as a writer and develop my personal writing skills. I write for the joy of it, I write because I can and I love it. Writing is something close to my heart and I don’t think I can ever live without it.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
A: I love reading, or listening to audiobooks if I don’t have the physical copy. I also play piano and ukulele. But even when I’m not writing one of my favorite things to do is world build in my head while I go about my daily life… it’s keeps everything more interesting! C: When I’m not writing I like to sit and journal. Journaling has been my best friend long before I found my passion to write. I especially love scrap-booking, growing up in a city, I always collect junk people throw out like tea bags or coupons and keep it in my scrapbook. Its one of my many sources of inspirations when I began to write and I continue filling the pages in my scrap-book whenever I don’t feel inspired to write.
How do you handle writers block?
A: Writers block, can’t stand the little beast! I’d say; just write it out! But practically, I do two things;
a. When you don’t know how to continue, reread what you have done so far, out loud with your own dramatization; it brings life to what feels like a dead page.
b. Just start writing whatever you are feeling in the moment from your characters perspective, and in the setting of the next scene you can’t quite make out - if you don’t have the setting either, just write in the pre-existing setting; don’t try to create a new setting and story-line at once.
C: Writers block, for me personally, was something I always found hard to handle. When I first began writing I’d tear my hair out in frustration every time I couldn’t find the word I was looking for or a scene I couldn’t properly script, at these times I always sat outside my balcony and watch the city, something about the sounds and views always calmed me down. But three books later, I manage writers block by making myself some hot tea and listening to music to get me into the writing mood once again.
Describe your perfect Hero/ Heroine
A: That is a hard one because I think that what makes a character perfect is how they deal with their imperfections. When a hero or heroine learns how to do the most good, even if it’s in an imperfect way, that’s truly beautiful! I think that the perfect hero/heroine must have relatable flaws, a realistic character arc, and a compelling backstory… as well as a distinct personality! C: This is something I want to see in a lot more books. Feminine characters with a strong personality. The biggest character cliché I always see when crafting girls with strong personalities is that they’re always portrayed with men-like qualities. Either they like cars or gaming, like most male characters do, or they enjoy what most men enjoy. This is really sexist, making a girl ’strong’ by giving her men qualities. I’d like to see more girls who enjoy wearing pink and play with dolls but are still brave and strong.
Who is an Author you admire the most in your genre?
A: Definitely, Jane Austen. But Elizabeth Gaskell is runner up! Both women were exceptional at their craft and I aspire to their greatness! C: For me, I always love Victoria Aveyard's unique writing style and voice, and I absolutely adore Holly Blacks creative worldbuilding, but Jennifer Barnes mysteries are also to dies for! Thank you again, Annabelle for taking the time to answer all of the questions! If any of you would like to connect with her, you may follow the links below: PINTEREST
New Workshop Alert!
I decided to kickstart this new year by diving into the deep depths of novel outlining. Outlining my Novels was one of the most fun aspects of deciding to write one, it got me excited to begin writing and is something I look forward to every time I begin a new writing project. And I'm here to make it fun for you too!
It's overwhelming to actually commit yourself to writing an entire book. What took me nine-weeks to actually bring myself to start typing on my keyboard for my first book, only took me a week for my second. Its called the 500 to 5 page plot formula, and its what we'll be using to outline our book idea throughout the workshop.
This formula is basically cutting down the 500 pages of your novel into 5 simple pages worth your entire story! The first page is all about the plot, and creating your story pitch, the second page is about the characters and identifying them not only as a simple character in your story, the third page is all about the setting, which is the most integral aspect of your entire novel if it's all about different worlds or a is a fictional setting. The fourth page is about Chapter outlines and what scenes will be going into each chapter, and finally, the last page is your chapter notes.
Now you may be thinking, this looks more than 5 pages, and its true because it all depends on your story. If you have multiple protagonists you may need more pages on the Characters, if you have forty or fifty chapters you may need extra pages for chapter outlines and notes, ultimately it all relies on your plot.
Follow along as I take you through the steps to having a complete outline which as a reference when you're starting to write the chapters of your novels, and as a guide to when your describing the protagonist or setting! There are a lot of ways you can use this outline in your novel so I suggest you print it out, on both sides of the paper to save the environment, and keep it in a folder on or near your writing desk. The goal is to be able to write without doubts and to clarify your story idea, so you'll be able to complete your novel stress free. Keep an extra page along with the outline for when you get random bursts of ideas or scenes for your novel.
Access the resources mentioned in the Workshop at the bottom of the page. Make sure to fill in the 4 day challenge workbook to get a clear and well defined story idea to use while outlining your Novel during the workshop! Download the E-book to access Bonus blog-posts, Podcast episodes, Writing Templates and Samples. The transcript is also available in case I'm going to fast or you're not able to understand the process. The transcript includes the instructions and examples given in the workshop and the details of where you can contact me at the end.
HAPPY NEW YEAR MY DEAR WRITERS, MAY THIS YEAR PROVE TO BE A BLESSING!
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