Tag: Journeying Through the Writer’s Life

Categories
Journeying through the Writer's Life

For Writers: 7 Tips to Silence the Negative Voices in Your Head

Following the dream of becoming a writer involves so much more than just learning how to write. Sure that’s a biggie and without learning the craft of writing we’re sunk. But not knowing the basics is just one thing that can defeat us before we get started. We also have to silence the negative voices.

Yep, one of the biggest obstacles writers face is found inside our own heads.

[bctt tweet=”One of the biggest obstacles #writers face is found inside our own heads #writing”]

We spend a lot of time alone—just us, ideas in our heads, words, and voices. Yep, we all have those little voices that whisper in our minds. They say all sorts of things, some positive, but the majority negative.

I’ve heard them say things like:

  • You know you can’t write, why are you even bothering?
  • Others more talented than you have already written that, what could you possible add?
  • You’re wasting your time and your family’s money.
  • You’re a failure.

If we listen to these voices and give them the opportunity, they can keep us from writing. They can defeat us before we even begin. Instead, we need to learn how to overcome them and become resilient.

Today I have some tips to silence the negative voices in your head.

[bctt tweet=”7 Tips to silence the voices in your head #writing #writer”]

  1. Remind yourself about the WHY. We all have a reason we want to write. That was what gave us the impetus to begin.
  1. Replace the negative with the positive. Studies continue to show that negative self-talk has a huge impact. Instead of reinforcing those negative voices, replace them with positive.
  1. Find yourself a writing tribe. We writers aren’t good at evaluating our own work. We need objective opinions from those we trust. Band together with other writers and reinforce your defense against those voices.
  1. Get out. Not out of the writing biz, out of your office. Take your computer (or pen and paper) on a field trip. Go to a coffee shop, a park, where ever you feel comfortable. So often just the act of changing locations can give us the boost we need.
  1. Let your tribe know you’re struggling. It’s not enough to be part of a writing tribe, you also have to reach out when you need help. Yes, they’re there to critique and read. But they’re also there to help one another succeed.
  1. Face the fear. So often those negative voices play off the fear we feel. Maybe we’re afraid what we write will be junk and unpublishable. I’ll let you in on a secret, even best-selling authors write junk. So go ahead and write the junk. Get it out of the way and keep writing.
  1. Write down what you’re hearing in your head. The voices whispering in our souls often seem big and powerful. When we write down what we hear, they are revealed as the ridiculous things they are.

If you’re trying to write, you’re hearing these voices. I know because I hear them, and so does every other writer on the planet. You aren’t alone and you can over come them. These are the things I do to silence the negative voices in my head. I’d love to hear how you cope. Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Categories
The Ministry of Writing

You Already Have a Writing Team

Like me you are probably trying to build a support team for your writing — a reading group, a critique group, editors, an agent, an IT person who will come to the rescue in the middle of the night for free, publishers, publicists, etc. But you already have a writing team. A team that is easily forgotten.

The other day I contacted a guy to hire to help me do communications for a ministry I am involved in. I emailed him that I was looking for a Felicity from the CW’s Arrow and a Cisco from CW’s Flash. Like you, possibly, he didn’t have a clue what I was talking about, but lucky his wife watched the two television shows. Arrow is a television show based off the DC Comics character Green Arrow. Green Arrow is a crime fighting vigilante who wears a green hood and uses a bow. Flash is a television show based off the DC Comics character Flash who after being hit by lightning gains supernatural speed which he uses to do good in his city.

The two shows have caught my attention. For one, I was a comic book nerd back in the day, but secondly, it has given an interesting take about other people in the lives of these superheroes. Both characters have a team that helps them. Green Arrow has Diggle who helps with intelligence and crime fighting, and he has Felicity who is a computer guru. The Flash has Joe who is a detective, Caitlyn who is a scientific genius, and Cisco who is a technology guru. In every episode it is evident that the superheroes can’t accomplish their missions alone.

The shows go beyond the immediate “official” team and shows how the hero’s mission affects so many others lives. There are those who know the hero’s true identity and struggle to carry that burden. Then there are the family members and love ones who do not know the identity, but still feel the effects of the hero’s double life.

Now maybe it is self-serving to attempt to connect my writing to a superhero, but I need all the encouragement I can get. No seriously, our writing ministries are important. Like the Arrow and the Flash we are trying to change the world, and we aren’t doing it alone. [bctt tweet=”You can’t accomplish your writing mission alone — it takes a team.”]

If you have written for any period of time then you have a good team that works hard to let you “save the world.” I imagine you have a team like me. I have my wife who has for years given up her husband’s one day off and her only day to have a break from being mom to allow me to write. She has agreed to invest money into editing, critiques, contests, and writers conferences all the while knowing my promise that we would eventually make it back was a lie. Then there are my daughters who sacrifice their Daddy time and play without him even though he is just a closed door and headphones away. Then there is my congregation that has not received their pastor’s full attention so that he could write. There are my parents who know they are in trouble when they get older because their writer son is going to be busy spending 2,000 hours on a manuscript that will never see daylight and not be able to help them, and he sure is not going to have any money. They are a team player willing to offer my family a place to live if turns to that. Then my poor in-laws who know I can’t provide what their daughter deserves because I spend too much time watching stupid YouTube videos and reading “Where are the WWE Stars Now?” — uh, I mean writing. Then there are my fishing and hunting buddies who have to go alone because I’m hanging out in my office drawing ligers.

Again if you have written for any period of time you too have a team like me. Remember them. You can’t do it alone, but you already have a writing team.

 

 

Categories
Journeying through the Writer's Life

Time to Write—The Best Gift You Can Give Yourself

We writers are an odd lot.

We’re driven to write, spending time composing poetry, writing books, researching articles. We doodle titles, character names, and plot ideas on scraps of paper. All the while feeling guilty about the time we spend pursuing our dream. I call it writer’s guilt.

So how have I solved this dilemma?

Years ago I made a conscious decision to give myself permission to make writing a priority. I gave myself the gift of time to write. Not only has giving myself this gift gotten me closer to achieving my goals and dreams, it’s given me a self-confidence I didn’t expect. The more I make writing a priority, the better I get at it. Then the more success I have, which leads to the courage to push myself and reach for the stars.

[bctt tweet=”Time to Write – The Best Gift You Can Give Yourself this Season – @EdieMelson #writing ” via=”no”]

Here are the steps I took to set aside time for writing:

  1. Come up with a schedule and keep regular, consistent hours. Notice I said regular hours—not normal ones. For years I wrote with young children. That meant writing in the afternoons and after they were in bed. Just because you’re working odd hours doesn’t mean you can’t have a schedule.
  1. Respect your dream. If your best friend, or child had a dream you’d encourage them to pursue it. Give yourself the same support that you’d give someone else. Trust me, you’re worth it!
  1. Be consistent. If you’re not accepting calls from your mother-in-law because you’re working, don’t spend the afternoon on the phone with your best friend. Stay focused on your writing. This is even more critical if your time is at a premium.
  1. Recruit a support team. Instead of adversaries, enlist your friends and family to help you reach your writing goals. Communicate those goals, clearly and frequently. Ask for their help to reach them. After all, what mother doesn’t want to help her baby succeed!
  1. Share your victories. Let those that help you share in the joy of goals accomplished and milestones reached.

What do you do to make your writing time a priority? What interruptions do you struggle with the most? Share your thoughts and we’ll all support each other.

[bctt tweet=”5 Tips to Help You Find Time to Write – @EdieMelson #writing ” via=”no”]

Categories
Journeying through the Writer's Life

Move Forward with Your Writing By Looking Back

I’ve found the writing path to be the journey of a lifetime. At times it’s fraught with discovery and at others, discouragement. I’ve learned how to avoid some of its pitfalls by spending some time each year gazing back at the way I’ve come.

[bctt tweet=”Move forward with your #writing by taking time to look back – @EdieMelson” via=”no”]

This time of year, with New Year’s just behind us, my thoughts turn backward as I evaluate the past year and prepare for the next one. I’ve given up New Year’s Resolutions completely and find the freedom from those expectations a major relief.

But I have implemented something else instead. My husband and I spend some time looking at our spiritual markers in the past year. We look at them individually, as a couple, and as a family. I also look at them in regard to my past year as a writer.

This is particularly helpful because the writer’s path is unique for each of us. In the past I’ve had trouble evaluating my progress because I was comparing my journey to someone else’s. To begin the process, I start with some basic questions.

  • What were some of my writing highlights of the year? (Not necessarily the most lucrative, but the most rewarding.)
  • What were some of my writing setbacks for the year?
  • How are some ways I’ve grown during the past year?
  • Who has impacted my writing career and in what way?

As I map out these spiritual markers, the path God’s had me on becomes quite clear. And, by knowing where I’ve been, it becomes clearer where to go next.

[bctt tweet=”Knowing where I’ve been on the #writing journey gives me direction on where to go next – @EdieMelson” via=”no”]

Categories
The Ministry of Writing

God Will Bring the Pieces of Your Writing Calling Together

Allowed for reuse. The original can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/theilr/345056969.

So God has called you to write. You have a “writing calling”.

He has burdened your heart to share a particular message, to tell your story, to tell someone else’s story, or to create a powerful creative piece.

The Holy Spirit has guided you to use your gift, talent, or love of writing to glorify the Father.

You know typing away on your laptop merging creativity and craft places you in the center of God’s perfect Will.

Therefore you have pushed through. You have been obedient to write. You are obedient in continuing to write. You know you are doing what the Lord wants you to do.

But…

The project is overwhelming and you feel like it will never end.

The critique was brutal — you have so much to learn.

After receiving your work back from the editor there is so much left to be done.

You are on your eight rejection letter.

It has been three months since the agent’s last email, but he seemed so interested.

You have been writing for six years and nothing has been published.

So did you hear God right? Is writing really what He wants you to do? I believe so. And I know that if you are doing what God has called you to do and are following the Spirit’s guidance that God will come through. I completely trust that God provides and equips us to fulfill whatever he has called us to do.

I believe it because that is what Scripture teaches:

From Hebrews 13:20–21:

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Don’t give up. God will come through. That impossible project will get done. You will grow and develop into the writer He needs you to be. He is going to open that door. [bctt tweet=”God will answer your prayers. He is going to accomplish through you what He purposes.”]

One day it will come together.

Being an 80’s kid I have had my share of Rubik’s Cubes. None of them have ever been completed. I also never followed through with my idea to bypass the work and repaint the squares.

I’m sure you are familiar with one of these devices of torture. It is a cube so there are six sides. Within this cube there are nine squares on each side. Those squares can be one of six colors. The goal is to maneuver them in such a way that one whole side of the cube becomes a solid color.

A Rubik’s Cube being conquered is a pipe dream for me. Its completion is in the realm of capturing a unicorn or finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to me, but it has been done.

Interestingly in his book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, author and pastor Mark Batterson wrote that God working in our lives can be like a Rubik’s Cube. Like someone beginning to be victorious with the cube it can appear the task God has placed on our hearts will never come to pass. But eventually those random pieces begin to line up and finally a complete picture comes into view.

Again I have never accomplished this task, but I have seen it done. It’s amazing to see. For a while it looks as if the one working the cube has no clue what they are doing. Everything is a mess — nothing lines up. Then eventually — boom — the colors begin to line up. The cube begins to take shape. It appears that the task may actually be accomplished. Then it happens — the cube is done.

Once it’s done one wonders why it was so hard to do in the first place.

This is how God will work in your writing.

Right now, in your current situation you may feel your writing is going nowhere. You may feel like all the little pieces will never line up, but don’t give up. Over the horizon the puzzle of your calling will come together, and you will wonder why it ever seemed so hard.

It is then you will know with certainty that God Will Bring the Pieces of Your Writing Calling Together.

Categories
Journeying through the Writer's Life

Tips for Catching & Storing Writing Ideas

As a writer, I’ve come to realize the value—and the elusiveness—of writing ideas. They come and go like beautiful blossoms in spring. And just like flowers, if we don’t pick them and save them, we lose them. So today I’d like to share some tips for catching and storing writing ideas.

[bctt tweet=”Every writer should have a system of keep track of #writing ideas – @EdieMelson” via=”no”]

Every single writer should have a system of keeping track of ideas. I have several. I also save the same ideas in multiple places to make them easier to find. Here is a peek at my storage system:

Computer Files: I have multiple files on my computer for ideas. Here are just a few:

Blog posts

Devotions

Quotes

Book Ideas (divided into fiction and non-fiction)

Article Ideas

Links

As I said, I may store the same idea in multiple places. For instance, an idea for a blog post, might also work well for an article. Or I might expand it into a book idea. The reverse is also true. I may take a book idea and pull it apart and put multiple things from it into blog posts and articles.

I keep several different quotes files, including writing quotes, inspirational quotes, and Bible verses. These will often grow into ideas for articles, blog posts and devotions.

I also keep a list of links. If I come across a cool idea on the web, I paste the URL and a quick description of what I think I could write about.

I have a place on my iPad and iPhone where I can write ideas.

I’m also a big believer in making audio recordings. Especially when I’m driving or if I have a long idea, I can just record it on my iPhone’s voice memo and transcribe it later.

I’ve also begun to do some sketching. Trust me, it’s nothing I want to share yet, but it seems to jump start my creativity. So I keep some colored pens and pencils—with a small sketch pad—in my computer bag.

I’ve discovered that taking pictures is also a good way to record inspiring ideas. I take pictures of interesting people, places, even geometric shapes in buildings and clouds.

[bctt tweet=”Capture #writing ideas visually with your camera – via @EdieMelson” via=”no”]

Finally, in case electronics fail me. I always carry a small notebook in my purse. The trick here is to remember to transfer those ideas to my other files so I don’t lose them!

These are my tips. What ways have you found to keep track of your writing ideas?

Categories
Journeying through the Writer's Life

13 Things that can Steal Your Writing Joy

Writers have a love/hate relationship with putting words on paper. Sometimes it’s difficult because of the process. Other times we sabotage ourselves. Today I’d like to share my list of things that steal your writing joy.

[bctt tweet=”13 Things that Steal Your #Writing Joy – via @EdieMelson” via=”no”]

  1. Comparison. We each have our own process, our own strengths, and our own path. Comparison will draw you away from being yourself.
  1. Avoidance. The longer we stay away from the process of writing, the harder it is to go back. Not writing will steal away the joy of writing.
  1. Negative Voices. We all have them—those negative voices that live in our heads. We say thing to ourselves that we’d never say to another person. So quit encouraging the voices and just write.
  1. Perfectionism. We all dream about being perfect. But some of us mistake that dream for a goal. We agonize over the fact that we’re not perfect. It’s time to quit and just enjoy the words.

[bctt tweet=”Perfectionism is one thing that can steal our #writing joy – via @EdieMelson” via=”no”]

  1. Fear. Writers and insecurity, it’s so common it’s a cliché. But that’s the thing with clichés, they’re so often based in truth. When we focus on fear, we can lose the happiness we feel when we write.
  1. Time. Yep, busy schedules can come between us and the joy of writing. Finding time to write is a myth, instead we have to carve it out, fighting for every minute we spend putting words on paper.
  1. The Past. We can hold onto past mistakes and missteps and let them steal our writing joy. Learn from the past, but don’t drag it along and let it keep you from the happiness ahead.
  1. Solitude. Believe me, I do fit the stereotype of introverted writer. But that doesn’t mean I should to travel this writing road alone. If I spend too much time along, I loose perspective. I need companions for encouragement and support.
  1. Unreasonable Expectations. This goes beyond perfectionism. So often we have expectations about how this writing life is going to work. We need to get to know the industry and learn how things work.
  1. Lack of Variety. Focus is good. But it’s hard to know where we should focus our writing when we haven’t tried anything new. Writing the same thing (articles, devotions, fiction) day in and day out can make our writing stale. Take up the challenge of something new and you’ll often find joy is the outcome.
  1. Yes. Yep, saying yes to too many things, people, expectations, etc. can come between you and the joy of writing. As writers, we have to find the will power to say no.
  1. Toxic Relationships. Not having traveling companions can steal our joy, but so can choosing the wrong companions. Pick your writing buddies with care or you may find they are the ones keeping you from enjoying the journey.
  1. Forgetting Why You Started Writing in the First Place. It’s easy for the dream to get buried. I keep a reminder above my desk. It’s a few words that sum up what I believe to be God’s call on my life. He fashioned me to process and share life through the written word. When I go back to that, everything else falls into place.
Categories
Journeying through the Writer's Life

Sit Down and Write – 5 Tips to Help You Keep Writing

Writers have a love/hate relationship with the blank page. Whether it’s a white screen with a blinking cursor or the empty page in a notebook, we see it as the stuff of nightmares. The fears vary widely, ranging from thoughts of not being good enough, to not living up to the success of a previous manuscript. To combat this, we often resort to any and everything to avoid it. doing it. So today it’s time to quit with the excuses, sit down, and write.

[bctt tweet=”it’s time to quit with the excuses, sit down, and #write – via @EdieMelson” via=”no”]

I know. It’s easy to say and hard to do.

As people who make up things for a living, we tend to be really creative. We can come up with dozens of reasons not to sit down and write. Here are some tips to move past the fear and jumpstart your writing.

  1. Set a timer. I don’t know about you, but I can push through almost anything for fifteen minutes. So I promise to write for a quarter of an hour, no matter how difficult. What happens is that after a few minutes the fear diminishes and the words begin to flow. After fifteen minutes, I no longer want to quit writing.
  1. Promise a reward. I have discovered that I can be bought. So I dangle that reward in front of myself and write through the agony to get what I want. Figure out what motivates you—chocolate, time with friends, shopping—and offer it as a self-reward for spending time pounding out words.
  1. Walk away. I know, it sounds like the opposite of what we’re trying to accomplish. But truthfully, being a writer is incredibly tough. If you can walk away, you should. If you are meant to be a writer, you won’t be able to stay away long. The words will draw you back. And when you return, you’ll be stronger and more confident that this is what you’re supposed to be doing.
  1. Set a date. Not an end date, a writing date. Round up a writing friend or two and meet to write. It doesn’t have to be an in-person date, you can meet online just as well. But having someone else who is counting on you makes a difference. It’s just harder to disappoint someone other than ourselves.
  1. Do it anyway. At times, the fear is bigger than any promised reward or other mind game. That is the point, for me, that the rubber meets the road. This is when I metaphorically square my shoulders and face down my fear. I push through whatever has stopped me in my tracks and force myself to write. It’s not fun, and there’s no promised reward at the end. But every single time I’ve done this, the act becomes victory. It’s made me stronger as a writer, and as a person.

These are things that have helped me. What would you add to the list? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

[bctt tweet=”Tips to help you push through when the #writing is hard – via @EdieMelson” via=”no”]

Categories
Heart Lift

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Janell Rardon Heart Lift

‘You have plenty of courage, I am sure,” answered Oz. “All you need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.’”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The writing, publishing journey is very much like following the yellow brick road.

When that famed Kansas cyclone whisked Dorothy from her dull, grey Midwestern farmhouse and into a magical, marvelous country filled with odd little Munchkins, everything in her world changed. The familiar faded into the shadows and Dorothy had to see with new eyes.

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

At one time or another, we’ve all felt like Dorothy. When the cyclone of change whirls us into new, unfamiliar territory, we have to see with new eyes. Orient ourselves in order to gather our senses and acclimate.

[bctt tweet=”The world of publishing is a whole new world. Orient yourself in order to gather your senses and acclimate.”]

I remember my first Dorothy-like-experience [in the publishing world] at the ICRS (International Christian Retail Show, formerly knows as the CBA). It was the year 2005. I was attending the CLASS Graduate Seminar and was ripe and ready to meet with agents and editors. With fresh, hot-off-the-press one sheets in hand and a heaping dose of big dreams in my heart, I made my way to the first event.

When I walked through the doors to the massive hall where the ICRS was taking place, I hesitated. Greeted by looming life-size banners of familiar Christian authors hanging from the rafters, I immediately felt “a little feeling” I hadn’t felt in awhile.

Intimidation.

Orienting to a New Normal

Later, in the first session, I found myself with about fifty first-time-author wannabes. One by one, agents and editors spoke to us about what they were looking for in an author and his/her manuscript. Some were highly encouraging, others, well, let’s say, not so much.

“We won’t even look at you or your manuscript unless you can sell at least 30,000 copies,” one editor remarked. “You know, like Joyce Meyer.”

We all looked at each other. Does he know he is in a room full of first-time hopefuls? How on earth would we know if we can sell 30,000 books?

[bctt tweet=”Every new journey requires courage, heart and wisdom.”]

I went back to my hotel room and cried. No, sobbed. Having grown up in the competitive world of dance, baton twirling, and beauty pageants, I wasn’t quite prepared to experience the same heightened competitiveness in this arena.

This is Christian publishing, right? No competitiveness or jealousy or comparison here.

A Whole New World

“Experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you are sure to get.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

After a quick phone call home to my husband, a little pep talk with myself, and a prayer to God, I realized I had to see with new eyes.

The publishing world is indeed a whole new world.

It’s one thing to sit behind my computer, writing what my friends and family think is the next bestseller, yet another to place it before industry professionals whose fingers rest on the pulse of marketability, cultural trends and ultimately, sales.

My familiar faded into the shadows of seeing writing as both business and ministry.

Three “Heart Lifting Tips” for Your Journey Down the Yellow Brick Road

The road to the City of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick,” said the Witch of the North, “so you cannot miss it. When you get to Oz do not be afraid of him, but tell your story and ask him to help you. Good-bye, my dear.”
-Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

I’d like to invite you to join me as I follow the yellow brick road of writing and publishing. Over the next few posts, we will be looking at heart lifting tips sure to give you courage, heart, and a whole lot of wisdom.

[bctt tweet=”Believe in the Giver of your gift. He is with you on this journey.”]

  1. Before you take your first step on the yellow brick road, remember you are not in Kansas anymore. Believe in your calling and your capacity and potential as a gifted writer. You are up to this challenging journey. Every little detail of your life has brought you right here. This truth will empower you as you move through the dark forests and deadly poppy fields.
  2. When you meet the lions and tigers and bears of rejection, oh my, keep going. Their scare tactics, discouraging, often-well-intended voices and intimidating schemes are meant to thwart your progress. Yes, you’ll feel overwhelmed and fatigued and on the verge of quitting, but you can’t.
  3. Remember you are not alone on this journey. There are others. Find support at quality writing conferences and seminars (we’ll talk more about this later), online sites like A3Authors and local/regional writing critique groups.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Categories
Journeying through the Writer's Life

What to Pack for the Writing Journey

Early on I discovered a basic truth for writers. Publishing is a journey, not a destination. This holds true no matter what you write—long or short pieces, fiction or non—there’s not really a final destination. Even award-winning, best selling authors still have new places to go with their writing. So it’s important to know what to pack for the writing journey, so you’ll have fewer regrets.

[bctt tweet=”Publishing is a journey, NOT a destination #writing #pubtip”]

  1. A sense of adventure. I can promise you this writing path is going to take you places you never dreamed. Be ready and open to where the road will take you.
  1. The knowledge that the path isn’t a straight line. I know a lot of writers and we all have one thing in common. Our journeys have never gone in a straight line. But truthfully, it’s the twists and turns that make it so much fun.
  1. A library. It’s important for writers to be readers. Read deep and wide and your writing will reflect that.
  1. A sense of curiosity. All they best writers will tell you that they never quit learning. So e prepared for life-long learning.
  1. Humility. In the beginning we tend to look at things as black and white. But the publishing industry is subjective. Hear what others have to say and don’t be quick to argue.
  1. A strong sense of who you are. It’s easy to begin chasing publication and lose your way. It’s also tempting to take every critique we hear and act on it. If you do that, you risk stifling your unique voice.
  1. Traveling companions. Every journey is more fun when you share it with friends and family. Don’t try to tackle this on your own. You’ll miss out on the support and encouragement you’ll need along the way.

These are the things I list when writers ask me what to pack for the writing journey. What would you add to the list? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

[bctt tweet=”7 things you need to pack for the #writing journey #pubtip”]