6 Ways Unicycling Is Like Writing by Jim Hill

My family gave me a unicycle for Father's Day. They might be trying to kill me. Thirty days later, I'm still alive – Ha! – and covered in wisdom. Or maybe those are bruises. Whatever. The point is, I've discovered that learning to ride my one-wheeled-antagonist is a lot like writing a novel. Strap on your helmet and wrist guards, and I'll explain.

Baby. Some assembly required.

A photo posted by @heyjimhill on Jul 6, 2016 at 11:25am PDT

1. It Seems Like a Good Idea at First
Unbridled optimism might be the first sign you could be a writer or a unicyclist. You're sure in your heart-of-hearts that this new undertaking is a great idea, and you can definitely get it done if you work hard enough. This feeling is followed by the realization that...

2. You Have No Idea What You're Doing
Whether saddling up for the first time or staring at the blank screen while the cursor pulses in silent judgment, you quickly realize you're clueless about how to begin. Congratulations! You're on your way! To the emergency room. Or maybe the Newbery Award. I'm just saying prepare yourself for anything at this point, is all.

Gonna need some ice.

A video posted by @heyjimhill on Jul 19, 2016 at 9:07am PDT

3. Research is Key
Write what you know is a cute aphorism, but maybe a bit of a lie. Unicycle what you know is straight-up crazy talk. Research is your friend, the Tom to your Huck, the Martin to your Lewis. I wouldn't even have been able to get on that cyclopean-death-steed if I hadn't googled and YouTubed beforehand. The same can be said about writing. Do I know which fork to use first at a State Dinner, or the melting point of human flesh? No, no I don't. But the internet does. If that fails, your friendly, neighborhood librarian is just an email away. (Raise your hand if you think the NSA has you flagged for some "necessary" search topics. Yup, me too.)

4. It's Hard to Tell Where You're Headed
Plotter or pantser, sometimes you wander off the main road and end up in the garden. Ask yourself, "Is that poison ivy?" and "is anything happening in this scene that moves the plot forward?"

Atop the mono hoop-of-shame, you have to activate your core to stay on course. So, what is the core of your writing? The characters. What do the characters want, what do they need, and what's in their way? When you're face down in the hydrangea, take a moment to check in with your characters, and they'll pull you out of the weeds. (I may have sprained my metaphorical ankle with this one.)

5. Sometimes You Fall on Your [REDACTED]

I'm fine. Really.

A video posted by @heyjimhill on Jul 11, 2016 at 4:44pm PDT

This is the part of Hero's Journey when the hero faces abject failure and almost quits, but then somehow beats the odds to return with the elixir. The elixir, in this instance, being a large bottle of Advil.

Writing has similar, less (physically) painful pitfalls. You will hit them. Good crit partners will be there to ask if you're okay and get you back up and pedaling toward a resolution in no time.

6. Butt In Chair (or Seat)
Yolen's Law gets the job done on the page and on the road. You're not going to get better thinking about writing or riding. You're going to get better by doing them. A novel is a big, intimidating goal. Mastering the single-wheeled-conveyance-of-clowns-and-doom is too. I'm nowhere near joining the circus, but I am better than I was yesterday. So don't sit down to write a novel, sit down to write the next sentence, the next paragraph, and the next scene. You can get a lot accomplished with just two pages a day. Keep track. Celebrate your progress. Jump for joy.

Meanwhile, if you need a unicyclist that's good for about eight to ten feet at a time, I'm available.

Avenger's Assembled! Guess I just named the unicycle.

A video posted by @heyjimhill on Jul 7, 2016 at 3:16pm PDT

7 Tips about Writing Groups by Joanna Roddy

My beloved writing group, down the pub one Monday night.

About 4 years ago my first novel was halfway complete and had been sitting untouched for a year. My firstborn daughter was 9 months old and I wondered if I would ever go back and finish it. But then something magical happened. I swear it was divine providence or kismet, and it saved my writing.

I found a writing group. Or, I should really say, a writing group found me.

Natalie Goldberg
Photo credit: Mitsue Nagase

Writing guru Natalie Goldberg came to a local writer's conference and I attended her keynote lecture with two aspiring writer friends. Goldberg is a huge advocate of freewriting and she suggested finding people to freewrite with for accountability. We were all three inspired. 

We soon figured out that between the three of us we knew enough writers to start a group. I was a little reluctant to commit with a baby and a new part-time teaching job but thought that I could at least come occasionally.

But from that first night, something happened. Six or seven of us showed up at an all-night diner that served bottomless coffee and pie. We freewrote, we shared aloud, we did another round, and we left inspired by each other and encouraged by our own work. I picked back up my novel and showed up to our group every Monday night. In less than a year I was attending my first writing conference and querying agents alongside two of my group members.

Four years later, our group has changed, but that same creative energy, mutual respect, and accountability is still there. We've supported each other through agent querying, literary contests, and at this point several novels, memoirs, and screenplays. We've also gone on writing retreats together, implemented a book exchange at Christmas, and eaten a whole lot of pie. Sometimes we still freewrite or send something to the group for feedback, but mostly we share the writing life together, buoy hope when discouragement strikes, celebrate good news, and share whatever inspires us.

I recently joined a different formal critique group. We meet every two weeks for 2 hours and the group critiques longer pieces by four out of the six of us on a rotation. I love the way that this keeps me accountable to produce new work with some regularity and receive feedback from multiple perspectives. My original writing group has become my tribe, but it can also be nice to have someone who isn't already in your corner offer their honest response to your writing.

Here are some tips for forming your own writing group:

1. 6 people is a good number, 7 max. You should be able to fit around a table or a living room together and your work should get feedback with some regularity. Agree together on whether the group will be open to new members or closed.

2. Decide what you want and find likeminded people. Critique? Accountability? Group freewriting? Submission buddies? Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need most. You all deserve to get the most from the time you are giving to each other.

3. It’s ok if you don’t all write in the same genre. The variety can be refreshing and teach you a lot about craft. But it's probably important that you really believe in each other's work if you want a group that will last.

4. Make goals for yourself and share them with the group. Sometimes just saying something aloud to another person who’s going to follow up with you is enough to inspire you follow through.

5. Make goals together. Do NaNoWriMo, submit a piece to a literary contest, attend a writing conference, or pitch to agents together. It's the Thelma and Louise approach: holding someone’s hand makes it easier to jump off that cliff.

6. Do stuff outside of your meeting times together. Think about planning retreats, inviting a local author to come talk to your group, and going to writing events like book-signings, lectures, or SCBWI meetings. We've had several authors talk to us about their journey to publication and we even had a pitching expert coach us on pitching and writing conferences. We all contribute some cash to thank our visitor and everyone benefits.

7. You’d probably be surprised by how many writers you know. Start there and ask them if they know any writers they want to invite. Alternatively, local chapters of SCBWI and most regional writing associations have critique groups that you can sign up for.

I haven’t personally had any bad experiences with writing groups, but I can imagine a domineering, competitive, needy, or neglectful member could really derail the group dynamic. I’d be interested to hear from any of you who have had a difficult group experience and what advice you’d give. And what are some positive tips you’ve gleaned from your own writing group experience? I’d love to hear!

Who's Your First Reader?

Photograph by Jennifer Zwick

You've finished your first draft. You're giddy. You know it may need a tweak or two, (heck, who are you kidding? It needs to be rewritten till the cows come home) and you're wondering who you should get to read it and give you all the love and praise you deserve. After all, you've written a complete novel, for jiminy's sake.

Back when I started writing--in the Mesozoic age--this was the sort of mindset I had. I shudder when I think of the first novel I wrote, which I happily shipped off to agents in first-draft stage, expecting to unleash a tag-team wrestling frenzy to represent me. I wish I'd kept the rejection letter which essentially said, "yes, we'd all like to be published, but wouldn't it be nice if we learned to write first?" Ouch.

I'd had my wife read my novel, and my in-laws, and all of them had declared me a genius. They're intelligent, well-read people--so how could we all have been so wrong?

The answer is that there is a span as wide as the Gulf of Mexico between those who read for pleasure (most people) and those who read for business (everyone in the publishing business.) Fortunately, I'm a 60W bulb, and not a 40--and I realized I needed help. I took writing classes, I read and read and read, and I joined critique groups, members of which were published authors or working journalists. These were people who liked me but didn't love me, and who were all too willing to point out my flaws--and give me the tools to fix them.

These critique group members are now my first readers. I think my wife feels sad about this, but the reality is she is my first beta reader--the first person I let read the draft I think is done.

(I've yet to let the following be my first readers: my uncle, the lawyer finalizing my will, my gastroenterologist, assorted students, and my dental hygienist. Yes, all of them have asked to read my novels at one time or another. I'll remind them of that when I'm out in hardback.)

Who is your first reader?

Michael Gettel-Gilmartin