Tag: writer life

Keep Up! Calming That Sense of Overwhelm

I was at a complete loss for what to write about this month. I wanted something different. Something witty. Something that spoke from my heart with where I am right now. But what exactly was that? What do authors, such as myself, want to read about? I don’t know about you, but I’m having trouble staying on top of writing, promoting, following, reading, and doing all the things my brain has identified as opportunities to pursue. In other words, I’m trying to keep up. And then I realized I felt overwhelmed and I needed to write out something to help me to calm that overwhelm.

Keep up with my own writing. Keep up with reading authors I enjoy and the plethera of books coming out. Keep up with all the blog opportunities, graphics I want to design, website updates I want to make, and all the other things that make being a published author entails.

Before being published I wanted to connect with published authors so badly. Have them take me under their wing, read my book, and then help me cross over into this unknown abyss. Now that I am on the other side, I understand so much more. There’s not a lot of time in the day to do all the things I want to do, let alone the things I need to do.

Question for Other Authors

Do any of you feel now that your book is released there’s this urgency to get the next book done and out to readers? Authors all around are publishing books and it’s hard to keep up. Each week there are a slew of books releasing. (Please know, I want to support everyone, but I don’t even read that many books anymore (not between research and writing ones).)

Then on top of that, I’ve been visiting book stores in my home town this week, seeing if I might be able to do a book signing in a future trip. But to not find sections where my book would fit at any of these stores seems so disappointing (historial Christian fiction). If the biggest authors in my genre aren’t on the shelves, how am I supposed to get my books on the shelf? How am I supposed to get my books in front of readers when there aren’t places to do so, along with so many books coming out every week?

It all can be a little overwhelming. And I need to find a way to calm that sense of overwhelm.

Focus on What’s Truly Important To Help Calm Your Mind

As an author, it takes so long to write a story, edit it, and then submit it and edit it some more. But you can’t really skimp on those steps. That’s what makes a good story a great book. And I want to write great books!

However, I feel as impatient as my readers. I want to know what happens to the next character I’ve introduced and who they will be paired with, and have new characters to learn about and so on and so on. I envision writing a chapter in a day, but sometimes it takes much longer than the time I have available (thanks to the day job).

But I need to be patient. Because it’s in the simmering of writing that the pieces come that make a book a great book.

I love it when a specific scene reveals a layer I hadn’t known existed that ends up being an important thread. I love writing the words of the hero declaring his feelings in a way that is uniquely his. And I love it when the heroine finally believes she’s lovable and capable of loving someone in return.

That is all in the details. And I need to be patient with being able to develop those details. And when that takes longer than I want, I then need to be patient with myself.

And in writing those words, I just calmed some of the overwhelming sensations I was feeling.

How I Just Calmed the Overwhelm

I typed in “Bible verses on patience”, several about ‘being still’ popped up. I actually used this verse about being still in my last book. And I remember writing this into my characters arc. And now, I’m feeling silly….

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret …

Psalm 37:7

It’s funny because being still is the opposite of what I feel I need to do right now. I want to write my list and start tackling every task on my to do list. Yet, when I actually sit down and write, that is sort of what I do. I’m still. I only focus on the words coming to me in that moment. Nothing else. And it is in that moment that writing is a release, or an expression, or a way to create something that didn’t exist before.

And those moments are what I love about being an author.

It’s in those moments I’m progressing, developing, and keeping up.

Sometimes I like to step out of the frantic pace I set for myself and color. Funny thing is that helps me be still too. And that allows me to collect my thoughts, take a break, and calm the overwhelm going on inside of me. I also love to watch the colors turn into something more than just a page. The pictures comes to life for me. And that helps keep me calm as well.

I never set out to write a post on patience. Or on being still. I just wanted to write from my heart. And maybe that is exactly what I needed to write today. About my feelings, my struggles, and something to remind me that all is okay in my world and my story world.

I hope if you are reading to this point, that it was something you needed today as well.

Thanks for reading.

Denise

Denise M. Colby writes historical romance sweetened with faith, hope, and love. She finds history fascinating and contemplates often how it was to live in the 1800’s. Her debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, is a 2025 Carol Award finalist. Sign up for her newsletter at www.denisemcolby.com or follow Denise on Facebook, Instagram, Bookbub, Pinterest, or GoodReads.

If you want to take a peek at other blog posts Denise has written here, you can check out this link