[00:00:00.070] - Diedra Riggs
I'm always writing. I may not be writing, but I'm always writing. I'm always thinking about it while I'm vacuuming, doing laundry. I don't know, driving down the road, I'm always thinking it through true. And then I wake up one morning and I'm like it's time for me to write.
[00:00:26.910] - Clarissa Moll
Whether you methodically plot out your writing days on the calendar or sneak in. Writing time in the cracks. You know when it's time for you to write, but how do you find a rhythm of rest and writing when it comes to your writing projects? How do you move from completing one book to beginning another? What do you need to know before you start something new? This episode will help you fill that gap. Hi, I'm Clarissa Moll. And welcome to The Writerly Life. Brought to you by Hope Writers, the most encouraging place on the Internet for writers to make progress.
[00:00:59.730] - Clarissa Moll
Here at the Writerly Life, we help you expand your creativity, explore new techniques and express your hope filled words in a world that needs them. We'll help you learn to balance the art of writing with the business of publishing and learn to hustle without losing heart. You have words and your words matter, and as you write them, you can be you boldly, bravely, maybe even a little scared. Sometimes you can be you in your writing life. Welcome to the show, friends. Lean in, grab a pen.
[00:01:31.970] - Clarissa Moll
Let's chat. If you're a writer, chances are you're not a one and done. You've got a vision for a specific book project. But deep inside, you hope to write again and again, even if you're not sure what yet. It's a unique gift to hold your own book in your hands, but it can also feel kind of frightening. Where do you go from here? How do you chart the next steps in your writing life? Author and unifier Deira Riggs is our guest this week, and she knows well, that no man's land feeling that it can exist between two projects.
[00:02:10.570] - Clarissa Moll
Her writing process differed between books one and two, and she's a helpful guide as you create a plan for a writing life that lasts. Lean in, as Deidra tells us more in this Hope Writers Tuesday teaching with host Emily P. Freeman.
[00:02:25.960] - Diedra Riggs
I wake up one morning and I'm like, it's time for me to write, and so I will sit down and write and I have to take a shower, get dressed, do my hair, put my makeup on all that stuff, shoes, everything, sit down. And then I write for hours and I'll write like, 5000 words a day. And then I don't write for two weeks and Michelle is going crazy. You haven't written any words in two weeks. Oh, my gosh. And so that's how I wrote the first book, every little thing, the second book.
[00:03:06.170] - Diedra Riggs
It was really hard for me to write that book, and I had wanted to write it for a long time. I had wanted to write something like that for a long, long time. And in fact, the deal was if I wrote every little thing first, then this is the deal with the publisher, then I could write the book I really wanted to write. So finally I had the opportunity to do it. But there was something about that book that was really hard for me to birth.
[00:03:39.610] - Diedra Riggs
I guess you always have to do a lot of inner work when you're writing books. And so I had to write that book longhand. I wrote it in a mole skin in Journal. And I had written like, 20,000 words the other way, the way I did every little thing. And then I went and did this retreat. And I was just really struggling. And this woman came up to me after the retreat, and she said, I don't want to do this, but I feel like I'm supposed to do this.
[00:04:12.730] - Diedra Riggs
And she said, I'm just supposed to pray for you. And so she did. And I don't know, it was just the weirdest thing. And I knew the 20,000 words I had written were not the right words. And I had to scrap them. And I went to my room that night, and I had a mole skin Journal. And I started writing. And I wrote all through that night and into the next morning. And the next morning was the last day of the retreat. And I wrote through that morning.
[00:04:40.930] - Diedra Riggs
And then I packed up my stuff and I left. And I was like, I don't know, half hour down the road, and I realized, oh, my gosh, I left that moleskin Journal behind, right? Yes. And so I called the organizer of the retreat, M. Highland, who still happened to be there. And they ran through the whole retreat center, found my moleskin Journal, and we met on the road, and we pulled over on the side of the road. And she gave me that Journal. And it was like, everything about it was hard.
[00:05:21.450] - Diedra Riggs
And then I went home and I would sit out on my deck and write for hours every day until it was done. And I wrote them all those words. So I'd write all day in the Journal. Oh, my gosh. My phone is ringing. I thought I turned it off. Sorry. And I would write all day in the Journal. And then I would at night type it on my computer, type up what I had written. So I don't know what will happen with the third book. I have no idea.
[00:05:56.630] - Diedra Riggs
Maybe we'll have holograms or something. By then I was a fugitive from the library in Nebraska because I had this one book that I couldn't give back, and I never did. And so they wouldn't let me come back to the library. So here no one knows that story. And the first thing I did when I got here was get a library card. And so I've been reading, reading, reading. And even here, like I had this book that was overdue and I took it back and I owe one dollars, $60.
[00:06:24.520] - Diedra Riggs
And they said, you don't have to pay it. I know. Right. So it's fun to read again to read just for fun. Right.
[00:06:37.240] - Emily P. Freeman
Well, and you hit on something I think is really important for those of us who write for maybe for those of us who do anything for a living. But we're talking to writers. So we just pretend like ours is the most important profession, right? It is the hardest one. But it is important to find those things that are life giving that have nothing to do with really the work that you're doing, because I think it helps the work when you're able to come back to it and with fresher eyes or something, right?
[00:07:03.490] - Diedra Riggs
Yeah. I just did with another friend last night, Nancy Francis. I was telling her I've been looking for a watercolor class. I've always wanted to do watercolor. I never learned how to do it. So that may be something I do, too.
[00:07:17.160] - Emily P. Freeman
I love that. I did want to ask you about this when we talk. The first time you said that your agent said to you a book, multiplies the Ministry. Oh, my God.
[00:07:29.890] - Diedra Riggs
Yes.
[00:07:32.210] - Emily P. Freeman
And that was before you really had your books come out. So have you found that to be true?
[00:07:37.910] - Diedra Riggs
I have found that to be true. I think it remains to be seen with one with my second book. But, yeah, I have gotten some beautiful emails and some beautiful Instagram messages and really beautiful reviews on Amazon for the book. And so clearly, those are people I would not have reached without the book. And.
[00:08:09.750] - Emily P. Freeman
I just feel like you're going to cross 540 before I called.
[00:08:13.430] - Diedra Riggs
Maybe. So. Oh, my gosh, my little Red Door Ranch. So, yeah, I don't even know what I was saying. I got all excited about 530. Oh, multiplying the Ministry of the message. So, yeah, I do think it has done that. I think that's a true statement for anyone who's writing anything that a book can multiply the Ministry of the message. And you never know, right? You just never know. I always think about the fact that one will be around whoever has a copy of it. Those copies will be around for as long as nobody Burns them or throw them away or whatever.
[00:08:54.080] - Diedra Riggs
And who knows who may stumble? How many times have I stumbled on a book that was written in the thirties or the teens that really impacted my life? And so to look at the big picture, long term, great story arc. It's something I wrote that will always be. And so that's something that is something. Whether this was the moment for it or not, it may not be, but maybe the moment is yet to come and it will receive its audience when it's time.
[00:09:31.270] - Emily P. Freeman
I wonder if you'd be willing to tell us the story about your son, who was the drummer in the band?
[00:09:40.130] - Diedra Riggs
My son. Oh, my gosh. Where did I talk about that story? Oh, my goodness. So, my son, he and I are very much alike. He's an introvert. He's very creative. I don't know. When he was in middle school, I guess, maybe high school. I don't know. We were living in Pennsylvania, and he'd have these kids come over to the basement and they would play music. And so one day, my husband was like, Jordan, every day these kids are coming over and they're playing music in the basement.
[00:10:16.600] - Diedra Riggs
What is happening? And he said, We're a band. My husband said so. Oh, a band? Okay, well, what role do you play? Are you, like, the manager or what are you? And he said, no, I'm the drummer. But he had no drums. He didn't have drums. He did not have any drums. But he was the drummer. He was insistent that my husband was like, how are you the drummer when you don't have any drums? Well, I just. Damn, I'm the drummer. And my husband, who is not like us at all, just could not in his head.
[00:10:54.700] - Diedra Riggs
He was like, and he would say it to me, like, every night. This doesn't make sense. How can he be a drummer without any drums? I don't understand. How can he be a drummer without any drums? So that Christmas, he went to Walmart and he bought my son one of those little starter kits, drum starter kits. And my son took him in the basement. And the next time that band came over for rehearsal, they had the drums. And my son is an excellent drummer. He never had a lesson.
[00:11:21.390] - Diedra Riggs
I don't know where that skill came from, where that gift came from. But even sometimes he'd be in the basement just by himself without the rest of the band. And he'd be playing the drums. And I'd be upstairs cooking dinner in the kitchen. And those are some of my favorite memories of raising him is when I was upstairs cooking dinner to the beat of him playing the drums in the basement. Just great. So he knew before anyone said it to him that he was a drummer, even without the drums.
[00:11:56.230] - Emily P. Freeman
And see, when I heard you tell that story, he said, Believe in your heart, who you are, and then be who you are.
[00:12:03.800] - Diedra Riggs
Yes.
[00:12:04.750] - Emily P. Freeman
And I love that as it relates to writing. Yes, you can write even if you don't have a book like writers can write, even if all they do is write.
[00:12:17.550] - Diedra Riggs
Yes.
[00:12:18.300] - Emily P. Freeman
And it doesn't have to be qualified by a drum kit.
[00:12:22.240] - Clarissa Moll
What a good word you can write to write with a project in mind. In between books, you don't need to have a foolproof plan to transition from writing one book to the next, as you simply do, as we say here at Hope Writers. Your next right thing in love. You can rest in the finished work of your current book and look with anticipation toward whatever lies ahead. A published book is often seen by writers as the pinnacle of the craft. For many of us, our dream of becoming a writer began with reading good books.
[00:12:53.490] - Clarissa Moll
Perhaps you've imagined your name on a cover or looked for where your book might sit on a library shelf. Seasoned editor and publisher Roy M. Carlyle tells Hope writers that publishing a book is the final step in the process of developing and sharing an idea, he says. People think of a book as if it's the first thing you must remember that the book is a result of the process. As you consider what it might look for you to move from book one to book two, let's consider what this process actually looks like, what Roy calls the information funnel.
[00:13:29.230] - Clarissa Moll
Here's what he says. Number one, where to Begin Book ideas are rarely fleshed out for the first time in the book itself. Most often, writers play with ideas and find out what resonates with readers in more accessible and immediate areas of publication, like the Internet, radio, TV, daily newspapers, all of which offer the most important and culturally relevant information to readers. If you're interested in writing a nonfiction book, Roy suggests you begin to look at the trends in this area of the information funnel. It could guide you to areas of greater exploration, and it may also be the place you choose to begin writing through your own ideas.
[00:14:10.870] - Clarissa Moll
You can look for the response of readers and see where you might explore further. Number two, next Steps after ideas are generated at the top of the funnel, it's time to sift through them. Writers narrow their focus to the ideas and topics that resonate most with readers, and then they develop these ideas in greater depths by writing lengthier pieces. Here in the middle of the information funnel, only the best ideas deserve further exploration. As information moves through the funnel, some ideas will be discarded and what's left may be written about in more depth.
[00:14:47.950] - Clarissa Moll
This type of writing is found in weekly magazines, monthly magazines, literary magazines, or blog series. If you've written about the same topic for multiple publications and you find that your subject continues to resonate with readers, then it's time to ask yourself if you have more to say. If the answer is yes, then you've reached the final destination of the funnel. Book publishing number three, the final destination. Writing a book is the final step in the process of developing and sharing an idea. It comes only after an idea has been thoroughly explored and filtered through Editors and readers and blog posts or small publications.
[00:15:30.790] - Clarissa Moll
If we shortcut the work of sifting our writing through the information funnel, we miss the opportunity to test the strength of our ideas. When we work our way through the process, we're able to investigate more facets of our subject. This also allows us to build an audience as we develop our material. There are no new book ideas, but there are new lenses through which we see ideas. Writing through the funnel helps us bring our unique insight to bear on every aspect of our topic. The process of working through the publishing funnel is long and arduous, and it requires more words than we may think we have to give.
[00:16:08.960] - Clarissa Moll
But if we hope to write another book, we need to work through the existing system while writing is an art, publishing is a business. If we want our words to live in the pages of the book, it's vital we learn to balance both whether you feel exhausted or exhilarated. Publishing your first book is a big milestone. Still, it's a milestone on a much longer journey of the writing life, one in which you'll have seasons of both productiveness and fallowness. Whatever your writing rhythms look like, you can move from one project to the next in your own time, honoring your effort and giving your message a chance to reach the readers who need to hear it.
[00:16:51.310] - Clarissa Moll
Let's hear from Deidra one more time.
[00:16:53.950] - Emily P. Freeman
It is a really hopeful thing Deidra for you to say, I might not be able to write a third book until I give this book. It's due chance, right? Because that's proof of your message.
[00:17:05.890] - Diedra Riggs
Yeah, sure.
[00:17:07.140] - Emily P. Freeman
You're honoring that work and the message and not allowing the difficulty to define that book, which I think is hopeful. And I love hearing you say that. And I think for writers we might encounter things we don't expect with our writing ways that it comes across to people or criticism we might get are just interpersonal stuff that comes up, but that doesn't have to define the whole thing, right?
[00:17:37.910] - Diedra Riggs
Those are good words. Thanks.
[00:17:40.550] - Clarissa Moll
If this episode was helpful to you, just imagine how helpful the entire hour long interview with Deidra Riggs would be. Every week. Hope Writers members have access to a new 1 hour Tuesday teaching with agents, publishers, social media strategists, and authors like Deidra Riggs. Hope Writers helps you make progress in your writing life, whether you're writing blogs or articles on social media or in a book. If you want to be serious about your words and your reader, we're here for you for writing tips and encouragement. Find us on Instagram, at Hope Writers or at our public Facebook page.
[00:18:17.040] - Clarissa Moll
Hope Writers Community Last A final word from author Natalie Goldberg. Play around, dive into absurdity and write. Take chances you will succeed. If you are fearless of failure. As you rest in the lull between book projects, you may find yourself with space to play around and take some chances yourself as you do, you can step fearlessly into the next season of your writing life, confident that your next message will emerge and grow with time, care and attention. Thanks for listening, writer Friend as you step into this week remember to keep writing your words matter.
[00:18:58.140] - Clarissa Moll
We can't wait to read them. If you found this episode of the writerly life helpful, be sure to hit subscribe time and tell your friends rate and review the show and like and comment. If you're tuning in on YouTube, your reviews help others know you found the content helpful. See you next week.
