Note: Annette Fix, author of the memoir THE BREAK-UP DIET is my guest blogger today. Although I've only exchanged a few emails with her, I get a good vibe from Annette--warm, friendly, and supportive of her friends and other writers.
Like my own novel THE LIFE PLAN, THE BREAK-UP DIET is about a woman who must deal with her life plan going awry. Here's the blurb from her website.
Like Annette herself, the memoir is warm and funny, about a woman trying to make it in LA and live authentically. As a single mom with a teenage son, Annette dreamed of making a living as a writer, but found many obstacles. I thought it would be great to interview her about the writing process and her advice to other struggling writers.
Also, for the length of her blog tour, Annette will be giving away free digital copies of her memoir. If you’d like a copy, send an email to promo[at]thebreak-updiet[dot]com, please put “Sybil Baker” in the subject line.
Sybil Baker: In your book, The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir, you try to juggle finding time to write creatively in addition to freelance writing (and working as an exotic dancer) to pay the bills. What advice do you have for aspiring writers who need to find the time and emotional energy to write?
Do whatever it takes to keep your creative dream alive. The type of freelance writing I was doing felt completely soul sucking, so I stopped taking on those jobs. It made more sense to me to work as a dancer and keep my time and creative spirit unencumbered.
My employment path might’ve been the one less traveled, but there were still the same bills to pay, child to raise, and domestic responsibilities that every single mother has (or any woman for that matter). There is no great secret to finding the time or emotional energy to write. It takes a commitment to your writing; you have to make it a priority. It definitely helps to stay connected to people who are trying to do the same thing you are. Get an accountability partner so you can keep each other excited and motivated. It’s too easy to let life get in the way.
Sybil Baker: In The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir, you start writing your memoir before you know that you will have a “happy ending.” What made you decide to write a book about your break up when you didn’t know how your story would end?
I wrote it because it was a story I had to write. I’ve never read a book that portrayed the uncensored emotions and thoughts a woman has when she goes through a tough relationship break-up. Although the story moves from quirky humor to visceral heartbreak, I say all the things most women don’t ever reveal.
As for the ending, I knew there would eventually be a conclusion. Either I’d gallop into the sunset with my Prince Charming, or I’d end up being the crazy cat lady that smells like gin and mothballs, or I’d find myself somewhere in between.
Sybil Baker: What was the process of writing your memoir and how long did it take you to complete the manuscript?
I started the book about a week after the break-up. The format came directly from my journal entries. I just chose to write as if the reader stepped into the middle of my activities each day.
The manuscript took the same amount of time to write as it did to live it—20 months from when I got dumped on page one to the banner message at the end—remember, I wrote it as my life story unfolded. There were times when I worked on the book in a corner at the club, typing on an AlphaSmart while the music blasted and customers peeked over my shoulder, asking how the writing was coming along. It was the revising, editing, and the publishing process that took the longest. Total time from blank page to bound book: 5 years.
Sybil Baker: What would be a typical writing day for you? Do you have a set routine that works for you?
I spend between 12 to 14 hours a day on the computer. Right now, I’m not in writing mode. So, I spend most of the time multi-tasking between email, social networking, and book promotion. When I am in writing mode, it’s still the same amount of time, but I step into my story and lose complete track of time.
Sybil Baker: Do you have a group of friends or a writing group that you show your work to? How far into the writing process do you wait before you share your work?
I mentioned my critique group—The Wednesday Writers—on my book acknowledgments page. I’ve been with the same group since 2002. We all write in very different genres, but we’re all committed to the craft.
I always take first-draft pages, but my raw material is more like someone else’s 2nd or 3rd pass because I edit each sentence to death as I write—which means it takes me about an hour to create a single page. I’m still trying to figure out how to break that habit.
Sybil Baker: What are you working on now?
Mostly book promotion. Developing my speaking platform. And freelance editing. Eventually, when it’s time to begin writing again, I’ll wrestle my muse to the ground to keep her focused on one project at a time.
Sybil Baker: What advice do you have for women who are struggling with finding the time/energy/confidence to write?
Take baby steps. If your schedule doesn’t allow blocks of uninterrupted writing time, just squeeze it in wherever you can. If you can find time to read the news, watch a TV show, wait for an appointment—then you have time to write.
If you make writing your treat, instead of a chore, you’ll approach it with more energy and enthusiasm. Take a brisk walk to get the blood flowing and keep a recorder with you to log ideas, snippets of dialog, sensory details, etc. Let your brain work out the minute details so you can show up at the page ready to write.
Trust that your story is worth telling. Confidence comes with the belief that your story will make a difference—whether it helps the readers see something in a new way, offers a brief escape from their lives, teaches them something they didn’t know, or touches their emotions to make them laugh or cry. Write your story for the readers.
Thanks Annette!
***
Annette Fix is a freelance editor, a publishing industry and single parenting speaker, Senior Editor of WOW! Women On Writing, and the author of The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir.
Visit her writing blog at Annette’s Paper Trail and The Break-Up Diet site. You can email her directly at annette[at]annettefix[dot]com.
For the length of her blog tour, Annette will be giving away free digital copies of her memoir. If you’d like a copy, send an email to promo[at]thebreak-updiet[dot]com, please put “Sybil Baker” in the subject line.
You can purchase copies of The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir online and from any independent or chain bookstore.
Like my own novel THE LIFE PLAN, THE BREAK-UP DIET is about a woman who must deal with her life plan going awry. Here's the blurb from her website.
Annette Fix always believed in happily ever after and was busy working her
Five-Year Plan: marry her golf-pro boyfriend, homeschool her preteen son,
become a famous writer, and retire to Fiji. When her live-in boyfriend calls
it quits, Annette finds herself on The Break-Up Diet, consuming vast amounts
of chocolate and exercising by diving blindly into the shallow end of the
dating pool.
Like Annette herself, the memoir is warm and funny, about a woman trying to make it in LA and live authentically. As a single mom with a teenage son, Annette dreamed of making a living as a writer, but found many obstacles. I thought it would be great to interview her about the writing process and her advice to other struggling writers.
Also, for the length of her blog tour, Annette will be giving away free digital copies of her memoir. If you’d like a copy, send an email to promo[at]thebreak-updiet[dot]com, please put “Sybil Baker” in the subject line.
Sybil Baker: In your book, The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir, you try to juggle finding time to write creatively in addition to freelance writing (and working as an exotic dancer) to pay the bills. What advice do you have for aspiring writers who need to find the time and emotional energy to write?
Do whatever it takes to keep your creative dream alive. The type of freelance writing I was doing felt completely soul sucking, so I stopped taking on those jobs. It made more sense to me to work as a dancer and keep my time and creative spirit unencumbered.
My employment path might’ve been the one less traveled, but there were still the same bills to pay, child to raise, and domestic responsibilities that every single mother has (or any woman for that matter). There is no great secret to finding the time or emotional energy to write. It takes a commitment to your writing; you have to make it a priority. It definitely helps to stay connected to people who are trying to do the same thing you are. Get an accountability partner so you can keep each other excited and motivated. It’s too easy to let life get in the way.
Sybil Baker: In The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir, you start writing your memoir before you know that you will have a “happy ending.” What made you decide to write a book about your break up when you didn’t know how your story would end?
I wrote it because it was a story I had to write. I’ve never read a book that portrayed the uncensored emotions and thoughts a woman has when she goes through a tough relationship break-up. Although the story moves from quirky humor to visceral heartbreak, I say all the things most women don’t ever reveal.
As for the ending, I knew there would eventually be a conclusion. Either I’d gallop into the sunset with my Prince Charming, or I’d end up being the crazy cat lady that smells like gin and mothballs, or I’d find myself somewhere in between.
Sybil Baker: What was the process of writing your memoir and how long did it take you to complete the manuscript?
I started the book about a week after the break-up. The format came directly from my journal entries. I just chose to write as if the reader stepped into the middle of my activities each day.
The manuscript took the same amount of time to write as it did to live it—20 months from when I got dumped on page one to the banner message at the end—remember, I wrote it as my life story unfolded. There were times when I worked on the book in a corner at the club, typing on an AlphaSmart while the music blasted and customers peeked over my shoulder, asking how the writing was coming along. It was the revising, editing, and the publishing process that took the longest. Total time from blank page to bound book: 5 years.
Sybil Baker: What would be a typical writing day for you? Do you have a set routine that works for you?
I spend between 12 to 14 hours a day on the computer. Right now, I’m not in writing mode. So, I spend most of the time multi-tasking between email, social networking, and book promotion. When I am in writing mode, it’s still the same amount of time, but I step into my story and lose complete track of time.
Sybil Baker: Do you have a group of friends or a writing group that you show your work to? How far into the writing process do you wait before you share your work?
I mentioned my critique group—The Wednesday Writers—on my book acknowledgments page. I’ve been with the same group since 2002. We all write in very different genres, but we’re all committed to the craft.
I always take first-draft pages, but my raw material is more like someone else’s 2nd or 3rd pass because I edit each sentence to death as I write—which means it takes me about an hour to create a single page. I’m still trying to figure out how to break that habit.
Sybil Baker: What are you working on now?
Mostly book promotion. Developing my speaking platform. And freelance editing. Eventually, when it’s time to begin writing again, I’ll wrestle my muse to the ground to keep her focused on one project at a time.
Sybil Baker: What advice do you have for women who are struggling with finding the time/energy/confidence to write?
Take baby steps. If your schedule doesn’t allow blocks of uninterrupted writing time, just squeeze it in wherever you can. If you can find time to read the news, watch a TV show, wait for an appointment—then you have time to write.
If you make writing your treat, instead of a chore, you’ll approach it with more energy and enthusiasm. Take a brisk walk to get the blood flowing and keep a recorder with you to log ideas, snippets of dialog, sensory details, etc. Let your brain work out the minute details so you can show up at the page ready to write.
Trust that your story is worth telling. Confidence comes with the belief that your story will make a difference—whether it helps the readers see something in a new way, offers a brief escape from their lives, teaches them something they didn’t know, or touches their emotions to make them laugh or cry. Write your story for the readers.
Thanks Annette!
***
Annette Fix is a freelance editor, a publishing industry and single parenting speaker, Senior Editor of WOW! Women On Writing, and the author of The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir.
Visit her writing blog at Annette’s Paper Trail and The Break-Up Diet site. You can email her directly at annette[at]annettefix[dot]com.
For the length of her blog tour, Annette will be giving away free digital copies of her memoir. If you’d like a copy, send an email to promo[at]thebreak-updiet[dot]com, please put “Sybil Baker” in the subject line.
You can purchase copies of The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir online and from any independent or chain bookstore.
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2 comments:
Sybil, thanks for hosting a stop on my blog tour! I'll pop by throughout the day to answer any questions and respond to comments from your readers. =) Thanks again!
Annette,
Some great advice for writers here! I was curious, with your young child and hectic schedule, where do you find the time to put in all those writing hours? Is there a certain room in the house that's off-limit to visitors or do you go somewhere else to find the privacy?
Thanks!
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