What Lindsey Vonn Taught Me About the Writing Life

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

As a writer, I consistently listen to audiobooks on various topics. Some of these books are exceptional and teach me lessons about my own writing life. Rise, My Story from skiing champion Lindsey Vonn is one of those books. I have never been on a ski but found Rise to be filled with great storytelling and insights for every writer.

 

At nine years old, Lindsey Vonn and her father made a detailed plan for her to go to the Olympics in skiing for 2002, Her perseverance, commitment and grit to reach this goal made at a young age was impressive and built into the fiber of this story.  Vonn’s honesty and transparency come through the pages of this book and in the stories.

 

Writers need to learn to face and conqauer their fears and Vonn writes about her own struggles with fear and how she overcame it to be able to fling herself off the top of a mountain and race to the bottom of the course. Also Vonn talks about her mindset and the importance of being in the right frame of mind before a race. It was another connection that I made with my own writing life. It's important to be in the right mindset as you write.

 

Vonn tells her readers that she is an introvert and how she's learned to support and encourage her teammates. The majority of writers (including me) are introverts and needed to learn these lessons as well with their writing life. Other topics that Vonn covers in her book arer how to handle criticism and gossip from others. It was another area where I could identify from my own writing life. Through stories, Vonn wrotes about the sacrifices that she has made to achieve her dreams. As I heard these stories, I could identify with some of the sacrifices I have made for my own writing life.

 

Built into the fiber of Rise was the reality of hard work as an athlete and how she has overcome injury and depression and much more. Also Vonn details the importance of working with the right people at the right time such as trainers, coaches, physical therapists and others. I've learned similar lessons during my journey in publishing. I need to note Rise is not a Christian book and has some profanity sprinkled into the stories but I found the insights far outweighed these few words. I recommend and enjoyed listening to Rise from cover to cover.

 

Do you listen to or read books in an entirely different topic which provide insights about your own writing life? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Other Recent Articles

 

As I've mentioned in these entries, I regularly write for some other publications. Here are some of those articles. It's a practice that I encourage you to do with your own writing.

 

Self-care for Writers on the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference blog

Why First Impressions Matter on the Writers on the Move blog

Looking For Authors Who “Get It”  on the Almost An Author blog in the section about book proposals

 

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This prolific editor and author explains what Lindsey Vonn taught him about the writing life. Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)

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Courage to Face the Changes

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

I'm writing these words from a hotel room in Nashville. Later today, I'm flying home from a several day Morgan James event for our authors. It is my ninth trip to this city in the last four years. Yet it was my first time to walk the red carpet with my fellow Morgan James Publishing authors. It was in celebration of my new book, 10 Publishing Myths. While I've watched others be interviewed in the past, it was fun and exciting to be interviewed and be able to tell others about my book. I'm including a photo. I understand in a few weeks I will have a video clip of my time on the red carpet. 

By the way, my flight home was "different." My plane backed up from the gate, then they told the passengers the ski resorts in Colorado had closed. The plane returned briefly to the same gate and about half the plane got off since they were headed to ski but now couldn't.  The airline wouldn't remove their luggage but straightened that out later.  It was something in all of my years of traveling, I had never seen. 

The news is full of changes in our world. Events are being cancelled and because of this coronavirus pandemic and the uncertainty, many plans are changing. 


For example, last Thursday night I planned to see one of my publishing friends who lives near Nashville. She and her husband didn't come to the event so I texted her to ask if she was coming. Her response was telling about our current situation. She leads a large Christian organization with a huge annual conference in June (several thousand people normally attending).  She had only slept a few hours all week and been consumed with leading her organization. She was not coming to our event. 

While I was on the road, I received an email about the cancellation of a convention in April which I often have attended over the years but was not planning to attend this years. It is probably the first time in the long history of this organization that they have cancelled their national meeting.

In this article, I want to give several ways to find courage in face of these changes. This time in history is an unusual time but publishing is always changing--now more than usual. 

1. Have courage and continue writing. Books and magazine articles will continue to be published. Deadlines still need to be met and you will stand out from others if you continue to  produce and write. Some people will be stuck and not write so if you do, you will be different.


2. Use your common sense about protecting yourself and keeping yourself healthy in the midst of these changes. The news is full of advice about cleaning and washing your hands and just simple actions you can take.


3. Eventually the situation will pass and everything will return to normal. History shows us this will be the case even though it might not feel like it at the moment.


4. Look for opportunities in the midst of the changes. Is there an online way for you to do something which you can't do face to face? Many teaching opportunities are moving in this direction. 


5. Keep learning from others and growing in your skills and craft of writing. I have some new things I'm trying and learning. I will be showing you these new skills in the coming days. I hope you will take this type of action as well. 


The world needs the stories only you can tell and only you can write. Yes there are many changes in our world but I encourage you to keep your fingers on the keyboard and find the courage to face these changes and keep going.

Let me know what steps you are taking to handle the changes and keep going in the comments below.


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Take Action in the Midst of Your Writing Fears

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” 
― Eleanor Roosevelt

I've read this quotation in a number of places and many different contexts.  It is a solid action step for every writer. 

Why? Because from my experience, fear can prevent us from taking action and moving forward with our writing. Will anyone want to read what I'm writing?  Will it sell? Can I find a publisher or literary agent? Is my writing good enough to publish in   a magazine or book? The questions in our minds can appear endless.

While I've published a great volume of material over the years, if I'm honest, I have a number of fears that I face each day. The key from my perspective is are you taking action with your writing in spite of those fears.  I have my ideas and pitches rejected and don't hit the mark—yet I continue pitching my ideas and looking for opportunities.

Years ago as a new writer, I was at a conference sitting around with several more experienced and published authors. It was late at night and I was learning a great deal from these new friends. One author who had published a number of books mentioned how every time he begins a new project he had huge doubts and fears in his mind. He wondered if he could do it and if the book would succeed. In the same breath where he mentioned these fears, he explained that he pushed ahead and beyond the fear to write the book. It's the key distinction between those who want to write and those who actually write: they push ahead and take action in spite of the negative thoughts and fears.

Possibly today your manuscript or book proposal is getting rejection letters from agents or editors. From my experience, you have not found the right place for your book when you get rejected. It means you have to keep looking for that right connection or champion. When the rejection arrives (even if that rejection is through no response), you face a critical choice.  You can either take action and seek another opportunity or you can quit and not respond.  Many authors will send out their material one or two times, get rejected and figure no one wants to work with them and publish their submission. Their writing fears have stalled them into no action.  

When you have writing fears, there are several things:

1. Everyone has these fears. Whether they admit them or not, you should understand it is part of the process.

2. The writers who get published, understand timing and the right connection are a critical part of the process. You have to be proactive to find the right connection with your material.

3. Rejection is a part of publishing. Everyone gets rejected—beginners and long-term professionals. The key is what do you do with the rejection. Do you quit or do you look for the next opportunity?

I believe the world is full of opportunity—yet as a writer you have to make the right connection and have to be facing your fears and continuing to move forward with your writing. One of the most published series of books in English is Chicken Soup for the Soul. What many people forget is Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were rejected on their proposed series 144 times. Now that is a lot of rejection. I'm sure they had fears to face, yet they continued moving forward. You can get some of their story in the foreword for Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Just follow this link to download the foreword and free sample chapter (no opt-in and you can download immediately).

For your encouragement and inspiration, remember this saying. If you need to do so, I would write it out and put it over your computer and read it often:

It will not fly, if you don't try.

Tweetable:

How do you take action in the midst of your writing fears? Get some ideas here. (ClickToTweet)
 

Conquer Your Gadget Fear

As our technology improves, each of us have new gadgets to learn and new computer programs to figure out. Sometimes I'll admit that I'm as reluctant as the next person to change something which is working and not broken. The old is comfortable and we resist learning something new. Whenever I face such a situation (and it happens often), I attempt to plunge in and learn from it.

For example, yesterday I managed to use my quick tap and connect it to my Speech Recording R-9 Recorder that I purchased from Mike Stewart at Mega Book Marketing University. I've used my recorder a great deal--but not the quick tap which connects my phone to the recorder. I got the quick tap from Mike but there were no directions which isn't surprising since Mike has been hooking up these sorts of things for many years. A quick Google search found some instructions. I tried it and still could not get it to work. I had to call the company and get a tech on the phone. My problem turned out that I wasn't using a plain handset phone. You can't use the quick tap with a handset which has a keypad. When I changed out my phone and hooked up the wiring, it worked perfectly. Something simple was preventing me from using this device.

Last month, I looked into changing my cell phone for the first time in several years. I'm on Verizon, one of the largest carriers in the U.S.. My wife and I both have the exact same phone. I learned about a free function called Back Up Assistant. You have to download the program on your phone and set up an account on the computer with Verizon (password and pin stuff but simple). Why do you want to use Back Up Assistant? Because once a week, it automatically backs up all of your cell phone data on the Verizon computers. If your phone gets lost or destroyed (hey it happens), you have not lost your information.

There are even greater benefits to use Back Up Assistant. While I can do it, I’m not eager to text in someone’s name for a new phone number. I'd rather type it on my computer or cut and paste it into place. With Back Up Assistant, you can enter phone numbers on your computer, then update your address book and send those numbers to your cell phone. I've got my phone and my wife's phone both set up with this system.

Last week, I got a new cell phone number for a family member. My wife wasn't even at home but I logged on to her phone book, added the number and sent the new information to her phone--without even telling her. It's handy technology that's sitting right out there for you--if you have a Verizon phone.

Most of us would prefer to stay with the tried and true but there are some huge advantages if you go with the changes and conquer your reluctance.

Scared? Rise Above It

Because I have a number of web pages and write these entries about the Writing Life, many people figure I have the technology stuff licked. They aren't even close to the truth if that's what they think. I struggle with it as much as the next person. I am consistently working at improving and learning more about it. That desire doesn't always translate.

I have some areas like word processing which I do day in and day out so I'm pretty quick and effective in these areas. Other things I rarely handle and it’s always a bit frightening to work on them. For example, I have features on my cell phone which I rarely use. I could become more productive if I learned how to use these features. I fight my fears and move ahead determined to rise above it.

Some people don't know if they should reach me through my office phone or my cell phone. During the next few weeks this question is going to be an important one because of the large number of days I will be out of my office and away from my phone. I've taken the plunge into the technology area and learned how to use a feature called Call Forwarding.

There is an author I'm working with a great deal these days. Unlike many other people, he doesn't have a lot of different phone numbers in my Rolodex. He has one number. It's usually his cell phone but the other day we were talking and he put me on a speaker phone. It got me to thinking that he's probably using Call Forwarding. When I investigated, I learned I could forward my office phone to my cell phone. And when I'm in my office, I can forward my cell phone to my office phone. The technology works--if I learn how to use it. If I continue in my old patterns and never learn something new, then I'm doomed to flounder along with the methods of the past.

What are you putting off learning that could improve your writing life? Is there a new skill that would improve your work habits or enhance your prose? Can you plan to get to a writer's conference in the coming months and soak in the teaching from someone you want to hear? And not just soak in the information but make specific and measured steps in your own growth. I'm encouraging you to move through those nagging fears about some area and face it with confidence and courage. You will be surprised at the results.