Dear Writer, Action Is In Your Nature. You Don’t Have To Search It.

It’s all about discovering, not forcing it.

And…action!

When it comes to this topic, my mind plays many tricks on me. It often leaps into action and starts generating ideas long before or long after I have at least some of the necessary equipment required for creative writing to take place. For example, many ideas come when I am taking a shower or just about to put my head on my pillow to sleep.

Then, when I am in the process of writing, it often takes another turn and doesn’t follow the “brilliant” thoughts I had before. That disappoints my brain. I deliberately say it is my brain that is disappointed and not me, because inevitably when I look back at what I have written, I find many pieces that are even better than the initial ideas.

Finally, when I’ve finished writing for the day, or morning or afternoon, thoughts appear, which are various versions of the following, “There’s no action, no fire in your writing!”

These thoughts also appear when I am in the process of writing, urging me to stress myself with endless improving and improving.

They appear around my already published work too.

My first book, The Truth About Family, is unique to me. It is rooted in a true story of my father’s life, and I find this story exciting and gripping.

But my thoughts behave like a person who wants to diminish the merit of this work and say, “Somebody will believe that it’s boring.”

My answers to these thoughts are, “Of course there will be someone who won’t like the book and will find it annoying. Probably because this person has different interests. But do I write for this person? No. I write for those who might be moved by this story as it moved me.”

The interesting thing is that these negative thoughts do not appear when I open the book and read a passage, remembering both my father and so many inspiring moments during the creation of the book.

These thoughts appear when I am already complaining and don’t realize it. When that happens, any uplifting and constructive thought is dismissed with an annoyed hand-wave.

What helps is to let myself observe all of my internal and external reactions without labeling them as good or bad. Only then I can find the fun during the authoring process and enjoy the results of my writing.

I’ve discovered that when I reread something from my published books, I can’t stop reading it until I finish a passage or a chapter. There is this novelty, this curiosity. Did I write this?

It is also fun to realize that every time I read one of my published pieces, I am a different person with at least slightly divergent views and inclinations. I can continually experience my books and articles anew, and I can experience the world around me — including my creations — anew as well.

These days, I experience more and more frequent moments of kindness toward myself. What helped me reach this point? Two things.

The first is practicing being aware and fully present in the moment of now. This simple but brilliant approach was inspired by the work of award-winning authors Ariel & Shya Kane, and it is a fair, kind, and honest companion that helps me to realize that my thoughts are not me.

These thoughts were formed when I was a child, first learning how to speak. They were shaped throughout my life as I continued learning and interacting with the ever-changing world around me. Now, I have the choice to listen to them or let them be, whether they bring a creative idea or a nervous one dreading the unknown.

The second great helper for me is the feedback of my friends and fans.

There must be something about your writing when your readers and friends say or write something like this:

“I read this book from beginning to end the day I received it. It was captivating! An easy to read book and one of the best books I have read all year.”

or

“This is a very well written story about finding your identity and yourself in the young years, and I was drawn into the author’s universe from page one. It is one of those books you don’t want to finish because you have come to care for the persons and their stories.“

Both reviews above were written about The Truth About Family, the book that my brain feared would be labeled as boring.

If you have doubts about your writing, observe yourself, the room around you, everything in the given moment of now, and then look closer.

Yes, look closer, and I am sure you will find scenes in your manuscript that you wish to continue, that you don’t want to end.

Action is in your nature. It keeps you alive. There is also action in your writing. Just hold onto the feeling of excitement you get when you read a captivating book. Observe yourself without judging what you see, and more and more often, you’ll experience those same moments of excitement while writing and later reading the pieces you’ve written.

P.S.

Though, as I write this postscript, I have written and published nine books since The Truth About Family, I still occasionally have the concern that I wouldn’t be able to offer enough action in my stories. In 2016, I submitted my second fiction book, A Spy’s Daughter, to the 24th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Here is the review I received from one of their judges:

“I’m a big fan of spy fiction, and, until recently, it has been rare to see a strong female protagonist; John le Carré’s Charlie in THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL is one of the earliest to come to mind. The thing I like most about Victoria Ichizli-Bartels’s A SPY’S DAUGHTER is that an interesting woman is at the center of the story. Its European setting and post-Soviet mood are also incredibly appealing. Ichizli-Bartels does a good job of scene setting and character development. My main issue with the book seems to be with its pacing. The novel moves a little bit too swiftly for my taste, and it seems as though just when we’re getting into a chapter and settling in, the scene is cut off. Perhaps I’m a bit too used to the kind of spy fiction that le Carré writes, which is slowly and deliberately paced. The pacing here often feels perhaps a bit more suited to the screen than to the page — this would make an excellent screenplay. But since this is also book one in a series, perhaps this issue would seem less noticeable when all of the books are read together. Having said that, the book’s plot is fascinating, and the protagonist extremely well-drawn, which isn’t always the case with spy fiction.”

It seems that the only deficiency of the book was too much action. Hm. Yet another proof that fears, especially in a creative world, are a waste of time.

This is an excerpt from Cheerleading for Writers: Discover How Truly Talented You Are.

Thank you for reading!

If you enjoyed the story above, then you might also like these, which are also excerpts from Cheerleading for Writers:

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