All posts tagged NaNoWriMo

Trusting the Writing Process (Year 4)

Four years. Forty eight months. 208 weeks. 1,460 days. Any which way you describe it; I’ve been mindful and reflective of passing another writing milestone. And I’ve learned a lot about the writer’s life along the way.

My 4-Year Blogging Experience

Earlier this month I passed my 4-year blogging anniversary. That’s over 250 posts across three blogs (here, Celebrate Recovery on the Plateau, and Journeys to Mother Love), church devotionals, and guest posts on other author blogs. When I published my first blog post, What’s in a Name, I had no idea where my writing would take me. It just felt like the right time to flex my writing muscle.

In 4 years’ time I’ve written from a Christian perspective about emotional and spiritual healing, recovery, and finding our identity. I’ve dug into my own mother wounds and shared the unexpected beauty that surrounded the passing of my mother and my father. I’ve shared the ups and downs of relationships and the challenges of living with ADHD. I took readers with me on my personal pilgrimage to Spain, my mission to Europe, and shown them the joy of partnering with my musical protégé and friend, Pedro González Arbona on his journey into film composing.

A lot of my original posts were only shared with a handful of friends who I felt safe enough to share my writing with. I recently re-read some of those posts and was surprised at their transparency and inspiration: It Takes Courage, When Life Imitates Art, Leaving a Legacy. The formatting isn’t as polished as my current work, but the content is still relevant and poignant.

A few years ago, I submitted my site for a critique by a literary agent who was focused on marketing. That led to the highest hits on my site in one day. Normally I’d think that was a good thing. But her critique of my site drew the interest of other bloggers to see what not to do. That served as an embarrassing reminder of how brutal the publishing industry can be.

Thanks to the interview with Dan Davies last month, that changed! The post, A Behind the Scenes Look at Tempting Fate with Actor Dan Davies, now holds the single day record, and with it a very pleasant reminder of an entertaining interview.

So 4 years of blogging has ended on a positive note! I’ll continue as the Holy Spirit leads me, and maybe tackle a revamp of my blog layout in the coming year.

The Ups and Downs of Traditional Publishing

It was also four years ago that I joined the Northwest Christian Writer’s Association. Membership has its benefits, and one of those is receiving notifications of story submissions. Days after attending my first meeting, I received the notification that set my writing in motion:

“Cladach Publishing is seeking authors with an encouraging personal-experience story of healing in mother/child relationships.”

That story submission, my first manuscript, led to publishing “Walking my Mother Home” in Journeys to Mother Love. It seemed like I was on the fast-track to publishing. I did all the right things: attending conferences, marketing, speaking, blogging, and posting on social media like Facebook. It was a lot of work.

What got lost along the way was my dream to have my memoir published. Except for an intense month of writing for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November 2012, work on my memoir, Emerging from the Cocoon, stopped.

An author friend told me back when all of this started that ‘overnight’ success in the publishing world can have its setbacks. She was right.

The publishing seemed to come relatively easy for me then. Step by step the opportunities opened one after the other, with the Lord aligning all of the people and places at the right time.

Then He directed my writing endeavors towards Spain. While there are a lot of posts here related to my Spanish connection, there is still a great body of work buried deep in my journal.

Sometimes it haunts me, beckoning to be published, at least from a travel perspective. (Like today, the anniversary of my departure for Europe on the Celebrate Recovery mission.) But after returning from that mission (my second pilgrimage of sorts), my writing has remained an inward work in progress.

It left me wondering, “where’s the fruit?”

Trusting the Writing Process

The last year has been the hardest part of my writing journey thus far.

At the beginning of this year, I decided to take a sabbatical from serving in CR leadership. It was a difficult decision, but I knew I needed a break. I had poured myself into the mission, writing all about it, and also launching the website and blog for that ministry. I needed a season to rest and abide in the Lord (John 15:4). Surprisingly that took me into the next layer of the therapeutic process related to my ADHD. The internal work has been intense and too raw to write about publicly.

What has happened along the way though is that I have started to accept that all of the writing I am doing is the normal path of a writer. It is especially so for someone like me who wants to bring meaning to their work and make it truly authentic.

I’ve often heard that writing is a process. My path to publishing happened so quickly I skipped over that part. Now I have to experience the process and trust the path that other writers have walked before me.

I’ve learned the importance and significance of solitude. I’ve learned that reflection is a part of the craft.

Writers live a life of discovery and look at the inner experience of it. As such, we often need to distance ourselves from our experiences to be able to get the right perspective on it. That takes time, patience, and perseverance.

So I’ve come to accept that this season of my writing journey has been about doing the deeper inner work and trusting the process. I know it will be harder for me because of my ADHD. I’m not giving up.

For now, I’m continuing to take notice of what is going on around me and in me through the lens of ADHD. It’s a blessing, or so I’ve been told.

I know I’m worth it.

And so are you. I encourage you, my friends and readers, to take the time to invest in yourself and reflect on your experiences. You don’t have to be a writer. Any writing you do about it will lead to healing and emotional health though.

Thanks for supporting my writing and journeying along with me. May this blog be a place of encouragement and inspiration on your journey. May He turn your healing into hope too.

5 Comments

by ardisanelson on September 24, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in My Writing Journey, Spiritual Growth

Posted by ardisanelson on September 24, 2015

https://ardisanelson.com/2015/09/24/trusting-the-writing-process/

Living in the Shadow of Mental Illness

It’s no secret that my mother was mentally ill—not now anyway. I’ve written about it on my blog and was the basis for my published story in Journeys to Mother Love (Cladach Publishing). Chapter 8 in the Table of Contents reads: Distanced by Mental Illness, Walking my Mother Home, by Ardis A. Nelson. There it is; my lifelong struggle in black and white on the page for all to see.

Chapter 8 is my story.

I’ve heard from many people how they resonated with my story. It is usually in regards to how they are caring for a loved one at the end of life or it touches an accord with those whose parent has died. It gives them hope and encouragement for the journey no matter how recent or faraway the experience was.

Distancing Myself

My story isn’t just about how I re-established contact and cared for my mentally ill mother at the end of her life though. The bigger story is how I distanced myself from getting to know myself as well. At 53 years old, it is what I am still working through. It is the theme of the memoir that I hope to someday have published.

The Bible tells us in Matthew 10:38 that as followers of Christ we all have a cross to bear. My cross seems to be the legacy that I have of living in the shadows of a mother who had mental illness. Even though I had amazing healing when my mother died (as mentioned in my published story), I can still revert to my negative way of thinking and seeing things through the filter of mental illness in my family.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Many people live in the shadow of mental illness. They were raised in a family with a parent who was mentally ill. Or maybe they grew up hearing stories about crazy Aunt Sue or Uncle Joe. I know I did; and it wasn’t just about my mother, but others in the family as well.

When I was growing up there was a huge stigma attached to mental illness. There were barbaric practices perpetuated on mental patients—witness the movie, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” from 1975.

Jack Nicholson’s character receiving shock therapy, a barbaric practice, in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

I saw that movie in the theater when I was 15. The movie hit way to close to home as my mother was in and out of mental hospitals and had shock therapy when I was in elementary school. Watching that movie scared me and maybe even scarred me emotionally.

Last November when I started work on my memoir as part of National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo, I watched that movie again for the first time in over 30 years. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, but I think that was because I watched it more for historical reasons and for context in my memoir writing. In other words, I detached myself from my emotions. I thank God that wasn’t my fate.

Emotional Highs and Lows

At this stage of life with hormones raging out of control, it is hard at times to not let that dark cloud and fear of mental illness grab a hold of me. It seemed to hit me particularly hard after my time in Spain. It’s no wonder.

The movie is still playing, although at times it may feel like it’s over.

I’ve been on an emotional high the last few years as I stepped into the world of publishing as a first time author, launched Pedro’s professional music career, and prepared for my trip to Spain. It has often felt like a dream to me—or as I’ve openly expressed—like a movie with Pedro’s music as the soundtrack.

Three months after my return home, I’ve finally re-adjusted to life in America. As I slowed down and re-focused my attention on my own self-care, at times it felt like the credits scrolled by on the screen and the music stopped playing. Just like in the theater, all that was left was the mess on the floor to clean up—most notably a body that was exhausted and sometimes depressed.

Rejecting the Lie

I’m discovering some profound things about myself as I work through this next layer of healing. I know it is what God is requiring from me so that He can more fully use me for His bigger purpose. As I do, I am clinging to my identity in Christ and not some worn out lie or stigma.

Are you believing a lie from your past? Who will you believe—our heavenly Father who loves you, or the Evil One, the thief and father of all lies? What are you doing to flip the switch in your thinking?

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10, NIV)

Turning to the Dark Side

I’ve been blogging for over two years and recently reached a blogging milestone of 100 posts. I started out slow, blogging when the mood hit me and now consistently post once a week. That may not sound like much, but at times it has been a chore—to either fit it in my schedule or to force the writing to come out.

The Growing Pains of Blogging

My blogging has grown a lot over the last year. I’m now starting to see that my focusing on Spain for so long was mentally draining on me. I pushed myself physically while traveling and also mentally to blog while there. I don’t regret it because at least for me personally I’m glad to have documented my trip in that way—not the standard travel log.

I’m starting to get my writer’s sea legs back now with inspiration that comes from deep within. That is what led me to writing and blogging in the first place so it feels good.

But blogging isn’t always a feel good thing for me. I think if bloggers were really honest with themselves, they’d have to admit that they’ve felt some anxiety or tension at one time or another when it comes time to publish a post. It is a scary and vulnerable position to put yourself out on the internet for all the world to see—especially when you are sharing your personal story.

Then there are the voices within that tell us that the number of followers we have or the number of ‘likes’ on our posts somehow dictates our value or is a true indicator of our writing skill. (I know I’m not alone in my thinking.) It happens I’m sure in any creative endeavor. We have to be sure of ourselves and our message. That is where my identity in Christ helps me.

Publishing Humiliation

In my quest for healing, I recently discovered that my publishing fears were deeper rooted than just the typical “will people accept me” or like my writing. I was having a particularly hard time releasing my worries in publishing a post, and then it all came back to me.

When I was in college, I turned from my desires to be a journalist to something much more analytical—an accountant. Sometimes I hung out with the crowd at the college newspaper, never writing stories though. My first semester communications courses brutally killed that dream.

My extracurricular passion was serving as the music director at the college radio station. During a period of transition in management at the radio station, I wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper. I don’t remember what it was about specifically, but it wasn’t a flattering piece. I got a lot of flak for that letter. Worse yet, the station manager wrote a rebuttal to the editor in the next publication. I was publically humiliated in front of my peers.

I could go on and on about how I might have felt justified, or whatever. The point is that when I publish a post on my blog, sometimes that humiliation is triggered in me—the deep fear of saying or doing something that will be misunderstood or land on someone the wrong way. Recognizing that trigger has helped me to release that fear.

Getting comfortable behind the mic again at WMCR (25th college reunion)

Writing Crossroads

At my one year blogging milestone, I wrote a piece about writing for “An Audience of One”. I like to think that audience of One is my heavenly Father. Realistically though, I sometimes get in the way of that. I know that my writing serves to inspire some of my friends and family. I’m very grateful for their acknowledgments of that. In my darker days, it is just what I need to encourage me to keep going.

Now that I’ve passed my second year blogging milestone, I feel like I’m at a crossroads with my writing. I enjoy blogging, but realistically I’ve felt more like a blogger than a writer this past year. I’ve been so busy and focused on Spain that my memoir has sat dormant on my computer since November 30, 2012—the last day of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). It was a labor of love to churn out over 30,000 words in 30 days. It was also very intense and emotionally draining. Oddly enough, I’m considering picking up that work in progress in November, but not with that kind of intensity.

I need a writing discipline in my life in order to tackle the huge project ahead of me. NaNoWriMo was that last year. So I am preparing myself for the next leg of my writing journey. If my memoir is ever finished and sees the light of day, I’ll have much bigger fears to overcome. Until then I’ll keep training that ‘publish’ muscle one post at a time.

PS. If you want to know what I learned from my second year of blogging, it is to not be concerned about the length of my posts. When I started blogging I followed all the suggestions about size, content, etc. But I’ve noticed that my favorite author blogs don’t publish short posts. That doesn’t stop me from reading to the end. I’m not concerned about my word counts any more. I read for quality and depth of story, so that is what I am shooting for here as well. Thanks for your interest in my work and reading to the end!

11 Comments

by ardisanelson on October 29, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Healing & Recovery, My Writing Journey

Tagged adapting to change, celebrations, Christianity, fear, healing, identity, memoir writing, NaNoWriMo, publishing, struggle, writing

Posted by ardisanelson on October 29, 2013

https://ardisanelson.com/2013/10/29/turning-to-the-dark-side/

NaNoWriMo Lessons Learned, Part 1 – Writing Takeaways

30 days and nights of literary abandon is a pretty accurate assessment of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). As a result, November was a total blur to me!

By the end of the day on November 30, I reached my personal writing goals for the month: over 30,000 words (90 pages) on my memoir and getting through 6 tough chapters of personal highs and lows in my life. I also kept up with my other writing and marketing commitments (another 30,000 words), dealt with some pressing family matters and celebrated my birthday. Needless to say, I am thrilled with the result.

I started the month hesitant on what to expect, but knew I needed to get off the fence about my memoir. I started it over a year ago and only wrote a few pages. I needed this deadline to get moving again. My biggest fear was failure. It had nothing to do with the possibility of not hitting the 50,000 word threshold. It was about starting to write and then giving up half-way through the month. I faced that fear and so much more last month.

As a former project manager one of the key meetings we held as a team at the completion of a project was the lessons learned debriefing. It was a valuable tool to bring closure to the team, the project, and to move forward with new insights. My NaNoWriMo project was also full of lessons learned for me—personally and professionally. I’ll start out with the ‘easy’ lessons learned related to writing.

Writing Lessons Learned

I am a writer. Despite my being published earlier this year, I had occasional doubts about my ability to write. Over 30,000 words and six chapters later, I put an end to that thought.
I can discipline myself to write. I set up a schedule to write (or research my memoir) and stuck to it most days. I now have a distraction free space in my home to continue.
Writing takes a lot of work and is a big commitment. No more giving lip service to it. I’m committed to this project.
Writing is a process. I’ve heard that many times over the past year, but didn’t really understand it until this month. (This lesson learned is worthy of an entire blog on its own.) If you are a writer, you know exactly what I mean.
Memoir writing should not be rushed. There are many nuggets and insights to be gleaned from looking at your life. By definition, a memoir is a reflection upon key life experiences that make up the person. When you rush through the writing, it is easy to miss it. I kept a separate journal of my ‘aha’ moments and processed as much as I could, but it was pretty overwhelming.
Memoir writing is not for everyone. It includes a painful process of self-examination. You have to be willing to relive both the good and the bad. You have to reveal your inner struggle and be vulnerable or else readers won’t be able to identify with your story. (Again, not for everyone.)

This month long writing exercise was a great opportunity to jump start my memoir. The result wasn’t necessarily pretty, but it served its purpose for me. Stay tuned for Part 2 to read about the deeper more personal lessons learned while on my NaNoWriMo adventure.

2 Comments

by ardisanelson on December 5, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Identity, My Writing Journey

Tagged fear, feeling defeated, identity, memoir writing, NaNoWriMo, overwhelm, success, writing

Posted by ardisanelson on December 5, 2012

https://ardisanelson.com/2012/12/05/nanowrimo-lessons-learned-part-1-writing-takeaways/

NaNoWriMo–I’m Diving In!

If someone asked you how long you thought it would take to write a book, how would you answer? Six months? A year? Two years? What would you think if someone told you they were going to write a book in 30 days? Would you think they were crazy?

That’s what I thought a year ago when I first heard of National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo for short. I couldn’t fathom what would motivate a person to do such a thing. Yet one year later, I am registered to participate in this writing free-for-all along with thousands of other writers around the world (9,500 in Seattle alone)!

November 1 kicks off the start of National Novel Writing Month. The tag line on NaNoWriMo.org is “Thirty days and nights of literary abandon”. Abandon means to yield (oneself) without restraint or moderation. That is a scary prospect—to write with that sort of intensity for a month. The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. That averages out to 1,667 words per day.

Why would I decide to take on such a big project at this juncture of my writing career? I need a deadline to get me moving on my next book project. I’ve been so busy with the release of my story in Journeys to Mother Love this year that my memoir has been on hold. (If you follow my story, you know that my trip to Spain next summer is a big piece of the writing. I want to get a skeletal draft of the book done before then.)

Help Along the Way

Thankfully, I will not be alone in this endeavor. There is a huge online community of other “NaNo” writers. Last year there were 256,618 participants and 36,843 crossed the finish line. Finishers get a winner certificate–a hard earned award and coveted milestone on their writing resume. That is a huge accomplishment. Win or “lose”, I’ll be further along on my project than I am now.

NaNoWriMo.org is full of tips and support for this month long undertaking. The main one I have embraced is telling everyone that I am doing this. The theory behind doing so is to motivate us to avoid humiliation if we don’t cross the finish line with 50,000 words. That’s a sobbering thought.

I think more than the possible embarrassment of not completing NaNoWriMo is the regret I would feel for not having tried this. And that brings me to the best piece of advice I’ve found yet; do this for yourself. So that is what I am doing. I will be pouring a labor of love into myself this month. I am searching for the nuggets that need to be called out of my story to share. I am getting in touch with lost parts of my identity. I am writing to share the hope and encouragement that following Jesus brings into the deepest parts of our soul.

Letting Go of All Expectations

So if NaNoWriMo is the vehicle I need to get me off the fence, then I’m all in. I imagine it will turn my life upside down for the next 30 days—including Thanksgiving and my birthday. I’m telling my friends to not expect to see me, but to pray for me. I will need lots of encouragement. (I hear week 2 is especially hard.)

In preparation for this dedicated writing, I have lined up some guest bloggers to fill in for me. These women have all expressed an interest in writing and blogging. They have been a source of encouragement to me along my writing path. I know you will enjoy their stories and what they have to say about how they walk out their faith.

My newest writing prop. All set to write 50,000 words in 30 days.

Other than that I have no idea if I will do an occasional post, do updates on Facebook or just fast from all social media and other possible distractions. I’m trying to let go of all expectations.

Tomorrow, I am taking my next big leap of faith. As I do the words to “Dive”, a song by Steven Curtis Chapman, are running through my mind. Like the song says, “sink or swim, I’m diving in”.

Wish me luck, send me notes of encouragement, or better yet, pray that regardless of how many words I complete over the next 30 days that I stay in touch with the bigger purpose that I believe God is calling me too—and that I do it one day at a time.

5 Comments

by ardisanelson on October 31, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Faith & Hope, Identity, My Spanish Connection, My Writing Journey

Tagged fear, identity, letting go, memoir writing, NaNoWriMo, writing

Posted by ardisanelson on October 31, 2012

https://ardisanelson.com/2012/10/31/nanowrimo-im-diving-in/

WELCOME to my site!

I'm an author, writer, speaker, mentor & mom. I've struggled to find my voice all my life as I lived in the shadows of a mother with mental illness. Thankfully that was not the legacy that she handed down to me. It took a lot of recovery and deep healing work to rise above it.

I am thankful to God for Making Me Bold in the process. Now I use my writing and speaking voice to help others on their journey to turn healing into hope.
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Making Me Bold

All posts tagged NaNoWriMo

Trusting the Writing Process (Year 4)

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Living in the Shadow of Mental Illness

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Turning to the Dark Side

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NaNoWriMo Lessons Learned, Part 1 – Writing Takeaways

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NaNoWriMo–I’m Diving In!

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WELCOME to my site!

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Recent Posts

Ardis A Nelson ~ Writer ~ Speaker

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What I Write About

Songs Composed by Pedro Gonzalez Arbona

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