• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Janice Beetle Books

Writing, editing, book development, and publishing help

  • Home
  • About
    • My Books
    • Clients’ Books
    • Privacy Policy
  • Services
    • Creative Writing Review/Coaching
    • Book Development /Writing
      • Book Development Sampler
    • Book Editing
    • Copy Editing
    • Book Design
    • Publishing Guidance
  • Blog
  • Poem Pods
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Order My Book
You are here: Home / All / Leaning In to My Instincts

Leaning In to My Instincts

March 2, 2016 by Janice Beetle Leave a Comment

I continue to carve out time to work toward my goal of finishing a manuscript by summer or fall, and I’ve clearly defined that my focus is on my work of fiction, a love story. (Because, remember, I’m in love with love!)

I have been writing in the evenings and on the weekends, on my laptop and on my cell phone. I’ve been writing notes on scraps of paper and using the voice memo tool on my phone. I’m putting all the resources to use!

So far, I have 112 pages of manuscript that I believe is ready for my interns Shannon Grossman and Kayla Fontaine to read next week, while I’m away in Florida with my boyfriend and his mom. Their feedback is important to me, and I look forward to hearing it.

What I’m doing in this current round of edits, in part, is incorporating some of the feedback that my intern Vanessa Pesa gave me when she read the manuscript about a year ago. I am also developing my characters and injecting humor into to their lives. I thought the book was previously too serious, heavy. Sometimes when I am working, I laugh out loud. It’s good to crack yourself up! What I need to learn now, though, is if my words will crack others up.

While I can’t wait to be back in the sun and sea next week, I’m equally as excited about the following week because that’s when I’ll start the writing group I joined with Liz (whose last name I do not yet know).

It meets in the Arts and Industry building in Florence, where I used to have a studio, from 9 to 11 on Wednesday mornings. My understanding is it’s not a typical writing group, in which you receive a prompt and write for 20 minutes before sharing what you’ve written out loud.

Liz says we will start each session by naming our intentions, and then we write. I like that!

I am ignoring all the what-if fears associated with taking time out of my “real” work during a work day to work on my book. Fears like, what if the time away from my business affects my finances? Or, what if what I’m working on is crap and all this time is being spent for no good reason? I’m staying attuned to what I’m hearing in my gut. (Thank you Val Nelson.)

I’m also working with Shannon and Kayla on a dozen other initiatives related to my creative work! They are helping me improve this website this semester for starters—ideas welcome, by the way—and they will start blogging soon too.

They’ll follow up on some old blog posts, offer new blogs on local authors, offer writing prompts and tips and also help me with my two manuscripts in process.

These girls are smart and hard-working, and I trust them and their instincts. I am choosing to also trust myself.

I might type a few blogs in Sanibel with my thumbs on my cell phone and send them to the girls to post. Or perhaps I’ll use my thumbs to write those last few chapters in Unleashing the Sun, the working title for my love story.

← Previous Post
Next Post →

Filed Under: All, Books Tagged With: book writing, goals, writing, writing fiction, writing group

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. nevadacowgirl says

    March 3, 2016 at 7:35 am

    Can’t wait to read your novel!

    Reply
  2. janicebeetle says

    March 3, 2016 at 9:07 pm

    Thanks Marcy! I can’t wait for you to read it either!

    Reply
  3. Val Nelson says

    March 4, 2016 at 10:51 pm

    I’m glad you share your journey here. It’s fun to read. Way to go on following trusting your instincts. 🙂 Plus I’m so glad I’ll see you in the writing group.

    Reply
  4. janicebeetle says

    March 4, 2016 at 11:02 pm

    Thanks for your great guidance and support Val! And yes, see you March 16!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe

Please enter your email address to receive blog posts by email.

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Larceny in the Aisles is Hot Off the Press!
  • Ten Tips for the Travel Writer-Wannabe
  • Thrilled to Meet My Client From London

Archives

  • October 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • November 2012

Footer

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

© 2023 Janice Beetle Books · Privacy Policy
Content by Janice Beetle Books · Site by Turn Signal Media