Guest Post by Rachel Fordham

One night, after complaining that I needed a creative outlet, my husband said, “You read so much, why don’t you write a book?”

Oh! A challenge! I love a good challenge (probably due to some unresolved childhood issue from growing up in a big family). Anyway, that’s the moment I first put on my writer’s cap.

Or maybe I was already a writer and just didn’t know it. When I was a kid, I would lay in bed after reading a book and rewrite the ending in my head (I didn’t know fan fiction was a thing back then). After watching a movie, I would spend hours picking apart plot holes and discussing what would make the story stronger. I devoured novel after novel (historical romance was always my favorite). If there is such a thing as an “author brain”, I think I had it, only it hadn’t been set free yet.

With my competitive spirit nudging me along, I set off on a new journey with absolutely no idea where I was going and only book reading and a love for stories to lean into. I plowed through my first ever manuscript, falling in love with my characters as I went. Adrenaline kicked in and I found myself typing late into the night. I wrote in the school pick-up lane and during my baby’s nap time—every spare minute went to my new found hobby. My new obsession. This exciting new part of myself I had just discovered.

Within a few months, I had a story that went from opening line to the end. At this point I had learned a few things about writing and myself.

  1. I could write a story! Even if it was total garbage, I could finish something massive and that felt incredible. So aspiring writers, pluck away! Writing the end is a feeling like no other and if you’re like me, it’ll make you want to start another one.
  2. High school English doesn’t always translate to fiction writing (at least what I was taught didn’t). My manuscript didn’t read right, and I wasn’t sure why. I’d tried so hard to follow the writing rules for creative writing I’d been taught in high school…welp, those rules were more than a wee bit wrong. My manuscript was full of characters exclaiming, barking, and directing (because I’d been taught to avoid using said). I picked up a book on fiction writing and learned that the rules of this game were a little different than what tenth grade English teaches. So, newbie writers, don’t be afraid to unlearn some of those English rules you were taught when you were sixteen and seventeen and go learn rules for fiction writing.
  3. Pacing is really hard. My manuscript struggled to correctly show passage of time. Weird time hops rattled the beginning and tedious details bogged down the ending. I had no idea writers’ conferences or online critique groups existed, so I went to my home library for help. I pulled out my favorite novels and I read them with a critical eye. I asked myself how the author did it and listened for the answer as I read. Fellow writers, it’s not cheating to read the greats and learn from them!
  4. Writing can be solitary. I didn’t tell anyone outside of my family that I was writing a novel (imposter syndrome can be hard to overcome). I got to a point with my manuscript where I couldn’t get it any better on my own. I had spent too much time staring at those words, I needed outside feedback. It took courage and then it took thick skin. But writer friends, trust me when I say, feedback is essential (not all of it, of course). If you put words on the page, you are a writer! You might be a new writer. An unpublished writer. A rough around the edge’s writer. But you’re a writer. Tell people, get feedback and watch yourself grow.
  5. My first novel remains unpublished, but it was not worthless! The process of writing a first novel stretched me, challenged me and led me to a place where I felt confident in my ability to write another book. Aspiring writers, that book you poured your heart and soul into may not be the one to open doors and that is okay. Love it for what it is and thank it for all it taught you and then take what you learned and write another.

For me, manuscript number two became my first published novel. I edited and edited manuscript one, learning so much as I went. And then I set it aside and took what I’d learned and did my best to apply it. When it was finished, I went to lunch with a friend who is traditionally published and with sweaty palms and a racing heart asked her what someone should do if they finished a novel and it turned out a little better than they anticipated. Her response, query an agent (I had no idea what that meant). A quick internet search explained the basics. I’d just written a novel; I could write a letter . . . so I did. Long story short, I survived the slush pile and started learning about publishing in the same backwards way I learned about writing (well, technically, I’m still learning about writing).

Beyond Ivy Walls by Rachel Fordham

In 1903 Iowa, Otis Taylor, presumed to be fostering his musical talent, secretly returns to Monticello to settle his family’s affairs after being exiled for his scars. Sadie West, working at a feather duster factory to support her family, stumbles into Otis’s life while seeking shelter in an abandoned building. As their friendship blossoms, Sadie starts to fall for Otis, and together they take up the challenging quest to find Otis’s missing niece, with Sadie potentially becoming the key to his redemption.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble