Well folks I’ve had a TOTAL breakthrough this month and it was down to a holiday, walking miles and reading some really interesting books!! I know my title and I am SO excited to write more - I can really see the book being out for Christmas! I don’t think I’ll make an 80k word count but that doesn’t matter! How you all doing with your words? ✨💞
So I started reasonably strong in January, managed to pull something out of the hat in February - but March never got going for me and 12 Chapters! I think I am still a bit lost with where I am going with my book idea, and I know the only way out, is through, and through involves words, and plenty of them. SOOOO - with a renewed sense of 'let's do this' I am ready to recommit this month and see if I can uncover my book.
Thank you Claire, I can't tell you how nice it is to have the gentle encouragement of 12 chapters, well done on all your progress too! Do you have specific days or times you devote to your book writing?
Brilliant! Ok this is totally normal with a big project and I felt the same UNTIL I read four books and four samples on holiday and walked miles and something just clicked. I’m going to dm you about this as you’ll adore it and you’ll be like OH of course!!’ Will organise meet up and send link round - maybe a weekend?
I’m not sure what exactly you want to write about, but when you would send your Sunday newsletters, I always felt like the value rich content you would write could easily be a chapter in a book. It reminded me of the book called “Restore” by The Essentialsts. I wonder if there are any threads in your Sunday love letters?
Thank you Mika for being so kind and thoughtful 🙏 honestly, I think this is what stumbled me up ... I got wrapped up in worrying about repeating myself, or writing about things I had already posted about ... I think I'd read somewhere another author said she never publishes anything online from or relating to her book or book ideas. And then I got lost !!!!
Thank you for holding this space Claire I always look forward to the monthly check ins and reading how it's going for all of us! ♥️
since January I have been forming chapters month by month by basically copying and pasting my weekly Substack reflections posts into documents organized by the month. After the year is done I will go back, print everything and try to make sense of it. I suspect it will be short prose pieces that weave together thematically across a year.
AND in March something new happened. I began to write into personal material that I didn't necessarily want to splash out on my Substack pages, but I knew that carefully placed in a book they would make sense and have impact. So excited to tap into deeper more ragged material and make space in the privacy of my Twelve Chapters for that work. Thank you fellow writers for creating this container!
I have a similar plan for my proses that I post on Notes, but I haven’t been copying and pasting them as I go along - great idea! I have already taken some of the proses I have done and turned them into a mini zine and sent it as a gift to my paid subscribers. 😊 That was super fun! For your personal material, are you just keeping it in a word doc or google doc for your own eyes?
Steal away! 😊 I recently gave a zine away as a gift for a birthday present, along with a bookmark I made and Elizabeth’s Gilbert book “Big Magic”. It was nice to add a little personal touch. I’m thinking I would like to group different subjects of my proses or musings together so that I can give them as needed for different situations.
I think that's a marvelous idea! And it also opens up the option of tailoring the writing to specific audience. There's no reason our writings have to be exactly the same. Variation is spicy! :-)
I still don’t know if I’m writing a book, but the 12 Chapters Club has worked as a very effective accountability buddy to get me to write more personal essays and explore further memoir writing. So far I’ve published 1 installment a month, so 3 installments since January. And I’m feeling more and more at ease with the whole thing, so that’s another very nice side effect of the crazy idea I had of joining that project less than 2 months after starting writing on Substack. Thank you Claire!
March was personally stressful with some major family issues coming up, which I had to handle and squash. Stressful, distracting, and it stopped all creative work. Its ok now, but phew...
I concentrated instead on setting up collaborations, as I am doing 1 tarot lesson post and one personal post/creative fiction per month. I was able to pull it together at the end of march and my bestie and I posted a personal account of working the the greek goddess Hecate a few days ago.
April and May tarot lessons are set, and I have to overcome some mental blocks to rewrite my first short fiction story (written with a wiser and more practiced mind). I hope to get progress i April with that. Feedback on my longer unfinished short story is back and the story itself is good but needs a rewrite to the the plot moving faster.
Looks like you have been gentle with yourself during this stressful, distracting time and you seem like you have a solid plan for the coming months. Life happens and sometimes we just have to ride it. Hope it’s smoother sailing from here out Erica! xx
I am being a bit slower! But what is so wonderful about this group is that my book is on my mind. It has not got buried in the dusty recesses of a forgotten good idea. I had the courage to let my daughter read my first chapter and she really loved it. So that is encouraging. Whilst I have only written one chapter, I am thinking, on a daily basis about it. I am also developing a reading habit at night before I sleep. I am such a novice writer, I know you all probably get this, but I read that reading lots of books helps you be a better writer. Is that true?
That’s beautiful, Jane. I think a lot of people are in the same boat as you. And I think Claire’s gentle nudge each month is just what we need to get some of those thoughts onto “paper”. I know when I was reading “The Artist’s Way” my writing was definitely influenced and I wrote A LOT better.
That’s amazing Claire about your book title! And so exciting to read about how everyone else is approaching this🤩
I’ve had a whopper of a month with my book. I’ve been sharing sections of my 12 chapters in here which has taken me on some journey.
Meanwhile I’ve been in the processing of publishing my 2nd book. Its title has changed twice this month! And the new cover has told me this 2bd book will be the international bestseller and it’s to be combined with the 3rd book! So all my chapter sections I’ve been doing here now need to find their way into what I thought was already a completed manuscript.
This is all so exciting! I can feel your excited energy. ✨ Oh yes, sharing the cover sounds amazing! Since we can’t see images, maybe share it on Notes and give us the link so we can view it. 😊 So happy for you Amber!
I wasn't going to post as since mid-feb I had a pause as I was going through a big transformation. I downed tools on my business and paused my substack. It was a tough, but necessary decision. I am in the process of reinventing myself and my publication and I'm taking it gently. I had a breakthrough in terms of writing and what I do for it to bring me joy. I've entered my first Flash Fiction competition, something I would never have done 2 years ago. I've also decided to enter my book into a Memoir competition as I need the extra ommmph to get it going. Onwards and upwards.
This month’s Tuesday Trauma Healing With Tate post is available on Tuesday 8th April. I align this Substack monthly newsletter with my book writing to keep me accountable to self- publishing.
This month’s post and chapter explores how ‘mothering’ can help or hinder how we connect to, release, and ease our emotions and therefore heal from traumatic events.
It’s by far the most difficult post to share as it reveals very personal experiences that I’ve kept secret for decades. I’ve therefore had a tough month facing and releasing my shame and fear of doing this.
In my opinion, our relationship with our mother or primary caregiver is our most important relationship as it serves as a blueprint for all other relationships so it seriously impacts our life.
I write to heal, to release and ease emotions so I can offer compassion to all of my past and present relationships. So I can live wholeheartedly and access joy. I share my writing as I want you to experience this too 💔❤️🩹❤️
Well folks I’ve had a TOTAL breakthrough this month and it was down to a holiday, walking miles and reading some really interesting books!! I know my title and I am SO excited to write more - I can really see the book being out for Christmas! I don’t think I’ll make an 80k word count but that doesn’t matter! How you all doing with your words? ✨💞
So excited for you!
So I started reasonably strong in January, managed to pull something out of the hat in February - but March never got going for me and 12 Chapters! I think I am still a bit lost with where I am going with my book idea, and I know the only way out, is through, and through involves words, and plenty of them. SOOOO - with a renewed sense of 'let's do this' I am ready to recommit this month and see if I can uncover my book.
Thank you Claire, I can't tell you how nice it is to have the gentle encouragement of 12 chapters, well done on all your progress too! Do you have specific days or times you devote to your book writing?
Oh and I love the idea of a meet up too! :)
Brilliant! Ok this is totally normal with a big project and I felt the same UNTIL I read four books and four samples on holiday and walked miles and something just clicked. I’m going to dm you about this as you’ll adore it and you’ll be like OH of course!!’ Will organise meet up and send link round - maybe a weekend?
Thank you Claire - I am intrigued! Always grateful for any guidance.
A weekend would be nice, maybe a Sunday.
I’ve messaged you on IG.
You are so kind! Thank you!
I’m not sure what exactly you want to write about, but when you would send your Sunday newsletters, I always felt like the value rich content you would write could easily be a chapter in a book. It reminded me of the book called “Restore” by The Essentialsts. I wonder if there are any threads in your Sunday love letters?
Thank you Mika for being so kind and thoughtful 🙏 honestly, I think this is what stumbled me up ... I got wrapped up in worrying about repeating myself, or writing about things I had already posted about ... I think I'd read somewhere another author said she never publishes anything online from or relating to her book or book ideas. And then I got lost !!!!
You have your unique take on it! And you spend so much time delving into a topic, it’s so wonderful! Definitely topics that others would find helpful!
Thank you Mika! Definitely more rumination needed.
Thank you for holding this space Claire I always look forward to the monthly check ins and reading how it's going for all of us! ♥️
since January I have been forming chapters month by month by basically copying and pasting my weekly Substack reflections posts into documents organized by the month. After the year is done I will go back, print everything and try to make sense of it. I suspect it will be short prose pieces that weave together thematically across a year.
AND in March something new happened. I began to write into personal material that I didn't necessarily want to splash out on my Substack pages, but I knew that carefully placed in a book they would make sense and have impact. So excited to tap into deeper more ragged material and make space in the privacy of my Twelve Chapters for that work. Thank you fellow writers for creating this container!
I have a similar plan for my proses that I post on Notes, but I haven’t been copying and pasting them as I go along - great idea! I have already taken some of the proses I have done and turned them into a mini zine and sent it as a gift to my paid subscribers. 😊 That was super fun! For your personal material, are you just keeping it in a word doc or google doc for your own eyes?
LOVE the zine idea!! I am stealing that ❤️
It's just an old fashioned word doc. No one sees it but me for now.
Steal away! 😊 I recently gave a zine away as a gift for a birthday present, along with a bookmark I made and Elizabeth’s Gilbert book “Big Magic”. It was nice to add a little personal touch. I’m thinking I would like to group different subjects of my proses or musings together so that I can give them as needed for different situations.
I think that's a marvelous idea! And it also opens up the option of tailoring the writing to specific audience. There's no reason our writings have to be exactly the same. Variation is spicy! :-)
I still don’t know if I’m writing a book, but the 12 Chapters Club has worked as a very effective accountability buddy to get me to write more personal essays and explore further memoir writing. So far I’ve published 1 installment a month, so 3 installments since January. And I’m feeling more and more at ease with the whole thing, so that’s another very nice side effect of the crazy idea I had of joining that project less than 2 months after starting writing on Substack. Thank you Claire!
That’s amazing! Love that you’ve got the momentum and that the 12 Chapters Club is really helping!
Aww you're so welcome - I need the accountability too - that's why I set up these challenges!
March was personally stressful with some major family issues coming up, which I had to handle and squash. Stressful, distracting, and it stopped all creative work. Its ok now, but phew...
I concentrated instead on setting up collaborations, as I am doing 1 tarot lesson post and one personal post/creative fiction per month. I was able to pull it together at the end of march and my bestie and I posted a personal account of working the the greek goddess Hecate a few days ago.
April and May tarot lessons are set, and I have to overcome some mental blocks to rewrite my first short fiction story (written with a wiser and more practiced mind). I hope to get progress i April with that. Feedback on my longer unfinished short story is back and the story itself is good but needs a rewrite to the the plot moving faster.
Witnessing you here, congratulations on showing up... it's not easy and the world needs your words. Thank you for being here Erica!
Looks like you have been gentle with yourself during this stressful, distracting time and you seem like you have a solid plan for the coming months. Life happens and sometimes we just have to ride it. Hope it’s smoother sailing from here out Erica! xx
Thank you 💕
I am being a bit slower! But what is so wonderful about this group is that my book is on my mind. It has not got buried in the dusty recesses of a forgotten good idea. I had the courage to let my daughter read my first chapter and she really loved it. So that is encouraging. Whilst I have only written one chapter, I am thinking, on a daily basis about it. I am also developing a reading habit at night before I sleep. I am such a novice writer, I know you all probably get this, but I read that reading lots of books helps you be a better writer. Is that true?
That’s beautiful, Jane. I think a lot of people are in the same boat as you. And I think Claire’s gentle nudge each month is just what we need to get some of those thoughts onto “paper”. I know when I was reading “The Artist’s Way” my writing was definitely influenced and I wrote A LOT better.
I have heard you mention that book before. I am gonna get it!
Oh I think so Jane - I know lots of writers talk about it. xx
That’s amazing Claire about your book title! And so exciting to read about how everyone else is approaching this🤩
I’ve had a whopper of a month with my book. I’ve been sharing sections of my 12 chapters in here which has taken me on some journey.
Meanwhile I’ve been in the processing of publishing my 2nd book. Its title has changed twice this month! And the new cover has told me this 2bd book will be the international bestseller and it’s to be combined with the 3rd book! So all my chapter sections I’ve been doing here now need to find their way into what I thought was already a completed manuscript.
Teaser for you…
The current text on the new book covers
Action Guide & Journal
MIGRAINE
Self-leadership to Lasting Relief
Maybe next month I can share the cover in here!?!
LOVE THAT YOU ARE IN COVO WITH THE MUSE FOR THESE BOOKS - yes!!!!!!!
This is all so exciting! I can feel your excited energy. ✨ Oh yes, sharing the cover sounds amazing! Since we can’t see images, maybe share it on Notes and give us the link so we can view it. 😊 So happy for you Amber!
I wasn't going to post as since mid-feb I had a pause as I was going through a big transformation. I downed tools on my business and paused my substack. It was a tough, but necessary decision. I am in the process of reinventing myself and my publication and I'm taking it gently. I had a breakthrough in terms of writing and what I do for it to bring me joy. I've entered my first Flash Fiction competition, something I would never have done 2 years ago. I've also decided to enter my book into a Memoir competition as I need the extra ommmph to get it going. Onwards and upwards.
I’m so glad to hear that you had a breakthrough! Well done for entering competition too. Looks like things are shifting! So excited for you!
This month’s Tuesday Trauma Healing With Tate post is available on Tuesday 8th April. I align this Substack monthly newsletter with my book writing to keep me accountable to self- publishing.
This month’s post and chapter explores how ‘mothering’ can help or hinder how we connect to, release, and ease our emotions and therefore heal from traumatic events.
It’s by far the most difficult post to share as it reveals very personal experiences that I’ve kept secret for decades. I’ve therefore had a tough month facing and releasing my shame and fear of doing this.
In my opinion, our relationship with our mother or primary caregiver is our most important relationship as it serves as a blueprint for all other relationships so it seriously impacts our life.
I write to heal, to release and ease emotions so I can offer compassion to all of my past and present relationships. So I can live wholeheartedly and access joy. I share my writing as I want you to experience this too 💔❤️🩹❤️
https://wholefamilyhealing.substack.com/p/tuesday-trauma-healing-with-tate-d5b?r=34rl2l&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR7XnRStIwxG98whTDQpT5pOJSbNd-BwqEaqnc21cw_PV5sYCusVs3-R4Hhrog_aem_P-TCTdB4lqttyxHv9IojTg&triedRedirect=true