The Joy of the Writing LIfe

One of the fun parts of being a writer has been the many wonderful authors I've been privileged to meet in my writing journey. Today's guest in My Writing Corner, author Sue Viders, is one of those writers. We met at a local writing group nearly 20 years ago and quickly learned we have so many things in common when it came to writing, but we also discovered we use totally different methods for writing our books. All the same, we became critique partners and co-authors and developed a cherished friendship that has lasted for 20 years. Sue is my guest today in My Writing Corner and rather than introducing her myself, I'm going to let her do the talking. Take it away, Sue:

I am the author of over 35 books, numerous workbooks, articles and columns, for writers. I have written extensively for a variety of national magazines and newspapers. I also lecture and teach writing, both onsite at colleges and universities as well as at national and international conferences, and online through numerous writing groups and organizations throughout the world.

Now involved with creating and writing teaching and reference books for writers, I am busy with a whole new set of books and workbooks for aspiring writers. 

I also write fiction as D.B. Humel and am the author of the Meg Jamison cozy mysteries, a lighthearted series featuring a widowed artist who keeps helping her son solve murders: Meg and the Mysterious Voices and Meg and the  Misguided Arsonist.  See my buy links and contacts below.

Sue, what do you enjoy about being an author?

As an educator I love teaching, giving my students new ways of approaching and thinking about their ideas. I love watching the “light bulbs” go off in their minds as they consider and ponder a new way to look at their story idea.

What do you find is the most challenging part of being an author?

Marketing!!!! With out marketing your book is dead in the water. You must know not only your target audience but how to reach them.

What is your book that you will feature today and how did you come up with the idea to write it?

My latest workbook “Writing a Novel” has just been published by Levenger.com. I am so thrilled because they are going to market it worldwide on their website and in their beautiful catalogs. 

Tell us about your road to publication.

The road to publication was long, interrupted  by a hurricane,  (my publisher, Levengers is located on Florida coast), and then I had to spend many months re-writing, upgrading and adding a great pull-out, which I didn’t ever know they could print. And they added tabs and put different colors in all the various sections. I was ecstatic. Working with a professional layout artist was heaven.

But the actual road was years in the making as the workbook is an accumulation of the many books, both Becky and I have written for aspiring writers and the hundreds of writing workshops we have given. Lately, I’ve been teaching a class on writing a novel, but about five years ago I was tired of saying the same things over and over to each new class.

So I decided to write a simple workbook that I could selfpublish and hand out to the writers. Well, they loved it as now they had something to write their ideas in. Fast forward to last summer. I was between projects and I hate to admit it, but I was bored.

I was looked at Levengers website deciding what kind of paper to buy, and perhaps a new pen, when I saw their matra … which says… we insprire readers, writers and thinkers. And it hit me, if they want to really inspire writers, well then, they should have a workbook that helps the writers write.

And so, I sent them a copy of the small workbook I used in my writing classes, and the rest is history.

Let's find out more about the workbook:

Many talk about writing a novel, says acclaimed writing instructor Sue Viders, but few actually do it. Her new Circa® workbook can help make it happen. In Writing A Novel, Viders leads the novice writer on a journey of creative exploration in this comprehensive step-by-step guide. The ingenious exercises and brainstorming worksheets she’s developed are designed to unlock the imagination and unleash creativity, and they’ve been proven effective for choosing a genre, developing a theme, building characters and plotting a compelling story. (And did we mention that they’re fun?) Breezy, informal and conversational, this is like a master class with the instructor herself, a concentrated, guided brainstorm designed to get the novice writer’s creative juices flowing.

What’s your next project or what are you working on now?

As I was talking to Levenger the other day, they asked me the same question and even suggested that wouldn’t it be great if I could do a follow up workbook, “Writing a Memoir.”

What advice do you have for beginning writers?

The only way you can be a writer is to write. And to do that you have to get the words and ideas out of your head and down on paper.

It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence or a paragraph. It could be just one word. That’s not important. Just getting the ideas down in black and white is the hard part, because when they are on the paper and you can actually read them… sigh… the idea, all of sudden, doesn’t look so great.

But, and this is true for all published authors, everyone when starting a project, or a book, has the same problem because the words in your head are always so much better than the words on the paper. It’s true. All writers have this problem. The only difference between an amateur writer and a published author is….ta-da…the amateur didn’t quit.

So get those ideas on paper. Show them to other people. Get their imput. And take a look at my workbook and see if it might help you get started.

Finally, let me know if there is anything I can do for you, as I always love to talk to writers about their writing.

Here are Sue's Buy Link and Social Contact information:

Buy Link:

Lavenger: https://www.levenger.com/products/circa-writing-a-novel-workbook

Social Contacts:

Website:  https://writethatnovel.net/sue

Amazon Author: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sue-Viders/author/B00HF90FM2?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Email:  SueViders@comcast.net

Thank you, Sue, for being my guest today.  Any questions for Sue? She loves to answer writing questions!