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Welcome to Lift Yo-Based Writing Podcast, where I share with vulnerability and positivity my journey towards making all of my writing dreams come true.
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I hope you learn with me as I go from the things that go well and what doesn't go so well.
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But mainly, I wish it inspires you to pursue your own writing dreams.
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Now let's begin.
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Hello and welcome to Lefty Obeys Writing Podcast.
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I'm so happy that you're here today with me for a new episode.
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And the topic of today will be why the question that will revolutionize your writing and your life.
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And I found myself asking this question over and over again.
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And while I don't have the answer to most of the question I've written on my board next to me, being in the editing process for my second novel has really brought back to life how important this question is.
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And also I want to link it a bit to how it's important in your life, too, because this is something that keeps coming back to me, and I think it's just so interesting to take some time to think about this.
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So this will come in the topic part of the episode, but for now, here's the update So what's been going on in my writing life since last episode.
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So the first thing is my friend finished editing my French short story that I submitted today to a French contest in Quebec, Le Prix Solaris.
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So she finished working on it, she sent it back to me, and then I went back over the manuscript correcting the thing she had mentioned and also rereading it to really like be certain I was happy with what the story looked like.
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So her help was so so so much needed because it's been some time since I've read in French.
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When I switched writing in English, I stopped completely reading in French, and I only read in English to really familiarize myself with grammar, with sentence structure, vocabulary, and I completely stopped reading in French, and I think my brain forgot some like base notion.
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And there was one thing that my brain just completely forgot.
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So that was a good thing that my friend looked over it and allowed me to correct it.
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So I sent it to the contest.
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I have no idea what will happen.
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Like, I think it'll take a miracle for me to win this, but I'm still really, really proud of it.
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Like, I love the story because it's the same story in English or in French.
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I'm not sure, like on the pro side, that it's like the best thing it could be in French, but like I said, I I've it's been so long since I've run in French, like I have a hard dike comparing.
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So I really have no idea.
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We'll see what happens, but I still love the story.
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So I think a good story, sometimes it's all it takes, and even if it's not like mind-blowing on a line level, sometimes a good story does make up for this.
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So we'll see.
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But I don't think I'm the best judge, to be honest.
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And so I've messaged my friend and was just like, Do you like it?
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Because like she was so focused on correcting my mistakes or doing some suggestion to reformulate things, which was awesome.
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It's what I wanted from her.
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Like, I was like, I don't even know if she liked this, but anyway, so this is done, this is sent.
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We'll see.
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I have no idea when I hear back.
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I don't know, but I'm like completely letting it go and letting it in the ends of the universe, it's not in my hand anymore.
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And to be honest, I'm glad it's not in my hand anymore.
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Before translating this, I was actually considering if when the time comes for me to have my novels in Quebec, which is the ultimate goal of mine to have my books in French available in Quebec too, because so many people in my family, my friends, they are eager to read me, but they can't because it's all in English, and most of them like don't they understand a level of English, but not enough to read a whole novel.
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So that would be so awesome to have my book available in French.
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And of course, as soon as I have a book deal in English, I will automatically see, okay, how can we get also a book deal in Quebec in French?
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Like that's super important to me.
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And at some point I was like, okay, I could translate myself, like you know, playing with the idea, because at first it was like, I don't want to do that.
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I will I felt really repulsed by the idea of translating myself in French.
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But I said, okay, I could try it.
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So I translated this short story, and first it was way longer than I thought it would be.
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And again, if I really want to do this, if I really want to translate from English to French, I would have to get back into more reading in French and get a better grasp of writing in French, writing the best French I can write, because even though like the ideas are the same, you need to own your skills in French too in writing and prose and sentence and everything.
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And I don't feel like I have that right now.
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So if I ever decide to translate myself or anyone else from English to French, I would have to get much more into reading in French and really get back into that.
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And for now, to be honest, doesn't seem so appealing to me.
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So we'll see.
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I'm not completely closing the door.
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I really much prefer translating from French to English just because I love playing with the English language more.
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I cannot explain it because if those of you don't know, my mother tongue is French, so I learned English pretty much by myself by just immersing myself in this language, which is so easy in Quebec because we're surrounded by English.
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So I taught myself English and I started reading in English, and when I started writing in English, it just clicked.
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It was just like this is what I was meant to do.
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Like this was the language I was supposed to write in.
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And I'm having so much fun playing with English as a language to write fiction.
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It's fun to me, every part of it.
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And I didn't feel the same level of joy in French.
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So I thought, you know what, maybe this is just a sign that I'm not supposed to write in French, and that's totally okay.
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I could have someone else translate me, and then I could just, you know, look at it and just give my approval of it.
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Like that would be something I would like to be just sure that I love and I agree with the translation because I've read my fair share of that translation in my life, because so much of what we consume in stories in Quebec are translated from English, which is amazing because we have access to all those beautiful stories.
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But when the translation isn't that good, it really deters from the reading experience.
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So, of course, I would love to have a really solid, good translation for my own stories.
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But I'm not so sure anymore if I'm the best person to do that.
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Anyway, it would take more work.
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So that's on the side of the short story translation.
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Now, like I said, I'm working on my second novel.
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I wrote the entire first draft, discussed it with my agent, and now we're going into editing it.
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I think every time I start working on a new draft, there is this level of excitement and fear.
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Can I actually do it?
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But also like it's fun because it's something new than what I was doing before.
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Like before I was drafting new words and like editing it's such a different skill set and different way of playing with the story, and I I love editing, I I absolutely love editing.
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But at the same time, I'm like, I will like be able to do it because I know I've made myself a list of everything I need to edit to turn the first draft, which is a pretty solid first draft, but there is something that needs to be improved to take this first draft and take it into a second draft that will be super strong.
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And now when I'm seeing first draft, second draft, it's not like it's going to be one draft, it's going to be several draft passes inside of the draft because I'm going to go back and forth with my better readers, with my agent, so that we can then secure each of the scenes.
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So it's going to be one draft, technically, but composed of so many times that I will go back into the tax and rework on it.
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So all of this, the notion of draft, like it's really it doesn't matter really what it represents as long as it makes sense for you.
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My first draft could be the equivalent, a true draft that I had for the book before.
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And my second draft will be the equivalent, I think, again, of like two or three drafts of my first book, but the result is the same at the end.
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It's just the way of working on them changes.
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And let me tell you, for those of you who are querying or still working on your first novel by yourself, working on a novel with an agent is so different because you don't feel like you're going about in the darkness, not knowing if what you do works or not, not knowing what you can do to improve it.
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You have someone like being there with you all the way, and it's such a different process.
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And I'm so so so grateful to have an agent working on me, and it's really not the same.
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First, that's why it's faster to work on a novel with your agent than alone because you're not like fumbling in the dark, but also it's a fun process, you feel more in control.
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So if you're still querying or maybe not even like you're still working on your first novel, know that it will be different once you're on the underside, and that's something beautiful also to work towards.
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It's just not, it's not just to get your book in front of publisher, which is cool, but it could also be this beautiful partnership of working on the book and making it as good as it can be.
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I'm really enjoying this, and that's what happened while I was working on it.
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What I'm doing right now is I'm rereading the first draft, putting it in a spreadsheet in the way that Story Grid teaches about.
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And as I'm doing this, I'm putting notes in Scrivener.
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Scrivener is amazing.
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I don't know how I could possibly do this without Scrivener.
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Do each their own, you write pick what you want, but I just love Scrivener because every time I'm thinking about something that I want to change in my second draft, what I do is I go to the scene in Scrivener, so it's all separated into scenes.
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I go in the scenes, there is a notes section that's like linked to the document, but not inside the document, and I just write in the notes section what I want to change.
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So every time there's an idea that pops into my head that I need to change something later on, I just go there and I write the notes.
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So I'm doing that, and I will read the entire novel, take my notes all the way of what I want to change per scene, and then I will start editing scene by scene.
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And I started reading the first scene.
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I don't think I even got to like not even half of it, to be honest.
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And uh I just I just had to because I I kept thinking, I kept asking myself the question why why does this have to happen?
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Why does this character do this?
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Why do I start with that?
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Why do I kept asking myself the question why all over the story and all over the period of time I was editing it, and I used my big board next to me.
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I wrote the question.
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I wrote also what I wanted the metaphor to be because this is something that's important to me.
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And there was one question, the question that my agent asked me that I don't have the answer to.
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I wrote it on my board because this is also a big question that I really need an answer to before I start editing the whole novel because this could have implications throughout the novel, so I really need to find the answer to it.
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But I kept stopping to think, but it's so important to think, like it's something Cecilia or an agent I really respect for her dedication to the craft.
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I've done some of her class on writing, they are the most amazing class I ever took on writing, and also the advice she gives online are always spot on.
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And one thing she mentions is taking your time and really thinking about everything.
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And I actually did a post about this.
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If you want to go check out my Instagram or TikTok, which was just me like staring at nothing and just seeing how much of writing is actually just thinking, just doing nothing, just looking out and trying to figure out some stuff.
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It was a really fun post if you want to look at it, if you haven't seen it.
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But thinking is so important, and I spent a few hours just like not advancing, like it doesn't seem like I've made that much work, but I made so much work.
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I also started using Melanote, and I think for the next project, I will start using it from the beginning to really because I have my notebook here, my beautiful notebook that I bought in Portugal.
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I have my notebook, I have a scrivener file, I have an Eon timeline document that I do to create the timeline for my story and the history.
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So right now I'm working with a house, so I'm doing a timeline of history of the house since the moment it was built to the moment when my story starts.
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So I did the timeline in Eon timeline.
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And I used to try to keep the information in Scrivener, but Scrivener is not really made for research, like it does you can embed websites and have pictures, but it's not the best way to see it and visualize it for me at least.
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So I had seen a TikTok about someone recommending Melanote, and I said, okay, I'm going to try it.
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And one thing I needed to do too, because I did my research about how to have the setting be a character, and what every author talking about this said was you need to be super familiar with the setting.
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They all said they draw a map of the setting of the building they were working with to really know exactly where everything was.
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And so in Millenotes, you have a function that allows you to draw.
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You can also clip image, clip text, you can embed website pages.
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I really, really love the way it's first visual.
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I'm a very visual person, so you can have everything there super visually, but you can also draw in it.
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You can also like make mind maps because I tried making one in Eon Timeline, but again, Eon Timeline is not for mind maps.
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They have a feature for it, but it's not built for that.
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So I didn't like it.
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I felt like super restrained in this, but in Millenotes, like it's really more fluid what you can do with it, so it's really connected with me better.
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So next time I'm going to start using it from the beginning, it will save me some time.
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But I started working on it there for the uses I have right now.
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So I'm not going to redo what I did in Scrivener or in Eon timeline, but I'm using it for what I need right now, which is getting super intimate with the setting, with the house.
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I will pin some pictures that I found online as inspiration, the drawings of the house and everything.
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So I'm having a lot of fun as you can see.
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So yeah, it cannot seem like I made that much progress, but I'm trusting myself.
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I know that the time I'm putting right now, at some point it will build up and I will go faster.
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But all the time I'm spending right now thinking about all those things, doing those things in Millanote, asking myself the right question, I know that it will produce a stronger book at the end, and this is what's the most important.
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So I'm taking my time, I'm allowing myself to do what needs to be done, and not being hard on myself and saying you didn't even finish reading the first chapter because all of it was necessary.
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Also, last week I received another rejection.
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It was for a short story, one that I hadn't submitted for a while now, but I was like, I saw this new magazine, and I was like, it's not new, I just discovered it.
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And I was like, okay, maybe this story could work for them.
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So I submitted them to them at a form rejection.
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Good, uh, so just just part of the game.
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Um, the good thing is it didn't hurt at all, so that's cool.
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I was like, just oh okay, rejection, move on.
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Still have several submissions pending for my other short stories.
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We'll see.
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And then the last thing I did last week, which is so exciting, I started working on my first course for writer.
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So I mentioned it before, but I really like it.
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It was fun because my friend was like, duh, you're talking about this for so long.
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But I really do have a passion for teaching.
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Like, I love talking about writing, as you can see with this podcast.
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This is just something that I love, and I keep thinking about like when I started writing the things that I wish I had, the things that would have helped me so much, the knowledge that would help me so much.
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Like this old podcast, I'm doing it thinking of the people who are starting in their writing journey, or at any place in their writing journey, and who just don't want to be alone in it and want to learn some new things and tips that will help them.
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But also, I'm thinking like, what were the things I was struggling the most with and what would have been the most helpful to me at that time?
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And the first thing I was struggling so much for so long was writing consistently, and I had the idea of doing a mini course exactly on how did I manage to write consistently because this was something I struggled for so long, and this is something now that's like second nature to me.
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Like, writing is an integral part of my life, and it's not like some an effort I have to do.
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Let me tell you, I used to feel so bad all the time when I was not writing consistently.
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I used to be super hard on myself, and since I've been writing consistently, I do feel so much better because I feel like I'm really giving this thing that I love so much my dream.
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I'm really putting time to it.
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Doesn't mean I'm doing it every single day, like it's not what constantly means, but I'm making it a priority in my life.
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I'm putting place for it in my life, and it does feel so much better to not only be thinking about writing and talking about writing and reading about writing, but actually be doing it.
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So I started working on the class, and I think it's going to be so so so helpful.
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Really walk you through the steps that I use to build my writing routine and then to maintain it because these are two different things.
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Like you can maybe think like you can easily create a writing routine, but then if you never follow through, if you never actually keep it up more than two weeks, then doesn't matter that you have the perfect routine, you're not following it.
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So it's two things, and also there's the part that I call troubleshooting.
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So when you can't write anymore, when it doesn't work, why and what you can do about it?
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So I'm really, really passionate about this class.
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Like I think it could really, really help people who are struggling with writing consistently, struggling to finish their project because of it.
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Like that's another big part of it.
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So I started working on it, and I'm super excited and happy about it.
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So if that interests you, if you think that's something you'd like to be a part of in the future, I've created a wait list, so you just have to go into the show notes of this episode.
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You click on the wait list, you add your name and your email address, and you will be in the first one to know about it.
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And you will also have access to it at the lowest price.
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Now, I want to keep all of my class low cost because there are so many amazing cores that exist online for writers, but a lot of them cost like in the hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
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And I know that, especially when you're starting out, investing that sort of money like that's a lot when you're not even sure if you're capable of doing this, like, and also it's not everyone who is privileged enough to be able to invest that kind of money into their writing, and it saddened me that it could potentially block someone just because they don't have the means to have access to those resources to those course.
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So that's why I want to do multiple course at a lower price point so that you can use only the class that you need and have access to the information without it being like this big investment that feels super scary to you.
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But for the first round of this course, I want to offer it at even the lowest price so that if there is anything that you'd like me to.
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Go more into detail about or something that isn't clear, something that I haven't covered that you think is super important to the subject, you can tell me, and then I update the class, you'll have access to the updated class.
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And then once I do that, I will be able to offer the course to everyone, and it will be like the best version it could be.
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So because like it's like the better run, I want to offer it just at the best price for the first people who got in.
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So if something that interests you, you can go right now and join the wait list.
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And when it's ready, I will send you an email with the link to join.
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So that's about it for me for this week.
00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:44.640
And now we can go to the topic part of the episode.
00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:54.000
So asking yourself why.
00:22:54.240 --> 00:23:00.880
When I was working on my first book, this is something that I did a lot, always, all the time.
00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:04.240
This is something I'm doing with every single one of my stories.
00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:10.400
And I truly believe that the success I had in the query trenches with my first novel.
00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:17.200
So if you don't know, like I had more than 20 requests, three offers of representation.
00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:26.160
I really do believe that it's because I took the time to write the strongest book I possibly could before I started querying.
00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:31.119
Because you can have the best query in the world, the best four pages, the best synopsis.
00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:39.200
If you don't have the strongest book possible, none of this matters because at the end it's the book that makes an agent want to sign with you.
00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:43.440
It's not the material you create to sell your book.
00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:47.440
And one thing I did was always ask the question why.
00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:55.440
So sometimes when we're writing a book, we'll put things in because they come to us, because it feels cool.
00:23:55.680 --> 00:24:01.599
But when you're editing, I think it's really the time to stop and say, okay, why?
00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:03.599
With literally everything.
00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:11.680
And yes, again, it's something that takes time because you really need to stop and think about it.
00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:13.759
But it's really worth it.
00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:17.839
Because first it will have intention behind everything.
00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:24.319
Because sometimes you will see when you ask this question, for example, why does this character do this?
00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:32.480
And sometimes you will say, Well, okay, it's because I thought it would be cool for her to do that.
00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:36.079
Might not be the best reason in a novel.
00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:38.160
Like in a novel, it's important.
00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:44.400
I don't know where I heard that, but they said, like, in fiction, everything has to make sense.
00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:49.119
In real life, there are things that happen and don't make sense, but in a book, everything needs to make sense.
00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:54.480
And a way to be sure that everything makes sense is to be sure that everything is intentional.
00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:56.559
And that's what's asking the question.
00:24:56.720 --> 00:25:04.799
Why brings you, it assures you that there is intentionalities behind every single take you book in your novel.
00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:10.400
So every action should be, it can be for a multiple of reasons.
00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:15.519
And the reason could be also because it helps create the vibes that I want with this novel.
00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:17.119
That's a good reason.
00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:19.839
It's only important that it's intentional.
00:25:20.079 --> 00:25:24.000
So this goes for big picture things in your novel.
00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:27.279
Like, why does it end this way?
00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.599
Why does it start there?
00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:32.000
Why did I choose this genre?
00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:37.279
Why do I write it in this tense, this person?
00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:46.000
All of this, you need to be intentional with that, but it can also go really to the really granular thing, and that's where you can think sometimes.
00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:56.319
But again, it will create a deeper sense of everything being thought through and everything being linked and connected together.
00:25:56.559 --> 00:26:00.000
As deep as why is the couch blue?
00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:03.599
If you mention that the couch is blue, why is it blue?
00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:05.920
And that's where you'll go into symbolism.
00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:08.559
So you don't have to go crazy with it.
00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:17.200
But the more that you add in notions of symbolism, even though the reader might not catch it, they will feel it.
00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:20.240
And that's the same thing with being intentional with everything.
00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:30.799
Maybe your reader will not get every instance of you put something intentionally there, but they will certainly feel it because it creates a deeper sense in your story.
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:37.119
Like, for example, in my short story, the one that I translated, they had a pet rat.
00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:40.400
At first, I was like, why do they have a pet rat?
00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:44.799
Well, because I want to write a story with a pet rat in it.
00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:47.839
Because I had a pet rat, and rats are amazing.
00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:59.680
Rats are like the coolest animal there is, like, they are so warm, and I know that some people are probably cringing right now, but trust me, like, rats are amazing.
00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:03.680
Oh, it's like dogs, really, just smaller.
00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:05.279
That's really what rats are.
00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:07.839
And I wanted to have a story with a rat in.
00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:17.519
So this is kind of a good reason globally, but in the story, that's not a good reason to have a rat because you just want the rat there.
00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:20.720
It needs to have a deeper meaning to it.
00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:25.920
So I was like, okay, what will the rat represent in the story?
00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:28.559
Oh, that's an interesting question.
00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:34.720
And then I went back to it and I was like, okay, my rat will be the symbol of hope in my story.
00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:46.720
So at first, we have a character who's really positive, really hopeful about the future, really strong and confident, and she's the one, the rat is more her pet.
00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:53.759
And you have the other character who's more pessimistic, who's less confident and more fearful about the world.
00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:54.960
But they are together.
00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:56.559
First character dies.
00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:00.400
This is not a spoiler, this happens like in the first scene.
00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:08.960
The character dies with the rat, and so the other character takes the rat and takes care of the rat.
00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:18.319
And every single time we see the rat appearing in the story, it's moment either where she should have hope or where she has hope.
00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:23.279
So every time the rat makes an appearance, it has a purpose.
00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:28.000
It's not just randomly, oh, I forgot to mention the rat for two pages.
00:28:28.160 --> 00:28:35.680
It's really there either to signal that she should have hope or that she has some glimmer of hope into her.
00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:39.359
And I don't have to write it, she had a glimmer of hope.
00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:43.200
The rat does the job of adding it, the notion of hope.
00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:51.200
This is something probably most readers won't catch, but when you catch something like that as a reader, you're like, oh my god, this is so cool.
00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:56.559
And like at the end, there is a character that my main character should really trust.
00:28:56.720 --> 00:29:05.680
And like the rat goes into her hand, so that was a way to signal this is somebody she trust because she has an interaction with the rat.
00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:22.079
Just to give you a little example, but doing that with everything, like it will also really empowers you as a writer because you're more in control of your story, and you're not doing things just because it's really with an intention.
00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:29.279
And you will see also when you do that that you can solve multiple problems at the same time because you answer the question why.
00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:33.599
And sometimes the why for two things will be actually linked together.
00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:39.759
And most of the time, the why should be because it works with the theme.
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:42.799
This is the moment for me to talk to you about theme.
00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:48.640
Now, I'm probably sure that you've all heard about theme.
00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:52.079
You know that having a theme is important.
00:29:53.279 --> 00:30:07.599
But working with writers, I found out that sometimes they know the theme, but they haven't actually made sure that every single thing in their story is linked to their team.
00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:10.319
And I think that's that is a big mistake.
00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:20.319
The best novel ever are those when you can see really and stories in general are those when you can see that the theme is everywhere.
00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:29.279
Everything solidified this team, everything is either supporting the team or like showing the contrary to it.
00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:33.119
Okay, so I was not capable of finding who said that.
00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:39.359
I think I heard Steven Prosfield say this, but I don't know if it took it from someone else or not.
00:30:39.519 --> 00:30:47.519
But he said, as soon as I figure out what my play is about, I type it out in one line and scotch tape it to the front of my typewriter.
00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:52.000
After that, nothing goes into the play that is not on team.
00:30:52.160 --> 00:31:02.319
So right now, of course, it's not on our typewriters, but I really do believe that doing this really, really helps with writing the strongest story possible.
00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:12.960
So, for example, what I do when I find my team exactly like Steven Prosfield or whoever he took this one from, I write it on a post-it.
00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:15.680
If you are on the video, you can see it right now.
00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:22.799
I write it on a post-it, and you can see it's like all like I've moved it around so much that it's worn out.
00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:33.759
I put it either on my computer or next on my desk, but I need to always have it in view because nothing goes into my story that isn't not on team.
00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:40.079
So, of course, sometime there will be some little things in the story that are not exactly on theme.
00:31:40.640 --> 00:31:45.279
But if you get a chance for them to be on theme, you should always have them on theme.
00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:48.559
And also, this links to the metaphors you want to create.
00:31:48.799 --> 00:32:03.519
So, when I was writing the first draft of my novel right now, when I figured out what my theme was, every time I was coming up with some way, for example, at the end, I was like, okay, how are they going to do this?
00:32:03.839 --> 00:32:07.039
It will involve a lighter, okay, a lighter.
00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:10.960
But I was like, okay, how do I link the lighter to the theme?
00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:16.160
So my theme is friendships, love will free you from guilt.
00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:26.079
So freeing yourself from guilt is about forgiving yourself and moving on, but it's the love you find within friendship that will help you to do that.
00:32:26.160 --> 00:32:27.200
So that's my theme.
00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:30.160
This is the message I want to carry on with my novel.
00:32:30.319 --> 00:32:32.319
So everything needs to be on theme.
00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:38.240
So when I figure out I need to have this lighter, this lighter is super important to my story.
00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:42.240
Right away, I was like, okay, it needs to be a gift from a friend.
00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:50.720
She needs to have carried it with her all her life because it symbolizes that she still cares about her friends, even though they're not close anymore.
00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:53.119
This is a symbol of their friendship.
00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:56.880
She gave it to her because they had a fight.
00:32:57.039 --> 00:32:59.119
She was smoking, her friend didn't like it.
00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:01.039
They had a huge fight about it.
00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:12.160
The friend wanting to reconcile because the friendship is important to her, as a symbol of you're more important to me than your bad habit, give her a lighter.
00:33:12.559 --> 00:33:14.480
And that was the symbol of their friendship.
00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:18.720
So you see, I go even deeper into the meaning of the lighter.
00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:23.839
She didn't just give it to her randomly at the birthday just because.
00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:40.240
No, no, no, she gave it to her because they had a fight and stopped talking for a few days, and she hated being away from her friend, and so she bought her the lighter as a way to say, I love you, even though you're smoking, and I find it gross.
00:33:41.279 --> 00:33:43.359
And this is something I want to add in.
00:33:43.440 --> 00:33:48.880
I haven't done it yet, but I want to have her fidget with the lighter at the moments.
00:33:49.039 --> 00:34:02.000
She either needs something spiritually, mentally from her friend, or the moment she's thinking about her friend without really saying it into words either to herself or to the character.
00:34:02.160 --> 00:34:13.199
But I really want to make sure that every instance where we see the lighter, again, like with the rat in my other story, I want to make sure that there is a link to the theme and to the friendship.
00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:16.159
So that's just a little way of using it.
00:34:16.239 --> 00:34:19.440
But I've done that actually for so many things already.
00:34:19.599 --> 00:34:27.280
Like the way that they're concluding at the end, it's linked to the theme, the difficulties they are living, it's linked to the theme.
00:34:27.360 --> 00:34:30.159
Like everything needs to be linked to the theme.
00:34:30.480 --> 00:34:37.360
And again, even though the reader may not pick it all up, this is something that's so satisfying.
00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:45.039
And I remember when I read The Shining for the, I don't know, third time, and I was really dissecting it.
00:34:45.199 --> 00:35:06.559
When I found out, oh, every single thing was linked to his team of if you let your demons take control, like if you don't first acknowledge that you have demons, acknowledge that they are still present in your life, even though you're trying to suppress them, they will hurt your family.
00:35:06.639 --> 00:35:08.480
Like that's the theme of The Shining.
00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:20.000
And when you see that it's basically everywhere, that all the decisions are around this team, it's it's so satisfying as a reader when you discover it.
00:35:20.159 --> 00:35:43.679
So, and and trust me, it's also, even if you don't even think about a reader or future publication, it's so fun and satisfying when you do it, when you do something super intentionally in your story because you've thought of why you want to do it, why it serves a greater purpose, why it creates an interesting symbolism in your story.
00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:52.960
It's so much more satisfying as a writer, so much more fun as a writer to say, okay, how can I, I have this thing, I'm not sure.
00:35:53.119 --> 00:35:54.800
How can I link it to my theme?
00:35:55.039 --> 00:35:57.760
How can I give it more symbolic resonance?
00:35:58.079 --> 00:36:13.119
It's so much more fun as a writer to write this way instead of just like hoping the right thing comes to you or hoping something works or hoping something will resonate well with your reader.
00:36:13.360 --> 00:36:21.760
Having the intentionality yourself as a writer gives you so much more control over your story, and that's just the best feeling.
00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:26.320
So I always have, like I said, I meant my beautiful notebook.
00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:33.599
I always have a notebook for each of my books, and this is why I will journal on those questions when I'm trying to figure out.
00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:40.159
So right now I'm not actively trying to find answers to all my why questions, they are just there.
00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:42.079
My muses can work on them.
00:36:42.239 --> 00:36:51.119
I should do an episode about my muse because muse plural, because this is something that really helps me, this notion of muses working for me.
00:36:51.280 --> 00:36:54.079
So this is the questions for my muse right now.
00:36:54.239 --> 00:37:06.239
I'm not actively trying to find them because I know that just as I'm going, as I'm working in my current draft, I know that some of those answers will just naturally emerge, that will just naturally come.
00:37:06.639 --> 00:37:12.960
Those beautiful, so amazing moments of light bulb illuminating and ah, okay, that's it.
00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:14.000
That's the solution.
00:37:14.239 --> 00:37:15.760
I know that they will come.
00:37:16.159 --> 00:37:26.239
But if there is a moment where I'm like, okay, now I really need an answer for that because it's preventing me to keep on going, what I will do is I will free journal on it.
00:37:26.400 --> 00:37:29.199
So why does the house shift?
00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:31.360
Like that's the first one on my board.
00:37:31.519 --> 00:37:37.039
And so I could free write on that and come up with plenty of reason why the house could shift.
00:37:37.199 --> 00:37:39.360
Also, think what if the house didn't shift?
00:37:39.519 --> 00:37:40.320
What would I do?
00:37:40.480 --> 00:37:45.039
So I would really look around the question and see what would be best to answer it.
00:37:45.199 --> 00:37:56.400
So you can do that, either just give it some time, like I think it's important in the process to give it some time, but you can also free write and journal about it and see what answers come up.
00:37:56.559 --> 00:38:03.599
And now I'm almost done, but I just wanted to do a little quick note about asking why in your life as well.
00:38:03.760 --> 00:38:12.079
Now I'm not like a mindset coach or anything like that, but it's really helpful sometimes to ask why in your own life.
00:38:12.320 --> 00:38:16.320
I've asked myself many times, why do I write?
00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:27.360
I'm so glad the answer is because I actually really love it, because I was afraid at some point that the answer was like for some like egoistic reason or things like that.
00:38:27.599 --> 00:38:30.159
But also, why do I want to be a full-time writer?
00:38:30.320 --> 00:38:40.400
This is a question I asked myself lots of times, and I ended up with the reason, it's really truly because I love this so much that I want to do it all the time.
00:38:40.639 --> 00:38:48.400
It's not for the fame or glory, it's really because I just love it and I just would love to do it all the time.
00:38:48.639 --> 00:38:57.840
So it was like appeasing to me to come up with this answer, and I think sometimes we're afraid of asking the question because we are afraid of the answer.
00:38:58.159 --> 00:39:16.400
And if the answer is because I want to make a lot of money and I think this is an easy way to make a lot of money, God, if you believe that, then it's still a good idea to ask yourself this question because if what you truly want is to make a lot of money, it could happen.
00:39:16.480 --> 00:39:17.840
I'm not saying it could not happen.
00:39:18.000 --> 00:39:32.800
Lots of people have made lots of money with writing, but if it's not truly something that you like and it's not truly something that fulfills you, and not something that's really fun to you, there is other ways that you could make money.
00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:37.679
Like, let's be honest, there are many other ways that you can make money.
00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:42.159
So I think that sometimes we're like afraid of asking the question, but it could be so good.
00:39:42.320 --> 00:39:50.400
And also, like with habits, like I asked myself recently the question why do I keep going to my phone so often?
00:39:50.559 --> 00:39:54.239
Why do I check social media so often?
00:39:54.400 --> 00:40:00.000
And I realized that the question was usually because I was bored at my day job, it was just simply that.
00:40:00.159 --> 00:40:05.039
Like, so I would quickly go check, you know, but I didn't like doing this at all.
00:40:05.199 --> 00:40:15.280
I did not like using my break, my precious 15-minute breaks that I could do so many things more interesting than checking social media.
00:40:15.519 --> 00:40:19.119
I hated that I spend it on social media, so I asked myself, why?
00:40:19.519 --> 00:40:25.440
And it was just because it felt like the easiest way to break my boredom, but it wasn't.
00:40:25.679 --> 00:40:30.320
Like, if it's really because I'm bored, there is something else I can do about that.
00:40:30.400 --> 00:40:40.559
You know, I could listen to an audiobook while I work to keep my mind more activated and not need to feel the need to go check social media during my breaks.
00:40:40.719 --> 00:40:46.000
I could intentionally see, okay, you're going to social media because it's easy.
00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:53.280
Like in my breaks, it was really because it was easy to go to my phone, but and also FOMO, of course.
00:40:53.519 --> 00:40:58.159
But wouldn't it feel better to go to a book instead of your phone?
00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:02.800
So again, asking the question why is about intentionality.
00:41:03.039 --> 00:41:10.880
So if you don't ask the question why you're doing the things that you're doing every day in your life, you're not intentional about them.
00:41:10.960 --> 00:41:14.800
But when you ask the question, that's when you can get intentional about it.
00:41:15.039 --> 00:41:19.679
Okay, maybe it's easier to just reach for my phone when it's my break.
00:41:20.079 --> 00:41:30.719
But wouldn't it be even better and make me feel better and at the same time support my goal to grab a book and read for 15 minutes?
00:41:30.960 --> 00:41:31.920
Absolutely.
00:41:32.239 --> 00:41:40.800
So it's really about intentionality, whether it's about your long-term goal or with every single habit that you have every single day.
00:41:40.960 --> 00:41:48.639
Just a little thing you could ask yourself, and I think could be really helpful too that I just wanted to leave you with at the end of this episode.
00:41:48.880 --> 00:41:56.880
If you like this episode, if you like my podcast in general, would you please leave a review anywhere you're getting your podcasts?
00:41:57.119 --> 00:42:00.239
Reviews really help other people discover the podcast.
00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:04.159
It's an easy, fast way to help me and the podcast.
00:42:04.320 --> 00:42:07.199
So if you do, I will be so grateful.
00:42:07.440 --> 00:42:14.000
Thank you so much for having been here with me today, and I'm wishing you a lovely week of writing.
00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:11.039
Welcome to Lift Yo-Based Writing Podcast, where I share with vulnerability and positivity my journey towards making all of my writing dreams come true.
00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:16.640
I hope you learn with me as I go from the things that go well and what doesn't go so well.
00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:22.160
But mainly, I wish it inspires you to pursue your own writing dreams.
00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:23.839
Now let's begin.
00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.399
Hello and welcome to Lefty Obeys Writing Podcast.
00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:34.880
I'm so happy that you're here today with me for a new episode.
00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:43.200
And the topic of today will be why the question that will revolutionize your writing and your life.
00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:56.880
And I found myself asking this question over and over again.
00:00:57.119 --> 00:01:12.879
And while I don't have the answer to most of the question I've written on my board next to me, being in the editing process for my second novel has really brought back to life how important this question is.
00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:25.920
And also I want to link it a bit to how it's important in your life, too, because this is something that keeps coming back to me, and I think it's just so interesting to take some time to think about this.
00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:36.079
So this will come in the topic part of the episode, but for now, here's the update So what's been going on in my writing life since last episode.
00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:48.480
So the first thing is my friend finished editing my French short story that I submitted today to a French contest in Quebec, Le Prix Solaris.
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So she finished working on it, she sent it back to me, and then I went back over the manuscript correcting the thing she had mentioned and also rereading it to really like be certain I was happy with what the story looked like.
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So her help was so so so much needed because it's been some time since I've read in French.
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When I switched writing in English, I stopped completely reading in French, and I only read in English to really familiarize myself with grammar, with sentence structure, vocabulary, and I completely stopped reading in French, and I think my brain forgot some like base notion.
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And there was one thing that my brain just completely forgot.
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So that was a good thing that my friend looked over it and allowed me to correct it.
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So I sent it to the contest.
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I have no idea what will happen.
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Like, I think it'll take a miracle for me to win this, but I'm still really, really proud of it.
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Like, I love the story because it's the same story in English or in French.
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I'm not sure, like on the pro side, that it's like the best thing it could be in French, but like I said, I I've it's been so long since I've run in French, like I have a hard dike comparing.
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So I really have no idea.
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We'll see what happens, but I still love the story.
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So I think a good story, sometimes it's all it takes, and even if it's not like mind-blowing on a line level, sometimes a good story does make up for this.
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So we'll see.
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But I don't think I'm the best judge, to be honest.
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And so I've messaged my friend and was just like, Do you like it?
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Because like she was so focused on correcting my mistakes or doing some suggestion to reformulate things, which was awesome.
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It's what I wanted from her.
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Like, I was like, I don't even know if she liked this, but anyway, so this is done, this is sent.
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We'll see.
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I have no idea when I hear back.
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I don't know, but I'm like completely letting it go and letting it in the ends of the universe, it's not in my hand anymore.
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And to be honest, I'm glad it's not in my hand anymore.
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Before translating this, I was actually considering if when the time comes for me to have my novels in Quebec, which is the ultimate goal of mine to have my books in French available in Quebec too, because so many people in my family, my friends, they are eager to read me, but they can't because it's all in English, and most of them like don't they understand a level of English, but not enough to read a whole novel.
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So that would be so awesome to have my book available in French.
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And of course, as soon as I have a book deal in English, I will automatically see, okay, how can we get also a book deal in Quebec in French?
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Like that's super important to me.
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And at some point I was like, okay, I could translate myself, like you know, playing with the idea, because at first it was like, I don't want to do that.
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I will I felt really repulsed by the idea of translating myself in French.
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But I said, okay, I could try it.
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So I translated this short story, and first it was way longer than I thought it would be.
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And again, if I really want to do this, if I really want to translate from English to French, I would have to get back into more reading in French and get a better grasp of writing in French, writing the best French I can write, because even though like the ideas are the same, you need to own your skills in French too in writing and prose and sentence and everything.
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And I don't feel like I have that right now.
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So if I ever decide to translate myself or anyone else from English to French, I would have to get much more into reading in French and really get back into that.
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And for now, to be honest, doesn't seem so appealing to me.
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So we'll see.
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I'm not completely closing the door.
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I really much prefer translating from French to English just because I love playing with the English language more.
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I cannot explain it because if those of you don't know, my mother tongue is French, so I learned English pretty much by myself by just immersing myself in this language, which is so easy in Quebec because we're surrounded by English.
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So I taught myself English and I started reading in English, and when I started writing in English, it just clicked.
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It was just like this is what I was meant to do.
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Like this was the language I was supposed to write in.
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And I'm having so much fun playing with English as a language to write fiction.
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It's fun to me, every part of it.
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And I didn't feel the same level of joy in French.
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So I thought, you know what, maybe this is just a sign that I'm not supposed to write in French, and that's totally okay.
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I could have someone else translate me, and then I could just, you know, look at it and just give my approval of it.
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Like that would be something I would like to be just sure that I love and I agree with the translation because I've read my fair share of that translation in my life, because so much of what we consume in stories in Quebec are translated from English, which is amazing because we have access to all those beautiful stories.
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But when the translation isn't that good, it really deters from the reading experience.
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So, of course, I would love to have a really solid, good translation for my own stories.
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But I'm not so sure anymore if I'm the best person to do that.
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Anyway, it would take more work.
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So that's on the side of the short story translation.
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Now, like I said, I'm working on my second novel.
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I wrote the entire first draft, discussed it with my agent, and now we're going into editing it.
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I think every time I start working on a new draft, there is this level of excitement and fear.
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Can I actually do it?
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But also like it's fun because it's something new than what I was doing before.
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Like before I was drafting new words and like editing it's such a different skill set and different way of playing with the story, and I I love editing, I I absolutely love editing.
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But at the same time, I'm like, I will like be able to do it because I know I've made myself a list of everything I need to edit to turn the first draft, which is a pretty solid first draft, but there is something that needs to be improved to take this first draft and take it into a second draft that will be super strong.
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And now when I'm seeing first draft, second draft, it's not like it's going to be one draft, it's going to be several draft passes inside of the draft because I'm going to go back and forth with my better readers, with my agent, so that we can then secure each of the scenes.
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So it's going to be one draft, technically, but composed of so many times that I will go back into the tax and rework on it.
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So all of this, the notion of draft, like it's really it doesn't matter really what it represents as long as it makes sense for you.
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My first draft could be the equivalent, a true draft that I had for the book before.
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And my second draft will be the equivalent, I think, again, of like two or three drafts of my first book, but the result is the same at the end.
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It's just the way of working on them changes.
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And let me tell you, for those of you who are querying or still working on your first novel by yourself, working on a novel with an agent is so different because you don't feel like you're going about in the darkness, not knowing if what you do works or not, not knowing what you can do to improve it.
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You have someone like being there with you all the way, and it's such a different process.
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And I'm so so so grateful to have an agent working on me, and it's really not the same.
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First, that's why it's faster to work on a novel with your agent than alone because you're not like fumbling in the dark, but also it's a fun process, you feel more in control.
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So if you're still querying or maybe not even like you're still working on your first novel, know that it will be different once you're on the underside, and that's something beautiful also to work towards.
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It's just not, it's not just to get your book in front of publisher, which is cool, but it could also be this beautiful partnership of working on the book and making it as good as it can be.
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I'm really enjoying this, and that's what happened while I was working on it.
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What I'm doing right now is I'm rereading the first draft, putting it in a spreadsheet in the way that Story Grid teaches about.
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And as I'm doing this, I'm putting notes in Scrivener.
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Scrivener is amazing.
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I don't know how I could possibly do this without Scrivener.
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Do each their own, you write pick what you want, but I just love Scrivener because every time I'm thinking about something that I want to change in my second draft, what I do is I go to the scene in Scrivener, so it's all separated into scenes.
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I go in the scenes, there is a notes section that's like linked to the document, but not inside the document, and I just write in the notes section what I want to change.
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So every time there's an idea that pops into my head that I need to change something later on, I just go there and I write the notes.
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So I'm doing that, and I will read the entire novel, take my notes all the way of what I want to change per scene, and then I will start editing scene by scene.
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And I started reading the first scene.
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I don't think I even got to like not even half of it, to be honest.
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And uh I just I just had to because I I kept thinking, I kept asking myself the question why why does this have to happen?
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Why does this character do this?
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Why do I start with that?
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Why do I kept asking myself the question why all over the story and all over the period of time I was editing it, and I used my big board next to me.
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I wrote the question.
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I wrote also what I wanted the metaphor to be because this is something that's important to me.
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And there was one question, the question that my agent asked me that I don't have the answer to.
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I wrote it on my board because this is also a big question that I really need an answer to before I start editing the whole novel because this could have implications throughout the novel, so I really need to find the answer to it.
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But I kept stopping to think, but it's so important to think, like it's something Cecilia or an agent I really respect for her dedication to the craft.
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I've done some of her class on writing, they are the most amazing class I ever took on writing, and also the advice she gives online are always spot on.
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And one thing she mentions is taking your time and really thinking about everything.
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And I actually did a post about this.
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If you want to go check out my Instagram or TikTok, which was just me like staring at nothing and just seeing how much of writing is actually just thinking, just doing nothing, just looking out and trying to figure out some stuff.
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It was a really fun post if you want to look at it, if you haven't seen it.
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But thinking is so important, and I spent a few hours just like not advancing, like it doesn't seem like I've made that much work, but I made so much work.
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I also started using Melanote, and I think for the next project, I will start using it from the beginning to really because I have my notebook here, my beautiful notebook that I bought in Portugal.
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I have my notebook, I have a scrivener file, I have an Eon timeline document that I do to create the timeline for my story and the history.
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So right now I'm working with a house, so I'm doing a timeline of history of the house since the moment it was built to the moment when my story starts.
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So I did the timeline in Eon timeline.
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And I used to try to keep the information in Scrivener, but Scrivener is not really made for research, like it does you can embed websites and have pictures, but it's not the best way to see it and visualize it for me at least.
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So I had seen a TikTok about someone recommending Melanote, and I said, okay, I'm going to try it.
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And one thing I needed to do too, because I did my research about how to have the setting be a character, and what every author talking about this said was you need to be super familiar with the setting.
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They all said they draw a map of the setting of the building they were working with to really know exactly where everything was.
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And so in Millenotes, you have a function that allows you to draw.
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You can also clip image, clip text, you can embed website pages.
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I really, really love the way it's first visual.
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I'm a very visual person, so you can have everything there super visually, but you can also draw in it.
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You can also like make mind maps because I tried making one in Eon Timeline, but again, Eon Timeline is not for mind maps.
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They have a feature for it, but it's not built for that.
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So I didn't like it.
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I felt like super restrained in this, but in Millenotes, like it's really more fluid what you can do with it, so it's really connected with me better.
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So next time I'm going to start using it from the beginning, it will save me some time.
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But I started working on it there for the uses I have right now.
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So I'm not going to redo what I did in Scrivener or in Eon timeline, but I'm using it for what I need right now, which is getting super intimate with the setting, with the house.
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I will pin some pictures that I found online as inspiration, the drawings of the house and everything.
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So I'm having a lot of fun as you can see.
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So yeah, it cannot seem like I made that much progress, but I'm trusting myself.
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I know that the time I'm putting right now, at some point it will build up and I will go faster.
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But all the time I'm spending right now thinking about all those things, doing those things in Millanote, asking myself the right question, I know that it will produce a stronger book at the end, and this is what's the most important.
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So I'm taking my time, I'm allowing myself to do what needs to be done, and not being hard on myself and saying you didn't even finish reading the first chapter because all of it was necessary.
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Also, last week I received another rejection.
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It was for a short story, one that I hadn't submitted for a while now, but I was like, I saw this new magazine, and I was like, it's not new, I just discovered it.
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And I was like, okay, maybe this story could work for them.
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So I submitted them to them at a form rejection.
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Good, uh, so just just part of the game.
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Um, the good thing is it didn't hurt at all, so that's cool.
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I was like, just oh okay, rejection, move on.
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Still have several submissions pending for my other short stories.
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We'll see.
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And then the last thing I did last week, which is so exciting, I started working on my first course for writer.
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So I mentioned it before, but I really like it.
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It was fun because my friend was like, duh, you're talking about this for so long.
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But I really do have a passion for teaching.
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Like, I love talking about writing, as you can see with this podcast.
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This is just something that I love, and I keep thinking about like when I started writing the things that I wish I had, the things that would have helped me so much, the knowledge that would help me so much.
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Like this old podcast, I'm doing it thinking of the people who are starting in their writing journey, or at any place in their writing journey, and who just don't want to be alone in it and want to learn some new things and tips that will help them.
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But also, I'm thinking like, what were the things I was struggling the most with and what would have been the most helpful to me at that time?
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And the first thing I was struggling so much for so long was writing consistently, and I had the idea of doing a mini course exactly on how did I manage to write consistently because this was something I struggled for so long, and this is something now that's like second nature to me.
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Like, writing is an integral part of my life, and it's not like some an effort I have to do.
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Let me tell you, I used to feel so bad all the time when I was not writing consistently.
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I used to be super hard on myself, and since I've been writing consistently, I do feel so much better because I feel like I'm really giving this thing that I love so much my dream.
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I'm really putting time to it.
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Doesn't mean I'm doing it every single day, like it's not what constantly means, but I'm making it a priority in my life.
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I'm putting place for it in my life, and it does feel so much better to not only be thinking about writing and talking about writing and reading about writing, but actually be doing it.
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So I started working on the class, and I think it's going to be so so so helpful.
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Really walk you through the steps that I use to build my writing routine and then to maintain it because these are two different things.
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Like you can maybe think like you can easily create a writing routine, but then if you never follow through, if you never actually keep it up more than two weeks, then doesn't matter that you have the perfect routine, you're not following it.
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So it's two things, and also there's the part that I call troubleshooting.
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So when you can't write anymore, when it doesn't work, why and what you can do about it?
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So I'm really, really passionate about this class.
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Like I think it could really, really help people who are struggling with writing consistently, struggling to finish their project because of it.
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Like that's another big part of it.
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So I started working on it, and I'm super excited and happy about it.
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So if that interests you, if you think that's something you'd like to be a part of in the future, I've created a wait list, so you just have to go into the show notes of this episode.
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You click on the wait list, you add your name and your email address, and you will be in the first one to know about it.
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And you will also have access to it at the lowest price.
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Now, I want to keep all of my class low cost because there are so many amazing cores that exist online for writers, but a lot of them cost like in the hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
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And I know that, especially when you're starting out, investing that sort of money like that's a lot when you're not even sure if you're capable of doing this, like, and also it's not everyone who is privileged enough to be able to invest that kind of money into their writing, and it saddened me that it could potentially block someone just because they don't have the means to have access to those resources to those course.
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So that's why I want to do multiple course at a lower price point so that you can use only the class that you need and have access to the information without it being like this big investment that feels super scary to you.
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But for the first round of this course, I want to offer it at even the lowest price so that if there is anything that you'd like me to.
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Go more into detail about or something that isn't clear, something that I haven't covered that you think is super important to the subject, you can tell me, and then I update the class, you'll have access to the updated class.
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And then once I do that, I will be able to offer the course to everyone, and it will be like the best version it could be.
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So because like it's like the better run, I want to offer it just at the best price for the first people who got in.
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So if something that interests you, you can go right now and join the wait list.
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And when it's ready, I will send you an email with the link to join.
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So that's about it for me for this week.
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And now we can go to the topic part of the episode.
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So asking yourself why.
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When I was working on my first book, this is something that I did a lot, always, all the time.
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This is something I'm doing with every single one of my stories.
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And I truly believe that the success I had in the query trenches with my first novel.
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So if you don't know, like I had more than 20 requests, three offers of representation.
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I really do believe that it's because I took the time to write the strongest book I possibly could before I started querying.
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Because you can have the best query in the world, the best four pages, the best synopsis.
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If you don't have the strongest book possible, none of this matters because at the end it's the book that makes an agent want to sign with you.
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It's not the material you create to sell your book.
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And one thing I did was always ask the question why.
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So sometimes when we're writing a book, we'll put things in because they come to us, because it feels cool.
00:23:55.680 --> 00:24:01.599
But when you're editing, I think it's really the time to stop and say, okay, why?
00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:03.599
With literally everything.
00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:11.680
And yes, again, it's something that takes time because you really need to stop and think about it.
00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:13.759
But it's really worth it.
00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:17.839
Because first it will have intention behind everything.
00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:24.319
Because sometimes you will see when you ask this question, for example, why does this character do this?
00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:32.480
And sometimes you will say, Well, okay, it's because I thought it would be cool for her to do that.
00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:36.079
Might not be the best reason in a novel.
00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:38.160
Like in a novel, it's important.
00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:44.400
I don't know where I heard that, but they said, like, in fiction, everything has to make sense.
00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:49.119
In real life, there are things that happen and don't make sense, but in a book, everything needs to make sense.
00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:54.480
And a way to be sure that everything makes sense is to be sure that everything is intentional.
00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:56.559
And that's what's asking the question.
00:24:56.720 --> 00:25:04.799
Why brings you, it assures you that there is intentionalities behind every single take you book in your novel.
00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:10.400
So every action should be, it can be for a multiple of reasons.
00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:15.519
And the reason could be also because it helps create the vibes that I want with this novel.
00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:17.119
That's a good reason.
00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:19.839
It's only important that it's intentional.
00:25:20.079 --> 00:25:24.000
So this goes for big picture things in your novel.
00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:27.279
Like, why does it end this way?
00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.599
Why does it start there?
00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:32.000
Why did I choose this genre?
00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:37.279
Why do I write it in this tense, this person?
00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:46.000
All of this, you need to be intentional with that, but it can also go really to the really granular thing, and that's where you can think sometimes.
00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:56.319
But again, it will create a deeper sense of everything being thought through and everything being linked and connected together.
00:25:56.559 --> 00:26:00.000
As deep as why is the couch blue?
00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:03.599
If you mention that the couch is blue, why is it blue?
00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:05.920
And that's where you'll go into symbolism.
00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:08.559
So you don't have to go crazy with it.
00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:17.200
But the more that you add in notions of symbolism, even though the reader might not catch it, they will feel it.
00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:20.240
And that's the same thing with being intentional with everything.
00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:30.799
Maybe your reader will not get every instance of you put something intentionally there, but they will certainly feel it because it creates a deeper sense in your story.
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:37.119
Like, for example, in my short story, the one that I translated, they had a pet rat.
00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:40.400
At first, I was like, why do they have a pet rat?
00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:44.799
Well, because I want to write a story with a pet rat in it.
00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:47.839
Because I had a pet rat, and rats are amazing.
00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:59.680
Rats are like the coolest animal there is, like, they are so warm, and I know that some people are probably cringing right now, but trust me, like, rats are amazing.
00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:03.680
Oh, it's like dogs, really, just smaller.
00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:05.279
That's really what rats are.
00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:07.839
And I wanted to have a story with a rat in.
00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:17.519
So this is kind of a good reason globally, but in the story, that's not a good reason to have a rat because you just want the rat there.
00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:20.720
It needs to have a deeper meaning to it.
00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:25.920
So I was like, okay, what will the rat represent in the story?
00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:28.559
Oh, that's an interesting question.
00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:34.720
And then I went back to it and I was like, okay, my rat will be the symbol of hope in my story.
00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:46.720
So at first, we have a character who's really positive, really hopeful about the future, really strong and confident, and she's the one, the rat is more her pet.
00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:53.759
And you have the other character who's more pessimistic, who's less confident and more fearful about the world.
00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:54.960
But they are together.
00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:56.559
First character dies.
00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:00.400
This is not a spoiler, this happens like in the first scene.
00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:08.960
The character dies with the rat, and so the other character takes the rat and takes care of the rat.
00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:18.319
And every single time we see the rat appearing in the story, it's moment either where she should have hope or where she has hope.
00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:23.279
So every time the rat makes an appearance, it has a purpose.
00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:28.000
It's not just randomly, oh, I forgot to mention the rat for two pages.
00:28:28.160 --> 00:28:35.680
It's really there either to signal that she should have hope or that she has some glimmer of hope into her.
00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:39.359
And I don't have to write it, she had a glimmer of hope.
00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:43.200
The rat does the job of adding it, the notion of hope.
00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:51.200
This is something probably most readers won't catch, but when you catch something like that as a reader, you're like, oh my god, this is so cool.
00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:56.559
And like at the end, there is a character that my main character should really trust.
00:28:56.720 --> 00:29:05.680
And like the rat goes into her hand, so that was a way to signal this is somebody she trust because she has an interaction with the rat.
00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:22.079
Just to give you a little example, but doing that with everything, like it will also really empowers you as a writer because you're more in control of your story, and you're not doing things just because it's really with an intention.
00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:29.279
And you will see also when you do that that you can solve multiple problems at the same time because you answer the question why.
00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:33.599
And sometimes the why for two things will be actually linked together.
00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:39.759
And most of the time, the why should be because it works with the theme.
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:42.799
This is the moment for me to talk to you about theme.
00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:48.640
Now, I'm probably sure that you've all heard about theme.
00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:52.079
You know that having a theme is important.
00:29:53.279 --> 00:30:07.599
But working with writers, I found out that sometimes they know the theme, but they haven't actually made sure that every single thing in their story is linked to their team.
00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:10.319
And I think that's that is a big mistake.
00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:20.319
The best novel ever are those when you can see really and stories in general are those when you can see that the theme is everywhere.
00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:29.279
Everything solidified this team, everything is either supporting the team or like showing the contrary to it.
00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:33.119
Okay, so I was not capable of finding who said that.
00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:39.359
I think I heard Steven Prosfield say this, but I don't know if it took it from someone else or not.
00:30:39.519 --> 00:30:47.519
But he said, as soon as I figure out what my play is about, I type it out in one line and scotch tape it to the front of my typewriter.
00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:52.000
After that, nothing goes into the play that is not on team.
00:30:52.160 --> 00:31:02.319
So right now, of course, it's not on our typewriters, but I really do believe that doing this really, really helps with writing the strongest story possible.
00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:12.960
So, for example, what I do when I find my team exactly like Steven Prosfield or whoever he took this one from, I write it on a post-it.
00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:15.680
If you are on the video, you can see it right now.
00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:22.799
I write it on a post-it, and you can see it's like all like I've moved it around so much that it's worn out.
00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:33.759
I put it either on my computer or next on my desk, but I need to always have it in view because nothing goes into my story that isn't not on team.
00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:40.079
So, of course, sometime there will be some little things in the story that are not exactly on theme.
00:31:40.640 --> 00:31:45.279
But if you get a chance for them to be on theme, you should always have them on theme.
00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:48.559
And also, this links to the metaphors you want to create.
00:31:48.799 --> 00:32:03.519
So, when I was writing the first draft of my novel right now, when I figured out what my theme was, every time I was coming up with some way, for example, at the end, I was like, okay, how are they going to do this?
00:32:03.839 --> 00:32:07.039
It will involve a lighter, okay, a lighter.
00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:10.960
But I was like, okay, how do I link the lighter to the theme?
00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:16.160
So my theme is friendships, love will free you from guilt.
00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:26.079
So freeing yourself from guilt is about forgiving yourself and moving on, but it's the love you find within friendship that will help you to do that.
00:32:26.160 --> 00:32:27.200
So that's my theme.
00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:30.160
This is the message I want to carry on with my novel.
00:32:30.319 --> 00:32:32.319
So everything needs to be on theme.
00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:38.240
So when I figure out I need to have this lighter, this lighter is super important to my story.
00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:42.240
Right away, I was like, okay, it needs to be a gift from a friend.
00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:50.720
She needs to have carried it with her all her life because it symbolizes that she still cares about her friends, even though they're not close anymore.
00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:53.119
This is a symbol of their friendship.
00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:56.880
She gave it to her because they had a fight.
00:32:57.039 --> 00:32:59.119
She was smoking, her friend didn't like it.
00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:01.039
They had a huge fight about it.
00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:12.160
The friend wanting to reconcile because the friendship is important to her, as a symbol of you're more important to me than your bad habit, give her a lighter.
00:33:12.559 --> 00:33:14.480
And that was the symbol of their friendship.
00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:18.720
So you see, I go even deeper into the meaning of the lighter.
00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:23.839
She didn't just give it to her randomly at the birthday just because.
00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:40.240
No, no, no, she gave it to her because they had a fight and stopped talking for a few days, and she hated being away from her friend, and so she bought her the lighter as a way to say, I love you, even though you're smoking, and I find it gross.
00:33:41.279 --> 00:33:43.359
And this is something I want to add in.
00:33:43.440 --> 00:33:48.880
I haven't done it yet, but I want to have her fidget with the lighter at the moments.
00:33:49.039 --> 00:34:02.000
She either needs something spiritually, mentally from her friend, or the moment she's thinking about her friend without really saying it into words either to herself or to the character.
00:34:02.160 --> 00:34:13.199
But I really want to make sure that every instance where we see the lighter, again, like with the rat in my other story, I want to make sure that there is a link to the theme and to the friendship.
00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:16.159
So that's just a little way of using it.
00:34:16.239 --> 00:34:19.440
But I've done that actually for so many things already.
00:34:19.599 --> 00:34:27.280
Like the way that they're concluding at the end, it's linked to the theme, the difficulties they are living, it's linked to the theme.
00:34:27.360 --> 00:34:30.159
Like everything needs to be linked to the theme.
00:34:30.480 --> 00:34:37.360
And again, even though the reader may not pick it all up, this is something that's so satisfying.
00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:45.039
And I remember when I read The Shining for the, I don't know, third time, and I was really dissecting it.
00:34:45.199 --> 00:35:06.559
When I found out, oh, every single thing was linked to his team of if you let your demons take control, like if you don't first acknowledge that you have demons, acknowledge that they are still present in your life, even though you're trying to suppress them, they will hurt your family.
00:35:06.639 --> 00:35:08.480
Like that's the theme of The Shining.
00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:20.000
And when you see that it's basically everywhere, that all the decisions are around this team, it's it's so satisfying as a reader when you discover it.
00:35:20.159 --> 00:35:43.679
So, and and trust me, it's also, even if you don't even think about a reader or future publication, it's so fun and satisfying when you do it, when you do something super intentionally in your story because you've thought of why you want to do it, why it serves a greater purpose, why it creates an interesting symbolism in your story.
00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:52.960
It's so much more satisfying as a writer, so much more fun as a writer to say, okay, how can I, I have this thing, I'm not sure.
00:35:53.119 --> 00:35:54.800
How can I link it to my theme?
00:35:55.039 --> 00:35:57.760
How can I give it more symbolic resonance?
00:35:58.079 --> 00:36:13.119
It's so much more fun as a writer to write this way instead of just like hoping the right thing comes to you or hoping something works or hoping something will resonate well with your reader.
00:36:13.360 --> 00:36:21.760
Having the intentionality yourself as a writer gives you so much more control over your story, and that's just the best feeling.
00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:26.320
So I always have, like I said, I meant my beautiful notebook.
00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:33.599
I always have a notebook for each of my books, and this is why I will journal on those questions when I'm trying to figure out.
00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:40.159
So right now I'm not actively trying to find answers to all my why questions, they are just there.
00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:42.079
My muses can work on them.
00:36:42.239 --> 00:36:51.119
I should do an episode about my muse because muse plural, because this is something that really helps me, this notion of muses working for me.
00:36:51.280 --> 00:36:54.079
So this is the questions for my muse right now.
00:36:54.239 --> 00:37:06.239
I'm not actively trying to find them because I know that just as I'm going, as I'm working in my current draft, I know that some of those answers will just naturally emerge, that will just naturally come.
00:37:06.639 --> 00:37:12.960
Those beautiful, so amazing moments of light bulb illuminating and ah, okay, that's it.
00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:14.000
That's the solution.
00:37:14.239 --> 00:37:15.760
I know that they will come.
00:37:16.159 --> 00:37:26.239
But if there is a moment where I'm like, okay, now I really need an answer for that because it's preventing me to keep on going, what I will do is I will free journal on it.
00:37:26.400 --> 00:37:29.199
So why does the house shift?
00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:31.360
Like that's the first one on my board.
00:37:31.519 --> 00:37:37.039
And so I could free write on that and come up with plenty of reason why the house could shift.
00:37:37.199 --> 00:37:39.360
Also, think what if the house didn't shift?
00:37:39.519 --> 00:37:40.320
What would I do?
00:37:40.480 --> 00:37:45.039
So I would really look around the question and see what would be best to answer it.
00:37:45.199 --> 00:37:56.400
So you can do that, either just give it some time, like I think it's important in the process to give it some time, but you can also free write and journal about it and see what answers come up.
00:37:56.559 --> 00:38:03.599
And now I'm almost done, but I just wanted to do a little quick note about asking why in your life as well.
00:38:03.760 --> 00:38:12.079
Now I'm not like a mindset coach or anything like that, but it's really helpful sometimes to ask why in your own life.
00:38:12.320 --> 00:38:16.320
I've asked myself many times, why do I write?
00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:27.360
I'm so glad the answer is because I actually really love it, because I was afraid at some point that the answer was like for some like egoistic reason or things like that.
00:38:27.599 --> 00:38:30.159
But also, why do I want to be a full-time writer?
00:38:30.320 --> 00:38:40.400
This is a question I asked myself lots of times, and I ended up with the reason, it's really truly because I love this so much that I want to do it all the time.
00:38:40.639 --> 00:38:48.400
It's not for the fame or glory, it's really because I just love it and I just would love to do it all the time.
00:38:48.639 --> 00:38:57.840
So it was like appeasing to me to come up with this answer, and I think sometimes we're afraid of asking the question because we are afraid of the answer.
00:38:58.159 --> 00:39:16.400
And if the answer is because I want to make a lot of money and I think this is an easy way to make a lot of money, God, if you believe that, then it's still a good idea to ask yourself this question because if what you truly want is to make a lot of money, it could happen.
00:39:16.480 --> 00:39:17.840
I'm not saying it could not happen.
00:39:18.000 --> 00:39:32.800
Lots of people have made lots of money with writing, but if it's not truly something that you like and it's not truly something that fulfills you, and not something that's really fun to you, there is other ways that you could make money.
00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:37.679
Like, let's be honest, there are many other ways that you can make money.
00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:42.159
So I think that sometimes we're like afraid of asking the question, but it could be so good.
00:39:42.320 --> 00:39:50.400
And also, like with habits, like I asked myself recently the question why do I keep going to my phone so often?
00:39:50.559 --> 00:39:54.239
Why do I check social media so often?
00:39:54.400 --> 00:40:00.000
And I realized that the question was usually because I was bored at my day job, it was just simply that.
00:40:00.159 --> 00:40:05.039
Like, so I would quickly go check, you know, but I didn't like doing this at all.
00:40:05.199 --> 00:40:15.280
I did not like using my break, my precious 15-minute breaks that I could do so many things more interesting than checking social media.
00:40:15.519 --> 00:40:19.119
I hated that I spend it on social media, so I asked myself, why?
00:40:19.519 --> 00:40:25.440
And it was just because it felt like the easiest way to break my boredom, but it wasn't.
00:40:25.679 --> 00:40:30.320
Like, if it's really because I'm bored, there is something else I can do about that.
00:40:30.400 --> 00:40:40.559
You know, I could listen to an audiobook while I work to keep my mind more activated and not need to feel the need to go check social media during my breaks.
00:40:40.719 --> 00:40:46.000
I could intentionally see, okay, you're going to social media because it's easy.
00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:53.280
Like in my breaks, it was really because it was easy to go to my phone, but and also FOMO, of course.
00:40:53.519 --> 00:40:58.159
But wouldn't it feel better to go to a book instead of your phone?
00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:02.800
So again, asking the question why is about intentionality.
00:41:03.039 --> 00:41:10.880
So if you don't ask the question why you're doing the things that you're doing every day in your life, you're not intentional about them.
00:41:10.960 --> 00:41:14.800
But when you ask the question, that's when you can get intentional about it.
00:41:15.039 --> 00:41:19.679
Okay, maybe it's easier to just reach for my phone when it's my break.
00:41:20.079 --> 00:41:30.719
But wouldn't it be even better and make me feel better and at the same time support my goal to grab a book and read for 15 minutes?
00:41:30.960 --> 00:41:31.920
Absolutely.
00:41:32.239 --> 00:41:40.800
So it's really about intentionality, whether it's about your long-term goal or with every single habit that you have every single day.
00:41:40.960 --> 00:41:48.639
Just a little thing you could ask yourself, and I think could be really helpful too that I just wanted to leave you with at the end of this episode.
00:41:48.880 --> 00:41:56.880
If you like this episode, if you like my podcast in general, would you please leave a review anywhere you're getting your podcasts?
00:41:57.119 --> 00:42:00.239
Reviews really help other people discover the podcast.
00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:04.159
It's an easy, fast way to help me and the podcast.
00:42:04.320 --> 00:42:07.199
So if you do, I will be so grateful.
00:42:07.440 --> 00:42:14.000
Thank you so much for having been here with me today, and I'm wishing you a lovely week of writing.
