I’m Writing Another Book!
I’ve been talking about writing a nonfiction book on forgiveness for several years.
Procrastination
First, I had to get through the rollout of my memoir, Crazy. Next, I moved across country and had to settle in. Finally, I was unexpectedly offered a half-time position as a bridge pastor which lasted for six months and took a ton-load of spiritual energy that could otherwise have been put toward writing. Each excuse pushed the book further back on the burner. In the meantime, writing a few articles and giving a few talks on the topic pulled the book further front on the burner. Was this a pipe dream or a real vision?
Lyn’s storyboard draft of It’s Not About Forgiving, It’s About Healing (working title).
Titles
I’ve been through several title iterations. Is Forgiveness the Goal? reflected my reaction to current forgiveness gurus who suggest therapists invite clients to make forgiveness a therapeutic goal. Confronting the F-Word represented my own personal response to the word itself (ugh). The Three Faces of Forgiveness reflected the fact that my thesis had evolved to include forgiving oneself, forgiving friends, and forgiving perpetrators. My final working title is It’s Not About Forgiving, It’s About Healing: for people with dissociative or other trauma based conditions which highlights the book’s core conflict and states the premise upfront.
Evolution
Maybe that’s how a book grows. In this multi year period where I’ve barely put a paragraph on paper, I’ve digested the topic through talks, articles, and books I’ve either written, given, or read. My book premise has remained steady but my thoughts have grown and evolved, a process reflected in my changing titles.
More Procrastination
“July 2nd is my last day at church,” I said to myself, “so that’s when I’ll begin!”
Except my granddaughter and her boyfriend were visiting the next week so we spent my first week free from outside distractions cleaning our house from top to bottom, which I’m sure Juliana and Eli never noticed, but it made us feel better. They left and before I knew it, my birthday rolled around and we celebrated once, twice, maybe three times over the course of the week. Okay, my birthday’s behind me so now I can get down to work.
Getting Down to Work
This week was the week. I doodled and dabbled on Monday. Started reading some books that would help with the writing and the subject on Tuesday. Reorganized on Wednesday. Made a story board on Thursday. Grand total accomplished over the first four days was, oh, maybe, about a few sentences. I lamented to my husband, “I don’t think I have a book to write!” Really?!
By Friday, I remembered I had bought Scrivener, a story boarding word processing software when I was writing Crazy several years ago. I loved it. It made writing a large project like a book so much easier. I set it up again and, lo and behold, the ideas starting coming. The words started flowing. I’m writing. I’m writing a book. I have a book to write!
Don’t expect to see it on the market anytime soon (books take a looooong time to write 😇), but I’m writing another book!
2024 DW Anthology Call for Submissions!
Dissociative Writers is gearing up for our third annual Creative Healing Anthology, open to all subscribers to DW. All writing and art may be submitted, along with the Guidelines and Agreement to Publish (found at Groupeasy/Documents/Anthology 2024), between July 1 and September 16 by clicking here. Anticipated self-publication date is January 16, 2024. The digital anthology will be available for free on the Dissociative Writers website. For more information, click here.
NEWS FLASH: Prose word count limitations have exploded! We now accept submissions up to 1,000 words (old limit was 500). So get out your journal and start counting!
August Workshops
Tuesday, August 1, 1 pm Eastern: Traditional Workshop
Wednesday, August 2, 8 pm Eastern: Evening Writing-in-Place Lite
Tuesday, August 8, 1 pm Eastern: Writing-in-Place
Tuesday, August 15, 1 pm Eastern: Traditional Workshop
Wednesday, August 16, 8 pm Eastern: Evening Writing-in-Place Lite
Tuesday, August 22, 1 pm Eastern: Writing-in-Place
Tuesday, August 29, 1 pm Eastern: Traditional Workshop
Wednesday, August 30, 8 pm Eastern: Evening Writing-in-Place Lite
Workshop Zoom Links
To find the Zoom link to the workshop you want to attend, go to Groupeasy / Calendar / Date & Name of Workshop. Click and you’ll be taken to the Zoom link to the workshop. We now use several Zoom links so it’s important for you to go to the Calendar to get the correct link. See you there!
Becoming a Nonprofit 501(c)3!
Dissociative Writer’s core team has been exploring the idea of becoming a nonprofit for the past year. Recently, we came to consensus to move forward in that direction. Expect to hear more about this sustaining initiative that will allow dissociative writers to continue to gather and share their writing long into the future and how YOU can help!
🕊️
If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.
~ Toni Morrison
Lyn