Amy M. Schaefer
  • Amy M. Schaefer, Writer
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From the Front Porch

I am an "accidental blogger". When I launched my writing career in March of 2014, one of the things that I decided to include was my journaling, which I have always found to be a comforting and therapeutic endeavor.  It was a big risk to open myself up in such a public forum, but it has taught me that, for the most part, we share far more experiences than we think. It's comforting to know I'm not alone!  (*the "Button Text" is the link to my first novel)
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We All Have a Story: Getting Started

3/9/2015

4 Comments

 
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"The one thing you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can." ~HPLYRIKZ.com

People frequently ask me for tips about writing a novel, expressing interest in how to write their own. Most have a story they wish to tell, and for some that story is an ache pushing against them from the inside, desperate to get out (...usually stemming from a great trauma they've survived). Since I'm asked about this so often, I thought I'd spend this week talking about writing and offering my best advice for those of you who wish to write your own story and don't know how to get started. As an English teacher for nine years, I helped many struggling writers to find their voice. As a writer, being able to tell my own story has been the most healing experience of my life. If I can help any of you do the same, that's frosting on the cupcake for me!

You don't have to have aspirations of becoming a writer to enjoy doing it, or find healing for yourself in the process. In fact, you don't even have to use words! Some people get the same benefits by doodling or sketching, using images to express ideas and feelings that their words cannot. With that in mind, my first and best piece of advice is this; buy a notebook or hardbound blank book (I use a combination of the two, depending on what I'm writing in it) and begin journaling. I have two fast and hard rules for journaling: 1.) Put pen to paper and write whatever thoughts come to mind--no holding back and no censoring yourself; 2.) Never, ever edit your journal entries! Use them to inspire other pieces if you wish, but the original journal should be an utterly free-writing experience. What I write in my journals doesn't even make sense half the time but that's okay because it is always raw and real, which is the point.

Often when I'm filled with deep or strong emotions, I can go on for many pages, my thoughts coming in rapid fire bursts. My true voice, however, comes through the strongest when I'm over-tired. That 2 a.m. voice? That is when I fully get to meet the authentic me, the woman very few people know. Maybe you'll discover the same about yourself, or come to your own voice in an entirely different way. It doesn't matter how you get there, as long as in the end you find it. Authentic voice is the most vital part of you and your writing. You need to know it like a master and then find ways to share it with your audience, even if that's just an audience of one. How do you start? Pour out the words using whatever medium taps into those quiet spaces where you hide inside yourself. Pour the words out even if you're afraid, hands shaking, the pen strokes mere scribbles. Write often and then go back and dig through your work. It is there that you'll find YOU. Once that happens, being able to express what you wish becomes much easier.
4 Comments
Jim
3/12/2015 12:32:01 am

This is a first for me to comment on someone's blog, and for that matter even reading very much of a person's blog. I love to read but never have had much interest in blogs because normally they are just varied thoughts that have never interested me. Yours, on the other hand are very different and appealing. This one about everyone having a story hits me hard and I agree with you 100% in this matter. We all face situations through our lives that create our own story and most of feel that it is nothing to share with others and is uninteresting. Sometimes we use social media to voice our feelings, thinking that only our friends will ever see them, but we continue to use these outlets as a release of our inner thoughts and feelings. Everyone's life story is unique but not necessarily something to share. Your way of expressing your stories in your books and in your blogs are something that holds your attention and get to the point without rambling on just to lengthen the story. Like I said before, I have read a blog that holds my attention like yours do. I think I have read through your achieves and read them all. Thank you for sharing your stories and book with your public and ever building fans. I look forward to your next book and many more to come. THANK YOU.

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Amy Marie Schaefer
3/12/2015 04:44:22 am

Jim,
I'm SO happy to hear that mine is the first one you've ever commented on! You should see the smile you've put on my face today b telling me that my page, my writing has resonated with you in various ways. The writing, for me, is cathartic, but being able to touch others...is such an indescribable joy! Come back to my page often and feel free to comment with reckless abandon! Welcome to my tribe.

Love,
A.

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Tad Smith
6/25/2015 01:49:43 am

I found your blog and love what I have seen so far. I have several stories stuck in me and never knew how to get them out. Mine are Sci Fi and Fantasy but very much a part of me. Tracie knows that I keep writing short stories and talking to her about this book I want to right. Biggest problem I have is I'm afraid I'm not good enough of a writer to do my stories justice. I'm going to get some note books and see if I can't start getting the stories out.

Reply
Amy Marie Schaefer
6/25/2015 11:28:23 pm

I wish you well on finally making that happen, Tad. You won't be sorry you did!

Love,
A.

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    About The Author

    I grew up in rural North Carolina. When I was only nineteen, I moved away and became a military wife. My only aspiration at that tender time in my life was to create an adult life that "fixed" all of the "injustices" of my childhood. Secretly, however, I wanted to reach for the sky! I wanted to be a writer and find ways to "save the world" (my mother used to say, "You have Save the World Syndrome".). Mostly, I wanted to matter.

    Since then, I have learned to reach well beyond what I ever dared to think was possible. I've learned not to allow fear to stop me from whatever future I want to create!

    What keeps me grounded? My Tribe! What provides the wind beneath my wings? A well of reserves filled with unstoppable passion!

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  • Amy M. Schaefer, Writer
  • Blog: From the Front Porch
  • Novels
  • Short Stories
    • Children's Books
  • About the Author
  • Contact
  • Photo & Art Gallery