When writing becomes a slog, don't quit, do it.

by Nicki Edwards

Sweet Romance Author

Country town Love, Life and Medical Dramas

Have you ever gotten to the place where you feel like you want to quit? That if you have to walk. one. more. step you'll collapse? When going further just seems too hard? Like too much of an effort?

I'm talking about all the things we tend to quit. Weight loss programs. Healthy eating. Jobs. Relationships. 

Writing that book.

Each one of us has a different area in our lives when we feel like calling it quits.

Right now, I feel like quitting writing.

I'm working on my sixth book (Critical Condition) and it's been a hard slog from the very get go.

I don't know why. I love the characters, I love the setting, I love the story line.

But each word has been an effort.

I'm not generally a quitter by nature, so I know I won't quit, (and I can't quit because I have a deadline and I'm contracted to finish this book by September), but I can assure you it's been tempting to throw in the towel and walk away from it without a backward glance.

Why?

Writing is hard work. Much harder than I first expected. The first book was hard. The second twice as hard. I thought each one after that would be easier to write, but they haven't. That's because I've pushed myself to get better and better as a writer. And that takes work. And work brings pressure.

Writing is time consuming. I'm not talking just about the actual process of words on paper. There's marketing, editing, blogs to write, books to mail out, launches to attend, social media to be social on...the list is never ending. The pressure daunting.

Writing is my hobby. A hobby I need to fit around my husband, four kids, dog and neurotic cat. Oh, and my full time career as an Intensive Care nurse. Then there's my commitments at church, my ongoing weight loss journey (currently stalled), my family, friends and time for me. Sometimes that means my hobby ends up being pushed to the bottom of the priority pathway and there's nothing I can do about it but that doesn't mean the pressure isn't there.

And when all the pressures build up, it's easy to take the easy way out and quit. After all, if I never wrote another word, would anyone know? Or care?

The more I have struggled with wanting to quit writing this book, the more I have pressed in and forced myself to put words on the page. The other day someone made a comment on Facebook that when they're writing and the words dry up, they even count the words in an email in the daily word count! These past few weeks I've even counted the words in text messages!

I was reading a book the other day about the habits of people who don't quit and I was reminded of the verse in Hebrews. Most Christians will know it and will have quoted it numerous times during their journey, but have you ever read it in the Message translation?

It says this:

"Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"

Now I understand that this verse is talking about not quitting our spiritual walk with Christ, and I don't intend to take scripture out of context, but I think there are some nuggets in this passage worth exploring when you're tempted to quit.

1. People are cheering you on. By that I mean other authors - the pioneers, the veterans - they're out there telling you that you can do it. You can keep writing. You don't need to quit. One more word, two more words, keep writing until your book is done. If you feel like quitting, find your cheerleaders and ask them to get those pom poms out.

2. Strip down, start running and never quit. Sometimes you have to take off the negativity before you can run again. Negative reviews, negative people who tell you it can't be done - all these things weigh you down and prevent you from running. When you stop running, you come to a standstill and that's when you quit. If you feel like quitting, and you can't take another step, ask someone to run alongside you until you get your mojo again.

3. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Why are you writing in the first place? Because you want to or because He wants you to? If you feel like quitting, take it to Him. Lay it at His feet. Ask Him to reveal His plan and purpose for your writing.

4. Never lose sight of where you are headed. Are you writing for the Christian market? The general market? Fiction? Non-fiction? Know your market and keep that goal in front of you. If you feel like quitting, ask someone to be honest with you about your writing - perhaps someone else will have the insight you need when you're not sure if you're going in the right (or write, pardon the pun) direction.

5. When you find yourself flagging in the spirit, go over the reasons why you're doing what you're doing in the first place. Are your priorities right? Your motivations right? If you feel like quitting, call your cheerleaders again and ask them to pray for you and support you. Where two or three are gathered....great things can happen.

This verse was the shot of adrenaline that I needed to keep writing and I hope it encourages you too.

I'm now at the 70,000 word mark and the end of Critical Condition is so close I can (almost) taste it. Which is just as well because the blurb is written, the cover art is done and it's already available to pre-order. Yikes!

Anyway, before you quit, go back to your faith, back to what God breathed in your spirit, back to your dreams, back to your goals. Then start running and don't stop. Don't quit. Do it.

Good luck!

If you'd like to cheer me on, please let me know if this post has encouraged you. And if you really want to get those pom poms out, please consider pre-ordering my next new release, The Peppercorn Project coming May 31st, 2016. 

Best selling Australian author Fiona Palmer writes: "Edwards captures small town spirit and heartbreak-to-hope with crafted ease."
  

About Nicki: 

Nicki Edwards is a city girl with a country heart. Growing up on a small family acreage, she spent her formative years riding horses and pretending the neighbour’s farm was her own. After spending three years in a regional city in New South Wales, her love of small country towns was further developed. One day she plans to escape to the country with her husband Tim and live on land surrounded by horses, dogs, cows and sheep. Until then she lives vicariously through the lives of the characters in the rural romance novels she loves to read.

In 2006, when Nicki’s youngest child started school, she returned to university, juggling full time study, part time work and raising four small children, to achieve her dream of becoming a nurse. Always a voracious reader, Nicki’s other dream was to be an author.

Nicki writes medical rural romance for Momentum and when she isn’t reading, writing or dreaming about rural life and medical emergencies, she can be found working as a Critical Care Nurse in a busy Intensive Care Unit, where many of her stories and characters are imagined.

Nicki and Tim reside in Geelong, Victoria with their four teenage/young adult children. Life is busy, fun and at times exhausting, but Nicki wouldn’t change it for anything.

Her books are available to purchase online wherever e-books are sold. Paperbacks can be ordered directly from her. For more information, please visit her website. www.nickiedwards.com.au.

I come from the land Down Under...PLUS a GIVEAWAY

Thongs, barbies and vegemite sandwiches

This week, after seeing a post on a fellow author’s Facebook wall, I posted the same photo and a question of my own."What do you call these?"

After reviewing the 120+ comments, the results of the survey are in and it’s probably hardly surprising that it's almost a tie between thongs and flip flops.

Here’s some other terms you may have never heard of:

• Jandals (we can thank our New Zealand friends for that)
• Bongers (yes really)
• Slippas (in Hawaii apparently)
• Double pluggers (only one vote for that name)
• Havianas (brand name, often used by younger people)
• Chinese Safety boots (my favourite)

The comments were quite fascinating and got me thinking. As an Aussie author writing Australian stories set in Australia, why do I use American spelling and American terms? It’s a question I’ve been asked a lot.

It’s a good question. And a question which even brought some good debate on my Facebook post.

When I started writing, I was adamant I wasn’t going to use ANY American spelling EVER. But I heard horror stories of writers being picked up for their incorrect grammar and spelling and given 1 star ratings by American readers. I’m not sure if that is true, but I didn’t want to put myself in that position so when my publisher told me to use American spelling, I happily obliged.

So, why are some of us writing for an American audience in terms of our spelling and grammar?

One person commented on my post (and I agree with her), hopefully American readers are smart enough to know that we spell words differently. But unfortunately not all readers do know that. It seems our language, our spelling and our Aussie-isms can be confusing to other readers. 

So what do we do? Do we write two different versions of our books? One for Aussie readers and one for the Americans? That doesn’t make sense to me.

My books have taken a bit of a hybrid approach. Momentum, my publisher, made the choice to use American spelling and grammar and I don’t have a say in that. I do, however have a say in some words that are just glaringly American. For instance, there are no cell phones, no trash cans, no counters and no pickup trucks. Instead I was allowed to keep ‘phone’, ‘rubbish bin’, ‘bench’ and ‘ute’. (That was a hard one to get past my editor who kept trying to at least get me to agree to go with 4WD).

I am currently editing Life Support, book 3 in the Escape to the Country series (my Australian medical-rural romances), coming out in February 2016 and I’ve just found a small problem.

Here's an excerpt:

"Emma fired questions at him, trying to gain vital information about his medical history. He met every question with the same answer. “You’ll have to ask my wife.”

“Sats seventy-eight percent on room air. Heart rate fifty.” Cath reached with one hand for Jeff’s pulse while with the other she grabbed an oxygen mask out of a box attached to the wall. “Pulse is thready.”

“Blood pressure?”

“One-ninety-five on seventy.”

Cath attached the oxygen tubing to the nipple on the wall and slipped the mask over Jeff’s face. Shoving her stethoscope in her ears, she listened to Jeff’s chest, her face serious. With one hand, she yanked off her stethoscope and glanced at Emma. “Decreased air entry. Widespread crackles to the bases.”

“You think APO?” Emma asked.

Cath nodded and pulled a face. “I’d say so.”

Acute Pulmonary Edema. Not good. Emma wiped sweaty palms down the front of her scrubs as she stared at the green lines tracing across the screen on the ECG machine.

“Hold still Jeff,” she instructed.

Seconds later she stabbed at the button on the machine and waited for it to spew out the printed page. She stared at it for a second then sucked in her breath before handing it to Cath. Cath’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Neither nurse needed a cardiologist to interpret the squiggles running across the red graph paper. The waveform wasn’t called a “tombstone” for no reason. As well as being in APO, it looked like Jeff was having a STEMI – an ST-elevation myocardial infarct – a heart attack – right in front of their eyes."

And here’s the problem: in Australia we spell oedma with an “O’. (Hence, APO – Acute Pulmonary Oedema.) But if we use American spelling, oedema becomes edema and it doesn’t work with my dialogue. So, what should I do?

In my Christmas novella, Operation White Christmas which comes out on the 17^th December, I’ve used both Australian and American spelling because I have an Aussie heroine and a Canadian hero. When I’m in my Aussie POV, I use the Australian spelling and Australian terms, and I use the American spelling and American terms for my Canadian’s POV. I did it that way intuitively when I wrote the book and my editor liked it as a concept so we’ve stuck with it. I’ll be interested to know if anyone even notices!

On a side note, I sent the manuscript to a Canadian friend and she tweaked a few things that sounded American instead of Canadian. One of them was the word tuque instead of beanie. I stuck with beanie!

So, readers and writers, what are your thoughts? Is our lingo as clear as mud or not? If we allow America to take over our English language, will we cark it?

You tell me. Are you going to carry on like a pork chop, get aggro and scream blue murder that by jingoes we'd better stick to fair dinkum true blue Aussie spelling? Are you going to insist we use every opportunity to educate Americans (and others) about blowies and bathers and barbies and brass monkeys?

OR, are you going to shut your gob, stop grizzling and realise (or realize) words are just words and at the end of the day we’re all speaking the same language?

My advice this Chrissy is don’t be a misery guts, don't be a party pooper and definitely DON’T chuck another shrimp on the barbie (or you’ll make a galah of yourself). 

But DO get yourself the best possie, grab a cuppa and a vegemite sandwich or smear some dead horse on your snag, sit down and prepare to enjoy a little escape to the country in Operation White Christmas.

I reckon it’s a bonza book and you won’t have to lash out and pay much as it’s just 99 cents. Pretty much mate’s rates right there, no worries about it. And at that price, I won’t be making a quid I can assure you.

If you’re looking for other ridgie didge Aussie stories, you might like my first two books Intensive Care and Emergency Response – I’m not pussy footing around when I tell you they’re great!

 

Hope I’ve rattled your cage today and you don’t have a go at me for my shonky blog post. And if I’ve created a bit of a ruckus, then my response is “You beauty! What a ripper”. 

Purchase links for my books can be found here!

While you're on my website, please sign up for my newsletter for a chance to win this gorgeous necklace that Jim gave Hollie.

And of course, don't forget to leave a comment here, even if it's just to say G'day!

The best reply(s) will win a e-copy of one of my books (your choice!).

Intensive Care

I don’t remember the exact moment I knew I wanted to be a nurse, but I was probably around 16 years old. In saying that, nursing was in my blood and I think I was actually destined to be a nurse from birth. My favourite aunt is a nurse and her favourite aunt (my great aunt) was also a nurse. However, when it came time to attend University, I chose a Bachelor of Commerce instead of a Bachelor of Nursing. Don't ask.

I lasted six weeks.

I then married my high school sweetheart and in quick succession we had four beautiful children. We planted a church, and for ten years I pastored alongside my husband. Unfortunately pastoral care wasn’t exactly a good ‘fit’ for my personality! I wanted people to hurry up, take my advice and get better. I wanted their hurts fixed. I wanted them to feel good. Kind of like a nurse really! If you're read any of my comments on this blog you'll notice I tend to be rather opinionated and I probably should just start every comment with the words "sorry if I offend." 

So in 2006, the year I had all four children in primary school, I made the momentous decision to return to full time study and fulfil my lifelong ambition of becoming a nurse. All it took was one brave decision and I found myself enrolled at the local TAFE.

Fast forward eight years.

One diploma, one degree, one Graduate Year and one Post-graduate Certificate in Critical Care later, I started work in the Emergency Department – a long-held dream.

Then on the last day of January last year I woke with the realisation I was one month into a new season with no idea how I was going to fill my spare time. After so many years of study, I was at a loose end. Not being one to sit down and smell the roses on my days off work (I don't enjoy gardening at all!), I needed a new project. 

Just as I knew I was always called to be a nurse, and I have always known that I would one day write a book. For as long as I can remember, writing a novel was something I wanted to do and knew I would do. I just didn’t know how! After jealously watching my friend Meredith Resce write successfully for the past twenty years, I realised it was time to stop wishing I could do the same thing, and just do it! In Meredith's words I just had to start writing. So I did.

The first draft was written some months later and it was terrible. As in really terrible. The end product was a poorly written “Christian romance” where my non-Christian female heroine had a Pentecostal-like salvation experience in the last chapter. It was so preachy I almost gagged myself as I was writing it. Can you imagine the poor readers if the book had ever been published?! I thought I had an evangelistic message to deliver and by heck, I was going to make sure I delivered it, even though I obviously didn’t have the gift of evangelism! Or clearly, of writing good Christian fiction.

So it was back to the manuscript to delete almost half of it, re-write it, tweak it and edit it. Then I prayed a lot, wrote some more and the end result was a very, very different book a few months later. And not a Christian romance after all.

You see, the experts say to "write what you know", so I did. I wrote about the nursing stories I’d experienced first-hand working in the intensive care unit. Many of the scenes in Intensive Care are actual events that have happened to me, and some of the minor characters are my real-life colleagues! 

Then I followed the next bit of advice from the experts and I “wrote what I liked to read”, which in my case was romance. Medical romance therefore became an obvious fit. Added to that is my love of our country and it made sense to write about nurses in rural, regional and remote locations within Australia.

However, in my opinion, the experts missed one important element I think is essential for Christian writers: it is also important to write what God is calling us to write. I know personally speaking, as soon as I had all those three elements in place, the words flowed and the story was written.

Although I’ve written a medical romance for the mainstream market, I believe the end result is actually a sweet romance that could sit as easily in the Christian market as it could in the mainstream market. I guess time will tell! While I don’t have any overt Christian elements in my book, as a faith-filled believer my world-views will hopefully shine through in my writing. You might even see the theme of forgiveness that threads its way through the storyline. My non-Christian beta reader certainly picked up on it and commented.

Intensive Care touches on issues of infidelity, grief, abortion and loss, and focuses on the need to forgive before you can move on. It has plenty of medical scenarios, plenty of emotional moments and a happy ever after ending without my hero and heroine ending up beneath the bed covers.

Intensive Care has been published by Momentum, the digital imprint of Pan MacMillan Australia. It has just been released as an e-book and is available where all e-books are sold. I'm currently half way through writing a follow up to Intensive Care, titled Emergency Response which is a love story between Kate's brother Nathan and Kate's friend Mackenzie - you'll meet them all in Intensive Care.

I've also written another medical rural romance, titled The Peppercorn Lease and this is with publishers at the moment - I'm hoping one of them loves it enough to say 'yes'.

Blurb for Intensive Care:

Escaping to the country was meant to be easy…

On the surface it looks like busy Intensive Care nurse Kate Kennedy has it all: a long-term relationship, a great career and a sleek inner city apartment. But appearances are deceiving, and in one fell swoop everything comes crashing down around her. In a moment of spontaneity, Kate leaves her city life and takes a new role as Nurse Unit Manager at Birrangulla Base Hospital, but her dream move proves harder than expected.

Local café owner Joel O’Connor finds himself increasingly drawn to the gorgeous new nurse, but like Kate, he’s been scarred by love and isn’t looking to jump into anything. Yet their chemistry is hard to deny and after a near fatal incident, Joel and Kate find themselves opening up to one another.

Just when Kate thinks she’s found love again, their fragile relationship is thwarted by their pasts. Can they both let go of their guilt and grief to move on to a bright new future?

To read the first chapter, click here.

About Nicki Edwards:

Even twenty-five years of marriage, travel, children, study and work wasn’t enough to keep Nicki busy. In January 2014 she woke up and decided to fulfil a lifelong dream – to write a novel.

Nicki calls herself a city girl with a country heart. Unfortunately the only way she can escape to the countryside of her dreams is by living vicariously through the lives of the characters in the rural romance novels she loves to read. If she could spend her days dressed in jeans and boots out on the farm surrounded by horses, dogs, cows and sheep, she’d be in her element.

When Nicki isn’t dreaming, reading or writing about rural life, she can be found in her scrubs in the Emergency Department where she works full time as a nurse.