Great Advice from Our Authors
By Marina Reis

Every month, Word Alive Press honours one of our many great authors on our Author Spotlight Blog. This blog includes a question-and-answer segment filled with author experiences, perspectives, and advice. Over the years we have compiled so much great advice from our authors that we have decided to put it all here for you—straight from the mouths of your peers! Some of the most universal advice is compiled below for you.

1. Trust the process. — Emily B. Kerros
   Emily B. Kerros was shortlisted for her novel, Humphrey’s Motel, back in our 2023 Braun Book Awards. When asked to offer advice to other authors, especially first-time authors, Emily B. Kerros says to “trust the process.” Sharing your writing can be very daunting, no doubt. Then comes the whole publishing process, which, in some ways, can be even more daunting, as your book is now in the hands of someone else. Trust that your project manager, your editor, cover designer, and anyone else helping you create your masterpiece, knows what they are doing and are here to help and encourage you along the way.
   
   
2. Inspiration comes while you’re writing. — Sandra V. Konechny
   Fiction writer Sandra V. Konechny shares probably my favourite advice for writing ever. Many times, I sit and wait for inspiration to come and call this stagnation “writer’s block”, but Sandra here is 100% right. Inspiration comes while you’re writing. I had a creative writing teacher in university who always said that stories are animate and kinetic. As an author with six books under her belt, Sandra V. Konechy seems to be an author who understands this concept on an instinctual level. For any author out there calling their procrastination “writer’s block”, take Sandra’s advice and just start writing. Write about your favourite place to go on vacation (What time of year is it? What language do they speak? Is it peak tourist season? What is the wildlife like?), invent a character that you would like to go for coffee with (Will he become your villain? Will she become your anti-hero? Maybe you learn that this character is actually you, but simply born in another century!), write about your ideal weekend and all the things that could happen that turn it into your worst weekend. You never know where your next story is hidden or where it will take you.
   
   
3. You don’t need to be an expert. — Stephanie Morales-Beaulieu
   Springing off Sandra, is Stephanie Morales-Beaulieu’s advice. Stephanie’s book Anything But Ordinary won the 2022 Braun Book Awards for non-fiction, and centres around her father’s life of faith and service to God. Stephanie wants other writers to know that they don’t have to be an expert in their field to create a great book. Not every person who writes about mental health has to be a mental health expert. Not every person who writes of their experience as a foster parent has to know the system inside and out. With some humility, open-mindedness, and thorough research, a personal story can be just as impactful as a book with a cover full of official credentials.
   
   
4. Be prepared to rework your material countless times. — Dwight J. Olney
   It’s not glamorous advice, and really reveals the blood, sweat, and tears that go into the craft of writing, but to have a good—nay, great—book, this is pivotal. And Dwight would know, as he won the Braun Book Awards for non-fiction with his book Not Just a Really Good Human back in 2021. Dwight reminds other writers out there to be prepared to eliminate entire sections of your writing if it will be better for the work as a whole. A major part of being a writer is not only battling to find the right words but also battling the ego that always wants to rear its head.
   
   
5. Leave your writing and go do something else until you feel drawn to continue your story. — Sandra Wallis
   Sandra Wallis, author of Not What I Bargained For (2020), wants you to be good to yourself and patient with your craft. When you are feeling discouraged, which is totally normal when undertaking a gargantuan task like writing, step away from your work and go do something else until you feel ready to pick up where you left off. In our fast-paced and overstimulated modern world, it can be easy to forget the artist’s instinct that we carry inside of us that knows that there is no way to hurry the creative process. Timelines are irrelevant to the creative process. Taking a week, a month, or a year away from your work doesn’t make you a bad writer; it just means that you respect the process and know to bring your best self to it.
   
   
6. Pray. — Ruth Teakle
   Surely the time-tested antidote to the loneliness that can accompany creative endeavors. Saying a prayer before, during or after your writing process can help you refocus your thoughts and acknowledge the creative gift that God so lovingly placed within you.

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Did you enjoy this post? Read more by Marina Reis, here.

About this Contributor:

Marina Reis is a Senior Project Manager who joined Word Alive Press in 2017. She graduated from the University of Winnipeg in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in English.