Waiting for snow to melt in your bathtub (and discovering all the fun things that hide in it as it’s melting) is a growing experience. Carrying water three times a day from the community pool, and neighbor’s houses to fill your toilet tank is not for the faint of heart. But, it also isn’t the end of the world, even if your body is telling you it is while your mind is screaming that you’re a spoiled product of first-world problems. These are the realities of living in a disaster zone when running water has stopped for longer than 24 hours. (In my case I lived a week without it.) When you stand outside the fray, looking in, the solutions seem really simple. You could store a 100 gallon water tank on your balcony, right next to your water heater. No problem. Get a hose to run back into your sink or toilet. A little bleach. You’re good for a week.  No electricity? Coleman stove, firewood, and partitions in your living room to keep the draft out. You know how Texas houses are with their lack of insulation. If you’re lucky, and not an international vagabond like I am, you can camp out at a relative or friend’s house with functioning utilities, despite a raging pandemic that’s claimed 500,000+ lives in the U.S. All small potatoes, my friend. I come from a long-line of disaster preparedness either self-declared or actual experts. My Dad is the true expert. Together, he and I have evacuated a forest fire that consumed the neighborhood across from my parent’s sub-division in 2012. We escaped towering black flames threatening his neighborhood, watching with horror as the fire leapt with its fiery fingers across the local road in Colorado Springs to claim patches of grass. The destruction stopped there for reasons known only to God. That evacuation, along with countless earthquakes, typhoons, and power outages/storms in NYC, South Korea and Germany taught my family the power of being prepared, and the fact that there are always limits to what we can do, store or prepare based on our individual circumstances. We live in an age of interconnectedness, yet when disaster strikes, I’m always surprised at a very vocal and persistent minority outside the fire ring pointing fingers.  They sit atop their green hillsides, water and electricity aplenty and pronounce judgments on the masses. But, I wonder if their story would change if they were actually in the fray: without electricity for over 48 hours, no water and melting snow in their bathtub and in large pots to keep their toilets running until the roads were clear to bring in more water. Would they look at their cache of food storage and realize that cooking all of it requires electricity and running water? Would they feel that deep, horrible surge of fear that powered me through a week of falling down Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, sometimes literally? I want to focus here on the opposite picture that comes into focus for me, in light of the FEMA disaster site that is my beloved home of Austin, TX: the interconnected community I love and cherish. Not an hour went by where friends and neighbours didn’t text each other, provide water, food, shelter, and safety. There wasn’t any blame here, but an offering of help wherever we could and circumstances allowed. A good friend came to stay when his power and water went out and now I had a companion to tag-team water sourcing and keeping our food supplies sufficient to help ourselves and others, if needed. I didn’t have to go a week without a shower, because as soon as the water was turned back on at a friend’s apartment I was able to get clean of all the real or imagined grime of that week of slogging. It’s during these times of disaster that I see the greatest opportunity for bonding. Hours before snowfall and the pipes freezing, a life that had been laser-focused on work and surviving a pandemic is now about community. My mobile phone is suddenly ringing and pinging off the hook, life seems to have returned in a new and interesting way. We’re living in the now, taking things hour by hour and it’s almost refreshing to have a different focus, but also incredibly frightening, because we don’t know when our resources will run out. There’s also a little bit of survivor’s guilt: I have so much to give and yet so little space to take in so many without electricity. During that week of uncertainty: a cyclical thought kept repeating: when will it all collapse and I’ll be thrust into darkness, like so many around me? Another prevailing feeling: don’t worry about coronavirus right now. Just worry about getting the next jug of water filled and staying warm (and take some pain medication for your cracked rib). There’s also the preparation that goes into handling every disaster: “Am I doing it right?” The lyrics from John Mayer’s song “Why Georgia Why” creeping into my mind and playing on a loop like it did in 2001when I was an undergraduate student in New York City.  That morning I awoke to thick smoke in the air and the sound of sirens, an incomprehensible surge of fear forcing my body into survival mode. I took a gypsy cab to Fordham University at Lincoln Center, and witnessed the pillar of smoke peeking above the skyscrapers in midtown. The cabbie turned up the radio. It was 8:45 and the first plane had hit the World Trade Center. I was imagining a Cessna, not a transcontinental airliner. When the radio announcer declared a second “accident” I knew something was amiss. I arrived on campus where my fellow classmates were gathered in front smoking and pronouncing a terrorist attack. Because most of them were theatre majors I thought they were being dramatic and quickly strode inside so I wouldn’t be late for my Torah exam. My professor had the news playing on the television and declared class cancelled in light of the attack. I turned to my classmate, Sharon and there was sweat beaded on her pale forehead. “Your Dad’s military like mine, right?”  I nodded, everything in my nervous system going unnaturally calm and alert. “Great. Looks like we won’t be getting in touch with them anytime soon.” She accompanied me to a classmate’s dorm room where we watched the towers fall and I started to cry, in my usual delayed fashion. That summer I had worked in the financial district and my parents were probably worried sick that something had happened to me. They were thousands of miles away in Yokosuka, Japan. I logged on to the computer to find six e-mails all asking for a status check. When I replied, I immediately got a response from my Dad. He had woken up thirty minutes before the first plane struck and now his naval base was on a week-long lock-down. The two hour walk back to my apartment in East Harlem from Fordham’s campus was one of the most sombre and quietest of my life in New York City. Everyone was walking, cabs were scarce and the subways and busses had stopped running. My MP3 player had about fifteen songs on it and the one that stands out most from that shocking, and short walk of only 60 blocks, compared to many who had much longer treks into Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens was how peaceful everything looked and sounded on such a tragic, sunny day. “Why, Georgia Why” kept playing on loop and I had to take my earphones out, in hopes of hearing birds, but instead the only sound was the occasional passerby asking if I was okay. I didn’t know if anyone was going to be okay after this. In my hometown of Yokosuka, Japan, we are no stranger to disaster, primarily in the form of typhoons and earthquakes. The danger with earthquakes, of course, is if you live close to the coast (which was a stone’s throw from our house) tsunamis are a looming possibility. When we lived in Japan we had the added bonus of the sarin-gas cult Aum Shinrikyo causing havoc on the Tokyo subways and train stations by exposing a form of sarin nerve gas to passengers, poisoning 980 officially, killing 13 and affecting possibly thousands (an accurate count is difficult since victims were reluctant to come forward). Drills had already been a part of my regular life living on or near military bases, now we had to consider biological weapons in the armada of things to worry about. In my seaside town of Maborikaigan, nestled next to Yokosuka-shi, a four lane road and concrete seawall was the only separation between my house and the ocean. When a typhoon rolled in, power could go out for hours, streets would flood and cars were occasionally overturned. When the storm warning came in (which sometimes was a few days and at other times a few hours) we would board up windows that didn’t have the massive steel storm shutters in front of them, fill up the bathtub with water, ensure we had enough kerosene and collect our candles in a central location. My siblings and I watched in horror, during one of the worst typhoons, as the waves crested over twenty feet, crashing against our house and upending cars. The eye of the storm arrived and my Mom wisely warned us not to go out. Within minutes the storm raged again and we would wait it all out, praying, singing, reading by candlelight, until it passed. Then, when the winds died down, we thrust our rain gear on, buckled rubber boots and joined our neighbours in mucking out the drains of our flooded street. It was a cyclical business, typhoons, earthquakes, and bombing drills, but they were something that were built into the fabric of our lives. I think the difference with the recent storm Uri, unlike other disasters I’ve encountered (and not listed here for brevity’s sake) is that I live in a semi-tropical area of Central Texas. We never get several days of snowfall that actually stays. So, that meant preparation wasn’t as possible as in other instances. Most, even the semi-disaster prepared such as myself, rarely go without utilities for longer than 48 hours. We couldn’t estimate that we’d lose power and water for over a week (longer for some). Or, that a year-long deadly pandemic would mean that those who had the foresight to see a protracted disaster fall-out may not have had the financial means to acquire said water tanks, coleman stoves, generators, etc. Happily, those of us living in the Austin metro area knew we couldn’t survive this disaster without each other. For that reason, this is likely the best place to be when everything feels like it might be falling apart. It’s incredible how, when you fall down Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, loads of other things tend to slip off your mental “to-do” list, even if those things include pending deadlines. If you don’t have basic survival commodities (or you’re trying to care for others who are also missing those supplies), other priorities slip, and I think it’s important to be kind to yourself in those circumstances. Several writers who had survived Hurricane Katrina mentioned the experience of delays in help and the protracted return of utilities due to the extent of damage. It looks like such super storms are not something that are going away anytime soon.  I ask myself, in the aftermath of the storm: what can I do better to be prepared, but also, how can I make sure that my community is able to work together to share the burden? I’m keenly aware of local politicians and government’s either inability or apathy when it comes to disaster response. The only way through our uncertain future is with each other’s help. My neighbors were great about communicating (especially when our apartment complex managers fell silent), we checked on the elderly who couldn’t venture out on the icy steps for fear of falling, like I did, and so many amazing people shared water with me when their utilities had barely come on. It’s amazing how much a warm shower restores one’s confidence in humanity. So many here in Austin took in friends, acquaintances or opened their homes to complete strangers. I hope that being in the disaster zone again has taught me how to avoid critical self judgement and what I’d like to now call “disaster blaming.” Maggie Gentry’s article above is a gentle and incisive analysis of how we view ourselves at crucial junctures where we have to make decisions quickly and mistakes are commonplace. 20/20 vision is rarely achieved, except in retrospect. A wise therapist counseled me last year, “it does no good to dwell on a decision that’s already been made and executed, except to move forward in the direction that works best for where you are now.”  Disasters can be helpful in forcing us to reinvent, reassemble and reconfigure our lives for this new state of being. What if a whole-hearted way of seeing the world and uplifting those around us during disaster is the way to be? (Even if it’s only grooving to Flashlight and Aretha Franklin in the kitchen while filling up water bottles with the small trickle of water that’s come back on at 11:00pm.) Something my friend and I discovered was that the seemingly small and slow trickle of water in the water bottle filled up rather quickly. I think kindness and generosity is like that too. You give what little spare you have and it does so much more than you imagined. I’ve seen how asking for help binds me to others. The act of being in need means that I can feel the level of care others have for me. Those bonds of friendship, brotherhood/sisterhood are strengthened.  I’m hoping all the keyboard commandos and doomsday prophets will cease their death rattles and instead join the ranks of their communities in a show of solidarity. I think the only way through disasters is with your community.  If we work together we have a hope of making it through what’s coming next. I look at the unvarnished wood table in my friend’s flat. He’s carefully and neatly folded the two scarves (Marie Kando style) and woolens I brought with me after I left the room to slip into the shower for the first time in five days. The neat arrangement of the plaids, stripes and teals look so orderly and like a life I remember living a few days ago. That act of love swells my heart and gives me the strength to keep going in the face of a multitude of adversity. I’m reminded that love and kindness may very well overcome anything.

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Did an aspect of this article resonate with you?

Would it feel helpful to talk through it?

Feel free to sign up for a spot during my virtual office hours for 30 minutes. They’re free and a wonderful way to keep the conversation going!

Let’s connect

                                                                                                      As an avid journal writer since the age of eight (I currently have two trunks full of my scribblings), I’ve seen how this practice has not only helped me forge through personal trauma, but also learn to meditate, analyze, purge, and ultimately heal. Drawing on sixteen years of combined experience in the classroom and publishing, in my Journaling for Busy People self-paced course I will share the various ways I’ve used journaling with students, in teacher trainings and with authors. I have witnessed the deep emotional impact that focused journaling can have and how immersive exercises help a lackluster practice burgeon into a steady practice that brings a renewed hope to writers from all walks of life. The best news about journaling is that the act of putting your pen to paper makes you a writer! “Whether you keep a journal or use a notebook, when you notice your thoughts spiraling, writing it down can help…Writing is emotional processing. Writing, by hand, helps to shift a feeling into a thought, which lowers the physiological arousal, and helps to functionally reconnect the emotional centers of the brain with the rational, reasoning areas of the prefrontal cortex.”–Dr. Kimberley Wilson, psychologist and founder of Monumental Health. (Featured in Breathe Magazine, The Self Care Special 2020.) My goal in this course is to guide you through a variety of exercises for journaling and self-awareness via writing. These are not prescriptive but are meant to be modified to suit your circumstances and busy life.  You can work at your own pace, but the structure gives you anywhere from a month to six weeks worth of exercises to explore so that you can walk away with a journaling practice that works for you and an established routine of showing up for yourself on the page. Of course, all of these exercises can work well with also establishing a writing practice for yourself, but the focus here is on you, your self-awareness and using journaling as a tool without any judgement. You’ll have access to this course for an entire calendar year, so feel free to dive in and give yourself the gift of more peace and internal harmony through exploring on the page.

JOURNALING FOR BUSY PEOPLE COURSE FOCUS

In this self-paced course I’ll focus on immersion exercises that will give individuals a methodical and purposeful jump-start on their journaling practice. 

This course will cover:

• Techniques and methods for getting started with journaling (or re-starting)
• Methods of “flow-writing”
• Creating a non-judgemental sounding board for your thoughts, emotions and experiences
• Organizing all your thought patterns and slow down your thinking in one central place
• Reflecting on memories that you want to recall, analyze or even dispose of 
• Brainstorming a new idea that doesn’t yet feel like it’s come into formation
• Listening to your writing voice and honoring it without judgement
• Having a safe relationship with your mind
• Working through ongoing life difficulties, trauma and anxiety

Who should take this course?

• Individuals wanting to use journaling to work through a variety of emotional states
• Individuals looking for a creative outlet focused on self care
• Creatives looking for a non-industry related writing course that is not deadline-driven
• Individuals wanting to write more, but aren’t sure where to start

What does the course include?                                                      

Each unit of study and exploration will have a text, video & audio component so that you can learn in the modality that best suits your learning style. You can watch this video overview here.

Deliverables for Course Attendees

1. Full access to the course text, video and audio modules for a year from the date of registration.
2. Downloadable digital workbook.
3. Certificate of completion.
4. Opportunity for one-on-one coaching or feedback (for an additional fee).

Units of Study

MODULE ONE: Honoring self, voice, and emotions

MODULE TWO: Drawing on nature and examining your inner voice on the page

MODULE THREE: Drawing on the senses: taste and smell

MODULE FOUR: Drawing on the senses: sound and touch

MODULE FIVE: Integrating exterior and interior worlds

Price

$55 (Britta Jensen’s newsletter subscribers receive a 20% off coupon code in the classes/event section of her newsletters). Registration closes at midnight CST, December 5, 2020.

Register here for the course

About the instructor:

Britta Jensen has spent seventeen years in the literacy education and publishing space. She is the award-winning novelist of the Eloia Born series. She has also received numerous awards, including the General Sharp Award, for her teaching of creative writing and literature. Many of her stories explore themes of persevering through disability, parental separation and the intersection of various cultures in new worlds. She holds a BA in Acting Performance from Fordham University and an MA in Teaching of English Literature from Columbia University. Friends often refer to her as a polyglot—which is a product of living twenty-two years overseas in Japan, South Korea, and Germany before settling in Austin, Texas. She enjoys mentoring writers and editing books with The Writing Consultancy and Yellowbird Editors and teaches first-year writing at St. Edward’s University.

Testimonials from Previous Students

“The class was so rich with ideas and wonderful exercises…I also loved the advice to not focus so much on rewriting the beginning (which is something so many of us do!) but instead to try to finish a draft and then go back to rework the beginning.”-Maureen Turner Carey, author & librarian “I like the way you provide a mechanism to explore what a character might do, not necessarily in the context of the story, but just behave if I extracted them from the story and watched them go.”-Sam Ritter, author “So much revealed in so little time!”-Roanna Flowers, author of Dramedy Au Contraire 

Register here for the course

 

  by Britta Jensen One of my family’s most memorable Christmases was spent in Thailand. We’d been living in Japan for eight years at that point and most of my formative years had been spent in Asia. My father was frequently away on military assignments that took him to Southeast Asia and beyond. After over a decade of hearing his “sea stories” about Thailand, my parents scrimped and saved to take us there. Accustomed to Yokosuka’s cold Christmases, it took a few days for us to adjust to Bangkok’s humidity, mosquitoes and a poverty that wrenched my heart. When we took the water taxi over the Chao Phraya River, I watched children living in riverside shacks dipping bowls into the ashy water, some watching us with wan faces, while others smiled and waved.  The day before Christmas we took the midnight bus north to Chang Mai to escape from the heat of Bangkok. I loved hiking amongst the hillside temples and learning about the Karan and Hmong hilltribes. I watched women walk long distances with their children strapped to their backs peddling various wares and embroidered items.  The scent of curry and roasted chicken wafted over us when we walked through the night markets where I learned how to bargain and avert my eyes so that the more boisterous hawkers wouldn’t follow me when I passed their booths. Kun Joe, our guide taught me there was an indifference I was expected to have in order to garner a good deal. The idea of bargaining didn’t sit well with me. Though I was not “well-off” in my young adult eyes, I could clearly see a deep economic disparity between the way most lived here and how we lived in our small house in Japan. Yet, I quickly realized that the vendors expected me to enthusiastically bargain. Many clearly enjoyed the act of defending the value of their spices, fabrics and produce. My father was particularly good at driving hard bargains that the vendors passionately joined in. He taught me the technique of “walking away” if you felt that the bargaining wasn’t going well, but to always do so with kindness, a kapunka or thank you. The eager seller would pursue or reluctantly agree whereas the ultimate negotiator would say “no deal.”  “The key,” my father said, “is to not actually want what you’re bargaining for too much. If you’re dead set on it, they can see it in your eyes and then you’ve lost the ability to bargain.” On Christmas Eve, as we made our way through another sumptuous night market filled with delicious fruits, spices (my mum’s weakness), silks (my weakness), musicians played guitars on the outskirts where a group of Karan women stood in a cluster selling silver bracelets that were a steep bargain. They all had infants strapped to their backs that snoozed gracefully. I loved the black and pink detailed geometric embroidery on the women’s tunics and boots. I approached carefully, not eager to get pulled into another bargaining cycle. Our guide, Kun Joe followed, having already pegged me as a timid one. I looked at each of the pieces of jewelry carefully. I had been saving for one, small, nice thing to remember my trip by, but not take up the limited space of my small shared bedroom. Kun Joe took the bracelet I held. “Very low quality. Wait for our trip to silver factory tomorrow.” “Okay.” I said, reluctantly putting the bracelet back. I liked the elephants and dots that lined the rim of the bracelet. “It turn green on your arm after a few day. Not good,” Kun Joe whispered, retying the leather strap holding his long hair back in a ponytail. There was no malice in his lean face. The rest of my family followed and I saw a flicker of recognition pass through Mum’s face when she saw the Karan women’s babies and how the crowd passed the women by. It was Christmas Eve, her face seemed to say. It didn’t look like anyone was interested in their wares.  Mum lifted up one of the silver bracelets with elephants on it and put it on my wrist. She took another and placed it on my sister’s arm. There was a determination about my Mom as she looked at each of the babies among the four Karan women.  “Madame Jensen, it not good quality. It turn green in few day,” Kun Joe said softly. “I know, Kun Joe. But, these women have so little and I have so much. I can’t see them with their babies out here and not buy something. I want my daughters to remember that everyone has worth, even if this bracelet turns green after wearing it a few times. Every time my daughters look at these bracelets they will remember a time when a person was more important than money. These women are quality, even if their wares aren’t, by the world’s standards.” A quiet hush settled over the six of us as the money was exchanged and I purchased my own bracelet, which I still own. When I open my small jewelry box I see the elephants and dots adorning the rim of the silver bracelet. It hasn’t yet turned green. Everytime I look at that bracelet I remember what is at the heart, the core of who my mother is and the lesson she taught me that Christmas Eve in Chiang Mai. As an author I’m constantly searching for the core of who my characters are, what motivates them and what they’re seeking. In this month of NaNoWriMo it can feel like we as writers are unleashed on these green, jungle-like, still forming manuscripts and it is a daunting task. Having written five books I now see a crucial process emerging where I must write until I find the central kernels upon which my characters operate. Is it unabashed kindness, like my Mum? Are they running from a love affair gone terribly wrong in the midst of civil war? Or, is it something simpler and more germane to the circumstances in which they are living? When I’m writing non-fiction, I’m seeking out the central narrative. What central stories will I craft my chapters around? How will the narrative pivot with these stories?  Stories are naturally unwieldy things we’re seeking while drafting for a way forward, a central pathway in the midst of a myriad of dirt trails through the forest. However, in revision I must get to the essence of what the reader needs and what needs trimming away. In order to not drive myself mad I must first allow the messiness of drafting to occur, without revision, before embarking on the process of editing my prose. When first revising, often new writers make the mistake of attacking at the sentence level and get mired in granularity prematurely. Instead, first seek out the heart of what you’re writing. This can happen in both the drafting and revising stage. Leave paragraph transitions, clever dialogue, turns of phrase and precise imagery for when you know your heart, your structure, your point of view and the vantage points at which your narrator is going to tell the story and invite the reader in. I love NaNoWriMo because it feels a lot like being in an exciting and lively night market in Chiang Mai with all those wares to choose from, all those vendors (or characters) to bargain with, all those ideas brimming and waiting to come to life. But, all that choice can also be daunting. Before I sit down to write I often find myself stirring (which is why I often have to go walking first thing in the morning to drive the nerves out). Movement precipitates thought. I’ll look at what I’ve written in my journal the night before and then let the keyboard or pen move. (When it’s a particularly hard day, I turn to my typewriter).  So much of what I’ve written never makes it past the cutting board and that’s okay. Once I’ve discovered the soul of my characters, and cry with them over their sorrows and joys, I know exactly where we’re going. I let that exploration guide what comes next, trusting that the night market of ideas brimming inside me will eventually find their ideal reader.

Join us on Saturday, November 7 from 10am-12noon CST!

Testimonials from previous students…

“Britta has taught me how to look deeper into my characters and make them live and breathe on paper.” –Eddie Bujans

Point of view is one of the main reasons readers and agents stop reading: you want it to be consistent and engaging. Get feedback on up to 500 words of your manuscript through the lens of point-of-view (POV). Strengthen your understanding of how to use POV to your advantage and tighten your story’s narrative. Learn from award-winning author, Britta Jensen as she leads this interactive and collaborative class over Zoom.

You’ll walk away with

• Individualized feedback on up to 500 words from your manuscript

• New readings that illuminate ways in which to approach Point of View, particularly for novels with an unusual structure.

• Immersive exercises that expand your understanding

• A comparison of different types of POV from the class (with permission)

• Informal feedback from fellow classmates

• The ability to deeper analyze POV in your reading so that you can apply this understanding to your writing.

• Access to the recording for two weeks after the class.

• The opportunity to meet and work with fellow writers from around the world.

 This class is limited to 12 participants. We welcome participants from all over the world. This class will be conducted in English.

Book your spot by November 1st for your work to be featured during class. Go to https://thewritingconsultancy.square.site/s/shop to buy your ticket to this class and see Britta’s other offerings through the Writing Consultancy.

Bookings for this class close 48 hours before the class’s start day/time.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, October 10 at 4pm CST (Online)

We’d love to celebrate with you! (If you’ve already pre-ordered a copy through Murasaki Press, you can claim your free ticket). Get your ticket here or go to https://bit.ly/3a7pOUB. Buy your ticket by September 1st if you want your book by launch day!      

July 1, 2020 Hirana’s War opens for pre-orders!

Extraordinary power brings great uncertainty… After finding love on her long trek across the Eloian wilderness, Leanora is ready to settle down with Tarrok and begin their new life together. But the feuding factions on Hirana have other ideas.  Leanora is called upon once more to alter destiny—this time, the destiny of her mother’s war-torn planet. While preparing for war, she discovers that her musical gifts give her unprecedented power that could defeat the Yarats. In order to succeed, she must accept the help of a new ally named Gulnaz, whose destructive behavior could jeopardize Leanora’s mission.  Saving Hirana will require exceptional resilience and trust:  trust in Tarrok to hold her family together, trust in Gulnaz to fight with her against the Yarats, and trust in herself to change the fates of the planets. …and the constant threat of Eloia’s enemies.

Buy a copy here and receive the limited-edition map postcard, fun swag and stickers while supplies last!

 

Sat., Oct. 3, 2020-5pm CST Hirana’s War Launch Party — streamed online & hopefully in-person at an outdoor venue in Austin) Location: TBA

Watch Britta’s mini-classes and writing musings on YouTube

Past Events 

Register for Britta’s online class on Sat. June 27 from 11:00-1:00pm CST here. Past attendees have said:

“I like the way Britta provided a mechanism to explore what a character might do, not necessarily in the context of the story, but just behave if I extracted them from the story and watched them go.”–Sam Ritter

“I’m starting a brand new project, so Britta’s Mincer Exercise was absolutely exactly what I needed. So much revealed in so little time!”–Roanna Flowers, author of Dramedy Au Contraire.

The Writing Immersion class focuses on timed writing exercises to explore point of view, relationships between characters, and the structure of your story. We’ll also have whole group discussions, a short breakout session for informal feedback and plenty of time to walk away with new insights into your story and characters as well as 500 new or revised words and tools to help you with your ongoing journey. In addition, you’ll have made new connections with writers around the world! Make sure to register by Friday, June 26 at noon CST. Saturday, May 23 @ 3pm Writing Kick-Ass Heroines and Fully-Dimensional Femmes (a free online event w/Book Woman)  —A book talk with Roanna Flowers focusing on Britta’s heroines in Eloia Born and Hirana’s War. RSVP here or follow link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/writing-kick-ass-heroines-a-book-woman-austin-online-book-talk-tickets-105300807550 

• [cancelled due to COVID-19]AWP Conference in San Antonio March 6 & 7.
• [cancelled due to COVID-19] Texas Librarians Conference in Houston March 26.
• SCBWI Austin Conference May 2-3, 2020
• Setting/Worldbuilding Class for The Writer’s League of Texas on May 6 (online) from 6:30-9:30pm. You can sign-up here.
• How to Write Big Worlds Without Driving Yourself Crazy (online) at the Westbank Library, Austin May 11, 5-7pm.

Twin Cities Book Festival (Saturday, October 12 from 9:30am-5:00pm) Minnesota State Fairgrounds Texas Book Festival–Austin (Saturday, October 26, 2019) Austin, TX. I’ll be at the Writer’s League of Texas booth! ACC Literary Coffeehouse Reading @ Malvern Books (September 9 at 7:00pm) I’ll be the featured reader at the Literary Coffeehouse prior to the start of the open mike. This event is free and Eloia Born will be on sale for those who would like signed copies! Creatives Meet Business Experience, Austin, TX (September 19-21, 2019)  

Many thanks to everyone who took the class. Special thanks to Samantha M. Clark (definitely check out her novel: The Boy, the Boat, the Beast), our readers and all who commented. I’m enclosing below the links from my resources page in my presentation. I’ve also included links to the books to make it easy to view more about each one. I’m sending loads of good vibes your way as you keep making your way through your story. Drop me a line and let me know how it is going! BOOKS

• The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass
• The Hero is You by Kendra Levin (I love this for both building setting/emotional connection but developing as a writer)
• Steering the Craft by Ursula K Le Guin
• Naming the World by Bret Anthony Johnston

ONLINE ARTICLES

• Craft and Ignoring the Naysayers https://lithub.com/n-k-jemisin-on-craft-advocacy-and-ignoring-the-naysayers/
• Iceberg http://nkjemisin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/WDWebinar.pdf
• Character in Action https://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2020/03/always-meant-to-write-a-novel-this-series-is-one-way.html
• A world-building checklist https://www.faberacademy.co.uk/news/2020/03/worldbuilding-checklist/?dm_i=2AQ3,1KGDI,6BNJBD,5B1IJ,1
• Finishing your work https://britta-jensen.com/2019/09/16/finish-that-draft/

   

The worlds of Eloia Born and Hirana’s War have a deep and interesting history. Enjoy your bonuses here and learn more about the culture of the Yarats and the Kardush, enjoy the pronunciation guide and language/world terms glossary.

• Hirana’s War Glossary & Language Guide
• Pronunciation Guide video clip (Releasing September 1)

Get into the Christmas spirit with my quirky holiday story set in Boston, MA. You can click here, or copy and paste https://BookHip.com/QGJRDP into your browser. I wish you a Happy Christmas and most excellent new year!

You have until October 11th at midnight to submit to become a beta reader for Hirana’s War. Benefits include:

• a free copy of Hirana’s War months well ahead of publication.
• free book swag (pre-publication postcards and stickers anyone?)
• Those providing extensive feedback are listed in the acknowledgements of the published book!

Apply here and thank you for your interest!

WRITING ADVICE FROM THE TRENCHES: FINISHING THAT DRAFT By Britta Jensen I?ve received a lot of inquiries for advice on finishing that first novel (or how to approach a collection of unfinished works). Several individuals at readings and signings have expressed dismay at labouring over the same 60 or so pages for several years without ever crossing the finish line. A few have received conflicting advice about whether or not their work needs to be complete before querying agents and editors. I hope to answer as many of your questions as possible about that first draft here and give a little background that might contextualise my advice. I started my ?writing journey? as a playwright/poet in Japan/NYC. It was when I started teaching full-time that I realised I had to follow the same advice I was giving my students. Being a real writer meant finishing that novel you?ve been working on. Even when you have plays in production and papers to grade. Obviously, it took a while for this advice to sink in. Though I had my first poem published in third grade, I didn?t publish my first collection of poems until 2013. From 2007-2012 I kept re-working the same 40-60 pages of my first novel, Noimead/Guardians of Time. I finally realised in 2011, when I received a job transfer to move from Korea to Germany, that I might have a work schedule that would allow me to write more fiction. Before I left my student, Jacob, said ?Miss J you?re going to be teaching sixth grade, you might as well finish that novel you?ve been working on forever.? My mom sent me Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and it was kismet. I had to be okay with that crappy first draft.

Ah ha! That was my problem. I couldn?t stand for every word not to count on the page in that first draft. The processing of editing as I drafted was making it impossible to finish!

Summer of 2012 I took Jacob?s advice and gifted myself a block of time in which to finish my novel. I turned off the internet, silenced my phone and told everyone I knew I was in hibernation while I finished my novel. I refused to leave my desk, except for bathroom and meal breaks, if I didn?t finish a certain block of drafting. After tinkering on the novel for the 2011/2012 school year, it took me a month to finish the rest. It was a whopping 140,000 words. When I printed it, it was 400+ pages. I carried that thing with me everywhere to show everyone what I?d done. I was so proud. Then a friend, who is a professional editor, took a look and tore it apart. (Lesson learned: don?t let anyone read your rough draft). However, I?m glad that I let her rip it apart because it needed it. And, I understood early on that I wasn?t brilliant, my story was not yet clever, and revision was required. From 2013 until my debut novel was published this year, I?ve written five novels and over twenty short stories. Only three of the novels are publishable, and maybe fifteen of the short stories. (Two have already been published in anthologies). That stretch from my first publishing conference in 2013– until 2018 when I found out Eloia Born was going to be published– was a prime learning era in my writing life. I learned what to abandon, what to finish, and how to establish a writing routine. Unlike many other pro writers, I?m the type of artist who needs a routine and has to write everyday (even if it?s only in my journal). The game-changer in the meandering from grade 3 to 2012 was finishing that first novel and taking it to a publishing conference, then getting loads of advice, spending money (yes, gasp!) on courses, going to more conferences, meeting with agents and editors, and switching my focus from industry focused conferences to taking courses and focused my limited funds and vacation time on classes that concentrated on craft, offered one-on-one as well as peer feedback and helped me to grow as a writer. In 2017, after labouring really hard for four years (amidst two huge health crisis, a financial/job crisis, and a healthy dose of heartbreak) I was long and short listed for three writing prizes in the UK. I was selected for the Gold Dust Mentoring scheme with Shelley Weiner (whose short story course I took at Faber Academy) and I kept working, learning and listening to pros who knew a lot more than me! I learned that writers have to have great teachers to progress. You can?t take one course and know everything. No art works that way. Because I performed as a singer/actor since childhood I understood the value of continuing to have great coaches and mentors. Sadly, I see a lot of writers balk at paying for instruction. Actors and dancers, who make no more money than we do (and probably less), don?t have a problem shelling out money for a class every month, if their budget allows. Why are authors different? That brings me back to the game-changers in finishing. Having great mentors and teachers (Shelley Weiner, Adam Marek, Debi Alper, Shaun Levin=thank you!) really helped me to see the drafting and editing process required a variety of steps and techniques that always include editing in stages. Drafting is just that, drafting. You?re filling in the pencil marks and getting the ideas onto paper (or screen) and telling yourself the story. You?re creating a world, not a masterpiece. Masterpieces are born in the cauldron of revision! Advice on finishing that first draft:

1. Get a sense of how much time it takes you to write a block of text (word count). Then, give yourself a deadline (working backwards from your typical work flow) to finish that draft. Remember, it?s a crappy first draft! Set a deadline and total word count target, then move heaven and earth to stick to it.
2. Use a program like Scrivener that helps with revising in ways Microsoft wished it were so savvy.
3. Have a place either in your house/apartment or outside your home where you are always safe to write.
4. When planning your deadline for finishing your rough draft, try to make it a more narrow timespan. Depending on how onerous your work /family schedule following my 30-60 day rough draft timeline might not work for you. It?s possible to finish a rough draft of 50,000 words in 30 days. But, you need the time everyday to devote to that timeline. Whereas, a sixty day rough draft timeline allows me to have ?breathing space? to think about where I?m taking the story next (even with an outline you?ll discover your characters have other plans). I also tend to write big worlds that require a lot of prior thinking and note-taking before I sit down to draft. Other stories may not require this.
5. A shorter timeline for finishing helps you to keep the forward momentum. You remember your story better, and you?re telling your body, spirit and the universe that you are a writer. You?re setting up a memory bank that says ?oh, this is how I write a rough draft? so that every time you do it, it becomes less terrifying.
6. Yes, I do have moments where I hate every word I?ve written. Do I go back and revise at that point? No! Not until I?m finished with the draft!
7. Deadlines are hard for you? Good, welcome to the world of being a writer. However, it doesn?t mean you ignore them or let them pass by without doing anything. I?ve had to extend deadlines plenty of times. (All my editors will tell you). I have a muscular disorder that likes to hijack my body from time to time. I follow Allie Pleiter?s advice and ask myself, ?what can I do right now?? when I am headed for a health semi-disaster. I always tell people what my deadlines are to help me stay accountable. You?d be amazed at how many friends will say, ?I know you?ve got that big deadline, want to go out and celebrate after?? If I?m falling behind, I try to make sure I finish within a few weeks of the deadline I?ve set for myself.
8. Find at least one writing ally who is also a writer. (No, your spouse, significant other, teacher, etc.. doesn?t count). You need someone who is in the trenches like you are.
9. Join an organisation like SCBWI (if you write for kids), Romance Writers of America, Writer?s League of Texas, etc?that will help you feel connected to other writers, even if you only go out once a month to events.
10. Attend the book launches of authors, even if you don?t know them. It?s important to see finishers and visualize yourself there in a few years or more. (It?s not IF you get published, it is WHEN).
11. Life will happen. It always does. You have to be okay with imperfection, looking dumb, making mistakes, and understanding you?re on a learning curve. Hardly anyone publishes a book based on the rough draft they sent to an agent after completing NaNoWriMo. Yes, there are exceptions. But, it?s best to plan not to be the exception. It will help you to be a better writer.
12. Do you hate your current novel? Finish it. Then, decide how much you want to revise it after a week away from it.
13. Should you query an agent before you finish? Not, unless you’re a non-fiction writer with an amazing book proposal. (Memoir is treated like fiction).

What do you do when you?ve finished that manuscript? Celebrate! I mean it. Print it up, carry it around and show it to everyone who loves you. (Just don?t ask them to read it until you?ve been through at least three drafts!) If your friends could care less about you finishing your book, you need new friends. I?m serious. When do you revise? (Give yourself anywhere from three days to a week?s break.) I don?t like to take too long a break, except when my book is with my editor. When the break is too long I forget the story world. Do you want to talk more about your draft and are tired of traversing this road alone? Book a 30-minute free consultation with me via phone or skype/facetime/google hangout. You can reach me via the contact form on this website. Writing is way more enjoyable when you have other people to share the journey with! If you liked this plethora of free advice, please help support a fellow artist by clicking the link below or purchasing my book Eloia Born. Thanks for your support! .bmc-button img{width: 27px !important;margin-bottom: 1px !important;box-shadow: none !important;border: none !important;vertical-align: middle !important;}.bmc-button{line-height: 36px !important;height:37px !important;text-decoration: none !important;display:inline-flex !important;color:#ffffff !important;background-color:#FF813F !important;border-radius: 3px !important;border: 1px solid transparent !important;padding: 1px 9px !important;font-size: 22px !important;letter-spacing:0.6px !important;box-shadow: 0px 1px 2px rgba(190, 190, 190, 0.5) !important;-webkit-box-shadow: 0px 1px 2px 2px rgba(190, 190, 190, 0.5) !important;margin: 0 auto !important;font-family:’Cookie’, cursive !important;-webkit-box-sizing: border-box !important;box-sizing: border-box !important;-o-transition: 0.3s all linear !important;-webkit-transition: 0.3s all linear !important;-moz-transition: 0.3s all linear !important;-ms-transition: 0.3s all linear !important;transition: 0.3s all linear !important;}.bmc-button:hover, .bmc-button:active, .bmc-button:focus {-webkit-box-shadow: 0px 1px 2px 2px rgba(190, 190, 190, 0.5) !important;text-decoration: none !important;box-shadow: 0px 1px 2px 2px rgba(190, 190, 190, 0.5) !important;opacity: 0.85 !important;color:#ffffff !important;} Please buy me a coffee!  

The Writing Consultancy (TWC) was formed by Britta Jensen out of a need for quality, bespoke, holistic instruction and editing for writers, especially individuals seeking publication. After working with a wide range of editors and writers, Britta discovered many authors need a more instructive and pedagogical approach to editing and story development. TWC offers editing for fiction and non-fiction and mentoring for stories in development. We also offer tutoring in literacy and reading to secondary and college students. Individuals interested in editing, mentoring or tutoring can submit an inquiry via the “contact” button above. I look forward to working with you!  

There are a ton of writing contests out there: not all are created equal. Set a budget for yourself and try to prioritize contests that offer feedback over contests that offer none (if there is an entrance fee). Note that if there isn’t an entrance fee it usually means the competition will be quite fierce. However, there is a lot to be gained from entering a contest. 31 Free Writing Contests -curated by The Writing Life team Mslexia is a great resource for contests (especially for women). Their magazine has wonderful lists of contests and opportunities for writers inside and outside the UK. Retreat West was one organization I started submitting my work and had my first shortlisting. Fiction Factory has several well regarded contests. Exeter Novel Prize is open to all unpublished novelists and offers superb feedback. Kallisto Gaia Press offers a great writing contest with a deadline that’s coming due soon. Do check them out! Henshaw Press Story Competitions –they also offer feedback from their contests. Writers & Artists has fantastic classes and free competitions as well. If you’re ever in the UK do pop over to one of their courses, totally worth it! This list is in no way exhaustive, but I figured I’d mention a few I’d entered, as well as my source for finding these contests: it was a combination of finding out about contests from social media-mostly Twitter (and I generally get on social media a few times a week)-other writers telling me about contests, and subscribing to Poets & Writers, Mslexia, and a few other magazines aimed at helping writers become better. A combination of combing magazines and online resources proves very useful!