Big Ideas Archives - KS Mitchell

Where do you get your story ideas? – KS Mitchell with Write Your World

Writing in the Gaps

After years of having a designated block of writing time every weekday afternoon, I’m doing what I’ve come to think of as “writing in the gaps,” those small spaces of time I can snatch when the baby is asleep, or happily focused on a toy (very small amount of time), or when someone can watch her for an hour while I try to focus.

Life has changed a lot for me recently. In the past year, we’ve moved from the city to a small farm, obtained thirty goats and sheep, numerous chickens, two dogs and another cat. We welcomed our first child in August and I signed a book contract right before her birth. So life is crazy. Finding time to do some serious writing? Even crazier.

Guess what? It’s tough. Much tougher than I anticipated. “I’m going to write two sentences while the baby’s distracted,” I joked to my husband one day. “It’s good to see you’ve adjusted your expectations,” he replied. Yup.

I recently went to a conference where a speaker asked if anyone had tried getting up an hour or two earlier to write/work/get stuff done. “How’s that working out for you?” Everyone in the room laughed. “Right, it doesn’t work for long,” she said. Now I feel less guilty for not getting up (or staying up) when the baby is still sleeping and writing, or for sleeping in until the baby wakes up. I might get up early some mornings, but right now writing is 10 minutes here, 20 there, read while holding the baby so she doesn’t scream.

I know this period won’t last forever. And I’ve found even if my writing time has diminished, my resolve to write hasn’t, but you know what has? The idea that being published is ALL IMPORTANT. It is important, of course. I want readers to like my work, buy my books, and recommend them to others so I can continue to write, but in light of being responsible for raising daughter, being a successful, amazing, best-selling author doesn’t seem as important anymore.

I still want my stories in the world. I still want you to read them, but I’m a little more patient about that process. So, two sentences or two hours at a time, I’ll keep writing. In the mean time, life is happening in between those gaps of writing and I call that a good thing.

Writing is a Marathon

As a runner and an athlete, the idea that life is a race I’m running has always appealed to me. I’m on a course but I can choose how I run this race. Do I sprint the whole way and burn out? Do I choose the way of the turtle, slowly but surely getting to the finish line? Do I fix my eyes on the runner just ahead of me and let her pace me, or do I blaze past her and hope I have the endurance to keep the pace?

And what does this have to do with writing?

My aunt recently mailed me a clipping from a daily devotional. She does this periodically and I’ve come to appreciate her thoughtfulness. There’s nothing like receiving mail (real mail!) from someone you love letting you know you’re in their thoughts.

The text of the clipping happened to be Hebrews 12:1-3. I don’t write much about faith on this blog, but it’s a deep part of my life, and that just happens to be one of my favorite verses, particularly this part: “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

And what does this have to do with writing?

If you’re a writer, you’ve probably noticed, writing is more like a marathon than a sprint. It’s a long, grueling process and the end of the race – publication, success, best-selling NYT author (hey, why not dream big?) can seem miles away – 26.2 to be exact.

Along the way, you’re going to encounter setbacks. Injuries that most often come in the form of rejection of your work. It’s not just disappointing, it’s soul-draining. You start to lose your way and wonder why the heck you’re even in this race because it sure looks like those non-runners are having way more fun and not throwing their precious time away on something that may never be successful.

So you consider giving up. You bargain with yourself. Maybe writing isn’t as important to you as you thought. Sitting down to write is hard anyway, finding (and protecting) the time to write is too difficult, nobody wants to read these stories, so maybe your time is better spent elsewhere. Maybe you should get a “real” job or pick up a hobby that doesn’t make you want to pull your hair out? Netflix, anyone?

Plenty of people entertain the idea of writing, dream about it, start a story, even finish that story, but somewhere along the way, running the race becomes too much. The injuries (rejection), weather (unexpected delays), even the crowd cheering you on (distractions), it’s too much to deal with. You’re already way too busy with life to keep pursuing something that isn’t working out.

A writing mentor once said to me, “I know plenty of writers who are way more talented than me who never published. They gave up. I didn’t.”

I’ve been writing consistently since 2004 when I moved to Yemen and suddenly needed something to fill the long evenings I used to spend with friends and family back home. So I started pursuing something I’d always dreamed about, thankfully ignorant of how difficult a road the writing life is. Over the past thirteen years, I’ve gotten better as a writer, more disciplined, though I have my moments, but I haven’t seen much success and I’ve certainly endured long periods of disappointment where I questioned everything.

But.

Let us run with perseverance.

I couldn’t quit the race. The thing about a race is you never know what’s around the next corner.

In June I submitted three pitches to a Twitter event called #PitMad, where authors pitch their stories in 140 characters and editors and agents browse the feed and favorite anything that appeals to them. When you’re pursuing publishing, anything that gets your work in front of industry pros is invaluable. Writers pay big money at conferences and workshops to do just that.

Originally I was going to pitch two stories, but I added a third when I realized the rules for the event allowed it. I was surprised when this third story, a young adult dystopian novel, merited the interest of a small press in San Diego. They favorited my tweet. I sent a query letter with a more in-depth pitch and a few pages. Then I had a request for fifty pages. Then the entire novel.

And then I had an offer for the series. It happened so quickly I could scarcely believe it. Yet it didn’t happen that quickly because I already had part of that marathon behind me. All that hard work, the training, the persevering. I rounded the corner on the course I’ve been running a long time.

I signed on with Glass House Press at the end of June to publish my young adult dystopian series. The first novel, Dreamers, is expected to publish in 2018. (Whoo hoo!)

Is that the end of the race?

I have a feeling it’s just the beginning, actually, and that I’m going to need all of that endurance I’ve built up, and all of that perseverance to continue.

But I’m excited about the race again, and that’s where a runner, and a writer, needs to be.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.

Hebrews 12: 1-2

Ready to Come About!

Some years feel like that schooner rushing through the water, and others more like a sailboat waiting around for the breeze to kick in and blow you somewhere. After feeling like I was drifting in the water with sails out and no wind for several years, 2016 is finally blowing in.

Last year I got to do a lot of sailing. In anticipation of a family sailing trip to Maine, my uncle took David and me through sailing 101. Then we spent four days on a schooner, an experience unlike any other I’ve had. One day, the wind kicked up and filled the four sails, driving the schooner through the water until the boat heeled and water rushed through the scuppers on the leeward side. It was exhilarating.

On another sailing trip in the fall, we motored out into the lake, let out the sails, rolled out the spinnaker, and waited several hours in vain for even a puff of breeze to fill them, to no avail.

We bought a new house and acreage outside of town, still in lovely Northwest Arkansas. While we contemplate a completely new lifestyle that will likely include farming and livestock, I’m also commuting to work and juggling a handful of other changes on the horizon. It feels a bit like standing on a heeling boat, enjoying the wind, but also trying to keep my footing as the sails fill and the boat picks up speed.

The changes that come with new ideas can be scary, but it’s also exciting. Change provides the best opportunities to grow, even if it seems painful at first. It forces you out of your comfort zone and into new challenges you might not have taken on otherwise. None of this is new wisdom, but when you’re the one experiencing the change, it feels unsettling.

Many people (especially bloggers) choose one word to focus their year around. Last year I chose Story and took the opportunity to share some stories from my distant and not so distant past. I’ll still be throwing random stories out this year, but my word for 2016 is more about continuing my story, growing it, making room for those changes that feel bigger than life.

2016 is all about expanding.

Expand your horizons. That phrase is tossed around so much it’s become cliche, but the sense of it truly applies to this period of time in my life. A new place, a new adventure, which will require (A LOT) of new knowledge. New people who will undoubtedly come into my life this year. None of these replace the old adventures, past experiences, or good friends; they simply enhance it.

There are some great synonyms for the word expand. Bolster. Broaden. Enlarge. Stretch. Unfurl. I love these words and the sense of anticipation that rises in me when I read them. What better way to spend a year than bolstering your sense of adventure, broadening your views, enlarging your ideas, stretching yourself, unfurling your creativity?

Does expanding seem daunting? Absolutely. But it’s time. The best day of sailing last summer was when the wind hit the sails and forced us through the water until I could reach out my hand and touch the waves if I wanted. That’s what 2016 feels like to me.

Hopefully, I’ll manage to stay in the boat for the ride.

The B-I-G Idea – Part 1 – College Soccer

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about BIG ideas. Ideas that are so B – I – G you have to capitalize them. Ideas that are so BIG they take your breath away and terrify you at the same time. Those ideas. The ones we dream about while we’re doing everything else.

When I was 18 and nearly finished with high school, all I wanted to do was play soccer. I had other dreams, too, like getting my college degree and traveling, but soccer had been such a huge part of my life and I wasn’t ready to give it up. I was a pretty decent player, not the most skilled or the fastest, but good enough to be noticed by some smaller colleges. Still, I wanted to go after the B-I-G dream.

I wanted to play NCAA Division I college soccer. And I wanted to do it at the University of Arkansas where my parents attended college. I’d been raised a Razorback in exile in Oklahoma and I was ready to head home.

One day I mustered my courage, dialed the number and called up Janet Rayfield, head coach of the Lady Razorback soccer team. It probably wasn’t done this way, but it was late in the school year, late in the recruiting process, and I knew if I didn’t call her now, I never would.

I still remember how hard that phone call was, how nervous I felt as I tried to answer the coach’s questions. She asked about my high school and club experience and informed me that they had no scholarships left, but she would come watch me play if I still had any interest in joining the team. I told her about the only two games I had left on my schedule as a high school player, the Oklahoma All-State game and the club state tournament. She agreed to come.

The day of the All-State game was nuts. I’d had this crazy idea that my sisters and I should do Freewheel, a bicycle trek across Oklahoma that requires you to ride 30-60 miles each day, and it fell on the same week as the All-State game. I’d already ridden several days of the event, but I took that day off and headed to the game, where I joined the other senior girls selected from teams on the eastern half of the state in a battle against girls from the western side of Oklahoma.

We had a full roster of talented players and most people rotated through playing time, leaving and reentering the game. Looking back, the All-State coach must have known I was being scouted that day because I played the entire game. I had a blast and played well, including a great slide tackle and a shot on goal from nearly 40 yards out.

After the game, Janet approached me and introduced herself and congratulated me on the win. I told her about Freewheel and I still remember her laughing and saying, “You mean you’ve ridden a hundred miles this week on your bike and you played in the All-State game?” Ah, the advantages of youth.

FreeWheel '96 - What's the Big Idea - kimberlymitchell.us — Free Wheel ’96!

Janet didn’t promise me anything when she left the All-State game, but the next weekend my team played in the final of the State tournament. It was a tough game and my team was the underdog against an aggressive team that had dominated our league since I’d been playing club ball. Still, we went head to head with them and everyone played their best. I was relentless, knowing I would never play with my teammates again. I’d also spotted Janet on the sidelines. The pressure was on. The rest of my soccer career hung in the balance that day and I was determined to leave everything on the field, no matter what happened.

Sheffield United '78 - What's the Big Idea - kimberlymitchell.us — Oklahoma State Tournament

We lost that game by a single late goal. I could hardly speak as I walked off the field, but I made my way over to Janet. She said she was sorry about the loss, but that we’d played a great game.

Then she invited me to come play for the Razorbacks.

And with those few words, a new chapter in my life began. I would keep chasing that BIG dream of playing soccer at the college level. I didn’t know the challenges I would face yet, how difficult it is to play at a high level, or the friendships I would make. I only knew that I’d decided one day to stop dreaming about this dream and do something about it. And I’ve never regretted it.

Arkansas Soccer 1997 - What's the Big Idea - kimberlymitchell.us — Arkansas Razorback Soccer Team 1997

I’m still dreaming about BIG ideas.

Are you?