Rim-To-Rim: 7 Tips for Crossing the Book Canyon from Page One to The End

 

As much as I love the Grand Canyon, I’ve never attempted to cross it – a grueling 25-mile hike that’s a 2-3 day test of mental, physical and spiritual endurance. But I have several intrepid friends who’ve tackled the challenge and triumphed.

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The Rim-To-Rim.

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When I type the opening line of a new book, a deep divide seemingly stretches from that point to The End. As with the Grand Canyon’s Rim-To-Rim, finishing a book for many of us isn’t an easy journey. There are no guarantees we’ll reach the other side. But like Canyon hikers, writers who have a strong enough dream are willing to risk the attempt.

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TIP #1: Set a Target. Hikers on the South Rim will never hit the North if they wander off in a southerly direction. As a writer, give thought to the readership of your book, the expectations of the genre, the projected word count, and the publisher guidelines. Determining this in advance saves time and heartache later. Establish a deadline.

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TIP #2: Prepare. Rim-to-Rim hikers invest time and effort in preparations long before their feet hit the trail--obtaining permits and advice from those who’ve gone before them, acquiring gear and supplies, and conditioning their bodies for endurance. Crossing the Canyon isn’t an impulsively taken walk in the park.

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Likewise, regardless of whether you’re a story plotter, a seat-of-the-pantser or a planster, do yourself a favor. Think through a book-length goal, motivation and conflict to drive your main characters. Know how they’ll change. Know, too, the primary plot turning points and the black moment and resolution you’re shooting for. What’s the core of the story--the intended takeaway?

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TIP #3:  Buddy Up. While there are no guarantees a hiker partnering with others will make it to the other side, there’s safety in numbers. Those who team up for mutual encouragement and to look out for each other’s welfare stand a much higher chance of reaching the opposite Rim.

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As a writer, consider attending a conference, joining a writers group or finding a compatible critique partner. Or get actively involved in an on-line community (like Seekerville!) where you can receive guidance and support (and an occasional kick in the seat of the pants).

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TIP #4: Pace Yourself. While taking in majestic surroundings is a good thing, with too many distracting side excursions hikers of the Canyon will find themselves short on water and food, losing energy, motivation and momentum. Not a good place to be. They must keep moving steadily in the direction of the intended Rim.

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As a writer, establish a daily or weekly word count goal. There will be times when you want to quit, when you want to chase off after new “exciting” ideas. But if you develop a pattern of doing that, you can expect to have a lot of unfinished manuscripts under your bed. If you don’t meet the word count goal, don’t beat yourself up. Dust yourself off and get moving forward again.

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TIP #5: Don’t Psych Yourself Out. As Rim-to-Rimmers can attest, if you tell yourself you can’t do it, the odds are against you right from the start. Negative self-talk can’t rule thinking patterns once they’ve started into the Canyon. They can’t call a cab if they get hot or sunburned or blisters or belatedly discover they bit off more than they can chew. Unless it’s a true medical emergency requiring air evacuation, the expectation is that you walked in and you will walk out.

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As a writer, keep the inner critic at bay. Don’t tell yourself negative things that you wouldn’t dream of telling another aspiring writer. Things like “you’ll never finish a book, this story is no good, you’re no good.” Every day remind yourself “I can do this.” Or even better yet: “Together God and I can do this!”

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TIP #6 Track Your Progress. Canyon hikers carry a map to recognize points along the trail so they can track how far they’ve gone and how far they still have to go. Do they need to conserve food or water? Pick up the pace? Or are they right on target?

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As a writer, track your progress. For years I’ve kept a simple Excel spreadsheet to record daily word count and calculate the running total, as well as a brief “why” statement if I didn’t meet my goal (e.g., “prepping Seekerville blogpost,” “synopsis work,” “family outing”). Or maybe you’d prefer to have a pocket calendar or one on your wall where you can jot word count.

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TIP #7 Don’t Get Too Close to the Edge. Rare is the year when at least one person doesn’t plummet to their death in the Grand Canyon. There have been two or three in 2016 alone. Both above and below the Rim, hikers need to be acutely aware of their surroundings, know their limits and not take dangerous shortcuts when others are passing by them at a faster clip. They need to remain balanced and focused on their own journey, not distracted by someone else’s.

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Promise yourself not to compare your finish-the-book journey to that of others. It’s wise to challenge yourself--but realize that unless you’re Nora Roberts, there will always be speedier writers than you. Better writers. Writers to whom full-blown ideas seem to fall out of the sky at their feet while you struggle to come up with a single decent one. Make a commitment not to turn back or get too close to the self-sabotaging envy edge.

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BONUS TIP:  As I’ve so often pointed out, baby steps add up! ENJOY the journey. Don’t let the distance to The End intimidate you. It all comes down to taking that first step--and one persevering step after another. Periodically give yourself a pat on the back to celebrate how far you’ve come. Then take another step. You can do it!

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Does a yawning canyon seem to stand between you and The End of that dreamed-of book? Where are you right now--on the Rim wistfully looking across the canyon? Trudging through its depths or on the upward climb where temperatures are reaching 120 degrees and you’re running out of water, knowing you have as far to go now as you’ve already come? Or maybe you’re close to triumphantly planting your feet at your final destination. Which of these tips is most difficult for you to follow? And which is the tip you most need at this point in your journey?

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If you’d like to be entered in a drawing for a Kindle copy of James Scott Bell’s “The Mental Game of Writing,” mention it in the comment section, then check the Weekend Edition to see if you’re a winner!

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Glynna

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GLYNNA KAYE treasures memories of growing up in small Midwestern towns--and vacations spent with the Texan side of the family. She traces her love of storytelling to the times a houseful of great-aunts and great-uncles gathered with her grandma to share candid, heartwarming, poignant and often humorous tales of their youth and young adulthood. Her Love Inspired books--Pine Country Cowboy and High Country Holiday--won first and second place, respectively, in the 2015 RWA Faith, Hope & Love Inspirational Reader’s Choice Awards. Her November 2016 release, The Pastor’s Christmas Courtship, is available for pre-order now (click here)!

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Jodi Thorpe’s childhood vacation cabin seems the perfect place for her to heal her broken heart…and avoid Christmas cheer. After twelve years, nothing in Hunter Ridge has changed--except Garrett McCrae. The bad boy who was once her secret crush is now the town minister. And Garrett won’t let her miss out on all the hope and joy the holiday brings.  With every day he’s drawn to the vulnerable woman Jodi’s become, even as he’s about to leave for a mission halfway around the world.  But as they grow closer, their plans begin to change. Can Garrett make it a season to remember, with a love they can’t forget?