When I began writing one of the first books I picked up was Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids
by Christina Katz. Now fast forward 8 years, my children are grown, I have been writing a blog for 3 years, written a family history book with a second one in the works, written for several magazines and I am currently working on several new writing projects. In an online chat many years ago, it was Christina who encouraged me to blog to find my writing voice. I am so passionate about writing, particularly family history and having spent the last month guiding others through writing their family history, I feel fortunate for having taken Christina's advice.
This is a Q and A with Christina regarding her book. If you're struggling to find your way through the writing journey, I know Christina's books can help you too.
So,
what’s The Writer’s Workout all
about?
The
Writer’s Workout contains 366 ideas—one idea per
day—intended to encourage writers into prosperous action. It reviews critical
skills for every writer such as improving craft, learning to sell work, how and
when to specialize, ways to keep learning and growing, self-promotion from the
basics through advanced topics, and how to balance traditional publication with
self-publication.
What makes The Writer’s Workout different from your first two books?
Like
all my books, The Writer’s Workout is a mashup of various types of writing
instruction. However this book contains a distillation of my experience, my
students’ collective experiences over the past decade, and the universal
experience of being a writer across the ages in the form of what I hope are 366
timeless quotes. This is my third book and it differs from my first two books
quite a bit in focus, objective, and format.
How is The Writer’s Workout different from other writing books already out
there?
One
thing that makes The Writer’s Workout unique is that the rise and fall of the
how-to curve is set against the backdrop of the seasons of the year. The
seasonal backdrop helped me deliver advice for writers on four levels:
beginner, intermediate, seasoned pro, and veteran—each paralleling a season:
spring, summer, fall, or winter. The result, I hope, is one idea every day that
will help writers find and maintain literary momentum all year long in these
highly distracted times.
Some
people say these are tough times for writers. Others say there are
opportunities around every corner. What do you say?
I say we are
living in a gig economy, where professionals are stringing freelance jobs
together into creative careers. We’re all doing the best we can, finding and
maintaining our momentum. Not only can The
Writer’s Workout assist folks who are just getting started
supplementing their income with writing, it can help people who have already
been writing professionally recognize that there are more opportunities to
build income streams writing than any of us have realized. And then it’s just a
matter of choosing the goals that will best suit your goals.
How did you come to write The Writer’s Workout?
Prior to landing the deal for this
book, I was offered the opportunity to write a different book about how to be
an organized writer—a topic that, unfortunately, did not feel like a good fit
for the way I work.
I recommended a former student for the
job and started asking myself, if not that book, then what book did I want to
write? Jane Friedman, then publisher at Writer’s Digest, and I sat down in an
airport restaurant after the Writer’s Digest conference in January 2010, and
brainstormed the idea that evolved into The Writer’s Workout. Basically, I
wanted to encapsulate everything that I’d learned from working closely with
hundreds of writers over ten years. Two years and many thousands of words
later, here it is.
I understand your book is almost 400-pages long, yet you
offer classes on writing “short stuff” and “micro-publishing.” How do you
reconcile this apparent double standard?
You have to look at it this way: the
book is 366 short pieces collected and placed in an order that creates a longer
movement. That’s exactly how I was taught to write fiction in graduate school.
This write short before you write long school-of-thought is also how I teach
writers to draft and polish publishable work. We start short and then extend
the jumps until, next thing you know, the writer is writing long pieces like
features, e-books and even books. How? By pulling together shorter pieces to
create longer pieces.
You have been called a “gentle
taskmaster” by your students. What does this mean and why would writers need this
kind of help?
A
coach is a person who trains others to perform better. Every writer needs a
kick in the pants now and then. This book has plenty of boots in the caboose and
also acknowledges the challenging times we’re living in. Reading this book is
like having a personal coach for your writing career, who holds you accountable
to your potential, every day of the year. Get this book if you would like to have
your own personal coach without the massive expense of paying for one. You’ll
be your own best writing coach by the time the book is done.
Our workdays are constantly disrupted these days. What do
you say to the writer who has trouble focusing and following through?
I rarely hear
students in my training groups complaining about dramas or distractions in
their lives. If something upsets their focus, it’s a major life disturbance
like a trip to the emergency room, a spouse’s job loss, or a death in the
family. That’s life calling, not a distraction.
Our attention can be
hijacked by one hundred and one meaningless distractions per minute. I say turn
up the focus and the distractions will fall away. Drama and distraction are not
necessary for self-expression but they sure can impede it. I say keep the drama
on the page. You can get hooked on making grounded creative progress just as
you can get hooked on chasing every distraction and fanning the flames of every
potential drama. The cure for discouragement is accomplishing a short-term
objective every day.
I understand The
Writer’s Workout originally had a different title. What was the original
title?
The Writer’s Workout actually had three previous titles. I’ll share them if
folks, who have read the book, will tell me which they think is the best match
with the final version.
- The first title was: Read. Write.
Grow.
- The second title was: The Everyday
Writing Coach.
- The third title was: The Anyday
Writing Coach.
- And the fourth and final title was: The Writer’s
Workout.
Personally, I prefer The
Writer’s Workout. But what does everyone else think?
Any final comments you would like to make in closing?
At the end of the day, it does not matter if you are
self-published or traditionally published, blogging or not blogging, a
book-sniffer or a digital diva, a social media maven or a social media
deer-in-the-headlights—what matters is that you cultivate the creativity that
wants to be expressed through you. That’s your job. Go do it!
You can read an excerpt from the Writer's Workout here.
Author Bio:
You can read an excerpt from the Writer's Workout here.
Author Bio:
Christina Katz is the author of three books from Writer’s Digest: The Writer’s Workout, Get Known Before the Book Deal, and Writer Mama. Her writing career tips and parenting advice appear regularly in national, regional, and online publications. A “gentle taskmaster” over the past decade to hundreds of writers, Christina’s students go from unpublished to published, build professional writing career skills, and increase their creative confidence over time. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago and a BA in English from Dartmouth College. A popular speaker on creative career growth, Christina presents for writing conferences, literary events, MFA writing programs, and libraries. She is the creator and host of the Northwest Author Series in Wilsonville, Oregon, where she lives with her husband, her daughter, and far too many pets. Learn more at ChristinaKatz.com.