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Jesslyn Mueller

author ● sojourner ● mother artist

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The Reluctant Sojourner

January 28, 2012

Excuse the dust.

I’m setting up my tent, straightening the flaps, and learning the ways of my new home.

By Jessica

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5 Tips for Fighting Writing Fear
2020 Reading Wrapped
Writing Lessons Learned in 2020

jesslyn.mueller

Every writer deals with fear. It’s a normal part

Every writer deals with fear. It’s a normal part of the life of a writer. It’s a normal part of life–period. What’s important is that we move through our fears and learn how to deal with them when they rear their ugly heads. Fear doesn’t have to be a hindrance to our work.⁠
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Here are five ways I’ve learned to fight fear in my writing work:⁠
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1. Do the work. 🖊️My biggest writing fears sound like, "I can’t do it. I don't know what to do. I’ll never finish." But then I sit down and write. Sometimes it’s setting a timer for thirty minutes, focusing on one scene, or making a list of what I need to tackle. We can tell fear no by doing what it tells us we can’t. Action is often the best answer to fear.⁠
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2. Acknowledge the fear. 💭Fear is not always bad. Fear often wears a mask. It’s a charade seeking to protect us from something else, or subconsciously reminding us of another time in our lives when fear was acting as a protector.⁠
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Ask yourself, What is this fear about? What is fear pointing out? Then ask it to move aside.⁠
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3. Find other writers. 👥Having a writing community will encourage you, know you’re not the only way sifting through messy first drafts or endless rounds of revisions. You’ll be sparks igniting each other’s creative stores and endurance.⁠
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4. Gather your tool box. 🧰 What tools work for you in fighting fear? You’ll be less derailed by fear and more ready to walk through it. Ideas: Take a break, go for a walk, journal, set a timer, make a good meal--in general, things that feed your soul.⁠
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5. Create a mantra. ✨Words have power, they’re like magic spells, one godmother said. What we say over and over to ourselves is what we begin to believe about ourselves and our work. When we rebuke lies and repeat truth, we’re creating new neural pathways in our brain. We’re creating new ways for our brains to think. My writing mantra is “This is hard, but that’s okay. I’m doing the work.”⁠
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How do you fight your writing fears? 💪🏼⁠
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#amwriting #amediting #writingtips #writinglife #writinginspo #writerslife #fictionwriter #fantasyauthor #authorsofig #authorsofinsta #authorlife #authorgram #writergram #indieauthorsofinstagram #indieauthor

I've been gifted a legacy of men and women who sto

I've been gifted a legacy of men and women who stood their ground and shaped a place for us. I'm not going to be a Lumbee who turns my back on justice, because it's hard or uncomfortable.

I wonder what Calvin Oxendine (& Henry & Henderson & George & Allen) would think now.

I wonder if the ancestors looked to their future great-great-great-grandchildren and thought of us when they refused to back down?

The last few weeks I keep thinking of this old Sara Groves song,
"So remind me with every decision generations will reap what I sow,
I can become a curse or a blessing to those I will never know.
To my great-great-granddaughter, live in peace.
To my great-great-grandson, live in peace."

These days I can’t help but tear up at the words of this song, both humbled by those who’ve given me their blood and those to whose blood I’ll contribute but never know.

I want the legacy I leave to be one that says, “I continued the foundation of justice that was laid for me, so dear ones, live in peace.” 🕊

// originally posted January 2016 //

"Tell them about the dream, Martin."

It's so easy to take for granted what I have, to think of the old stories as just stories not the reality of people's lives. For a biracial kid growing up in the military, I had it pretty easy. I'd heard the stories and asked the questions of my grandparents and marveled that they lived this too. Segregation seemed wildly foreign and ridiculous as a child. But what seemed so far away as a part of our US history were memories for them.

My Native American grandparents lived under the same segregation and racism as African Americans in the South. I'm proud of this heritage, of the tribe who kicked the KKK out of their town, of my Mawmaw who refused to give up her seat on the bus, of Pawpaw for being brave enough to move his family north for a better job, for the legacy not to back down but to do your best no matter the opposition.

In 2020, I read 107 books.🤯 What?! Even I was

I almost had a mini heart attack when I opened my

I almost had a mini heart attack when I opened my Chromebook this morning and it had logged me out and I couldn't remember the right password. (It never logs me out! And so many passwords!) I finally figured out the right one. 😅

I'm still working on plot pass revisions. Getting closer to being done. I had a breakthrough, let the light shine in, moment this morning that will tie some loose strands together. I just have to do the actual sewing. Eh.

I find it funny...I use a lot of weaving, loom, strand language in my story, usually referring to the Fates, and now I find that's just the analogy I'm going with talking about the project. I'm rolling with it. 🧵

I feel like I've taken a seam ripper to my book and now I'm trying to piece it back together. Hopefully, better than before.

I decided when I get overwhelmed with the plot revisions to switch and work on line edits to give my mind a mental break, trusting I knew what I was doing when I marked up the manuscript in the fall.

Making progress in different ways. I also decided to go backwards. Why? The latter half feels less problematic, so it'll probably bother me less. I hope. 😂 I worked on the last three chapters this morning and I still like them. So there's that.🌊

What are you working on this week?

#amwriting #amwritingfantasy #amediting #amrevising #theseaandallitsstars #fairytaleretelling #retellings #historicalfantasy

I set out for 2020 to be the year I write like it’s my job. I didn’t achieve all the goals and deadlines I wrote down at the beginning of the year. Some changed, some seemed less important or necessary. Some were just not realistic for my life and the year 2020 turned out to be.⁠
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However, I did find great value and reward in taking myself and my writing seriously. 🌟⁠
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I want to build a writing career. That takes time, investment, changes in my routines and priorities, and a whole lot of work, but I can do it.⁠
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Even if I don’t get agented or people flock to my stories, I need the diligence and practices of a writer who is seeking to be in it for the long haul, not just if an agent loves my work or a book becomes a runaway bestseller (which is rare).⁠
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With that mindset, I decided to pursue writing in 2020 more like a job than a hobby. Here are a few of the lessons I learned:⁠
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1. Do the work.⁠
2. The writing community is an incredibly supportive and encouraging place.⁠
3. Writing is easier and harder than you think.⁠
4. I am capable to do this work. You are capable to do this work.⁠
5. There is room for your stories.⁠
6. It’ll take longer than you think, but that’s okay.⁠
7. Invest in your writing craft.⁠
8. Shift your mindset from success to diligence. ⁠
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You can read a more about each of these lessons on at the link in bio: http://www.thereluctantsojourner.com/writing-lessons-learned-in-2020⁠
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🖊️What writing lessons did you learn in 2020?⁠
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#fictionwriter #amwriting #amediting #writingtips #writerslife #writersdesk #indieauthor #fantasyauthor #authorsofig #authorsofinsta #authorlife #writerlife #writergram #aspiringauthors

Dear Writer, You hold infinite words & hopes insid

Dear Writer,
You hold infinite words & hopes inside. Spill them, let them all out. Know whatever you’re working on–it’ll be okay. You’re stringing stars together, forming constellations with words.

Enjoy the work & shake off the Resistance. Your work is still valuable whether anyone reads it or not. Do it anyway.

Go & make magic.

Write–pour your heart out, but keep some words for yourself. Not everything has to be seen to be of value.

Learn to love your life with all its disruptions. These too are a gift.

Go out & live, dear writer. Go explore & laugh & cry. Read good books, recite poetry in the rain, cook good food, laugh aloud. Often.

You are not chained to this desk, this device–go out & live! Taste the magic, spin around in it, get your fingernails dirty.

Then, come back & create.

This is your duty, this is your joy–to be a weaver of words.

Enchant us with your wonder & pain, your love & joy. Enchant us with the way you see our world & tell us of the worlds you see.

Go!–spill the stars! Plant seeds! Weave words! Splatter canvas! Do the next thing.

Go live, then come back & create. Do the work in front of you & in showing up regularly, you’ll dispel the fear that it can’t be done. You are doing it.

So, go–& make some wonderful magic.
We’ll be here, making our own magic & we can’t wait to see yours.

//
For the last few years, I’ve given myself a monthly creative challenge. It took me a little while, but I decided to write a letter to writers. In truth, these are letters of what I want to hear, what I need to hear, as a writer. And starting off the year, I need to hear that yes, go write and create, but also go live! They each feed each other. I hope you enjoy them and go make your own magic.

Click link in bio to read the full letter: http://www.thereluctantsojourner.com/dearwritergomakemagic/
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#dearwriter2021 #writingcommunity #writerslife #writersdesk #createmagic #calledtocreate #createandcultivate #mymagicalmoments #doortomywonderland #ofwhimsicalmoments

So what you’re saying is you like seeing my face

So what you’re saying is you like seeing my face. 😏And Harry. 😂

I like these nine. 📸 They’re definitely representative of my writing year, but there’s a lot of moments hidden in between that maybe I’ll share one day.

That bottom right (and the middle) are my favorite pictures of me this year. ✨

What’s your favorite picture of you this year? 📸

Welcome to my winter break look. ☕️ Goals for

Welcome to my winter break look. ☕️

Goals for this week: finish Stamped (1 of 2 books left on my “currently reading” pile!), dive back in revisions 🙏🏽, change from my pajamas to loungewear and back again, mark up my new planner (dreamy goal setting 💭), and try not to get sick. ✨

Merry Christmas! 🎄

Merry Christmas! 🎄

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