Writing Lessons From Our Mother, Betsy Byars

 By Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers

Although she won major book awards, the Newbery Medal, a National Book Award, an Edgar, and others, to us Betsy Byars was “Mom”, and the lessons we learned from her about writing have come mostly by just watching. Watching …

1.  Her love of reading - Our mother always made a great effort to put books into our hands, from our first library, a bookmobile to the city library in the basement of the fire station. We were always leaving with armloads of books. When you’re having trouble writing, read. Reading stimulates writing.

2.  Her hard work - we saw Mom spend hours at her electric typewriter, writing and rewriting. We knew that it wasn’t easy. She used to say she worked on it until it sounded like she hadn’t worked on it at all. Writing requires hard work; it only begins with the first draft.

3.  Her perseverance - Mom worked for fourteen years before getting her first book published. We saw those trips to the mailbox - the disappointment - but she was continued writing through numerous rejections. The road to success in writing often involves rejection, keep writing.

4.  Her creativity – Our mother’s creativity wasn’t limited to her writing.  We grew up creating with her in many projects, sewing knitting, woodworking, and silk screening. To keep your writing fresh, be creative in all areas of your life.

5.  Her willingness to fail – Mom thought outside the box, often sewing and knitting without patterns.  This made for many failures but a lot of learning.  Things we made did not always turn out like we imagined that they would. She always told us “No writing is ever wasted.” Our failures as writers teach us as much as our successes.

6. Her humility – Even with all of her successes Mom remained humble. Her humble spirit allowed her to connect with readers in a real, honest way.  It made her open to new experiences and ideas and allowed her to accept input from editors. Pride is an enemy of good writing.

So much of what we learn about writing comes from observing others.  Who has taught you by example?

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The Writing Sisters, Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers were born into a writing family, and began critiquing manuscripts at an early age for their mother, Newbery winner Betsy Byars.  They went on to become authors of more than thirty-five children’s novels. Their first book for adults, The Shepherd’s Song, is being released in paperback April 2015. You can connect with Laurie and Betsy on their monthly newsletter where they send out updates and their popular free devotional books. Contact them at WritingSisters.com  and find them on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

What do you do with your NaNoWriMo novel?

By Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers

What do you do with your NaNoWriMo novel?

The start is so exciting and for several weeks, the constant stream of writing flows almost beyond thought.  This can be a good thing -- to let your fingers fly on the keys and not edit or judge the words. The quantity of words alone is amazing.

But what do you do with it when you are finished?

Growing up our mother had a pantry, a closet where food was stored. We would cook fresh food from the store supplemented with dry goods and canned goods from the pantry. 

The Nano Novel for us becomes the pantry. Not a complete book but a treasure trove of words to draw from as we compose books going forward.

Three of the characters in our upcoming book The Shepherd’s Song came from NaNoWriMo two years ago. The ideas were only a beginning, images recorded: A young man following a red beret down a city street. A woman fleeing her abuser sitting in a tattoo parlor. An older woman in an assisted living facility trying to write a children’s book. Beginnings. But great beginnings.

In the book we are currently, writing two characters had their beginnings in last year’s efforts. A clown struggling to find his identity. A woman on a Ferris wheel with a fear of heights.

The images from that burst of creative flow can be powerful and can come onto the page with depth and dimension. Settings come; bits of dialog, scenes unfold. Somehow, for us they are pieces -- not a whole. 

This year, no NaNoWriMo we’re still working from the pantry of the last two years. The pantry is still chocked full of ideas from that previous year’s burst of creativity. Maybe next year we’ll try again.

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Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers were born into a writing family, and began at an early age critiquing manuscripts for their mother, Newbery winner, Betsy Byars. They went on to become authors of more than thirty-five children’s novels. Their first novel for adults, The Shepherd’s Song, released March 11, 2014 by Howard Books. They live in Georgia. You can connect with Betsy and Laurie on their website   www.WritingSisters.com