Writing a novel

Writing a novel can be one of the most rewarding experiences you can have. Many people want to write a novel. They sit down with great intentions of writing the work to finish it, hoping to get it published. What beginning writers don’t know is that writing a novel is a time consuming task. It is not something they are going to finish in a week or two. It takes, time, dedication and determination to write 50,000 plus words. The writing can take an unexpected turn because the characters have a mind of their own and want to take charge of the story.

It is at this point that you can become discouraged and throw the project in. Usually, the discouragement for me comes from not understanding my characters and their motives, or I can get lost in where the story is taking me. Here are four steps I follow to resolve this issue:

1. I stop writing and take a long hard look at what I’ve already written. Sometimes I’ll find a scene hasn’t quite done its job to hold up the plot to keep the story moving forward. I review the scene to see why it’s not doing the job I wanted it to do. I check the structure of the scene and ask what is the purpose of this scene? I re-write until I get it just the way I want it. Sometimes this process can take many drafts, so I keep calm by taking a few deep breaths, I go for a walk to clear my head, and most of all I’ve learnt to be patient. All that re-writing is worth it.

2. I don’t know my characters as real people. Sometimes I haven’t gone into my character’s personality to understand them at a deep level. This means knowing how they will react with various situations. Do I know how they are going to react when they meet a homeless person in the street? Is my character going to be repulsed because the homeless person is looking unkempt? Will my character be open and friendly? Or will my character ignore that person and walk right past because of private prejudices? It’s important to know how your character will react in this situation. Your character’s reaction will determine where the story goes. When you let your character take charge of the story, i.e. character driven story, you will find the story will write itself. When the writing flows and you are racing behind them writing as fast as you can to keep up, is knowing your character at a very deep level.

3. Are you being congruent with the theme of the story? Perhaps your character has shown themselves as wanting something that is outside the theme of your story. You may need to ‘interview’ your character to find out why they are acting in that way. Sometimes, especially if the motivation is well outside your original theme, you may need to rewrite a lot of your work to be consistent with the theme of your book, or worse, change the theme. This may require many, many hours of extra work, but trust your instinct and do the work.

4. Sometimes I can be impatient, wanting to get the words done quickly. While I’m writing I have a niggly feeling I’m putting words down for the sake of getting my daily word quota done. This is where I push my keyboard away, take up a pen and paper and write by hand. The physical writing by pen and paper slows me down physically and mentally; slowing my breathing slows my mind. This process helps me to re-align with my heart and the love for my characters. It’s amazing how this slowing down creates more space for my thoughts as my heart and mind begin to listen to, and hear each other.

A gentle reminder: writing a novel is not easy, there will be starts and stops and starts, as you get to know your characters and the interactions they have with each other. This is the fun part of writing a novel. Enjoy the process and reward yourself when the work is done.

Authentic living

Live authentically and feel the difference.

Will the real you, please stand up.

I woke up this morning thinking about being authentic. For me, being authentic means trusting the voice inside of me and being confident to follow the guidance I receive. As a fiction writer, I have voices going around in my head all the time, and sometimes it is difficult to discern the voice of authority that I should follow. I'm sure you have these voices inside you, too.

I admire young people who listen to their own voice. Some have taken up the call to travel overseas living a nomadic lifestyle so that they can learn about the world and themselves. This is authenticity. They are willing to take a risk following their desires and dreams to see where it will lead them.

Are you trying to be someone you aren't? Not everyone is meant to be a doctor, a plant operator, an accountant, digital nomad, a research scientist, or doing one of a thousand other jobs available in the world. Basically, our profession is dependent on our personality style, our dreams, our natural abilities, and skills that we have learned in life so far.

I used to be an accountant, but working with numbers never quite resonated with me. However, it served me well until a rumbling started inside of me and it grew until it affected every part of my life, including my personal and work relationships. Eventually, unable to stand the discontent any more, I got the courage to really listen to the voice inside of me.

The thing that was holding me back was me! I was insecure about my abilities. After much discussion with my authentic voice, I found my passion is to write and to encourage others on their life's journey. Making the change wasn't easy. That's the subject of another post. I am now living in my authentic self, and every day, my writer's shirt is getting to be a better fit. A force much bigger than I will ever be is at work in me helping me understand who I am and how to wear that writer's shirt.

Your rumbling could also take the form of a romantic relationship that isn't working; a work colleague and you having differences; or the production line you go to every day is driving you crazy with its same old, same old and you can't see anything different in the foreseeable future if you stay there.

Listen to the disquiet inside of you. Your higher source is telling you to move on, to be truthful to yourself and your life's calling. Don't be afraid of change. Do something to make the change you crave so that you can be yourself and not live that lie any longer.

In my latest novel due for release on 3 April 2016, Kate's Choice, Kate is unsettled in her life with Dusty. When she was nineteen she made a choice from her ego, not her authentic self. Eleven years later, she is paying the price for not being true to herself. She's unhappy and wants her life to change. For Kate, fate steps in and her life takes a major turn. 

Unfortunately, in real life, we sometimes have to take fate into our own hands to change our lives. Are you courageous enough to take charge of your life to be your authentic and creative self, so that you can get the contentment and happiness you crave?

Make a conscious effort to work toward your authentic self today and point yourself to a life that is true for you. You may not want to be a writer, but there is an idea smoldering in you that needs to be set on fire. Identify your calling, be brave and go for it with all that you are. Let me know in the comments below what your passion is. I love to hear from you and help you take hold of that authentic dream.

Migraine buster for 1 billion people

Debilitating migraine.

Along with 1 billion other people on this planet, I have suffered with migraine. This debilitating condition started when I was fourteen years old. One morning I walked to school as usual. A couple of seconds after I had placed my school bag in the port racks I started losing my peripheral vision. At first, I chose to ignore it thinking it would go away, but the brown squiggly shapes began to grow and they started to block out more and more of my vision until I could hardly see. At the same time the right side of my forehead started tensing, I felt nauseous and a tingling sensation was forming in my mouth. Within twenty minutes I had excruciating pain in my head, my tongue and the left hand side of my body were numb and the brown squiggles had turned to jagged shapes of black, red, blue and grey. What was happening to me?

The pain was so bad I couldn't stand up. My friends took me to the school sick bay and I stayed there all day with my head feeling as though it was going to explode. There was no way I wanted to live that day. I thought I was going to die. That night a doctor's visit confirmed I had migraine. He gave me an injection and I went home and slept for the next twelve hours. I awoke feeling washed out. It was as if someone or something had stolen my vitality. With another twenty-four hours of disturbed sleep, I woke feeling more like me.

This pattern of migraine occurred at erratic times and I was unable to isolate a trigger for them. When I was pregnant with my son, I had them every day from the fourteenth week of my pregnancy until he was born. That was definitely no fun. The gynecologist told me the migraine was triggered by hormones. If that was the case why didn't I get them the same time every month? Also, I could eat all the supposed foods that caused migraine and I didn't get one. There was no way I could find a reason for these debilitating headaches.

Last August, the migraines started coming every day, and some days I was having two a day. Writing just wasn't happening and I was ready to jump off the balcony of my fourth floor apartment. Life was no fun and if I was to continue living, something had to be done about these wretched headaches. I googled "Migraine Headaches". There were heaps of links to help in the USA. I wanted help on the Gold Coast. I persevered and finally found The Brisbane Migraine Clinic. I was elated and was ready to travel Brisbane.

It is now 21 October and I haven't had a migraine since 29 August. How incredibly amazing is that! I have my life back. My treatment started with lots of questions about my migraine history. Bertrand was thorough in his questioning and I felt confident he covered every aspect of my migraine before he started my treatment. He asked me to lie down and the first thing he did was bring on a migraine. Ouch!! But within minutes he also was, to my relief, able to turn it off. Bertrand was de-sensitizing my brain stem. There was no manipulation only pressure that created a migraine which he held for several seconds until the pain gradually disappeared. This treatment continued for about twenty minutes. It was painful, but manageable. Bertrand gave me homework. I had exercises to do four times a day. It took a while for me to get into the rhythm of doing them but a reminder on my iphone helped me remember. Thankfully, I travelled by train to Brisbane for my appointment. On the way home I got another migraine and continued to have them for the next few days until my next appointment.

Was this treatment working? Was I wasting my money? The guiding voice inside of me said keep going. I continued my exercises and my appointments twice a week for several weeks and as the migraines became less frequent so did my appointments. I am now attending Bertrand's clinic once every three weeks and I have been migraine free since 29 August.

What a life changer!

I am continuing with my exercises. I believe they are working. Even my tension headaches have disappeared. So now I can say I am no longer one of the 1 billion people who suffer with migraine.

How about you? Have you lost productive hours because of migraine? Have you lost leisure hours because of migraine? Have you suffered with migraine for too long?

Loneliness - a positive or a negative

Just because you are on the path alone, it doesn't mean you are lonely.

Today's life is busy. There's no denying that. There is hustle and bustle in every part of our lives as we strive to earn a living and keep up with family and friends. Lately, I've been wondering about the quality of the connection with family and friends during the busy times of our lives. When we are connected we feel some part of us deep inside is receiving some quality attention and this enhances our wellbeing. If we aren't receiving that deep connection we can feel cut off and lonely.

I've spoken to a lot of people recently who say they are lonely for all kinds of reasons. Loneliness is a common thread weaving through our society. It's okay to feel lonely. It's a human emotion. It means we need companionship and connection with others in a meaningful way. Where the problem occurs is when we don't acknowledge we are lonely and don't do anything about it to connect with others. Sometimes the time isn't right to connect with others I hear you say. That's a fair comment, but are you going to wallow in your self pity or can you turn your lonely energy to doing something productive?

Perhaps you need the time to be alone to rest, to think and to hear the guiding voice inside of you. Be kind to yourself and take time out and just be for a while, and listen to the world around you instead of being in a state of activity. Sometimes this is all we need.

It's how we deal with loneliness that makes the difference at the end of the day. When I feel lonely, and I have many times throughout my life, I choose to acknowledge I am lonely. When I accept my loneliness, my mind begins to work toward changing my thoughts. I ask myself what is the best way I can spend my time at this moment. This question changes my thoughts to a positive outlook to the future. Before long I am engaged in a project that piques my interest and my loneliness disappears. The more I practise this change in mindset, the easier it is for me to move from my lonely state to productive activity.

So next time you are feeling lonely, first seek someone to connect with. If you can't find someone to connect with, accept your loneliness and look for a positive way to fill your time. Remember that hobby you never can find time to work on? How about taking time out now to work on it.

Let me know in the comments section below what activities you participate in to overcome your loneliness. I enjoy writing, coloring in, jigsaw puzzles, sewing, reading and walking and basking in the wonder of nature.

Welcome to the new Laura O'Connell website

Laura O'Connell

A lot has been happening in my life during the past three years. I have neglected my writing as I've dealt with life. As the saying goes, 'life gets in the way'. I have been on a journey of self-discovery, however I have survived and I hope I can serve you in a new and exciting way. I intend to share some of this journey with you during my blog posts, both on a professional and a personal level.

My neighbour, Kim, is an incredible lady who has impacted me and challenged to me think about where I fit in the world. She has given me unconditional love and encouraged me to be all that I am. I went through a stage where I was blocked creatively. No matter which way I turned I couldn't see the next path. I returned to accounting to see if I was meant to go back there but the door closed tightly after sixteen months. I needed to return to the tax world to allow the healing to begin.

The past few months I have been writing, writing and writing some more at a deep and intense level. I learned a lot about myself during this process. I will share about this experience in subsequent posts.

The good news is that I am still writing and I have taken it in a new direction.

African hearts is going to become a series. A new edition has just been released and is available in all good book stores. If you can't find it in a book store it is available on this website or in ebook format.  I am writing the second book in the series at the moment and it is wonderful to have Justin and Kizza back with me as they face the many challenges that university brings. There are a few surprises in this novel as Justin and Kizza interact with their new friends and a special person who impacts their life challenging them to think about their futures.

You may not know Laura O'Connell is my pen name. I've written a  nonfiction book and published articles under my real name, but the time has come for me to also share that part of me with you. During the coming months I will be launching that new, exciting project. Watch this space for more information.

Meanwhile, I will continue the African hearts series. Thank you for being part of my creative journey.

I'd love to hear from you, so please leave a comment below.