First Cup of Coffee – March 2, 2021

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - March 2, 2021

March 02, 2021

Jeffe Kennedy

About pantsing for plotters, AKA, trusting your inner storyteller, finding more efficient ways to write, and my Loki debacle.

You can still register for my online class! Sex as a Tool for Character Transformation here (https://marylandromancewriters.com/event/sex-as-a-tool-for-character-transformation/).

Information on my Author Coaching services is here (https://jeffekennedy.com/mastermind01).

You can check out DARK WIZARD here (https://jeffekennedy.com/dark-wizard). ​

Watch the YouTube video of the podcast here (https://youtu.be/fdQs6RTZE2o)

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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First Cup of Coffee – November 13, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - November 13, 2020

November 13, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy

A lot more today on fast drafting and the pros and cons of writing so fast that it requires huge amounts of revising time vs. taking more time while drafting so there's less revising time. As always, it depends on what you're trying to do!

The snippet I posted to Facebook is this:

“Will you be needing a lady’s maid, Lady Zephyr,” the page inquired.

“Moranu, no!” Zeph replied, a bit too forcefully—partly because she’d just registered that she and Astar would apparently be sharing a room. And the one bed. Praise the goddess. She hoped, anyway, as she and Astar hadn’t quite finished that conversation. A sneaky and most unfamiliar feeling kept prodding at her that she should release Astar from that vow. While another and far more familiar voice tried to shout it down. Why shouldn’t they enjoy they enjoy each other? 

Because it will tear him apart and you know it, the annoying voice replied.

Shush, she told it. He’ll enjoy it and I know that. He’ll be better for sowing some oats before they lock him up to play stud for the High Throne.

Astar isn’t the kind to bed a woman lightly. If you do this, it will change everything for him. Are you willing to take responsibility for that?

 Look, voice, she replied. I don’t know where you came from, but you are not welcome in my head.

I’ve always been here. You just don’t ever listen.

“Zephyr?” Astar said her name in a tone that indicated it wasn’t the first time.

She realized she’d been staring at the one—albeit quite large—and enticing bed while she wrestled with the annoying voice in her head. Wonderful. Now she was losing her mind. 



First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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First Cup of Coffee – June 30, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - June 30, 2020

June 30, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy, Erin McLellan

I'm welcoming guest Erin McLellan today for a Pride Month spotlight! Erin writes queer, quirky and erotic contemporary romance. We talk about self-publishing, living in Alaska, and being a pantser.

You can find out more about Erin at these places:
Facebook Group: https://smarturl.it/ErinMcLellansFBGroup
Newsletter: https://smarturl.it/mclellannewsletter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinmclellanwrites/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/emclellanwrites
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorerinmclellan/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/erin-mclellan
Website: https://smarturl.it/erinmclellan

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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Contact Jeffe!

Find me on Threads
Visit my website https://jeffekennedy.com
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First Cup of Coffee – March 27, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - March 27, 2020

March 27, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy, Jennifer Estep

A great conversation today with author Jennifer Estep. We discuss the writing life, process, traditional vs. self-publishing, transitioning from journalism to writing fiction full time - and much more!

You can check out Jennifer's books here (https://www.jenniferestep.com/).

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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Contact Jeffe!

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Visit my website https://jeffekennedy.com
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First Cup of Coffee – December 10, 2019

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - December 10, 2019

December 10, 2019

Jeffe Kennedy

I got feedback from long-time crit partner Marcella Burnard on THE FATE OF THE TALA, and the verdict is not terrible! Talking about revising and how it fits in with being a pantser/gardener. 

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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First Cup of Coffee – October 31, 2019

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - October 31, 2019

October 31, 2019

Jeffe Kennedy

Announcing that I will be doing a daily podcast to #PantsNaNoWriMo, with an eye toward teaching embracing creative flow in the future. Also an indignant rant on "ideal" Fantasy heroes and the absurd assertion that Fantasy is inherently conservative as a genre.

L. Penelope's podcast, Making an Impact, is here.

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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Magical Pantsing and Finding Your Creative Flow

I put up my Halloween decorations yesterday – and brought in the hummingbird feeders at the same time. That felt like a symmetrical seasonal changeover, all happening in the due course of the seasons.

So, on Monday, in a fit of frustrated eye-rolling, I fired off this tweet:

To my vast surprise, this tweet has received SO MANY likes and responses. Clearly I wasn’t the only one feeling this frustration. Quite a few people wrote back about feeling the pressure to learn to pre-plot. I’ve felt it, too. There’s a strong opinion in the writing community – and maybe in the world at large – that outlining and pre-plotting is the best way to write. That it’s faster, more organized, requires less revision later.

The thing is: it’s just not true.

I mean, sure for some people, that process works. It’s certainly the one we’re taught in school (for the most part). But I was the student who hated trying to write an outline before I wrote the paper. I tried, but it was agonizing. Finally I figured out to just write the paper, then make an outline from it, and turn that in. If the teacher or professor had comments or tweaks (which almost never happened), I could add them in. Though those were the days before word processing, so I’d have to retype the paper. STILL, doing it that way was faster for me, and produced better work.

This is key: we must find what works for each of us individually and honor that process. Those people who insist that we not only CAN learn a “better” way, but *should* – and I can vouch that a few people popped into my timeline to say things like “No offense, but you have to learn this if you want to sell books” – are not being helpful. (Also, I really think that if you feel compelled to start a reply with “No offense, but…” or “Honestly…” then maybe you’re not engaging in a  positive way.)

But “Pantsing” – derived from the phrase “fly by the seat of your pants,” and not my favorite descriptor by a long shot – is a way to access creative flow. I prefer to call it Writing for Discovery or Gardening. (I talked about this more on yesterday’s podcast, but for those who don’t listen, I’m reiterating a bit here.) For me, getting into the trance of writing opens up portals to other places, and the story flows in from there. “Gardening” is an analogy with a similar feel, where the beginning of the story is all planting seeds, the middle is nourishing the garden, and the ending is when it blossoms – and you discover what you’ve got.

Writing this way is absolutely an act of faith. It requires giving up conscious control of the story, which feels most uncomfortable to many people. It’s really the opposite of the academically taught methods, which focus on a cerebral approach. Sure, I get that many of my author friends access creative and subconscious flow in pre-plotting a story and writing the outline. Sadly, those conscious brain activities open no portals for me.

Several responders made the point that perhaps more pre-plotting and story-planning classes are taught because those methods *are* eminently more teachable. Which is a super valid point. In some ways, teaching someone to give up control and leap into the creative flow is nearly impossible. It’s so individual.

BUT, I think we can teach that this is an absolutely viable – and magical – way to access stories. We can make it clear that many, many authors who sell books (myself included) write this way. And we can talk about ways to open those portals, and how to keep them open. Also: not to panic.

So, I think I’m going to try this. I’m seeing about setting up a class. I’m also considering podcasting daily during NaNoWriMo with tips on pantsing your way through the month-long challenge. (There is, apparently, a podcast version called NaPodPoMo.) I’m also considering getting the author coaching set up and providing personalized support for writers during NaNoWriMo. If any of these ideas sound good to you, please let me know!

 

First Cup of Coffee – October 22, 2019

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - October 22, 2019

October 22, 2019

Jeffe Kennedy

About pantsing vs. plotting, and why I prefer "'gardening vs. pre-plotting" as a descriptor. Also protecting and nurturing creativity as a fragile thing, and more thoughts on success as a progressive realization of a worthy goal.

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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Contact Jeffe!

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First Cup of Coffee – February 15, 2019

 

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - February 15, 2019

February 15, 2019

Jeffe Kennedy

A report today on how I got mauled by a wild animal in the night, and also thoughts on pre-plotting vs. "pantsing," and why I prefer the metaphor of gardener vs. architect - springing from musings on George R.R. Martin's storytelling in A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones. Also how and why the show just isn't the book and it only hurts us in the end to try to make it be that. 

Support the show

Contact Jeffe!

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