Reading time: About 2 minutes
Lyndi Allison says many writers underestimate how much patience they’ll need to develop their craft, learn to edit their work and discover how to market it…
As a tween, Lyndi Allison would walk miles to borrow books from the bookmobile, then tuck herself into quiet corners to read them. Now, she writes stories for young readers and adults that confront hard truths and invite healing. Readers can find solace for grief through the interplanetary adventures in The Summer Triangle and The Winter Hexagon Trilogies, and dive into Panama’s dark underbelly in The Shadow Market Thriller Series. She is also the author of What Nature Says, a picture book and Ocean’s Embrace a book of guided meditations.
I was excited to talk to Lyndi about how she approaches writing.
Q. Roughly how much time do you spend writing every day?
I am all over the place with how much time I spend writing and when I do it. Some days I’ll write from two a.m. until six a.m. Other days from 6 a.m. straight through to 4 p.m. Other times I write 20 minutes by a waterfall, on a riverbank, or a mountaintop. And some days I don’t write at all.
Q. What’s a simple activity or habit that makes you a better writer?
My friends say I am disciplined. I think I have stick-to-itiveness. I get an idea that I feel compelled to write. It churns in my belly and won’t stop burning until I write it out freely on the page. Then the real work sets in as the crafting and editing begins.
Q. What interferes with your writing?
Me. I offer writing workshops and retreats, critiquing groups and “let’s chat” writing sessions. I take on too much because I am much better at adding than subtracting. I need to create space to allow my story to reveal itself.
Q. How do you persuade yourself to sit down to write on days when you really, really DON’T feel like doing it?
Unless I have a deadline, if I don’t feel like writing, I don’t write. Mostly, my stories arrive when they are ready to. I might go explore one of Panama’s beautiful natural spaces or I might paint to allow my ideas to come to the surface.
Q. Is there a particular motto or saying that you’ve found helpful for writing?
Read lots and learn from others’ writing journeys. Walk your own writing journey and don’t worry if it meanders. No one can be you but you.
Q. Which stage of the writing process do you enjoy the most: researching, writing or editing/rewriting and why?
Ack, that is hard to answer. Am I too flaky if I say I enjoy each of these sometimes and not others? I love to learn, so researching is fun, and my stories emerge from this well-spent time. Drafting reveals characters and situations that seem to come out of nowhere. Editing and rewriting bring clarity and layers, and I love to see the story come along.
Q. What’s one of the best books you’ve read (either fiction or non) in the last five years?
As part of my research for a wellness center in my psychological thriller I read, Beyond Ayahuasca: Unlocking the Evolutionary Science of Indigenous Amazonian Wisdom to Access Your Highest Potential and as part of my personal research into my ancestors, I read Sacred Earth Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom for Reawakening to What our Souls Know and Healing the World. These were both informative and thought-provoking reads, causing me to question earlier held beliefs.
Q. What book are you reading right now?
On the daily, I’m dipping into Your Guide to Forest Bathing: Experience the Healing Power of Nature and Keeping a Nature Journal: Deepen Your Connection with the Natural World All Around You, both for personal enjoyment and to prepare for a nature write-and-create retreat. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me outdoors with a book in hand.
Q. What do you think is the biggest misperception that new writers have about the act of writing?
I can’t speak for all new writers, but I think many of them underestimate how much patience they’ll need to develop their craft and learn to edit their work. And then a second wave of patience is needed — for the process of creating awareness of their books so readers can find them. I underestimated both.
