You never really know something until you teach it to someone else.
I always thought this adage meant that you prove your mastery by teaching.
Now I know that you groove your mastery by teaching – learning in real time, as you go.
I owe the discovery to Nicki Fisher, a local alpaca farmer with a heartfelt story to tell.
For years, Nicki had planned to write a picture book to help children visiting her farm appreciate the uniqueness of alpacas, and to memorialize their visit. She had plenty of ideas and had even recruited an illustrator, Bojan Spasic, to collaborate.
But she was struggling to get started.
I offered to meet for an exploratory chat. We hit it off, and went on to meet regularly for about six months, as she developed Take a Look in the Nook! – now on sale at Fisherwood Farm.
To coach Nicki, I had to break the writing process into accessible, repeatable steps – to transmute the dark art of story-potion brewing into a reliable recipe. What I learned along the way allows me to approach my own writing with greater clarity, confidence and purpose.
For example . . .
Your areas of passion and knowledge are the hunting ground for the stories that only you can tell.
At the start of every session, we reminded one another that Nicki was writing a story about alpacas — not humans in alpaca costumes. Having spent years raising alpacas, Nicki’s knowledge of their psychology and behavior enriched her characterisations and descriptions, and also drove the plot. Ollie Alpaca needs to find his place in the pack because alpacas are herd animals who die of loneliness on their own.
Hmmm . . . what reservoirs of knowledge and experience I can draw upon in my own writing?
Stories about alpacas are all the more convincing if they are also about . . .
“Me!!!” Nicki exclaimed, midway through a draft. “This story is about me!”
To become a valued member of the pack, Ollie Alpaca must venture off alone to tackle challenges that initially feel beyond reach, and gain confidence in his own strengths. As an awkward middle-schooler-turned-social-entrepreneur, Nicki compressed decades of her own life experience into Ollie’s 800-word adventure – which is why it felt authentic and important.
I now try to think more deeply about how I relate to my characters, and why it matters to me so much that they prevail.
Stories need to simmer . . .
Nicki and I met every week or two. In the gaps between drafts, ideas and insights bubbled up spontaneously for us both.
This gentle process contrasts starkly with my approach to my own stories — wrestling with them, day after day, as if I’m trying to subdue rather than nurture them.
I now arrange weekly dates of an hour or so with some of my stories in progress, and set them aside in between, just to see what happens.
. . . but not forever!
Though Nicki’s writing pace was measured, she decreed that the book would be illustrated and printed for the summer tourist season. We set up a calendar with milestones – and had to be nimble enough to address obstacles along the way while remaining on track.
I have resolved to stop giving myself open license to revisit and revise until everyone in my critique group agrees that my story is perfect. I am committing to more writing competitions, setting submission deadlines, and enlisting my kids to keep me accountable.
Writers need to hear their words read out loud . . .
We kicked off each session with me reading Nicki’s work in progress out loud.
When I have read my own work out loud, it was primarily to expose the gaps and stumbles. With Nicki, the intent was kinder, yet more effective. We listened primarily for the possibilities to retain and expand. Every reading yielded new treasures. For example, the phrase, “Look in the Nook” — initially used once — was such fun to say that Nicki adopted it as a recurring refrain and ultimately, the title.
I now arrange “storytime swaps” by Zoom with my critique partners, so that we can offer one another a fresh reading of our much belaboured drafts.
. . . see them on the page . . .
To approximate the experience of reading an actual book, writers make “dummies”– simple mock-ups, consisting of eight sheets of folded paper — then cut up their text and glue it to the pages.
That is, we are supposed to make dummies! It’s a fiddly process, so over the years, I’ve convinced myself that I no longer needed them, though I advised Nicki to give it a go.
Her dummies enabled us to see whether each spread offered readers a fresh experience and beckoned them to turn the page. With small blocks of text arranged on separate pages, it became easier to spot inadvertent repetition, inconsistencies, or imbalances in pacing.
In Nicki’s words, “It helped massively because I could then see the shape of the story. It became tangible and real, once I had something physical.”
Following her example, I now have a growing pile of dummies of my own.
. . . share them early and often . . .
Nicki bravely test drove her story with Fisherwood Farm guests before the final print run, inviting them to comment.
Their warm encouragement was rocket fuel for a new author. Further, readers who were unfamiliar with the world of Fisherwood Farm pointed out that they needed more context to appreciate the story. A cheeky cover sticker was added to sign post that Nook is based on actual events, and Nicki incorporated information about alpacas’ herd identity into the introductory dialogue.
Like many writers, I benefit from a critique group of fellow wordsmiths. But from now on, I will also make sure to seek feedback from some of my target readership.
. . . and finally crack the cover of the illustrated, bound final copy!!!
Proofreading pdfs of the galley proofs on a computer screen did not prepare us for the impact of the genuine article. The full sized pages give the story breathing room, and the vibrant colours, and visual jokes give it life. Children comb through it, then wander around the farm in search of their real-life counterparts.
Which is why these days, if you take a look in the Nook, you are likely to find Nicki, scribbling away at a sequel — leaving me with no excuse to procrastinate any further on stories of my own!
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Do you have a story you are burning to write? I can help! Get in touch with me at joanna.norland@gmail.com, or message me on Facebook.
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Take a Look in the Nook! by Nicky Fisher is available for sale at Fisherwood Farm in East Sussex.
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