Local author to talk about the book writing process at The Bookworm of Edwards

Local author Jenny Dandy will visit The Bookworm of Edwards Tuesday to share her experiences publishing her debut novel from start to finish and illustrate that there’s never a “right time” to follow your dreams. There will be a Q&A session and a book signing following the presentation.

Although Dandy just released her first book, she’s been a writer her whole life. “My mother says I’ve been writing stories since I could hold a pencil,” Dandy said. “Many years ago I asked someone to read a short story I’d written, and he had so many questions for me to explore, that I realized I could expand it into a novel. And that broke the barrier of the scariness of a longer piece of work. Doing that showed me I could complete a book-length project.”

Dandy said writing a book requires internal and external motivations and grace toward oneself. “I gave myself a daily word count and a time — mornings — to do it in,” Dandy said. “But I also made sure I didn’t beat myself up if it didn’t happen. If something (like life) got in the way of writing in the morning, I just told myself I had another morning the next day. My overall motivation was that I wanted to make it the best I could possibly make it. That meant taking classes and learning from everyone I could. Once I got into the The Lighthouse Writers Book Project, the motivation was external as well.”

Not every writer needs an MFA or a Book Project to be successful, but Dandy said she did. “I had an unwieldy mess that I thought was ready to publish when I started,” Dandy said. “How wrong I was! I’m sure I’ve thrown out two or three books worth of words, trying to get this first book right. The Book Project was unbelievably helpful. I would not have a book if it weren’t for that two-year program. Places like Lighthouse can also give a writer community. Writing can be such a lonely business and being able to talk to other people who are going through what you’re going through is vital.”

Outside of building community, Dandy advises budding writers to read and investigate their own internal motivations for writing the book. “Read in your genre, outside your genre, and do it critically,” Dandy suggested. “Why does this appeal to you (or not)? What worked, what didn’t? Read craft books, as many as you can find. Use them for inspiration but not as a prescription. Find out what works for you and do it that way. Also, and this was crucial for me, understand why you’re doing this. I had to free-write my way to the answer. I wrote without stopping until I really understood why. Once you have that answer, write it down and pin it up where you work to remind yourself during the low times why you’re doing this.”