I’ve been following dark fantasy author Natalie Johanson for a little while now and am impressed by how active she has been in promoting her debut novel, Shadow’s Voice. Like many of you she works full time in a demanding job and must fit her writing life around that.

If you’re a beginner or debut novelist, you know how hard it is to get to the finish line.

The biggest challenge is getting that first draft down. After that there are the rewrites and the edits. If you opt to go the self-publishing route, you also need to give thought to the book cover and then learn about marketing!

Natalie kindly agreed to be interviewed, and I hope you will find what she has to say helpful and inspiring. Not only does she share how she manages her time but is honest about how difficult it can be to stick to a writing routine. Life has a habit of getting in the way!

Here’s the interview:

You work full time. How do you fit your writing in around your schedule? Do you write every day/week or when you can?

I work full time. Sometimes I work upwards of 50 [hours] or more depending on what’s happening. I wish I could write every day. Or even every week. Wouldn’t that be nice? No… that hardly happens.

I have Fridays off (I work four tens… four ten hour days) so I try my damndest to write on Fridays. I usually spend most of the weekend with my wife and doing household stuff, but I try to sneak away and write if nothing’s happening. But you know how life works, right? Things never go according to plan. I have a journal I’ve started keeping with me to write down notes and little spurts of writing when I have breaks.

Most of the time, Friday’s are my writing day. Which isn’t nearly enough, but it’s what I’ve got to work with.

What are your objectives for each writing session – to write a set number of words, write for a set period of time, as the muse takes you?

I don’t really have writing objectives like that. *Gasp* I know a lot of authors, at least on Instagram, do. They’re always posting about daily word counts and page goals and… ya. I don’t do that. Writing something other people are going to read is already enough pressure. Why in God’s name would I add my own pressure to this mix?

Honestly though, I write what my muse lets me write. I try to sit down at my typewriter every Friday and write. Sometimes I end up re reading pages for continuity, for my own fun. Sometimes I end up on Facebook (I’m so bad at this…) sometimes I write only a page. Other days I’m whipping through pages and before I know it I’ve written a whole chapter. I write what I can write. I don’t try to force it if I can’t. I usually end up writing shit when that happens. I know there’s an adage that writing shit is better than not writing at all… I disagree. I’d rather work on something else and write when the muse is talking.

Do you plot or pant your stories?

Sort of? I have a general idea of where I want the story to go. I know the main conversations that need to happen and the important scenes I need to write. The rest of it I just write as I go. Most of the time that works. Sometimes I end up writing whole sections of book that is later removed but eh…that’s what editing is for.

You’ve taken part in NaNoWriMo. Was it helpful?

It might’ve been…if I had any time to write. LOL. I tried to do it this year and was all excited. “Yeah! I’m gonna be a NaNoWriMo writer this year!” and then promptly forgot I was doing that a week later. So…yeah. But then again I really struggle with self-imposed deadlines and goals so I’m not sure I would’ve stuck with it even if I had remembered.

Which writers inspire you?

My favorite author of all time is Kristen Britain. She writes the Green Rider books. Her books were the first I picked up and read that I just absolutely fell in love with the characters. I connected with them. I truly felt what it meant to be connected to a book. I still read these books and follow her social media stuff religiously waiting for the next in the series.

I realized reading Green Rider that what makes a book amazing, what makes it last in your memory, isn’t necessarily the plot but the characters. I am more invested in the growth of the characters and their journey than I am the overall plot.

Harry Potter did the same thing. Sure, you really want to know what’s going to happen to them all and how they’re going to get rid of Voldemort. But you REALLY want to know how Harry, Ron and Hermione are going to kill Voldemort. You connect with the characters’ journey.

Are there any craft books you’d recommend to beginner writers?

I would recommend books about world building, character growth, and dialogue. What I’ve noticed with new writers is there is always an “information dumb” at some point. It’s really hard to avoid doing that. You have this whole world you need to explain to them. But learning to build your world and explain it to your reader without it turning into a history lesson is vital. Same with dialogue. Knowing how to write realistic and easy flowing dialogue will save you.

Apart from your beautiful typewriter, what technology do you use to write your manuscripts?

OMG I love my typewriter! She’s my pride. (check out Charlie Foxtrot Vintage if you’re a typewriter person. I’m not a spokesperson. I just love them). My writing process has evolved a lot between book 1 and book 2.

Now, I type out everything. This (mostly) prevents me from going back and editing the old pages to death and I can just focus on writing. Once it’s finished I’ll go through and edit the story. Mark the shit out of the paper with my red pen. Then I type all that into my computer where it’ll be easier to do the grammar, context and so on editing. I have a little journal and fountain pen for my notes and writing when I’m at work or away from my desk, but that’s it.

Oh, sticky notes. Many, many sticky notes.

A lot of beginner writers are scared of not good enough. Did you ever worry about this? If you did, and how did you overcome it?

Oh hell. I am always worried I’m not good enough; that my writing is bad. I have to remind myself that at the end of the day, I’m writing this story for me. Because I want to tell it. When I find a place I can improve, I work on it and I remind myself that writing is a very fluid and living thing. It changes. It gets better with age. You learn as you go and are always improving. I also remember that as artists we are always going to think there’s room for improvement. We are our own worst critics, after all.

Beginner writers often feel the need for validation, either by an editor or a trusted mentor. Is that something you feel/have felt? If you’ve moved past that, how did you move past it?

I like to tell myself I don’t need validation, but that’s a lie. Everyone wants to know what they worked on for months, years is good. I found validation when my manuscript was selected for publication. Even though there was improvement to have…it was good enough at least for that to start.

My other place I find validation is in reviews. Those are the life blood of an author. Every time I see a review where my characters connected with the reader or even a simple “I liked the story” is validation for me. I don’t think I’ll ever move past needing validation. If we didn’t want our work to be taken seriously by someone, I’m not sure we would put ourselves through the pain of publishing it.

I’m a strong believer that there’s an audience for every writer. Would you agree with that?

To a point, yes. There is always going to be someone who will read what you’re writing, but you need to find a reason for them to. The market is flooded with SO MUCH and that’s a great thing. But it’s hard for us to stand apart. Make sure you have a reason why readers should read your work.

What inspired Shadow’s Voice?

This is the most cliché answer out there but it is what it is. LOL. I was reading a book series…and man was I pissed with how it ended. So (keep in mind this is before fanfic.net and all those sites were a thing) I started writing my own ending to the book. Then I realized that was a little silly because who’s going to read it? So I started writing my own story with my ending.

What are you working on now?

Right now I am desperately trying to finish up Shadow’s Voice book 2. I am SO FREAKING CLOSE. I really hope to have something ready to send to my publisher come spring time. Cross your fingers. Pray for me. Send me your good juju. Anything.

Go grab your copy of Shadow’s Voice here, and if you’re interested in learning more about Natalie you can follow her here.