Featured Writer on Wellness: Natalie Johanson

The biggest emotional challenge I struggle with would probably be self-doubt.

It’s very intimidating to send off your writing for others to read and judge, and sometimes hate.

I put a lot of myself into my writing and my characters and I hold them very dear. Having someone read it, and potentially hate it, can be really discouraging.

There was a long time where I didn’t write and didn’t try to send it to publishers for the fear of the rejection because I was worried it wasn’t good enough.

Pride Helped Me Get Over Self-Doubt

I think I got over the self-doubt because of pride. Which isn’t the answer most people expect to hear, I think. But I wanted to finished this book for me. I wanted to see it finished so I could put it on my shelf.

It reminds me of that great quote from a great woman: no one can make you feel inferior without your consent (attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt).

So dammit, I was going to finish it and send it out for me. I reminded myself of why I write. I write because I love to make my own stories. My own worlds. I want to put my day dreams down on paper. That brought my confidence back.

How Reading Other Books Helps Me Cope with Self-Doubt

Reading other books also helps me gain confidence. Seeing other people’s style can help you define your own.

And when that fails I go to the gym. I absolutely hate running but its a good way to blow off tension. I’ll go to the gym and do some cardio, listen to loud mean music (Shinedown, Disturbed, Five Finger Deathpunch) and then I lift weights.

I enjoy the feeling of strengthening my body knowing I’m not as weak as I was before. It helps clear my mind and work out tension.

Why Writers Must Experience as Well as Create Art

My biggest physical challenge would be exhaustion.

My day job is very physically challenging and mentally exhausting. When I’m home I have to fight the urge to turn into a couch potato. (I’m not always successful…)

My biggest key to my creativity is other people’s work! Read. Read everything you can find. Read fanfic if that’s what it takes.

I find my muse is talking the most when I’ve read and experienced other people’s worlds. Art cannot exist in a vacuum. You must experience it as well.

Writers Must Not Become Fixated on Bad Things

I don’t know if I’ve had a really dark moment. I’ve been relatively lucky so far in my writing career.

I’ve had setbacks… choosing a poor first publisher, for example. But you learn from those and move on.

You can’t let yourself become fixated on the bad things. That’s where the doom and gloom feelings start.

Why I Wanted to Finish My Book

My greatest triumph thus far would be finishing the book! And finishing it well. I cannot express how thankful I am to my editor and all her hard work helping me polish my book.

I kept working at this, for years and years, because I wanted to have it sit on my shelf.

I wanted to write something I could be proud of, that had my own world and my own characters, sitting on my shelf.

Advice for a Young Writer: Write, Then Read

If someone told me they wanted to be a writer, and wanted my nugget of advice, I would say write until you can’t and then read.

After that write and read some more.

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Natalie Johanson was born and raised in Salt Lake. In high school she was on the editorial staff of the literary magazine “Euphony,” and had several pieces published in it. After high school, she attended Westminster College for a brief time before leaving to pursue other careers.

Natalie enlisted in the U.S. Army reserves but broke several bones in training and was sent home. She gained an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice from Salt Lake Community College and eventually achieved her dream and was hired by a local agency as a law enforcement officer.

Her free time is a rare commodity but when she has it, she’s camping in the Rocky Mountains, running in the Dirty Dash, napping with her cats or working on her next book (mostly napping).

For more information on Natalie and her work, please see her website, or connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.

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Shadow’s Voice: Rose Trewin is on the run. Pursued by memories of her father, she runs from city to city, seeking normalcy. But Rose can’t escape her past, or the magic running through her veins, the magic that allows her to slip through the shadows unnoticed. The magic her father once used to mold her into a mercenary sent to destroy his enemies.

Now her magic is growing and changing, becoming something new and untamable. Rose is unable to rest. Wolves wrapped in fog follow her relentlessly along the countryside. Desperate, she uses her magic to escape, but the shadows are pushing her towards the center of a conspiracy.

Now, her country teeters on the brink of a civil war as a Lord Governor gathers power against the king. An enemy, with magic similar to her own, emerges in the chaos of political intrigue.
Faced with a country at war and a king brought to his knees, Rose must accept who she is and harness her powers in order to save her country and herself.

Available at Amazon.