Featured Writer on Wellness: Elaine Stock

Self-doubt is the biggest emotional challenge for me.

Writing is manageable to work through tough times and rejection, since it’s a way to escape the then-unpleasant world around me.

As for writer’s block, I’ve been fortunate to experience it on a limited basis. Although I was once blocked about 14 years ago when I changed day jobs and had to adjust to a whole new schedule and life change. I’ve also encountered writer’s block when a character’s point of view isn’t working or when the plot needs adjustment.

Self-Doubt Never Affects My Writing

Getting back to self-doubt: All my life I’ve battled with self-confidence and it easily carried into publishing my work.

I do want to make this distinction: self-doubt has never interfered with my writing. On the contrary, I’ve had to stop fan-girling my own work and realize/accept that there were skills I needed to learn (actually, learning skills is on a perpetual basis).

Where the self-doubt comes in and becomes my nemesis on a haunting basis is when the voices scream, “Who will want to read your novels?” or “Why would a publisher or agent want to bother with your novel over some other author’s?” or “You’ll always be a two-bit author with only a handful of readers.”

And I’m sharing this now while I’m re-inventing myself writing mainstream Women’s Fiction as Lanie Hudson.

My Faith Helps Get Me Through Periods of Self-Doubt

I seek to put concerns into perspective. It’s an ongoing effort for me.

Foremost for me is to remember my love for a God who loves me more than anyone can or wants to. My faith reassures me that He knows what is best for me, knows what I want, will sustain me during my lifetime and will not abandon me.

I also try to obtain the candid and objective viewpoints from other authors and publishing experts to see whether

1. I am the only one who feels this way,
2. I’m the only one who tries to achieve certain tasks in a particular way, and most importantly,
3. can I indeed learn and grow from changing a perspective and/or adapting a new method?

In other words, I try to keep an open mind to see if I can benefit from a change. It’s healthier to allow myself room to grow.

It’s been a challenge to learn how to be my own best friend in championing my writing, but I’ve given myself permission to do the best I can. Nothing more is necessary.

Working at the Computer Hurts My Neck!

Through years of occasional falls and assorted damages, I have three bad neck discs. They flare up on a weekly basis and at times can make falling asleep a challenge.

Although I’ve gone through physical therapy, I can usually take ibuprofen to bail me out. That said, it’s somewhat uncomfortable to sit at a desk and work at a computer.

Instead, I’ve found it best if I use a laptop and sit on my couch, leaning back against a pillow with my feet propped up on a hassock. Lucky me—because of this I get to look out the four large windows in my living room and luxuriate by the woodstove in the winter!

I also suffer from dry eyes, though the doctor who has prescribed eye drops doesn’t necessarily blame the computer. However, I do have to remind myself to look away from the screen and blink.

Classical and Folk Music Can Get Me Jazzed Up to Write

Each one of us has a gift, whether it’s the always-smile, singing, kindness, or chewing gum at the same time as break-dancing.

Ever since I can recall, I’ve enjoyed creating “stories”—fictional lives and how characters resolve personal and worldly problems. My passion might stem from having to overcome quite a few issues during my childhood, or being surrounded by a book-loving mother and an oral-storyteller aunt, or if I want to praise God while hoping I don’t sound egotistical. I can (and actually do) thank God for all of His nudges in my writing.

A by-the-way: Classical and folk music, as well as show tunes, can get me pretty jazzed up to write. Then again, so does seeing a child’s sparkling eyes when she’s lifted onto her dad’s shoulders or wondering how a person could possibly survive and then thrive a horrific incident.

I’m At My Crabbiest When Kept Away from Writing

This has become many of an author’s cliché, yet it’s so true: I need to write like I need air to breathe.

I’m at my happiest when a story flows from my mind to my fingertips and at my crabbiest when I’m kept away from writing.

Writing gives me a sense of peace. As I write, my novels and characters teach me valuable lessons and help to put life’s bumps into perspective. Writing, for me, is a catharsis of emotion.

Paid Advertising, as Opposed to Blurting on Social Media, Does Work!

As for marketing: Paid advertising, as opposed to blurting on social media, does work!

My biggest challenge is financing it. Yes, it’s true that you have to invest to make more profit, but to be candid, at times paying bills and putting food on the table is a bit more essential than soaking every penny into advertising.

As many steps forward that I can take, believe me I do. I also have learned how to do a few things myself, which helps.

I think my personal key-factor is that I am a goal-setter, that with each book I aim for something more, whether it’s the scope of the story or in promotion.

Advice for a Young Writer: Keep Your Mind Open to Learn About the Craft of Writing

Always keep your mind open to learning about yourself, the craft of writing and the world on a daily basis. Learn how to take objective criticism without allowing it to disable you. A tall but doable order!

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Elaine Stock is an Amazon bestseller and award-winning author dedicated to uplifting the reader with hope of better tomorrows. Her inspirational novel Her Good Girl was honored with the Outstanding Christian/Religious Fiction in the 2018 IAN Book of the Year Awards, 2018 Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal in Christian Fiction and the 2018 American Fiction Awards in the Christian Inspirational category. It will soon be released in Audio. She is now writing mainstream Women’s Fiction under the name Lanie Hudson.

Elaine is a member of Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Elaine has now been living in upstate, rural New York with her husband for more years than her stint as a NYC gal. She enjoys long walks down country roads, visiting New England towns, and of course, a good book.

For more information on Elaine and her work, please see her website and Amazon author page, or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Bookbub.

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Her Good Girl: What happens to a family when the hurt gets so bad that an outsider decides to take things into his own hands and it may not be for the better?

Sadie Tremont suffers through her mother’s home-remedies for her illnesses, hoping if she can make it to the fall when she will leave for college, then she’ll be fine. Sky, a classmate, who showers her with kindness and admiration, opens her eyes that she might not live that long if her mom has her way. His solution for a happily-ever-after is not pretty. Can she partner with Sky to hurt the mom who has hurt her for years, the one she still loves?

When tragedy strikes and threatens Sadie’s dad’s life and the shaky ground the Tremont family stands on, will they pull together or give in to the weakened earth beneath their feet?

Her Good Girl, a three-time award-winning novel will grip you emotionally from its beginning and won’t let go until it fills you with hope of a better tomorrow. Carrie Schmidt’s (Reading is My SuperPower) Bottom Line: Stock tackles an intensely emotional plot with compelling prose, layered characters, a gentle spirit and always HOPE. Such a great read – one that you will be pondering for a long time!

Available at Amazon.

Always With You: Can she move forward without knowing her past?  Will he enjoy his present if he can’t free himself from what he left behind?

In the heart of the Adirondacks, Isabelle lives in the shadow of a dark family secret whose silent burden strips her family of emotional warmth and faith in God. Tyler belongs to the religious sect called The Faithful, which Isabelle’s father dislikes immensely. Yet, because Tyler belongs to this group, Isabelle sees only a man devoted to his family and faith.

She wants it; she gets it; they marry. And when the truth comes out, Isabelle faces two choices: Staying could endanger her child. Leaving could cost her life.

Available at Amazon.