219. Read, Write, Restart: Writing Tips for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers

“Everybody's starting line is different. Everybody's starting ingredients are different. We can still do what we want to do.” - Beth Barany

In this inspirational How To Write the Future podcast episode, titled “Read, Write, Restart: Writing Tips for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers,” host Beth Barany shares why it’s never too late to pursue your writing dreams.

She shares a heartfelt message about how she often felt behind with her peers and shares what she says to herself to get motivated into action.

With advice on how to feed yourself creatively, there’s also an invitation to sign up to the newsletter and an invitation to Fellowship of the Pen, a Facebook group where you can share your writing wins or struggles in a safe and nurturing creative community.

ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST

How To Write The Future is a podcast for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to imagine better worlds—and write stories that bring those futures to life. Each episode offers practical craft guidance, creative prompts, and big-picture inspiration to help you draft, revise, and publish with purpose.

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Beth Barany is an award-winning fantasy and science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. She helps science fiction and fantasy novelists write, revise, and publish stories that matter by blending practical craft guidance with a commitment to imagination, possibility, and how stories shape our world.

RESOURCES

Support the podcast! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

Get the workbook: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/ and you’ll be invited to join Fellowship of the Pen FB group.

Join the Edit Lab! https://bethbarany.com/editlab

Transcript

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219. Read, Write, Restart: Writing Tips for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers

Feeling Behind

BETH BARANY: I've always been behind. I was a preemie, two and a half months early. I walked late. My mom didn't even know I could talk till I was, like, two and a half, although I was talking. And in my own career as a writer, I've often felt behind my peers. Or even before I decided to be my own boss, I was watching people go off and do things and make their careers.

So in my 20s, I wasn't making my career happen. I was meandering around, living in Europe, dabbling in journalism, getting started in being a professional writer. But it wasn't until I was 38 years old, when I started my own business, that I still felt behind. I'm like, "Oh, finally, I know what I'm doing." But you know what? Look what all I've done. 

Books written, published, classes made, presentations given, lots of students helped, lots of clients, lots of stories written. I'm on my 17th, 18th novel. I've lost track.

[00:58] Your Starting Line

All that to say, everybody's starting line is different. Everybody's starting ingredients are different. We can still do what we wanna do.

And if you wanna be a writer, if you wanna be a science fiction and fantasy writer, you totally can do it, even if today is day one, or day five, or day ten, or day thirty, or year one.

[01:18] Read and Write Daily

What do you need? All you need is a passion for it. You need to read, read, and read. And oh my God, read. Read, read, read, read, read.

If you're not reading, it's really hard to be a writer. And then you need to write. Play, doodle. Okay, doodling is drawing, but play with ideas. If all you can do is write down ideas, or world build, or have story seedlings, write it down. So reading and writing, key ingredients to being a writer. 

Start today. Maybe you started last week. Maybe you started last year. That's all good. 

Dive into it. Do it because you love it. Read the things you love to read, watch the things you love to watch, research the things you love to research. All of that will be the foundation for your books.

[02:05] Build Writing Community

Third piece of being a writer: get thee into a writing community.

I know I've mentioned this many times. It is the core of my work because that's how I developed as a writer. I, when I was in journalism, I learned from my editors. When I wanted to be a fiction writer, I joined a group, a critique group, an in-person group, and then later on that group became online, a different group.

Anyway, online is great. If all you have is online, there's a lot of writing communities online. I have a writing community online. There are lots and lots and lots of communities.

[02:39] Fellowship of the Pen community

I have Fellowship of the Pen. If you sign up for my newsletter by getting the World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers, you are invited to join Fellowship of the Pen. It's a Facebook group.

Come in, chat, share your progress. Share your support for others. Share your progress. Share your questions. Share your excitements. What are you reading? What are you watching? What are you listening to? We learn from each other. Community, it's so interesting.

[03:05] Solo and Community

Writers, we tend to be solo, right? We tend to be kind of at the edge of the village, of leave me alone, I'm by myself. Maybe we meander into the groups from time to time.

Lots of writers are like this. We go away, we come back, we go away, we come back. You need your community. Go to writing sessions. Go to writing groups in your community. Go to book talks. Go listen to other authors read their stuff. Go to writing conferences. Go to salons. Go to your local cafe and chat with someone who is reading a book. Find out what they're reading. Talk to people.

[03:44] Reconnect After Isolation

A very interesting thing has happened in the modern era, in the most recent modern era with the pandemic and the lockdowns and the isolation. It may have provoked some isolation, habits that got worse for those of us who like being alone. I liked all the time I had alone, but I also know I need people, and if I'm not around people, I get kinda depressed, frankly.

If I'm not doing my creative work, I get depressed, but if I'm not around people, I also get depressed. I have a husband, I have cats, I have my plants. It's not enough. I have to go out into the world, meet new people, be around new people.

[04:21] Feed Creative Fire

And here's the fourth component. 

I talked about reading, I talked about writing, and I talked about community.

Feed your creative well. Feed your creative fire. Do new things.

How do we feed our creative fire? We do new things. New food, new, new clothes. Could just be different clothes that you haven't worn in a long time. Try a recipe you haven't tried in a long time. Go see some art. Go listen to some music.

Go walk in a neighborhood you haven't walked in, safely. Walk into a store that you've always walked by, and you've never walked in. Walk in. Check it out. Do new things. When we do new things, we get new ideas. New patterns are created in our minds.

[04:59] Start Where You Are

So I am not behind. I am right where I am. And here's the big tip I have learned how to do over the years.

I say to myself, "Start from where you are." 

And with the advent of computer games and computers and restarts and often I think of hitting the restart button. I'm just hitting restart. It's okay. We're clearing the slate. I think of like a, clearing the table, clearing the slate, clearing it, restarting.

It's okay. We can restart every minute, every five minutes, every hour, every day. Now, I recognize that not everyone's gonna need this advice. So please take what's useful. Leave the rest.

[05:37] Final Encouragement

You are not behind. You are right where you are, and you can start from where you are. I did, and I know you can. All right, everyone, that's it for this week.

Write long and prosper.