by Alycia W. Morales     @AlyciaMorales

When we think about writing, puppies aren’t necessarily the first things that come to mind. Unless they’re the characters in a children’s book. Or their name is Marley. But really…

Anticipation

Cinnamon, my dog, was pregnant with her pups for three months. I watched and assessed and waited as her stomach expanded and grew. As she entered her third month, I prodded to feel the lumps designating heads and bodies while I waited for that first kick and wondered how many were in there.

If you’ve ever had an idea for a book, you’ve likely experienced a similar anticipation as you’ve brainstormed and listened to characters talk to you and wondered what this new story was going to look like. You’re anxious for the words to come to life on the page. And you’re curious to see if it will be a standalone or the first in a series.

Preparation

As the third month passed, momma dog prepared for the arrival of her pups. She nested, digging in the blankets or tearing up dryer sheets or scratching at the carpet. If she was allowed to, she’d dig a hole outside. She wanted a safe place for her puppies to be born and strove to get it ready. Meanwhile, I visited website after website, checking and double checking to be sure I was aware of the signs of labor. I wanted to be ready too.

As writers, we do our research. We create file folders and Pinterest boards. We take notes. We fill out character profiles. We outline plots. We lay out worlds and towns and homes. We prepare ahead of time so when we finally sit at the keyboard, we have an idea of what’s about to come out on the page.

Giving Birth

And then the day came when momma dog paced, then found her whelping box and panted and pushed with every contraction. Then the puppies began to pop out, one at a time. Birth is such an amazing and beautiful and glorious thing.

The same goes for birthing a book. We go through the paces, sit at our keyboard, and labor in love as every word fills the page. Writing is no easy task. Hemingway said it’s like bleeding. Because it’s hard work and it takes time to get the story right. But we love doing it, so we labor on.

Cleaning Up & Cutting the Cord

Once the pups entered the world, momma cleaned them up and made sure they were breathing. Then she cut the cord.

When we’ve gotten all our words onto the page, it’s time to clean them up and breathe life into the story. This is the rewrite or self-edit stage of the process. It’s when we put our heart and soul into making it the best we possibly can. If we ignore this stage, chances are our book will never see the light of day. But if we press on, we’ll have a finished product that we can be proud of.

And once we have that finished product, we need to let it go. We need to come to a point where we can put our baby out into the world and let God use it for His purpose. We have to cut the cord.

What Comes Next

Once one pup was birthed, she focused on birthing the next one, until all six puppies were born. Cinnamon has birthed two litters in the time she’s been part of our family. She doesn’t quit until all of her babies are full of life.

As writers, we need to keep birthing those books, moving on to the next one  … and the next one … and the next one.

What’s your favorite part of the book-birthing process? We’d love to know! [reminder]

Alycia W. Morales is an award-winning freelance editor and author. Her clients have won the Selah Award, BRMCWC Director’s Choice Award, and many others. Her writing has been published in Thriving Family magazine, Splickety Love, and several compilation books. She is a member of ACFW, the president of Cross n’ Pens critique group, and a BRMCWC Conference Assistant.

Alycia blogs at The Write Editing and Life. Inspired.

When she isn’t busy writing, editing, and reading, Alycia enjoys spending time with her husband and four children taking hikes in Upstate SC and NC, creating various crafts, coloring in adult coloring books, and watching TV.