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At fifteen, the school motto — Nihil Sine Labore (nothing without labor) — was just one more thing that terrified me about moving away from home and into a dorm. By the time I was eighteen, I understood that the phrase meant you had to work to succeed, but it still struck me as something added to the school crest to make them seem fancy. Thirty years later, I have a better understanding of what the founders of my school were trying to teach us.
Being part of the children’s literature community, I feel like I’m more aware of these sensitivities. I think it’s because the words we choose and how we tell stories impacts young minds that are still forming how they view the world. Many of my writing friends do not write YA, and I’ve learned that a lot of these shifts in language have not trickled up to “adult” books. Which is why I’m writing about this.
When I chose brave as my word of the year, I had no idea what I was getting into. In my new year’s post, I said I was going to let the word guide me, but I did not foresee the path I’m currently stumbling along.
Typically thought of with academic professionals, a sabbatical “can give you a healthy amount of time to enhance your academic qualifications, pursue new interests, do volunteer work, travel, address physical concerns, or re-prioritize your life and career. It’s an opportunity to manage the effects of professional burnout.”
Burnout is what I’ve been struggling with the most. It’s what led to me finding a new job in 2021, and it’s what’s brought me to this point with writing.
Binge the complete Rules Series plus 6 bonus scenes and The Friend Rules short story — and get ready to fall in love! The Rules Series follows three teen girls learning to stand up on their own while skiing, biking, and snowboarding in the Colorado mountains—and falling in love! Perfect for fans of outdoor adventure, swoony kisses, and figuring out who you really are.
There are a million reasons not to write. Better ways to spend our time that don’t involve fighting with the little voice in our heads, the one who insists you aren’t good enough, that no one wants to read what you have to say. But I’m here to tell you — to give you permission — to tell that voice to shut it.
***UPDATE: The contest has ended.*** Over the years I’ve done a variety of sales and giveaways to celebrate my birthday, but this year I’ve come up with my favorite giveaway yet: The Melanie Hooyenga Starter Kit! The idea started out simple enough—give away the first book in each of my series to try to reach …
Whenever I talk about my writing process, I proudly tell people that after I outline, I start writing my book at page one and don’t stop until I hit The End. I don’t go back and edit, and I only reread the previous couple paragraphs to get myself into the flow of the story. If something changes that will require edits in what I’ve already written (I’m looking at YOU Mike from The Trail Rules), I note it in a separate file and continue writing as if that change has already been made. I’ve sworn by this method and have told countless writers that you’re more likely to finish a first draft this way than if you constantly edit as you write.
Genalea is an author, freelance editor, and full-time mom with an Associate’s Degree in English Literature. Her work has appeared in Bookends Review, Gemini Magazine, Grande Dame Literary, Watershed Review, Broad River Review, and others. She is the author of three novels, Life After, A Song I Used to Know, and Lovehurts, all forthcoming in 2023 and 2024. Genalea resides in Southern Idaho with her husband, four children, and two dogs, where she enjoys small town living, playing music with her family, and occasionally getting caught behind farm equipment on the highway.
While I don’t necessarily view myself as brave, I think there are worse things I can do than try to channel that characteristic. Especially when I’m trying new things (that I’m not ready to talk about yet). As I tell new writers, no one else is going to do this for you — you have to believe you can and then you have to do it.