Laurie J. Bryant, A Modest Homestead

“I learned that deciding on the scope of the book is critical. Beginning the book as a catalog of adobe buildings, I soon realized that without some human interest, no one would read the thing. And I didn’t enjoy writing it, either. I really wanted to understand where the owners and builders had come from, why they came to Utah, what there lives were like, and how these buildings contributed to their futures.”

Holly Cusack-McVeigh, Stories Find You, Places Know

“Through the process of writing Stories Find You, Places Know, I learned SO much about what it takes to become a good writer. For me this was about exploring new ways to write in academia. I learned to see my writing as a life-long process where I continue to perfect my craft.”

Melissa Darby, Thunder Go North

“I never thought I would write a book, and it was daunting. Breaking it down to bits made it less overwhelming. As it progressed, I began to feel it would be real, and I thought of myself more and more as someone with something to contribute to my profession. I also learned how to write a narrative rather than the technical report writing that I have done for years. In technical writing you have no real voice..”

“Over the years, like Zelia Nuttall, I have been frustrated with some of the white male historians who have dismissed my findings with a wave of their hand and a raised eyebrow when I tried to make my case that Drake was not actually in California. I began to understand how hard it was for Zelia Nuttall. One of the favorite lines I wrote was after discussing that Zelia’s article on baskets was accepted but not her monograph on Drake: “Women, it seems, were allowed to write about baskets but not about explorers.” This was not only a commentary on Zelia’s situation, but my own, and it made me feel I was a little triumphant.”

Nathan P. Devir, New Children of Israel

“I think the main thing, speaking only for myself, is that I need to take in a lot of information and process it before I feel comfortable distilling or crafting any ideas on my own. That takes a lot of time, and so now I try not to set unrealistic timelines for myself. I understand better now that (again, speaking only for myself) writing will never come easily. It’s a constant struggle, which I know will bear fruit eventually, but only after much time and effort have passed..”

Donald K. Grayson, Giant Sloths and Sabertooth Cats

“I am fascinated by the stuff I write about, or I wouldn’t be researching or writing about it, and I love bringing it to a broader audience. Same reason I love teaching. Motivation just never flags. I most enjoy the writing process itself. The research part is hard, hard work. The writing, where you get to retreat into your head and have fun with the intricacies of language, is, for me, a real pleasure.”

Hikmet Sidney Loe, The Spiral Jetty Encyclo

“I learned so much while writing the first book, even though I had been writing for some time. I learned to be more consistent in presentation, also consistent in time spent writing and editing. I kept a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style by me and referenced it constantly. I learned that while my life may have been quite busy and full, writing was my anchor. It was always there (in a good way) and could always be a bit better, which was a great challenge for me and kept me engaged.”

Corrine Laverty, North America’s Galapagos

“Yes, I learned much. I figured out how to organize my research, how to create characters using a system of notes and chronological files, how to use the blank spaces to my advantage (that is, using the unknown to ponder and posit questions and get into the characters’ minds).”

Theodore Manno, The Utah Prairie Dog

“I learned that good writing is hard work, and it’s not easy. Writing books is something that you do because you almost can’t not do it. Writing is also a process in which you must be fully engaged. With regard to self-development as a writer, I learned that I can explain fairly complex concepts to the general public with concision, but struggle with writing for a specialized audience. I approached my next book (Swamp Rat) with this in mind, and with very few exceptions, I have not written text intended exclusively for other scientists since my dissertation research ended. Later on, after several failed attempts, I further realized that writing fiction is a different process altogether, one for which I am probably not wired.”

Jerry Spangler, Last Chance Byway

“My memoir began as a chronological narrative. Later, I revised it into individual essays. Later, I linked long essays together. Only at the end, when I really understood what I was doing thematically—that I was writing about what I call ordinary trauma—did I see that I needed to write the memoir as linked flash nonfiction so that the ordinary moments could pile up for the reader, threaten to overwhelm them in the same way they overwhelmed me as a child. To write a memoir, means to find a theme in your life and follow it. You cannot begin at the beginning of your life and march forward to the end—first, because you have not ended and second because no reader wants to read the blow by blow. You have to shape your story—and to shape your story you have to understand that very narrow sliver through which you wish to gaze. Once you understand the theme—your deeper subject—you understand, at some level, what enters in and what remains outside—but even that may not determine your form right away.”