I had a few well-defined goals in mind during the creation of my book: it had to be different from other sailing narratives and memoirs, written in the present tense to pull the reader into events and emotions to reflect my impulsiveness, and incorporate foreshadowing and flashbacks as well as be suspenseful.
I never took writing classes or English literature (Dutch is my native language). I just followed my guts and cranked out the first draft, utilizing my memory, notes, and blog posts. This version was way too long! About twice as what I had in mind for the end product, an intense page-turner. Editing the manuscript required many takes and huge cuts. The final version – which I sent to a substantial editor for review – is a mostly chronological account of my tumultuous thirties with the previously mentioned elements intertwined.
How did you know when your memoir was “done”? As a perfectionist, I had the most difficult time to “let go” and call it quits. I can reread something forever, tinkering and polishing and improving! “Perfect doesn’t exist,” I had to tell myself. A friend’s advice helped as well: “Perfect is the enemy of good.”
To be honest, I promised myself to publish
Plunge in 2020 and made that my main focus of the year. This project had taken long enough. There was no time for anything else and still, I barely succeeded, as my travel memoir published on November 28th, my 45th birthday! Hiring a professional editor and cover designer caused unexpected delays. Writing the book is one thing, self-publishing it quite the other. It was extremely hard work, time consuming, and seemingly never-ending (as that perfectionist popped its head up again) with a steep learning curve.
Is your wonderful blog your primary connection with your readers? I’m a debut author, and my life consists of much more than writing. When I produced my sailing blog –
It’s Irie – Sailing the World the Way It Is – from 2007 to 2015, comments weren’t much of a thing and I documented our travels for myself, my friends, and my family. My readership was benign and interactions rare.
Once my husband and I quit the cruising life and I started a new blog (
Roaming About – A Life Less Ordinary) about our lifestyle, I also reported on my progress as an aspiring author, once a month. Because of all these reasons, yes, my blog is the only thing that connects me with my readers as my readers so far are my blog readers. And my writing updates could act as a newsletter.
I appreciate and respect the readers of my blog tremendously. They make efforts effort to catch up on what’s going on, read what I have to share, and often comment. They dedicate some of their precious time to connect with me. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to me to reply to every single comment I receive. I enjoy the connections, conversations, and even real-life encounters that have ensued this way!
How do you come up with topics for your blog? This is easy. My subjects emerge from life. Unlike others, who attempt to break into a niche or monetize their blog, I don’t care about that. This allows me to write about whatever I want. It’s my blog. Topics come easy because of our exciting, alternative lifestyle, my (undesired) tendency to get in trouble, my never-ending thoughts and ideas, and my openness to chat about anything. Just like I will never get bored in my life, I will never run out of topics for my blog. 😊 Plus, there are always photo challenges or writing prompt challenges to participate in, if the mood strikes or the well threatens to dry up.
Do you belong to a community of writers? I envy writers who belong to an in-person writing or critique group. That would be so awesome and helpful. But, because I am a nomad, this will never be possible. Luckily, there is the internet and the ability to be a part of online groups. That being said, due to our non-stable resources, I am only a member of three non-committing
Facebook groups – the
Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG), the
We Love Memoirs Author Group, and the
Women Who Sail Who Write group – and participate in the monthly IWSG blog-hop.
By following other blogs, sometimes started by someone visiting my blog first, I have become acquainted with many fantastic, knowledgeable writers and maintain a good relationship with them. They are a helpful bunch and posing a question or inquiry by email or on a Facebook group often provides an answer.
Do you work with beta readers? Yes! When you read about the writing craft, you soon learn some important lessons. One of them – besides hiring a professional editor and utilizing proofreaders at the end – is working with beta readers. As a new author, it was hard for me to decide exactly when to do this. On hindsight, I should have waited before engaging them. The version my eight beta readers (from different backgrounds, relationship angles, and nationalities) received was too long. But, one of the main things I struggled with in year two of the writing process was what to leave in and what to take out. My beta readers were a tremendous help with so much more than tightening the prose and I am eternally grateful for all their feedback.
What is your biggest challenge ahead as a writer? Good question! Because I am a free-spirited, flexible, and frugal person, I actually possess a lot of freedom – to write or to pursue other pursuits. But there is one challenge, and this has always been the same challenge: my preferred lifestyle. Being a perpetual nomad, living, traveling, and working on the water or on the road is challenging and exhausting. Adding a writing schedule to that is impossible. It is no surprise or secret that I am most productive when settled somewhere with running water, unlimited electricity, and reliable internet for periods of time. Yet, often to my companions’ and my own frustration, I keep trying to combine my two passions. I am faced with a question that has repeatedly haunted me: do I keep traveling, or do I focus on my writing? How do I find a healthy balance?
Links for Plunge! Social Media & Blog Links Plunge! Book Blurb Tropical waters turn tumultuous in this travel memoir as a free-spirited woman jumps headfirst into a sailing adventure with a new man and his two dogs.
Join Liesbet as she faces a decision that sends her into a whirlwind of love, loss, and living in the moment. When she swaps life as she knows it for an uncertain future on a sailboat, she succumbs to seasickness and a growing desire to be alone.
Guided by impulsiveness and the joys of an alternative lifestyle, she must navigate personal storms, trouble with US immigration, adverse weather conditions, and doubts about her newfound love.
Does Liesbet find happiness? Will the dogs outlast the man? Or is this just another reality check on a dream to live at sea?
Thank you, Liesbet, for sharing your thoughts about writing your wonderful and inspirational memoir. May this New Year bring you -- and all of us -- good health, happiness, a sense of peace, many more adventures, and many more opportunities to write!
