Latest / Stuck No More Voices / 345-Desiree Young: Writing Is Worship and It Is Warfare

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345-Desiree Young: Writing Is Worship and It Is Warfare · Stuck No More Voices

• 0:00
  You know, God has a real sense of humor- and direction for me with these Calling Table, uh, Sessions.
• 0:06
  I have been wondering about my hormones, and in comes a guest, Courtney Garner, a board-certified family nurse practitioner, who helps with all that.
• 0:15
  I'm like,"Okay." And then everyone's telling me I need to write my story, and I have all the excuses.
• 0:21
  Maybe I need to heal more.
• 0:23
  And in comes a guest today who asks the question: What if the healing you are doing in private is the same work that builds your business?
• 0:33
  Not to mention, she's a publisher.
• 0:34
  So welcome to the Stuck No More Voices Podcast.
• 0:37
  I'm Theresa Croft.
• 0:39
  I'm a visibility strategist, creator of the Story Gold Method, the process that turns a woman's story into her message and a pathway for her visibility.
• 0:50
  This episode of the Stuck No More Voices Podcast is called The Calling Table Session.
• 0:55
  It's a seat I keep for Christian women whose story, with the grueling grief and the transformational gold, deserves to be handled with care.
• 1:04
  So please pull up a chair.
• 1:05
  Help me welcome Desiree Young.
• 1:08
  She's the founder of Stories of Glory Publishing, among other things.
• 1:12
  She takes kingdom leaders from struggling to write or publishing a book to further their mission and leave a legacy.
• 1:20
  I love that.
• 1:21
  Welcome, Desiree.
• 1:22
  I love that.
• 1:24
  You know, I love the mission and leave a legacy.
• 1:27
  So we have a lot to talk about because we both like stories, among other things.
• 1:31
  But why don't you first just give us a backdrop of what Go- how God led you to this place where you are?
• 1:37
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:38
  Um, thank you so much for having me.
• 1:40
  I'm excited to be here.
• 1:41
  Yeah.
• 1:41
  And yeah, um, how this started, uh, it started in 2017.
• 1:46
  Okay.
• 1:46
  I was driving home from work one day, and I was praying.
• 1:49
  I was asking Him, like,"God, what is my, what is my marketable skill?
• 1:52
  What is it that- Yeah You've given me to do?" And He said to write.
• 1:55
  Now, at first, I was really excited.
• 1:56
  Yeah.
• 1:57
  And then I was skeptical.
• 1:58
  I was like-"Don't you mean, like, finance or accounting or business?
• 2:01
  You know, something that's gonna, you know, put food on my table?" Um, so like- Yeah.
• 2:05
  No, yeah.
• 2:05
  I mean...
• 2:06
  Uh,"What do you mean writing?" And He, He said again,"Your, your skill is writing." That's awesome.
• 2:11
  He gave me the idea for my first book, and I was so excited.
• 2:14
  Okay.
• 2:15
  I was like,"Oh, this is a topic that I'm really passionate about." Yeah.
• 2:17
  "I've already done a lot of research, so this is gonna be good.
• 2:19
  It's gonna be great." Um, so I started writing, and I was very diligent for about three months with making- Okay sure that this story gets written.
• 2:27
  And after three months, I started to stall.
• 2:29
  Oh.
• 2:29
  I started to stall because I started getting writer's block.
• 2:32
  Yeah.
• 2:32
  And I started doubting myself.
• 2:33
  I was like,"Can I actually do this?
• 2:35
  Will anyone care about what I wrote?
• 2:37
  Will this even impact anyone?" Like,"Why am I spending my s- All the, yeah writing this story?" And then I started wondering, it's like,"Okay, am I even a good writer?
• 2:47
  Am I even capable of doing this?
• 2:49
  Were all my teachers wrong when they said I was good at writing?" All the things.
• 2:53
  And I knew God had told me to write a book, so, like, I was still, like, trying to write here and there.
• 2:59
  Yeah.
• 2:59
  But the truth was, I was finding every reason under the sun why I couldn't write.
• 3:03
  Oh.
• 3:04
  "No, I can't write, I have to go to a meeting.
• 3:06
  No, I can't write, I'm too busy.
• 3:08
  No, I can't write, I'm too tired.
• 3:09
  No, I can't write..." Excuse after excuse after excuse.
• 3:13
  And for a few years, I would still, like, write here and there, but I, I was not disciplined in it.
• 3:19
  Okay.
• 3:19
  I did not have any accountability.
• 3:21
  I did not have a support system around me that was- Yeah also writing.
• 3:24
  Like, I had friends and family check in, like,"Hey, how's your book coming?""Oh, you know it's coming." Yeah, yeah, we know how that goes.
• 3:30
  Um, so um, good people, I love them, but did not keep me on the straight and narrow for getting my book done.
• 3:37
  Yeah.
• 3:39
  In January 2020, I came face to screen with my very first business mentor.
• 3:42
  His name was Pedro Odeo, and he kicked my butt seven ways to Sunday.
• 3:47
  I know him.
• 3:47
  He taught him- He can do that.
• 3:48
  I know who you're talking about.
• 3:50
  Oh, yes.
• 3:50
  Yeah.
• 3:53
  And he's not gentle about it either.
• 3:55
  No.
• 3:55
  Yeah.
• 3:56
  Um, but he said that oftentimes we as God's people, we will ask,"God, what's my purpose?
• 4:01
  What's my calling?
• 4:01
  What's my assignment?
• 4:02
  Why am I here?" And he'll tell us.
• 4:04
  We'll be like,"Okay.
• 4:05
  Cool.
• 4:05
  Great.
• 4:05
  Thanks." And then we either will start doing something and we'll stop, or we won't- Uh-huh do anything at all.
• 4:11
  Right.
• 4:11
  And then four months goes by and we're asking the Lord,"God, what's my purpose?
• 4:14
  What's my assignment?
• 4:14
  Why am I here?
• 4:15
  What's my calling?" And he's like,"Well, what are you doing with what the, the first thing that he told you to do?" Mm.
• 4:20
  So good.
• 4:21
  And, and I was like,"You make a valid point." Wow.
• 4:24
  Hurts a little bit.
• 4:25
  And he's like, then he doubled down.
• 4:27
  Yeah.
• 4:27
  He said,"When we have these gifts and these assignments and we bury them, we're actually being disobedient- Yeah and we could potentially deny someone else their breakthrough- Come on because their breakthrough comes through our obedience." Yeah.
• 4:39
  And I was like,"Dang it.
• 4:40
  Why you gotta come at me with this heat?" Like, I don't even know you.
• 4:44
  Why am I here?
• 4:45
  Yeah.
• 4:46
  I gotcha.
• 4:47
  Oh.
• 4:48
  Oh, wow.
• 4:48
  That's good.
• 4:50
  Yeah.
• 4:50
  I, but I needed to hear it.
• 4:52
  Yeah.
• 4:52
  And that really got me motivated again.
• 4:54
  And so I started putting in my calendar, when am I going to actually sit down and write?
• 4:59
  Okay.
• 4:59
  Um, a few months after that, the pandemic hit.
• 5:02
  Ooh.
• 5:02
  We were all in our homes.
• 5:04
  I was still going to work'cause I was considered an essential employee.
• 5:07
  Okay.
• 5:07
  But when I wasn't at work, I, I watched a like 30-minute TV show, I ate some dinner, and I wrote.
• 5:13
  Oh.
• 5:13
  I would write for about like two hours a day for a lot of days.
• 5:17
  Nice.
• 5:17
  And in three years, I had written 30,000 words, but in that one month I wrote 35,000 words.
• 5:23
  Wow.
• 5:24
  And I was like,"All right.
• 5:25
  There's something to this." Wow.
• 5:26
  I put it all together.
• 5:28
  I sent it to a publisher.
• 5:30
  Mm-hmm.
• 5:30
  And I had my book out that winter, and I was so excited.
• 5:32
  Wow.
• 5:33
  I was like,"Yes, I'm done." Yeah.
• 5:35
  "This is great.
• 5:35
  This is awesome." My friends and family all bought it.
• 5:37
  They were supportive.
• 5:38
  And I was like,"Yes.
• 5:39
  All right, Lord.
• 5:40
  We're good now, right?
• 5:41
  I've, I was obedient.
• 5:42
  I did the thing." And God kind of smiled at me and He's like,"Oh, we're just getting started, dear." Yeah.
• 5:48
  And I was like,"Oh, okay." So.
• 5:52
  I love that.
• 5:53
  Wow.
• 5:53
  It, yeah.
• 5:54
  So now here you are.
• 5:56
  Uh, and was that first book, was it, uh, fiction or was it, uh, nonfiction?
• 6:02
  It was a fiction novel about a nonfiction topic.
• 6:05
  It's a story about human trafficking told from the point of view- Oh of four girls in it trying to get out and restart their lives.
• 6:10
  Powerful.
• 6:11
  Yeah.
• 6:12
  Yeah.
• 6:12
  Um- And I can tell by the books above your head you've written more than just that one book.
• 6:17
  I've, I've written a few, uh, 12.
• 6:19
  Um...
• 6:20
  So are they all on Amazon?
• 6:23
  Uh, most of them are on Amazon.
• 6:24
  Okay, because I'm just- Some of them are eBooks and...
• 6:26
  Okay.
• 6:27
  So we can look up Desiree Young and probably find- Mm-hmm you on Amazon.
• 6:31
  Mm-hmm.
• 6:31
  That's a great story That is so good.
• 6:34
  And I like what, it was just like, it's, it's like that yes you had to say to God.
• 6:39
  But not just say it- Mm-hmm but follow through.
• 6:41
  Mm-hmm.
• 6:41
  Why do you think, I know you got other things to talk about, but if it's okay, can we stay on, I know- Oh, sure we stay on the publishing.
• 6:47
  Why is it, okay, two questions.
• 6:51
  Why is it do people get writer's block?
• 6:54
  Okay, and the second one is d- and let's, let's go to the second one first,'cause we all know why people get writer's block.
• 7:01
  Let me, let me ask you this one, that people need to understand, I think, and you can put, put value to this.
• 7:07
  Sometimes writing the book is so you can say you're a published author.
• 7:12
  It's not so you can,"Oh, I'm gonna make tons of money'cause I'm writing this book." It could lead to tons of money, but often the book is the doorway into podcast guests, into your, your credibility.
• 7:23
  Do you agree with that?
• 7:25
  I do.
• 7:25
  Like, writing a book is so much more than, uh, getting your name on a piece of paper saying- Yeah"Hey, I'm a published author." Like, God wants to do so much more, and that book- Yeah can be used to, to build a platform- Mm-hmm um, where you are doing podcast, uh, saying you are speaking at conferences.
• 7:41
  Yeah.
• 7:41
  Um, that could be the doorway to you actually starting a business.
• 7:45
  Mm-hmm.
• 7:45
  I had zero interest in starting any type of business whatsoever.
• 7:49
  Okay.
• 7:49
  Okay.
• 7:49
  But God used my first book to be, like, a gateway to me getting to a place of opening a publishing company.
• 7:58
  Nice.
• 7:59
  Yeah.
• 7:59
  There's so much more, and it's so important when you are writing- Yeah to get a vision for your book.
• 8:06
  Yeah.
• 8:06
  Get a vision for who the book is for, how it is going to bring some type of transformation in them.
• 8:11
  And yes, even if you're writing fiction, you can still offer some transformation.
• 8:15
  You can still offer a bit of hope.
• 8:16
  You can still offer a, a bit of freedom within those pages that you are writing.
• 8:21
  Yeah.
• 8:21
  So get the vision for what the book is going to do for the reader- Yeah but also what it's gonna do for you.
• 8:27
  You know, I like we, we are very congruent in believing, uh, stories, and obviously story in a book, but I, I also say story in you're communicating with people, podcasting, and videos.
• 8:38
  But I really liked some of the things you were saying.
• 8:41
  One, our story is a sword, that we can pierce the darkness or pierce.
• 8:48
  And also, I, I thought I wrote it down, but I just so connected with, you know, the basis of my Story Gold Method is Revelation,"They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb," you'd think that would be enough,"and the word of our testimony." So talk some more into that.
• 9:06
  I don't have it written down, but I so connected with you in the power of a story.
• 9:12
  Yes.
• 9:13
  So something that I've learned in my years of writing and in publishing is that our stories have the power to not only bring transformation, but to cut down lies and confusion that can cloud our readers' thoughts.
• 9:28
  Mm.
• 9:28
  Um, something that I learned, um- Shortly after I wrote my first book, I was asked to co-lead a writing group.
• 9:35
  Okay.
• 9:35
  And through co-leading that writing group and helping people see, you know, like their writing through scripture, I learned that writing is worship.
• 9:43
  Mm.
• 9:43
  It is worship to the King, but it's also warfare.
• 9:46
  Mm-hmm.
• 9:46
  Because there are so many books that I personally have read- Yeah um, and have been able to be a part of bringing to life that tear down these lies and misconceptions that we can have about the kingdom.
• 9:56
  They tear down lies and misconceptions that we can have about identity.
• 9:59
  Mm-hmm.
• 10:00
  They tear down lies and misconceptions that we can have about money and finances and how God feels about money and finances.
• 10:06
  Yeah.
• 10:06
  There's so much more- Yeah than just, like, putting the words on the page.
• 10:10
  And when you write, something that I tell my, my clients and I told my, my writers group at the time, it's like you are fashioning a sword together.
• 10:19
  Oh.
• 10:19
  That is what you are doing.
• 10:21
  So good.
• 10:21
  And there are gonna be times when you are super excited to be writing, and there are gonna be times when it is going to be so hard.
• 10:27
  Yeah.
• 10:27
  And the reason it's gonna be hard, like, think about the process of actually forging a sword.
• 10:32
  It is not easy.
• 10:33
  No.
• 10:33
  It is grueling.
• 10:34
  It is hot.
• 10:35
  It is sweaty.
• 10:36
  You are covered- Yeah in muck and mire.
• 10:38
  It is uncomfortable.
• 10:40
  Yeah.
• 10:40
  But once that process is done and you look at that beautiful sword that comes as a result of someone spending that time in the forge- Yeah that is what you're doing when you are writing.
• 10:50
  So good.
• 10:51
  So good.
• 10:52
  You know, I think there's a part of my story that, uh, I think I have some shame.
• 10:57
  This is about my marriage, 26 years of narcissistic abuse.
• 11:01
  But, but the, the, the idea was how to win the war on your voice.
• 11:06
  Do I dare tell you my subtitle?
• 11:08
  It's probably not gonna be accepted.
• 11:10
  How to Win the War on Your Voice: So Glad My Husband Died.
• 11:15
  Now, I'm not against Please, I'm not against marriage.
• 11:17
  I'm all for guys.
• 11:18
  Good-looking guy, good-looking truck go by, my head's gonna turn, my heart's gonna skip a beat.
• 11:24
  But with the truck.
• 11:25
  I always say that'cause that was part of my signature talk.
• 11:28
  But it, the war happened for me, uh, six years into a radio career announcer, and I got married.
• 11:35
  So I know those elements.
• 11:37
  I think what you're encouraging, there are elements of everyone's story that could speak to someone else, that can pull them out of the hole, and that's why I connected so much with what I s- saw in you.
• 11:48
  You really understand the power of a story.
• 11:52
  And I've just created this Story Gold Method to teach women how to find those stories.
• 11:58
  They don't have to be the gory stories.
• 12:00
  They can be everyday life experiences in your walk with God.
• 12:05
  So d- how does that connect with you with, uh, with, you know, granted you're a publisher, but learning how to create stories that actually help you in your business, on Instagram, on Facebook.
• 12:16
  What's your thoughts on that?
• 12:19
  Um, that's such a great question.
• 12:21
  I love that.
• 12:21
  Like, stories engage people.
• 12:24
  Mm-hmm.
• 12:24
  They do.
• 12:25
  Um, there's a saying, like,"Facts tell, stories sell." Yes.
• 12:28
  Stories connect with people,'cause people can see themselves in, in what you're saying.
• 12:33
  It could be normal day-to-day situations.
• 12:35
  Exactly.
• 12:35
  It could be, you know, situations that,"Oh, yeah, my neighbor goes through something similar with that." Yeah.
• 12:41
  So, yeah, stories are so impactful, whether you're writing them or you're, like, putting them down into, like, a minute or two-minute, uh, reel to- Right to share with people.
• 12:50
  Yeah, yeah.
• 12:51
  So powerful and impactful.
• 12:52
  And you know, when, if you're thinking about business just for a second, people are gonna go right past if you're trying to sell y- the features and this and that.
• 13:01
  They don't care about the features.
• 13:03
  But if you lean in and connect with their heart with a story, then they're gonna like,"Oh, I wanna know more about this person," and then they find your product.
• 13:12
  I think visibility is, is, is sacred.
• 13:15
  It's holy.
• 13:15
  It's not about being visible for the sake of being visible.
• 13:18
  It's about being in the right place, visible, like, s- to someone who needs you, Desiree Young, who, who knows how to help someone put together a book, you know, from manuscript to s- to I guess you also help people, like, flesh it out.
• 13:32
  Like, they got an idea, but you also help them flesh the stuff out, right?
• 13:37
  Yep.
• 13:38
  I do book coaching, um, as well as publishing.
• 13:41
  That's great.
• 13:41
  So for people who are like,"Hey, I have an idea- Yeah but I have no idea how to develop this into a story," I have- Right two different programs that I take, I can take them through- Yeah to help them bring that story to life.
• 13:52
  Nice.
• 13:53
  Nice.
• 13:53
  Um, there's, uh, Forge, which is for p- people who are more, like, business-minded, who are like,"Hey, I want this book to attach to, like, a business or a ministry." Okay.
• 14:01
  And I have the Academy.
• 14:02
  Uh, the Academy is a monthly membership.
• 14:05
  Nice.
• 14:05
  Mm-hmm.
• 14:05
  In the Academy you get a, uh, resource library filled with writing videos and, uh, workbooks that you can go through.
• 14:13
  Um, you get weekly write, writing prompts and- So good uh, weekly writing sessions so you can actually, like, make progress to get your story done.
• 14:21
  There's self- Yeah uh, self-publishing training as well, uh, that is offered, and a monthly Q&A where they can come on and ask me- Oh, good any questions they have about writing and publishing- Yeah so they actually get their story written.
• 14:32
  And a supportive community.
• 14:34
  I say supportive because there are a lot of writing groups on Facebook right now.
• 14:38
  Yeah.
• 14:38
  Thank you.
• 14:38
  Yeah.
• 14:39
  So toxic.
• 14:40
  So You're, you're cutting through the stuff.
• 14:42
  That's good.
• 14:44
  Come on.
• 14:45
  Let's cut through it.
• 14:46
  I love that though.
• 14:47
  And what's the name of your publishing company again?
• 14:50
  Uh, my publishing company is Stories of Glory Publishing.
• 14:53
  Oh, I love that.
• 14:55
  Stories of Glory.
• 14:56
  I s- did you publish Carol Hosack by chance?
• 15:00
  Do you know that name?
• 15:00
  Um, I do not know that name.
• 15:02
  Yeah.
• 15:02
  Un- then you didn't.
• 15:03
  I s- I saw who published her book, but I wasn't taken too much.
• 15:07
  So listen, uh, let's go ahead and dip into, uh You got something else going on.
• 15:15
  Uh, what am I thinking of?
• 15:18
  The roots.
• 15:20
  What, what, what do we got here with the s- since starting Roots and Rising?
• 15:26
  What's that about?
• 15:27
  Roots and Rising Um, I am not familiar with Roots and Rising Huh.
• 15:36
  Might have got yours, that n- uh, from something else.
• 15:39
  That's okay,'cause I, I wanna stay s- to stick on I can edit this, by the way.
• 15:43
  So three, two, one.
• 15:46
  So let's talk some more about publishing,'cause, uh, let me be the, let me be an example for someone.
• 15:53
  I can write well.
• 15:55
  Can I ask you a controversial question?
• 15:57
  I know how to train ChatGPT to help me out with the process.
• 16:01
  How do you feel about Um, ChatGPT's not gonna write my book.
• 16:05
  You understand?
• 16:06
  Claude's not gonna write my book,'cause this has gotta be in my voice, but how do you feel about that, uh, with- Okay getting some help with, from AI?
• 16:15
  Um- Is it controversy?
• 16:17
  It, it is controversial.
• 16:18
  Oh, man.
• 16:19
  So here's my, my thoughts on that.
• 16:21
  If you're using something like ChatGPT or Claude to, like, provide an outline for your book, that is fine.
• 16:27
  Okay.
• 16:28
  That is fine.
• 16:29
  That's about right.
• 16:29
  Do not use it to write any portion of your book, because what those programs do is they take writings from other people who have been using them- Yeah to, like, feed their, their algorithm and make them- Yep better writers, so to speak.
• 16:43
  Yeah.
• 16:43
  So what it's putting out for you is actually, like, other people's borrowed words.
• 16:48
  Yeah.
• 16:48
  And then you also can run into copyright issues- Sure with trying to copyright something that is either mostly generated, like AI, um, or like half generated AI.
• 16:58
  So- Yeah.
• 16:59
  That's good you can use it as a tool, but don't use it to write.
• 17:01
  Yeah,'cause,'cause, um, ChatGPT is a pool, is a tool.
• 17:06
  Like, this is a tool.
• 17:07
  It can be used for good things or bad things, but use it wisely.
• 17:11
  Mm-hmm.
• 17:11
  I always say, um,"You are the prophet, AI is the scribe." The AI cannot be anointed.
• 17:19
  Your words can be anointed.
• 17:21
  Yeah, I, I've trained mine very well, but I also, I train it more for some of my personal stuff that I'm working on.
• 17:28
  But for example, I'm going into this Story Gold Method, and I'm learning from amazing person, but I'm saying,"Dude, he's got copyright.
• 17:36
  Do not sound like him.
• 17:38
  Make sure it sounds like me." And I have this thing trained so well that it really is.
• 17:42
  It understands copyright, but it understands I trained it.
• 17:46
  It's a tool.
• 17:47
  It's not it.
• 17:48
  And so I just You know, but when it comes to my own book, uh, ChatGPT can't write that.
• 17:53
  I don't even think a ChatGPT knows that story.
• 17:56
  You know how you can tell the story?
• 17:58
  But, uh, I do really love tools to help me, uh, connect with stories, like they're your stories.
• 18:06
  And so I've been learning more and more how to use not just that one big story of, uh, 26 years of narcissistic abuse, but just little stories, day to day.
• 18:17
  For example- I was, uh, fixing my son, uh, dinner the other day, and I saw this plaque that said,"Family is for memories." And it brought me back four or five years ago where my husband wanted to build on land, so we were living in this little trailer out in the middle of nowhere.
• 18:33
  Our kids were mad at us, and I looked at that plaque, Desiree, and I said,"Family, it's a mess And now, fast-forward, I'm like,"No, family is not a myth." You sometimes, you have to go through some knocks and some trials, but when it's all said and done, the family represents the family of God.
• 18:55
  And I don't have to have a meaning to it, but that's what I'm doing every day, learning how to write stories.
• 19:02
  You know, I wrote three devotionals.
• 19:04
  I took them off Amazon.
• 19:06
  You wanna know why?
• 19:07
  Why?
• 19:08
  They weren't honest.
• 19:09
  They weren't honest about my husband.
• 19:11
  It was great work, but I couldn't stand for the, on the, the telling, saying my husband was this and that, and he wasn't.
• 19:19
  So I'm working on republishing one devotional.
• 19:22
  They're a little, to me, they're a little easier.
• 19:24
  Y- I do share in them, but, um, anyway, I just probably need to sit down and talk to you.
• 19:33
  Hey, I'm all for it.
• 19:34
  Yeah.
• 19:35
  So what would you, let's say someone, they kinda know what this nonfiction I mean, I'm not, I can't I guess I could play fiction in my head, but someone has a really good story, and it might even be their memoirs, and they come to you, not just for the publishing.
• 19:51
  Where would you start them first?
• 19:54
  So I would start, and I would ask them,"What specifically do you want readers to take away from reading your memoir?" Sure, yeah.
• 20:01
  "What is the main theme or message that you want to convey?" Okay.
• 20:05
  Because if you don't have that, all you have is a collection of random, like, bits and stories that- Yeah people, like, they might read them all and then be like,"Okay, well, that, that was interesting," and they'll move on with their lives.
• 20:17
  Right.
• 20:17
  Right.
• 20:17
  So what is that theme?
• 20:19
  Uh, for me, my first memoir, uh, my theme was hope, um, finding hope in the midst of struggling with mental health for several years.
• 20:27
  Oh, wow.
• 20:28
  Um- So powerful there's a second memoir that I got to be a part of called Broken Chapters, and that one- Okay is all about, um, God's restoration.
• 20:37
  Okay.
• 20:37
  Because we've, every single person shares when they've been broken, and God's come- Yeah in and brought healing.
• 20:42
  So what is that theme that you want to convey that's going to be a, a truth runner throughout your story?
• 20:47
  Okay.
• 20:48
  That's good.
• 20:49
  Um, the second thing that I would do is I would ask them, you know, like,"How do you want to develop that theme?" So I would take them through an exercise called mind mapping, and I would tell them- Yeah to put their- Love mind mapping Mind mapping is great.
• 21:02
  Yeah.
• 21:02
  It, it is so helpful.
• 21:03
  I'm very grateful when one of my book coaches taught me how to do this.
• 21:07
  I was like,"Oh, th- this makes so much sense." Yeah.
• 21:10
  Makes everything easier.
• 21:11
  I love that.
• 21:12
  Um, but with mind mapping, you put your main central theme and topic in the center of a page, and you circle it, and then you put these little legs, um, as offshoots to that circle, and at the end of the legs, you're gonna write down everything that you can think of with that topic that's gonna help develop that main thing.
• 21:30
  Oh, good.
• 21:30
  And especially with a memoir, you want to not only write those things, but, like, what are some personal, like, anecdotes that you can bring in with each of those?
• 21:39
  Right.
• 21:39
  Right.
• 21:40
  You wanna spend a good, like, 10 to 15 minutes mind mapping.
• 21:43
  Sure.
• 21:43
  And then from there, you can create an outline for your book, and that, that's your building blocks now- Yeah for your overall story.
• 21:51
  Yes.
• 21:51
  Um- You know, mind mapping is so much like Dr.
• 21:54
  Caroline Leaf has what's called a MediCog.
• 21:57
  Mm-hmm.
• 21:57
  And in my healing from the abuse, you know, like, 63 days, picked one thing, and just what you said, be able to write out all these feelings and stuff, so that's really cool.
• 22:13
  So mind, you always start, do you always start with someone with mind mapping?
• 22:18
  Uh, when they're first starting their story, yes.
• 22:20
  Mm-hmm.
• 22:20
  'Cause I want them to get all of their ideas out on paper.
• 22:23
  Yeah.
• 22:23
  They can go back and refine and say,"Yes, I wanna keep this.
• 22:26
  No, I don't wanna keep that." That's fine, but you need to know what you want to include in your story first.
• 22:32
  Yeah.
• 22:32
  Um- Do you, when you lay out your outline for your chapters, can you, like, start on, you, you did chapter one, but you wanna go over to chapter nine'cause you really are thinking about that?
• 22:42
  I mean, there's no r- there's no, no u- there's no rules, so to speak, that would Is that correct?
• 22:50
  Yes.
• 22:50
  So what the outline does is it, it's your, your guiding point.
• 22:53
  Yeah.
• 22:54
  You do not have to say,"Oh, I have to finish every single chapter in order." Yeah.
• 22:58
  Um, I didn't write all of my chapters in order.
• 23:00
  Yeah.
• 23:00
  There were days when, you know, another chapter was flowing more.
• 23:03
  That's so good.
• 23:03
  And yeah.
• 23:05
  What you wanna do is you wanna follow the flow of how your writing is coming out.
• 23:09
  So if chapter nine is flowing, write chapter nine.
• 23:12
  That's so good.
• 23:12
  You can go back and write chapter one later, and then, um, in the editing, make sure that you have, you know, like transition sentences and such- Yeah uh, flowing between the different chapters.
• 23:21
  That way it all still flows together.
• 23:23
  You have given out so much value, and I really want you to know I appreciate it.
• 23:28
  Because I come across a lot of people who say,"I wanna write a book." And there's some good books out there, and there's some not so good books, meaning I don't know who they got training from.
• 23:41
  But, so I just think you're giving gold out, and I really appreciate you for that.
• 23:45
  And, uh, so how many books do you have?
• 23:48
  You said how many?
• 23:49
  12?
• 23:49
  Um, I have 12 books.
• 23:52
  Are they above your head?
• 23:54
  Uh, some of them are.
• 23:55
  So these ones are above my head.
• 23:58
  I have four, actually, I have five writing workbooks.
• 24:01
  Oh, nice.
• 24:02
  Um, and they are all on different subjects.
• 24:04
  So I have a nonfiction, a memoir, a fiction and fantasy workbook- Oh, good taking you through the A through Z of how to actually write your manuscript, and it has a self-publishing guide at the end.
• 24:15
  Nice.
• 24:15
  Um, I have a beginner, uh, writing workbook, which I actually want to give as, as a gift for, for all of you who are listening.
• 24:22
  Okay.
• 24:22
  Nice.
• 24:23
  Thank you.
• 24:23
  And that workbook is geared towards helping you figure out what your story is and how to start writing it.
• 24:28
  Okay.
• 24:28
  Um- So if you're listening on the podcast, she's pointing above her head where she has her books stacked.
• 24:33
  So you think,"What are they talking about?" Sometimes you gotta remember- that not everyone listens on YouTube.
• 24:38
  Mm-hmm.
• 24:39
  So yeah, give me the link when we're done, and I'll make sure it's in the show notes, uh- That's really, really fascinating.
• 24:46
  I really, I really appreciate you saying, yeah, you could be on chapter nine and come back,'cause it's f- I love that.
• 24:54
  That's like freedom instead of like, to me, it seems like you coach in a way where you understand the Holy Spirit, you understand the person's relationship with God, and you, like, build them up in their relationship while they take a step of faith in writing.
• 25:10
  Is that about right?
• 25:11
  Yes.
• 25:13
  Have you ever heard of, like, this you say duh, of course I've heard of it.
• 25:17
  But I've always really wanted, whatever I do, I want it to be an overflow of my relationship with God How would you define that?
• 25:26
  I know you believe in it.
• 25:28
  Um, so writing from overflow, I would say when you are writing, put yourself in a position and posture in which you are, are worshiping.
• 25:37
  Oh.
• 25:38
  Uh, when people get writer's block, one of the things I tell them to override that is play some worship songs.
• 25:44
  And during those worship songs, you are- Yeah you are praising God.
• 25:49
  Yeah.
• 25:49
  When you start to write, you're not stopping your flow of worship.
• 25:52
  You're transitioning it from- Yeah from being in, in a posture of, like, lifting your hands and singing songs to now writing.
• 25:59
  Wow.
• 26:00
  And when you write, that is a good way to make sure that it is the Lord's words that are speaking through you, not you.
• 26:06
  And it's also a good way to make sure that- That's so good some of that healing is coming through, too.
• 26:10
  Yeah.
• 26:11
  Um, especially when you're writing memoirs.
• 26:13
  Like, all those emotions, all those feelings- Yeah those are gonna come up as you are writing.
• 26:17
  Even if it's like,"Oh, this happened 10 years ago," it, it will still come up- Yeah.
• 26:21
  I always- and hurting yourself say you gotta, you gotta heal and speak from your scars, not your wounds.
• 26:27
  Mm-hmm.
• 26:28
  'Cause your wounds are messy.
• 26:29
  Sorry I interrupted you.
• 26:30
  Yeah.
• 26:30
  It's okay.
• 26:31
  Yeah.
• 26:32
  Um Wow.
• 26:33
  So, so good.
• 26:34
  Man.
• 26:35
  So how can people, like, get in touch with you whether it comes to they got an idea, they wanna publish a book?
• 26:42
  What's the best place for them to get in touch with you?
• 26:46
  Um, they can fill out a contact form on my website, storiesofglorypublishing.com.
• 26:52
  I thought that was what it was.
• 26:54
  Um, mm-hmm.
• 26:55
  Okay.
• 26:57
  Yep.
• 26:57
  Uh, they can al- That's probably Yeah, go ahead.
• 26:59
  I'm sorry.
• 27:00
  It's okay.
• 27:00
  Uh, they can also email me at desiree@storiesofglorypublishing.com.
• 27:05
  So good.
• 27:06
  I will, um, I will bookmark that.
• 27:09
  I may bookmark for you guys some of her works on Amazon.
• 27:13
  I love to see, you know.
• 27:14
  Do you have Like, if they can follow you, they can follow, you know, your books.
• 27:18
  Wow, this has been so good.
• 27:21
  I mean, it's really been just like I said, just like God.
• 27:24
  Yesterday was hormones, and today was publishing.
• 27:27
  It's like, God, what are you gonna send me?
• 27:28
  Oh, my God.
• 27:30
  Any final words to someone to really encourage them that their story is God's sword?
• 27:35
  Any final words for someone?
• 27:38
  Yes.
• 27:39
  For the person who has been thinking,"Oh, I really wanna write this book.
• 27:43
  I really wanna get this story out there," I want to encourage you to write.
• 27:48
  Mm.
• 27:48
  To get, get a mentor.
• 27:50
  Um, there are low-cost memberships.
• 27:52
  There are, like, one-on-one coaching.
• 27:54
  Like, get with someone who has written a book before,'cause they can- Yeah help provide you with direction.
• 27:59
  But also remember that that story that you wanna write, that story is not just for you.
• 28:05
  That story is not just about you.
• 28:06
  That story is your worship to the Lord.
• 28:09
  Yeah.
• 28:09
  And that story is your legacy.
• 28:11
  Come on.
• 28:11
  When you pass away, that story is going to stand as a record of what you stood for, what you- Yeah believed in, what you fought for, what you wanted to put out into the world.
• 28:19
  Mm.
• 28:20
  So good.
• 28:20
  So steward your story well.
• 28:23
  Steward it well and get it out there Mm.
• 28:27
  So good.
• 28:28
  Thank you.
• 28:29
  Thank you, Desiree, for just dropping gold on us every moment.
• 28:33
  Thank you so much.
• 28:34
  Oh, you're welcome.
• 28:35
  Thank you for having me.
• 28:36
  Yeah.
• 28:37
  That is today's calling session with Desiree Young.
• 28:39
  Do two things for me.
• 28:41
  Go to storiesofglorypublishing.com and check out her programs.
• 28:45
  Come on, I know I'm talking to you.
• 28:46
  You say,"Everyone's been telling me I need to write a book." Well, get off your tuff and go write a book, and follow Desiree to help you do that.
• 28:54
  You know You might have someone who comes to mind too when you hear this.
• 29:00
  Might not be for you, but you have someone, so share this episode with them,'cause some stories are not for scrolling past.
• 29:09
  This is definitely one of them.
• 29:11
  So for the Stuck No More Voices podcast, I'm Theresa Croft.
• 29:14
  I'll talk to you in the next episode