I’ve spent most of the last year struggling to get my writing output back to the levels it was during 2017. A determined push during November for NaNoWriMo helped a lot, as did writing. Editing/tweaking later, which included leaving a lot of [insert name etc here] in my manuscript, instead of stopping and researching, and then continuing to write, was also helpful.

But how to maintain that push? Real life kept rearing its ugly head, and making demands on my time.

I love my betas but they’d had changes in their lives during 2017 as well. Instead of regularly touching base, talking plotting, and receiving feedback, I was now at the point where I’d send a chapter off into what was quickly feeling like a black void, with no idea when it might return.

The answer to my dilemma?

Alpha reading. At this point I’d like to thank my friend Gillian St. Kevern for not only suggesting it, but also giving her permission to share about our alpha reading journey over the past few weeks.

When she suggested trying alpha reading, I hadn’t heard of the term. For those of you, like me, who hadn’t, it’s the first person who sees your writing after you’ve written it. The idea is that you send whomever you’re alpha reading with whatever you’ve written for the day, and they do the same. What you send is the raw, very much first draft, so ignore the typos, and the bits in brackets as those will be sorted out later.

You read the new bit within 24 hours and send it back one or two positive comments. I knew I wouldn’t have any problem finding something positive in Gillian’s writing, as I’ve yet to read something of hers I didn’t enjoy. An added bonus is that because your alpha reader is familiar with what you’re writing, if you want to run plot ideas past them, and have those sorts of discussions they know what you’re talking about and can give constructive feedback at that level too.

We decided we’d do a test drive and see how we got on. She’d alpha read in the past, but her alpha reader wasn’t able to do it anymore. Like me, the dropping off of regular feedback had made a different to her writing output so this had the potential to be very beneficial to both of us. We’d already read a lot of each other’s work, plus had known each other since before we were both published writers. I think this does need to be done with someone you trust, and know is on a similar wavelength. I’ve been stung before with beta readers who did more damage than good.

We sent each other our current WIPs so far on Christmas Eve so we’d be up to date on what was happening with our stories etc. Both of us were at the point in our manuscripts that we were only a few chapters in, so it was the perfect time to start our test drive.

The results were almost immediate. While I’d struggled to write 500 words most days, and found it difficult to find the discipline to sit and write, I’m now—not even a month later—averaging 1K a day, and can’t wait to get up in the morning to write. My characters are clambering in my head, my story is moving ahead, and I’m back on target and more.

Ditto for Gillian. I’m loving her new book, and having the opportunity to read it bit by bit, even if I’m on tenderhooks waiting to find out what happens next, and poking at my inbox each day to see if there is another email from her in my inbox.

I ran this post past her as she was a big part of it, and she had this to add—and has given me permission to quote her—I would add that alpha reading also addresses one of the biggest hazards of the writing life–loneliness. Since writing is often done on our own somewhere quiet and removed from distractions, it’s really easy to start feeling isolated and down. Alpha-reading combats that because in addition to getting regular e-mails from you, it reminds me that the end goal is human connections–readers reading this book, and interacting with my words in their way.