The Story Behind The Story

Where do story ideas originate?

I frequently get asked where my ideas for the nameless, the aldanmas, Talaneamh culture, and the themes in The Nameless of Ginah Valley came from. The final story is completely different than the first few ideas swirling in my brain when I decided I wanted to write a book. I write best in layers, and while I’ve become more methodical about my own process, writing The Nameless of Ginah Valley was an adventure of its own. I felt like I was uncovering a story that already existed rather than creating it as I went along.

Here’s what I mean: I’ve been writing stories on and off most of my life. It was something I unconsciously did. I never thought about becoming a professional writer, but I always had some sort of secret writing project going on in the background that I would pick up from time to time whenever I got bored. Sometime after college, I started to toy around with an idea about a girl who could fly.

The earliest version of The Nameless of Ginah Valley that I can remember is this: a red-headed girl who was a total rip-off of Anne of Green Gables was on a train to meet her relatives in a different kingdom that had no magic, and her little gregarious self was going to swoop in and terrify them with her ability to fly.

As you know, that is not the story I ended up writing.

That story premise went nowhere, but the idea of a flying girl stayed. I have the ability to lucid dream, and many nights have been spent flying. I wanted to include that feeling of soaring through the heavens in my book.

During the pandemic, a new story began to take shape that is just barely recognizable as the beginning of The Nameless of Ginah Valley. A binary society emerged of people who could fly and people who could not: Earth people and Sky people. My main character, of course, could magically do both.

A magical academy romantasy started to take shape. I would write a couple of chapters, discover something new about the story or the characters, but mostly, I just realized that it wasn’t working. I would write to 40 or 50k words and then scrap the whole thing.

I think I did that three or four times.

But at one point, the story started to have potential. The last time I got to 40k or 50k, I realized that I liked the story. I remember thinking, “I could finish this story, and it would be fine. It would be a decent story.”

But I felt something nagging at the back of my mind.

This isn’t the story I’m supposed to write.

The story had a premise, but not a purpose. The soul of the story was missing—but how did I find it?

Finding the story’s soul

Around the pandemic, the cast of characters and story ideas were growing. A whole trilogy, perhaps even a series, was expanding in my mind, but my outline for the first book had MAJOR holes in it—like the messy middle… and the ending. Even so, I wasn’t ready to give up on this story. There was something about it that made me believe it had potential. There was a jewel I needed to uncover.

I needed to find the story’s soul.

My husband read an early draft of my first few chapters, and he told me that my heroine was too overpowered and noble. And who was she really, anyway? She lacked depth and personality. She needed FLAWS. In the kindest possible way, he concluded that she was perfectly boring.

Huh. If I had taken the time to do literally any creative writing workshop on character, I would have diagnosed this right away. This was definitely a character-driven story, and I spent very little thought on the main character. The side characters were writing themselves, but my main character—yeah, I had no idea who she was. I didn’t know her fears, the lies she believed, or how she saw herself.

My husband was definitely talking about internal flaws to make her three-dimensional, but the conversation sparked an entirely different idea. An idea that changed my entire story.

What if she didn’t have any powers at all?

At this point, the whole premise of my book was about her having superpowers. But that question stuck with me because it made me ask another question:

If she didn’t have powers, what would make her special?

That question rocked me. At this time, I had spent the last five years working with homeless students and was actively leading bible studies for youth in juvenile detention. A few close friends of mine were struggling with chronic illness or life-altering injury. People I knew and loved felt powerless, useless, and worthless every day. And with the pandemic—the world was a dangerous, apathetic place crying out for justice and finding none. Locked in our houses, we were all uncovering childhood wounds we didn’t know we had.

I found one of mine: I needed to be and feel special. There was a gaping hole of loneliness inside of me, revealing an unhealthy lie I believed: that my worth was tied to what I produced.

And so the true story of The Nameless of Ginah Valley unlocked before me, one that asked questions I was personally seeking. It took me another three years to write, and there was still so much to uncover, but I knew this was the story I wanted to tell.

Because it was my soul’s quest to discover the heart of God. How God sees every person as valuable. How each person has intrinsic worth.

This book is not a Christian fantasy, but for me, the process of writing The Nameless of Ginah Valley was a spiritual endeavor. God patiently walked with me through past wounds and let me scream injustices at him. God showed me that He never forgot; He always remembers, and He is the one who sees.

To me, The Nameless of Ginah Valley was my way to reclaim my identity in Christ, a practice of renewing my imagination, so that I had the faith to imagine a restored world.

The Keepers of Talaneamh series is far from done, but I can already tell you that the Holy Spirit’s transformational work is active in my life as I work on books 2 and 3.

And I’m so excited to share what I learn next.

by Krista Ino

How I Wrote a 100k Manuscript with Twin Babies

How I Wrote a 100K Manuscript with Twin Babies

Finding the time to write is always difficult. With my first novel, I wrote while pursuing a master’s and working full-time, during my first year of teaching, and through grieving. I considered myself self-disciplined, organized, and diligent.

And then I became pregnant—with twins.

My pregnancy brain fog was terrible! Thankfully, I had finished my first novel because I didn’t write anything during my entire pregnancy. But after giving birth, I was eager to write the sequel. With the exorbitant cost of childcare, it wasn’t worth returning to work. It was the dream. I could be a stay-at-home mom and write.

The problem: I had two premature babies who couldn’t breastfeed. It took almost an hour and a half for them to drink two ounces of milk, and THEN I had to pump. For the first year, I had to pump around 8 times a day, and my twins didn’t sleep through the night.

I finished my 100k manuscript before they turned one.

How did I do it? Coffee, a supportive community, and the grace of God—but also with these 5 tips.

Know Yourself

What time of day are you most creative and productive? When do you feel the most drained?

I knew that I needed to be wise with my time and prioritize tasks. When there’s not enough time, everything seems important. And there’s nothing more frustrating than carving out precious time to write and then slamming into writer’s block because you’re too tired to think.

From my college years, I learned that I am most productive and creative mid-morning. I have a hard time producing something new first thing in the morning (I need time to wake up, eat, and drink coffee), and only on rare occasions can I write well at night. I can write in the afternoons, but I often become distracted by preparing dinner, catching up on phone calls/messages, and finishing whatever didn’t get done earlier in the day, so I’m better suited for tasks that don’t require as much focus.

With this in mind, I would order tasks based on the time of day. Every nap and/or pumping session was an opportunity to write. If I found a pocket of time in the morning, I would draft. In the afternoons, I would revise, edit, or research. After putting the boys to bed, I would finish chores and brainstorm.

Keep Writing Time Sacred—Yes, Chores Can Wait

Early on, I found my tendency to “clean up first” would use up all my writing time. So I had to designate the first nap of the day as sacred writing time. This meant:

Preparing my pumping equipment ahead of time so I could write while pumping.

No phone. On silent and out of reach.

Dishes, laundry, and unswept floors all had to wait.

No book researching, which inevitably turns into Google search rabbit holes.

I literally dropped everything to draft my manuscript—even if it was only for a fifteen-minute pump session.

Set Routines and Involve Your Children in Household Tasks

So when did I do those chores? As much as possible, when my twins were awake!

Twin moms told me that setting and keeping a routine was crucial for their sanity, so I stuck as closely to mine as possible, adjusting every 2-3 months as nap times changed and they started breastfeeding more. My twins were usually content to play in their play yard for a few minutes after breakfast, so I would watch them from the kitchen and frantically load the dishwasher. Over time, they began to expect this independent play time, and I was able to stretch it out longer. In the afternoons, jumper time equaled laundry time and so on. Every mom learns to multitask with their kids. And the older my kids get, the more I involve them in household chores. For them and myself, I frame it as a learning and connection opportunity.

And when I couldn’t get all the tasks done in the day? If it could wait and wasn’t detrimental to my family, I simply didn’t do them. Or if I had the energy, I did them at night. That usually meant skipping streaming platforms, social media, or reading time in bed, but that was a sacrifice I decided to make to keep my writing time.

One non-chore routine that I established early with them was reading. I read to them during or after every meal, and around 8 months, they liked books so much that during naps, I started putting board books within easy reach of their cribs. When they would wake up, they would be content to read a few books independently, giving me an extra 10-15 minutes. Some books were damaged in the process, but overall, I’ve been amazed by how careful they are. And now, as toddlers, they are little book monsters, begging me to read to them all day long.

Enlist Help: Partner, Babysitters, In-laws…

I was really lucky. When my twins were born, my in-laws visited for two weeks to help with the babies, and my mom would come down 1-2x a week to help with the boys once my husband returned to work. My best friend helped me for a whole month when we moved states, and then I lived with my in-laws for two months before moving AGAIN. The first few months were intense, and I had a lot of help—but I also didn’t write.

The writing came later after we moved a second time. (The boys were five months old). We didn’t know anyone in the state, and my husband’s job required a lot of traveling and unpredictable hours. He is the most supportive, helpful husband in the world, and so, whenever he was home, he would make sure that he would cook dinner, do the chores, watch the twins, etc., so that I could rest or write. If you are blessed with a partner who desires to be helpful, then ask! (And be specific).

Being new to the state, I tried connecting with my community by attending church and mom groups. I was happily surprised by how eager people were to help our little family. Asking for help can be hard, but when people I trusted offered to babysit or drop off a meal, I took them up on it! And sometimes, I gained the courage to ask first.

Not everyone has a village. I moved away from mine, and I had to start from scratch. This experience taught me the importance of community and hospitality. Now I specifically know how to be a good friend to a new mom. Look for your circle of support, or if you don’t have one, find one! Ask for help, and seek to be that supportive person to others.

When All Else Fails, Give Yourself Grace.

So wait, when did I actually write?

In actuality, it took me six months to finish my manuscript, starting when the boys were five months old. The first three months of their life, I was literally surviving on 20-40 minutes of sleep at a time. The next two months were a little better (a couple of hour stretches), but I was living with my in-laws, and I didn’t have the mental clarity to draft a novel.

So I planned, learned, and plotted.

I listened to writing craft seminars and podcasts while pumping or bottle feeding. I outlined and brainstormed ideas for my book during their nap time. I didn’t have the energy to produce much, but I found I could absorb some information.

And so when we got settled into our new home, it was go time. I took all that plotting/planning time and started drafting. Some authors set word count goals of 2,000 words a day. Mine was 1,000 words, but more often, it was only 500. Some days, I didn’t get to write at all.

If you are a slow writer like me, don’t fret! Any progress is progress. And as you can see, consistency adds up. Even with all of my life craziness, skipped days, and writer’s block, I still finished my 100k manuscript in 6 months.

Do what you can, and when you can’t, breathe. It is okay. This is a season that God has blessed you with to enrich your life and help you to grow.

***

Now that my twins are toddlers, I’m having to come up with a whole different list of strategies. Maybe I’ll write another post after drafting Book 3.

Writer moms, what are your tips? I’d love to hear from you!

by Krista Ino