I help authors find their Aha! moments

What is an Aha! moment? 

I’d like to share one recent Aha! moment I was honored to witness and which is a thrilling example of what I want for all of my clients. In our follow-up phone call to discuss questions about his editorial letter, a client expressed discontent with one particular bit of advice. (As I always tell clients, editing is subjective and authors are free and encouraged to use only what they feel helps their story shine.)

While working through that particular advice in his editorial letter, I had written two options for how to handle the particular issue I'd identified in his work. Before finalizing and sending his letter, I deleted one of the options with the expectation that this writer would prefer a less complex solution and that the remaining solution did indeed tell the story he wanted to tell.

In our conversation, he explained that, in fact, the solution I offered was not the story he wanted to tell. I was grateful to have a clearer understanding about his goals and thought my deleted recommendation might be just the advice that launched his imagination. When I explained my thoughts to him, he said, "That's great! That's what I want to do!" I could hear the Aha! happening through the phone. 

This experience, the metaphoric light that emanates from a writer when they figure out what’s going to take their work from something with potential to something they can’t wait to share with young readers is what I hope to facilitate for all my clients. That is an Aha! moment.