Welcome to December! Here in the north, we’re waiting for fall to give way to winter. It seems this has been the shortest year that I can ever recall but a productive one. We are a little closer to a new normal, but many things have changed and many more will never be the same.
This month’s question is: In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?
What stresses me the most is coming up with something new that will be unique and different and yet still be marketable. There are thousands upon thousands of books out there, in more genres and subgenres than I can name. Some are more popular than others, but in the end, they all have a fan base. The key is to discover your niche of readers and writing a book they’ll want to read. What delights me is when I’ve succeeded, when someone reads one of my books and tells me how much they’ve enjoyed it and how they’re looking forward to reading more of my work.
As a pantser, I don’t outline my books, so often when the story starts, I’m not sure where it will go, other than the fact that good will triumph, and there will be a happy ending. That method of writing can be stressful, especially when I hit a wall or a roadblock. Then I need to go back and see where I went off the rails to bring the storyline back into focus. For example, in my suspense novels, the hero will eventually catch the villain, save the day, and find love. In The Harvester Series, it takes four books to take down the organizations and stop the one responsible for the deaths and end other threats, but in each book, one villain is stopped, people rescued, and one couple falls in love. In my romance novels, whatever conflict is keeping the hero and heroine apart is resolved and they find their happily ever after, in my chick-lit, the heroine will work her way through the situation, encountering a few humorous situations along the way to her haapily for now, in my historical novels, the crisis will be resolved and life will move on with love at the heart of it, while in my paranormal novels, good will triumph over evil. So while writing this way can be stressful, completing the book, bringing the charcters through countless situations that I couldn’t predict or imagine when I started writing the story is extremely satisfying.
I’ve tried to write with a outline and failed dismally, which was enormously stressful. The best way for me to do it is my way. How about you? What stresses you in your writing?
Wishing you all a happy holiday season, regardless of which of the many end of year holidays you celebrate.
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Living the Dream 
I haven’t been able to write with an outline either, but I do have the major points mapped out. Thinking of what to write and have a clear enough vision are stressful for me, especially since I struggle writing my first draft too.
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I know exactly what you mean. Going over the first two-thirds of a new book now, getting ready to finish it, and the charcters have already taken me wher I didn’t plan to go. Good luck with your writing.
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“So while writing this way can be stressful, completing the book, bringing the characters through countless situations that I couldn’t predict or imagine when I started writing the story is extremely satisfying.” Oh this is SO TRUE! 🙂
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Yup. In the process of doing it right now.
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on the idea of writing something that no one has read before, each story we tell, and others tell has similar points, it’s how we tell it that matters, and please trust me on this, no two story tellers can tell the same story, it’s like describing a person, no two will ever get it exactly right, so when you write your story, it will be different. I know that is hard to grasp at times, I find myself struggling with it as well, and then I tie up that narky little voice and put him in the cellar.
As for outlines, I am a great believer in them, but we must each do what is best for us, it took me a while and a few outlines until I got the one that works for me, also the knowledge that it’s not written in stone and subject to change, sure helps a lot.
Best of luck with your writing, YOU got this.
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Thank you! Best of luck to you, too.
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