I can’t believe it’s already the end of May. This year has been such a busy year for me already. And in addition to everything else going on I’ve decided to throw starting a new writing career into the mix. Hubby says I’m a glutton for punishment at times. In this he might be right. But don’t tell him. I wouldn’t want it to go to his head. LOL.

One thing I’ve learned is that it takes a lot of work to simplify your life, to go through everything and decide what’s important and what isn’t. But I know once we’re done, we will both be happier in the end and that’s all that really matters. While it might not be easy, it is important for  many reasons. 

This year is all about building the life we want. For me, writing just happens to be part of that life. I love reading and I love conjuring up worlds and characters from the spark of an idea. There is nothing at all like taking this vague idea for a story… a character… a world, and turning it into a book. It is a magical process. One that is fulfilling in a way that is hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it yourself. I know a lot of authors compare it to having children, but since I’ve never had children I wouldn’t know. I guess it too is one of those things that’s hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it for yourself. 

The process of putting words on the page can be hard and frustrating and emotional at times. It’s like a roller coaster where you get on all excited about the thrilling ride ahead. With each clack as it climbs to the top you get a little more excited. Then you crest that hill and the car suddenly drops and you throw your arms up enjoying the ride as you race at breakneck speeds toward the end. Only then you realize the track levels out so the thrilling ride of moments before has become boring and a bit tedious, or it stalls altogether, and you start questioning why you got on the ride in the first place. Other times there’s suddenly a wall in your way and you have to figure out to get rid of the way so you can continue the ride. 

And just about the time you’re thinking about just jumping out of the cart—since it’s going at a snails pace and is no longer fun—the track suddenly curves and you realize the slow ride was actually a slow and steady climb. So while you thought you weren’t making any progress and that it was silly to get on this ride in the first place, you were actually climbing higher and higher it just wasn’t the steep climb of before. But when you round that curve, you find yourself suddenly dropping at a faster speed than even before, but this time you see the end in sight and you noticed the fun loop-to-loops and the corkscrews and the splash pool ahead.

And you remember why you love this particular roller coaster.

So once it comes to a stop and you get out, you hurry to get back in line, excited to ride it again and again. Knowing the ride is never exactly like the one before, but the end result is always the same. No matter how good or bad, if you ride it until the end you will have a book. 

I took a few years off from writing this particular roller coaster, but I’ve missed it and so here I am standing in line again, waiting for my turn to ride.

With my current WIP (work in progress) I’m still in the going downhill a breakneck speed phase of things. I know the boring part is going up fast and that all I’ve got to do is write through it so I can get to the good parts that await me ahead. 

I also know that no matter what I’ll end up rewriting large sections of this book before all is said and done. The first chapter is pretty much a given. I never know how to start a book and I often find that simply deleting that first chapter altogether makes it better. But I need that horrible first chapter to get me started, to work out in my head who my character is and what exactly it is they want. See, I’m what the call a pantser. That’s what they call writers who write without an outline, also known as writing by the seat of your pants. Hence the name. Although, I prefer to call myself an organic writer. I organically let the story unfold by listening to my instincts and my characters. I’m not always right and I admit I end up doing a lot of rewriting and revising before a book is ready, but I would bet that I probably spend about as much time revising and rewriting as a plotter does plotting out their book. The only difference is that I don’t have any preconceived ideas about what my storyline is going to be. I’m not trying to force my characters to do X, Y, and Z because I think that’s what should happen. Instead, I let my characters dictate what happens. 

I trust that I’ve read enough books and that I’ve written enough and studied enough, to know what a good story is and what it isn’t. I might not be able to break it all down into things like acts or beats or whatever. I might not be able to tell you why it works. But knowing the why of things doesn’t mean I don’t understand them. I don’t have to know how to sing to know a good song when I hear it. And just because I can’t sing, doesn’t, mean that I couldn’t write a song myself. Not being able to carry a tune also doesn’t stop me from singing—just ask Hubby’s poor tortured ears—but that’s neither here nor there. My point is, I don’t have to be able to explain why a book is good to know that I like it and it’s that very same thing that lets me know when my own writing is ready to be released.

I’ve found that most of the times when I have an issue with a scene or a section of the book, it’s because, for whatever reason, I stopped listening to my instincts. Those are usually the places were I begin to think I know what’s going to happen and where it’s going. And almost every time I start thinking that… I’m wrong. 

For me, I have to write from my subconscious and not my conscious mind. Because my conscious mind is worrying about more things than just writing the best story I can. It’s worrying about things like marketability, cover art, release dates, branding, etc., etc., etc. None of which matters until you actually write the book. It’s only when I get out of my own way and stop thinking that the magic happens.

So here’s to riding roller coasters and getting out of your own way.

*Writing is a very personal process. My way of doing things is just that, MINE. If you want to be a writer, then you need to figure out what works for you and don’t worry about “doing it right”. There is no right or wrong way, as long as you get the words on the page then nothing else matters.