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"Do not confuse motion
and progress.
A rocking horse keeps
moving, but does not make any progress."
Alfred Montapert (author and philosopher)
Pardon me, while I tell you about my
carousel...
Alyssa likes to say that I write the first three chapters of
any story better than anyone she knows. The problem? I don't
always get much farther than that. Since I tend to write
slower than many authors, and the market of erotic and
romance fiction is expanding so rapidly, there is ample time
for me to get sidetracked with a new project or a new idea.
It's hard for me to believe that I once feared running out
of ideas.
I used to drop whatever current project I
was working on and start jotting down any new idea that came
to me. This often evolved into 3000 words and a great first
chapter. I would be so excited I would write more. A couple
of weeks later, I'd have three fun chapters and another idea
would strike. I couldn't risk losing it, could I? Of course
not, so I'd put the new-current story on hold and make notes
on the latest idea.
I'm certain you can see a pattern here.
Before long, I have great starts on about five or six
stories, very good starts on another eight, and decent
beginnings on at least another ten.
The problem is obvious. Nothing gets
completed! The carousel I'm on keeps going round and round,
but my horses never reach the finish line.
"An idea not coupled
with action will never get any bigger
than the brain cell it
occupied."
Arnold H. Glasgow (psychologist)
So, we've established I have plenty of ideas to work from,
but not that many completed books out on the shelves. It
looks like the goal for me now is to focus on completing
these "great starts."
Sounds simple, right? Not so much...
Aspiring romance writers are always told to write what they
read. I can't remember how often I've seen the following
advice, "If you aren't sure what genre or style you want to
write, make a list of what books you've read in the past
year." Fair enough. Let's analyze what I like to read (and
write):
Are they humorous, fast-paced and flirty
contemporaries?
Yes.
[Eight stories started...three
before I met Alyssa; one of these is finished (can I hear a
Hallelujah?), but needs to be completely re-edited.]
Are they historically atmospheric Regencies, full of
handsome side-whiskered Lords?
Most assuredly.
[Seven (or more) stories
started...three within one or two chapters of completion.]
Are they sexy, cowboy-filled westerns?
Yep.
[Only two stories
started...give the confused writer a hand!]
What about modern-day cowboys, swashbuckling pirates, or
even the occasional moody, angst-filled vampire?
Yes, ma'am, Aye, and I vant to suck your
blood. (Oops, getting carried away.)
[Let's see...two pirate stories,
one cowboy story, and halfway into a single-title length
futuristic-vampire-Regency
combination story.]
And then we get to basic futuristic, science fiction type
romance stories...do I read any of those?
My own. :-) Do they count?
[Very close to completing
Arresting, the second story featuring Jāden and Lyra.
Notes on ideas and
titles for other Tales of the Pride stories and
characters
that I haven't decided whether or not I'll actually write.]
"I'm not
confused, I'm just well mixed."
Robert Frost
So, it's easy to see that my reading
subject matter is all over the board.
And so is my writing.
I keep struggling with the basic conundrum of whether to
focus on lighthearted, fun, flirty stories or more heart
wrenching, emotional ones. My individual "voices" for
writing each type of story don't seem to lend themselves for
mixing and matching, at least not yet. My characters tend to
be either irreverent smart asses or serious, thoughtful
companions. (Perhaps I need to invent a new character, one
who's a thoughtful smart ass. But wait, that
would mean a new idea, and back in August, I swore off any
new ideas--committing myself to completing current projects
first.)
I absolutely, positively, completely,
without-a-doubt hate reading emotional stories. So
why is it that those are the ones that stay with me? The
books that I can't put down--or ones I have to put down for
months and take a "breather" from before I can muster the
fortitude to pick them up and finish? Stories like,
Morning Glory, by LaVyrle Spencer and Flowers from
the Storm by Laura Kinsale and Redeeming Love by
Francine Rivers...stories that I've read anywhere from one
to sixteen years ago, but have never gotten out of my mind?
On some levels, I think this is the type of work my heart
yearns to produce. But my head keeps getting in the way.
Every single word choice, every comma, every sentence in
every paragraph has to be just so before I'm satisfied with
my own writing and ready to let it go and submit my work to a
publisher. And I find that with my more serious stories, this
takes a really, really long time.
Also, I think I flat-out have more fun writing
funny. I just can't help myself. Sometimes, right in the
midst of a scene, I'll dictate a line that tickles my funny
bone. Since I'm talking out loud to my computer, I have to
turn off the microphone because I start chuckling. More than
once, I've woken up Klingon or Miss Priss, my two feline
writing companions (Zorro prefers to hang with the
guitar-playing Mr. Lyons) by laughing at my own silly writing.
That's just plain fun (and I'm a big proponent of finding
fun, especially cheap fun, anywhere you can!).
Ah, peace & quiet. ZZZZ. Grrr. Must you cackle like a dog?
Now, I'm almost at the point of being at
a crossroads: ARRESTING will be finished and submitted
to Amber Quill in a matter of weeks, and for the first time
since I began writing erotic romance almost 18 months ago, I
don't have my next project waiting in the wings.
Do I write serious? Or funny?
Contemporary or historical? Novellas (which I
personally prefer) or is it time to flex my writing muscles
and produce a true single title?
Each of these is already started!
Now it's time to select one to finish.
"Confusion now hath
made his masterpiece!"
William Shakespeare
Part of me wants to return to writing
contemporary, upbeat romance while part of me yearns to
write gut-wrenching historicals. Neither can I easily
decide whether to continue writing sexually explicit
(erotic) romance or to focus on more traditional, yet still
sensual, romance.
If you've read my work, either my
published stories, or the free erotic short stories featured
here at Wicked Escapes and offered at my website, you've
gotten a chance to read both my historical and contemporary
writings. I'd love to hear from any fans that may
have an opinion on what I should finish next. (Email
me)
That's the keyword: finish. My goal
is to complete some of my current stories without starting
any new ones! And other than completed short stories
(under 4K) I haven't started anything new since
making the commitment not to...sometime in July. Go
me!!
Here's to 2007... the year Larissa
doesn't eat sugar (egad!!!) and the year I hope to complete
at least three, hopefully four or five, of my current
works-in-progress.
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