Then why can't I write a romance?
I write science fiction. I love to sit down at my laptop and just let the words flow about my MC and his family. In fact what was once a two book "set" is now both a four book series and a three book trilogy with at least one companion book. They flow from my brain as if i opened a little door on my forehead.
When I started this whole mess I actually wrote a fantasy with some romance in it as my first book. I love the book and while it needs work, (don't all first books need work?) I will revisit the world of Amalathea again sometime, maybe even turn it into a series too. There are some characters in that story that I would love to explore thier lives.
It was actually the third book I wrote, "Dominion Day" that had shoved its way to the forefront of my brain PAST the safety glass and demanded that I tell its story first. So there I stand, Emergence is being edited as I type this and I am just waiting to finish it so I can re-submit it to the publisher I really desire. Then I have the rough of Latent #2 going through my crit group right now and books 3 and 4 plotted out waiting for that month of massive motivation so I can write them. I am also waiting a little to see how the big bad guy develops in book #1 because they are more prominent in books 3 and 4.
So if the sci/fi comes so easily to me and I have some awesome ideas for two romances, why can't I write them? What is it about romance VS sci/fi or fantasy for that matter that makes my brain literally shut off? My sci/fi and fantasy have romance, I am the queen, my readers tell me, at putting two characters together and having them fall in love. If I can do that surely I can write a simple boy meets girl fall in love romance. Right?
Except my romances aren't typical. One deals with Post Partum Phychosis and the after effects of that depression and a suicide attempt. The other deals with excaping an abusive marriage and finally fulfilling their dreams. Hmmmmmmmmm...... Perhaps that is why. Maybe the simple boy meets girl would be easier.
Showing posts with label Secret of Amalathea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Secret of Amalathea. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Monday, May 25, 2009
How I Became a Writer. Part 3
With one manuscript finished I opened another short story called Foxproof and started re-writing it. This one was more my style with agents and bad/good guys. (not that I didn't love Amalathea, still do and will definately rework it at a later date.) I started to write it and as I would hit a wall or get bored with it I started more stories. Within a few months I had a few completed rough drafts and a few more stories started.
After a few months I decided to pull out my old MS, (Dominion Day)the one I wrote in High School. This was definately a favorite of mine. But a challenge since the origional storyline was actually very simple. With the other story's finished, I sat down with the origional MS and the partial rewrite I did after HS and began to write the story out.
Now, the origional story was supposed to be two books a present the problem and solve the problem set of books. I couldn't immagine something longer than that. The first story was of a guy and girl who are agents they marry and have kids. The second about thier kids after the couple die.
Well, about halfway through the book, a scene appeared in my head where my main character got religion. This scene literally turned the book upside down. It went from a 2 book set to a 5 book series. With the change in my character the story became much more complex. Scenes popped in my head like popcorn and there were a few days where I wrote 20 + pages a day.
About this time I was in church and they started asking if anyone had good news. I kept feeling I should tell them about my finished manuscripts. So after battling with my inner voice that was insisting that I say something I did. After Relief Society, (a church meeting) A woman aproached me as I waited to leave the classroom. she introdouced herself and said that she was interested in writing and wanted to talk sometime. It took a few months to actually talk but we hit it off on New Years Eve. We have been best friends ever since. We exchange writing talk about plot, and characters. We found out about the LDStorymakers conference and went to it together.
She was the first validation that what I had, inspite of the grammar problems, was good work. She also worked with me on those grammar problems and helped me develop a thick skin for critiquing.
So as my friend and I continued our writing careers together, the MS's I was working on began to evolve and become pieces of work that were slowly becoming better.
After a few months I decided to pull out my old MS, (Dominion Day)the one I wrote in High School. This was definately a favorite of mine. But a challenge since the origional storyline was actually very simple. With the other story's finished, I sat down with the origional MS and the partial rewrite I did after HS and began to write the story out.
Now, the origional story was supposed to be two books a present the problem and solve the problem set of books. I couldn't immagine something longer than that. The first story was of a guy and girl who are agents they marry and have kids. The second about thier kids after the couple die.
Well, about halfway through the book, a scene appeared in my head where my main character got religion. This scene literally turned the book upside down. It went from a 2 book set to a 5 book series. With the change in my character the story became much more complex. Scenes popped in my head like popcorn and there were a few days where I wrote 20 + pages a day.
About this time I was in church and they started asking if anyone had good news. I kept feeling I should tell them about my finished manuscripts. So after battling with my inner voice that was insisting that I say something I did. After Relief Society, (a church meeting) A woman aproached me as I waited to leave the classroom. she introdouced herself and said that she was interested in writing and wanted to talk sometime. It took a few months to actually talk but we hit it off on New Years Eve. We have been best friends ever since. We exchange writing talk about plot, and characters. We found out about the LDStorymakers conference and went to it together.
She was the first validation that what I had, inspite of the grammar problems, was good work. She also worked with me on those grammar problems and helped me develop a thick skin for critiquing.
So as my friend and I continued our writing careers together, the MS's I was working on began to evolve and become pieces of work that were slowly becoming better.
Friday, May 22, 2009
How I Became a Writer. Part 2
Okay, so while all of my writer ideas were collecting dust on a shelf in my brain. (no I don't dust, too many allergies) I was telling my children stories and thinking I should dabble in the realm of childrens books. I wrote a few but they would be shelved as soon as they were finished.
One morning I was watching an early morning news show. They were interviewing an author and the author said that if you want to be a writer every sentence must be completely new and have never been read before. Talk about a load of mind blowing discouragement. It was those words that rattled in my brain everytime I had an idea come up or the desire to write. I basically talked myself out of ever writing again.
I was busy with a family and volunteering work so the writing bug was sated for a while. (This is the part where Harry Potter comes in) We moved from Provo to Tooele and I was left w/o any volunteer work to do, and no friends. I found the library and dove into the world of reading to pass my time. I hit a point that there were no more books that were appealing to me and I had just finished Harry Potter #5 and was waiting on pins and needles for #6 to come out.
There were no books in the house or Library that I hadn't read. (that I wanted to read, I didn't read the whole library) So I pulled out my two old folders and bag of my old writing and began to read them to pass the time. I pulled out a 12 page story called "The Secret of Amalathea" and read it. As I finished the small exerpt that I had written a long time ago the world of Amalathea opened up in my mind and I thought "I can work on this, I can finish the story." So I sat at the old computer and with my limited four finger typing I wrote 101,000 words before I typed "The End". Thus a very ameturish writer was born again.
One morning I was watching an early morning news show. They were interviewing an author and the author said that if you want to be a writer every sentence must be completely new and have never been read before. Talk about a load of mind blowing discouragement. It was those words that rattled in my brain everytime I had an idea come up or the desire to write. I basically talked myself out of ever writing again.
I was busy with a family and volunteering work so the writing bug was sated for a while. (This is the part where Harry Potter comes in) We moved from Provo to Tooele and I was left w/o any volunteer work to do, and no friends. I found the library and dove into the world of reading to pass my time. I hit a point that there were no more books that were appealing to me and I had just finished Harry Potter #5 and was waiting on pins and needles for #6 to come out.
There were no books in the house or Library that I hadn't read. (that I wanted to read, I didn't read the whole library) So I pulled out my two old folders and bag of my old writing and began to read them to pass the time. I pulled out a 12 page story called "The Secret of Amalathea" and read it. As I finished the small exerpt that I had written a long time ago the world of Amalathea opened up in my mind and I thought "I can work on this, I can finish the story." So I sat at the old computer and with my limited four finger typing I wrote 101,000 words before I typed "The End". Thus a very ameturish writer was born again.
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