NEW RELEASES
Speed Bumps
All three of the Sisters have encountered bumps in the road this week. I want to emphasize how important it is to have a sounding board with which to work through these things. As you’re writing, the smallest little hiccup can put a grinding halt to the proceedings. It’s so easy to obsess over some part of the plot and get stuck there. Then you find yourself working and reworking the scene and you get nowhere fast. You effectively strangle the poor muse and while she sits there crying, helpless to assist you, you just keep making things worse and you can’t move on. You know something doesn’t work, but you can’t figure out what, or how to fix it. The horrifying truth that niggles in the back of your mind is that you may have to scrap something and start that part over. Don’t panic! The three of us have found that sometimes just talking it over outloud with someone that can ask leading questions, or look at it with a new perspective can save you literally hours of agony. I know it sounds easy and simple and you may even be reading this and saying “well, duh”, but the fact of the matter is, writing is a lonely gig. It’s very easy to cocoon yourself with your computer and resist the urge to share your work with someone until it’s perfect. The breaking news is: It’s never “perfect”. Give up that pipe dream now. But you can make it the best you can with the help of trusted compatriots. Find yourself a critique group that you really trust. Show them the problem areas especially. A good critique group wants you to succeed.
Good luck out there. Keep writing and reading and learning your craft. It’s all going to payoff in the end.
Although i am new to romance writing, i found what you had to say very critical. The muse is there to help and suffacating her in deadly. Write like crazy and don’t look for errors (unless they are very obvious.) allow her to create, become the story and the characters until they are crying to come out. Then do rewrites and do have people that you trust to read. Don’t over think it.
I wasn’t trying to be critical at all. I’m saying sometimes you simply get lost and as opposed to obsessing (and if you say you never obsess about plot, character, motivation, dialogue, whatever – I’ll know you’re lying) I say talk to someone you trust. It’s amazing the power of talking out loud instead of in your head. A writer’s head is a messy place, and it’s hard to hear yourself with all the noise in there.