“Why romance?” “How do you write all those pages?” These are variations of “where do you get ideas for your stories?” and “how do you develop your characters?” that I hear often. Previously, I shared my struggles to understand indie-publishing and the nature of my readers with you. Today I am confessing the truth behind my writing process. Warning: You may think I am certifiably insane before I finish.
Writing is a Job
I cannot talk about how I write without saying a few things about writing in general. Not to be preachy, but writing books is first and foremost about writing. You cannot get a short story, a poem, a screenplay or a book finished without committing to writing.
What I mean is that you must dedicate time and energy to writing, making it a priority and creating writing habits that work for you. Remember my blog about my 12-step program to create habits? Whatever process gets you there, first you have to put pen to paper or fingers to computer. Someone way smarter than I am said that the difference between the millions of people who say they want to write a book and the ones who do write a book is that the authors are willing to do the work.
I block hours on my calendar for writing, hours when my friends and family know I won’t take calls, hours when I don’t Tweet or check Facebook or email. Whether I feel like it or not, I write. That is critical. Even if I don’t feel like writing, I write or I edit, but I stay close to the writing. If the book isn’t flowing, I write my blog, or my newsletter, then I come back to my book. Lucky for me, much of the time the words do flow, in fact they keep me awake at night and wake me in the morning. They are bursting to get out of me.
You’ll Think I’m Crazy
People who know me already thought I was crazy before I started writing but now they know for sure. After all, when someone says they hear voices, most of us run in the other direction. My characters definitely speak to me. Not literally, but once I create them, they speak for themselves.
A novel starts with a kernel of an idea. In romance the idea is built around boy meets girl, gets girl, loses girl, wins girl, and they live happily ever after. But I might decide that they meet at an art festival, that she is poor, he is very rich and seems unattainable…you get the idea. I start with the characters. I work on those characters until I know them inside out. I know where they grew up and went to school, what they eat for lunch, what they are afraid of.
Once I begin writing the plot, my characters will behave and speak ‘in character’. This has kept me from getting stuck several times. I just say “what would Wyatt say here?” or “what would Sloane do?” and they let me know. Once I get into a book, the characters live their lives and the plot follows. I just capture their words and actions – seriously. Told you you would think I was crazy.
Are you a Pantser versus Plotter
In fiction writing, authors are referred to as pantsers – those who write the story flying by the seat of their pants – and plotters – those who detail their plot. I fall between the two, laying out the basic plot, and perhaps a one-liner on what might happen chapter by chapter. But then I let the writing take over and deviate from that when my characters ‘tell’ me to. It works for me.
I am doing that now, actually. I have my characters for Book 4 in the Beguiling Bachelor series in my head. Of course, it is about Tyler and Regan. We have waited through several books for these two to finally get together. The characters are developed, and I will tell you that they have some history together that has kept them apart, but I am just plotting now.
So this is your chance to influence my story. I know what keeps Tyler and Regan apart, but you can help me decide other aspects of the plot. Let your imagination loose. Send me your ideas at maddy@madisonmichael.net.