When I first wrote a book, it was in 2009 and it was such a rush. I was filled with delight as the story progressed. That high quickly diminished when I began to understand just how much I didn’t know about storytelling–at least not the kind a publisher would want. The Christian market has different standards than much of what I had read in the secular market. Oh, I had so much to learn.
I kept writing. Many of my friends who are writers will exclaim at how fast I can write a story. Most of the time that is true but I have to be really focused to put in that kind of sustained effort. The reality is, as someone who does not plot a novel, writing fast helps me keep track of all my characters and plot points. Sure I make notes as I go but usually I just try to get the story out. The more stories I write you would think the easier it would get. Not true. Sometimes I think I don’t want to get to the end of the story so I will find other things to do. But why? Because then the really hard work comes, the editing, tearing it apart, eventually submitting it and having it either accepted or rejected. If there is a contract then the harder work of editing begins. And marketing. Let’s not forget that.
They tell writers we need to toughen up — but sometimes it is hard to do the edits. It can feel like a personal attack because this story was birthed out of my imagination. I’m not a tough person. When I was in grade school, all someone had to do was look at me with anger and I’d burst into tears. I’m not quite so prone to that now, but in some ways that’s a loss, not a gain.
The more one writes, the better they hopefully get. I had one novel where I tried something different. I wrote two concurrent love stories. One was primary and the other secondary but that meant four,not two points-of-view (the perspective of the one character, what they see, feel, hear, touch, or in anyway experience). It got contracted but I had to remove the points-of-view of the secondary love story. The romance was still there but was only seen through the eyes and ears of my two main characters. Ugh.
It doesn’t matter how you feel about it–the work has to be done. I have some books that I’ve written that due to hassles during the editing process, I almost don’t want to pick up and read when they were done. If I do read them, I’m often amazed at the story and those yucky feelings from the editing disappear as I get lost in a story I should know by heart, but don’t because I write so many. I’ll enjoy it immensly.
So there is fun in the process. There’s an awe and wonder when I read words on a page, enjoy them and marvel because then it hits me. I wrote that. Me? Little ol’ me? Obviously, God was at work. I’m not that great on my own. Many authors refuse to read their books. Of course, the down side is every time I read an older novel I think of ways I could have done it better. I wrote it the best I could at the time, with what I knew. Time gives perspective. If older titles are not longer available someday, I’ll need to consider whether I want to revise them for another run, totally understanding that it would mean another few rounds of edits in the process. Because making changes always seems to mess up something!
Is writing hard work? Yes. The pay is crappy and my employer (me) is an inconsistant taskmaster. Life is full and busy without all that, but as long as God calls me to do this work, I’ll continue on.
