Tuesday, June 23, 2009

"There is only the next mission."


This quote came from Ironman, and it reminded me of what it's like to write. When I open up a new word document I forget about the last book. I'm in a new world and the old one is a memory. To be frank, usually, when I open up that new word document I've already forgotten how I did it before. I can scroll through the last book and see all the pages I filled up, and still I can't wrap my mind on how to do it again.

Each book is a new challenge. Here are some examples from my experience. My first book ended up being 90,000 words. The challenges I had with that was sticking to one plot line. Heck, one genre. That book will forever be a women's fiction with strong romantic elements, paranormal elements and a somewhat romantic suspense.

My second book had a built in plot. The heroine had to build the hero's house. The challenge was finishing the novel. When I went back to edit it, the challenge became making sense of the gibberish I thought was a book.

Let's not even mention my third one.

My fourth was learning how to stick to one POV since it was a first person. My fifth, "what is the plot again?" I could go on, but I think you've got the point. Each book you write there is going to be a lesson you learn in writing craft. You may think you have forgotten it, but get back on that horse as they say. It'll come back to you. Soon you won't even remember how painful it was when you first started the book. You'll be at the end. You will have convinced yourself you can do it and man that easy.

Until the next book...

Melissa