Story telling seems fairly straight-forward at its most basic level, right? You follow some (really) fundamental concepts—beginning, middle, end—in which your Main Character conquers increasingly difficult challenges until they face the Big Bad and triumph. The End.
As highly simplified as that sounds, it’s mind-boggling how complex and difficult writing can actually be.
I’m a series writer and I’ve been published since 2010 and writing for freakin’ ever, but I’m going to let you in on a rarely admitted truth—every time I write a new book, I swear it’s harder than the one before.
I didn’t notice it happening until about book four, when doubts starting holding weekly tea parties, to gossip about what they felt was wrong with the story, and they were far from nice. It took a lot to drown them out so I could keep slogging forward. A few more books along and this phenomena kept repeating, frustrating me to no end.
Scenes that came so effortlessly, were slower and slower to build. Characters kept changing their personalities and motivation until I wanted to lock them in a room with rabid ferrets. The gossiping biddies of doubt were cackling in glee.
Writing should not be so darn hard, right?
Wrong.
Sam Sykes, author of The Aeon’s Gate series, said in a guest post*, “If it’s hard, you’re doing it right.”
It took a while before I believed him, but I’m a full-fledged, foot stompin’, hand-raisin’ believer that Mr. Sykes nailed it on the head.
The reason? Because as writers we are continuing trying to improve our craft, whether it’s honing skills to create our pretties, diving into the dark depths of research, or re-writing that one sentence twenty-two million times. With every story we release into the wild we are constantly learning what to do, what not to do, how to do, how not to do… you get the point.
The fact that it gets harder to write each book is a good thing because it means every book you put out will be better than the last. All those “things” we learned? They’re sitting in a big spectator box behind you while you face down your monitor and keyboard, reminding you of all you’ve learned.
“Nope, can’t do that, that’s the wrong verb tense.”
“Eh, I don’t think you want to use that word, what about…”
“Don’t you dare intrude on the reader’s story, get your butt back behind your character’s POV…”
“Um, you may want to remember there’s this thing call ‘five senses’, not three…”
“Really? Red? You’re going with just red? What about amber? Ruby? Garnet? Crimson? Deepest heart’s blood? C’mon, dare to step outside your comfort zone, writer person!”
All those lessons are sharing space with your creativity, and while it may feel like it’s dampening your artistic flame of inspiration, it’s not them growing bigger and taking up more space, it’s you. So the next time you’re frustrated because your Work In Progress is making you consider which white jacket with buckles is your style, remember “If it’s hard, you’re doing it right.”
*Link for Sam Sykes’ guest post: https://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2015/02/guest-post-sam-sykes-the-city-stained-red-on-why-writing-should-be-hard-and-why-hardship-makes-good-stories/
Jami Gray is the coffee addicted, music junkie, Queen Nerd of her personal Geek Squad, Alpha Mom of the Fur Minxes, and award-winning author of the Urban Fantasy series, The Kyn Kronicles, the Paranormal Romantic Suspense series, PSY-IV Teams, and her latest Romantic Suspense series, Fate’s Vultures. She writes to soothe the voices in her head. 
9 comments:
Thank you so much, HiDee for letting me swing over and steal the stage for a bit. Alright guys, so share, what is the hardest thing tripping you up with your current writing?
Great post, Jami, and I enjoyed Sam's post as well. Writing IS hard, but finishing something is so worth it! Right now, I'm tripped up by the plot on my current WIP. I'm still brainstorming and planning another interview with an expert, which I hope will resolve some of the issues I'm struggling with right now. Thanks for joining us today and sharing your thoughts!
Easy writing is hard reading; easy reading is hard writing, we only wish it would be easier!
Thank you Jami for your great post and for being on our blog. You make some great points and share insights that can we writers.
The hardest thing tripping me up with my writing right now is resistance. i just read a post about it and found it helpful, but it's right in my face today still. I know I'll enjoy writing, I know I'll find what to write, and I know I'll feel better writing, but there is still resistance.
I'm with you, HiDee. I'm in the midst of plotting Rabbit and Jinx's book for PSY-IV Teams. Brainstorming is a wonderful thing, but man, it can lead you down some twisty paths and my breadcrumbs get gobbled up by the pesky plot crows, which makes it hard to get back on track. And Monica, you are spot on, easy reading comes from the most difficult writing. And Lynn, I'd love a link to the post on resistance if you can share. I think that's a concept that hits us hard no matter how good we are at dodging it.
Ladies, thank you for sharing, I so enjoy talking to others and knowing I'm not alone out there trying to navigate the dangers of the writer world!
Wow, Jami!!! You hit the nail on the head!!!
I've been going through this dilemma, big time!!! The ms I'm working on is of such contention I'm ready to throw in the towel, and saying to myself --- I'm a pathetic writer...
Thank you for this post. I helps a lot!!
So true. I'd been struggling with my ms forever, and reading your post make me feel better. When I'm writing, I'm saying to myself, did I use this term in my previous book, did I write this in my first book. There has to be a better way to say this or that. I find myself doubting my ability as a writer, to the point of throwing in the towel.
Thank You Jami for this great post!
Hey Cathrina,
I feel your pain. I get hit with this every time I get about three to four chapters in, and then it holds on with grubby little hands. We just have to remind ourselves that it's just jealous and we're doing exactly what we're suppose to do. We're getting too big for our britches, but that passion spills into our stories and keep our readers turning the pages.
Just remember to give it a squinty eyed glare and tell it to go stuff itself (or stronger language if needed).
Jami
Hey Cathrina,
I feel your pain. I get hit with this every time I get about three to four chapters in, and then it holds on with grubby little hands. We just have to remind ourselves that it's just jealous and we're doing exactly what we're suppose to do. We're getting too big for our britches, but that passion spills into our stories and keep our readers turning the pages.
Just remember to give it a squinty eyed glare and tell it to go stuff itself (or stronger language if needed).
Jami
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