What up, y'all. How goes it?
I'm writing to you today from my perch on my couch where I've been chilling for awhile, not writing. I was composing a pretty shitty first draft of a sequel for all of April and now I'm half-way through. But then I stopped. I got caught up in finishing a YA series (The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, fyi) and then I had to re-read the entire series because I could not part with it. I've never not been able to say goodbye. Even after Potter ended, I was able to say, "Well, it's over. On to something else." But now, I'm clinging to the fandom.
At first, I thought this was weird and was admittedly embarrassed to mention it to any of my friends. It's not normal for a 30-cough-something to spend hours reading fanfiction and watching fanmade YouTube videos of my OTP (Adam and Ronan!) instead of writing. Right? Well, it is normal. Maybe, not healthy after awhile. But then I realized I need to use these feeeeeeeelings in my writing.
Maggie Stiefvater is the model to follow when it comes to developing characters. If she wasn't, I wouldn't be so effed up in the head wondering how Adam and Ronan are getting along post The Raven King. Neither would the thousands of fans writing of their domestic bliss. Also, I've decided I want to explore a male/male romance in my next book. I've written LGBTQ characters in all my books, but I have yet to make a gay couple the focus of the book.
After finishing The Raven Cycle, I'm inspired to challenge myself and my writing. At first, I was feeling an existential crisis. I write paranormal mysteries. People seem to enjoy them. Can I switch it up? Can I write darker, contemporary crime fiction? Will it dilute my brand? But then a lovely friend said, "You're indie. You can do whatever you want." And you know what? She's right. I want to write what I want to write, when I'm inspired, even when I'm not, and try new things. That's what will keep me going.
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2 comments:
I need to read this series. It's high on my list -- after catching up on some more of the works by the authors on this blog ;)
As for writing something different, I say go for it! My books are different and that's scary on one level - I know it has caused some readers who loved my first two books to shy away from my third. However, I've also had people tell me they only read Shattered Angel because I wrote it and they were glad they took a chance on something different. It's a risk, but I figure I'm mostly writing for me so being Indie I should embrace the freedom of writing what I want. I still have a few more ideas that are even more outside the box of what I've written so far. I think I'll go for it too :)
You should write whatever you want. It's what I do. I can't swear I've been successful, but, eh, I'll just sell out when somebody offers me the opportunity.
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