I’m a bit like “those” writers. I have a nightmare of a novel that was fun to put together, up to a point. It is LONG, spans three, maybe four genres, has a cast of almost 70 characters–and came about as a decision to pick up an old and lifelong passion, after reading Steven King’s book On Writing.

A year in I joined a writers forum, and got slaughtered, Silence of the Lambs style. To make matters worse? English is my second language, and my “book” (read: serial, soap opera, never ending bramble brush?) was in raw draft format.

I’ll be honest. After meeting with the literary guard on that forum (Backspace, long defunct), what little Ego I had left was pretty much a pile of rotten cream cheese on the floor. There’s a picture for you.

I stopped writing. A decade ago.

That story? Has no beginning and no end at present. That is, I have rewritten the beginning three times and I hate it. My protagonist? Loathe her. Your expression “too dumb to live” fits. Her love interest? Love him. Enter switch of main character. The antagonist? Stumbled into the story by accident halfway through it.

It was meant to be a Romance novel. Yeah… Deciding which genre it is, pretty much had my head explode, and It wasn’t until I read one of the posts about genres over on Anne’s blog that the light went on. It is–a Romance / Mystery / Suspense / Thriller / Western with a smidgen of Horror thrown in.

I know, I know, my readers–if I had any–would put me in the guillotine. Probably tar and feather me first as well.

So, my first 20 pages read like from a totally different novel–and yes, are going in the TRASH. I would LOVE for you to peek at the first 20 pages of Chapter 3 however, if I win here.

I KNOW I suck, bad. Fair warning.

But for some reason I like the idea of drinking gasoline and rolling in barbed wire (getting published).

And so I’m doubling down and learning all I can, and am eternally grateful that you and several others are so generously giving of your own hard earned experience.

Thank you Kristen. From the bottom of my heart.

Lovely, thoughtful article!

I do agree with your other commenters that many authors sometimes worry whether or not they have talent, and they are the ones who care about their craft. Worrying about lack of talent is a syndrome which affects all creatives regardless of their discipline. In my opinion, the definition of talent is the ability to express the intangible and abstract, emotion, into a tangible form, art. Which others understand and find relatable.

I will posit what sets the true artist apart from hacks is the level at which they are willing to dig down deep and give of themselves. The saying “you write what you know” will forever be true. How can we create something meaningful if we don’t know ourselves, both the good and bad? Ultimately, it was the desire to express newfound, and wondrous emotions, which drove the first human to put a handprint on their cave wall. Shortly after that, they learned to draw and graduated to stories around the campfire. Ultimately, those who wish to move beyond technical prowess in a craft must be willing to expose themselves in their work. To create something sublime, you can’t be afraid to live, feel and fail. There is a vast difference in “skill” between Grandma Moses and Leonardo DaVinci, yet they are both masters, because they knew how to evoke their viewers’ emotions. (Or puzzle the heck out of them in Leo’s case.) It’s not as simple as people not wanting to do the work, though it is a large part of it too. The downside of the digital age is our growing inability to empathize and relate to each other on a personal level. Not to mention the belief life should always be easy with no adversity whatsoever.

I started a novel in my early twenties and eventually put it aside to raise 2 daughters. Almost 6 months ago, I got a wild hair. Dusted it off and took another crack at it. I no longer had any of my original work. Could I remember most of it after a 20 yr. hiatus? Ha, ha, ha, ha…. Heck no. Wasn’t a bad thing though. This time I have a full book (still in revisions and I’m OK with that). Is it the same book I attempted to write in my 20s-early 30s? No. Because there is a lot of water under the bridge now, along with snow on the roof. While writing, I discovered many little nuggets from my experiences and interests are scattered all over the place, including dealing with loss and overcoming adversity. I had no idea I was so interesting! (At least inside my mind.) In fact, I’m planning a game for my Patreon fans called “Find the Author”. They will receive a series of quotes from the book. For each, they have 3 answers to choose – author, research or imagination. (Yes, SpongeBob is my spirit animal.) Those with the most correct answers will win a prize.

Kristen, here is my reply to your one sentence challenge. “Sometimes, a destiny written in the stars is not a match made in heaven.”