Rule #1 when corresponding with authors

As a lot of authors will tell you, they didn't just wake up one day and decide to try their hand at writing (although that is true for some of them). For me, I started writing stories when I learned to write. Then, when I learned to address an envelope, I sent my story off to Random House Publishers. Needless to say, they turned me down.

I continued to write stories, graduating to my mother's typewriter. Eventually, I bought a typewriter of my own, but my stories were nothing more than wild ramblings of my imagination. Playing Barbies with words. I eventually sent a proposal to a publisher, but I still wasn't seasoned enough. The stories weren't developed enough. I went back to the books that inspired me, Gothic romances by Victoria Holt, and tried to figure out the recipe for success. Still, I was missing something.

Then I read A DRAGONFLY IN AMBER by Diana Gabaldon. I was so enamored that I began email correspondence with Ms. Gabaldon who, at the time, was just taking off. She was very gracious and responded promptly. I wanted to write like her, but by this time, I didn't have the confidence that I could string words together properly, so I pitched my story idea to her. This is when I discovered Rule #1 about corresponding with authors--don't try to pitch ideas. She very kindly told me she had plenty of her own ideas and told me to write the story myself. I was too embarrassed to continue sending her emails. She also went on to be fabulously famous and no longer has time to correspond with just anybody.

So I wrote the story myself.

I went back to school, enrolled in classes, and wrote the story that had insisted it needed to be written - TOUCHED BY THE SUN, previously titled THE TREASURE OF ST. PAUL. The book is currently out of print as it is hopelessly outdated, but I had the most fun writing it! I spent hours in the library, learned Italian, interviewed several people who have visited Pompeii. One of those people told me I couldn't possibly write about a place without visiting it--until she read what I wrote. I had done EXTENSIVE research. Travelogues. Guidebooks. I'd done a creditable job. Years later, I did visit Pompeii. I might have included other things after living the experience, although what I wrote held up. Most importantly, the extra effort I put into writing paid off. I learned the things I'd been missing in all my earlier attempts. 

As I continued to practice my art, I learned more things. Like, just because I have a large vocabulary doesn't mean I should use it. Like, figure out what genre you're writing. Find your theme and stick to it. Twenty-five books later, I can rein in the ideas buzzing around inside my head into coherent stories, all thanks to Diana Gabaldon. I'm grateful to her for giving me the push I needed.

Moral of the story - stick to your guns. Learn everything you need to know about the things that you are passionate about. As Joseph Campbell said, Follow Your Bliss.