Why Authors Write

I've been feeling sad after finishing my last series. There I've said it. Or maybe it's fear of starting over. While I have a new story to write, a new direction, leaving old friends behind (the McCormicks and the Bensons) is sort of like going away to college. It isn't like I'll never see them again, is it?

But we all move on. Life moves on. There are new stories to be told. As an author, I begin to question if I have another story in me. The answer is always yes, and has been since I was something like five years old. The harder answer is will I write it?

Yes.

Why, you may ask? Because that's what authors do. These people live inside my head and they want out. Even when I'm struggling for the story, there's something exhilarating about creating something new. For musicians, it's a new song. For artists, it's a new painting or sculpture. For authors, it's a new story. Even when the ideas start out slow, even when you're still looking over your shoulder at the characters you leave behind, something ignites the fire inside of you and you can't wait to make new friends, learn new things.

The struggle part is often what makes the story that much more interesting. Reaching outside my comfort zone. Learning new things. Discovering those hidden traits inside my characters that they didn't know they possessed. Today's discovery? Making bath salts. Silly, huh? But it's something that has my character excited. She gets to spend time building a relationship and learning a new skill, and as the author learning along with her, I'm having just as much fun. Of course not everything is fun and games. Watch out for the conflict {duh, duh, duh!} But right now, I'm having a ball with the simple stuff, and trust me when I tell you this character has had their share of conflict! She deserves a simple pleasure to ease her mind.

So why do authors write? Because we have a story to tell. A word picture to share. A world to create and invite you into. Because it's in our DNA, and not writing isn't an option, even when we sometimes think we don't have one more word left.

Writer's Angst

I've been reading articles recently on "Imposter Syndrome." Essentially, it's a psychological condition that people in all walks of life stumble into, where even if they are doing an outstanding job, they feel like it's only a matter of time before someone discovers they're only faking it. From musicians to authors to people in so-called regular jobs, the advice is to get over it. We've earned our way. Proven ourselves. Not everything we do is going to be perfect, but we've shown we have the skills.

A recent rash of unfortunate reviews have plagued me and one of my fellow authors. For my part, because I had a disproportionate number of reviews relative to the number of books sold, I reached out to some professional review sites to give me a boost. Books without reviews don't qualify for promotion. The result of those solicitations? Oddball reviews (lesson learned). People pick the book up because they get a free copy, but it might not be something they'd normally go for, and then they penalize me because of it. Regardless of whether the review is warranted or not, the effect on an author can be demoralizing.

Writer's angst rears it's ugly head. Is this book a dud? Or did it reach the wrong audience? The points I got dinged on are the same things people liked in my other books, which makes me tend to dismiss the comments. Does that make me delusional? An imposter? Reviews and critiques are by their very nature designed to help me improve my craft. Do the comments reflect the changes we are undergoing as a society? Do I need to adjust? Evolve?

While all these thoughts are going through my head, I'm forging ahead on the next book, which is something completely different. I'm enjoying the ride so far, and in the vein of evolving, I think it covers a lot of bases that had me questioning societal changes while I was writing my last couple of books. Things like don't believe everything you hear. Get your facts before you form an opinion. And the evolution around the way men and women interact.

I recently re-read an old book, one I grew up with, and the premise for the romance had me cringing. That sort of thing would never work in today's world, and yet, when I was a teenager, it didn't faze me. The author did write some groundbreaking plots, but this one was just plain bad, something I didn't have the knowledge or experience to understand then, but which rings a very loud "NO" bell today. You don't fall in love with someone who goes out of their way to make you jealous in a very hurtful way and then justify it by saying if they hadn't have made you jealous, you wouldn't have realized you were in love with them. Nope. That's manipulation at its worst, and a very poor basis for a happily ever after. The world has changed considerably since I was a teenager. But I digress.

On behalf of myself and my author friends, I'm giving you all a gentle nudge to leave a review on the books you read. They are important to the author, even if you didn't like the book. Without them, we don't qualify for promotions for our books, and if our books don't warrant a good review, let us know. Otherwise, we can't write a better book next time.

The Trouble with Backstory

Inevitably, I get stuck whenever I start a new book trying to talk myself into a prologue. Why? I want to give you the character’s backstory. How did they get where they are? And inevitably, I end up trashing the prologue in favor of slipping small snippets of information throughout the story.

Info Dumping
It’s easy to want to introduce your characters right away, to tell everything you’ve learned about them, from how they grew up to who their best friend is to what made them the way they are. But readers these days do not want you to dump all that information in the first chapter. In fact, they don’t want you to dump that information at all. They prefer to be spoon fed little bites at a time. Nothing glazes over the eyes faster than wasting precious words that don’t move the story forward.

But wait? Isn’t backstory important? Absolutely! But filtered in. It’s seasoning, and you know what happens when the cook adds too much salt to the stew.

Backstory Serves a Purpose
As an author, sometimes it’s good to get that prologue written—and then moved to a different file. It helps me, as the author, get to know my character and ground myself in what makes them tick. I understand why my character acts the way she does because she has shared her life history with me. Conversely, the reader is more interested in the action, and less in the history. Save the history lesson for when it makes the most impact.

Example: “She hadn’t been through this part of Ohio since she was a kid.” END OF BACKSTORY. This gives the reader enough information to know the character has been to Ohio. But it might come into play later in the story, so the reader will tuck that tidbit of information away, so that when you go back to that and say something about Ohio, the reader can then feel smart when they connect the dots. “Oh yeah, she was there when she was a kid.” And that return to Ohio should be something that moves the story forward, and the character’s previous experience, something that colors her view.

In the prologue version of this information, I might start writing, “She grew up in Ohio,” and go on to detail the whole experience which left a mark on her. It’s good for me to know as the author, but the reader doesn’t necessarily care about her past until it makes a difference to her story TODAY, the “why is she acting that way?” response to an everyday occurrence.

Backstory is important. Everything we do impacts how we respond to different stimuli and different situations. A good story starts with the stimuli and the potentially over-the-top response. Or the conditioned response. This raises questions to the reader about why the character acts the way they do, and then a dribble of information helps them to understand until, over the course of the story, the character is able to overcome whatever makes them respond differently. To grow beyond their own backstory.

Listening to books

I have been late getting to the audiobook party, largely because I don't listen to books. I don't have the attention span. Listening often puts me to sleep, especially when trying to listen for extended periods of time.

I've tried listening to audiobooks in the past - books that I loved and have read more than once. I couldn't make it through to the end. In fact, an hour was pushing it. The eyes droop, the brain disengages, and it becomes a voice saying "something, somewhere." Recently, my son recommended a podcast to me. It generally runs 40 minutes or less, and I've made it through those fairly well without falling asleep, but they're also smaller chunks.

With all that being said, many people I've spoken to like audiobooks. They pop them in when they're traveling, or listen while they're doing something else. Multitasking. I've asked the question before - if my readers listen - and have gotten mixed replies. Am I a dinosaur for resisting? For not expanding into a market? For not serving those listener readers?

While I have this "bonus time" at home, I'm considering this option more seriously. My husband thinks I should record them myself, a massive undertaking, but something worth pursuing should I flip that switch to full-time author.

Which of my books do you wish was on audio to listen to?

Recuperation Period

Yes, I survived. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to send me love and good wishes. Yes, I have a wonderful husband who is taking good care of me, but it's nice to know other people are out there, too. Someone once said they didn't feel they needed to check on me because The Big Guy was there, and he is, but does that mean he's the only one who cares about me? It's nice to hear from EVERYONE, to feel the love and support. Did I mention the basket of cookies I got? The perfect gift for a cookie monster.

A week out of surgery, I figured it was time to start thinking about the new story again. My head is clearing, I'm moving around again, I'm getting antsy.

I'd planned to get some serious writing done while I'm on leave, and while I'd made a couple of attempts at Chapter 1, I'm envisioning something different. The direction I've started isn't bad, but it's missing critical elements, like where is this story going? What are my characters' goals?

To get into the mood, I'm listening to a podcast my son recommended to me. It's sort of like listening to Mystery Theater, a radio show I listened to when I was a kid. I also read a book by Victoria Holt to get me into the mood, and I discovered I picked a lemon. I always knew I didn't like her Australia books, but this one was badly outdated and did NOT withstand the test of time. I wanted to slap both of the main characters for acting so poorly and playing mind games with one another. As I look at my TBR pile, I've been trying to decide if I make a dent in that or re-read a Susan Elizabeth Phillips that paid homage to the Gothic authors we grew up with. I still have a hankering to write something like that, but as I've learned, the stories will be what they will be. All of this amounts to ways to kill time rather than put words on the page, and I'm anxious to write!

In case I don't make it out alive...

By the time you read this, I'll have survived (or not) my second hip replacement surgery. The risk is low, and I had no qualms the first time. The first time, while they told me all the things I'd never be able to do again, I weighed it against all the things I couldn't do "now." Three years later, I have my life back! I am doing many of the things I couldn't do before that surgery, even if it means I can't run or play tennis or ski ever again. I don't feel 100 years old. I can actually move, ambulate, walk -- all without pain. "Before," people would talk about how they didn't feel their age, how it was just a number, and didn't I feel that way? With the hip in the condition it was in, I felt every bit my age, and older. I no longer feel that way, thanks to the miracles of science. So why am I worried about Hip #2?

When I had children, the first child was a miracle from start to finish. Every moment of pregnancy a wonder. I was looking forward to the delivery, even if I knew it was going to be scary and painful and whatever. It was a new experience to be savored. And then I got pregnant the second time. While it was every bit the same miracle, I began to worry about what could go wrong. Why? Beats me! Everything had gone well the first time - for the most part. I had no reason to think the second pregnancy would be any different, but there were differences (every pregnancy is different, just like every child is different). In the end, the labor and delivery was actually easier, but for whatever reason, I was much more worried the second time around. Shouldn't experience make you less worried? Maybe because the novelty is gone you don't look at the "wows," you look at the "what ifs."

I'm in that same boat now. They're doing the surgery differently this time around. It's supposed to be easier, recovery is supposed to be faster. Less painful. Fewer restrictions. So why am I worried? If it was harder last time and I came out like a champ, shouldn't I be excited that it will be easier this time? Maybe I'm hearing my father's voice saying "she could die!" Maybe I read too many articles presurgery about how there's a risk of nicking the femoral artery. My doctor is a pro. He's done this a million times. He's well respected. He knows what he's doing. So even though I'm writing this before the fact, I'm confident I'll be back to blog for you in another week.

Probably.

Post Script: I survived.

Charming Chimneys

This past weekend I took a tour of one of President Roosevelt's "New Deal" towns. Back in the 1930's when the "boys" were returning from war, the United States wanted to ease their transition by giving them affordable housing to come home to, along with jobs. Enter Eleanor Roosevelt and her three "Green" towns, one of which was in Wisconsin.

Essentially, the returning vets could apply for housing in these towns based on their income and rent the houses from the government. The government also provided a base of stores and services to get things rolling, and within two years, the vets were able to buy the houses and take over the businesses.

The town I toured still resembles the town it once was, and the people who grew up there stayed. The town is close to a big city, close to an airport, and yet it is insulated from the rest of the world.

There's a statue of Norman Rockwell, painting on the village square. A fountain dedicated to Eleanor Roosevelt, and other statues/monuments throughout this family-centric town.

Because the original housing is now 80 years old, there is some maintenance that needs to be done, although the construction was designed to last - and it has. With changing times, some modifications were necessary. For instance, most homes are no longer fueled by coal. Chimneys are no longer used, which causes moisture to creep in and decay the structure. Enter one of the townspeople, a mason, who not only repaired the chimneys, he wanted to hide the "knot" his repairs caused with an artistic touch so he covered the knot with artwork. These chimney decorations add to the charm of the town.

Hooray for... Arrowood?

Luck of the Irish

As you wander the streets - and they're all connected with walking paths, many of the roads don't go through to minimize the through traffic - if you look up, you'll see examples of what makes this town unique. It is holding on to its history, while maintaining its civic pride. Here are just a few.

Berry Ct.

The hand of God

Police - represent!

...And the firemen