I started writing a new novel yesterday, and I confess I got a little giddy because my first line of Chapter One turned out to be what I think is a gem. It tickled my funny bone and made me fall instantly in love with my hero and heroine. And after that gem of a line, the rest of the chapter just sort of poured out of me. Since I struggled a lot with the writing of my last book, having a great, fun, and productive writing day was particularly sweet. I wish I understood why some books are harder to write than others. It isn’t as if I suddenly forget how to tell a story.
A number of my writing friends and I have committed to reading more craft books this year. As I shared with them, I have an embarrassing abundance of unread how-to-write books, both on my bookshelf and on my Kindle. I am determined to get through at least one per month over the course of 2012. I’ve begun with The Moral Premise which came to me highly recommended by several different writers. Good stuff, but slow going as I try to process the information.
One thing I have learned over the past 30 years of writing: When reading books on the craft of writing, take what works for me and don’t worry about the things that don’t. Writers are all wired differently. What works great for one is a disaster for another. I’m an intuitive writer. I work differently from my friends who plot out a book scene by scene. Early in my career, I tried to force myself to create the way others did. It took awhile for me to learn to relax into what works for me.
Almost like a reward for a great day at the computer, we went to dinner last night with two of the grandkids. We didn’t get to see them at Christmas so this was our chance to get together. Oh, how I love them. And they have grown up much too fast.
Well, off to write another chapter.
~robin
