In case anyone has noticed, I’ve been absent. Discouraged. Hating on the writing world and all the craziness that’s in it. I had to step away for a spell. But the time spent has been productive in a weird way. I learned something about myself.
The rule of thumb in the literary world is…write to your heart, not to the market. I believe that’s good and sound advice. But apparently, writing something that I like is totally different from writing something that a publisher actually wants to acquire and publish. I had to ask…What’s wrong with me?
The answer is…
Yep, that’s right. Based on what I’ve been told about my stories –
I’m too plot driven for romance.
I’ve too much romance for mainstream fiction.
Seriously people? What’s an author to do? I write from my heart. And my heart likes action, adventure, and PLOT! I’m not a fan of character driven stories. There, I said it. I mean, I like characters, I like connecting with them and knowing what drives them. But I love stories about situations. How will that character react? What will they need to do to survive?
Classic example: Indiana Jones. Yes, he’s a character. There are several movies about him. But the stories aren’t about him as much as it’s about the situation he is in and what he needs to do to resolve the conflict and get out alive. We love the excitment, the adrenaline rush of his life. That’s why we come back to Indie time and again. He’s going to deliver adventure.
So…I’ll keep writing ‘of my heart’ and maybe one day someone, somewhere, will get my plot driven stories and acquire. It’s taken me six months to figure that one out, but I’m going to persevere and keep writing. Because in the end I enjoy what I write, I enjoy the research, and that’s what it’s all about, right?
x
Monica McCabe 