Developing new ideas for books is an agony for me. I know many people who see ideas EVERYWHERE. I am not so blessed.
Maybe it’s because when I think of a book, I realize I am committing a minimum of two years of my life to that story. There’s the research and proposal stage. Writing the proposal is truly my least favorite part of the process, but when I’m teachable and allow myself to be pushed deep, the other side of the proposal is a book that almost writes itself.
The research piece can be fascinating and hugely enjoyable. In fact I can distract myself with rabbit trail after rabbit trail as I search for the perfect details to make a time period or setting come to life. Honestly, there’s little quite like finding that perfect nugget like what the women war correspondents wore during WWII. Those kind of details make books like Shadowed by Grace feel real to readers.
But there’s the process of creating the characters, getting to know their stories and journeys. Identifying their wounds, likes, fears, and juxtaposing them against the secret desire. There’s crafting the plot, the twists and turns, the Ys in the road that force the heroine further and further along the road to the ultimate decision. All of these details take time for me. Lots of time.
My agent has told me for years that I need to slow down and let the stories develop. That’s hard for me. Once I’m excited, I want to write now! I want to discover each twist and turn. To sit in my chair with fingers poised over the keyboard and gasp when something happens or a character says something I didn’t anticipate.
Yet the proposal I just sent back to her in the wee hours of this morning has been a work in process for a year. An entire year. That’s just the planning, dreaming, plotting, beating my head against a wall stage. Next to come is the hopeful contract, write like a mad woman, then edit and market phases.
The interesting thing is that each of us on this blog probably have a very different process. That’s what makes writing so interesting, frustrating, exhilarating, and maddening.
There is no one process.
In that lies the beauty.
What’s a creative process you’re involved in? Is it straightforward, step-by-step? Or do you find there are guidelines and suggestions and then creativity and individuality steps in?
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I enjoyed reading about your process, Cara. I used to worry that there was a “right” way and I was doing it all wrong. Like you, I now see that creativity should be…creative!
Lynn, I think we all feel that way at some point…that there has to be a right way and whatever that is, it’s not the way I do it. Your way clearly works exceptionally well for you! I think you should share some of your secrets!
As a reader of fiction stories I’m on the other side of all your research , crafting the plots, creating characters , and putting stories together . All the hard labor and efforts of bringing your master piece to the public. I appreciate every little detail you go through to make my reading an enjoyable experience. Thank you and may God Bless you in your writing career.
Shirley
Thanks, Shirley. Readers like you are the reason I beat my head against the wall in the development process. I want to craft a story you can’t put down and characters you love.
Well, you’ve succeeded at that! 🙂 Very much so. I want to read Shadowed by Grace again this year, but I’m not sure my leaning tower of to-be-read books will allow me the reread time so soon.
Thanks, Andrea! I LOVE that story!
Thank you for sharing your difficulties in writing. I often feel guilty that it’s taking me so LONG to pull this thing called writing together and then still wonder if I really know what I’m doing. It’s a relief to know that even successful authors have similar struggles.
One of the things I love about writing, Heather, is that I know I will NEVER arrive. Even if I’m writing in 40 years, there will still be ways I can improve.
My daughter and I are working on a mystery afghan sponsored by Yarnspirations and the Crochet Crowd. It’s 10 weeks of receiving a clue each week to complete. It’s hard simply because you choose your colors and add onto it each week not knowing what the outcome will be. I’m not creative like some fellow crocheters but I can follow a written pattern to some extent.
It’s always interesting reading about various authors and the creative processes you all go through. I’ve read that some have “voices” in their heads and ideas that they just have to let out for their own sanity.
Gail, that sounds like an incredibly fun and challenging process! You’ll have to show us a picture of the finished product.
Cara, thanks for the inside look to your writing process. I didn’t realize the proposal played such a large role for you. It probably will with me too, once I get a book contract down the road. A question it brought up to me, though, is do you always stick to the details of your proposal, or do the characters take off on you, causing you to tweak things and get them approved by your publisher?
Can’t wait till your next novel comes out!
Blessings,
Andrea
Publishers let you deviate some from the proposal, but the story still needs to be similar. I pray for the day I can submit ideas and pick one 🙂
“There is no one process. In that lies the beauty.” LOVE that! I finally found my very own process last year and got my first 95k book out of it. Sent a proposal in this past Monday. Now in ‘Keep Calm, Pray On and Write the Next Book’ mode. 🙂
Thank you for sharing with us how your stories come to be. As a reader I appreciate all the effort you put forth to provide me with the wonderful gift that your books are.