If
you are a regular reader of my blog (and thank you for that!), then you read an
earlier post about a family project that I worked on for over a year. Both my
sister and brother loved the final piece, so it was definitely worth my time to
put that together. During that year-long project, I did very little writing. I
have also mentioned in the past that I was planning on writing a cozy mystery
series. I had the type of series I wanted to pursue, which I felt was a little different
from most of the series out there. Many are based on the main character owning
a bakery, book shop, or perhaps centering on the time of year or place. I
happen to be a lover of those series myself.
When
I came up with this concept, I hit a huge brick wall. I was focusing so much on
what the mystery should be, I could barely write a page of work, much less a
chapter. Getting the characters down was not difficult, but figuring out the
mystery and how the characters intertwined became so convoluted, that I knew if
I was confused, readers would be scratching their heads, too. I talked it over with my husband. I thought
about it in bed in the middle of the night. I sat on the couch looking out the
window, wondering who should be killed or should there be any murder at all. I
read a few books on how to write a cozy mystery. Nothing helped.
You
know when you have a problem, you see a solution, the solution is not working,
but you still think that is the solution? That’s what I was doing. You might be
thinking, how hard could it be to just not write a mystery. You would be right,
of course, but that was my plan, and I couldn't see any other way. I thought if
I gave that up, I might as well just give up writing. I did stop writing for a
while, because I still wanted that mystery! Actually, it was good for me to
just put it all on the back burner for a time. I continued to make notes, and I
even have some other ideas for stories that I may pursue at some point.
But
finally I realized, I can still write
these characters, but just take them on a different path. There is going to be
adventure, maybe even a little bit of a mystery, just not the murdering
kind. My point to all of this is that if
you are stuck on your writing, first take a little time away. If you don’t want
to stop writing all together, then start a new story, or write a short story.
Do some journaling. Jot down all kinds of story ideas, even if they sound
outrageous or totally undoable.
As
frustrating as it was, I had to delete about three chapters, all the way back
to half way through chapter one. In some ways, it does feel like I have wasted
time, since had I done this a long time ago, I could be ready to publish this
book. I'm not going to focus on that.
Instead, it’s all about learning from this part of my journey. It is a
journey, after all. Every book you write, or maybe don’t write and put away for
good, is a journey, and you won't necessarily stay on the same path. Isn't that
what makes it interesting and fun? You never know what you are going to find or
what character you might meet along the way.
As
always, thanks for reading. Keep writing, keep reading, and you know the
rest—enjoy your day and your path!
