(I apologize for any spelling errors...I am writing this from my iPhone.)
What makes it so hard for me is that I'm very good at writing fast paced, action type books. I'm not so good at slow paced, emotion driven books. I thought I'd be good at romance because I love reading romance (my goodreads account proves that), I love stories about two people falling in love. Who doesn't? So when I began writing Tides at Midnight I was so excited to try something new, and I thought it would be easy because I wrote the first six chapters with no problems. I even have a completed outline! (Which says a lot 'cause I don't usually have a completed outline.) Anyways, when I got to writing chapter seven I was struggling with what words to write. I came to realize that I was struggling because I began to feel like the story was dull and that I needed to make things move faster. But in truth there is nothing wrong with Tides at Midnight's pace.
The conclusion I've come to is that I need to really rally my patience and not second guess the words I'm writing. Everyday before I sit down to write I pray. I pray that God will guide my writing and that He will show me the story I need to write. I pray that He will help me to overcome the struggles I've been having as I write a romance novel. I have a feeling that Tides at Midnight can be a really great novel, or an awful one. (I'm praying for great!)
I know a lot of people are going to tell me I should share what I'm writing and get feedback. But I feel like for right now I shouldn't because, well, to be honest Tides at Midnight is a very personal book for me. Here's the description blurb from goodreads:
Alyssa fell in love with Samuel, a dying man.
The cancer claimed Sam's life at the age of nineteen; leaving Alyssa a widow at eighteen.
Sam leaves behind a single letter for Alyssa. He wants Alyssa to make every one of her dreams come true, but she doesn't know how to do that anymore. Alyssa's grief weighs heavily on her heart; she's haunted by memories of Sam in everything she sees. In order to overcome her grief, Alyssa throws herself into decorating her house, creating artwork, working at the diner, and partying with her best friend. But every time Alyssa thinks she has put distance between herself and her grief a new reminder of Sam's absence eats away at her.
Then Trent comes into Alyssa's life; and flips everything she knows about love upside down. The closer Trent gets to breaking through Alyssa's protective layers the more she pushes him away.
A world of possibilities open up for Alyssa, she only needs to decide what direction she wants to go in.
The cancer claimed Sam's life at the age of nineteen; leaving Alyssa a widow at eighteen.
Sam leaves behind a single letter for Alyssa. He wants Alyssa to make every one of her dreams come true, but she doesn't know how to do that anymore. Alyssa's grief weighs heavily on her heart; she's haunted by memories of Sam in everything she sees. In order to overcome her grief, Alyssa throws herself into decorating her house, creating artwork, working at the diner, and partying with her best friend. But every time Alyssa thinks she has put distance between herself and her grief a new reminder of Sam's absence eats away at her.
Then Trent comes into Alyssa's life; and flips everything she knows about love upside down. The closer Trent gets to breaking through Alyssa's protective layers the more she pushes him away.
A world of possibilities open up for Alyssa, she only needs to decide what direction she wants to go in.
A lot of my personal feelings about how to cope with losing someone you love to cancer is in Tides at Midnight. A lot of what I have seen wives, friends, husbands, parents, and siblings go through after they have lost someone to cancer is in this book. Tides at Midnight comes from a place in my heart that I've really shared with anyone. I'm not good at talking about my feelings, so this is how I'm sharing what I've gone through. This is the reason why I'm not really willing to share it just yet. I look forward to the time when I am ready to share it. There's always a price of me in everything I write, and I'm excited to share all those pieces with you.
(Sam and Alyssa's relationship idea came from a story my doctor told me about a 17 year old cancer patient that married her boyfriend so that he could be with her during all her treatments because she always did better health wise with him by her side. My doctor told me this story years ago and I've never been able to stop thinking about that couple.)
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