Stepping Outside of the Safe Zone

I write in so many different genres that most people would think a new one would be easy for me to pick up. By the end of this year I will have had releases in erotic contemporary romance, action-adventure futuristic erotic romance, historical romance (regency time period), and an erotic historical western romance. I like to joke that my ADD makes it possible for me to jump from one genre to the next. But, when I found myself writing the western, it charged me up and sparked a ton of new ideas but it also scared the hell out of me.

I had a bad year personally. It dragged me down and really hurt my writing. Stress kills my creativity. I found myself dreading to sit in front of the computer to write. That had never been a problem for me. I loved writing, but now I was faced with the dilemma of finding the energy just to do edits. But, apparently, I had gotten too complacent, too lazy to try something new. Then, I started writing The Seduction of Widow McEwan.

For a couple of years I’d told Beth Williamson I wanted to write a historical western erotic romance. I even had the basics of the story: Older woman, younger man, lots of hot lovin’. So, she called my bluff. She approached Becka Goings and myself with an idea of a western anthology. I can’t say no to a challenge—and she knew that–so I jumped on board and then panicked.

What the hell was I thinking? I’m a very contemporary writer and it is a struggle to have a book in another genre. My historical are always hard for me and dialogue in them takes twice as long as it does for my other books. And now, I’m throwing in another quirk, western, with all its lingo and speech patterns. So, after a lot of chocolate, and a lot of self-pity, I forced myself to get to work. Once I sat down, plotted it out, I got to work and found myself excited about writing again. The challenge of a different genre, of researching, got my creative juices going. I had forgotten one of the reasons I love writing so many genres was the challenge.

I am stepping out of that comfort zone again. I have a new series that is uncontracted that is on my list to work on when I get done with everything due in this year. It is a five book series, one storyline that starts with the first and ends with the fifth. It is my first time trying something like that and it has me all excited. That has bubbled over into my other writing. I no longer hate the idea of writing, even edits. I find myself breaking my own word count records. 

It taught me that playing it safe isn’t the way to go. Yes, writing in genres, or storylines, that I have done, is okay, but I need challenges. I need something that isn’t so easy and makes me work to keep my creativity alive.

By Sela Carsen

Like all of us, I’m a reader. I always have a book nearby and my tastes are fairly eclectic. Mostly genre lit, but I do wander off the romance path pretty regularly.

There are things that I don’t read, however. No, I’m not talking about horror or true crime or anything like that. I’m talking about books on writing. Craft books.

I feel kind of bad admitting that, to be honest. I feel like these are books I should read. Rather the way that I feel I should read Moby Dick. Not that it’s ever likely to happen, but still.

When writers get together, we toss out titles and authors like Anne Lamott or Chris Vogler and I just smile and nod. Nope. Never read ‘em. Probably never will.

I tried Vogler’s book. Snoozefest. I actually did read Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. It made me mad. Did anyone else notice how they took a vibrant little passage from F. Scott Fitzgerald and edited ALL the voice out of it? Turned it into a paragraph of perfectly acceptable, perfectly dead prose. No thanks. That kind of self help, I can do without.

I’ve picked through various books on character and plot and scenes and sequels, but I’ve never gleaned much from them. Bits and pieces here and there, perhaps. But usually I’m left with the feeling that 1) this is something I learned from a critique partner or another writer, or 2) this is something that won’t work for me.

I’ve tried all the methods. Free writing, plotting, outlining, synopsizing. Three act, five act, and nine act structure. Character interviews and character sketches. I even tried directed dreaming.

Nothing. Nada. And so, after all this time, I’ve learned the one thing that all the craft books in the world can’t teach.

Follow your gut.
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