Author Elena Taylor
on the blog today! I'm reviewing her
book on Saturday, August 3rd, 2024.
I hope you enjoy reading about Elena
and her writing experiences. She also
has a great sense of humor.
Starting is Easy, Finishing is Hard by Elena Taylor
One of the most common questions writers get from readers is where do you get your ideas?
The reality is that ideas are the easy part. Starting a novel is fun and exciting, like a first date or a
first kiss. Finishing, not just a novel but the publishing process is much, much more challenging.
I like to say the difference between an amateur and a professional writer is not how many books
they have published, but whether they write when it’s difficult and how quickly they stop when
faced with rejections.
Here’s how it often goes …
Writer: Oh wow! I have this great idea for a book.
I know the characters,
I can imagine the first
scene, I even have an amazing title.
The writer sits down, ideas spinning out in front of them, the words spilling onto the page. That
goes along at top speed for about fifty pages. Then things come to a halt. Sometimes a
screeching halt, like a fighter jet hooking onto a carrier, and sometimes a slow, bumping drift,
like an old car sputtering out of gas. Either way, the idea has come to an end.
Or …
Writer: Oh wow! I have a great idea for a book. I’m going to sit down and outline this
manuscript from beginning to end.
The writer sits down, and the outline magically appears on the page. The opening chapter, the
inciting incident (what launches the story), and maybe even some rising action (scenes or
chapters), are quickly dashed off into a Word document (or a series of bright colored Post-it
notes on the wall). Then, just as with the organic writer who shot out of the starting gate like a
thoroughbred at the Kentucky Derby, the ideas for the outline peter out.
This is where the amateur flails around, waiting for inspiration to strike. There’s nothing wrong
with that. Writing a book can (and should!) be fun. But the professional sticks with it. Forcing
themselves into their chair every day, generating the backbone of their story. Who are these
characters? What do they want? What is the spine of the book? What is the one big question
asked at the beginning that’s answered at the end? What are the stakes?
Why does any of this matter?
Oftentimes, only when those issues are tackled does the writer get out of the weeds and back
onto the writing super-highway.
It doesn’t matter if a writer outlines first, or just puts ideas down on the page to work out their
plot during the process, some amount of time must be spent mulling over the story, the
characters, the why of it all.
Why does this event happen now? Why do readers care about this protagonist? What is driving
this character to step out of their comfort zone, whether that’s to investigate a murder, take a
chance at love, or boldly go where no one has gone before.
Then, after all that work has been done, the story has been honed and polished, and vetted by
beta readers, and when it’s time to think about publication, the writer is back at the beginning.
Their armor must come out during a query process, because rejections are guaranteed. Even
authors with agents can fail to sell a particular manuscript to a publishing house. Or books that
are published can fail to sell well. No matter where a writer is in their career, there will be
obstacles to face, from bad reviews to books returned to the publisher or distributor because the
store didn’t sell them all. Not every book will hit the NY Times bestseller list, sweep the awards,
and go into multiple printings.
None of this is for the faint of heart. But for those writers who stick it out, success is all the
sweeter, not at the exciting beginning, when an idea takes shape, but at the wonderful end, when
a book gets picked up, and published, and the reviews are good, and the sales are strong. Which
is also just another beginning, as the writer sits down for the next project.
I have a great idea . . .
The writer sits down and begins to type.
Thanks so much, Elena for this
Guest Post! It was fun to get to
know you through this fun post!
Come back tomorrow for my review
of A Cold, Cold World.
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