Have finished my Dirty Virgin Hero for Samhain - yay! Honestly, I loved the guy but he was one hell of a complicated hero to write. He had ISSUES man. Serious issues. And it was one of those stories where I had to stop and think through every one of his reactions and responses because maaaaaan, he so many complex things going on with him.
It was kind of one of those books where you go 'this is idea is cool and angsty. Sweet. I'll write it'. And then you realise what you've taken on. And you think 'crap'. Then you want to back out but you can't because hey, you're published now and you have a contract and a deadline and you can't email your editor saying 'you know that book of mine you bought? Well, I've decided it's too complicated and I can't write the rest of it. Sorry.' Not when the title is in the Coming Soon part of your debut book (see that promo that I just kind of whipped in there?? hehe). No, this is where the rubber hits the road and the warm, happy glow of being newly published becames the cold, damp embrace of reality.
You can't just fling up your hands and say 'eff it. I don't wanna write this crappy idea. It's way too hard,' and go and play Halo 4 instead.
You can't put it away and go on with the other two really neat story ideas that have popped up in your head and you REALLY want to write more.
You can't get your friends to write it for you.
You can't put it away and go back to it when you feel like it.
What you have to do is sit down and write that mofo yourself. Because you are a PROFESSIONAL now and writing is no longer your hobby, or even just your passion, it's your job and if you don't do it there will be consequences.
Eeep.
Now I have to write my next book which is for Entangled and the third in the Talking Dirty series I sold to them earlier this year. It's not due till May but I am going to do it now because I DO have another couple of ideas I'm more excited about but neither of them have deadlines. Somehow I'm going to have to put them aside and muster up some enthusiasm for the story I have to write now - which is proving somewhat difficult. After the angst-fest of my last book, you'd think I'd be raring to get into something lighter and flirtier but no. There's something quite daunting about starting a new story, especially one you're kind of meh about writing.
Anyone got any tips on how to get excited about a story you HAVE to write?
BTW, if you're bored with me wibbling on, check out the Samhain video below. It's much sexier than listening to me rant. :-) (oh and apologies for the dodgy formatting).
5 comments:
IMHO, you're the perfect person for this job, Jac. You're a star on the rise. Go you!
P.S. Had to open the window for some fresh air after watching that video. ;)
Amanda - ah, not sure about the star part but thank you! :-) Lol on the video - it's pretty intriguing eh?
Okay it may be that I like my men on the beefcake side of macho but I kept waiting for the guy's boyfriend to join him on screen. That scene with the champagne bottle.....ewwww. Now THAT'S the kind of scene that should never appear in a romance novel - that was seven kinds of icky. Having said that I will, of course, be purchasing at least one Samhain book in the very near future (nudge nudge wink wink).
Just not from that guy.
As for your quandry: promise yourself something really cool for when you've finished the first draft and then something way cooler for when you've finished the edits etc. Or you could buy Dr Jax a cattle prod and every now and then he could give you a gentle zap to keep you writing?
Is there a 'gentle' setting on a cattle prod?
Love that promo video Jackie, very cleverly written. He looked like he had fun filming it too!
Hmm, perhaps go back to the nuts and bolts of the story you have to write and remember what it was that got you excited about writing it in the first place? You'll be able to get the enthusiasm back, it's just a matter of being the right writing zone. And perhaps there are some elements of the new ideas that you can incorporate into this one to give it the boost you need? Can never have too many levels, right? :-)
Good luck! x
Elissa - LOL!!! Hey, it's Samhain. They're catering to EVERYONE. ;-) Love idea of a 'gentle' zap. New shoes on finishing the first draft would do nicely. *feels suddenly much more enthusiastic*
Madeline - I know, bet it was hilarious to film. I think my problem is that I never wrote the first book with the intention of it being a series. And then I was asked to come up with two more ideas very quickly so I had no time to think about them properly. Basically I need time for an idea to build. In my typical fashion, I was much more interested once I worked out my hero has OCD. ;-)
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