The Most Important Element of Writing

(This blog was originally published at http://joinmeinthemadhouse.blogspot.com/2011/11/featured-author-in-madhouse-dana-marton.html and is replicated here.)

“THINGS THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT, MUST NEVER BE AT THE MERCY OF THINGS THAT ARE LEAST IMPORTANT.” Goethe

I attended a great writers’ conference this past weekend, with a lot of workshops on craft and industry. I LOVED the one about how to use myth as a basis for a book. I sat through workshops about plot and characterization, and learned for two days non-stop. The energy of a couple of hundred writers in one place is amazing.

I feel like my batteries have been recharged. So much energy and creativity all around me! So, perhaps not surprisingly, I began thinking about possibly teaching a workshop at the next conference. But try as I might, I couldn’t think of topic that others haven’t covered already, and covered much better than I ever could. Which lead me to the question: WHAT MADE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE IN MY WRITER’S CAREER SO FAR?

I’m nearing 30 published romantic suspense novels now, for sure I have discovered a secret or two to writerly success along the way, right? But the truth is, when I really thought about it, it didn’t come down to any brilliant talent or insight or discovered formula. The most important thing had little to do with me, in fact. What became quickly apparent as I thought about this is that it’s all about the readers.

It’s so easy to get distracted by craft and industry, workshops and how-to books, trends and submission guidelines; but here is the thing: Once you reach a certain level of competency and write enjoyable stories, it’s all about the readers.
I have the best readers in the world. I love my readers. They are caring, and funny and smart. I love keeping in touch with them. Readers are not some fickle faceless mass out there that certain marketing people would have you believe. Some of my readers have medical issues, and I keep in touch to see how they’re coming along. I know about their grandkids, what their grandkids got for Christmas. I’ve received mail from soldiers overseas, grandmothers thousands of miles from me, and even inmates from prison.

Readers care. They care about books as passionately as we authors do. They care about authors, too. Readers are forgiving. They will stick with you even if you have an off book. They’ll stick with you long after the publisher decided that your books are not marketable and you move to a small press or self-publish. They’ll email years after a series came out and ask what the characters are doing now. And to your readers, you can admit that, yes, Alex and Nicola are going on with their lives and raising their kids, because they are real in your head as well—a discussion you couldn’t have with your family, for example, without the risk of them having you committed.

Readers will have your back. I just released a new romantic suspense novella, WARRIOR AGENT. This is the time when I need to be on the Internet 24/7 to promote my new release. But we’re moving, and our cable guy never showed, so we had to reschedule, which means I won’t have Internet access for 2 weeks. At the absolute worse time. I posted about this on my Facebook, and my readers rallied. They’re Tweeting, Facebooking, blogging about the novella, generously giving me their time, lending a helping hand. I’m truly humbled by the outpouring love and support.

So instead of thinking about all the million things a writer should worry about, I think about my readers when I write. I think about what type of stories they like, how I can craft a hero to fall in love with, a heroine to like, and a plot to transport my readers to another world. I want to entertain them, share stories from my heart. I want to write the paragraph/scene/chapter that will make a reader dash of an email saying how it made them laugh or cry, how much fun they had.
Because when it comes to writing, readers are the most important element, bar none. I truly believe that.

Some excellent thoughts on writing

I'm reading THE FOREST FOR THE TREES from Betsy Lerner. Older book on writing, not a how-to, just general writer's life. She's a lit fiction editor, so not completely applicable to my genre writing, but I did find some gems in the book that I think are worth sharing.

"...it doesn't really matter if you've got natural talent. Your job is to marshal the talent you do have and find people who believe in your vision."

‎"Great writing is meant to crush us, entertain and move us, return to us to ourselves with some greater understanding of the world and its workings."

"You must give yourself permission to tell. Most important, give up the vain hope that people will like your work. People like vanilla ice cream. Hope that they love your work or hate it. That they find it exquisite or revolting."

"Judging one's own writing is like looking in a mirror. What you tell yourself about what you see in the reflection has far more to do with how you feel about yourself than with how you actually look."

And one more, from J.D. Salinger:

"Some day, there will be a story you want to tell for no better reason than because it matters to you more than any other. You'll stop looking over your shoulder to make sure you're keeping everybody happy, and you'll simply write what's real and true. Honest writing always makes people nervous, and they'll think of all kinds of ways to make your life hell. One day, a long time from now you'll cease to care anymore whom you please or what anybody has to say about you. That's when you'll finally produce the work you're capable of."

decisions

While trying to come up with a plan on how to write a bestseller, I realized that I have some decisions to make. First off, what do I want to write? I read just about anything. I also enjoy writing just about anything. So far, I've written: inspirational romance, historical fiction, epic fantasy, single title romance, women's fiction, urban fantasy, romantic fantasy and romantic suspense and series romantic suspense. Out of all of this, series romantic suspense was all I ever published. Thing is, once you publish something, the publisher puts money into promoting your name in that genre and they want to keep you publishing in that genre to get the most bang for their promotional buck. Also, you'll develop a readership in that genre and they'll be expecting your next book, and sometimes they don't like it at all if they get something other than what they expect. Speaking in generalities, the best way to increase sale numbers is to pick a genre and stick with it.

I've been writing romantic suspense so that would seem to be the easiest path. However, writing romantic suspense long-term can be difficult. It might take a reader a few hours to read my book, but I spend months writing it. That means many hours per day spent in the head of a serial killer or terrorist mastermind, visualizing torture and murder in great 3D detail so I can write about it in a way that the reader feels "right there." For that, I have to feel "right there." For one of my books, I spent almost a week reading autopsy reports. Not the funnest week I head. I've written 25 romantic suspense novels in the last 7 years. I love writing them and love the publisher I write for, but I'd be lying if said I never wished for something lighter. Sometimes I catch myself with a huge frown and all my muscles tense as I write. It's hard to be in that frame of mind day after day.

So other than Intrigues, here is what I like the most:

Urban Fantasy: Because anything goes. Magic is possible. No idea is too far out there.
Women's Fiction: Because it touches my heart. I love books written by women for women. It's like having a long talk with a friend.

Of course, Urban Fantasy is the great trend right now. Werewolves and vampires everywhere! I'm just afraid that with my luck, by the time I wrote one, the trend will be over :-)

Decisions, decisions...

Of course, if writing a bestseller was easy, everyone would be doing it.