CRAZY LIFE OF A WRITER

Non-writer friends often ask me how I think up all the stuff in my books. I wish I knew. Bobby Terry tells people she gets her ideas from a small factory in Ohio. ☺ What really happens is our crazy brains conjure all these characters and situations. That doesn’t mean it’s easy.

We’re not really insane, either. Well, most of us aren’t. I’m not naming names, but there are a few people on my Probably Certifiable List.

And there are those (lazy or stupid?) people who say, “I’ll feed you ideas, you write the book, and we’ll split the royalties.” Uh, no. So not happening. The idea is the easy part. In fact, I have more than I can list. Writing a cohesive book with a credible story line is the hard part.

I’m fortunate enough to have great critique partners who help me plot my books. I can plot by myself, of course, but an exchange of ideas spurs creativity. Even if I don’t like their suggestions, hearing them helps me formulate my own choices. And once I’m writing, they help steer me back on course.

Geri Foster at one of
our plotting retreats

Then comes the hard part. Some parts of writing become easier with each book. One part that does not is making basic plots fresh, giving a tried and true idea a new twist. People argue over how many basic plots there are. The number varies from nine to twenty-seven. Supposedly, any book is a variation of one of those basic plots. And the more books and author has written, the harder that new variation becomes. Yeah, bummer.

How to make my feisty, spunky heroine differ from those in my past books? How different is one handsome cowboy from another? You get the idea, right?

Handsome cowboy,
Spunky heroine

Hero and I used to joke about a favorite author who repeated her basic plots. We would say, “This one is plot A.” Or “This one is plot B.” The city and names varied, but little else. At the time, we had no notion of the difficulty of a fresh plot. And, hey, she sold a gazillion books and still is even though she’s passed away.

The main problem I encounter is that life keeps slapping me upside the head. Literally, if you count the fall I had the last week of July and a recent long bout of vertigo. You know there’re always the usual time-killers: dental appointments, doctor visits (or your prescriptions won’t be refilled), and all the errands and social stuff necessary to function--the other stuff that hinders everyone. Then there're the various social media we use to meet fans and promote our books.

Many people think that if you work from home, you can stop and do this or that because, after all, you don’t have a “real” job. Sigh. This is why Debbie Macomber has an office away from her home. If we stop writing, we lose our concentration, our “groove”, and have to reread the last portion we wrote to get back into the zone.  Fortunately, Hero understands this and accommodates my need to hibernate in my pink cave office. He even brings me an occasional cherry Dr Pepper.  

I try to vary settings and events so that my books appear fresh, even though they are always in my style and voice. With a few exceptions, they’re set primarily in Texas and they always end happily. They’re the same, but different. Each main character has a journey, both external and internal. The same, but different. I admit that after twenty-eight books, this isn't easy.

I’m sure you’ve heard that writers are either writing or thinking about writing. It’s true. We can’t help ourselves.  But, I have the best job in the world! Thank you if you've bought my books so I can keep on writing.

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Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

Writer John Griffith, writing as Jack London, once said, "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."

Non-writers frequently ask writers where we get our ideas. I can only speak for myself, but I get them everywhere. Not a good answer, you say? Okay, I'll elaborate a bit. For one story, I based the heroine on an anecdote my grandmother once mentioned when I was a child. A snatch of conversation overheard in a restaurant or other public place might spark a plot or a secondary character. Newspapers are filled with food for stories and filling in plots, especially for mystery or romantic suspense writers.

An editor's request for a certain type of story inspired my next release, OUT OF THE BLUE, from The Wild Rose Press on June 4th. This editor said she was tired of the same old time travels with a modern heroine or hero traveling back in time. She thought it might be refreshing to have a heroine from the past come forward.

Acting on her general request, my critique and writer friend Sandy Crowley helped me plot the story of Deirdre Dougherty. Deirdre began life in one of my favorite places, Ireland. She's a clairvoyant herbal healer treated with suspicion by her neighbors in a remote village near the seaside cliffs of the Connemara area. When the potato crops fail, villagers don't realize a nationwide blight is the cause and some believe Deirdre put a curse on them. They chase her into the current time. You'll have to read the book to learn more. (My plan is to entice you to buy the book. Is it working?)

Publishing is a rapidly changing industry. By the time I finished OUT OF THE BLUE, the editor who requested this type story had left the line and the line folded. Luckily for me, The Wild Rose Press accepted the novel. But creativity doesn't limit itself to writing. Painting, sewing, baking, sculpting, and gardening are only a few of the creative outlets we need to express ourselves.

Where do you get ideas for your creative side?