What was my reason for writing these two books? What was my passion for doing so? Two good questions to ask before you dive into a novel, give up family time, sleep and a host of other things.
Francine Rivers, a favorite of mine, always asks a question as she ponders her beginning material for a book. Usually she says, it’s a ‘what if?’ query. She uses ‘what if’ to get creative juices going.
I find I use ‘I want readers to…’ as a starting point. I may not know what this want is, however, until I’m into the book. I confess to being not a pantster, nor a plotter, but probably lean toward the plotter side, as I do character sketches, think about biographies, and a quasi-outline before I start. Sounds plotter doesn’t it? Maybe.
In my current series, I wanted the reader to come away with hope. It’s no secret life has dry patches and my characters experience them. I wanted readers to gain understanding that the desert or the dry patches can birth abundant growth. Literally and figuratively, if one only looks.
Gail Delalney and Desert Breeze gave me a chance to put my passion out there. I had written a fair amount of nonfiction, but answering DBs call for submissions made a dream of mine come true. I am appreciative and thankful.
Before you dive off into your next book, consider your passion, your attitude and why you are writing it.
Find Jude at:
http://www.judeurbanski.com
http://judeurbanski.blogspot.com
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Jude, I agree with your comment about hope - you want your readers to come away with hope. I think rather than saying "what if", I say - what elements of the plot could I devise that would bring the reader - in this case - hope. For some reason, I get stuck with the "what if" question.
ReplyDeleteYou make very good points, Jude. I hadn't thought about why I write certain plots, but I find somewhere in each story a point comes across for making life better. Maybe it is subconsciously in my mind while I write and draw from my own experiences.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your stories.