Hello, wonderful readers!
I’m taking this time to do a mini blog series on challenging your writer habits. It is easy to fall into what we know–what’s comfortable. But is that always beneficial? Part of developing as a writer is choosing to stretch your creative limits, and discover new ways to share your stories. Recently, I’ve noticed how many new books appear copy/pasted. It’s the same fantasy story told a slightly different way with a slightly different female lead. Now, that is not to say any of these are bad books. But do we write for the sake of what will sell? Or do we write what we’re passionate about?
That is my challenge to myself. And hopefully you’ll glean something from it as well.
The first way I’m challenging myself is with the concept of romance. It is extremely common to find in most novels, even if it is not marketed as such. That’s because romance sells. We love the tension, the sorrow, the drama. That’s why romance is such a popular genre. Now, I enjoy a good romance subplot as well as the next person, but is it truly helping our writing?
In many ways, I think choosing to write a romantic subplot into our stories is a crutch. Oftentimes, I’ve found, people will critique the romance least. So, if you offer a semi-realistic relationship, readers will eat it up. And, it’s less effort on your part. (Before you run to the comments in protest, I’m speaking to myself, too). Writing romance into your story can be a powerful way to delve deeper into a character’s personality or help give a glimpse into your fictional world, but too often it is simply filler for a story that was never fleshed out properly.
This is why I’ve taken a different approach to romance in my current stories I’m drafting. I’m asking myself if a relationship makes sense, or if I’m putting it there just for the sake of it. Maybe the romance doesn’t need to be done away with entirely, but reimagined. Perhaps the story is romantic because of the sweet scenes between the main character’s parents. Maybe we start the story with our main character engaged. Love is a beautiful, multifaceted emotion. Why limit yourself to teenage angst?
Recently, I’ve enjoyed the concept of family dynamics. For instance, sibling MCs or a parent/child dynamic. We tend to idealize worlds when it comes to writing, which isn’t a bad thing! Oftentimes, reading is our way of escaping to a world where we can relax. But, with that idealization can come standards we set for ourselves in our real life. I know that for me as a teen, I wanted a romance story like the books. So why can’t we create these idealized scenarios with other types of relationships? To build beautiful sibling stories; to delve into the type of fierce devotion a father has for his children?
If you are an indie author, this can be even easier for you to try. The beauty of independent publishing is that you get to write what you want, when you want. You’re not bound by an editing team that wants you to sell vs serve with your writing. So, if you’re looking for a writing challenge today, maybe let this be it. That you skip the romance. And see where that takes you.
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