Writing and Pulling Hair?

I blogged about this over at Three Wicked Writers, but I want MORE opinions. So, figured I'd blog about it here too.



Recently, I happened to discover the hardest part of writing, at least for me. You see, I'm struggling to finish a proposal for my next two full length books. The synopsis part is hard enough, but trying to figure out exactly what I want to say about this series, which I didn't know was going to even BE a series when I wrote the first story, has been like pulling teeth. Nothing puts you in a crappy mood quite like writing a word AN HOUR! Ugh!


Okay, it's not quite that bad. But I did figure out that thinking long and hard before I started writing it has proven more effective than sitting and staring at a blank document. Once I had a few ideas of what I wanted say about this series, the words came easier. Soon, I had something that I actually liked. There's still more to do before I can turn in the proposal, but at least the document isn't collecting dust anymore!


While I was working on this over the last few days it occurred to me that maybe I'm in the minority with writing outlines/synopses. Maybe other writers don't struggle through these things the way I do. So, it got me to thinking, what IS the hardest part of writing for you? What aspect of creating a story do you find the most difficult? And how do you get yourself through it?


For me, I finally had to bite the bullet and ask a few of my fellow authors for help. While I have created synopses before, working up a proposal for two books in a series is foreign territory for me. Much to my delight, several authors came to my rescue and offered up their thoughts, support, and their own outlines/synopses as a guide.


Today, I'm here to say that I love this business. Romance authors are some of the kindest people! It's so great to see that there are so many willing to help out. To take their time, even though they have deadlines of their own to deal with, makes me feel extremely appreciative!


So, I ask you...what part of this business do you hate the most?

Oh, and btw, chocolate and wine, not necessarily together, really does help! LOL
And because I'm in the mood, here's a hunk to drool over! *grin*



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hunk!

I think the part I hate most is writing the synopsis followed by trying to figure out a promotion strategy.

Good luck with your proposal. If I ever get to the point in my career that I need to write one I will take your advice on the chocolate and wine to heart. :)

Abby Niles said...

I hate the sucknopsis. Out of everything I dread that the most. I have two I'm going to have to write soon...ugh.

But huge congrats on moving up to proposal!! That's awesome.
Esme

Carol Ericson said...

Well, I think that hunk has a few hard parts! OK, back to business - yes, synopses are hard. I love starting a new book and my fingers fly over the keyboard. Then my fingers fly again when I'm ending the story and chugging toward HEA. The middle is the toughest part - what comes next? What happens next? I have to think that through in my head before I can sit down and write.