Falling In Love

I love writing. I love all of the parts. The outlining and the planning is my favorite when I’m doing it. Then I write my first draft and that’s my favorite. And of course, I can’t forget revising and editing. That’s the best ever.

I know I’m very fortunate when it comes to writing and loving all of the parts. Editing doesn’t always give people warm fuzzies. But no matter which part of the writing process is your favorite or not, it’s always important to love what you write. I know that I’ll get a shiny new idea and get excited about it, but as I start to plan and outline, the excitement wanes. I’ve had that happen several times, and to be honest, those books doesn’t get edited. They don’t always get written.

I need to be in love with my story, and with my characters. I had a conversation with one of my writing partners recently about how writing is like falling in love. It’s easy to fall for those warm tingles and excited butterflies, but that’s just the first part. Writing is a relationship, you with the novel, from start to finish. From idea to revised and edited novel. If you aren’t’ in love, then you won’t be there for the long haul.

The good news is that there’s always a new idea, and the chance to fall in love again. Let’s be honest, I’m not very monogamous when it comes to my novels. So far I’ve written seven start to finish, and I’m in the process of planning two more. I hope to write them both by the end of the year.

I love the feeling when I’m reading through, revising, and I hit a passage or a scene that just makes me erupt with butterflies because it’s something that speaks to me. It’s what I want to read, which is why I write it.

I hope everyone can fall in love with their own writing.