In the latest newsletter, Maureen raises several interesting questions. Responses will be discussed at the next meeting (June 1), but I thought I’d also post the questions over here for those who can’t make the meeting.

The questions are: Can we see all the possibilities and explore all the avenues for success? Do we write often enough to be productive? Do we challenge ourselves to write on topics that we are unfamiliar with? Do we explore all the places we could send our work to be published? Do we attempt genre that we have not written in before? Do we read enough of other peoples work to learn to recognise what works and what doesn’t?

So, do you?

I’ve been published several times – sometimes for love (fanzines) and sometimes for money. I write in specific genres and I know which publishers to go to, which to avoid, and which have the biggest readership. In the past I haven’t always been successful in identifying the bad from the good. I made some mistakes early on. But in any walk of life you need to make mistakes to learn from the experience and move on, and hopefully make a more informed decision next time. Reading and participating in industry, commentator and author blogs and forums is a good way to stay abreast of what’s going on, what’s hot and what’s not – also, it gets your name out there and helps with promotion. In my opinion, the best avenue to success is getting out there and putting your work forward.

I write every day, except for when I’m on holiday (really, a road trip around the West Coast is not particularly conducive to writing very much). I aim for between 1200-2000 words a day. If the story is flowing well, I write more. If the story is more complex or the characters are generally being difficult, I go for whatever I can get, but try for at least 1000 words. Since I edit as I write (yes, I know, you’re not supposed to do that and yes, it does slow things down an awful lot, but I can’t seem to break the habit), this can sometimes be a chore. Often I’ll struggle to write something one day and then delete the whole lot the next day. But trying to write something – anything – every day creates a habit that stands you in good stead for the future.

Do I try to challenge myself? Yes, but more in terms of character and theme than unfamiliar topics. I’ve written novels about new places or events that caught my attention (I love research and this is my biggest reason for procrastinating), and there have been times where I’ve had an idea, researched it, and realised I don’t feel I know enough to do justice to the subject, or the idea wasn’t strong enough in the first place. So when challenging oneself, I feel it’s important to know where to draw the line. We can’t be good at everything, and ideas can be recycled if left to stew for long enough. Just because those characters don’t fit in that scenario, doesn’t mean you can never use them. Challenging yourself is good; also giving yourself a break is just as good.

I write cross-genre stories, so with certainty I can say the only genre I haven’t written – and have no desire to write – is sci-fi. I love detective novels but don’t have the kind of mind to write one, although I’ve written novellas with detective story elements. It’s important to try different genres to know where your strengths lie. It’s easy to plod along in one genre because it’s safe, but trying something else might open up fresh possibilities.

Finally, I read a lot. Over two hundred books this year so far. I review for an online site. I read within and outside of my genres and sub-genres. Being a reviewer can sometimes be a pain, especially when the world’s worst book is in front of you and you’re trying to find something positive to say. But being critical about others’ work helps me be critical of my own writing. 

Also, a few months ago I started doing an in-depth critique on an Urban Fantasy novel. I love mainstream UF but don’t write it myself, and the process so far has been beneficial to both the author and me. So if you have the time and energy to critique someone else’s work, I’d definitely recommend it. You learn from it, and you help someone else.   

These are my thoughts as relevant to me. What about you? 

- Sian