Getting my poop in a group

At the end of 2018 and beginning 2019, I completed two books and I’m in the middle of a third. The reason I was able to make such great strides was because of a few key breakthroughs

I don’t write romance.

I wanted to. The community is a great one and they have amazing classes. But, the romance reader is very particular about what they expect in a book. The stories I write don’t meet the required beats/ I didn’t want to change the story to comply with what was required. It was freeing not to have to. I sometimes have romantic elements, but it is never the main part of the story. Once I allowed myself to embrace this, I wrote my first mystery/suspense in three months.

There is nothing wrong with being a pantsers.

Thanks to the writer strengths classes, I stopped trying to work against myself. I have six novels that are plotted out. I’ll probably never write them. Right now the Flashlight method is my go to process. I have a vague idea where the story is going, but how I get there, is a series of short term decisions.

I have to use the process that works for me

You do you, and I’ll do me. There is nothing wrong with that.

Writing avoidance is a clue

When my house is clean or I’m looking for projects or I read five novels in a week or I spend the day daydreaming of a different story, I’m in avoidance mode. This avoidance is the strategic part of my brain stuck on an issue. I need to talk out the problem to figure out why.

All of these breakthroughs needed to happen. It was the only way to get my poop in a group.

What have you found has helped you with your process?