Write What You Love

Before I get to my advice for you today, I'd like to apologize for suddenly going AWAL in Friday! I don't know what happened, but I didn't even realize I had failed to update you until Saturday night! Gosh, sorry guys! There's not a ton to share, but it's some important stuff, so I'll fill you in real quick.

I have now received my final proofread copy of Through the Paper Wall and I'll be going over it today, hopefully finalizing the manuscript! So exciting! I can't wait to move on with the proof copy reading and such. It just hit me last night that my book is being published NEXT WEEK! Woohoo! Wow! I kinda can't believe it, to tell you the truth. I am really, very excited. I am currently working on my marketing plan and organizing a blog tour and potentially a launch party. Another development, thanks to several of my fellow writers, may provide me with a chance to do a book signing. That would be incredible! I'll keep you posted on that. And finally, you should all know about the publisher for Ontario. After a long and hard argument with myself, I turned the publisher down. It was a difficult decision, but I stand with what I decided and I know it was the right thing for what I want to do. I am incredibly honored to have been offered a contract, but I am also grateful that I stuck to my feelings, because now I will be able to publish the way that I want to. In other words, I will be able to achieve the specific goals that I set for my books. This means, that as soon as Through the Paper Wall is launched, Ontario will be coming at you pretty darn fast. I am so excited for this you can't even imagine!  

Alright, now that you are caught up, I want to share with you some advice that might sound like a "duh" moment, but needs to be listened to: write what you love, so you'll love what you write. Sounds easy right? You'd be surprised though how often I hear writers grumble because they are working on a story or genre that they don't even like. Either the story has gone in a direction they didn't intend, or they are trying a new genre, or writing for something specific, like a contest. When you write things you don't enjoy, that defeats the purpose of writing, in my opinion. If it is for work, that's another matter, of course, but in writing your stories, stick to what you love. If you hate writing the book, chances are that will show through and your readers are going to end up hating it too. Writing takes a lot of time and energy. Don't waste yourself trudging through your book! If you need to, stop, and take over your story. While I am one to go with the flow, sometimes it just needs to be done to save both the story and your sanity.

Take a minute and think about your current projects, or even the ones that you have planned. Do you enjoy writing them? Do you look forward to spending hours with them every day? Or do you dread walking over and opening the file? I don't think you should ever delete something you have written, but if you get to a point where you hate something, by all means stop! File it away, and work on something else, and maybe some day you'll come back to that hated one, to continue, or reshape it. Either way, a writer's time is precious, what with the hundreds of books that are released daily, and you can't afford to hate the story you are telling. Plus, when it comes time to edit, you'll have to read that sucker over and over! Stick to your guns, and write what you enjoy, because then you will enjoy what you write.

- Heidi Nicole Bird