Pressure, Perception, and Probability: The Holy Trinity That Stymies the New Writer
By Grace Wynter | October 5, 2015 |
Today’s guest is Grace Wynter, a blogger and writer of romance and women’s fiction. Grace spends much of her non-writing time tinkering with WordPress websites and working on completing her professional editing certificate with the University of Chicago. When she’s not alternating between the Marvel and DC universes, she resides in Atlanta, Georgia.
I probably could have had my first novel done and dusted by now if I hadn’t allowed these three P’s to nag at me for the past few years. If my words can save a few writers a few tears, and years, then my agony wasn’t in vain.
Connect with Grace on her blog, on Twitter, and on Facebook.
Pressure, Perception, and Probability: The Holy Trinity That Stymies the New Writer
Hi, my name is Grace, and I write new adult romance.
If you think that sounds like a confession or an introduction at a start of a meeting where anonymity is king, then you already know where I’m headed. In an industry that often snickers at romance, and where new adult that’s not Divergent or The Hunger Games is looked down on with derision, admitting that you write in the genre can sometimes open up the proverbial can of literary whoop-ass.
If you’re a seasoned writer you’ve probably run out of damns to give about what other writers think of you. But if you’re working on your first book and find yourself struggling with the expectations of what kind of writer you’re supposed to be, then join me at this meeting, and let’s commiserate about three of the things that, if we’re not careful, can end our writing careers before they even start.
Pressure
I remember the first time I was inspired to write fiction. I was reading Jane Austen’s Persuasion for the umpteenth time and thought how wonderful it would be to write a modern version set in the south. Not long into that endeavor I realized that I, my dear writers, am no Jane Austen.
Years later I would pick up a novel by—at the time self-published phenom—Colleen Hoover and, despite some unflattering reviews from established writerly types, fell in love with the way she told stories. The desire to write characters that young women would fall in love with was rekindled, and my fiction-writing journey began in earnest.
[pullquote]But then I started hearing voices. Not the kind that Hollywood makes scary movies about. No, the kind that put pressure on me to try to impress people. Mostly it was pressure to impress other members of the writing community. [/pullquote]
But then I started hearing voices. Not the kind that Hollywood makes scary movies about. No, the kind that put pressure on me to try to impress people. Mostly it was pressure to impress other members of the writing community. Writers who had published literary masterpieces, or whose prose was so eloquent I thought surely they had been touched by the hand of God. But there was also pressure to impress family members (I can make a living writing, dammit), old professors (I am not a goof-off), and everyone who had ever cut me off in the parking lot (I can form a sentence that does not include an expletive). The impact that that self-imposed pressure had on my writing was like tightening a faucet. It stifled my creativity until what was released came out only occasionally and only in unsatisfying droplets.
Perception
I knew that I wanted to write new adult but didn’t think my literary friends would take me seriously as a writer if I did. I didn’t think I’d be perceived as a serious writer if I didn’t write in a more literary fashion. So I tried to surf between both worlds. I’d write sentences that sounded literary (whatever that means) but that didn’t fit my audience. They never felt quite right until I rewrote them in the style I knew was.
Still, the voices were there, hovering over my shoulder, scoffing, “Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re writing that!” But here’s the kicker, new writers, we’re not writing for other writers, we’re writing for our readers. What might make your literary friends cringe, might be exactly the thing that resonates with your readers. And here’s where probability comes in.
Probability
When we get so bogged down with pressure, and when we worry about how we’re perceived by others, we increase the probability that we’ll kill our writing careers before they even get started. I read a lot about how there’s no such thing as writer’s block. Well, I think for a new writer, pressure, perception, and probability are the perfect recipe for writer’s block. A heaping dose of all three can have a new writer in a place where they’re in the fetal position under a blanket for days. Take it from me: I’m renting an apartment there.
So What’s a New Writer to Do?
For me, the first thing that set me on the road to recovery was embracing my genre. I read new adult romance. A lot of it. Some of it would probably make your toes curl. If genre shame is your writing block, declare it loudly and proudly. Tell anyone who will listen. If you read the genre (which you should, voraciously) don’t hide the covers of the novels you read, don’t leave them out of the lists of books you’ve read. By doing this you will understand your target audience far better than anyone else, and that’s what turns browsers into readers and readers into fans. If genre isn’t the factor that’s causing you to pressure yourself, figure out what is, and tackle it head on.
Study the craft. I’m still no Jane Austen, but I’ve spent the last several years attending workshops and conferences, and reading anything I can get my hands on that will help me become a better fiction writer. Learning the craft and then using your voice to mold it is what will make you unique in a space that’s currently populated with people clamoring to be heard.
And about those voices. When our focus becomes impressing other writers or family members, or when we become obsessed with wondering if we’re worthy of calling ourselves writers, we lose sight of the reason many of us started writing in the first place: we had a story to tell and we were the only ones who could tell it. Let’s not allow the trinity of pressure, perception, and probability to keep us from reaching that goal.
Do pressure, perception, or probability nag you and keep you from writing? Or something else? What keeps you from reaching your goal?
Grace Wynter is an author, editor, and workshop facilitator. She has an MBA from Georgia State University and a Professional Certificate in Editing from the University of Chicago. She has conducted workshops for organizations such as Writer Unboxed, Wake Up and Write!, Sisters in Crime, and the Atlanta Writers Club where she is also a freelance editor for their biannual Atlanta Writers Conference. Her editing clients include traditional publishers such as Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, and Hachette, and an array of indie publishers and self-published authors. Grace is the community architect behind Tessera Creatives, an online directory that connects authors and publishers with skilled, culturally competent freelance creatives who provide services for the publishing industry.
When she’s not alternating between the Marvel and DC universes, Grace resides in Atlanta, Georgia. You can connect with her at GraceWynter.com.
After about 5 unpublished novels, someone suggested I try middle grade. No, she wasn’t suggesting I return to middle grade in order to learn punctuation, but really take a look at this genre that I had never even considered.
I mean, isn’t middle grade for writers who couldn’t cut it in the real literary world?
Ha. Little did I realize the complex universe that is the brain of a pre-teen.
So I wrote a book about an eleven year old navy brat, set in 1968 Norfolk.
I loved it. I revisited my own childhood and dug up all those moments of wonder that we seem to lose as we grow older (I still stop and stare at flocks of geese…in Michigan). It was a beautiful world that can only be told from the POV of a kid.
And, wouldn’t you know, I love reading middle grade as well. These are actual novels. Who knew? And what wonderful stories told from the POV of life’s most imaginative age group.
That first book is out with an agent, so I’m praying that I will be accepted into the ranks of the MG writer.
Just wait till I unleash the zombie frogs on Manhattan. I love thinking like a ten year old!
Ron, thanks for reading and sharing your own battle with this. It still amazes me how much I fought writing NA and in the voice I felt was right, just because I was worried about what other writers thought of me. Good luck with that book, and with the zombie frogs you’re about to unleash on Manhattan. :-)
I am in the middle of writing a behemoth 3-volume, literary sci fi. If I had known anything about writing when I started,I would have chosen a different genre. After this project is done, I am going to play with Noir potboilers and romance.
Your advice to learn the craft of writing is the best advice possible for newbie writers. I edit, design and assist indie writers. It is astounding how many people think they know how to write but are clueless about it.
Thanks for reading, Anita. When I started writing, I think I was probably as guilty of being completely clueless as some of the folks who submit to you. In a way I wonder if it isn’t almost necessary, though. If I knew how challenging this would all be, I wonder if I would have ever gotten started. I’m not sure I would have. Thank God for writing communities, awesome critique partners, and patience!
What can one possibly add to this excellent advice? Little, I think. I agree that reading widely in one’s genre is beneficial and necessary.
For me the goal is not to learn how to satisfy that type of reader but to discover what in the genre is overdone and find a way to reinvent the form. I want my genre to serve my own purposes. I want to own it, not have it own me.
Great post, Grace.
Thanks for the kind words, Benjamin. And owning the genre is, I think, the perfect way to look at it. It’s a way to write in the genre, but to write something so original to who you are, you turn the genre on its head. Love it!
Dear Grace,
Welcome, and I appreciate your thoughtful post.
I understand one thing: up until you actually put your first novel up for sale, you can hide. After that, anyone with the price of lunch at McDonald’s can buy your book and see for themselves exactly what you write, and make up their mind about how good you are/aren’t.
I’m about to do that.
And then, if you want to progress any further, you have to TELL all those people who’ve made the comments over the years.
A recipe for writer’s block? Yes, but then there’s the story, pushing just as hard from the other side, wanting to get written, wanting to get out.
What’s a writer to do? Because you have to BE a writer to get to this point – and then it’s too late anyway.
The solution, as you say, is to keep learning – and possibly to not get snotty about it.
I take comfort in the thought that, with 7 billion people or so on the planet, there HAS to be someone out there who will like what I write. I have already made tiny inroads into that population: I wrote/revised/edited/polished Pride’s Children live for the past two years, and every Tuesday another scene went up on my blog. I met a lot of lovely people, and about 50-100 read the whole thing and the ones who commented said lovely things. It kept me supported as I finished – now I’m about to find out if there are more people like them.
If not, hey, I went into this to have the story OUT of my head so I could read it when I wanted to. At least I’ll have that.
Where was this nice post ten years ago?
Alicia
Thank you, Alicia, for reading and sharing your wisdom. This resonated with me a lot: up until you actually put your first novel up for sale, you can hide. It’s interesting that many of us who write, are very comfortable with the idea of “hiding.” But, as you say, hiding isn’t really an option after you’ve put up the for sale sign.
This is one of the most inspiring and spirit lifting posts for writers that I have read. My first published book began as nothing more than an alternative history novel but somewhere along the way to completion became a love story between two older adults. Yes, there is still the conspiracy aspect and political intrigue runs through it. But is is so much more. My second book was supposed to focus on a small town’s prejudice against an adopted First Nations man. It took on a life of its own and became a romantic thriller with the emphasis on thriller. I even found myself writing somewhat sexual love scenes. With both books I debated making changes, omitting scenes that might be controversial. After all I wanted to be viewed as a novelist not a writer of romance or soft porn. I finally realized that what I wrote was a story I liked and others would enjoy as well. I threw caution to the winds and self published. I like my books. Quite a few others seem to like them as well. As Shakespeare said, “To thine own self be true”. I’d rather be as good as I can be at what I enjoy than mediocre at what I think I should be.
Lizzi, I am SO stealing this: I’d rather be as good as I can be at what I enjoy than mediocre at what I think I should be. I think you just summed up my post in that one, simple sentence. I love that what you were writing evolved while you were writing it, and that you were brave enough to allow it to. Thanks so much for reading and for your kind words. Your books sound so interesting. When you get a chance, please email me (or FB) the titles so I can check them out.
“We’re writing for our readers.”
I have to remind myself of that so I continue to write. Later, when I’m published, I’ll remind myself of it again — that I wrote the story for the people it would touch, not for the reviewer who was looking for something else from it.
Carmel, it’s nice when reviewers like our work, but it’s wonderful, awesome, amazing when the readers we were writing for get it. Kind of like the comment thread in this post. Thank you for reading!
I feel you, Grace. In fact, I’ve written a very similar post, from the very similar perspective of a newb fantasy writer (try to act surprised when it appears, please). Regarding the importance of reading one’s genre voraciously, I recall a dinner my wife and I attended at a local winery a year or so ago. We sat with three other couples, and the subject of what everyone was currently reading arose. Other than a few bestsellers (as I recall, there were more than one Gone Girls at the table), the discussion centered around literary novels, and the importance and relevance of authors like Franzen to the current American consciousness.
It wasn’t that I had nothing to say that made me feel small. It was that I was currently reading a book called Dragon Keeper, by Robin Hobb. Thinking back on it, I feel a bit of shame for not mentioning it – for hiding. The book is really good! And relevant to things like finding one’s calling. It’s about being different – even perceived as handicapped. It’s about being a refugee, and finding a way to fit in among those who “allow” you into their society. It’s about how society’s outcasts are relegated to the most dangerous jobs, and how those same outsiders take those jobs because it’s a viable way out of the cage of societal class stratification. But I didn’t mention it. It’s funny, but I was the only writer at the table, and no one pressed me for my current read. I suspect it had something to do with the fact that most everyone there knew that I write fantasy. I should’ve taken the opportunity to share its relevance. Next time.
Here’s to being true to ourselves, to being loud and proud moving forward. Great essay, Grace.
Vaughn,
I’ve been reading Hobbs because of you, so I’ll take this opportunity to thank you. I write fantasy, too, and I love to mention this to book snobs. Tolkien and Rowling, to name two fantasy authors, had (and still have) an enormous impact on the consciousness of the world. Be proud of your genre. I’m right there with ya, and I have my Gryffindor scarf at the ready. This is a wonderful post.
Vaughn, I’ve been there! In a room full of people talking about what they’re writing and deciding to keep my mouth shut. I realize though, that when I keep silent I keep this kind of elitist myth going that only certain kinds of people read romance, or new adult, or [fill in the blank.] I’ve decided that I’m not doing it anymore. In fact, this weekend I volunteered at an event that was headed by captains of industry, computer geeks who could have probably taught Bill Gates a thing or two, and probably a few ivy league grads. I proudly hauled my laptop to the session in my Georgia Romance Writer’s Tote bag. That’s right, I’m rebellious like that. ;-)
Vaughn, I get it completely! I’m in the same boat as a reader and newish writer of fantasy. That ‘genre shame’ somehow manages to turn us in to the quiet, nothing-much-to-say one at dinner parties, even though we know how great fantasy authors like Robin Hobb and others do have a depth to their work just as meaningful as many ‘literary’ writers.
I’m learning – slowly – to be more confident and proudly declare “It’s a fantasy” when asked what I write, but there’s no denying that still, very often, ou can see/sense a certain dismissal of you as a ‘real’ writer in the other person’s reaction. On the bright side, at a recent dinner party where I was carefully avoiding talking about books or writing, someone mentioned Joe Abercrombie – and around half the people at the table turned out to be fans – people I was sure wouldn’t read fantasy!
Grace, thanks for sharing this with us – just what I needed to read today. :)
Thank you, Grace, for this inspiring post. It’s amazing how pernicious societal pressure can be in a writer’s life. I sometimes hear those outside voices even while in the middle of constructing a sentence! But I could never design a novel around whatever I think I’m supposed to be writing. In the end, I think the individual writer’s vision will struggle to the light somehow.Though I currently write in the historical mystery genre, I would also like to attempt children’s lit or fantasy–or both together.
In terms of categorizing writers, I don’t want to be too confined to a particular genre as a reader or a writer. I don’t mind telling people that the work of Regency romance writer Georgette Heyer was a huge influence for me, and I think she can coexist with Austen and Trollope and Dickens, whom I also love. And, by the way, Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel. I will look for Joe Abercrombie–that’s a new author for me. I have, however, read and enjoyed Robin Hobb.
Love it Grace. Know nothing about writing but I sure love reading . I enjoymeverything you say
good post. Not only would I remain silent at a dinner party, but I am still uncomfortable revealing to anyone I’m a writer. I will usually mumble something about “working at home,” while my husband will pipe up with, “she writes blogs and is working on a novel.” Most people sort of indicate a mild, skeptical interest and move on. Eventually I will obtain the confidence and nerve to delve into genre descriptions and such…but baby steps.
Writing is difficult enough, in and of itself, that we don’t need the additional pressure. It is very hard to be true to ourselves, to not crumble under outside expectations. Excellent post, Grace. Shared.