I said when i started this blog a few months ago that i would write about other people’s books until i had a book in publication and could stake a tiny claim on being a real fiction writer. Happily, that’s occurred. My first novel, Genetic Attraction, comes out in February at Loose Id. So LI’s managing editor suggested the time had come for me to write about — writing. So here goes. (But i’ll still write about other people’s books too.)
I”ve been a writer all my life. Like a lot of novelists, i wrote my first book at five and just never quit. But early in life i got really good at writing non-fiction. I could take any body of loosely related facts and ideas and put them into a form that had purpose and conclusion and coherence. And early in life, people started paying me for that skill and they’ve been doing it ever since. Now this is a problem if you want to write fiction because writing a book takes a long time and nobody is paying you to do it while you learn how. For years, i considered writing that novel and always stopped myself with the thought of how much i could earn if i devoted the same amount of time to writing (and ghost writing) magazine articles, websites and brochures.
What finally got me out of this cycle? Two things. Experience and passion. Experience, because i finally got to a place in my non-fiction writing career that i’d really done it all. Still fun, exciting and interesting, but i was no longer driven to take every assignment. Passion? Well, my whole life people told me i should write a book. Because of my career, i know a bit about a ton of subjects (friends call me Tarapedia) plus i have serious interests in spiritual practice and alternative healthcare. Write about that people would say. But i just couldn’t see it. And then i discovered EROM.
Crazy what we end up loving, but i started reading erotic romance and just adored it. It fed into my always well-developed fantasy life. And while reading an EROM book the thought popped into my head, i could write one of these books. I just knew i could and unlike all the other subjects i’d considered before, i actually started writing. I spent a big chunk of a summer writing two books and i LOVED it. I loved the characters, and creating the story, and listening to them talk to me. I loved learning all the many things i didn’t know about writing fiction. I was hooked. I’d finally found something i wanted to spend time writing.
My friends look at me like i’m a little nuts. When i have the world to choose from, why would i decide to write “dirty books”? Partly, i guess, because erotic romance is as far from what i write all day as any subject can be. Partly, also, because it’s wonderfully frivolous and i love expressing that part of my nature. And most of all, because for whatever unknown reason, i have a passion for it, not because it’s the “hot product” or it will command a lot of money, but just because it’s fun to write. Reading and movies are generally my drugs of choice (if you don’t count Adam Lambert). When i find i’d rather write than read, you know it’s a passion. So that’s my suggestion to you. Write what you know? Nah. Write your passion.
BTW, the photo above is just for inspiration. : )