If I could just download the story straight out of my head…
Ran into a friend at work yesterday who said he’d dropped by my blog and I hadn’t posted anything for a while. He was quite right. I must admit to juggling too many balls in the air.
I think as adults we have to be responsible, hold down a job, pay the bills, look after elderly relatives, give emotional and financial support to children who are just branching out into adult life and, quite rightly, this is just what grown ups do. In between all this I’ve been trying to squeeze in working on a writing project just for myself, for fun.
Writing is a creative process that requires a lot of hard slog. There’s the actual hours spent at a computer, which is really bad for your health. Then there’s the challenge of pulling a story out of the subconscious while all around you things are clamoring for attention and the challenge of holding all the threads of a narrative in your head while doing the washing, dashing to the shops, writing lectures, marking assignments and sorting out family dramas etc.
I’d been meeting this challenge while writing to deadline for four years now, so I gave myself permission to take a step back and write for the love of it. I felt I needed something fresh, set in a new world with new characters and challenges.
It’s a bit like taking an adventure holiday with a new group of friends.* Creativity should be fun.
So that’s what I’ve been doing.
What do you do to give yourself a mental break and have some fun?
* I promise I will get back to KRK and the OC. I have plans for those characters.
So glad you’re having fun with your writing, Rowena. Yep that part can get squeezed out so easily – in between deadlines and a hard place. To my mind it’s the fun part of our life that feeds every other part – it’s the nutrient that makes the rest possible.
Good on you! Rhonda
Yes. It’s the sort of thing a fellow author can understand.
Writing for the love of it – may we never forget how. It sounds like life is very full at the moment, which is wonderful. I hope your writing brings you joy in this season.
Raewyn, when my kids were little, writing helped keep me cope with six kids under ten and mountains of laundry!
Almost finished book three of KRK. (I like to wait until the series is done before starting up since I’ll forget everything.) Excellent job and look forward to your future works. Oh and to quote my wife a few days ago, “Didn’t you just start those a few days ago?” Yup, they are that good.
Wow, great to hear, Scott.
I have been writing poetry, learning the hidden depths of Haiku. Oh and I just started reading Courtney Milan. Just to keep my head straight atm.
Lovely to hear from you Sean. Hope things are going well in your life.
Any time an author states they are working in “new stuff” that doesnt include the old stories I get excited. As can be seen in your work, you are amazing at world building (I even say so on /r/fantasy all the time) and any new world you create is 100% worth the wait!
Why thank you, Bryek. I must admit it is freeing to write where the story will take me and with this series I wanted to turn the traditional fantasy world up-side down. Have to wait and see what the readers think of it. :->
So far You have yet to disappoint!
Dear Rowena,
I received my first KRK for Christmas 2013. My teenage son bought King’s Bastard for me because he knows that I am a fan of fantasy fiction, and he thought your cover art was cool. I was hooked after the first chapter. I devoured the books of KRK and now, I am getting ready to start book 3 of OC. I am almost afraid to start it, because when I finish Sanctuary, I know I will want to know more about these characters! I have read a lot of fantasy fiction, most of it written by men. I really appreciate the way you write and develop female characters. I think that as a woman and mother, you bring a depth and perspective to female characters that I have not found in other works. Thanks for sharing your imagination with the world! I look forward to reading your future works, whatever they may be.
Gee, thanks, Heather. I’m a fantasy reader from waaaay back and over the years there have been some authors who really impressed me. I used to search out all their books.
I wanted to write those kind of books, something to sweep me away with characters who linger in the mind.
Cheers, Rowena
PS. Did you find the 4th book in the KRK series?