While I haven’t posted in some time, I do have a treat for you. I am a mentor in two RWA programs. Willy happens to be in the Edits program, which means he has completed a manuscript and is looking to polish it. So, I’ve invited the members of both groups to create a post, and Willy has written the perfect one❣️ You’re welcome kathy l wheeler
Take it away, Willy.
Cupcakes ~ Willy Mills
I got the best advice of my life while eating a cupcake. In a few weeks, I would be a first-time parent. The entire office was eating cupcakes to celebrate a co-worker becoming a father to his sixth child. Someone suggested he must now be an expert on child rearing. The man raised his cupcake as if making a toast. “I know one thing with absolute certainty. They are all different, all unique. We’ll be starting from scratch again.” I took his advice to heart and treasured every piece of parenting advice, solicited and otherwise, given by parents, siblings, books, and neighborhood snoops. But I only did what made sense for me and my child.
That new book you are writing — that’s your baby. Get all the advice you can. Read those how-to books and websites. Watch the videos and sign up for seminars and conferences. Then do what works for you and your book.
What works for me is to write that opening scene with so much intrigue that the reader is compelled to read the whole book. Then I remember that I’m the author and the rest of the book needs writing. Next, because I am impulsive and impatient, I write that closing scene, which is identical to the opening scene. Except, for the characters, everything has changed. They understand themselves and the world in a way they never did before, and that has brought them happiness.
Then I work out that glorious middle between those two scenes — the middle that starts out onerous and awful, but slowly grows with beats and character arcs. Then opening scenes disappear because there is a better place to start. But those deleted scenes dribble back in as careful back story, just enough to please the reader.
The first draft of my current novel was awful. But I printed it out and gave the one and only copy, in large print, to my mother, who was in hospice. She claimed she liked it, but I suspect she made the same claim about my kindergarten artwork.
Even with the scenes all there, the writing was still wrong. By the time the clarity in my head hit the page and then bounced through the poor reader’s eyes, it was a mushy muddle. The wrong person was speaking because I screwed up the dialogue tags. Once I fixed that, the speakers were not believable, or not worth listening to. So, I headed back to those how-to books, and the beta-readers, and a growing fleet of helpful advisors.
Writing novels is like raising children. It is a wonderful adventure that bears little resemblance to the brochure you read before you signed up for that particular voyage. It is nothing like expectations, but still wonderful. So get busy. Learn all you can. Then grind it out until you are certain your book will please the reader. Because if you don’t please the reader, they will set down your book and go search for a better cupcake.
About Willy: Fifty years ago, when the high-school scheduling demons forced Willy Mills to choose between calculus and creative writing. He chose calculus and a patent-filled career writing software. He is now exploring the other option by writing humorous novels and taking creative writing workshops from Romance Writers of America. Besides wrecking boats, cars, and marriages, his top lifetime achievement was the moment a puberty pummeled teen declared: “Dad, I’m mad at you. Stop making melaugh.”
Thanks to everyone for for all the positive comments. So here is the icing: Writing isn’t just hard work, it is fun!
It’s fantastic. Thank you for the comments. And to everyone who’s replied with their encouraging words.
Thank you Kathy for allowing us to hear from the writers in your groups. I love it when I see that the RWA has men interested in writing romance, as they offer such a different perspective! Thank you Willy for your humorous insight into your life, your writing journey and beyond. Wishing you great success and maybe more importantly satisfaction for reaching your writing goals!
Willy, I related to this so much. I see the link with raising kids but a lot of that was intuitive. With writing you have to be able to throw out the baby with the bathwater as you described. I loved your description.
Lovely blog post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Willy. You really hit the nail on the head… or the cupcake on the icing? 😀
Willy I so loved your post! You have been an amazing critique partner and I can not wait to read all that your creative mind will gift us with! Great piece of writing and much wisdom.
“Puberty-pummelled teen”… this is so great! You have a lovely, engaging voice, Willy. Best wishes in your writing career!
All of you are so awesome. Thank you for the great words for this new writer. I think he’s gotta future. 🙂
I am so on the same page with this one, in all aspects of life. Bury yourself in insights from those more experienced than you are, then decide what works for you. This is especially true in writing because the story is yours to tell, not theirs. I love the way you expressed this in your post, Willy! (And not just because I love cupcakes!)
I love the support and love from the writing community! Thank you so much, Joan.
Thank you, Willy, for bravely offering up this post. I enjoyed it immensely not only because it was entertaining but also because of the wisdom—hard-won I imagine—in your words. If your fiction is like the last sentence inyour bio, then I’ll be in line to buy your books. Best of luck, Willy.
Right?! 🙂
Thanks, Kara!
You are 100% correct. This is so true about writing and about books. It’s one of the hardest things about writing, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. Each story has characters with mysteries waiting to be discovered.
Congratulations, Willy. Great post.
Thank you, Liz!
A wonderful post!
It’s fantastic. Thanks, Bonnie. I thought the same.
I doubt I have ever read a better post on how we learn our craft. Congratulations Willy, well said.