authoring is hard and should be given the grace it deserves
So, I found myself doom scrolling the other day. I came across an actor from a sci-fi show I used to watch, where he was saying he taught acting classes. They were, of course, not something I'll ever take. I'm not even remotely interested in acting and know that I would be awful at it. That said, it somehow got the wheels turning in my head. Other people have passions, so what was mine? After some time, I came to the answer.
Writing.
That's my passion. It's the one thing I always go back to with enthusiasm and excitement. It kept me sane for so, so many years. However, it's something I rarely did by myself because I always managed to find a scene partner. I think that's the problem to finishing any of my current works. I'm doing it alone.
That same day, I picked my husband's brain. He's never really listened to any of my stories, and I usually feel silly telling him. Not because he'll judge me, because he's actually awesome and won't, but because it's fairly unknown territory telling anyone about what I'm writing. It's just... as I was telling him pieces of my novel, things started to click more. It's been so long since I've had anyone to blather on about my stories to, that I forgot how cathartic and helpful it truly was from the few times I told anyone.
Which also lead me to doing research on the best methods to plotting. The way I've always wrote is very much from a role player perspective. Character does thing, thing gets response, story unfolds. It's genuinely hard to shift from that perspective and start writing on your own, and relying on everything coming from your own brain instead of a mutual decision. And, boy howdy do you need all the help you can get. It's like learning how to write for the first time. I found "plan your book" templates with step by step instructions on how best to structure your book.
And I feel absolutely silly admitting that, but you know what? It's been incredibly helpful. My strong suit has always been character building. Now, I have to flex my muscles on world building and story crafting.
If you're also thinking about writing a book, don't be afraid to ask the people around you silly questions. Don't be afraid to look up anything that'll help you. It might just be how you finally get everything down.
