So.
It is 10:30ish at night and this is the first chance I've had to write my Monday post for Scribble Chicks. I've told my son "NO" roughly 372 times as he tried to pull the clock, the Netflix player, the DVD player and the picture frame off of our entertainment stand. I've had a Veggie Tales song stuck in my head most of the day. I've held his hands as he pretended to walk around the room, chased him down as he tried to make a break for the dog's food dish while crawling and gotten a dozen sloppy kisses.
It's been a good day. :)
All that to say, not a lot of writing or writing-related things happened here today. We practiced saying "Mama" and "ball". We played with his Duplos firetruck and I took pictures as he ate his first graham cracker.
Not a lot happened, but a lot happened at the same time.
When I first decided I wanted to be a writer, I started off writing suspense. I thought that was what I wanted to write, that it would be my genre of choice. So I went to writing conferences, I talked to editors. Want to know what they told me when they found out I was 20 years-old trying to write a suspense story about 30 year-olds?
They told me there were plenty of 30 year-olds who could write a novel about 30 year-olds. And there were plenty of people older than 30 who could write a novel about 30 year-olds.
There weren't, however, a lot of 20 year-old writers. And especially not who were writing about people their own ages doing things that they did on a normal basis.
I started thinking about that. And I was sitting in a friend's wedding when I suddenly got a great idea, about a girl my own age who would have experiences like I had and would be involved in a college/singles' group like I was.
And Miss Match was born.
So maybe it's my new hobby to make as many silly faces in a ten minute time frame as I can. Maybe I'm spending my time cleaning up sippy cup dribbles, wiping a snotty nose and trying to quiet an overtired baby to sleep instead of writing.
But tomorrow, there will be a nap time. And I'll get to write. And instead of letting my fictional work take over my real life, and wishing I was older/prettier/more exciting/more suspenseful/more whatever, maybe I'll do the opposite and let my life overflow into my writing.
Because you know what they say. You should write what you know.
He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it...
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So true! I heartily agree, Mama! Write what you know. God has a blessing for someone through all our experiences if we let Him shine through us. Maybe a new series about a young mom? ;) You could even keep your coffee theme! hehehe. Because we all know Starbucks and Mommyhood go together like pb&J
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouraging post! I too write about 20-somethings (though not yet published) and I'm glad people out there are valuing our phase in life. And it's true, there aren't that many books about it. I've gotta check out yours! :) If it's as good as this post, it's gotta be fantastic!
ReplyDeleteGreat advice, I've always thought I didn't want to write about someone much older than me so I stick to twenty-something's & dabble in YA. Do twenty-something's have a genre? Seems like it falls through the cracks.
ReplyDeleteIt does fall through the cracks, Tonya, though some houses still label it YA. Erynn's series are typically college-aged characters and there isn't a set genre for that but it COULD fall into YA or could fall into chick lit or romance. You can also write romance or women's fiction with 20+ year old characters. Mos tof the characters in my Love Inspired novels are mid-20's. Sometimes the hero is already 30.
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