#IWSG April 2021. Risk taking in writing.

 Hello all!

Hope your month has been awesome. I'm sure this month will be interesting as we hear about risk taking in our writing.

Before I get into the question ...

Be sure to visit Alex's awesome co-hosts for the April - PK Hrezo, Pat Garcia, SE White, Lisa Buie Collard, and Diane Burton!

  Be sure to visit the
Insecure Writer’s Support Group Website!!!

Here is the whole April 7 question - Are you a risk-taker when writing? Do you try something radically different in style/POV/etc. or add controversial topics to your work?

Source

So ... what does it mean to be a risk taker? A person who tries new things. Is that you? Is that me? Do we try new things in our writing?

To me, writing itself is risk taking. You could devote twenty years of your life to it and never finish anything, never publish anything. That's okay if you just love writing, but I want my writing to go somewhere. Do you? 

BUT ... our writing can be flummoxed by so many writing 'rules' - (here's just a few that annoy me) -

* 'as' must come first in a sentence unless it's a comparison, 

* you mustn't repeat the same word in a paragraph, so you're forever looking for synonyms to, for example, 'withdraw' which may not fit as well, 

* then there's the 'you can't start a book/chapter with the mc waking up,

* show don't tell - if you use 'show' all the time, your book will be twice as long! Sometimes you just have to get to the point already! 

* then there's the - no head hopping except in a romance ... blah, blah, blah.

I'm leery of 'writing rules' because I'm an avid, prolific reader and I see all of the above 'rules' broken by popular authors constantly (oh, and don't use *adverbs! Grr). And careful with *backstory. I read a lot of women's fiction and sometimes at the beginning there are pages of backstory. Can't say I enjoy that, and sometimes I throw the book across the room wondering how they got traditionally published, but what the heck, these are popular books which are best sellers on Amazon so there's a market. Breaking that 'backstory' rule hasn't hurt these authors who I imagine just sit down and write their story using their tried and true formula which keeps them on the best seller list in their genre. Pish to the rules they must think.

So is part of risk taking author behaviour breaking the above (and plenty more) writing rules? Do the writing police read our books? I think not. 

But I think the person who came up with the question this month wasn't referring to writing 'rules' per se. 

Other than breaking 'rules', my risk taking includes tackling issues. Not everyone likes this. A lot of readers read to escape and they don't want their equilibrium shattered by issues of domestic violence, patriarchal behaviour, PTSD and so on which you're going to find in my books when I publish. But I like books with issues, so that's what I write. There's a saying, 'write the book you want to read' and that's what I do. I don't set out to be controversial, I try to be real. Who doesn't struggle with something in their lives? I love books with issues and the mc overcoming in the end.

Thanks for reading. I'm sorry for my rant on 'writing rules' but sometimes I think they're pushed on newbie writers just to slow us down and keep us forever editing and never publishing. 

What's your view on this? Do you stick to the ever-changing 'rules', or do you write the way you want to?

~*~

In a little over a week, the April WEP challenge goes live. Here is a chance to write about an issue, if you haven't yet taken that risk. If you like tackling issues, go for it...

#IWSG post November 2019. Lynda R Young (Elle Cardy) writes on the topic - HOW WRITERS EVOLVE.

Welcome to the IWSG for the month of November. 

Alex's awesome co-hosts for the November 6 posting are Sadira Stone, Patricia Josephine, Lisa Buie-Collard, Erika Beebe, and C. Lee McKenzie!

I'm reaching the end of my 2019 Italian and French odyssey where I've been researching locations for my novels. I've many stories to tell at a later stage.

For today's IWSG I've handed over my blog to my buddy, Lynda R Young, pen name Elle Cardy. Knowing first hand some of Lynda's writing journey I asked her to enlighten us more today. I, for one, am always intrigued by the writing process and how writers reach publication. It's a long and winding road for most of us mere mortals, and instant success for others. 

Follow Lynda along her long and winding road. 

The Ways Writers Evolve, by Elle Cardy

Writers evolve over time. I started writing in my early teens with rose-coloured dreams of making a living by clicking away at one of those old fashioned typewriters—you know the ones that destroy your nails? Honestly, how can anyone write a book on those contraptions? Yay for computers.

As a teen I was hopeful and immortal. Fears? Doubts? What were they? I wrote close to half a million words of epic stories. I polished the first book as best I knew how. Then I sent the massive tome off to publishers and agents and waited for success to come knocking...

Crushed dreams. Been there anyone?

I didn't give up. I got to improving my chances. I learned how the industry worked -

• I read how-to books, 
• attended workshops, 
• connected with other writers, 
• got feedback on my work. 

With all this outside input, I started to see where I’d been going oh so wrong. This was when the fears and doubts really kicked in. To counter them, I stuck to the rules as if they were law, and I changed my work to suit every opinion that came my way.

I sucked the life out of my writing.

It wasn’t until I gained the confidence to write what I wanted, the way I wanted, that I started to breathe life back into my writing. By this time, I was armed with knowledge of the markets, the rules I could break, and what it was I truly wanted.

And so...

Wielder’s Prize was completed and sent out with joy and confidence that this is a great read full of adventure and high stakes and everything I love in a book. (If I do say so myself).

As writers, we are an insecure bunch. Not only do we need to hone our craft, find our support network, get feedback, we need to also learn confidence—the courage to ride our story vision to the end, the bravery to get those pieces of ourselves out there to be judged, the grit to write what the story needs.

How have you built up your confidence? What’s your writing evolution been like? Anything like  mine? 

If you’re looking for an action-packed fantasy adventure to read, try Wielder’s Prize by Elle Cardy, the end product of my years of evolving as a writer.

Wielder’s Prize is available in paperback and ebook on Amazon (ad links) and Goodreads.

Here's the blurb:   Jasmine’s whole life is a lie. It isn’t until she’s snatched and forced to work on another ship that she learns how much of a lie it has been. Not only can she wield, but she’s a danger to everyone if she can’t control her magic. And worse: there’s another out-of-control wielder out there who wants her dead.

Elle Cardy is the pen name for Lynda R Young. She is an author, editor, game developer, 3D artist, graphic designer, photographer, gamer and so much more. Wielder’s Prize is her debut young adult fantasy adventure. Having lived in Sydney most of her life, she is now a relative newcomer to sunny Brisbane where she lives with her sweetheart of a husband. Twitter, Instagram, Website and Blog.






Thanks for coming by and reading about Lynda's writing journey. Share your journey in the comments.

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