Hello friends! With all the blogging I’ve been doing lately, I realized that I didn’t have a dedicated space to talk about what writing projects I’m actually working on. That, plus the fact that I am more motivated to finish projects the more public accountability I have, led to me to dedicate the Wednesday slot on my blog to my work-in-progress.
So, as I have briefly mentioned, I started working on this WIP earlier this month after shelving a project I had become terribly blocked on. While I would normally try to power through the writer’s block on the previous story, the fact that I had not done my usual planning for the novel had really deteriorated my confidence that I was ready to write it in its entirety. So, I decided to get back to my roots and for the last four weeks or so I have been brainstorming, worldbuilding, and outlining this new idea.
But I’ve run into a bit of a snag.
When I first imagined this story, it was originally intended to be my take on the fey-romance fantasy genre that has exploded in popularity thanks to authors like Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer Armentrout. I have been none too impressed with many of the more recognizable titles in that particular sphere of writing, and part of me wanted to see if I could improve upon the genre.
However, from the get-go I have been wary of actually taking that approach. The market is pretty saturated with these types of stories from authors seeking to either capitalize on the furor or, like me, want to see if they can do one better. While it is more than fair to say that these books have their fans, it is equally as fair to remember that many, many fans of the fantasy genre in general (myself included) are a little bit completely over these books as well. In fact, the fey-romance/portal fantasy thing is frequently listed as tropes that fantasy readers wish there were less of at present.
So, I’m inclined to think that I missed my moment to make this story a fantasy-romance. Which is fine, because as I was brainstorming… I started to think I could just make this a regular portal fantasy with romance on the side. Bearing that in mind, I tuned my outline to focus more on the non-romance plot.
Yet, quite embarrassingly, I find that I am struggling to flesh out that side of things. I have a general idea of the central conflict, the main character’s motivations, and the climax, but the middle is befuddling me. It was so easy when this was a romance. I can do romance middles. Interactions between characters are my forte (at least, I find them easy to write; whether it’s interesting to read is not really up to me). But… action? Gulp.
I am also feeling the pressure of figuring out what I’m doing by April 1st, so I can participate in Camp NaNoWriMo. I know I could just taper down my goal to what I already have firmly outlined, but… I’m leery of starting another project without having a firm grasp of my roadmap after what happened last time.
Of course… I could always go back to my original idea. I could write a fey-romance.
But is that the story I want to tell? Honestly, at the moment I can’t tell. It has appeal, both because it was the original idea and because frankly it seems easier to write. But on the other hand… meh. I just don’t feel… good about its potential.
I think for now I’m going to stay with the straight fantasy with romance as a b plot. And I miss Camp… it’s not the end of the world. Gulp.
So, specifically speaking, I’ve got the first act and part of the second outlined, about 20ish percent of my target word count. I’ve got a firm grasp of the climax, and some scenes leading up to it, but by and large the middle is still a big foggy swamp. I just have to keep reminding myself that it’s okay if the first draft is a little murky. I just have to write it first.
Until next time, lovelies!
Kerry Share
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Just Another Struggling Writer 
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