What Abandoning a Manuscript Taught Me About Writing
So, in previous posts I talked about working on a cozy gothic fantasy for myself as a brain cleanser after the darkness and heaviness of Carmilla’s Gambit and Wolf in the Sanctuary. After drafting 21,819 words of this manuscript, I abandoned it. And I’m not sad, because the process of deciding to abandon this manuscript taught me a valuable lesson about myself as a writer. That lesson is that my writer personality is different from my reader personality.
As a reader, I love so many genres of stories. I love dark fantasy, dark and erotic urban fantasy, cozy fantasy, cozy mysteries, supernatural thrillers, noir detective stories, and both cozy and erotic romances. I go through phases where I want to read nothing but one type of book, and then I switch to another. I’m currently on a cozy fantasy binge right now.
And as a writer possessing “gay audacity,” as we say, I assumed I could write in all of these genres. I mean, I wanted to contribute to the genres that I love the way many do. And so, I plotted out a cozy gothic fantasy about a woman running an antiques and oddities shop who acquires a mysterious necklace with a mischievous fae bound inside it who tempts people to play harmless pranks on others. Sort of a, sweet and cozy Needful Things.
It felt good to create, as it always does. I genuinely enjoy the process of writing.
But I abandoned the story because I found myself struggling to resist the urge to go dark, to go heavy, to bring in depressing themes and some blood. I enjoyed having the time to refresh my brain after writing a ton of darkness, but my brain and my soul ache to write darkness.
That urge is an itch I can’t help but scratch. As a writer, it’s important to learn your range and your limits. I wanted to write cozy and happy as an escape from the darkness of the world, but I have a firm belief that the purpose of creative minds during such times is to spread warnings and provide guidance through art. And for me, that demands I confront the darkness. And so, we’re back to the grind in the shadows.
That being said, if you want to take a peek at how I handle dark themes, my Louisiana gothic novel, Wolf in the Sanctuary, is on sale at Smashwords. You can get the ebook (that will work on all devices) for only $1.49! Find my book and many more at https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos/ all month!
-Robin