I’ve been lucky enough as a writer to always have an
idea handy. It’s actually rare for me to run out. However, not all ideas are
good, in fact some really stink. So, though I don’t suffer from writer’s block
I do fall into writing slumps. Early in my writing career when this happened I
was devastated. I loved the story, loved the characters, and simply couldn’t
fathom not finishing the book. But truth be told, it was boring and I couldn’t
figure out how to liven it up. I took a hiatus from it and wrote something else
for a few days. When I finally revisited the manuscript I took a good hard look
at it and asked myself, why do I like this one so much? One of the answers was
because of a particular character. So that day I decided to write a few lines
from her point of view, and I was absolutely astounded. The story flew out of
my head and through my fingers. All the stuttering I’d been suffering from
stopped as if my muse had simply been waiting to speak in that other voice.
You might wonder why it took me a bit to switch POVs
in that particular manuscript. The reason is because I went from third person
to first. I had been very intimidated by first person because it felt so
intimate. I would have to really get into my characters’ heads and live through
them. Also, I’d heard from a few sources that many people don’t like to read
first person. Once I switched it for the MS and finished the book that was
still a concern. However, I was so happy with the way the story played out I
knew it wasn’t meant to be written any other way. I decided my work would have
to speak for itself and hopefully readers who don’t normally prefer first
person would still enjoy the book. I wound up writing a whole series after that
and the fourth and final book will be out in May.
-Missy Jane
*Make
reading a guilty pleasure…*
1 comment:
really enjoyed the blog and how you switched perspective, 1st person is more intimate :)
Chris J.
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