• Never Give Up by Donna Alward

     
    Published: April 26th, 2012 05:00 AM  Views: 1083  
    4 Comments Comments
    Recently I finished a different sort of project that I’ve been thinking about writing for years. The sense of accomplishment I felt when I typed THE END was immense. I did it! But there was something keeping me from the usual sense of relief and freedom I get when I hand in a book to my editor.

    I thought about it for quite a while before I understood why there were still some bits of me that didn’t feel quite like celebrating.

    For one thing, I learned a lot while writing this story and a good part of that was finding out what DIDN’T work rather than what did. I spent a lot of time looking for other ways to get across what I thought I needed to. Sometimes what I thought was important wasn’t. Sometimes I was in the wrong POV, I focused on the wrong plot line, or got the motivation wrong.

    I also realized that sometimes you don’t REALLY know what you think you know. For example, this book is part of a trilogy. What I thought was book 1 I soon discovered was book 2, so I put it aside and started with a different set of characters. Once I finished, I realized that the couple I’d already bumped to book 2 really needed to be bumped – again – to book 3! It’s not their turn yet. But that was something I couldn’t know until I got in and got my hands dirty. Everyone works differently, but if I’d proposed this series based on my original vision, I would have found myself in trouble! Maybe if I were a stronger plotter… but I’m not. I made peace with that long ago.

    And then I realized that the reason I’m really not bouncing off the walls with excitement is that I’m scared. If this book doesn’t fly, neither does book 2 or 3. And I want them to succeed. I don’t want those stories to go untold.

    I know they might. That’s the nature of the business. And here’s where I realized something weird and oddly comforting all at once.

    Back in 2001 I finished my first manuscript. I was so proud and pleased I’d done it – I’d written a book and submitted it! Let’s face it – a lot of people SAY they are going to but don’t get down to doing it. On the back of that though was fear – fear that I wouldn’t come up with another idea. For the first half dozen manuscripts I wrote (and had rejected), I finished without having any idea what I was going to write next. That’s exactly how I feel about this project. Now it’s done, but if it gets rejected and I want to try again, what am I going to write? Seriously – I’ve got NOTHIN’.

    This is where the comforting part comes in. Because each time I felt that way before, I always came up with a new idea. Something better and stronger and a new set of characters to fall in love with. And after a while the ideas started coming faster until these days I have multiple stories waiting to be told and not enough time to write them all. If the past is a window to the future, the ideas will come. Maybe I need to retrain my brain to see them, but they will be there somewhere.

    Know what else I did in the past? I picked myself up from those rejections and kept going until I got it right. And I’ll do so again. If it’s not this project, maybe it will be the next one. So I just keep trying.

    All this doubt isn’t all bad, either. It keeps me on my toes, keeps me always trying to do it better, and that can only be a good thing – for me and for my readers. J

    In the meantime, I still have lots to celebrate. I have a duet out this month and next: THE LAST REAL COWBOY and THE REBEL RANCHER. I love writing for Harlequin Romance and I had so much fun writing these two stories. I’ve got a short story in a digital anthology from Harlequin too – Second-Chance Mother in THE GREATEST GIFT: A MOTHER’S DAY COLLECTION. And I’m gearing up for RWA Nationals in Anaheim in July - I’m up for a RITA® in the Contemporary Series category.



    A diamond like no other...

    From the moment he turned up late to her charity's meeting, placating everyone with a tip of his Stetson and a lazy smile, Angela Beck knew that Sam Diamond was going to be trouble with a capital T.

    Angela is the prickliest woman Sam Diamond's ever met - let alone had to work with! He'd love to still her sharp tongue with a kiss, but first he has to get close enough to awaken the complex woman beneath the deliberately cool exterior. And that's something only a real cowboy can do...

    Link to preview excerpt: www.donnaalward.com/LastRealCowboy.htm

    Buy at Harlequin: http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=25747&cid=227

    Buy at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Ranchers-Runaway-Princess-ebook/dp/B007BBVDJ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335205195&sr=8-1






    A busy wife and mother of three (2 daughters and the family dog), Donna Alward believes hers is the best job in the world: a combination of stay-at-home mom and romance novelist.

    An avid reader since childhood, Donna always made up her own stories. She completed her Arts Degree in English Literature in 1994, but it wasn't until 2001 that she penned her first full-length novel, and found herself hooked on writing romance. In 2006 she sold her first manuscript.

    Donna loves being back on the East Coast of Canada after nearly 12 years in Alberta where her Harlequin career began, writing about cowboys and the west. Donna's debut Romance,Hired by the Cowboy, was awarded the Booksellers Best Award in 2008 for Best Traditional Romance.

    Donna loves to hear from readers; you can contact her through her website atwww.donnaalward.com, visit her facebook page, or through her publisher.

    Twitter: @DonnaAlward
    Representation: Jennifer Schober of Spencerhill Associates
    Categories:
    1. Writing Life
    Comments 4 Comments
    1. Kathy Altman's Avatar
      A wonderful reminder, Donna, to trust in ourselves and our creativity. Which is WAY easier to say than do, of course. :-) Thank you for the calming advice, and very best wishes with your trilogy!!

      -Kathy Altman
      Reply
    1. Lynda Frazier's Avatar
      A great story, thanks. I am also struggling with a series and I can empathize with writing things out of order. I have book one done and contracted, and book two half finished only to find out it really needs to be further down the line.
      Good luck with your trilogy, your excerpt sounds good and one I'll have to add to my TBR list.
      Thanks again,
      Lynda
      Reply
    1. Donna Alward's Avatar
      Thanks Kathy and Lynda!

      Kathy, it's so easy to NOT be calm. As writers we juggle a lot. We aren't just creators, we're business people. The industry changes what feels like every five minutes. There's a lot of pressure to be doing it differently, better, faster.

      I try to ignore a good part of that by simply simplifying my thinking. I just have to keep on keepin' on, and oddly enough so much of the other stuff ends up taking care of itself. That being said, sometimes it's good to feel a little off balance. That's where growth and change happen. And that can be really, really good.

      After all, nothing worth having ever truly comes easily.

      Donna xx
      Reply
    1. Denise Hall's Avatar
      Congrats on your success! And thank you for this post. I'm searching for a direction in my writing. I haven't written a thing in months because of issues with bipolar disorder, but I'm slowly getting back to it. My undergrad degree is in journalism, so I lean toward non-fiction. But I'm keeping my options open. Who knows?
      Reply
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