Next week I’ll be attending the Romance Writers of America®’s National Conference in San Diego. The last time I attended RWA National, I was a Golden Heart® Finalist. Hard to believe that was four years ago!
It’s been a bit of a rocky road, writing-wise, for me since then, but I finally feel like I’m making headway. I struggled with my Golden Heart book, The Lazarus Gambit. The first 50 pages were solid; the rest of the book…not so much. I edited and rewrote and edited again, multiple passes of both, but I finally had to admit I couldn’t pull it together — yet.
Part of me thinks maybe I should have come to that conclusion sooner. But another part of me knows I didn’t waste the time I spent working on The Lazarus Gambit. I learned so much about plot structure and character arc than I knew when I was writing Lazarus. And I’m putting what I learned to work.
I have a new work-in-progress that I’m excited about. It’s set in the same gaslamp-fantasy world I created for The Lazarus Gambit (only set a generation earlier). I’m writing the first draft — the “telling myself a story” draft, as Sir Terry called it — and I’m loving writing again.
And I’m doubly excited to be headed for RWA2016 because I’m attending with my writing partner, Meagan. I’ve always been flown solo at Conference, which can get a little lonely when you’re as introverted as I am. I have a feeling we’re going to have a blast!
