The What of Writing

geralt via Pixabay

I've been thinking about my writing 5Ws: who, what, when, where and why. Last week, I tucked my writing "when" into another blog post because, by itself, it's not much of a post. My "what," on the other hand, has continued to expand and evolve over the nearly three decades that I've been writing professionally. 

When I first started out, I wrote articles "on spec." That meant I'd dream up a great idea for a magazine (magazines and newspapers hadn't yet been replaced by their digital counterparts) and send it off to an editor via snail mail, hoping the editor would think it was a great idea, too. Rejections far outnumbered acceptances but, gradually, I got better at finding the right topics for the right places. Eventually, I even acquired columns in local publications and later on, I became a contributor to a few bigger publications. These gigs were great while they lasted but one by one, they fell away as print yielded to digital. I was sad to see most of them go -- except the one where the new editor decided I was suddenly not good enough to write for them (after about ten years of writing for previous editors). When that one didn't survive its digital format either, I did feel a little bit of a satisfaction. (Hey, writers are human, too!)

My first two books were extensions of these articles, and the merger of my educator life with my writing life. Written primarily for school counselors, they were a great way to develop confidence in my ability to write something longer than 1500 words. It would be more than 15 years before another nonfiction book followed but I was ready. 

Meanwhile, I began trying my hand at fiction. Unlike those who write what's popular, I wrote what I wanted to read but couldn't find. (Never let it be said that I do things the easy way). Developing characters is my favorite part of the process because my protagonists are all women I'd like to spend time with not in spite of their flaws but because of them. I enjoyed reading (some) Christian fiction but everyone was so good. I couldn't identify. I like characters who are a little provocative, more than a little sassy and even a little snarky when the situation calls for it. I like writing women who know their own minds and who act on principle, even if their principle looks different from mine (ah, conflict!) The theme that runs through my fiction and my nonfiction alike is "work in progress" because, after all, doesn't that describe all of us? 

Now? I have a great gig with CatholicMom.com, along with a relationship with an editor at a print magazine who prints pretty much everything I send her and, with the help of an incredible editorial team, makes my words look better than I could ever have imagined. I recently started writing for Family Theater Productions, too, one of several gigs that my CatholicMom.com family has made possible. My blogging has sharpened my skills and enriched my writing, as well as providing a way for me to reach out to readers. 

Over the years, I've found my voice. It's been influenced by everything from the books I read to the subjects I teach and shaped with the help of a critique group that long ago crossed the line from colleagues to friends. My goal in my novels is to entertain but, also, to raise questions. Are there times when a stepmother is a better mom than a mother? Does being Christian or Catholic or spiritual mean being perfect? (Spoiler alert: no, it does not!) What does a good relationship look like? Can the same  woman be both soft and hard, snarky and loving, or confident and uncertain? What does it mean to be true to oneself? These are fun questions to explore, but also real questions that many of us deal with and, as it turns out, novels are a great place to explore them. 

When it comes to my nonfiction, I have one goal: to meet my reader where she is (because, let's face it, most of my readers are women) and help her go where she wants to go, whether it's to become more assertive, more organized or something else entirely. It is most definitely NOT to change her or tell her what to do. There are plenty of voices that already do that. 

Meanwhile, my job is to listen to the ideas in my head that point me in the direction of my next project. Sometimes, they're so silent it scares me but usually, when I take time to pause and step away from the chaos of to-do lists and hybrid teaching, they begin to whisper to me again. When that happens, I breathe a sigh of relief, and jot down their "what ifs" as quickly as I can so they don't get lost in the crush of day-to-day responsibility.

What's coming next? I don't yet know. I have some projects in the works and, as I wrote this, a new one popped into my head. I've learned that what comes next is always a mixture of what interests me, what interests editors and what I have the time to complete in a way that does it justice. It took over a decade for Know Thyself to make it into print, and it was worth the wait.

Thanks for reading -- not only this post, but also the longer projects that take years to come to fruition. Writing is rewarding, but writing for an actual audience is even better.