New Life by Rebecca Seaton

 

New Life by Rebecca Seaton

Approaching Easter, we have a chance to think about new life. This can be a new thing or the fanning into flame of an existing thing. How can we apply this concept to our writing?

Maybe you haven’t written for a while of your writing is stuck in a rut. It can happen to the best of us. Before you give up, maybe there’s a way to bring life to it again.

Change the Point of View

If like me, you love your characters, ‘killing your darlings’ is hard. However, it can free up story time for other characters who have been restricted up until now. Even keeping the same characters but changing whose view is predominant can create a new angle. Maybe first person would work better than third or vice-versa. Just beware head-hopping!

Change Genre

This could seem wild but could also be about looking at your work more clearly and seeing better where it fits. If your paranormal romance is more about the romance than a supernatural element, maybe it would work just as well as a straightforward romance? Sometimes just asking yourself the question of which genre or plotline is dominant can help bring the planning back on track. This might not be ditching whole elements but could mean being clearer with yourself as to what the book is really about.

Change Audience

Which brings us onto audience. Is our story really the supernatural crime/YA fantasy/middle grade comedy we thought it was? I consider myself a planner rather than a pantser but I’ve still come unstuck on this one. Not matter how hard I try to shoehorn the WIP into YA, there are just elements I can’t ignore. At the least, it’s New Adult, so I need to rethink certain bits. However, this does give me a sense of relief – there’s nothing wrong with the story, just where I’ve seen it sitting up until now.

Take a Break

If all else fails, take a break. There’s a lot to be said for perspective. The Bible tells us God Himself rested, whether after creating (Genesis 2:1-3) or when facing challenge (Matthew 26:36-42). The whole of creation may not hinge on our creative decisions but the reasoning still stands. There can be as much power in the pause as in the push, after all.

 

 

Rebecca writes fantasy novels, magazine articles and the occasional play. She had her first novel, A Silent Song, published through Pen to Print’s Book Challenge competition and is currently working on the second book of a new trilogy.