What impressed me about Devyn is she had a goal and didn't let anything get in the way of accomplishing it. She was willing to learn and work hard to achieve that goal. Kudos to Devyn!
Writing doesn't come easy to me.
Does that sound like something a writer would say? Well, it's true. The art of taking pen in hand and creating effervescent prose that fairly jumps off the page and catches the reader's attention is an art I've struggled to master for over 20 years.
Don't misunderstand me. Since grade school (the first grade, as a matter of fact) I knew--just knew--that I would grow up and write books. From the moment I learned that individual letters make words, and that words made sentences that contained fantastic stores of other worlds far away from my own, I had only one single goal in mind. To write my own books.
Unfortunately there is a lot more to the process than simply sitting down and telling the stories writing in your mind. There's that thing I like to call "mechanics", all the various pieces it takes to write a good book. By mechanics I mean more than simply being able to write and punctuate sentences. Mechanics also means arranging the words into dialogue and description that will convey the images living in your mind to your reader.
But how to do that?
For the longest time that answer eluded me. I thought the best way to learn to write was to read stories that interested me by authors I admired. And that's true. But only to a point. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. When I go back over my earlier pre-publication work I can clearly pick out the style and influences of the writer I was reading at the time. Yes, the writing was competent. But it wasn't my own. It was me, trying to recreate the style of another author.
Although I wrote many books as the years passed, I came to a point where I began to doubt publication would ever arrive. The thing editors often refer to, as "a writer's voice" seemed to elude me. It was there, but always out of my reach. Where to find my voice and how to use it were questions I asked, but ones seemingly without answer. In quizzing my published friends, they would often shrug and admit they didn't know where that special inner touch came from. It just was.
Sounds so Zen, right?
Instead of feeling tranquil, I was gnashing my teeth. “So where's mine? “ I often demanded as I flogged myself with my metal whip for being too stupid to write a good sentence.
And then it dawned on me. Instead of trying to imitate my favorite authors, I needed to close their books and put them out of my mind. No, it wasn't that I forgot what their stories were about. In fact, it was just the opposite. I remembered those stories, but I made myself forget their words. Instead of thinking, for example, "How would King or Grisham write this line?” I began to make myself think about how I would write it.
And then it happened. I found my "voice" as a writer. No, it didn't happen overnight and it certainly wasn't easy. But as I grew older and began to call upon my own personal experiences in life and my conscious perception of the world around me, I realized I didn't need to look to other writers for knowledge on how to write my books. The know-how was inside me all along. Time, practice and a little bit of nurturing sharpened my rudimentary skills.
In the 20 years I’ve been writing, I’ve written almost 20 books and several short stories. No, I’m not a bestseller or well-known author by any means. But I am determined someday I will be. I came a little bit closer to my goal when I did what I had thought was impossible: I was nominated for, and won, the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for best paranormal erotic romance in 2009. Not only was I up against authors who I considered far more talented than I will ever be, there were a couple I considered virtually unbeatable.
So if I can do it, anybody can.
All it takes is a lot of determination, oodles of practice and the fortitude to shake of rejection and keep on working toward your goal.
Trust me on this one. I’ve been there, and I’m still learning the ropes.
- What about you? What have you had to overcome in your writing journey?
Siren’s Call, Book One of Dark Tides Series
Between desire and love there are some things that can’t stay buried, even in the deep of the ocean.
As a woman with a secret, lighthouse keeper Tessa Lonike savors her solitude on the island of Little Mer, off the coast of Maine. During a violent storm, Tessa spots a man thrashing in the ice cold waters and dives in to save him, using her ability as a mermaid to easily pull him to shore.
When Kenneth Randall awakens on the beach he is alone, left with the haunting memory of his beautiful, flame-haired savior. But a year later, when Kenneth meets her again, he’s determined not to let Tessa slip away. Just as the desire between them begins to burn, Tessa’s archaeologist ex-lover comes back to town with a tantalizing clue to her murky heritage.
The trio travel to the Mediterranean in search of answers, and when Tessa inadvertently opens an underwater portal they find a lost mermaid city. But in the deep, not everything is as it seems, and Tessa must decide if she wants to take her place as the royal heir, or follow the call of her heart…Excerpt
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Devyn Quinn lives in the scenic Southwest, though she has called several other states home. She is a huge fan of dark gothic music & shoot-’em-up action movies. But reading is her first love and Devyn spends too much time with history books, as well as feeding her addiction for celebrity biographies. She especially enjoys reading books on Hollywood before the 1960′s and is crazy about Marilyn Monroe, her legend and her myth.
Be on the look out for book two in The Dark Tide series: THE SIREN'S SURRENDER February 2011
Be on the look out for book two in The Dark Tide series: THE SIREN'S SURRENDER February 2011
