Inspiration

by Rain Trueax
 

For writers there is the constant consideration of -- write for the market or write from their own heart. Unless it's a hobby, making money at writing has to be a consideration. Sometimes a writer gets lucky and what the market already wants is what they enjoy writing-- definitely fortuitous. A writer might write to their own heart and hit a zeitgeist-- a time when the winds change, and they ride the first wave.  

This is on my mind today because I finished the rough draft for the last book for a series that hasn't found a market. These books are twice as long as some of the best selling books, where novellas are so popular. I could have written two or maybe three books in the same time. So why write longer books? Why not look at what is selling and try to create my own version of it? Why when I see that my historicals sell better, set a series in contemporary times?

There are reasons for all of that. Of course, one is the hope that this story from my heart will find readers who will love it as much as I have loved writing it.  It's kind of a weird thing how I put off writing more than a couple of chapters for over a year from when I had brought out the fourth in that series. I believe this was the right time for writing it. It's a better story than it would have been  if I'd jumped right in after the fourth. I learned things about the characters that I might've missed back then.

However, a delay like this is another of those no-no's if someone wants to sell books-- regular production is important to keep a market waiting for the next one. A year off and who but me cares that I am writing it now. That wasn't a question lol.

So an answer to one question-- why write longer books when shorter ones make more money and can be produced faster? Shorter books make good economic sense, and they are easier to edit by a ton. I've written a few novellas, and the process of creating them was satisfying.

When I began the series about natural born witches in 2016, I intended that the books would average about 50,000 words each. Kind of a compromise between the novellas and the rest of my books, which range from 80,000 to 125,000 words.

The stories didn't end up that way because once I got into them I kept coming up with more aspects that I wanted as part of the lives of these women. While romances are about love, most of them have strong elements regarding relationships to family, friends, work, community, nature, etc. Adding magick to the mix, and there's  more to fit into the mix. Each witch is different in her skills and interests. Once I get into writing a book, I learn things I didn't know about the characters, and those features enrich the writing for me. Books end up as long as I feel it takes to tell the story.
 
A few years back, I wrote how I came to write this series from driving around Barrio Viejo in Tucson, Arizona, and seeing the possibility of strong, contemporary women finding their place in its world. Adding to their problem is being born with special gifts, which they need to use for the good of all in a time where their sort is suspect. Their lives are sometimes perilous as they battle against dangerous forces.

Barrio Viejo is extraordinary in how it's a mix of the old, the renewed, spirituality, and history. It sets right outside of Tucson's downtown and has two shrines. The houses are often adobe and have long histories sometimes with their stories told in plaques outside the dwellings.

The first time I drove though this barrio I was looking for El Tiradito because I'd put it into one of my Arizona historical books and wanted to see it in person. I goofed that time as it turned out I had found the other barrio shrine. 

Learning more, the next time I got to Tucson, I found the right one. I wrote more about it in a 2006 blog-- El Tiradito. The most recent photos that I took of it show the niches in the wall with prayers stuck into them. It is a place of spiritual power or so it is believed.

My first time there, maybe 2004 or earlier, many of the adobe homes were dilapidated

(some still are), with it looking as though the community didn't have long to be due to the spread of the more powerful and growing downtown. It still had a special charm as I would see older Hispanics or Native Americans sitting on porch stoops with the doors open behind them.

The visit that inspired the series came in 2015. Restoration had arrived. Instead of tearing down those charming old homes, they were being remodeled but keeping their adobe charm.. There was more evidence of younger people having come to create a vital community. One motorcycle in front of an adobe was a huge inspiration for who might live there.

The mysticism, which I felt, added to my characters. The series began as the Hemstreet Witches but now is Mystic Shadows to align them with my earlier paranormal/whatever/fantasy books. I think I wrote about that earlier also. 

At any rate, this has gone over length, I'll have more next week on the series that was inspired from this place. As for the writing, the rough draft is finished of the fifth book, I'll still be in the midst of editing it before sending it to my beta readers for their take and what they find doesn't and does work :). If you've never been a beta reader, it is an important part of getting a book ready for readers. They do get the finished book for free when it comes out, but it's a little rewarded part of putting out a book-- well, rewarded in their satisfaction of improving a book when it is seen through the eyes of someone other than the author.

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I have a notice alongside the blog about a group I am facilitating at FaceBook-- Rain's Behind the Words. It is closed as in anyone can see it exists but only members can read posts there and see who belongs. 

If you are interested in creativity be it writing, painting, crafts, etc. etc., you might consider requesting membership. It is open to those who have an interest in the creative lifestyle whether actively pursuing it or wondering about it (Unless one of the group members knows an applicant, we will go to their FB page to determine if they are a good fit. There is a reason for that. FB makes any group owner responsible for content on their page, or they can themselves be booted from FB).  

This group is intended to be a safe space to pursue creative connections, build such friendships, and hopefully provide inspiration in many fields of interest.

Check it out-- https://www.facebook.com/groups/213424252693223