Monday, April 5, 2010

Trying Something New

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I finished my WIP!


and, the timing is perfect because we are headed out for spring break this week and I am expecting a round of edits upon my return (or sometime around then) on With A Name Like Love (fall 2011).

You know, my Love novel was written from the heart. I had heard the advice, "Write what you want to read" and really feel that novel was written from a place inside my soul where few people have bothered to look.

This new novel was written for fun. It is a middle grade adventure story with a secret society, a brother and sister duo, a spider loving antagonist and a tv addicted mother. It is a romp and a ride (or at least, I hope it is)

I thought I would be less attached to it, but no way!

I'm surprised how we can continue to try and enjoy different things as artists/writers/even just as people.

so -
it is in the hands of trusted (and hopefully brutally honest!) readers.


I am off on a hiking spree with my family for the week.

and I'm wondering....

have you ever been surprised in this way? trying something completely new and different and finding that it can still represent you as a person?

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43 comments:

Anita said...

Congrats on finishing the wip! Have fun on your trip!

As for your blog question here...hmmm...I don't think I've ever been challenged that way, maybe I should try it.

Stephanie McGee said...

Congrats!!!!! Have a good vacation!

Susan R. Mills said...

Congratulations! Have a wonderful spring break.

Danyelle L. said...

Congrats! I love the fact that people aren't one dimension. There are so many different things and so many different ways to express our many different aspects. Have a great trip!

Tina Laurel Lee said...

That sounds delicious. I love that it is so different. I hope to be following in you footsteps. This wip that I'm wallowing in is from the heart. The next will be just for fun. Glad to hear you love them both! I hope that I will follow you that way as well.

Crystal said...

Congratulations, Tess on finishing your WIP--it sounds like it'll be a truly great read! I LOVE how you express your feelings for your first novel--I have similar feelings about mine, too! I have ideas for other titles that are completely different from the one I'm working on, but I have yet to write them out in novel form. I only have outlines right now. But yes, when I do get it down, I hope it'll still represent me as a person.

Enjoy your spring break! You deserve it! :)

Amy Allgeyer Cook said...

Yay for finishing your WIP!! I'm glad to hear you like this third child as much as the second. :) Have a great trip! We'll miss you.

Crystal Cook said...

Congratulations!!! Yay!!

And yes I have experienced that, and it surprises me every time :)

Wendy Paine Miller said...

So fun for you to be done. My characters in each of my novels have all been so different and I've loved 'em all, even the meanies.
~ Wendy

Talli Roland said...

That's brilliant! Congrats on finishing your WIP! :)

SJDuvall said...

I found after a few years of writing only novels, that writing literary short stories was actually really interesting to me, once I found a story that I could connect with.

Congrats on finishing your WIP. What's funny is that I finished mine right before my spring break (more like spring vacation as I have no school), and I went hiking and camping for a week too. Enjoy!

Unknown said...

Yay for finishing your WIP! I just recently finished mine and it felt fantastic!! I too decided to dabble in something a little different this go round and though the story doesn't have anything to do with me all my heart and soul was spilled on the pages and I've never felt more alive writing a piece!

Janna Leadbetter said...

Congrats, Tess! And enjoy your break!

"have you ever been surprised in this way? trying something completely new and different and finding that it can still represent you as a person?"

I just love the way you phrased this.

PJ Hoover said...

I was surprised by something I wrote a year ago. Loved every second of the writing.
Yay for you and your WIP!

Elana Johnson said...

Congrats on finishing your WiP, Tess. That is awesome news. I wish spring break were a little more springy, though. Hopefully you won't get rained on whilst hiking, but it's raining right now, so yeah.

And yes, I've written different things and am surprised that I have just as much passion for something else as I did for my first novel.

Good luck with edits too!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on finishing your WIP.
I've experienced that surprise sensation, too.
Have a great spring break!

Heidi Willis said...

Congrats!! What a great feeling!! I think every time I start a story, I'm not connected to it yet. I like the idea of it, but I don't feel like the characters and situations are real, and I feel like I'll never love it as much as the last. Then I get partway into writing and fall in love just as hard! :) I'm glad you did too!

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Congratulations on finishing your wip! Have a great week with the family. :)

Anne Gallagher said...

Congratulations! Yay! Have a wonderful vacation!

lotusgirl said...

I was surprised by my first WIP. I had always thought that I would write things true to life. I love reading that kind of thing. Of course, I love reading just about anything that's well written. Have fun on your trip.

Carolyn V. said...

Woo hoo! Congrats on getting that 1st draft done!!!!

I have also found that different kinds of writing has left me surprised, but I keep coming back to the funny stuff.

Have a great time on spring break. =)

* said...

Triple Spring Break Woot Woot Woot for you & finishing your WIP!

:)

Now, to answer your question:
Yes. I did that when I visited a home birth midwife pregnant with child #1 and continued that journey through twins (home birthed) and our last child, #4. It was a choice that reframed my life and redefined me as a mother and a woman.

Unknown said...

Yay for you!

I found myself falling in love with doing different things. I never thought I could write a science fiction...but I did, and that's the one that sold! It never would have happened if I kept myself stuck in the same ol' genre I'd been writing in.

Kristen Torres-Toro said...

Yes! Isn't that great!

Congrats to you!

Tamika: said...

Yay Tess! I love your spirit of adventure. I cringe sometimes at change, and that is so limiting- especially in writing!

Susan Fields said...

Congrats on finishing your wip! And have a wonderful spring break. I was all into trying new things a few years ago (about the time I learned to ski.) That seems to have worn off, though - must have been a phase. :)

Cynthia Chapman Willis said...

Hurray and CONGRATULATIONS!!! What a great feeling to finish a WIP. And right before a break--fabulous!
To answer your question: I was sort of pleasantly amazed at how much BUCK FEVER turned out to represent parts of me. One of the many reasons why writing can be such fun!
Have a wonderful break!

Anonymous said...

Yes, I've been surprised by this. My steampunk novel is so different from my fantasy but I love them both. It's wonderful.

Congratulations! I'm so happy for you, Tess!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Congrats on finishing! I'm so excited to hear what you've been up to and that you've had fun doing it. And, yes, I have written some very different types of stories and they all feel like a part of me. Have a wonderful trip.

Jackee said...

Congrats on being doneszo! Hooray! (I hope you got a dinner out for that.)

I've been surprised before to find that writing something comtemporary with very little research can be just as intensive and (often) as laborious to get out of my head as a research-deep historical or fantasy. And that sometimes what appears light-hearted and funny in outline form really has a depth and undetone that I never expected. So very interesting...

Have fun hiking, I'm so very envious if you're going to be in S Utah.

storyqueen said...

Yea!! It feels so good to finish a WIP! (and this one really sounds like fun.

Have a great vacation!

shelley

Amy Saia said...

Yay! Congrats!! You deserve that Spring Break so go have fun.

Unknown said...

All the time! The Junk Garden was a huge departure for me. I am so excited for you!

Mary E Campbell said...

Congrats on finishing the WIP. I haven't been writing long enough to try a lot of new things, but I find writing in first person very difficult - it feels and sounds too much like me, but I have started a 1st person story that I really want to work on after I finish with my current one - but it's also kicking my butt right now.

Anonymous said...

I'm thrilled that you finished it! Congratulations, and have a great time.

Michelle D. Argyle said...

Yes, I'm currently writing a fantasy, which I've never tried before. I still love it as much, if not more, than other things I've done.

Unknown said...

People are complex and beautiful. It's awesome to learn that we don't have to put ourselves in a box. We can stretch and enjoy all kinds of things and still be us. Love it! Congrats on finishing your WIP!

Mary Aalgaard said...

Yes. Every once in a while, I'm like, oh, I could enjoy this, some type of artist expression. Congrats on your books. Enjoy spring break!

MTeacress said...

What a great blog. :) When I first started writing I got the impression that authors stick to just one genre or age group. However, I've discovered how fun it is to try all sorts of writing. Nice post!

Jill Kemerer said...

Oh, definitely! It's like the describe yourself in five words or less--I couldn't! I think we have many facets and it's reflected in our writing. Have a fun hiking trip!

lisa and laura said...

CONGRATULATIONS Tess! So happy for you! Enjoy your vacation!

Clementine said...

Yea! Now go enjoy that trip!!!! Congrats!

Tess said...

wow..what a treat to come back from my hiking trip to all of your comments. Thank you! It was like a mini Christmas reading through them all :D

now to do a little visiting and surfing...