Yay! The rough draft for the October writing magazine article is done. 15 pages longhand, written with a felt-tip (it just felt good) and a massive hand cramp, but it really looks good. I’m excited.
I had a bit of a rough patch getting this one started. Usually, with nonfiction and articles, I can get the first whiff of a first sentence and dig right in, but this one took about two pages to nail down. And I started it with something I have never done before (that I recall) in an article for a national magazine: a personal story.
The idea for this article (the topic is the difference between romance sub-genres) hit me on my second day of spring break in the beautiful Sonoran desert of Arizona. Sitting there on the porch swing of my casita at 5:30 am (the sun rises early in Arizona), I tried, for about the third time, to read a new book I’d just bought and couldn’t get into it. Granted, it wasn’t a romance–it was a horror novel. Despite the fact that the last horror novel I read was IT by Stephen King (I still walk around sewer openings on the street and cry when I see clowns) in the fifth grade, the geographical foundation of this new horror book was something I’d done lots of research on and loved with all my heart…so I thought I’d give it a try.
No dice. I couldn’t stop thinking, as I read, that this would not end with a HEA (happily-ever-after) but instead someone’s (or many someones’) deaths. Aside from the fact that the novel read like a straight line with minimal description and absolutely no character emotion or POV depth (all 3rd person limited…ick), I tried. Boy, did I. It just didn’t work.
So, as I sat swinging and admiring the saguaros, I started thinking. What is it about reading different genres that attract different readers? I didn’t dismiss horror as a genre worth reading—the way horror keeps fans glued to the edge of their seat and makes them scream in fear is a worthy goal for the author of horror. What I wanted to know is WHAT elements of fiction draw the reader to their favorite genre(s). I started thinking about how all genres have one or two fictional elements they do well. Sci Fi, horror, romance, medical thrillers…they all have something special.
When I got home, I toyed with the idea for a bit then sent off a note to the editor (with whom I have worked before and love working with). She liked it, especially since I hasn’t been done before in the magazine, but I had to tailor it to the subgenres of romance fiction. Hey, no prob.
Long story short (is there such a thing with me?), I started the article with a much shorter version of this story as the introduction. I still have to type, edit and proof, but the meat is done. And none too soon. It’s about time to pack and plan for another year of summer camp. I can hardly wait!
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