“What’s the story of your heart?” Haven’t we all heard that question? Or overheard another author say, “I’m writing the story of my heart.”

I believe in those lingering stories. The one waiting to be written. The idea not yet honed or ripened. Perhaps a story ahead of it’s time.

But I don’t really have a “story of my heart.” I have a cool idea tucked away. An end-times epic not in line with the theology of the Left Behind books so I’m not sure mainstream publishing would be interested. But, I’m not aching to write it. At least not now.

Because the story of my heart is the one I’m writing. And the story of your heart should be the one you are writing. If it’s not, ditch it. Write something else. Or make it the story of your heart. If you’re on deadline with a contracted book, you have no choice.

Writers can have the attention span of a gnat. We love capturing the gem of a story idea, but we loathe redeeming it. Things change. Ideas don’t work. Plans fail. The writing is hard.

In my last book, every one was “tucking” things away. I even had a character named Tucker. In the book before, could there be any more references to doors? Every character was knocking, turning a knob, walking through or out of a door.

In one book, it seemed like all my characters were fixated on food. And it wasn’t the story about a cooking show host!
In the midst of my tucked, door and food weeds, I wondered how I could possibly have written a publishable novel. I wanted to move on, find a different and better story. One that would really hit the sweet spot. One that captured my heart for the entire writing duration.

Impossible.

Books are work. Stories are mined from the core of our being and frankly, it’s painful.  We cannibalize our own emotions and thoughts in order to create believable, lifelike characters.

To get away from the pain, we quit, or think up another story. Surely this one will be easier to write.

When writing Dining with Joy, a story about a cooking show host who can’t cook, I was often paralyzed by the high concept premise. Susie ran into the same trouble with her next Tyndale book about a radio host to the lovelorn who’d never been on a date.

The concepts are funny and visible. But why does a woman who can’t cook host a cooking show? Why does a woman who’s never been on a date host a romance and dating radio show? Great ideas that would fail miserably without digging deep to get all the right emotions and motivations.

I couldn’t just have it that Joy, a former college softball star, was a bad cook, or just didn’t like to cook, because then it made no sense that she’d host a cooking show. I had to have some link to cooking and food her heart and mind. Some catalyst that put in her in front of the camera in the first place, and a reason she stayed.

I did a lot of research. There were days when I wanted to pull my hair out. I kept coming across grey areas, walls I couldn’t see behind, subtle motivations that I couldn’t quite make believable.

I stayed with it. I prayed a lot. Because Dining with Joy was my now story. Even if I didn’t have a contract for it, I’d have stayed with it because it was and is a darn good idea. The Lord blessed me with unexpected help. I’m always so amazed at the help and information He sends me.

I’d be lost without Him. In oh, so many ways.

So, dig deep. Stay with your now story. Finish what you started. Here are a few tips.

1.    Even if you’re a pantser, write out a loose plot. Get your beginning, middle and end.

2.    Did you do all of your character work? If not, go back and make sure you have a strong bio on your characters. What are their greatest fears and desires? What’s the lie they believe? Why does he need her? Why does she need him? If you’re not writing a romance, what drives the protagonist? Who are the people around him? Why does she need to solve this problem? Do your character work! It’s easy to write about people you know.

3.    Be disciplined. Get your daily word count, even if it’s only 250 or 500 words. Do it!

4.    Stash new ideas in a folder and let them go. If you have a lot of thoughts about this great idea, write them out, then get back to your WIP. Never leave your WIP, man. 😉

5.    Finish the book. And by finish, I mean write The End, then go back and rewrite and edit. Books are rewritten, not written. Be patient. I know you feel like time is passing you by and every one else is getting published. But as you write and rewrite, you are learning. Do not shortcut the learning process. God’s timing is RIGHT on TIME.

Write your “now” novel. You’ll be glad you did!

Rachel