by Tari Faris, @FarisTari
You may assume that by the title I am having a rough time in my marriage or that I am speaking of the next plot in my upcoming romance series. Both are a big no but I did fall out of love recently and it was a big problem.
You see, I fell out of love with my story. And since I was only half done with it that was a big problem. For me, writer’s block come when this happens. When I am in love with the story I can also not keep up with my fingers as they try to get what is in my head onto the page. But when I fall out of love with the story, every word is a struggle.
In the past, I simply took a break from writing and waited for the spark to reignite or moved on to another story. But now I am on deadline and this story is contracted so neither option would work.
So, much like a real relationship, I decided if I wanted the love to last I had to invest in it. I carved out a little time and immersed myself back in the story. I reread and did a little revising of their SEQs. I reread what I had and brainstormed problem areas with friends.
If something felt off I asked myself the hard questions until I could figure out what the root problem was then brainstormed a way to solve it.
I interviewed each character until I loved them each in the midst of all their flaws and wanted each to get their happily ever after.
Then I had a really busy week of travel and now again I find myself feeling distant from the story. Not as distant as before but enough that I know I need to do a little quality time with my characters before I begin to write today.
For me my highest love language in real life is quality time and I have a feeling that translated with me to my stories. So I’ve decided that I need to take a little regular quality time with my story every day even if I can’t write a lot that day. Just enough to sat connected so that when I do have a chunk of time I can spend it adding words.
What about you? What do you do to stay connected to the story?
What Secrets Are Hiding Behind the Doors of this Small Town?
Real estate agent Hannah Thornton loves the historic community of Heritage, Michigan. Unfortunately, selling houses is not one of her fortes. She sees each house and the larger town of Heritage as something to be valued, not sold-off to the highest bidder. When a business mogul arrives in town determined to exploit the land and build a new strip mall, Hannah is determined to stop him from bulldozing her town’s past. At first no one supports her efforts—not even her best friend, Luke. Can Hannah help the town of Heritage see that true value lies in the things you cannot put a price tag on?
Even though Luke Johnson has grown up in Heritage as a foster child, he never truly felt like he belonged. Anxious to earn his place in the town and in Hannah’s heart, Luke applies for the job of assistant fire chief. But Luke does not anticipate the interview process to unearth secrets from his past he has kept carefully hidden. Will the pain of being honest be worth the risk? Can he pull down the walls he’s erected around his bruised heart?
Tari Faris has been writing fiction for thirteen years but has been creating fiction in her head as long as she can remember. She signed with Revell for her debut novel – You Belong with Me – which will be released in September 2019. She is represented by Wendy Lawton at Books & Such Literary Management and is a member of ACFW and My Book Therapy. She was the 2017 Genesis winner, 2016 Genesis finalist, and 2014 Genesis finalist. In addition to her writing, she also work for My Book Therapy as a special project manager and blog coordinator for LearnHowToWriteANovel.com . When she is not writing or working, she spends time with her amazing husband and kids. In her free time, she loves coffee, rock hounding with her husband and kids, and distracting herself from housework. You can connect with her at www.tarifaris.com