I'm Doing It All Wrong. Uh...What?

Per the blog posts and articles from the experts out there in lit land, I am writing my novels all wrong. I'm 'supposed' to be writing in easily identifiable genres, in categories that one word -- or maybe two -- is the pigeon hole that any given story fits into.

Say what? The next thing I'll be told is that I need to follow a precise recipe for the structure of the story, e.g., the same idea as a three-act stage play or screenplay.  Some ads that land in my inbox say that I need software to guide me as I write, following the 'best' format for story development.  I ask, what is the fun in that?

So at the risk of being censured for not following the advice of the experts, I will continue to write as the stories grow themselves in my little pea brain and come out the ends of my fingers on a keyboard, or piece of scrap paper, scribbled quickly in pen when a 'great' word, sentence, or idea hits me while I'm otherwise busy doing something other than writing.

I started writing back when I was a little kid because it was something fun that intrigued me; I got a kick out of seeing a completed story that was all mine not something that someone else had done.

I still write because, to me, it's fun. And when someone reads a story that I wrote and sincerely loves (and hates) the characters as much as I do, then that is just the cherry on top.  I wish I could get 'out there' with more readers but I can't sell my soul to marketing mavens and online marketing companies.

And the marketing thing.  Holy moly, is that a different beast; most of us who do write will probably fall into the same category as myself. It's not usually our favo(u)rite thing to spend time, energy, and dollars doing. It costs to be a novelist, and what it costs can eat into your most precious resources: time that you could or should be spending doing something else, and energy, both physical and mental. 

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