As I was going through my blog reader yesterday, I came across this post by Harlequin & Samhain author, Donna Alward.
This post resonated with me on a lot of levels. First, I always cringed at the idea “write what you know” when taken literally. I always tried to put it into the perspective of write what you know to be true, kind of like core beliefs. The idea of this meaning your core story, as Alward suggests, works just as well if not better.
It also got me thinking about the troubles I’ve been having with my current WIP. It’s fine, but I wasn’t connecting to it or my characters the way I normally do. I’m feeling a little detached, a little outside of it all. Alward’s post got me wondering… Is it because it’s not connecting to my core story?
My core story. What is it? Flawed heroines, finding acceptance & belonging in a family or community.
Does my WIP fit into that? It did at one time, but I’ve changed and rearranged it so much, I think I lost that connection to what I really want to write about.
I’m going to be mulling the idea of core story over for a while, both for my WIP and future story ideas.
Nicole Helm 