All I can say is Wow!

At the risk of sounding like the wide-eyed newbie author...I am attending my first Romance Writers of America convention. After finishing my first full day here, I've had the chance to gawk at some of my favorite authors -- Kristan Higgins, Robyn Carr, and Jayne Anne Krentz. I listened to a really powerful and motivational speech by Cathy Maxwell at our keynote luncheon and left it really uplifted. It was great to find out that even authors I consider to be "Super-authors" have some of the same jitters I do. It's humbling to see so many men and women who've come here not only to hone their craft, but help others do the same. So a big thank you to all the people who are taking time out of their lives to help the rest of us figure out how to work our way through the world of a writing career. The sessions I've attended have already helped me get a better handle on who I am as a writer...and where I want to go. As Angela James said this morning in the spotlight on Carina Press "There is no one right way" to publish. What we should be looking for is the best way for us...and that means matching our strengths and weaknesses to find the right fit with a publisher. In the end, we all come away winners. I think Robyn Carr had the right idea too when she told writers in the contemporary chat audience that rather than planning a series arc too far in advance, writers should concentrate on making the book they're working on the best book it can be. And to my husband who wondered if we should really spend the money on this...oh yeah...definitely!

Confessions of a Pantser

Okay, for those of you who don't know what a pantser is (and I'd been doing it for years before I had a label for it), we're the writers who shudder at the idea of plot charts, detailed character sketches and reams of paper devoted to mapping out your story. My stomach's starting to knot just thinking about it. I prefer to let things flow. Unfortunately, life sometimes intrudes on that free flow of creative juices. It can be as simple as needing to stop to fix dinner, or more complicated -- like when an idea is really cooking and you also have information to complete and email back to two editors from two different publishing houses regarding stories that are not the current WIP.

Yes, that's a good problem to have. But it's still an issue for a pantser. Just look in my files at the stories that stalled. But if I'm ever going to get my write-it-while-it's-hot mentality wrapped around the business of making money writing books, then I have to figure this out. I actually believe I've hit on the correct way to approach this. Unfortunately the lure of the "want to" is still outstripping the call of the "need to."

I think (because I haven't actually tested it yet) it boils down to -- God forbid -- organizing my time. Whoo...I'm getting that knot in my stomach again. I need to put the needs as the first thing I get out of the way before the characters in the WIP demand my attention. Easier said than done.

But I'm open for ideas from any fellow pantsers out there who suffer from this dilemma.