A Writer’s Destiny

By Mary Gillgannon

When people find out I’m a writer, they often ask, “Where do you get your ideas?” The implication is that it must be a struggle to come up with things to write about. Frankly, that’s never been my problem. My problem is finding the hours and days and weeks and months (and sometimes years) it takes to transform my story ideas into books.

Even without considering my latest project, I have at least ten books waiting for me to finish them. Some are hard copies sitting in a closet in our family room. Others are gathering dust on floppy discs. A few are saved on jump drives. (Technology marches on.) And that still doesn’t count two completed manuscripts that I haven’t figured out what to do with.

Just to finish all of those books would keep me busy for the next ten years. And that’s if I didn’t get any new story ideas, which is unlikely.

My challenge has always been “what to write?” Throughout my career, I’ve vacillated between writing what I thought I should write and the books that really called to me. Right now I’m in a dutiful phase.

Last spring I sold a reincarnation romance. I pitched it as a series, so as soon as I sold it, I felt obligated to drop the story I was working on and write the second book in the series. But it’s gone very slowly. So slowly that recently I began to wonder if maybe this just wasn’t the right time to write this book. Was it really normal to spend so much time staring at the blank computer screen? Was this a sign I should be working on something else?

But then I reminded myself that ideas and the beginnings of books always come easy to me. It’s the middle part that is a challenge. And while this book may take longer than I’d like, in the end, finishing it will mostly be a matter of persistence and hard work.

And patience. I have to accept that I’m notorious for coming up with story ideas that take me into realms I don’t have any experience in. I’ve been known to flounder for years. With the result that the book I’m most proud of took me nearly ten years to finish to my satisfaction. Not to mention I ended up writing about twice as many words as the final manuscript.

I guess this is just the way I have to do things. People talk about “plotters” and “pantzers”. Well, I’m a plodder. Which means that every book takes as long as it takes. It’s a nightmare career-wise. But I doubt there’s anything I can do to change it. I just have to hope that some day I’ll finish a book at the right time and all the stars will line up and I’ll finally find writing success.

And if that doesn’t happen? I’ll just keep plodding along, following my destiny, one book at a time.