ROADBLOCKS TO PUBLICATION

On Friday, I’ll be participating in a “novel intensive” workshop led by Jen Rofe and Kathleen Duey. We have a homework assignment to “write a short description of what our major roadblock is, any aspect of craft, process, artistic process, time management, any fears, whatever…”

This caused me to ponder my roadblocks. At first I was going to put creativity. I always think other writers are more creative than I am. But then I read an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert, (author of EAT, PRAY, LOVE), and she said that she’s not terribly creative either. In her opinion hard work trumps creativity. Now there’s a novel thought. Could I possibly need to work even harder?

Next I considered that writing poetic prose is one of my weaknesses. I read writers like Jacqueline Woodson and think “if I could only write like that.” But I’m not supposed to sound like a cheap imitation of another writer. Could I possibly strive even harder to capture my authentic voice?

There’s also the fact that I tend to write historical fiction in a market that seems to prefer contemporary stories. But there’s still room for excellent historical fiction, look at WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS by Fran Cannon Slayton.

I’m left with no roadblocks, only a goal: to work even more diligently, and BELIEVE.