I'm here today as part of the Tasty Book Tours Blog Tour for contemporary royal romance INCONCEIVABLE! by Tegan Wren.
I invited Tegan to my blog to discuss some of the challenges she faced when writing her debut novel.
Take it away, Tegan ...
Thanks for the opportunity to share with your readers some of the challenges I face when writing. I wish I could say the words and story just pours out of me. It’s true that writing comes easily for me, but I often hit snags that slow me down. Here are handful of the challenges I face and how I deal with them.
Plot Blocks
One of the challenges I sometimes encounter is a plot block. I usually map out the general storyline in advance, but moving from point A to point B requires the character to exercise agency (usually) and the journey has to be worthwhile or readers will get bored. For me, this is where the fun and challenge of writing come together. I love getting to dream up the interesting ways to move my characters through the plot. I like to incorporate subplots, intrigue, humor, and clever twists. But it’s also difficult because the action and dialogue have to be logical, engaging, and must fit within the context of the big picture. I try not to get too hung up on the first draft. To overcome the challenges, I just have to push forward and keep writing, realizing I’ll sharpen it up when I go back and revise.
Incorporating Conflict
I grew up in the Southeastern part of the U.S. where we like to be polite. So, we tend to hide conflict and proceed as if everything’s just peachy keen. I’ve been guilty of writing a series of chapters where everyone just smiles and gets along. Of course, that doesn’t work when you want to create an engaging story. Additionally, our lives are full of conflict, so using it in a novel helps readers relate to the characters who are trying to navigate the conflict.
Finding Time to Write
This is probably my biggest challenge. As the mother of three small kids, it’s very difficult to find time to write. I usually do most of my writing after the kids are in bed asleep. I’ve stayed up quite late, writing by the glow of my laptop screen because I was on a roll and just didn’t want to stop. So, on the rare occasions when I have time during the day to write, it’s such a gift. I really savor the opportunity.
I hope when people read INCONCEIVABLE, they see that I was able to overcome these challenges: the novel is finished and well edited, so I found the time to get it all done; conflict abounds; and I think the journey through the plot is interesting and entertaining.
INCONCEIVABLE!
Tegan Wren
Releasing Nov 16th, 2015
Curiosity Quills Press
A popular, young royal couple can't produce an heir? INCONCEIVABLE!
When Ozarks native Hatty goes “whole hog” during karaoke, she catches the eye of Prince John. He isn’t what she expects the heir to a small European nation to be: he's affable, witty, and isn’t put off by her tell-it-like-it-is demeanor. Their flirtation should be short lived, but a force stronger than fate—Hatty’s newspaper editor—assigns her to cover the royals. After spending time together, she and John soon begin dating, and Hatty finds herself making headlines instead of writing them.
But challenges loom that are even more complicated than figuring out how to mesh Hatty's journalism career with life at Belvoir Palace. Hatty and John soon find themselves embroiled in an unusual sex scandal: they can't produce an heir. Tabloids dub Hatty a “Barren-ess,” and the royals become irate. Hatty politely tells them to shove it. But beneath her confident exterior, she struggles to cope with a heartbreak that invades her most intimate moments with John. Pressured to choose between invasive medical procedures and abandoning John’s claim to the throne, the couple feels trapped until a trip to Ethiopia shows them happy endings sometimes arrive long after saying “I do.”
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The best compliment Tegan Wren ever received came from her sixth grade teacher: “You always have a book in your hand!”
Guided by her love of the creative process, Tegan grew up acting in theatre productions and writing poetry, short stories, and plays. She turned her eye to writing about real life when she worked as a journalist, producing reports for various radio and television stations in medium and large markets in the Midwest and also filing some stories for a major national news network. Wren has both a Bachelor’s of Journalism and a Master of Arts in Communications. After completing her graduate degree, Tegan had the opportunity to teach journalism courses at a major state university. She absolutely loved training the next generation of journalists.
Tegan’s thankful that she’s had the opportunity to travel overseas, and uses those adventures to inform her writing. She also draws inspiration from her own struggles, joys, and other life experiences. Tegan and her husband, Patrick, experienced infertility for five years before becoming parents through adoption. Because she understands the financial stress of the infertility journey, Tegan is donating half the royalties from her book to Baby Quest Foundation. This charity awards grants to people all over the U.S. for fertility treatments. Tegan is thrilled to use her story to help other people find their happily ever after.
Congratulations to Tegan! The finding time part is the hardest. And you have three kids! I only have one.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Crystal, Tasty Book Tours