Why do you write? What’s your motivation?

Money?

Fame?

I read an article recently that included a comment about a writer’s motivation and it began the hamster running like mad. Smoke started coming out the auricles of the cabeza. The article didn’t quite go in the direction I’m headed today, but as with all articles about, I got something out of it and ran with it.

When I write, I have something to say. Sounds a bit obvious, right? All authors have something to say, but some will roll over and compromise out the wazoo in order to be published. Once you begin that compromise process, you’re doomed.

There is going to be a certain level of give and take, and editing, but you need to stay true to what you are. If you don’t, you will be miserable. At least I find myself fighting inside when those moments come up for me.

What is my motivation?

I always like to have believability in my stories. Then I like to find ways of using words, sentence length, and sentence structure to denote mood and tone, rather than using profanity. Now, you may say, and I say it too, that some people in certain situations are going to use certain words. If you are creative, you can relay that to the reader without resorting to actually saying it.

With my debut novel coming out, sooner or later, I say sooner or later because my co-author and I are first and foremost devoted to a quality product, it’s in editing now, but with the book coming out soon, You’ll see two styles of writing blended together. Those that have read the book can tell what writing is mine. That is not saying either writing is better than the other, but the two combined to give each other’s what the story needed to some extent.

There may be a word here or there I would not have used, but then that is part of the collaboration. I fortunately have a partner who knows me and how far I am willing to go.   And the words used aren’t the profanity type.

My motivation is to give information, a lesson, some type of message, insight, hopefully a different take on things, and to put voice into the story. That is one thing you will have difficulty with, keeping your voice. Again, those who have read the book say they hear me in the book. My partner, PS Bartlett, has done a good job of not overpowering with her own style by changing things. And we go back and forth about certain aspects to make certain things flow properly.

Deep down, I am not after fame or money. I would like to someday, make a living as a writer. I don’t mean a big house, or lots of vacations, maybe a couple of vacations a year, to a beach I could drive to and have a nice little house big enough to provide what’s needed.

I want to people to think of me as a great writer, with a genuine voice they recognize when they read it, and have a confidence when they see my name on the cover of a book that the book will be a good read.

I’m not 100% positive what happens after Amber Wake-Gabriel Falling, as far as my writing. I have a book in the somewhat editing stage right now. It’s a contemporary, literature, romance, Sothern, New Adult thing based here where I live in places I’ve been. And several others in the seasoning stages that I will be returning to after the debut drops.

One thing, one piece of advice I’ve read that I agree with is, authors become successful not by the marketing they do, but by the writing the do. The more they write, the more quality books they get in front of the readers’ eyes, the better the author’s chances of success becomes.