First it made me laugh, then I nodded my head. I am a possum. Although I trained as a journalist in college, I was never formally trained as a fiction writer. In my thirties I applied for two low-residency MFA programs and was rejected. I loved reading though, and always told myself I would write a novel one day. Well, I have written multiple novels at this point. Have any of them ever been published? No. But well into my forties I feel I have finally matured enough as a writer to be crossing that threshold.
I spent too many years “pantsing” my creative projects, falling in love with the process of creating characters and arranging their life paths, obstacles and all. (By the way, a pantser if a person who writes without an outline). I created music playlists to go along with these books and worked out unresolved teen angst in more plot lines than I care to admit. I sent out a few queries to agents, got rejected, and put those manuscripts away for another time. Then, as any good “pantser” would do, I decided to try my hand at short stories. I discovered that form of writing came easier to me and earned awards, encouraging me to continue the craft.
Short stories come easier for a “pantser,” in my opinion. But for my most recent project I’m working on, I put that method aside. I “architected” the story, chapter by chapter, story beat by story beat, and put post-it notes on my wall. I wrote a first draft. I took a step back, put it away for a while, and came back again. I added in more chapters, took out some chapters, renamed characters, and went back to editing. Periodically I would go back to my wall and say to myself, “This chapter is out of place. It needs to be moved here.”
I’m more than halfway through this latest book (a mystery/suspense novel) and I am proud of the maturation I’ve experienced as a writer. My prose is not beautiful, but I can outline and tell a good story. I can (I believe) write pages that keep people guessing, wanting more. I realize I need to add more sensory details and descriptions of places, but that can be done in the next round of edits. I am a possum who never should have believed my first attempt at writing a book would be a raging success. The chance of that happening is rare, although it has been known to happen. You must be committed to putting in the work. I’m proud of the progress I’ve made, the sweat equity I’ve put in, and the ability to keep going even when it got hard.
How have you matured as a writer? I’d love to hear your stories!
Renee Roberson is an award-winning writer who also hosts the true crime podcast, Missing in the Carolinas.
