Guest post by E.L. Wicker
Beginning a new book is hard.
Figuring out where to begin can be one of the most difficult parts of the
process. For me, it all began when I listened to a song and my head conjured up
a scene deep in the forest of two people meeting for the first time. The idea
intrigued me, more so than others that I had, and though I ignored it at first,
it stewed away in my brain, growing to become something that I just needed to
write down. Months passed, but eventually I put pen to paper and Fractured
Immortal was born. I wanted to weave a tale of love, layer it with a heavy dose
of vengeance and pain, add a dash of jealousy and a whole heap of secrecy, that
was my recipe. It slow baked for a long, long time, but with each passing day
it rose higher, nearing completion until finally, it was done.
This brings me to my struggles while writing. It is in no
way an easy process. So often when people ask me what I do and I reply that I’m
an author, I’m met with—I should write a
book. Have at it. I guarantee, it’s not as easy as people think. There are
so many bumps along the way, too many to fit into one guest post, but suffice
to say, writers block, manuscript loathing and itty bitty torn up pieces of
paper hampered my journey. Yeah, I struggled. All writers do. But it was worth
every bead of sweat and every salty tear, because the most satisfying moment
for me, was when it had been through its final editing stage and it was
complete.
On my laptop, I had a final version of Fractured Immortal, a
story about a female vampire, Ilia Rose, hell bent on revenge who becomes
slowly unraveled by another vampire—one who should be her enemy, but really
doesn’t behave like it. As the two begin to know each other better, his secrets
explode in Ilia’s face, pitting her against a force she’s unequipped to deal
with. The story focuses a lot on enduring friendships. Ilia’s friends come
together to fight alongside her. Strength in numbers!
There are so many vampire books out there, that bringing
something new to the genre was always going to be difficult. Recently I had a
conversation with my critique partners where we discussed my characters. Each
vampire in my book maintains a strong hold on their humanity. There are as
close to human as they can bring themselves. They worry about each other’s
feelings, fall in love, fall apart and forgive when the need arises. The book
is in no way flowery though, there’s violence and death, but there’s also a
strong sense of love from all of the characters. What they all mean to each
other, everything they’ve endured, served to eventually make them stronger.
Telling that tale is what I wanted to accomplish, and I think I did.
No writer should go into the business thinking they’re going
to become a gazillionaire. It’s unlikely, and if that’s the attitude going in,
failure will burn them. The vast majority of writers love the craft, for many
it’s a compulsion. So all I wanted to accomplish was to get the story written
and I won’t deny that I hoped with all my heart, that at least one person would
love it as much as I do.
That’s pretty much the low down on my process. Looking back,
it was a lot of fun. I did have bad days, but hey—pushing on through is what
makes us writers.
