Go for the fear

by Maria Geraci

This January I made a writing resolution, or a quest (as I like to call it in my more Quixotic moments) to have a completed manuscript to send to my agent by the end of June. I made a chart outlining how many words I'd produce in a week, the date I'd have my first rough draft, the date I'd finish the second draft, etc...

The lovely thing about this resolution is that it is self-imposed.

Which is also the scary thing about it.

Because for the first time since I've sold, I'm writing a story without a contract and there's that little voice niggling at me from behind my shoulder saying "this could all be a big waste of time."

Or not

This all started when I met with my agent in January to discuss my career goals. Back in October, I'd sent her a rough synopsis for a story I wanted to write and she said "Go for it!"

So I did.

But as these things happen, the story I started writing didn't fit the synopsis I'd pre-engineered.

A square peg does not go in a round hole.

I told her how the story wasn't the same anymore, and how for the first time I was writing in first person present tense, that there were elements in the story that were out of my comfort zone, etc. And for a second time she said, "Go for it!"

So I did.

And let me tell you, those areas that are out of my comfort zone are starting to get painful. And scary. Not in a horror kind of way but in a "Oh my God, can I write this and will it be "true" kind of way?" Because there is nothing worse than writing fiction and coming across as unauthentic.

Having worked for years as a labor and delivery nurse (my "day" job) I know that the one position a laboring woman finds most uncomfortable is often the one that produces the most progress. I was thinking about this the other day and relating it to my own labors as a writer.

Can I write characters who have experienced things that I haven't?

Can I draw from my own experiences and emotions and inject them into those unfamiliar situations to make them resonate with my readers?

God, I hope so. Because the characters in my wip are taking me places I've never been before, but I know that if I don't go there I'll let my characters down and my story will crumble.

I remember hearing Michael Hauge (if you ever get a chance to attend one of his seminars, I highly recommend it) talk about character arc and say "go for the fear." You have to take your characters to the places they fear the most. It's the only way they'll change. Same goes for me as a writer. If I don't take my writing to the places that make me squirm, my writing won't grow either.

“If you write your book for yourself, instead of with a readership in mind, then the book will be true. And if the book is true, it will find an audience that is meant to read it.”
Wally Lamb

Maria Geraci writes fun, romantic women's fiction. Her newest release, THE BOYFRIEND OF THE MONTH CLUB is available in bookstores everywhere.

"Romance readers will revel in the Austen-perfect happy ending and the warm friendship among members of the club." —Publishers Weekly

To learn more, please go to her website at

http://www.mariageraci.com/