Category: Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett

From Love Stories to Lovecraft

I write romcoms. And women’s fiction, although I’m not sure it counts yet, because I haven’t been brave enough to submit or publish it. I’ve even written a children’s bedtime book. And, as you may know, I wrote for magazines and newspapers for many years. I also wrote some advertising, press releases, and even a cable infomercial…although we didn’t call it that back then. I wrote a parenting column, a law column, two cooking columns, was a copywriter for an auto accessory catalog. My writing has been diverse.

So, why do I find myself struggling with my current project? It’s definitely out of my writing sphere, but my writing background tells you that the lines of that sphere are a little fuzzy.

My reading history is even more varied than my writing. As a little girl, I would read anything I could get my hands on, including several versions and interpretations of the Bible, the dictionary, even the Yellow Pages. For those of you too young to remember, the Yellow Pages came in print, downloading books was not a thing, and in the summertime in my small town, the bookmobile didn’t come, so I would read whatever I could find around the house, which eventually led to my mother’s romance novels.

But, to get back on track, currently, I’m flailing. My son, Gerrod, is a board game designer, and he asked me to write a short story for an upcoming H.P. Lovecraft anthology his company is publishing. Since he’s also my book cover designer, and romcom isn’t his genre, I definitely feel like I need to meet this challenge. I hadn’t read Lovecraft before this project came up, so I downloaded (yes I can do that now) the complete H.P. Lovecraft, and began my research. And, my son pushed me to stay somewhat in my genre, but add the Gods, and Lovecraft elements.

I’ve started the story, and it doesn’t have to be long, I even know where it’s going…which is unusual for me because I’m pretty much a pantser and let the characters tell their story through me, but this time I know, and I like where it’s going. I think it’s fear that’s holding me back. (Well, Lovecraft is a little scary.) It’s not writer’s block, it’s more not trusting myself, or maybe I’m afraid of the wrath of the gods.

Hunky Hubby came in and read over my shoulder as I wrote this, and of course, he believes I can write anything. He’s my biggest supporter. You might say that I’m a goddess in his eyes. And right behind him, my three sons always push me to be more. Clearly, the oldest son believes I can do this.

So, now that I’ve used all of you to bolster my confidence, I’m going to call on my ‘goddess’ powers to finish this story.

I’ll let you all know when it’s released. In the meantime, what do you struggle with? Do you write or read in one genre? Is there one genre you know you could never write? (I won’t say what mine is…I’m positive one of my guys would hand me a project to write in THAT genre.) Tell me what, if anything intimidates you at the keyboard, or on the bookshelf?