Being a romance writer, or aspiring to be a romance writer, is a tough job!

Writers, and I assume many artists, struggle with fantasies of perfection. We read a novel by our favorite author and then hold ourselves to that standard. That’s ridiculous!

Published authors have many advantages the yet to be published do not:

They have editors!

They may have a few books under their belt and know exactly what their publisher and their audience responds to.

They may also have a story board or template their publisher has given them to write. That means they don’t have to struggle with plot or characterization – the publisher has already given them a point by point outline of what HAS to happen. They just have to fill in the blanks. (Note: I’m not saying this is easy for authors to do, perhaps it’s more difficult. What I am saying is that the plot is already established and if a writer struggles with plot this can remove some of the challenges.)

The wonderful Anne Lamott is noted for her belief in a shitty first draft. I love this concept. It’s so freeing. It gives you the ability to just write and to not worry about perfection.

Trust that some days are going to be good writing days and some are not. You’re not a machine, you’re a human being and with that comes the ebb and flow of inspiration, focus and skill.

Be willing to learn and improve. This simple adjustment to your mindset, adopting a desire to learn and improve, will make you a better writer. It’ll also lessen the stress and pressure you put on yourself to be perfect. Perfection doesn’t exist and that’s a good thing. If it did, there’d be nowhere to go from here. And the desire to improve is a good thing!

Enjoy writing, do your best, and relish the process! You’re a writer and that’s a fantastic thing!