Have you ever noticed how a common idea will start cropping up in conversations?  This happened a little while ago, when I began hearing writers talking about rediscovering the joy of writing.

It seems that we allow ourselves to become bogged down in the 'shoulds' of life.  We 'should' write x hours/pages a day.  We 'should' include certain hooks in our books.  We 'should' pursue a particular market.  We 'should' follow the rules.

"Should" is really a very dis-empowering word.  Think about it - when you 'should' do something and don't, you've failed.  If you're surrounded by things you 'should' be doing but aren't, you're bad and wrong.  There is no success in doing something you 'should' be doing in the first place.  As human beings in general, and as creative people in particular, 'shoulds' become stifling. "Should' strangles the joy.

Struggling to mold behavior into perceived 'shoulds' takes way too much energy - creative energy that can be better spent on writing.  Rather than following the 'shoulds', focusing in on writing the story can bring a writer back to the joy of writing.

Never mind that your heroine is an artist and your hero is an athlete.  If that's what they are, then tell their story.  Never mind that the Regency market is dwindling.  That just means you'll have to work a bit harder to break in.  Never mind that you 'should' follow a specific path to success.  If it's not your path, it isn't your success.

We are individuals, each with something unique to bring to this work.  When we lose sight of this, the magic is gone, the life drains form the words and the story just lays there.  Flat.  Joyless.  Unread.

Leave the 'shoulds' behind.  Revel in the joy of writing.

Copy Write 2000 Rosemary Heim