the craft. learning to trust your creative instincts.
“… And also remember that rejection doesn’t always have to do with quality—usually it has everything to do with commercial viability. Not every book will have a home with every publisher. If it isn’t your natural voice to write Waiting to Exhale, then don’t try. Write what YOU have to say, and then find your audience. Innovation is more attractive than imitation.” - Tananarive Due, My Soul to Keep, The Between
Recently, I came across a post where an author was talking about writing to the market as a way to build a successful writing career. It was an interesting take because I tend to be adverse to any inkling of curbing my creativity in any way to a market. I remember people telling me that romance was having a moment when I released Good Morning, Love and it was funny to me because I would have been writing that book anyway. I mean, I started it in 2017 simply because it was a story I wanted to write, it came out five years later. I will always write love stories, even when and if romance is beyond its moment, which it never will be because everything is a love story.
Now, I will say, take my thoughts here with a grain of salt because I’ve yet to build a successful writing career. I have had some amazing opportunities, yes, but I am aware that I only have a debut in the traditional publishing market at the moment. However, I tend to believe that you should write your story and eventually the market will come around like it always does. I mean look at us, we’re back to wide legged pants, but I digress.
Remember when everything was a vampire and werewolf story after the success of Twilight? There will be trends, and as a professional in anything, you should be aware of them, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be beholden to them. It also doesn’t mean that sometimes you won’t have to hold onto something until there’s a better opportunity for it. But it certainly doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t write it.
I think we have to learn to trust our creative instincts a bit more which, of course, comes with practice and repetition. Writing, like any craft, takes some instinct, not solely skill. You can teach someone the fundamentals of any craft, but it doesn’t mean that they will be able to develop that extra thing you need to be really great at something. Lebron’s basketball IQ is what will outlast his physical capabilities. Jazmine Sullivan’s natural ability, her tone, will always set her apart from anyone else who can hold a note. As writers, there’s something special about our work as well, and it takes writing, to find out what those things are and how to hone them and ultimately trust them.
I think a lot about singers and all the elements of what makes an extremely great vocal. It’s timbre, placement, and honestly, choices. Where they place a particular run or when to push and when to pull back, playing with dynamics. Most singers that we think are so great, make good choices. I would say the same for good writers.
Where we decide to reveal a certain element of a character’s backstory and how we do that. Are we telling through the narration or showing through dialogue and action? What easter eggs do we want to plant that will come back around later? When to show interactions and when to allude to the fact that they happened. Our language, selecting the ending. All of these are choices that we as the orchestrators of these fabricated stories have to make.
I like when I’m questioned about certain choices because some are very particular while others are just how I felt the story should go, and both matter. If you see writing as being a bit of a vessel as well, some things that come to you, you may not ever be able to explain. It’s not always bad if you don’t have a reason for something. Carli was part Afro-Latina because it came out that way. I thought a lot about my friend growing up and her Puerto Rican mother and Black father. I spent a lot of time with her in some of my formative years. What I’ve learned now though is that I’m actually very interested in the way that the diaspora collides. In my current work in progress there is an African American woman and a Jamaican love interest (No Stella, lol.) I didn’t set out purposely to do that, but very naturally I like writing about Blackness in this intersectional way. It’s an instinct. I can’t tell you whether it’s right or wrong, but I like it.
Our choices won’t always be popular, as the quote Due’s quote laid out above, but I want to be able to live with them. I want to be able to feel like I wrote the stories I wanted to write. It doesn’t mean that we will never need to make concessions. All of life is about compromise. Even as I’m in the midst of conversations around TV/Film for the book, there are things to consider in the market. With the first book, it was a market decision to classify it as romance. When you decide to write as a business, you have to think about the market, but how much weight you give it, remains in your court.
You get to make the decisions. Writing to the market may be a very lucrative approach. I only tend to think that writing to the heart is what creates legacy.
The Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship is accepting submissions. This fellowship calls for an early-career writer of fiction who has not yet published a book and is not currently nor has ever been enrolled in an advanced degree program (such as an MA or MFA) in Creative Writing, English, or Literature, and has no plans to attend one in the 2025 calendar year. (Closes Oct. 9).
Cave Canem supports the work of Black poets through a suite of core programs, namely an annual retreat consisting of intensive poetry workshops and readings, hosted at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg. The retreat offers an unparalleled opportunity for Cave Canem Fellows to study with esteemed faculty, and to join an expansive community of peers. (Closes Oct. 15th).
Hub City Press publishes books of literary fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, regional nonfiction, nature, and art. We are seeking new and extraordinary voices from the American South who have written well-crafted, high-quality works. We are particularly interested in books with a strong sense of place. (Closes Oct. 15th).
The Latinx in Publishing Writers Mentorship Program offers the opportunity for unpublished and unagented writers who identify as Latinx (mentees) to strengthen their craft, gain knowledge about the traditional publishing industry, and expand their professional connections through work with experienced Latinx authors (mentors). (Closes Oct. 16).
Tony Tran is looking for pitches for personal and reported essays with a tech bent for Slate. How does technology impact your life, work, or worldview? What are the surprising/shocking/weird ways that tech is shifting our everyday lives? Rates vary depending on scope of the assignment. Typically $500-$750 for features between 1000-1500 words. Can offer more depending on the story. tony.tran@slate.com.
