Apologies for the lack of post yesterday! Life stuff shoved the blog totally out of my mind until it was too late to post something. So, Friday update! Oopsies.

And more apologies, I won’t have pictures up for a bit here. Sorry!

But anyway, here’s five more things I really enjoy about being a writer.

Reason #6: Watching Characters Evolve

I love character arcs. In my mind, a good character arc can save a poor plot. There’s something I find incredibly satisfying about seeing a character go from someone I hate to someone I can’t enjoy the story without. So when I get to create characters who are rough around the edges and watch them grow, it’s so enjoyable to see.

I think there are two arcs in particular I never get tired of, no matter how often I see them.

First, there’s the characters who start out cold and harsh and then soften up. My heart melts seeing a tough, loner character learning how to be vulnerable by opening up to others.

Then there’s the characters who begin innocent and clueless but eventually gain more and more experience. This is the typical “coming of age” story, where you get to watch a character grow both physically and emotionally.

Reason #7: Being Mean to Characters

Okay, this is a guilty pleasure for me. In order to facilitate those character arcs I love so much, sometimes you’ve just got to be downright mean to your characters. Sometimes I even feel like I’m personally picking on my characters (but only the ones that needed or deserved it, I swear)!

This is a whole lot easier when your character is particularly nasty to begin with. It’s rather satisfying to dish out small punishments to a character who’s been making everyone else’s lives miserable. Maybe it’s enacting poetic justice (cough revenge cough), maybe it’s being able to see a normally high-and-mighty character brought down to a vulnerable state, maybe it’s just enjoying watching someone else’s misery. Either way, it’s pretty fun to be mean to characters.

Reason #8: When People Get Addicted to the Story

There isn’t a whole lot about writing that leaves me feeling excited, motivated, and self-assured. But whenever I hear the blessed plea of “Write more,” I know I’m doing something right. Two little words throw all my doubts out the window.

Knowing people are interested and excited about my story gets me motivated to keep going, even if I don’t think it’s my best work. And since I tend to procrastinate, knowing there’s people who are dying to read more is a great way to push forward. It helps that, more often than not, they don’t think a chapter is total crap like I might (I tend to be my own worst critic).

Reason #9: When People I Don’t Even Know Get Addicted to the Story

This hasn’t happened to me much yet, since I haven’t published anything publicly. But I did get a taste of this ten years ago when I was writing stories on a relatively large-population forum.

Initially, the only people reading and commenting on my stories were, of course, my forum friends. It meant so much to me to see them supporting me–and to know that they wanted me to keep writing so they could find out what happened next!

But it’s an entirely different experience when complete strangers stumble across your story and go, “Hey, this is awesome! When’s the next chapter coming out?”

I tended to wonder if my “talent” only extended to my loved ones’ opinions, which are totally biased in my favor. It was so validating when people I didn’t know–and not even friends of friends who had been referred, but total strangers–started begging for more story. That’s when I knew without a doubt that I really could make good stories. And each and every fan brought an incredible rush.

Seriously, fans fuel writers. So keep telling the people you admire how much you appreciate what they do!

Annnnd Reason #10: Pretty Much Any Scene with Jaranin and Isalaina

Because Jaranin and Isalaina are my most adorable couple of all time, and I love them. I think from now on, whenever I’m hitting another rut with The Victor’s Blade, I’ll just start writing a new scene with Jaranin and Isalaina to refresh my memory of why I’ve loved this book so much for so long.

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Missed my first five things I love about being a writer? Don’t worry. I got ya covered.

Or are you feeling pessimistic and down and want to hear someone rant? How about five things I hate about being a writer?

See? We have something for everyone here.

For Him, to Him