Power to Encourage

"It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop." --Confucius

by Joanne Rock

            I don’t claim to be a wise old crone, but nothing reminds me of how long I’ve been in the writing business faster than speaking to a writing group. Earlier this month I had the pleasure of speaking to the Tampa RWA chapter about tropes and series romance. It was a fun topic, and the group was a supportive, engaged audience. 

            The joy of events like this continue after the formal topic is done and I have the chance to speak with members of the group individually. Writers begin sharing more about their journeys, and firing questions of all kinds. We talk about the writing process, the drive to maintain creativity, the tricks behind writing synopses, but most importantly, we talk about persistence.

            Because by and large, I hope that’s what I offer people attending workshops that I give—reminders of how big a role tenacity plans in what we do. I hope that through my own tale of persistence (six full manuscripts, a partial and at least five synopses for other stories completed before I ever sold a single word I wrote) will provide some inspiration for writers who are drowning in rejections. Not many of us get to that first sale without wading through those waters. It can be disheartening. Creatively draining. But it’s truly part of the process.

            That’s the point of the workshop where I feel the wisest. Not because I know a lot about

tropes, or series, or any single point of craft. But I do know what that slog through rejection feels like. I’ve been there, fending off complete demoralization with nothing but blind faith and a good dose of stubbornness. It takes grit to keep writing in spite of the odds, to keep teaching yourself and flexing the writing muscle to improve. I remember that what helped keep my feet on the path were the occasional tales from the trenches from other authors who took many years and many manuscripts to make that first sale.

            So more than any writing wisdom, I hope that I pass along some of that courage in the face of rejection. I hope that I'm inspiring a certain level of persistence. If I succeed at this, I’ve given a truly valuable a gift. Finding the courage to believe in your dreams is hard to come by, but we close ourselves off to too many wonderful possibilities if we don’t keep taking steps to achieve them.

*** From a pep talk for a girlfriend to a heart-to-heart with a nervous child, we all take on the role of mentor and cheerleader sometimes in or lives.  When was the last time you exercised your power to encourage someone in their goals? I'll give one random poster an advance copy of book 1 in my new Dynasties: Mesa Falls series, The Rebel!

You Can Make Lasting Change by Michelle Styles

It is now just over two weeks into the New Year and the shining new resolutions look far less shiny and bright. It is far easier to fall into old habits and to think you can never change. This is not true and it is your limbic system (the flight or fight part of the brain) speaking. Meaningful change never just happens. There is always false starts and falls off the bandwagon. The people who make the changes permanent do so because they see the change as being important, rather than the fall.  They don’t  see it as a perfectionist all or nothing. It is more about the overall picture and trying until you succeed..

When I first became serious about my writing, the easiest thing would have been to give up. In fact, various people  suggested that I would. After all, I had wanted to be a writer from the age 12 and there I was 38, never having written a complete manuscript.   I would get to about the first page, not even the first chapter and find something else to occupy my time but oh how I wanted to be a published author. I knew I had stories to tell inside me. I knew I could write.

 Getting ill with gallstones changed me. It made me realise that I wanted to do something for me.  Equally I didn’t just sit down in three days and write a novel which was instantly accepted. It took me several months and then I received a form letter in the post so fast from Harlequin/Mills & Boon, it made my head spin. However, getting that form rejection letter really spurred me on. My immediate goal became — the next time, they will not be able to dismiss me that easily.

I went back to basics and wrote another manuscript and sent it off. It was over Christmas and I hoped for a slow response. It was a quick one — a request for the full manuscript from a proper editor. That one was eventually rejected as well, but next one (a hugely revised version of my first manuscript) went to revisions and I gained an editor who was willing to work with me and answer questions.  It took several more manuscripts and a change of series to Historical (the editor was hugely support of this) for me to sell to Harlequin.  By that time, the editor had left the company after giving the manuscript we had worked on to her senior editor.  I then had a very long wait of nearly a year while the manuscript was reviewed and then revised.  Since June 2005, I have written 27 more books which Harlequin Historical has purchased. I am currently waiting on my editor’s thoughts for the 28^th one and  there is more to come.

If I had given up at the first hurdle, at the first rejection or when the words became tough in the first manuscript, none of this would have happened. So if you feel overwhelmed by not fulfilling your New Year’s resolutions, start afresh today. Make the change happen. It may lead to something wonderful. Persistence worked for me.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance for Harlequin Historical, her latest Sent as the Viking’s Bride is out now. Visit Michelle Styles’s website www.michellestyles.co.uk  for more information about her and her books.

Read a little of Sent as the Viking's Bride.

The Little Camellia That Could by Michelle Styles

About 20 years ago, I planted a camellia in the garden. It was in flower then from what I can recall and was a Mothering Sunday present from my three very young children.. I thought it was in a good spot.

I have always liked camellias and so was delighted to have one in a garden where I knew I’d be around for a long time. We had always had camellias in the garden when I was growing up -- there were one of my mother's and grandmother's favourite flowers. They always remind me of California. After getting married, I moved to Northumberland England, near Hadrian's Wall.  I looked forward to blooming again as it was a thoughtful gift.

The camellia out May 2018

 Year after year, I’d wait for it to bloom and it never did.  I added a second camellia (a white one) and planted it next to the camellia whose blossoms I could no longer really recall. 

I blamed the frost, the fact that where we live is probably on the edge of its growth zone. The plants kept getting larger and putting on more leaves but no flowers.

This year, my husband said enough was enough. Even though we had the space, it had not done anything there and it probably would not survive transplanting. So I took some cuttings to see if I could salvage it that way.

Then on Sunday, I went down to see how the rhododendrons were doing and to my amazement, the camellia was actually flowering!  It had taken a long time but it was worth it. The white camellia is also about to bloom.

It may be that it isn’t the best spot for them and I do have the cuttings I started to try again somewhere else, but I finally camellias blooming in my garden.

And this minor miracle showed resilience and persistence on the camellias’ part. Sometimes, it just does take patience. I think it is a metaphor my writing  -- never give up and keep doggedly trying.

In other news:

My editor let me know that they are buying my 27^th historical romance for Harlequin Historical – another Viking set romance and we agreed the idea I should be pursuing for the 28^th one. More details as and when I get them.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance for Harlequin Historical in a wide range of time periods, most recently Viking. Her latest The Warrior's Viking Bride was published in March 2018 and received 4 stars from the RT magazine. You can learn more about Michelle and her books at www.michellestyles.co.uk 

Bravery and the Romance genre by Michelle Styles

The other day I happened across a brief talk by the founder of Girls Who Code, a program to encourage young women to  learn how to write code for apps, computers etc. Personally as a daughter of a woman who coded for a living and who choose to major in Economics rather than in mathematics (which according to my mother, I should have done if I wanted a job), I know that women are more than capable of coding (I can do it but chose a different path than my mother). But I do understand that some women are put off the subject by the perception that women are somehow incapable.  Her insight was that girls need to be taught to be brave instead of to be perfect. She knows of girls when they are taking classes through her company who would rather show the instructor a blank screen than show the failed attempts at coding.

Learning to code (or learning a computer language) is all about making mistakes and finding tiny errors. It can drive you nuts. It is why What You See Is What You Get programmes were such a boon. If I had to type this in html, it would take me far longer.

Anyway apparently a study has been done that shows when applying for jobs, men are more likely to apply for a job if they are 60% qualified, women will only apply for the same job if they are 100% qualified.  A fact that my job-hunting daughter wishes I would stop banging on about. (My daughter has chosen not to follow my path or my mother's but her own and she can code when she has to)

If you don’t have time to  view the talk, you can read a transcript here. 

The talk made me think about bravery and perfection and how different people react. I can remember the first time I submitted anything to Harlequin. Another woman had also submitted. We both were rejected. That woman wrote a little note about  how she accepted the verdict and would go and try something else. I became determined that the next time Harlequin would not dismiss me so easily. I dug my toes in, became determined and eventually I persevered. In other words, I decided to brave and to keep on trying.

But what  about romance novels themselves? Do they teach women to be brave and take chances?  Or are they more about putting women on pedestals or teaching them that the way to get through life is to take the easy route?

Some people in the past have argued that they reinforce the status quo. I think they are wrong, dead wrong. The romance genre expands rather than contracts women’s horizons. They give positive role models for women where the heroine is more than simply arm candy.

A story would not be interesting if a heroine was perfect or had only minor easily overcome imperfections. Heroines need to struggle and grow.  I like to think that my heroines (whatever the era and societal limitations) possess grit, determination and perseverance in abundance and that anyone reading the books would see them as potentially positive role models. In order to see how a lead character will react, you have through nearly insurmountable obstacles in her path. It makes for a more interesting story. And the heroines in the romance genre come from all walks of life. They give readers a chance to try out different lifestyles or experience different situations. And I know from personal experience that a story can make a person decide that they are going dig their toes in and follow their dream.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide range of time periods. Her latest historical romance manuscript is sitting on her editor’s desk and her latest book Summer of the Viking was published in June 2015. You can learn more about Michelle and her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk