October Letter from the Editor

I’m always amazed when writers tell me they write to music. They obviously don’t suffer from my attention deficit disorder.The moment I hear words that aren’t relevant to my story, I’m yanked out, and trust me, I need to remain rooted in my story.

I wrote an entire book based on a country song. So I do listen to the words. For example, last week I was affected by the amazing songwriter Paul Simon, and his song, I’m Gonna Watch You Shine. The song is dedicated to his baby daughter. But as I listened, I thought how appropriate for writers. The refrain in the lyrics says, “Trust your intuition. It’s just like going fishin’.”

And if you notice the quote I chose by Gore Vidal for Quote of the Week, you’ll see he had a dogged determination to stay true to himself. “Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.”

In many cases in publishing, intuition and style are vanquished. It’s simply a fact of life. Many authors have been rejected because they trusted their intuition or wouldn’t tone down their indomitable style.

I know of one very recent success story where this was almost the case. PPW member and Writing from the Peak columnist Barbara Nickless. Many of the editors who rejected, Blood on the Tracks said, great story, but could she lose the train?

Barbara trusted her intuition. Thank God! The book now ranks in the top 10 at Amazon and was #1 for weeks.

It’s October, and many of the articles we’ll present this month deal with trust, style and intuition, as well as other columns and helpful material. If you have an idea that won’t let go, it might be trying to tell you something. 

Remember, “Trust your intuition. It’s just like going fishin'," because we want to watch you shine.

Have a marvelous October!

About the Author: Donnell Ann Bell is the managing editor for Writing from the Peak, the coordinator for the monthly Open Critique held on the first Wednesday of every month, and one of Pikes Peak Writer's board members at large. She is a best selling romantic suspense and mystery author. To learn more about her books, find her at www.donnellannbell.com