Hey Everyone! How’s the week treating you so far? Personally, I’m just hanging in there as always doing the best I can with what I got. I am currently about two and a half weeks off of embarking on Signful Signings in Roanoke, VA. While this should be an exciting time of prep to support my friends and fellow authors, things have been a little crazy.
For those that don’t know. P.A. Power will be one of the signing authors at this event. I’ve been tagged in as his PA for the weekend, which is amazing all in its own. I have been signing up for Sinful for the last three or so years. I always get wait-listed and let's just say it's hard to get into this event. So getting to go in any capacity will give the team and I a better perspective of whether or not it's worth still trying to get in.
See, I have said this since my first appearance into the Booktok crowd, I am not everyone’s cup of tea. I don’t hold my tongue and I stand up for what needs to be stood up for. I am as abrasive steel wool. Not everyone is going to like me or what I write. These are just simple truths. And you know what that’s… not a bad thing.
Here’s the real bead and butter outlook here. There are billions of people in the world. While most will have similar tastes no two are the exact same. I like certain things most of my friends don’t. I have one bestie, Izzy, that is as eclectic as it comes in her reading and music tastes. She has Spread sheets…. Lots of them… that will pin point you to a book that might or might not tickle your fancy. And it spans both traditional and Indie books.
You also have our prompters for the Hold My Pen Promptcast. There are around 15 to 20 of us that take the exact same prompt every week and turn into 15 to 20 different stories. Some are brand new created for the Promptcast, some are continuations of the same story from the previous weeks or months. Hell, that is how Crossroads was written. Different prompts over the course of five months.
Which leads me into the scene that broke me this week. Surprisingly enough it was not one that was written for the show. Even though there is a toss up when a certain young man writes for our show. Between him and a few others, I can either be scared out of my mind by simple things or hit straight in the feels. But no… this is one that came out of my own damn head.
See I started yet another project… But I should be commended a little bit, it is in an active series. I didn’t just go off the deep end and create a whole new series for yet another WIP (work in progress for those not of the writing world). Which for me is huge progress, but I “DiGreg” (IYKYK).
Anywho… The scene in question is when my FMC actually falls for the love interest. See she has no idea he’s loved her from the word go. And even though it is a contract marriage based story, she is a professional matchmaker/ wedding planner by trade. She facilitates everyone else's happily ever after, but can’t seem to grasp her own. When constraints on time hit on finding the perfect match, FMC does step in as the professional bride. For her its business, for them its image, and somewhere in between FMC becomes closed off in ways no person should ever have to. Until she meets said love interest and shit starts to go off the rails fairly quickly.
I know what you're thinking… Jules, this sounds like something you typically write, so what’s the big deal? Well, for a lot of writers it's hard to write love when you're in pain. And while the tropes and genre are nothing new or even outside my wheelhouse, I have had a challenge laid at my feet when it comes to said project. Most if not all my FMCs have a tragic backstory or this big horrific event that challenges them to rise up and hit the situation with everything they got. Very much the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” kind of characters. The “yes this horrible thing happened but I can stand on my own two feet because of it” kind of characters.
Now, I have been challenged to write one without so much trauma. Without throwing everything including the kitchen skin at my character to see how she reacts or what she will do. Which is going to make some scenes that I write a little uncomfortable. Mainly because I am unfamiliar with the concept. I am very much a cause and effect kind of writer and woman. Almost 40 years of proof on that one.
But looking at everything I have read of my outline and certain scenes that I know have to be a part of the book. Some scenes just aren’t meant to be comfortable or cozy. I will do my best to stretch the muscles of my abilities but I can’t shy away from the truth that relationships in any form are hard. Not all that glitters is gold, and sometimes the FMC is going to have to stand toe to toe with the MMC over something. Which is what made this week's scene, a sharp, unavoidable, and full of truth I wasn’t ready to face.
We all have that moment in writing that cracked something open, makes us pause, and chest tighten. Not because it was dramatic for anyone else, but because it was true in the best ways possible.
Scenes like this remind me why I write: to confront, to release, to witness. They hurt because they touch real fear, loss, or longing. They linger because they carry pieces of ourselves we hide in daylight. Or like Dom in Crossroads:
Dom left the room holding the secret he had known all along. This wasn’t the first time he had almost caught them in bed together, and if they wanted to play the same old game of nothing happened, who was he to say anything.
Or Piper:
They had sworn to each other this was the last time. To the ache in both their hearts, they would never speak of the promises they had made to each other under the star littered sky. While that wasn’t the first night they had found solace in each other's arms it was certainly the most memorable one.
The scene that broke me didn’t defeat me. It made me look closer, dig deeper, and acknowledge what I might have ignored otherwise. That’s the kind of story worth telling. The kind of story worth writing. Sometimes, the hardest scenes are the most necessary. And the people challenging you to look at it through another lens, are trying to strengthen what you already have. Or they know you can do.
So… what was the hardest scene you ever had to write? Or what was the scene that hit you in the feels to the point you had to reevaluate some life choices? How are you processing it, carrying it forward, or letting it teach you? Share in the comments, or just sit with it quietly—the reflection matters.
See y’all tomorrow.
Be Brave, Be Bold, But Always Stay Humble
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