What Steers the Creative Ship?
/One of the most difficult aspects of creative writing is being answerable to who’s steering your ship. What I mean by that is being aware of what forces are spurring your efforts at writing. Is it a conscious attempt to pursue popular themes and subject matter that’s prevalent in the marketplace? Is it a personal journey of creativity driven solely by one’s imagination and inspiration? Is it a deliberate exercise at constructing a fully developed story structure while touching upon the successful aspects of a widely marketable book?
And those are only a few possible angles and motivations.
Recently, I’ve given significant thought to my own writing pursuits, and I’m feeling somewhat conflicted. First, I’ve classically pursued my creative writing based upon pure inspiration. That is, I’ve written about themes and characters that my imagination has caught upon and was obsessed with during moments in time. And honestly, that’s fine from a purely creative standpoint. However, when writing for publication, it’s equally important to have a business hat on and give hard consideration to what your readers expect of you, as well as give deference to what’s most marketable in your published inventory.
However, unlike a business or company manufacturing a static product, we “creatives” work best when we act upon our inspirations in a moment in time. Anything less generally produces derivative quality content. As for myself, I’d hate to produce something based solely out of a sense of obligation or income-generating potential. Likewise, I respect the humble but dedicated fans and readers who have doggedly supported me over the years. They’re patiently expecting the next Sunset Vampire novel. Chop-chop!
Hence, the conundrum.
In truth, the world wouldn’t suffer one iota if I never wrote another novel during my remaining lifetime. There’s so many books out there that are waiting to be read, coupled with seemingly fewer readers of traditional novels than at any time in history since novels were consumed by the masses.
Heck, my own “to be read” pile continues to grow, and I rarely read someone else’s works when I’m actively writing on my own. I don’t want to risk another author’s “voice” getting into my head.
Yet I digress. (Apologies. It frequently happens at times like this…)
In this moment, I’m developing content that I’m actively inspired with, though I haven’t abandoned content that I have an obligation to my readers to continue. My goal starting in 2026 was to produce one novel per year moving forward with preference given to Sunset Vampire novels. Yet anxiety has reared its ugly head because it’s nearly mid-February and I’m still fleshing out aspects of my next Sunset Vampire story (book #7).
Rest assured, I’m moving along with it. But I wanted to share where my headspace is currently.
I appreciate your kind continued support of my novels, and I value your patience as I strive to bring you the best of what my imagination and writing skills have to offer.
Until later, please take care and I wish you much happy reading!
Jaz
