Spring is here! I’ve spent the past week painting the bathroom and pantry, cleaning the spots that never get cleaned, fixing broken appliances, sprucing up, and tackling that miserable garage. Every night this week after I finished, I looked at my new novel, untouched for the past seven days, and said in my best Scarlett O’Hara voice, “After all, tomorrow is another day.”
My Aunt Mary used to tell me that spring cleaning was the most important job of the year. “As long as you have everything ship shape once a year, you can take comfort in that and slack off the rest of the time.” I still hear those words echo in my head, even though she’s long gone. I hope they have spring cleaning in Heaven. If they didn’t before she arrived, I’m sure they do now.
As I pondered my unfinished manuscript, however, a curious thought hit me. Should authors also embrace a literary form of spring cleaning? Should we set aside at least one time each year where we clean out the cobwebs of our minds, come up with new ideas, new ways of writing, new areas of research? I’ve seen many writers remain in the same niche, writing the same types of stories over and over again. Often, when I hear a particular author’s name, I automatically associate it with historical fiction, romance, or any other specific and limited genre. Is this because they possess a particular expertise in that area?
Probably, and that’s not a bad thing. Mark Twain once offered a sage bit of wisdom: “Write what you know.” It’s very good advice, for the most part. However, are the stories you currently write the only things you know? Do you exhaust your own expertise and utilize it to full advantage in your writing efforts?
Perhaps not. People often feel more comfortable with their cobwebs. They may be dusty, but it’s their dust. They’re used to it, and it takes effort to sweep them away. When it comes to writing, I often find myself penning the same types of stories. Anything new would force me to do more research, expend more energy and, frankly, THINK. I have oodles of research, filed away on neat little 3x5 cards. If you’re younger than I am, you may have a folder on your computer with inspirational nuggets gleaned from the internet. In either case, it’s there, easily accessible. But should we, as writers, limit ourselves to that folder, that set of 3x5 cards?
Most of us have talents that we never consider putting down on paper. For example, I love baking bread, pizza shells, tortillas and rolls, and have developed a talent for the unique challenges of baking in a desert. I’ve learned that preparing these foods in the Valley of the Sun is very different from the same task back East. If you’ve ever tried to follow a prestigious cookbook’s bread recipe, you’ve probably failed to produce a satisfying result. You wonder why, and attribute it to lack of skill when it may simply be the wrong book, no matter how widely circulated. Most cookbook authors don’t realize, for example, that the bag of flour sitting on a Phoenix store shelf contains up to 50% less moisture than flour bought in Seattle. Cooks must adjust the amount of liquid, in order to turn out a successful loaf of bread.
I know these things; I’ve mastered them. So why haven’t I written a Desert 101 cookbook? I don’t know why; I just never thought about it. Instead, I keep writing the same westerns and fantasies that I’ve always written, churning out the same types of dramatic stories and novels that, quite frankly, few people read. I write them because I like to write them. But how do I know that I wouldn’t like writing cookbooks? Maybe it’s time to sweep away the cobwebs of my mind, think about all the other things that I know well enough to write about, and then go for it.
What about you? Do you write romance or children’s novels? What would an author’s version of spring cleaning reveal to you? Are there different genres, different great works hidden in the dark recesses of your mind? Do you have a talent for sewing, gardening, or decorating? Do you often travel to the same destinations over and over, simply because you enjoy them and know exactly what to expect? Could you write a handy guide about an out of the way spot you discovered on one of these excursions?
Perhaps you know the best places to dine in your city and can add a unique twist, to distinguish your work from other guides. Have you figured out how to do a specific job in a way that makes people ask, “How did you do that?” Such talents might form the heart of a great eHow article or blog theme. There’s no need to write a book. Articles are a lucrative way for writers to expand their literary portfolios and gain a wider audience. It’s possible that new readers will find you through these articles, and in the process, discover your current books that have languished on Amazon. By expanding into other genres, you garner new audiences for all of your works, not just the ones new readers enjoyed this time.
With April comes new growth and new ideas. Whether or not you relish spring cleaning (and like me, push off tasks for the rest of the year), I encourage you to clear out that dusty niche in your creative process. By doing so, you may blaze a whole new literary trail, or you may simply learn new ways of writing in the same genres, with new twists and turns to surprise and gratify your readers. Happy spring cleaning!
Kathleen Cook wrote and edited self-help and educational articles for a major publisher before launching Brighter Stars Editing Services. The author of several books, Katy studied journalism at Rio Salado in the 1970s and now offers her talents to both new and experienced authors. She enjoys seeing new writers succeed and provides extensive comments and advice on all phases of the writing and publishing process.
The mother of four grown children, Katy enjoys parenting, reading, gardening, organic cooking, and perpetual education in subjects from Stonehenge to Python. Her areas of expertise include memoirs, historical fiction and nonfiction, spirituality (Christian, Buddhist and Pagan), mystery, and sci-fi/fantasy.
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