Hello all,
Welcome to Women Writing! I’m thrilled to share the third edition of Women Writing featuring the talented author Jaime Samms. Enjoy!
Jaime Samms is a plaid-hearted Canadian who spends the long cold winters writing stories about love between men and the too-short summers digging in the garden. There are dust bunnies in the corners of her house—which she blames on a husky named Kai.
There are dishes on the counter—which is clearly because teenagers! There is hot coffee in the pot and the occasional meal to keep her from starving—because her husband is remarkable and patient.
A multi-published author whose work has been translated into French, Italian and German, Jaime delights in the intricate dance of words that leads her through tales of the lost and broken-hearted men she writes about, to the love stories that find and mend them.
And when the muse is being stubborn, she also makes pretty things with yarn and fabric scraps because in her world, no heart is too broken to love, and nothing is too worn or tired it can’t be upcycled into something beautiful. All it takes is determination and the ability to see life a little bit left of centre.
“Basically, trust yourself. You know what you're doing, and you know best what your story needs because it is your story. No one else's, so they don't get a say.”
On a writing routine …
There is always a routine, but over the years it has changed. Right now, with how busy everything is, my routine around writing is a non-negotiable date with my computer at a local coffee shop every Tuesday morning. I don't compromise on that time. I don't schedule other appointments for that day, and I say no to people who ask me to do something on Tuesday mornings. It's half a day a week, which isn't really enough, but at least it's something. whatever other writing happens is bonus.
On writing times and spaces …
The glib answer would be Tuesday mornings. But the real answer, I suppose, is in the morning. The real answer is at a time when I can find the focus to tune everything else out. That means less about what's going on around me than what's going on in my head. The endless lists of things I've fallen behind on or that I want to get done before I do fall behind. Focus is key.
Generally, I would say away from where I do everything else. I also work from home, and run a craft business, so the space where I do all that can be distracting when it comes time to write. So I do tend to do most of my writing in places other than at my desk in my office, just because that's where I do everything else, and I can get sidetracked easily.
On writing communities …
I am a member of the Sudbury Writer's Guild. It helps to have other people who also write. Knowing the struggles of finding the time and mental space are not unique to me, since no one in my family really gives time to their creative sides, is reassuring. It helps to feel less alone in what I'm doing.
On challenges …
The biggest challenge these days is making space for writing in my head. Since I work from home, run my own craft business and have three other adults who live in the house with me, creating all the chaos people create, finding time to shut all that out and focus on a book is always the hardest part of writing for me. Not to mention the very real distractions created by the constant inner dialogue of inadequacy most writers tend to face.
On the best writing advice …
Write your story. Not to mean just sit down and write, but meaning write *your* story. Even in romance, where there are certain expectation about how a plot is supposed to go, there is always room for an author to write what resonates with them. It's very easy to get caught up in "people say I should do *this* with my character." And lose sight of where you wanted that character to go. Whenever a writer pops up on a forum with a question like "will readers get mad if I do ABC" my response is always you know what that character should do. Ignore everything else and write the story that is presenting itself to you. Basically, trust yourself. You know what you're doing, and you know best what your story needs because it is your story. No one else's, so they don't get a say.
On the worst writing advice …
"Write to Market" Not that you can ignore what the market is looking for, especially if you're trying to pay bills. But if that is the only piece of advice you are following, you are going to be writing hollow stories with flat characters.
It was frustrating to me because I write in a genre where the expectations are very straight forward, but also, very inflexible. At it's core: boy meets girl. Boy looses girl. Boy gets girl back. Boy and girls live happily Ever After. Well. first off, what if there is no girl? Just two boys. Right out of the gate, I'm breaking a fundamental rule.
A better piece of advice is "Study the Market" then figure out where the story you are writing fits into the market, and make sure, when you are pitching your book (to publishers or to the public) you are pitching to the right market.
If I write a book that is about lovers, but where the lovers don't end up in a fulfilling relationship at the end, I'm not writing a romance. I'm writing a love story. I can sell a love story, but not to my regular romance market. They'll get mad at me for not delivering on the promise that romance has a happy ending. That isn't to say there is no one out there who will want to read my love story. I just have to find them and sell my book to them. The same goes for a book between two guys The market is out there, and it's hungry. All I had to do was find them.
OR. Another way to use this advice is "Know your Market" I can write that book, sell it to my current romance crowd, but I had better back it up with a promise of a sequel. I can fit my book to my current market, but not without some promises being made that I had better follow through on. And quickly. My romance readers are voracious. If I write a book that ends with the lovers apart, but I quickly release a sequel, or a series, where eventually, they end up together, I am writing to my market, because I know they will devour those books until they get their payoff. As long as I keep them sated along the way with character growth, plot twists that make sense, and ultimately, a Happily Ever After, they'll keep coming back for more.
On advice from personal experiences …
Treat your writing with the same weight you treat your commitment to your job, your souse and your kids. Whichever of those you have. Women tend to put the needs of their family and their jobs before their own needs. Well. Writing is a job. Creating a book is easily as difficult as raising a child. I've done both. It isn't the same kind of challenge, but it requires the same determination, sacrifice and hard work, so if you don't make the room in your life to do it well, you're going to run into problems. Or, you're not going to do it at all. It's *hard* But it is also rewarding and fulfilling and worth the effort.
If writing is a hobby for you and you want to write when you have a chance, in your spare time, and enjoy the process, you should do that, by all means. If you want writing to result in a published book, or maybe a career, you have to give it more attention than you'd give your evening crossword or folding your laundry or walking your dog. In fact, you might have to delegate a few of those things, or even, maybe, look at your priorities and decide which ones can wait for later.
If you want a relationship to work, you focus on it. If you want to do your job well, you pay attention to the details. If you want your kids to feel loved and supported, you give them your time and attention.
You have to have this same attitude towards your writing if you want it to end in a professional book out in the world. It requires you to act in the same way you would towards any other aspect of your life you want to be successful at.
All of that isn't necessarily advice just for women. But it might be worth thinking about especially for women, to help us decide when to say "no" and put the things we want in front of the rest.
Jaime’s online spaces …
Website: jaimesamms.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jaime.samms
I believe the world needs more women’s stories. Are you ready to write yours?
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Some wonderful advice here to find out where your story fits into the market, and then pitch the story to those particular editors and agents.