There's something I've been thinking about a lot lately, especially when I start to daydream about my WIP being "The One".
Am I too inexperienced to write? How can I write about romance when I, myself, have never been kissed? Sure, I can get the feelings of crushing down, especially since that's something I'm more familiar with then I'd like to be, but what about when it comes to the dating part? Or the kissing? How can I realistically write that when I've never, you know, experienced it?
Sure, I know some of you are going to sit there and say "Well, do you think Stephenie Meyer ever loved a vampire?" or "J.K. Rowling never attended Wizard School or faced the Dark Lord but she sure made it realistic" or something like that. And I agree. But it's just...romance is so...basic!
A long time ago, I read a post by an author, one that I happen to love, about how she was beyond appalled that she'd just read a romance book by a teenager that'd never been kissed. I don't remember exactly what she said, because it was a long time ago and I lost the link, but even now, it's instilled fear in me that hey, I can't publish this or get an agent until I've had a boyfriend.
This fear doesn't just apply to romance, it can apply to everything. Sometimes I feel like I have no right to be writing when I haven't experienced very much at all. I live in a small town. There's not all that much to do.
Then another part of me is saying "So what? Most authors never experience half the things their characters do."
But that fear is always there, pushing me back from my dream.
Does this ever happen to you? What do you do? Any advice?
Peace & Writing!
harmony
