5 Things This Writer Learned From The Summer Olympics
I’m not the most sporty person in the world. (sheepish grin) I prefer to write about action, not participate in it. But I’ve been watching the Summer Olympics with great interest.
And it has taught me a few things about writing.
1) We’re Truly Competing Against Ourselves
Yes, every athlete at the Olympics would love to medal. Everyone would like to be the best in the world. But many athletes realize they’re not yet ready. They’re unlikely to beat top athletes like Usain Bolt and Simone Biles at these Olympics. These up and coming athletes merely wish to do their personal best.
There are 15 slots on the New York Times Bestseller List for eBooks every week. Every year, only one book wins a Romance Writers Of America Rita in each category. These goals might be unreasonable for newer writers but we CAN do our personal best. We can write the best story we’ve ever written. We can reach the most readers we’ve ever reached.
How do we do this? We learn from other writers, which leads me to the next point…
2) Improvement Is Contagious
Many athletes will have personal bests at the Olympics. Why? Because they’re competing against the best in the world. This not only pushes them to try harder but they also learn from other athletes.
We see this in Romanceland. A writer will release an innovative story, perhaps it is a unique twist on a tried-and-true premise or has a different tone or is simply an exceptionally well-written tale. This will prompt other writers to do the same, to try harder, to think differently.
There are some wonderful cyborg romances being written right now. This pushes me to bring my A game to every story, to give readers the best stories possible.
I LOVE this. It is exciting for the niche and exciting for me as a writer.
Of course, not every new writing project will be successful.
3) Things Go Wrong
An athlete could be the world champion, could be the best in the world, have the best preparation, the best trainer, the best gear, and not even medal at the Olympics. Things could go wrong on the day they compete.
I’ve experienced the same thing with the writing. I can write the best book of my life, have a wonderful marketing plan, a great cover and blurb, and then, on release day, something happens to stop readers from enjoying my book. Maybe a man with the same first name as my hero does something very, very bad. Maybe booksellers go on yet another anti-erotic romance crusade and delist the book. Maybe another writing buddy releases a book with the exact same premise the week before (this happens).
When things go wrong, athletes dust themselves off and concentrate on the next competition, the next opportunity. We should do the same. Focus on the next book.
Ignore the haters, because…
4) EVERYONE Is Criticized
Olympic athletes are some of the fittest people in the world. They’re the top amateur contestants in their fields. Yet some of them were brutally criticized for their appearances and for their performances, often by people who didn’t know shit about them or their sports.
This might seem like a negative but I found it truly freeing. If the best in the world are harshly criticized, of course, we, mere mortals, are going to be harshly criticized also. And if we’re all going to be harshly criticized, why do we give a flying fuck about criticism? Why are we even listening to these comments?
Focus on other things and…
5) Have Fun
All Olympic athletes work hard. They usually have some sort of athletic gift or natural talent for their sport. But this doesn’t guarantee success. The majority of Olympic athletes will never win an Olympic medal. They’ll never make a dollar from their beloved sport. However, they ALL can have fun. They ALL can enjoy the Olympic experience.
Success, however we define it, isn’t guaranteed for writers either. We can have talent and work really hard and still never find our readerships. But we CAN find joy in our writing. We can have fun. We can enjoy the twists and turns, the ups and downs, in this unpredictable, wildly exciting journey. That is absolutely doable.
What did you learn from the Summer Olympics?
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Wild. Free. Hers.
Mayhem has spent his lengthy lifespan obeying the Humanoid Alliance’s rules. Finally free from their cruel control, the cyborg warrior plans to cause chaos. He infiltrates a remote settlement, provokes the savage locals until they want him dead, and allows himself to be captured by the sexiest little Retriever he has ever laid his mechanically-enhanced eyes on.
Imee’s sole mission in life is to keep her family alive. To do this, she must hunt rebels, returning them to the Humanoid Alliance’s evil clutches where they will be executed. She doesn’t allow herself to feel anything for her targets…until she meets a tall, muscular cyborg with wild hair and even wilder eyes.
With his sure hands, laughing lips and erotic holds, Mayhem makes Imee’s body sizzle and her resistance melt. Their love is doomed. She must deliver the warrior to his death or she’ll place her family’s safety at risk. But she can’t resist him.
Imee soon discovers that Mayhem, life, and love are never predictable.
Chasing Mayhem is Book 6 in the Cyborg Sizzle series and is a STANDALONE story.
It is also a BBW Cyborg SciFi Romance.
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