Comfort Zone
November 8, 2007
I'll make this quick. I'm on my way out of the office for a few hours and an e-mail I got a little while ago suggests the shit's going to hit the fan on one of my projects (in a good way, but I'll be swamped) and I want to get out of the house before it does.
I popped over on Spyscribbler's blog and she wrote:
"It doesn’t matter how many stories you write, the process always seems to evolve. I thought I had my process down pat after sixteen novel/las, but that’s not how it works, LOL. Each story has its own challenges, you know?
"A wise woman once told me that if you’re uncomfortable, then you’re growing."
I remember talking to a multiply-published mystery novelist a few years ago. I told him I was working on a complicated novel about biological warfare and terrorism. He told me he was happy writing his mysteries and even though he had some ideas for thrillers and bigger novels, he was happy to stay in his comfort zone. The story I was working on was THE DEVIL'S PITCHFORK and I'm glad I pushed out of my comfort zone. I'm doing it again with several projects, primarily CHINA FIRE.
So, what do you think? Is it better to write in your comfort zone? Or should you push the envelope?
Cheers,
Mark Terry
I'll make this quick. I'm on my way out of the office for a few hours and an e-mail I got a little while ago suggests the shit's going to hit the fan on one of my projects (in a good way, but I'll be swamped) and I want to get out of the house before it does.
I popped over on Spyscribbler's blog and she wrote:
"It doesn’t matter how many stories you write, the process always seems to evolve. I thought I had my process down pat after sixteen novel/las, but that’s not how it works, LOL. Each story has its own challenges, you know?
"A wise woman once told me that if you’re uncomfortable, then you’re growing."
I remember talking to a multiply-published mystery novelist a few years ago. I told him I was working on a complicated novel about biological warfare and terrorism. He told me he was happy writing his mysteries and even though he had some ideas for thrillers and bigger novels, he was happy to stay in his comfort zone. The story I was working on was THE DEVIL'S PITCHFORK and I'm glad I pushed out of my comfort zone. I'm doing it again with several projects, primarily CHINA FIRE.
So, what do you think? Is it better to write in your comfort zone? Or should you push the envelope?
Cheers,
Mark Terry
posted by Mark Terry at 7:07 AM
3 Comments:
Better ask me that when I'm done. Right now, I'd like my comfort zone back, please.
Comfort zone? Writing for me is like the split second you lean back in a chair and realize the wall is further away than you thought.
Perfect, Joe.
My nonfiction doesn't work that way (thankfully) although I always have that exact feeling just before I start typing on any piece. I should write about my comfort zone as it relates to my NF, because it was by pushing my comfort zone that I was able to break into good paying markets and make a living at it.
But that feeling is perfect description of how it feels when I'm pushing harder on the fiction.
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