Step Outside The Comfort Zone
I invited fellow author Michelle Miles to come and talk to you today. I’ll be over on her blog one day soon, so watch my twitter account to stay posted.
Recently, my local RWA chapter had a “kissing contest”. Okay, it’s not the kind you think. We’re not that sordid. 
No, our contest was to have members write a kissing scene between two characters. It was successful in that it got several of the members writing and a couple who stepped out of their comfort zone to write in a genre they had never written in before.
So I got to thinking about this a little later. If we can step outside our comfort zone to write a simple kissing scene, why not an entire book?
Which made me wonder – could I write an entire book by just starting with certain scenes? In my head, I began to think about different plot elements of a book. Of course, Goal-Motivation-Conflict is in there. The big picture stuff. But what if we break them down even further?
A kissing scene. If you’re writing romance, there has to be sexual tension. We, the reader, want them to kiss as much as the characters want to kiss (and trust me when I say, these characters have a mind of their own). Maybe you’ve always wanted to write something scandalous and tawdry, well now is your big chance.
An action scene. It has to have all the elements of fast-paced action with some snappy dialogue. Maybe even an explosion or two. You want to keep the reader on the edge of his or her seat. Always wanted to try your hand at fencing? Get your characters to do it. Except give them a short sword and some armor and go for it.
The Black Moment. If you write or read romance, then you know what the Black Moment is. It’s that moment in the book when, just when the hero and heroine start to fall in love, something comes to drive them apart again. Something that can be so big it carries to the end of the book. Maybe they have a fight and break up. Maybe the heroine thinks her beloved, who has gone off to war in some faraway country, is dead and never to return. Maybe she’s decided she wants to have children and he doesn’t.
You get the idea. What if writing a book was writing a scene that wasn’t something you would normally sit down and plot and write from start to finish? Wouldn’t you then be stepping outside of your comfort zone and writing something totally different that you may not have ever tried?
Maybe you typically write contemporary but have always wanted to write historical. Sit down and let your imagination run wild with some ideas and just free write out that historical scene.
Or perhaps urban fantasy is more your cup of tea but you haven’t actually ever tried it before. Seize that moment! Sit down, open your mind, and let those fingers fly on the keyboard.
Don’t be afraid to try something new. What have you got to lose? You never know when you might discover your hidden talent for a new genre. And, after all, you never have to let you critique partners see it.
Happy creating!
Michelle Miles writes sexy contemporaries and is a member of Romance Writers of America. You can learn more about her books at www.michellemiles.net.
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Selena asks: Thinking about comfort zones…I’ve been stepping out of mine lately. Leaping is more like it. But more about that another day. How about you, faithful readers? Have you stepped outside of your comfort zone recently?
