The following are the words of Liz Reeder, Archway Publishing author of  “51: The Beginning.” For more information on Liz, visit her website or find her on Facebook and Twitter.  Download the Archway Publishing free publishing guide for more information on our supported self-publishing services.

From Hating Writing to Author

I was never a writer. Growing up I hated to write. When I was in school I would write the least amount possible to still get an A on the assignment I had been given. That all changed in September of 2016.

In September of 2016, I was struggling with chronic illness and pain. I needed to find something I could do to distract myself from what was happening and feel productive again. That is when I had the idea for my first book, which I wrote in under three weeks. When I finished that book, I felt like it wasn’t done. That led to me writing a five book series in under eleven months.

Breaking Rules

When I say I am an unconventional writer, I mean that in every possible way. I didn’t like to write, I only had a basic idea of what I wanted the book to be about, I had no outline or even characters before I started and I had no idea how the series would end until I was writing the last book. I broke every rule I was ever taught in school on how to write successfully and for me, it works.

My Unique Writing Style

When I write, the only thing I work at creating is the first sentence. When that sentence is done, I simply move to the next, then the next. As I do this, things flow naturally for me. When I get to a point where I am introducing a new character and in my case sometime creature, I pause and think of what that needs to be. Sometimes that pause can be less than a minute and other times it can be hours or even days.

Using this unorthodox method has allowed me to expand on my characters in ways that were not expected. One character who was originally planned to be a very minor became a very important part of the story in the entire series. This would not have happened if I wrote in a traditional way.

The methods that I use are definitely not for everyone. They work for me. If you have an idea that you are passionate about, and the thought of sitting down and trying to write the conventional method is daunting, then try the unconventional. Everyone is different. What works for one person, will not work for another. Sometimes the unconventional way is best for the unconventional writer.

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