It’s easy for writers to look at what’s selling and what’s winning awards and decide to try and do something similar. The hard part is when you sit down to start writing that story and find that the words won’t come.

It all comes down to what you’re interested in. If you have no interest in writing romantasy, then diving into a steamy scene involving elves and men might leave you cringing.

I’ve tried writing things I’m not interested in because they’re “commercial”, and lately I’ve been focusing on writing what I’m interested in. Below, I share my experiences of both, but as you can probably guess from the title of this article, I’ve found the latter experience a more satisfying and fruitful one. 

Let me begin by explaining how you find what interests you.

Paying Attention To What Sticks In Your Head

We’re assaulted by masses of information every day. Each time we open our phones we get hit by ads, social media posts, news articles, videos, podcasts… I could go on. We only retain a small amount of that. Studies have shown that we generally retain just 10-20% of the information we took in a week before. 

When something sticks in your head, it shows there’s some kind of interest there. A curiosity waiting to be explored. For me, I sometimes get names stuck in my head. Timothy Lozenge is one such name, and I ended up writing a short story about him. Other times I may get scenes stuck in my head.

In the case of my new novella, Together We Rise, I found I was growing more and more frustrated with the state of the world. I’d lament and rage against injustices and unfairness and grow excited at seeing others rise up in opposition. I consume a lot of this content, and found writing a story about it the perfect way to channel all those thoughts and feelings.

But that was just one part of the equation. I knew what I wanted to write about, but I needed ideas to tell the story in a unique and interesting way. 

Bringing Different Ideas Together

You may have experienced this before—coming up with an idea that excites you and that you feel has lots of potential, but it isn’t complete. I discuss this more in the section below, but when you explore an idea, you may see a way through to the end. Sometimes you don’t. 

It’s important not to discard those incomplete ideas. It just means that you don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle yet. 

Plenty of times in my writing career I’ve found pieces, kept them, and weeks or sometimes months later, the other parts emerge. It’s very satisfying to bring them all together like that. 

It’s what happened with Together We Rise. To help me write my current work-in-progress set in the same fantasy world, I’d taken a large chunk of an earlier, unedited novel and used it, leaving the other strand of the story. It was my favourite bit, but I didn’t know what to do with it. 

As time went on, I grew fed up with writing long fiction and decided I wanted to write something that was interesting to me at the time. And then it all clicked into place and Together We Rise was born. 

So in short, be a hoarder of ideas. Note down everything. Discard nothing. And once in a while, sit down and see if you can make literary jigsaws with what you have. 

Interrogating Concepts And Plans

Sticking with the subject of ideas, an important question to ask yourself is whether the pieces actually fit. Does your story have legs? Can you provide a satisfying conclusion? 

This is a problem I run into all the time. I come up with ideas which develop as far as being concepts. By this I mean I can’t figure out a satisfying end, and without an end it’s not a story. Just a concept. An idea. So before you start writing in your state of glee, take a step back and properly think about the idea. Try and play it all out, from start to finish. You don’t need to nail it all down, but can you see some kind of satisfying resolution? 

If you’re a pantser, then you just have to charge head-first into the breach and figure it out along the way. 

If you’re someone with limited time, like myself, then you may find the idea interrogation process much better. It means you’ll be better able to complete a project and not get derailed halfway for a lack of developmental options. 

The Benefits Of Writing About What You’re Interested In

As someone who’s tried writing commercially and also what I’m interested in, I’ve noticed a few perks to the latter. Here’s a breakdown:

• You may find it easier to get into your flow – when you’re interested in a subject, you’re generally more knowledgeable about it and more enthusiastic about talking about it. This can make it a lot easier to get into a good flow of writing.
• It doesn’t feel like a chore – perhaps the biggest perk is that you want to read the story you’re writing and find out what happens. That means you’re less likely to procrastinate and more likely to find the time to devote to the project. 
• The reader can vibe off your love of the subject – there’s nothing more inspiring than seeing someone talk about a subject they’re passionate about. It’s their enthusiasm and passion which makes the experience much better, so channelling this into your writing can help elevate the story.

What’s The Counter Argument?

It’s not balanced unless the counterargument is considered. 

The biggest downside to writing about what interests you is that it might not interest many other people. If you’re into the art of bonsai, for instance, channelling that into a commercially successful novel may be tough. But people said that about chess and the Queen’s Gambit, and that was a roaring success. 

It all comes down to what your objective is. Do you want to make lots of money from your writing? If so, you may have to stick closer to commercially successful books rather than write about your passions.

For me, with Together We Rise, I put my passions and interests first and I’ve loved every step of the journey. And I’m even more excited to share it with the world and get it out there. With that energy fuelling me, hopefully, it’ll make it more of a success than my other books.

My counter-argument to the counter-argument is to not listen to anyone else and write what you want. It’s why many of us do it in the first place because it makes us happy and fulfilled. 

About Richie Billing

Richie Billing writes all kinds of stories, but mostly fantasy fiction. His tales often explore real-world issues, zooming in on the characters and their troubles.

His short fiction has been widely published, with one story adapted for BBC radio.

His debut novel, Pariah’s Lament, was published by Of Metal and Magic Publishing in March 2021. 

Richie also hosts the podcast The Fantasy Writers’ Toolshed, a venture inspired by the requests of readers of his acclaimed craft book, A Fantasy Writers’ Handbook.

When not writing, Richie works as an editor and digital marketer and teaches creative writing both online and in his home city of Liverpool.

Most nights you can find him up into the early hours scribbling away or watching the NBA.

To learn more, head to www.richiebilling.com