Kelli's Quill
By Kelli A. Wilkins
Exploring the Writing/Gardening Connection
Hi everyone,
Spring is finally here, and if you’re an avid gardener like me, you can’t wait to start planting. The minute the weather warms up, I’m outside as often as I can be. I love spending time in my yard, whether I’m puttering in my garden, reading a book under a tree, or writing a novel.
Yes, I’m an author, and one of the ways I decompress after working on my writing is to tend to my flower garden. I find it relaxes me and lets me contemplate ideas, work through storylines, and sets my creative mind free. (In fact, I’ve written most of my books while sitting outside.)
One day after working in the yard last year, I stood back and took a look at my handiwork. I had just finished pruning my lilacs and weeding a huge flowerbed. I was exhausted, but everything seemed to be glowing and vibrating with a renewed energy. The yard looked better and felt better.
I always feel bad about cutting back the lilacs, but then I thought, “The pruning needs to be done; otherwise everything gets overgrown and suffocated.” Then it dawned on me that I’ve been doing the same thing with my writing—pruning and weeding what’s long overgrown.
For the last few years I’ve been in a cycle of re-releasing several of my romance novels. (The original publishers are out of business.) I rediscovered the stories and characters after being away from them for years. Each book was revised, re-edited, and in some cases, parts were completely rewritten.
I deleted scenes that no longer worked, added new scenes, and gave each story a pruning—of dialogue tags, excess words, too many exclamation points, and yanked other “writing weeds” that needed pulling from these “story gardens.” As a result, the books are stronger and better than ever.
If you’re editing a short story or a novel, ask yourself, “What is necessary to this scene? What can I cut?” You might be surprised to find that tightening a scene or a chapter makes it stronger and helps the story flourish in the long run.
But I’m not stopping my “pruning” process with my books. I’ve also weeded out other things in my writing world that needed to go—old market guidelines, bits and pieces of story ideas, short romance stories that never went anywhere… the list goes on. I’ve sorted through about a hundred folders and recycled bins full of paper. And I’ve extended this “pruning” to my electronic world by deleting unnecessary files and updating my blog, social media pages, and website.
It’s refreshing to have less “stuff” to maintain. Now I have a clearer path to what I want to work on next, and I’m not bogged down with clutter or overwhelmed by “writing weeds.”
Each spring, I ask myself a few questions about my flowerbeds: What do I want to plant? Where? What died off over the winter that needs to be replaced? I’m asking these types of questions about my writing life too, wondering: What do I want to write next? What are the top five stories I feel I “must” write? Have I really given up writing romances forever?
I don’t have all the answers yet, but I’ll sit in the garden and think about them! Enjoy the spring weather.
© 2023 Kelli A. Wilkins All Rights Reserved
Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20+ romance novels, 7 non-fiction books, and 5 horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror stories. Visit her website/blog for a full title list and social media links. www.KelliWilkins.com
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