Passion Projects

Hello friends! Recently on the blog, we talked about how to save your passion project when it goes wrong. So I was curious about YOUR passion projects! What book of yours has most tugged at your heart? Was it easy to write or difficult? Why was it so special to you? Let's talk about it!

Last spring I wrote the first draft of a novella length Western that was by far the most from my heart thing I've written. It was easy to write in the aspect that the words came easily, and I never had to step back from the story to regain perspective. It was difficult to write because of the emotions I had to feel so my MC could feel them in depth.

The basic premise is the accidental shooting of an innocent person, and the aftermath for my MC and the other people involved. Elijah had to deal with his own feelings of guilt, and his frustration and anger towards the person responsible for the accidental shooting, and come to a place where he could forgive and love the guilty one and thus point him to the Heavenly Father's love and forgiveness.

I think the reason it was so easy to write is because it was a topic I had run through my writer's brain many times as I read news stories of 'friendly fire' deaths in Law Enforcement, and wondered how the person who accidentally shot a friend would cope if they didn't have the comfort of the Father's love to help them through. I would pray for those officers, and hope the people near them would give them the support they needed. Because I internalized it so much, when it came time to answer the question for myself how someone could cope with that and still be alright in the end, the words came easily. It helped that Elijah is a character I know well from other stories I've written with him, and it made it harder, because I know him so well it was hard to put such a kind-hearted, caring cowboy through that. But it was worth it, and, I think if Elijah could speak for himself, he would agree. =)

Okay, I love the phrase “passion project”—I usually call it my heart story, but in a way I have two “passion projects” and will only ever have one heart story: O to be Like Thee, my debut novel. I never intended to publish it. It was just the story I wanted to read—and needed to write, although I didn’t really know that then.
Yes, it was easy and yes, it was difficult. It wrote so deceptively easy—I never got stuck writing it. But it shredded my heart. And then slowly put it back together.
It’s so special for so many reasons. It’s the story of an Army medic’s journey from a brand-new soldier to a combat veteran who’s lost guys and learned to trust God, even when his heart is shattered. I can’t just sit down and explain everything, but...that story’s the closest you’ll get to my heart. It’s nothing like my own story and yet somehow it is. I learned to trust God through that story more than I ever dreamed.

You're right, Kassie. You can't explain O To Be Like Thee. It's just one of those books that, when you reach the end, you feel like you know the people personally, and you'll miss them now their story is done. It's one of those stories that really makes you think and feel and process things in your own life as the characters are going through their own trials. And it gives hope, and joy, and such a content feeling at the end. I hope you get another heart story sometime in your writing career, because OTBLT was so good. =) I'm looking forward to Tattered Wings. =)

Oh, and I fully intended to write a review on OTBLT when I finished it, but I just wanted to bask in the feeling of having read a really good book for a while. By the time I was ready to write, I didn't remember enough to review on it. But as you can see I can still remember the feeling it gave me. So OTBLT is on my list for a reading challenge, to fill the category of "re-read" so I can review it. Thank you for pouring your heart into that story then sharing it with the world. =)

Hmm, that was a little off-topic from the original post. I'll remedy that. It sounds like your "Heart Story" process was similar to mine--very easy to write, but not easy to experience. But we wouldn't have it any other way, because those are the stories that speak loudest to the readers. =)

Wow, guys! Loved reading your responses!
@kassieangle I really like how you called it a "heart story". Such a sweet term. Honestly have to start using that too, lol!
Both of your books sound amazing. Thanks for sharing!

Here are some of my passion projects that have "gone wrong"! (I listed some in the blog post and I'll get into that a bit here, too). If you're wondering why I chose to share the passion projects that have had difficulties, it is because I have so many "heart stories" as Kassie calls them, that I thought I'd focus on the ones that pertain to the blog post, lol. It's good to be transparent too, and I want to share the good and the not-so-great of author life with y'all.

MASK: Been working on this off and on for two years. It's a medieval-inspired drama-comedy with an allegorical twist. It deals with mental health, depression, and suicidal struggles in an allegorical way. The main character is pretty much a nobody, but she's trying to save the kingdom from a subtle overthrow of the Crows-- ancestors of plague victims who were ostracized years ago. There is a lot of symbolism and, while it sounds very dark, there's honestly a good bit of humor intertwined as well. This one is very close to my heart, but I'm not personally ready to write it yet.

BEATRIX: (No Title, that's just her name). I started this series back when I was (don't laugh), fourteen, and it was basically my love for Anne of Green Gables spilling over into a strange mashup of inspirations set in Alaska. It never was quite right, but I adored the seed of the story that was there, and over the years it has morphed into the story of a young girl Beatrix in turn-of-the-century Alabama. It's a coming-of-age series, but with a different take-- handles a lot of "current issues" of the time that actually aren't too uncommon to us today. It's kind of a dark, gentlemanly comedy, with a lot of soul in it. If I could explain it, I'd say imagine a thunderstorm in the summer when the flowers are overly sweet and everything is dripping with raindrops and the air is becoming heavy with the heat returning. I haven't written on this much recently because I need to organize a lot of notes, research, and so on before I am capable of writing it.

TWO FACED MAN: This is a completed novel I wrote at eighteen, but it needs a major overhaul. It is about a Japanese American young man in WWII whose only dream is to get into Major League Baseball. Instead, the War interrupts his entire life, and he has to address his culture-- who is he, really? If you're not familiar with Japanese American history in WWII, it covers a lot of that, as well as the concept of being a cross-culture kid. I liked the book when I finished it, but it needs a major rewrite because I didn't portray a lot of things correctly at the time (with my limited knowledge haha), and I also have experienced more as a third culture kid myself now, which I can use to make the story much more effective.

THE MUSIC MACHINE: This is a completed short story now (You can read it for free here: https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/177803667/write/828920868), I had the first elusive idea probably when I was sixteen or so, but the rest of the story never came to me, no matter how often I thought about it. I finally wrote it just a month or so ago. It's a light, silly, sweet little story, and most probably wouldn't think much of it, but I honestly love it so much. This is the story that taught me sometimes passion projects might not be overly deep... they might just be impactful in subtle, quiet ways like this one. I don't think I'll ever forget my little music machine world.

REVOLUTIONARY SISTERS: (No Title, it's been through so many at this point, lol!). This is probably my biggest passion project, and it's been the one I've anguished over the most, haha! It's been through so many rewrites, title changes, and so on, that I don't know what it will finally end up being like. This one feels like it shouldn't be so hard to finish, because I'm well-studied in the Revolutionary War, I've done an incredible amount of research for this book, and the topics are ones I've been passionate about for some time. However, it is what it is! It is the story of seven sisters and their widowed mother as they go through the turmoil of the war as well as their own personal struggles. The book covers a variety of topics from the main character, a midwife's point of view, and it's a story balanced between deep subjects/war and family bonds.

A WORLD UPSIDE DOWN: This is a passion project from about a year and a half ago, but it's one I've come across some "gone wrong" moments with already-- it's been very vague and a little hard to pinpoint. It is the story of the children of an officer who has shown himself to be a friend with the enemy during WW1. In order to avoid the turmoil of dealing with the scandal in London, they move to a rural cottage on the edge of the sea. The novel covers the idea of a world turning upside down-- physically, mentally, and emotionally, and deals with topics such as silence, being alone, and confusion/doubting yourself. There's some wartime mystery involved, as well as some British country life.


And there are some of my passion projects that have "gone wrong" haha! I'm determined to finish them all someday!

I just read The Music Machine--it's so quirky and fun and has so much potential. =D I really enjoyed it. I also really liked Then Colors. You have such a way of using a few words to paint a full, lyrical picture. Thanks for sharing.

I'd say that's a lot of projects waiting to be completed, but if I look at my own list... Normal for writer's, right? =D

@Liberty Haha, totally. I don't know if I've met many authors without a bunch of projects, lol. You're right though-- I have years worth of work

Also, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the stories.

Vanished for a bit and missed some of this conversation...life is crazy... XP
@Victoria Aww, thanks!! I think the term’s probably derived from younger me obsessively reading “Alone Yet Not Alone,” where they always talked about “the song in your heart,” and I just translated that into stories...? AND PLEASE FINISH YOUR STORY ABOUT THE JAPANESE AMERICAN!!! Andddd...when you need beta readers track me down...
And @Liberty, you have no idea how encouraging that was to read...just running across basically a stranger (I mean, I’ve seen you around and where you followed my blog and things but still) who’s read my story and taken it so to heart and...yeah. <33 Also that’s basically the same exact way I feel about my characters and I don’t think I could’ve expressed it so well. (Who was your favorite, can I ask?) Let me know when you get the review written, I’d love to read it. And hey, don’t hope for me another heart story because I don’t ever want to replace OTBLT.

Kassie, thanks for the encouragement! I'll remember you for beta-readers. *wink wink*.