Don’t Wait For Heroes by Marilyn Brant

Don’t Wait for Heroes ~ by Marilyn Brant (RWA-WF blog)

“I’ve got my dreams. I know you think that’s crazy. But I won’t give up, ‘cause I’ve got this burning desire in me…” ~ Dennis DeYoung

Like a lot of music lovers, sometimes I get a song stuck in my head and days/weeks go by and, still, I’m unable to change the tune. Throughout this month, Dennis DeYoung’s “Don’t Wait for Heroes” has been featured heavily on my mental radio station. Part of the reason is that I’m going to see DeYoung (of Styx fame) in concert soon. Very excited! The husbands of two of my best friends play for fun in a band called The Mojo Daddies and their group is opening for him this weekend at a college just outside of Chicago. So, I’ve been listening to some of my favorites of his, watching old music videos and getting sentimental about ‘80s pop songs. Hardly unusual for me.

But I noticed there was something different about this particular melody. Every time I thought about writing this post for our RWA-WF chapter blog, it was as if someone turned up the volume on the song in my head. I kept trying to figure out what it was, exactly, that made me think of it so often. What it might be about these lyrics that made them feel so applicable to women’s fiction writers.

“While the world sleeps, I sit up all night thinking and making my plans, ‘cause there’s something special ahead for me…”

I suspect it had to do with a discussion that was taking place on the loop a few weeks ago about what makes a story distinctively women’s fiction. How unusual or extraordinary our protagonist’s journey ought to be versus how much of an “Everywoman” she should be so we could all relate to her. And I remember thinking that the women’s fiction stories that resonated most for me involved women whose lives were, in many ways, like mine, but their circumstances conspired to make them act more heroically than I typically had to. They might wish for some hero to come in and fix it all or, at least, make things easier, but they didn’t have the option of waiting for anyone else to do the job. If they were lucky, they might have family, friends, lovers, husbands or a community to lean on but, still, these heroines needed to tap into what was most unique about themselves and find the strength to fight whatever battle they had to face. It wasn’t going to be easy but, at some point, they were determined to do it.

“So don’t you tell me that I’m wasting my time, ruining my life, and that the odds against me are a million-to-one, don’t be concerned…”

And I couldn’t escape the further connection that, for me, this is exactly what it feels like to face the writer’s life. There are no shortcuts to this publishing game. There’s no white-knight agent or editor who’s going to come along—at least not until we’re ready to play seriously on this field. Until we know ourselves. We know our voice. We know we have something we’re passionate about exploring in a story. And, to get to that point, we need to do a lot of work that no one else can do for us. Having a fabulous community, a brilliant critique partner or a supportive spouse are all priceless blessings but, ultimately, we each need to go on a women’s-fiction-like journey and tap into what’s most unique about ourselves as writers.

“If you’re waiting for that miracle train to call out your name, and if you think the rainbow always finds someone else, never yourself. Just look inside and find that spark that’s burning in you, follow it through. The light you find, well, it could change your life…”

Like our story heroines, bravery is (unfortunately) required of us, along with a list of other traits that frequently make me want to race back to bed, pull the covers up over my head and hide. But, if we’re to find our niche in the women’s fiction market, get published and stay published, we need to make peace with the necessity of courage and persistence. We also need to have a passion for learning writing craft, accept that patience will be required of us daily, develop the skill of flexibility, understand the certainty of change and deal with the fear of the unknown, the reality of failure and the surprising panic of success.

“Don’t wait for heroes. Believe in yourself, you’ve got the power. Winners are losers who got up and gave it just one more try…”

But, unlike our daring protagonists, we get to go one step further: We have the privilege of continuing our journey long after our characters have ended theirs. So, if at first we don’t succeed, we have the opportunity to get up and give it one more try. Or one hundred more—if that’s what it takes.

Yes, really. Who’s gonna stop us?

 Marilyn Brant is the award-winning women’s fiction author of ACCORDING TO JANE (2009), FRIDAY MORNINGS AT NINE (2010) and A SUMMER IN EUROPE (coming 11-29-11), all from Kensington Books. She’s been a classroom teacher, library staff member, freelance writer and national book reviewer. Her debut novel won a number of awards including the Golden Heart, Single Titles Reviewers’ Choice, Booksellers’ Best and Aspen Gold Reader’s Choice, and her second book was selected as a featured alternate for the Doubleday Book Club and the Book-of-the-Month Club. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and son, surrounded by towers of books that often threaten to topple over and crush her. Visit her online at: www.MarilynBrant.com.

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