Friday, June 22, 2018

Why Do You Write?


I love these group topics. They always make me think. This one is -
Why do you write or feel compelled to write even through the difficult parts?
And that’s where I am right now in my latest book.

It’s an interesting topic and can be taken a few ways. Why do I write or feel compelled to write? It’s something I’ve done all my life. When I wasn’t writing novels I wrote descriptions, plotted out stories, wrote whatever. It’s fun, it’s a challenge, and it’s what I do. Why do I feel compelled to write through the difficult parts?

I don’t give up. The options are to write through the difficult part or don’t finish the story. Can you imagine how many partially written books I’d have if I stopped whenever it got difficult? That’s one reason. The other reason to write through the difficult part is for the reader. If I don’t write through the difficult part it’s not going to be the best story I can write and the reader might feel cheated.

As I said at the beginning, that’s where I am now. I have finished my WIP but those difficult parts? I highlighted the sections in red when I was writing and skipped over them. Now I have to go back through the story and write in those red sections; describing a sharp shooter taking a shot from about two blocks away through a window; dropping in characteristics and common traits of a serial killer and fleshing out the paranormal aspects of the story. I have no choice. I have to write in all those difficult parts or the story won’t be that good.

I’m not sure if I answered the question, but I’m off to see what everyone else had to say and then back to writing through the difficult parts.

Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com

15 comments:

  1. Thank you, Beverley, for allowing a peek into your writing strategies. And, you know, if there weren't difficult bits to challenge us, writing wouldn't be as fun. Too easy is boring.
    :)
    Bob

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  2. Thanks, Bob. and you're right about the difficult bits. They also often teach us something as we work through the challenge.

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  3. Finishing the draft, then going back to 'fix' the hard bits is definitely what wouldn't work for me, but you are not the only author who vouch for that strategy. If anything, it gets the story finished. When I get stuck, I need to go back to the beginning, again and again, and again, because there is usually something that isn't working and that should be changed. That's why it takes me so long to finish a story!

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    1. And that certainly wouldn't work for me. I'd go crazy. But every writer has their own way of working through to the finish. Thanks for dropping by.

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  4. Hi Beverley, I really get this. Finish the story and then flesh out what needs attention. sometimes in finishing, you can have avoided the need for fine detail, too. win-Win. Anne Stenhouse

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  5. You answered the question for you, which is very similar to what I do.

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  6. I like your idea of marking a section in red, moving on and then going back to it. I've used asterisks and white space to denote an area I was having problems with. When I'm in the flow of writing, I don't want to have to stop and iron out the problems. If they won't work out as I would like, I take a break. It's a bit like hitting your head against a brick wall - it doesn't hurt when you stop.

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  7. That's why I use the red - so I don't have to stop and research or figure it out. I can come back later when I'm not in the flow.

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  8. I always stop and figure it out. LOL Then I'm distracted by all of the cool research. LOL In the end, it all works out, of course. Or I like to think it all works out.

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  9. I can't do things your way. I have to write in a linear fashion. If I left a part blank, I'd never be able to move on ahead. Instead, if I'm stuck on something, I mull it over for as long as it takes for a solution to present itself. Sometimes it does so in an actual dream, then I leap out of bed in the morning, to rush to my laptop. Eureka! LOL.

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