I decided I was going to write a book about my life when I was twelve, and started writing it when I was twenty five. I continued working on it, on and off, for over two decades. As the years passed I occasionally plugged away at my memoir but it always felt like something was missing.
I'd always been an avid reader and thought that my appreciation of good writing would translate into my creating good writing. Like many writers, I was optimistic but naive. Then about a year and a half ago I found some great writers' sites and began what was to become my actual memoir. Until then I thought I was writing, but I was wrong. I'd been journaling, venting, creating very long masters level term papers which I thought I'd eventually string together, and basically regurgitating facts onto paper, but I wasn't writing.
For me, real writing involves two levels of creativity. One level is emotional. I have to be able to go into emotional places that aren't normally laid raw and write about things that wouldn't normally be considered socially acceptable to discuss in most circumstances, and get into what I call my zone. When this happens for me, the world is blocked out and I forget that I'm typing on a keyboard. I get into my feelings and become completely focused on conveying those feelings in concrete words. This feels great because I'm getting a high like the endorphin rush athletes feel when they get into their zones. This is the art of writing.
The other level is a more intellectual one. This involves the actual craft of writing, where I'm considering sentence structure, punctuation, story arc, character development, and other technical aspects of writing. It also includes learning about audiences, marketing, and the business aspects of writing and publishing. If I don't have these elements in place, no agent or publisher is going to take me seriously because no matter how poignant my feelings are or brilliant my thoughts are I'm going to look like a hack.
It took me a while but I'm thankful for finally discovering what works for me. Every writer's processes are unique to them. The important thing is to find what works for you, and go for it.
Monday, September 22, 2008
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4 comments:
I am going to totally capitalize on knowing you when you're famous. Just so you know.
I'm a die hard fan of your writing. I'm going to yell at my parents for not giving me enough material for a good memoir. Very inconsiderate of them.
The emotional level is difficult. The thing that makes a story compelling, I think, is the emotional truth of it. If we don't get that down on paper, then we aren't doing our jobs.
Journals and whatnot make a great base for our stories and for triggering our memories.
Wow, your words resonate! The transition from "in the head" academic writing where you have to prove, cite and defend every statement to "heart and soul" writing is not an easy one. What sites sparked your insight and enabled your transition?
Hi Riter, it's nice to see you here. This is what I've learned since writing this post: I need to let myself go more and write more from my heart than my brain. Learning the technical aspects of writing has been easy for me because academia always has been, but releasing myself to allow my creativity full expression is a lot harder. My blocks are a combination of decades of clinical training as a therapist, and even more decades of being a people pleaser and "good girl." So, to answer your question, it's a ongoing process. I am very encouraged by the feedback I've gotten about my book, but I'm going to pause my querying for now and make it even better before continuing. Thanks for vbisiting and I hope you come back soon! (Did you read the Howard Dully interview? He's quite a guy!)
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