By: Donna W.
Hill
After several
decades of observing and writing about my fellow inhabitants of Planet Earth, I
can’t recall ever thinking that anyone didn’t have a story to tell. Whether it
is the true account of your life’s journey, your perspectives on the world or a
fictional tale, everyone has something unique that could be captured through
the written word.
Writing
Roadblocks
Why then, do so
few write? There are many reasons; from the profoundly sad belief that they
have nothing to offer to the absurdly arrogant notion that their story is so
special that someone else should be writing it, excuses abound. Two things,
however, stand out as a plague impacting most would-be writers:
- they don’t recognize the importance of deliberate and protracted empathetic thought.
- they haven’t incorporated the respect for and the process of editing.
Time Away
From the Computer: The Benefits of Thinking
When J.K Rowling
came up with the idea for the Harry Potter series, she was on
a train without pen and paper. She has often said that this was a blessing,
because she spent the time thinking through the story.
Thought is a far
more efficient method of testing plot lines and character attributes than
writing them down. Making snap decisions about a character’s background,
without walking in that character’s shoes along the paths which led to the
story at hand, leaves the writer with less information about the story.
While the
fingers are poised above the keyboard or curled around a pen, questions that
arise about the things necessary to carry out a given plot are often brushed to
the back of the mind. However, they can be explored in the imagination to
their logical conclusion. This exploration is the bedrock of creative writing.
It also has its
place in nonfiction. Thinking about a story can uncover underlying assumptions
that need clarification and other issues which will ultimately lead to a more
interesting, more informative piece. So, take a walk. The imagination is freer
to wonder around when the body is as well.
Editing: the
Heart of Good Writing
. . .
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~*~
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