And they lived…
Why can’t we use the term, “Happily ever after” anymore?
My writing style is a little different from most. You know how your English teacher would give
you all of these guidelines that you had to follow for each paper you
wrote? How many paragraphs, what had to
be in each one, etc.? Don’t get me
wrong, I can do that kind of writing (though it is not as enjoyable to
me). But it mostly stifles my
creativity! Writing and following an
outline does the same thing to me. So
hence, my novels have but a wee bit of ideas scribbled down in place of a
formal outline.
So the secret is out.
I usually don’t know what the ending to my story will be until I get to
it! In fact, most of my writing flows to
a certain extent, and the storyline unravels as I write. I love the feeling that I get when I feel that
I just can’t type fast enough as the ideas come from my mind and flow out my
fingertips. It is during those times
that I am really zoned into the story and the characters literally come alive
in my head. And usually I can picture
them like I would in a movie, and the dialogue just bubbles out.
And then I get stuck and I don’t know where the story is
going to go. This part I don’t enjoy so
much…because then it becomes more like “work”.
At this point I have to consider a few different path possibilities, weigh
the pros and cons, decide how my morals and values should be considered with
each path and ultimately what I’m really trying to accomplish with the
underlying message of the whole book. During
these times it is hard to focus and sometimes I even have to force myself to
set aside some time to try to get back into the groove again. A lot of this time is actually spent with me
reading and rereading what I have already written to get the feel of the
characters again and to hope that something will spark that flow of
uninterrupted inspiration. And quite
honestly, I have been known to offer a prayer or two about the subject matter. Interestingly enough, I knew after each of my
completed novels were finished, that they were written specifically for someone
in my life…and others like them that need to hear the specific message in the book. But I didn’t know that while I was writing
them. So for me, when I’m stuck, after
some coaxing, prodding and some divine intervention, it starts to flow
again.
I don’t know that I would recommend this style of writing,
because consequently I end up having to go back to “fix” things that evolve in
a certain direction that maybe wasn’t intended at the beginning or wouldn’t
make as much sense with what was previously written. But that is all part of how it works for me. I enjoy the challenge (not necessarily in the
“stuck” stage, but before and after in the actual “flow” stages). So unfortunately this means that endings are
really hard for me. If it were up to me,
the story would just continue to be a story and would go on and on. Or it would be nice to just end everything
with “they lived happily ever after”.
But that is not how it works.
Unfortunately. I feel I have to write
to my audience and entertain them, motivate them, make them smile or move them
in some kind of way.
So just for you, I will remain “stuck” until some kind of
inspiration leads me to every detail necessary to tell the story that needs to
be told. And there you have it. It seems like a flawed process, but that is
me. For some reason I always have to do
things the hard way. You’d think I would
learn. But until then, the realness of
the story will have to be enough…and for me that is all the happily ever after
I need!
