B. Roman's Blog: Inspiration From Unexpected Sources - Posts Tagged "creating"
Do You Fall In Love With Your Story?
Some writers are quite transactional and natural story tellers, looking at their work as just that - a project they enjoy but is just an interesting and hopefully profitable venture. But, for some of us, our story is more personal, more intimate, or develops into that over time.
Initially, it’s a love-hate relationship; it frustrates and angers you with its demands, then brings you joy when the intentions you brought to the relationship are realized: seeing the visions in your head transcribed perfectly on the page. Of course, getting there is sometimes a slog.
You have an idea, a premise, an inkling of the characters and conflicts, maybe an outline and some rough scenes. It’s been slow go because you are researching every minor little detail to make the story credible and are drowning in facts, minutia and web links. It’s work. It’s pages and pages of research printed out and scribbled with notes - where does this go, do I need this, do I need more? etc.
But somewhere along the line, as you plug away and add more substance, you begin to fall in love with your story. It doesn’t mean you suddenly think your book is the great American novel or will grab an agent’s attention before it’s even finished. What it means is that you now have to nurture that story, hold it dear, do right by it; It means that you will now protect that story, its pieces and parts, beginning, middle and eventually the ending - make it the best it can be, to represent the best that you are at that moment.
Even though it’s still a hot mess, and you have endless rewrites and edits ahead; even when the scenes are all out of order, the pieces and parts don’t quite fit, and you feel you’ve overestimated your ability to pull off such a complex plot - this is when you stay the course, pour more love into it and vow not to desert it.
It becomes a mantle you wear, and it warms you, envelops you, becomes integral to your consciousness. You allow your characters to grow and “gift” you with their version of the story’s truth, and write an ending you never could have imagined from your left brain.
When you are done with this, your most polished perfect creation to date, you set it aside, exhausted and relieved and content. You offer it up to be published and let it go, set it free to find its niche in the marketplace, like a child you’ve raised with your values and you now have little control over its path ahead.
At last you are able take a breath. Exhilaration builds up, an idea, a premise, a vision takes hold. And with it, there is the promise that your next book will be ever more challenging, more inspired - and more loved.
Initially, it’s a love-hate relationship; it frustrates and angers you with its demands, then brings you joy when the intentions you brought to the relationship are realized: seeing the visions in your head transcribed perfectly on the page. Of course, getting there is sometimes a slog.
You have an idea, a premise, an inkling of the characters and conflicts, maybe an outline and some rough scenes. It’s been slow go because you are researching every minor little detail to make the story credible and are drowning in facts, minutia and web links. It’s work. It’s pages and pages of research printed out and scribbled with notes - where does this go, do I need this, do I need more? etc.
But somewhere along the line, as you plug away and add more substance, you begin to fall in love with your story. It doesn’t mean you suddenly think your book is the great American novel or will grab an agent’s attention before it’s even finished. What it means is that you now have to nurture that story, hold it dear, do right by it; It means that you will now protect that story, its pieces and parts, beginning, middle and eventually the ending - make it the best it can be, to represent the best that you are at that moment.
Even though it’s still a hot mess, and you have endless rewrites and edits ahead; even when the scenes are all out of order, the pieces and parts don’t quite fit, and you feel you’ve overestimated your ability to pull off such a complex plot - this is when you stay the course, pour more love into it and vow not to desert it.
It becomes a mantle you wear, and it warms you, envelops you, becomes integral to your consciousness. You allow your characters to grow and “gift” you with their version of the story’s truth, and write an ending you never could have imagined from your left brain.
When you are done with this, your most polished perfect creation to date, you set it aside, exhausted and relieved and content. You offer it up to be published and let it go, set it free to find its niche in the marketplace, like a child you’ve raised with your values and you now have little control over its path ahead.
At last you are able take a breath. Exhilaration builds up, an idea, a premise, a vision takes hold. And with it, there is the promise that your next book will be ever more challenging, more inspired - and more loved.
Inspiration From Unexpected Sources
Why Did I decide to make David's character deaf? I own a Singer crystal, shaped like a small sailboat, that inspired the Moon Singer trilogy’s first adventure, “The Crystal Clipper.” I found this uniq
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