Writing in Flashes (1) - Peace Be With You

There are so many little things that happen around me that make me smile or even laugh out loud. Sometimes they happen so quickly and the day is so packed with things to do I forget to write them down. This is the first of what I hope will become a regular list:

Peace Be With You

Harry went to church every Sunday. He was sitting in the last row, contemplating life in general when the man seated right behind him sneezed not once, but seven times! Naturally, Harry couldn't resist turning his head to see if the man used a handkerchief. He didn't. You may be wondering why Harry was so worried...well...Harry lived in Italy, and during mass, when the celebration reached the 'peace be with you' part, people didn't just say the words, they shook hands: there was a method to Harry's madness. When the time came, Harry was the only one seated in the row before his fellow church goer and short of being rude, Harry had to turn round and shake hands.

Luckily for Harry, the row in front of his was filled with people eager to do the same.

Overcoming Fear

In his book The Courage To Write, Ralph Keyes deals with the many kinds of fears writers have to face, whether they're at the beginning of their journey or already published. He also discusses the problem of our internal editor, which often has the voice of a parent, relative or teacher etc....someone who influenced us negatively as children. If you haven't read this book, I recommend it. I return to it each time I feel like the fear is suffocating me.

Many published authors I've read about say these kinds of fears never leave them, but they use the fear and anxiety to help them write well. I know this sounds like a paradox, but it's true. I've found I have to accept to live with this fear all my life if I want to write. Once I begin to accept it, it seems less menacing somehow. I have to start writing my next novel and can hear myself say, "Hello, fear, my old friend," when I sit at my laptop to work on my new story.

Keyes says writers who had people putting them down as children actually make some of the best writers around...because they're pushed to prove they can do it to make those people eat their heart out. (Though people who had supportive families as children make wonderful writers, too).

I go through so many kinds of fears during the writing process. Right now it's my 'Will I ever find an agent?' phase. But I hang in there and keep writing. Even if I have doubts. When I go back with a fresh eye and with a gag in my internal editor's mouth I realize there might be some gold in there if I polish hard enough.

When Email Is An Inspiration...To Write

When I look at the blank page of a Word document, I get writing jitters. Not so when I look at a blank email. Wierd, but true. If I'm stuck during a writing project, instead of writing in a Word file, I pretend I'm writing an email to one of my critique partners, (I have a couple I trust), telling them what's going to happen next.

Perhaps it's because I know there's someone on the other side who is going to care enough to read what I write. I know we write primarily for ourselves, but I wouldn't be honest with myself if I didn't admit I want people to read my work. Writing for my critique partners as well as for my own satisfaction and pleasure, helps me get past the doubts and fears that no one is ever going to want to read my story and get on with the job at hand.

I've also discovered a new use for emails in the rewriting process. For some reason, even after I've gone over a rewritten chapter a dozen times, when I paste it in an email and enlarge the character to Times New Roman 14, double spaced lines, editing and proofreading errors I hadn't noticed before stand out.

I fix these errors, send the chapter to my critique partners and wait for feedback. I sift through their comments and decide on what to fix, (they're usually right about a lot of things), print out the chapter and read it out loud. This is the last time I'll look at it, for the moment.

When I finish rewriting the whole novel, by the end of June if I stick to my schedule, I know I'll have to step away from it for a couple of weeks and then read it through at one go one last time.

The funny thing is, I don't feel any more confident about writing my next story than I was about writing the one I'm working on at present. For a writer, I imagine that's healthy. It means I approach my craft with the respect it deserves. One thing that spurs me on more than before is that I have proved to myself I can write a book from start to finish and also complete a thorough rewrite. That ought to count for something.

The steps of the Hero's journey and the three-act structure helped me build a plot before. I'm positive they'll help me again. I'm a compulsive planner and though I don't write a complete outline all at once, I like to write an outline of each step before I write it. This way, there's still the mystery of what's going to happen next and a safety net should I get stuck on what I need to write at present.