Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled "This could change your
life." -Helen Exley
*******
At the end of last week I had an eighth grade student come in and interview me--as a writer. One of the questions he asked me was "What is your favorite part of writing?" I wasnt' exactly sure how to answer this without resorting to inappropriate metaphors like "the high I get when the story is pushing forward" or "the europhoria of finding the right word, of focusing my mind so tight that I am no longer even aware of myself--kind of like what happens with really good sex."
But of course, I couldn't say any of that to an eighth grade boy, so I settled for something like "When I am immersed in writing, I love the way it feels like I am using more of my mind than at any other time."
So what it YOUR favorite part of writing? And go ahead, make the metaphor as racy as you want.
3 comments:
Sarah;
I could say my favorite part is when the mailman brings the check, but that's not even close to true.
For me, it's the entire process, from the idea to the completed piece. It's like a journey, where the idea is planning the trip and the ending is the arrival. It's the in between that's rewarding.
I strive for "0" passive sentences. I'm still not 100% sure what makes one passive and the other not, like when using "was." I enjoy re-working the sentence to eliminate passive verbs as well as tweeking to find the right word, although if we tried to find the one perfect word, we'd never get anything finished. It's the word-painting that takes a reader on an adventure without leaving his favorite chair or maybe gets him out of his chair and outside doing.
The other thing I like is when I touch someone and they let me know. Following the publication of one of my columns, I had an older gentleman send me a copy of his hunting license purchased from "The Flowing Well" in 1950. He also told me about how anglers used to park in their drive on opening day of trout season and how he never sees anyone fishing the creek any more. That kind of stuff. But I write almost entirely essays. It must be different, but similar, for novelists.
Yeah, I think it would be pretty cool to hear from readers. That's part of why I like my small writing group. Passive and active, I'm always working on that as well. But I'm trying not to right now. Right now I'm trying to write without worrying about anything. Just write. Rough draft. Shitty copy. Just write. Write, Sarah, write!
Yup. Been there too. Get the thoughts down as quickly as possible; revisions, word choices, etc. can come later.
I have a few odd characters to draw from in the town where I grew up. Frank wore a coat,tie and vest and WWI lace-up boots every day as far as I know, no matter what the weather--even in August.
Al taught more kids to fish than anyone in town. He was a disabled WWII vet and couldn't work. He walked like he might have taken shrapnel in his legs or possibly his back. He had sort of an Indian Joe look about him and he kind of scared us just a little. He could be gruff and not very patient, but he knew the river and how to fish. I know he'll show up in one of my growing up pieces.
Keep writing.
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