Writing: What a Novice Idea

                                                     Photo by Hannah Jacobson on Unsplash

People claim to be writers if they write one short story and call it a day. Being a writer is not  for the faint of heart.Being a writer means putting your heart on the page and leaving it wide open for others to judge it. It means thousands of hours poured onto the page, it means long stretches at the computer or notebook, it means opening yourself up to ridicule, loathing, and by all means stalkers, haters, and other mentally challenged people. Being a writer means being ready to write then be attacked for it!

Writers are mothers, fathers, sisters, accountants, teachers (honestly they probably have some of the best stories around ), doctors, auto repair people, you name it and that person you think is shy, full of life, quiet, loud, and everything else, yep they are a writer. Writers are all sorts of people. They have full time, part time,  they work overnight, work 12 hour shifts. There is no physical description for a writer. They look like everyone you know.

A novice idea would be to start writing, but do you know what makes a good character, a good story line, a good novel, or a good book? Probably not. You think " Well if so and so can do it, so can I." Problem is so in so probably has been at it for years without you knowing all the hours that they put into their book with research, interviews, and other items. Perhaps maps were reviewed, perhaps countries were studied; no matter what you read, you have no idea of the hard work that is behind a book. I am not saying all authors do this, but I do know a ton who do, and they are the people whose books I just adore. 

Writers spend a lot of time along, but also a lot of time in some public space like a coffee shop. It allows a mind to fill in the gaps. Say a lady about 25-30 walks into a place and is crying. She orders her coffee, sits, and the tears are silently falling. You do not know her life, but you can fill it in. She had a fight it was with her boyfriend, no her mother, perhaps she lost her job, or perhaps she found out she is pregnant and does not want to be because she lost her boyfriend and job. You see a character and you can fill in the gaps of her life. You can do this with anyone you see briefly and it allows you to fill in your writing gaps as well. You do not want to write she lived in a house. As a writer you want more. You want to move from a novice to a more deeply rooted writer. Your story needs to convey heart and warmth. It needs details to allow the reader to feel for this character. They may hate her/him or they may be rooting for the character. Either way your writing will lead them there.

Being a writer is like writing a map. You can place the houses, the people, their lives, and their connections in the map. You can make them go north to a new job or south to an ex lover. You hold the map and their lives in your hand. You need to move past being a novice writer and into the depth of filling in the gaps that need constant attention. How do they get from point A to B? How do they talk to each other, with slang, dialect, or in a way that only their friends understand. As a writer you can write the map, you can hold these characters you create in your hands and guide them into whatever you want. Move past being a novice, take a writing class, buy some writing books, attend a literary convention, but learn to delve deep and build your map in the way that you see fit. If you get stuck consider some research. Consider stopping your writing and read. Find something fun to read. It always helps my mind unwind from anything I am stuck with.

Till next time,
KEEP WRITING
xo
Debbie