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| Kissing Beach, Mexico |
…you are lying on a beach, soaking up the
sun, listening to the soft murmur of the waves, drink within hand’s reach—and
then it starts. The voices in your head. That one character, who has been
giving you gears because she’s not doing what you had in mind, telling you
clearly what she is going to do. The sudden visual of the staircase in the
house where your character lives. Where does it lead? Is there a purpose for
it?
Sigh. Yes, the magic of that sun-kissed
moment shatters as your analytical brain nods off allowing your creative brain
to burst into life. You pull your notepad from your beach bag and jot down
those intrusions because, if you don’t, you know the rest of your afternoon
will be more of the same.
Friends who do not write do not get the concept
of what populates your head. They don’t understand your need to be alone or
that when you sit staring into space, your mind is going a mile a minute,
bursting with ideas for which you need more time alone to formulate into words
on the page. Then those words need to be organized into scenes or lines of
dialogue. They need to paint pictures for readers to see the settings you have
created for your characters are and what they are doing.
And when all the words are written, when
all the threads weave together to form a beginning, a middle, and an end and
you think you are done, there’s a sinking feeling because you know the real
work is about to begin.
Whether they like it or not, authors must contend with
feedback from critique partners, editors, and beta readers. There are copy and
line edits, and revisions as characterizations are strengthened and plot holes plugged. There is often weeping and wailing as beautifully written
paragraphs which, though the prose may be perfect does nothing to further the story, are cut.
Writing is not for the faint-hearted. But,
if you have ever read a book and thought ‘I can do better than that’, then
maybe you have what it takes to write one. What are you waiting for? Sit your butt
in a chair, write longhand or type, whichever is most comfortable for you, and
get that story idea you’ve been toying with written. When you type THE END,
congratulations. Whether your story gets published or not, congratulations - you are a writer.
VICTORIA CHATHAM
