I was talking with a friend of mine at church last weekend.
He’s an aspiring writer with the same dilemma: to finish a book. Ideas weave in
and out of his mind, and yet he hasn’t written a novel. I love the coincidences
in life because, for the first time in my career, I almost fell into the same whirlpool
that prohibited him.
Let’s say you are an aspiring writer (if so than YEAH!).
Then, most people, like me, will tell you to go to conferences and read books
on the craft. We do this with the belief that you will learn the most from
other writers. This is absolutely true. But, you will go to these conferences
and you will meet hundreds of people who will have their “fool proof” method
for writing a breakout hit. They will talk of procedures, characters, story
plots (all of which stop my creativity dead). But, before you can focus on all
this, they will tell you to do your research. You see, you will sound silly if
you don’t know what you are talking about.
In the fantasy genre, I don’t have this pressure as much as
let’s say murder mystery. I recently went to a local Sisters In Crime meeting
(long story) in which a forensic expert discussed how a bullet will actually
stop upon hitting water. So all those spy movies where the hero gets injured by
a bullet passing through the water…yeah, the woman giggled at the idea. So, as
an author you need to be prepared. They will tell you that you need to know
your genre’s trends and styles. Everyone will agree that a fantasy book doesn’t
read like a romance and a romance doesn’t read like a who-done-it. They will
recommend books on craft and don’t forget the research!
There is nothing wrong with this advice. In fact, I have
offered it to writers. But, what did I tell my friend? Just write! I got stuck
in this drama within my own head last week. I wanted to research life on a
frigate to enhance my scenes. I then thought of all the other things I should
research as well. Finally, I asked myself. What is driving my story: the
research or the characters? For me, the answer has always been characters. So,
I wrote the prologue. And, you know what, ideas started to click and flow. Will
I need to research more before I’m done? Probably, but now it will be necessary.
I recommend the same thing to those learning the craft of
storytelling. How are you going to learn if not by examining your own work?
Authors can sell millions of books telling you how best to write, but you need
to find your own style. Find it and strengthen it with the advice from these
books. Don’t let them tell you how to do your style, only how to improve it. So
just jump in! The water’s nice in the pool of creativity.
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