“Writing is turning one’s worst moments into money.” ~ J. P. Donleavy
Perhaps, but writing is also turning one’s worst moments into great reads for readers and personal understanding for the writer. I’ve written many stories that began from a “worst moment” in my life. Because writing has always been so cathartic to me, it seemed natural that I would weave my real-life angst into creative fodder. In writing stories, I can explore the whys and hows of my situation through characters, allowing me to take a step back from the situation and see things from another perspective. Every good story starts with a conflict, and if I can develop a story that satisfies readers while working through my “worst moments,” then to me that’s a win-win situation.
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Writing in 140 is my attempt to say something somewhat relevant about writing in 140 words or less.
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Shon Bacon is an author, editor, and educator. She has published both creatively and academically, and her debut solo novel, Death at the Double Inkwell is now available for purchase. Shon also interviews women writers on her popular blog ChickLitGurrl: high on LATTES & WRITING. You can learn more about Shon's writings at her official website, and you can get information about her editorial services at CLG Entertainment. Currently, Shon is busy editing, promoting her debut project, writing screenplays, and pursuing her Ph.D. in Technical Communication and Rhetoric at Texas Tech University.
I too find writing to be "cathartic." It opens up a different way of thinking and analyzing... of seeing. When I write, whether its pen to paper or rapid QWERTY spasms, it reveals and creates thoughts and stories that wouldn't have ever occurred to me if I didn't bother trying to write them out. Writing does for my mind what a clarinet does for a little heavy breathing.
ReplyDeleteCan't go anywhere without a pen in hand... That's addiction to writing.
ReplyDeleteI found myself shaking my head in agreement as I read this.
ReplyDeleteI've written three books, all still in the first draft stage. The third - I made my main character deaf like me, and I have to say this is the strongest book yet. Because, I wrote from a more personal level. I knew intimately what it was like to go through those first moments of deafness - the fear, the anger, and the loneliness.
There is something to be said for writing what you know. (Hugs)Indigo
yep, writing is definitely a way to find our what I'm thinking. It is a direct route in fact. Especially essays but on a certain level (maybe a deeper level) also poetry and my novels. I find out what I care about...weird but true.
ReplyDeleteWriting is an addiction and release.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
http://facebook.com/morganmandelauthor
A fantastic post :) Writing is a method of personal exploration & education that, so far, only humans have begun to investigate.
ReplyDeleteWriting is painting word pictures--sometimes a vignette, sometimes a still life, sometimes a panorama, sometimes a movie. But always, always pictures.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the pictures are from the family album...
I have always turned to writing to work through a personal conflict or reflect on a social issue. Not all end up as fodder for stories but some do. The important thing I try to keep in mind when using something personal like that is to make sure it does fit the character I have created and he or she is not just me in disguise.
ReplyDeleteI don't tend to take any situation as such from my life to write about. But through my characters I like to explore traits I don't have or that I wish I had. I enjoy spending time with people who, though flawed, are admirable to me.
ReplyDeleteElle
Word 4 Writers on HearWriteNow
Blood-Red Pencil
Was just thinking and realized that I enjoy doing new things (though there is anxiety in the initial stage of doing these things, lol) because they not only benefit me as a person, but also as a writer. I don't know it as I start a new journey, but there always comes a time when my writer emerges, having taken notes of my life, and wants to start telling a story about a female who has gone through similar things.
ReplyDeleteShon