Hope you enjoyed your "snow day!" I had a real nice weekend in Williamsburg and got quite a bit of writing done. Not as much as I would have liked, but I'm pretty satisfied. Akeela is out of the caves, but has accidently fallen into a Moon Dancer ring. How will she get out? We'll find out in the third part of the book. Right now, I have to finish the second part. And I'm so close, I can smell it! HA!!
I came home to find out a couple of writing friends are experiencing some struggles with their health. They want to write, but are being interrupted by doctor visits and worries.
I've heard it said rough times make for a better writer. We actually become better writers after we've experienced pain of some sort ... especially emotional. What is up with that??
Are you experiencing struggles this week? How are you handling them?
Has going through fire and trial made you a better writer? Any idea why?
Let's talk.
Don't Plant Trees!
10 years ago
Posts
I think that as we become better people through our struggles our heroes learn how to be better heroes -- and thus make a better book. Also, as we come closer to God through our trials we start writing more for Him and thus get better ideas :)
ReplyDeleteActually, my first novel began at an extreme low point for me. And since I'm not one for journaling or memoire; I started thinking how someone else might deal with my situation, and wrote about that, and before I knew it, a strong story idea came out of the musings.
ReplyDeleteSo now I use a certain set of characters I've created to work out my struggles. Very little of it ends up in the novel, but it helps me fashion their character development, so I guess its a creative plus.
.........dhole
I think that going through difficult trials forces us to focus on what is most important, and to find the strength get through. These are things we need our heroes and heroines to do, so in that sense, they are helpful.
ReplyDeleteHowever, because we do have to focus on what is most important, they can definitely take away from our creative time, and sap our strength and resources for quite a long while afterwards. Not to mention breaking that all-important writing momentum. They can also cause strain among family members, making them less tolerant of our "selfish hobby." So in that sense, I think they can be quite detrimental to the writing process.
I agree, Christine ~ rough times can be both a blessing and a hindrance.
ReplyDeleteEcclesiastes 7:14 says "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other."
I think when something terrible happens to us, especially something emotional, we become open and raw. Many times, we are totally wiped out. That's a good place to be, because then God can come in and works. I don't understand the process, but something happens to us when we hurt. We become "real" and that realness seeps into our writing. I don't think we're aware of it, except for when we talk about it like we're doing now.
When we are in pain, we don't internalize. We can only try to get away from what hurts us. We're not really thinking about our writing and word choice and sentence structure. We simply write. And for reasons I will never understand, God takes our pitiful offerings and beautifies it. Beauty for ashes.
Still, I don't wish for rough times. I try and avoid pain. :) But I'm thankful that God brings something good out of it.