C
Chessie
Guest
So last night while I was in the process of slaying my word count, a thought came to me: holy shit, my characters are doing something different in this scene and I didn't even have to ponder over it. And that provoked a whole new sort of...shall I say...realization that I have reached a threshold in my writing and sort of leveled up.
I've been writing from the time I was very small. My relationship with writing has been one of intense passion, intellectual stimulation, and a platform for my thoughts. Over the years I've improved at this little thing and that big thing but character motivation has always been a struggle. Yet this book I'm writing now is completely different from my other ones. Not only is it better structured but it has direction and the characters are the ones driving forth the tale.
I am trusting my intuition completely, entirely, and it's paying off. The path they're on is right. It feels solid. And then I started getting ideas for the next story in the same world with two of the current side characters and how much I want to explore a theme in their lives.
But how am I getting better? I'm not necessarily talking about prose here. I'm talking about story structure. My outline has been a blessing. Yet, I don't really need it anymore. I'm noticing myself advancing forward in chapters following my gut, letting the characters take over. They're the ones getting to those plot points, they're the ones solving their own problems and making new ones. This is a vast improvement for me, someone who used to struggle scene to scene with motivation and character goals. Now, I can't get to the new scene fast enough OR type fast enough. My husband has had to pry me away from the laptop for the past 2 days I'm so ****ing obsessed.
A whole new me. I can see it happening with the next book and the next book now that I know how to tap into my characters in this way.
So yeah, holy cow am I on fire right now with my writing. I feel myself getting better because of how I'm approaching the story with more flow, more trust. Eagerness to see it to the end. I'm stoked to see how it's all going to end although I know they stay together somehow. And maybe that's just, that I was meant to write romance from the very beginning. One of my crit partners laughed when I told him this and he said, "T, you've always been good at writing domestic life and relationships." I have found my strength as a writer and hopefully more of this will come.
Now how about the rest of you? In what areas do you feel yourself improving in your skill?
I've been writing from the time I was very small. My relationship with writing has been one of intense passion, intellectual stimulation, and a platform for my thoughts. Over the years I've improved at this little thing and that big thing but character motivation has always been a struggle. Yet this book I'm writing now is completely different from my other ones. Not only is it better structured but it has direction and the characters are the ones driving forth the tale.
I am trusting my intuition completely, entirely, and it's paying off. The path they're on is right. It feels solid. And then I started getting ideas for the next story in the same world with two of the current side characters and how much I want to explore a theme in their lives.
But how am I getting better? I'm not necessarily talking about prose here. I'm talking about story structure. My outline has been a blessing. Yet, I don't really need it anymore. I'm noticing myself advancing forward in chapters following my gut, letting the characters take over. They're the ones getting to those plot points, they're the ones solving their own problems and making new ones. This is a vast improvement for me, someone who used to struggle scene to scene with motivation and character goals. Now, I can't get to the new scene fast enough OR type fast enough. My husband has had to pry me away from the laptop for the past 2 days I'm so ****ing obsessed.
A whole new me. I can see it happening with the next book and the next book now that I know how to tap into my characters in this way.
So yeah, holy cow am I on fire right now with my writing. I feel myself getting better because of how I'm approaching the story with more flow, more trust. Eagerness to see it to the end. I'm stoked to see how it's all going to end although I know they stay together somehow. And maybe that's just, that I was meant to write romance from the very beginning. One of my crit partners laughed when I told him this and he said, "T, you've always been good at writing domestic life and relationships." I have found my strength as a writer and hopefully more of this will come.
Now how about the rest of you? In what areas do you feel yourself improving in your skill?
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