For you bloggers participating in the A to Z challenge, I just want to say that I wish you luck in completing it. As for my insecurity, I think I still struggle to make a point with my writing. I still struggle to tell people what I really think. Writing (for me) is all about facing this terror and putting myself out there so that people can say: "that's gross" or "that's so weird" or "I like this" or even "you are my favorite author." I really like that last line by the way. It's my favorite.
I just wanted to point out that C.S. Lewis once said, "By confining your child to blameless stories of child life in which nothing at all alarming ever happened, you would fail to banish the terrors, and would succeed in banishing all that can ennoble them or make them endurable."
I think this quote is easily interpretable in a number of ways. For me it reinforces this idea: don't be afraid to make a point with your writing. A point is where you make a stand. It's where you reveal who you are, and readers will either like or dislike what they see. But remember that even if your reader rejects what you write, it is better to face that rejection than it is to hide from it. Being "safe" is a good way to be "invisible," and I don't think that's why any of us write. After all, most of us compose words because we think we have something interesting to say. And how can we stimulate interest if we never take the leap to communicate what we believe with other living things?
I've been fortunate enough as a writer to connect with a number of readers, and I'm continuing to do so. But I never could have made that connection if I'd failed to face my fear and just told stories in which "nothing at all alarming ever happened."
If nothing happens, if there are no real threats, then it's a rather boring story.
ReplyDeleteDo I put my beliefs and fears into my stories? To a degree. Probably not to enough of an extreme, but I don't hide who I am.
A story where nothing happens would be pretty pointless.
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on what you're writing and what the point might be. For most writers, pieces of yourself will sneak into the story and you won't even realize it..until later.
ReplyDeleteThe alarming thing generally is what creates the conflict. I once read a book without any conflict. I never finished it. It was dreadfully dull.
ReplyDeleteSometimes i think my parents did me a disservice by providing me with an uneventful, loving childhood, leaving me little to write about.
ReplyDeleteLOL, that would be true if you still didn't have that childish whimsy to you Stephen. You have so much life experience that your stories are rich and bold as can be.
DeleteI don't think of myself as a daring writer--I just write what I want to write. But I've also come to realize that I tend to put some controversial stuff out there and that I can have strong opinions, and these facts have sometimes offended a few people. And then I'm surprised they're offended--silly me.
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