Writing

Fact: Writers are feeling people. We’re the HSPs of society, the Highly Sensitive People. We feel emotions strongly and must express them. But sadly, for some writers, something gets lost between the brain and the keyboard. All those great thoughts get diluted so that the resulting words become empty and devoid of feeling. And that usually translates to boring.

I don’t get a huge kick out of reading horror, but when I recently edited a client’s book, I was completely unmoved by his bland wording, (“blood gushed out” about every three lines) such that I forgot I was even reading horror. In short, I was not appalled. And I should’ve been.

If you want to gross people out with your writing, write directions to the nearest landfill. But if you want to horrify and frighten people to their innermost core, you need to do more than colorfully describe what a situation looks like. You need to drill into their soul with words loaded with feeling. Same with romance (well, minus the fright), or any other genre.

I defer to a film for a prime example. In 1954’s Alfred Hitchcock thriller Rear Window, the suspense is thick enough to cut with a knife. The finale is bone-chilling tense; the film is burned into my memory. But not a drop of blood is ever seen throughout the story.

Your writing should not be a laundry list of sentences strung together; it should grab readers by the gut and touch the deepest parts of their soul. The best way to improve this skill is to learn from the masters. As a writer, you have surely been greatly affected by some powerful stories. Reread them and note the subtle tools the author used to patch into your mind and heart.

The Roman god Janus, for whom January is named, has two faces, one which looks ahead to the future and one which looks backwards to reflect. It is at this juncture that writing blogs usually post something about writing goals for the year ahead, and I was going to do that, till I remembered that every time I make a specific New Year’s resolution, that is the one thing that gets actively attacked by the Opposition. Oh, I still have all my goals and I continually work towards them, but singling out the One Big Thing I’m going to do in a given year and announcing it just attracts bad mojo. So instead, I’m going to reflect on all the great things I’ve learned in the recent past which are making my writing better.

How this list came to be is, I decided a while back that, after many years of homeschooling my kids, and having them moving on soon, I was ready to look towards a full-time career as an author. I made the decision and the commitment. Then nothing happened. Or so I thought. Months later when I still had not written a word on a book, I felt defeated and discouraged. But slowly, like lights going down and a great curtain being lifted on a much-anticipated play, I began to see what had really been happening right under my nose. I had read and studied and learned more about the craft of writing and about the book industry than I had ever learned in such a short time before. All vitally necessary stuff to know before I could proceed with writing top-notch stuff.

Here is the list of what I Didn’t Know I Didn’t Know…But Now I Do. Any one of these could make a blog post by itself, and maybe sometime will.

Regarding writing:

1) developed an interest in the mind and behavior, which helps with characterization

2) an in-depth point-of-view study

3) avoiding back story dump

4) how to rough draft quickly

5) how to separate content editing and copy editing to be more effective

6) how to “hack the flab” (make wording more concise) when editing

7) the need for beta readers and to not be stubborn but to listen to them and others I can learn from

8) discipline myself to focus and write through all circumstances of life

Regarding the book industry:

9) how rights work with traditional publishers

10) the need to direct my work towards a target market – word-of-mouth can carry a great book outside that market.

11) organizing the daily work of a writing career (all the stuff authors do which isn’t writing)

12) learning tips for writing media materials

13) When dealing with agents, editors, publishers, and media, don’t take anything personally. It’s all business.

14) the necessity of learning about social media and picking up tips for that

15) given several public speaking opportunities (they’re not so scary now)

16) contacts – networking and business opportunities have acquainted me with several industry pros.

Look out, 2014! I’m tackling you, and I have skills and resources with me.