We need stories because they help link our experiences. They provide the guide.
There are those random Tuesday’s when life knocks the wind out of you and suddenly the world you knew is gone.
How do you react?
Examples of the types of writing that you would like to achieve are the best study guides to have.
Examining them brings the joy of realization when the patterns emerge. What was once enjoyed as pure consumption has now moved to a place to help production.
Building the parts that will become the whole is difficult. Creating and understanding everything about the story is what makes the process memorable. Character histories, backgrounds and relationships, knowing the past, present, and future leads to some form of self-examination.
Historical Fiction brings with it an education. Not many of us are historians, and with Historical Fiction, we can enjoy the story knowing that spoilers are a Wikipedia link away. But like any good story, we don’t want to finish it.
The life-affirming effect of narratives is powerful; it is what most writers pursue. The messages come at the right times, always the right times, because we as the audience perceive their meaning when our experience has opened our perception.
Understanding the mathematics of a story before drafting smooths the process and helps inspire ideas.
Outlining is difficult but worth it. The balance of the story is what will shine through.
The prose are a vehicle for structure.
We can always write more.
Once we reach a certain point in practice, the writing becomes less intimidating. We can always write more words on the page. When you get there, writing 100,000 words is no longer intimidating. If you include journaling, we passed that…
Understanding why we do certain things can give us perspective on our goals. Motivations matter more than outcomes.
Like the characters in our stories, we have to understand why we’re doing what we are doing. Otherwise, we just make decisions on the fly, and we…
There is a point where you fall in love with the story and not the idea. This is a powerful moment; it needs to be cherished.
We aren’t aware of all of the puzzle pieces as we build them.