Ever since I've entered college (and since, left) telling people that I'm pursuing writing, my family, among others, have started coming forward and informing me that they too considered writing when they were younger.
I just got off the phone with my father this weekend who told me stories from when he was my age and was writing short stories. Then he said, "I guess a lot of people start out wanting to be writers."
The difference between writers and those who wanted to be writers is really one thing: perseverance. You don't actually have to be a good writer to become published, even. Just take a good look at some of the books in your local bookstore. There is a lot of crap, to tell the truth.
It's not an easy career by far. It's a lot of time alone, obsessing over a keyboard, slashing parts we love from manuscripts because they don't work and therefore are slashing parts of ourselves, all wrapped up with a whole lot of rejection. That's the simple truth of it.
A quote I heard this weekend while watching the new episode of Project Runway really cemented the idea for me. It was from the first girl to get kicked off the show. In a voice over as she was leaving, she said, "If everyone gave up after after their first rejection, no one would get anything they wanted."
So I submit the idea to wannabe-writers everywhere: The difference between being a writer and wanting to be a writer is perseverance and the ability to never get up.
When it's three o'clock in the morning, and nothing is going right with your story, and you can't figure out what's supposed to happen or how to make it work, just sit back and take a deep breath. Remind yourself that you can get through this, that the end is worth it, and continue on.
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Writers and Stories
I think the best part of being a writer is being interested in stories.
Stories are everywhere. Not only are they embedded deep into the books we read, but they are also in the shows we watch, the movies we see, the games we play, the news we peruse and the conversations we have. They are all different, all created in different ways - some fiction, some real - but they are all stories nonetheless.
I think a lot of people forget that when they sit down to write. The goal is to share a story, to make it entertaining to the reader. Successful writers, in my mind, keep that always at the front. Sure, there are a lot of things that are important to writing - point of view, characters, grammar and construction, detail - but even grammar (and I almost shudder to say this) takes a backseat to the story. If it doesn't have a story driving readers onward, why are they going to care?
Sarah and I took a class last semester that was all based on plot. The driving force of a story is plot, our professor told us, and I really took that to heart. Think about it: How many things have you read that you weren't really that impressed with the writing, or the characters or something, but you kept reading anyway because you wanted to know what would happen next? I've hated the writing of some people, complained about it incessantly, but kept reading because I still wanted to know how it was all going to end.
Take a look at stories around you - in any form - and think about why someone was compelled to tell it. Then, take that inspiration and use it for your own endeavors. I constantly am inspired by good stories - whether from watching them on the big screen or reading them in the newspaper. Then, I take that inspiration and use it when I sit down in front of my computer and become a storyteller.
Happy writing,
Brenna
Stories are everywhere. Not only are they embedded deep into the books we read, but they are also in the shows we watch, the movies we see, the games we play, the news we peruse and the conversations we have. They are all different, all created in different ways - some fiction, some real - but they are all stories nonetheless.
I think a lot of people forget that when they sit down to write. The goal is to share a story, to make it entertaining to the reader. Successful writers, in my mind, keep that always at the front. Sure, there are a lot of things that are important to writing - point of view, characters, grammar and construction, detail - but even grammar (and I almost shudder to say this) takes a backseat to the story. If it doesn't have a story driving readers onward, why are they going to care?
Sarah and I took a class last semester that was all based on plot. The driving force of a story is plot, our professor told us, and I really took that to heart. Think about it: How many things have you read that you weren't really that impressed with the writing, or the characters or something, but you kept reading anyway because you wanted to know what would happen next? I've hated the writing of some people, complained about it incessantly, but kept reading because I still wanted to know how it was all going to end.
Take a look at stories around you - in any form - and think about why someone was compelled to tell it. Then, take that inspiration and use it for your own endeavors. I constantly am inspired by good stories - whether from watching them on the big screen or reading them in the newspaper. Then, I take that inspiration and use it when I sit down in front of my computer and become a storyteller.
Happy writing,
Brenna
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