On Changing Lives

As writers, we want our work to resonate with readers. We hope our stories will change someone's life in some small way. 

But when we think of writers both current and past, there is often THAT WORK--the one they are known for. We sometimes forget about their other works, and not necessarily because they aren't up to the same literary standard.

When we think of George Orwell, for instance, we imagine Animal Farm or Nineteen Eighty-Four.

But there was also Burmese Days and A Clergyman's Daughter and Coming up for Air.

When I think of Orwell, my mind heads straight to one of his personal essays: "Shooting an Elephant."

As writers, we should want to tell a story that changes the reader. This is something we should, in fact, strive for. It's a lofty and ambitious (and worthy) goal. 

But not every work will resonate with readers in the same way and to the same degree.

In these instances, it's enough having written the work at all, whether it eclipses your previous (or latter) efforts or languishes in the background.

It's enough (and so are you).

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~ 

On Writing for Writing's Sake

"Writing is not about publication, 

though publication can be a splendid event. 

Writing is about writing."

"People should be able to write and feel proud 

without ever being published. 

Writing is a human right . . . 

and humans should be able to do it 

without being judged as failures 

for not making the professional cut."

-Mark Edmundson-

Why Write?

On Showing Up--Writing Tip

Question: How long does it take to write a novel?

Answer: As long as it takes.

For some, maybe that's three months. For others, maybe it's a year. For others, maybe it's five years.

I worked on RISE off and on for several years. My (many) drafts weren't working, and the more I tried to fix what was going wrong, the more it became something I didn't really want it to be. I had my sights set on "high concept," but the "high concept" wasn't meshing with the kinds of stories I really like to tell: dramatic love stories.

So this summer I deleted everything in the manuscript (the fifth or sixth version of it, actually) that wasn't related to Nick and Fallon and the fallout from their kiss. (There wasn't even a kiss in one of the earliest versions!) At this point, I focused on telling their story.

If you would have told me going into it, though, it would take five years before I ended up with a draft I was satisfied with, I might not have had the courage to sit down and make it happen.

Just the thought of writing a novel--putting 50,000+ cohesive words onto paper--can be paralyzing.

But . . . it will help if you don't think of it as "sitting down and writing a novel." Just sit down and write that scene. Sit down and fill that page. Just sit down--get your butt in the chair. Start typing. Then show up and do the same thing the next day. And the next. And the next.

Soon you'll have those words.
You'll have your scenes.
You'll have your book.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

A Poem

I thought I wrote the quote down somewhere, but I can't find it. I think Elizabeth Gilbert said it. She preaches it, anyway, about sharing the things we create and being proud of them.

So here you go.

I created this thing, and I'd like to share it with you.

I hope you're sharing your creations, too. :)

If not, we discussed this.

~Katie~