Draft One
The last few months have been intense. They’ve been emotionally draining, but however exhausting it’s been, I think that I’m about to be rewarded with a good story. Bits and pieces of a tale have been falling into place and I am finally ready to put it on paper. I am finally ready to make a commitment to two characters that have been floating around in that tenuous space between imagination and actuality. I am finally ready to give them life.
I’ve been struggling with the telling of this story. I think all would be writers go through this. All people who write, at some point, ask themselves if they are ready to reveal the truth of who they are. The thought of a stranger reading my stuff has never bothered me. What has concerned me is the idea of my parents, my husband, my child, my co-workers, and my friends getting inside my head in such an intimate way. And more profoundly, what has concerned me is the idea of the people in my life finding themselves on my pages. You see, a writer exposes self and a writer exposes others. That’s the truly frightening part… exposing other people. Yikes, the threat of rejection looms large.
As I discuss these concerns with trusted friends, I’m often told to not worry; disguise the identities and move ahead. Well, changing names and locations and all kinds of little details easily hides identities. Of course, that’s simple to do, but a story is made of characters that are so much more than camouflaged demographic details. Characters, like people, have a heart and it is the heart that is not so easily disguised. And, more importantly, it is the heart that in the final analysis should not be masked. To attempt to do it leaves a story dull, flat, lifeless! No, a story without heart is better left untold. A story without heart is not even worthy of the dusty box under the bed.
So, over the last few months I have been readying myself to face the threat of rejection, and I believe I am now sufficiently prepared.
This new yet unwritten story I must claim. I will not hide behind a pseudonym. I will not stay buried in the shadows as I try to protect myself from the reaction of the people in my life. Nope, this time I’ll write to be read. To hell with what “they” think. To hell with what “you” think. And in oh so many ways, to hell with what even "I" think. Yup, to hell with the consequences. The story will be told.
This is who I am. This is how I perceive life. This is what I have to say, and say it I will.
Here’s to Light And Shadow - Draft One!
I’ve been struggling with the telling of this story. I think all would be writers go through this. All people who write, at some point, ask themselves if they are ready to reveal the truth of who they are. The thought of a stranger reading my stuff has never bothered me. What has concerned me is the idea of my parents, my husband, my child, my co-workers, and my friends getting inside my head in such an intimate way. And more profoundly, what has concerned me is the idea of the people in my life finding themselves on my pages. You see, a writer exposes self and a writer exposes others. That’s the truly frightening part… exposing other people. Yikes, the threat of rejection looms large.
As I discuss these concerns with trusted friends, I’m often told to not worry; disguise the identities and move ahead. Well, changing names and locations and all kinds of little details easily hides identities. Of course, that’s simple to do, but a story is made of characters that are so much more than camouflaged demographic details. Characters, like people, have a heart and it is the heart that is not so easily disguised. And, more importantly, it is the heart that in the final analysis should not be masked. To attempt to do it leaves a story dull, flat, lifeless! No, a story without heart is better left untold. A story without heart is not even worthy of the dusty box under the bed.
So, over the last few months I have been readying myself to face the threat of rejection, and I believe I am now sufficiently prepared.
This new yet unwritten story I must claim. I will not hide behind a pseudonym. I will not stay buried in the shadows as I try to protect myself from the reaction of the people in my life. Nope, this time I’ll write to be read. To hell with what “they” think. To hell with what “you” think. And in oh so many ways, to hell with what even "I" think. Yup, to hell with the consequences. The story will be told.
This is who I am. This is how I perceive life. This is what I have to say, and say it I will.
Here’s to Light And Shadow - Draft One!
posted by LightAndShadow at
10:48:00 AM
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