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This week: Observations After An Avalanch of Review Edited by: Fyn-elf  
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We find comfort among those who agree with us -- growth among those who don't.~~ Frank A. Clark
Only in growth, reform, and change, paradoxically enough, is true security to be found.~~Anne Morrow Lindbergh
All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.~~Calvin Coolidge |
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Recently, I was the recipient of a massive review raid. While that, in and of itself, was amazing, by far the biggest benefit were the comments from the readers who dug deeply into my port, unearthing pieces I wrote eons ago or maybe only years ago and who commented on growth, realness of detail and growing abilities they experienced.
I have a ton of pieces in my port; perhaps 600 or so. My folders are layered as I changed my method of cataloging them about five years ago. Before that I had, for example, Poetry and Awarded Poetry and collections from multi-piece contests. I had a 'Shelf' of short stories and other clumps of writing. Then I started keeping track by years. Still other pieces are tossed in a folder called Placesettings which is basically all the real stuff, the non-fictional pieces (a mix of poetry, short stories and anecdotes) that one day may evolve into a memoir of sorts. I don't remember every piece. I don't remember every title. I had to dig myself because I often had no clue which piece they were reviewing.
In doing so, I reread pieces that were written in varying parts of my life. Up times, down times, happy times and miserable ones. There is some stuff in my port stretching back to high school, which for me, was over forty years ago. Some of the poetry and other writings were pieces I haven't read since shortly after they were first posted. These are from back in the days when writing dialog terrified me, when my scope of experiences was far less, when I hadn't been through sixty plus years of mere living.
It was like walking through a time warp wall that was both permeable and solid as granite at the same time. By the end I was mixed parts scratched, bruised, bleeding, euphoric and proud. Occasionally I had reactions like, "Really? What was I thinking??" or "Seriously, that's terrible!" or "I really need to play with that piece some." Other pieces dredged up long dealt with issues, which, at the time, were monumental and which, now, are just part of the tapestry of my life. It was like peeking into a time capsule of my life...kind of cool actually. But yes, my writing has certainly evolved.
Back to being terrified of dialog. I would go out of my way to write in such a way to avoid the need for dialog. I seriously didn't believe I could write dialog that would read as real or logical. I am so glad I am past that. It was difficult. It was scary. I did it, messed it up, was corrected and learned. Tried and rewrote and tried again. A learning experience. That thing that writing is! I learned that it really did move the plot along, that it added depth, interest and excitement for the reader. I learned how to take the voices of my characters and give them resonance, character, sound and intonation. I learned to write how they sounded and it became easier each time I tried as they were basically yelling at me to give them voice. And I've learned to listen to them. These days, it is almost like trying to type as fast as they speak so I don't lose anything. They certainly don't like being asked to repeat parts of a conversation. Never the same second or third time around. (My typing speed has increased too!)
It's enlightening. I'm glad I had this experience because it is something I can share which might prompt others to go for a meander through their ports...take a journey back and back...you might find pieces to play with or revise having gained insights or perhaps a better command of your wordsmith abilities!
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| I have some questions for folks to think about. HOW has your writing grown? Has it? Why or why not? Are you more comfortable with some aspects now than you used to be? WHat might you work on? Is dialog your nemesis? Or foreshadowing? Or plot development? What about basic grammar and spelling? |
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For Authors: July 01, 2015 Issue [#7078]
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