What to Write?
I’ve
noticed that I’ve posted a lot on keeping focused and being faithful to your
writing craft even when it’s tough, but…that’s not helpful when you don’t have
anything to write. :)
The Liberty Writer
tagline is, “Write well. Write bold.
Write the stories you want to tell.”, but what is the story you want to tell?
How do you find out? How do you create a story worthy of writing, worthy of
dedicating hours to, and worthy of reading?
Write Your Passion
Find
a storyline type that fills you with fire. If you like The Lord of the Rings, try filling the
pages of your tale with ultimate sacrifice, loyalty, and a clash between light
and dark. If you find fascination in stories of war like Unbroken, write about battles, camaraderie, steadfastness, and good
triumphing evil. If you enjoy The
Princess Bride, try your hand at creating a story in which no betrayal or
sacrifice is too great to break the bonds of friendship.
No
matter what genre you choose, (inspirational, horror, mystery, etc.) the
components of the mentioned stories can be found in any category, and there’s often
overlap.
Genre
Ultimately
you must choose a genre, and some types will fit certain storylines better. I
personally prefer historical fiction, adventure, or fantasy, and my reasons are
as follows.
Historical fiction: I feel like I can give back to the heroes of yesteryear.
In this genre, I can bring to light what real men and women endured in the past
to bring benefits to later generations.
Fantasy and Adventure: No research! I enjoy building a world of my
own without being concerned about getting every detail accurate to a historic record.
Also, I can reach the world of those who don’t read historical fiction.
I
personally don’t like romance (excepting some of Jane Austen’s) and have never
attempted science fiction, but that’s just me. You don’t have to feel the same
way.
Content
For
readers to keep interest in your story, there must be conflict. I mentioned
before in Gratitude in the Face of Pain,
that for some writers, it’s hard to make the story world painful, difficult, and seeped with
conflict. Some writers can’t bear to hurt their babies, and for me
it’s hard because it means more work in writing. But the more work that you put
into your story, the better it will be.
“If
you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star.
. . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and
learning things and weren't so lazy.” – Terry Pratchett
Give
your Main Character (MC) a goal, make it clear, and place obstacles in his way
from getting it. Give each character his or her own motivations for why they’re
involved in the story; they aren’t just there for you to use. They are their
own people with their own desires. Work with them.
Showing is king. Paint pictures with your words.
Dialogue
can be difficult to write, but fun once you get the hang of it. People don’t
say what they mean, and they don’t say everything on their mind. Give us just
enough to figure out what’s going on without spelling it out.
Don’t get caught up in
making a point with your story. Stories are
meant to be just that: stories. While I encourage authors to write things worth
reading and to write intentionally, no one likes to be preached at. Show and don’t
tell. Let your readers be inspired by the story you’ve told, rather than be
turned off by the point you’ve beaten them over the head with. It’s tough but give your
readers the credit of being smart enough to see the values you weave
into your story.
In
my first novel, a Vietnam War historical fiction, I wanted so badly to convey valor, honor, and grit, that I ended up writing a
ridiculous rough and second draft. I used noble words, my characters said
laughable things that were supposed to be gallant, and I filled the pages with
a bunch of flat, ludicrous people who said the things I wanted them to say.
They were fake. No real person acts like them. I was trying to make the point that soldiers did courageous things, I was trying
to build deep bonds of camaraderie between characters, but it instead collapsed
into something laughable and preachy. Preachy doesn’t always mean religious. It can just mean
trying to make a point.
Don’t be concerned about
building a voice. Just write like it’s you talking; it
will help your prose flow better and not feel stilted. Eventually you can
practice making the tone match the story and narrator better (obviously a
medieval fantasy and modern mystery will have distinct tones from each other),
but don’t worry yourself with using fancy words that you don’t usually use if it
upsets the believability of the prose.
That
being said, don’t
be afraid to make mistakes, to
write something silly like I did, or to get it wrong the first, second, third, or umpteenth time
around. Authors
never get better by not writing. Practice is hard, but in the end,
you’ll have a story. Maybe it’s different than you originally imagined it, but
that’s okay. There’s a chance it’s better than what you first had in mind. Have
fun and write
well, write bold, and write the story you want to tell.
Any
questions? Ask them now. I’m here to help. :)
Happy
writing.
…
Authors never get better by not
writing.
…
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