How We Write Wednesday: An in-depth look at the creative side of writing

Welcome to the first official How We Write Wednesday by Moi and Anna DeStefano and other authors who want to share how the inner mind of a writer braves through saying/hearing something hideous, like “um, well, I just don’t get it and I’m off to the lake for a few days without no internet so later!” Next week we’ll be at Anna’s blog with the pretty butterflies, where perhaps she’ll explain the lake comment.

The idea for How We Write came from the brainstorming and revision work we have done together with our stories. We have known each other for many years. We have watched each other grow as writers and we have pushed each other, gently of course, during the course of either early brainstorming, or revision hell. When I refer to revision, or any kind of critique really, I’m not talking about perfecting words on the page. I’m talking about rich, juicy content. Story. Character. The parts of the story that actually make up the story.

Last Wednesday over at Anna’s blog she mentioned the “instructional” side of the business. As writers we are told we must learn the craft of writing. Seek out other writers to “teach” you “how to write”. I believe there is one aspect of writing you can’t be taught and that is good storytelling. You can teach someone where a comma goes, the difference between passive and active voice, what is showing and what is telling, how to kill their darlings (my favorite part), or even basic novel structure. But putting all the elements together into something that is seamless, flawless and worthy of our readers’ time is something that can’t be taught. It can be nourished, developed, encouraged, but it can’t be taught.

When I discuss my writing with Anna, or with anyone for that matter, it isn’t always about the mechanics of writing. Actually, the mechanics are more of a side point. “Oh, Jen, BTW eyes can’t drop to the floor. Just thought I’d point it out.” Got to love flying body parts. But the reality is the dropped eyes rolling across the floor aren’t the issue. That kind of detail is key at the copy edit stage, but not while I’m still creating story. The character that is missing his or her eyes is what is important. The story. The conflict. The point of the scene and how it moves to the next scene. Where is the character in their emotional journey? Where is the relationship? How are those things connected to the external plot?

Ever watch a musician listen to a song they’ve never heard before, then pick up their instrument and play along seamlessly? Amazing to watch. You think wow, how can they do that? I feel that when I beta read for some people. I think, geez, wish my final project were half as good as their rough drafts.

I am not the greatest writer. My spelling is horrible (there is an app for that). My grammar is less than stellar (there is an app for that). However, I can say with modest certainty that I am a good storyteller (there isn’t an app for that).

Storytelling comes from deep with in. It’s a mental picture. A visual. A feeling. A sensation. A taste. A moment of clarity with a dose of uncertainty tossed in for good measure. While the mechanics of writing are important to any writer at all levels, it is a learned behavior that happens over time as we study the masters and learn to take the story from the mind to the paper.

This process isn’t about crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s. It’s about finding your characters and story. I was talking with Anna last week about my frustration with my inability to see my current WIP inside my head. I was beginning to feel like I’d never be able to write again and I don’t believe in writer’s block.

She asked, “Is it character or plot?”

“I don’t know,” I said.

“Is it character or plot,” she repeated.

“Well, I think its because I suck at writing.”

“Is it character or plot that you suck at?”

An expletive or two was then tossed about as she giggled on the other side of the phone. The conversation was a little longer than that, but in a nutshell she kept asking the same question, or a variation of the same question with the occasional “why I ask is because in my experience…”

If this conversation had happened earlier in my career, I wouldn’t have understood where Anna was taking me. My frustration would have been directed toward her, instead of focusing my energy on a creative process that is still being nurtured. Truth be told, a few short years ago, I wouldn’t be having this conversation. Early on my focus was on the words on the page and I wouldn’t have wanted a “conversation” but would have been begging her to read my work and tell me what was wrong.

The key for any writer is to be open to and explore the possibilities, while being fundamentally grounded in her vision. This is where the bleeding on the page comes into play. If I’m ever going to grow as a writer, write the better book, I have to do more than just write pretty pose that is grammatically correct. That means taking a long hard look at the process of writing behind the writing.

A lot of what happens with character development doesn’t happen on the page. It doesn’t happen in a character outline, interview or in-depth character summary. It doesn’t happen when we get a line edit back from critique partners who may only see the words, instead of the story behind them. It happens in our minds. It happens in the shower. On a walk. Doing the dishes. Painting. Or having a critique partner push your buttons. The more we think, discuss, brainstorm it out, the richer it becomes. The hard part is putting the movie inside our mind onto paper in a way that is meaningful to the reader.

The biggest reason I wanted to participate in this blog topic with Anna is because much of my struggles as a writer over the last two years isn’t the writing, the words on the page, but pushing my storytelling to a new level of creativity.

My business partner, my mentor and my friend Bob Mayer is currently blogging about The Writer’s Toolkit over at Write It Forward. I’m mentioning this here and now because his Novel Writer’s Toolkit on “how to write” touched my desire to write a novel so deeply that it is the one book I never go to a conference without. I found it different from all the other How To books out there because it focused on me, the writer and my story, not the dangling modifiers I needed to get rid of. Bob may disagree with me on my point about teaching, but let me explain why I believe this because I really don’t want to discourage anyone from writing. If you have a passion for it and it’s what you want, by all means, go forth and find that great storytelling voice that is deep inside you because if you want it, it’s there, you just have to find it.

So join Anna next Wednesday, when she picks up our “How We Write” conversation and joins me in encouraging every writer we meet to keep growing and learning about their creativity and craft and writing experience, so they can push themselves and their stories higher and higher. We’d love the company!

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• Posted in: How We Write
• Tagged: Anna DeStefano, Arts, Bob Mayer, Creativity, How We Write, How We Write Wednesday, Proofreading, Storytelling, The Novel Writer's Toolkit: A Guide to Writing Novels and Getting Published, Writer, Writers Resources