It has been challenging to write in the time of COVID. I have a new respect for the Renaissance writers who produced such elegant and passionate plays and poetry at a time when theaters often had to shut down and quarantines were common. At first I thought all of that alone time would make it easier, but I found myself sitting despondently at the computer, staring at the screen, paralyzed by a sense of impending doom. I could write non-fiction, but I couldn't seem to focus on fiction. I had four novels going at one time--science fiction, modern mystery, and two pieces of historical fiction--that's how scattered my brain felt! I would write a few pages on one and then my attention would wander to another, so I was bouncing between Bronze Age Greece, early Judah, futuristic time travel, and Sandi Beck on her sailboat in Florida. It was confusing, frustrating and disheartening. It wasn't until the days got warmer and I was able to get outside, see other human beings...
Popular posts from this blog
It has definitely been a while! Much of my attention has a writer has been focused on writing in the past four years. I was commissioned in 2020 to write a historical non-fiction book documenting the founding and growth of a local rescue group. After a year of interviews, followed by almost two years of writing and editing with the group's leadership, the book was finished in 2023 and released this July. It is titled There When Needed, A History of Smith Point Sea Rescue , and is available on Amazon. All proceeds go to the organization. At the same time, I have been finishing a novel of historical fiction which I just shipped off to my editor. We'll see where it goes. I am constantly reminded that writing fills my soul and keeps me sane.
Creating characters
Enjoyed the Q&A at a recent workshop I gave in Kilmarnock. It got me thinking about characterization. One of the attendees said she just didn't feel she "knew" one of the main characters in the sci fi book she was writing, and she wanted to know if she should just forge ahead or if she should try some exercise to figure it out. Here's the thing--for a character to be a living, breathing presence on the page, you have to know him or her intimately, perhaps better than you know yourself. So how do we learn about ourselves? By analyzing how we react in a myriad of situations. You see a stray dog--do you call the animal shelter? Do you feed it half of your sandwich? Do you walk by, pretending you don't see? Do you move to the other side of the street because you are afraid? What if it were a homeless man instead--or a mother trying to control three small children? Your reactions to these everyday, common situations say something about who you are and can help pr...
Comments
Post a Comment