May you be blessed this Christmas!
“To be a writer you have to be ready to kill your darlings.”
I’m sure every writer has heard that phrase, or some version of it. It’s a favorite of how-to-write books and writing professors alike.
Personally, I detest that phrase. It makes me shiver with horror. My darlings are my family, and I would rather lay down on a railroad track with a train coming than put them in harm’s way.
Of course, I know that the phrase has nothing to do with people, and everything to do with a writer’s tendency to become infatuated with his or her own writing. A witty turn of phrase or well-crafted dialogue can hypnotize a writer into believing that a mundane piece of writing is really a work of genius.
Writers need to be reminded, and often, that if the writing doesn’t move the story forward, if it has no real purpose or slows down the action, it has to go.
That’s why when I had an epiphany in the shower that my protagonist doesn’t make an appearance until page 10, I knew I had work to do.
So, I spent the morning rewriting the first twelve pages of a new screenplay. I deleted multiple pages, removing a number of characters entirely.
Goodbye irrelevant characters who don’t move the story forward! It was fun getting to know you, but your time here is done.
Then, because there was still too much clutter, I reduced the dialogue of another character and restructured what I had left.
Suddenly, there she was. My protagonist. No longer hidden by unnecessary characters and storylines, she timidly stepped into the action at the top of page 3.
Better. Much better!
Sigh. I still don’t like the phrase, but I guess there is something to this killing your darlings thing.
An entire summer.
That’s how long I’ve gone without doing any serious writing.
It was a planned break. I was rather busy this summer and keeping my regular schedule of writing would have complicated things.
So, I decided that since my brain needed a good vacation anyway, I’d give it a nice, long break. That way, when I returned to my normal writing routine in the fall, I’d be able to dive into a new project refreshed and revived.
Taking a long break is not easy for me. Writing is an important part of my life. Its tentacles are wrapped around my brain so tight that for the first month I had to fight the craving to write every day. It took a while, but I finally broke free and could go about my day without that urge to record the stories that were playing out in my head.
Fall is here, and now that it’s time to get back to my writing routine I have to deal with the rebound effect. I did such a great job convincing my brain that it could live without writing that it now has no desire to write.
But I’m not worried.
I have my computer out, and I know that all I need to do is go through my many projects until I find THE ONE. That special project that my brain won’t be able to resist.
Time to un-break!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Stone Woman
by Veronica R. Tabares
Giveaway ends September 30, 2022.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
The Giveaway is over and the books have been distributed.
Happy reading!
Highlights of my trip to Florida.
Can’t tell from these pictures, but it’s HOT!
The sweat pouring down your back within two minutes of stepping outside kind of HOT.
To Congresswoman Jayapal,
Thank you for responding to my message, but you are confused about the definition of censorship.
America does not want, nor will tolerate, a government that censors us. Censorship is a bully’s weapon intended to obliterate any opinion that does not match his or her own.
I’ve never liked bullies, and never will. Just as I’ll never tolerate the practice of shutting someone down just because they happen to have different views, beliefs, or way of seeing the world.
Our country is built on free discourse. It is the way civilization works best. Which is why no one can be allowed to stifle our freedom of speech, whether they are Big Tech or the Department of Disinformation.
If you’d like to have a discussion about this, just let me know.
(Sent to Jayapal today. Let’s see how long it takes her to respond!)
UPDATE: Today is June 15, 2023, and I still haven’t gotten a response.
When my children were little I heard a lot of “was gonnas”.
“I was gonna do my chores, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
“I was gonna do my homework – later.”
“I was gonna do the dishes, but I can’t find the soap.”
“I was gonna brush my teeth after this game.”
The words “I was gonna,” were said entirely too often, especially since they were followed by an endless list of things my children wanted to avoid doing.
It was tiring. And frustrating. So much so that their momma (me) got into the habit of responding, “I was gonna win the lottery, but I forgot to buy a ticket.”
It was a bit of a mouthful, so I eventually shortened it to “Was gonna never won the lottery.”
Now you know.
Years ago, when I first became a full-time writer, I pledged to keep normal working hours. I did this not because I might write too little, but to keep myself from writing too much. I know me, and I can easily get caught up in what I’m writing and forget everything else.
That would NOT be healthy. Or smart. The purpose of life is to live it, not sit at a computer staring at a screen, tapping out word after word, hoping they play nice together and form a cohesive story.
Besides, to be a great writer, it is important to actually DO things that are worth writing about. And while it is not necessary that I DO everything I write about (that’s what my imagination is for), having a plethora of experiences to draw from makes me a stronger writer.
So, I take breaks from writing to DO things that will create new memories.
My job as a writer is to take those memories, mix them with a selection from the overabundance of thoughts and images that float about in my brain, and weave them into a story worth sharing.
Do. Feel. Remember. Imagine. Write.
It’s how good stories are born.
Time for family, food, and fun!