Saturday, April 11, 2015

7 Things I Love about Writing

A thing was going around where people got tagged to share these on Facebook. After I got tagged several times, I decided not to do it (being unable to choose which one to respond to) (and being reluctant to tag other people).

Then I saw that L. A. Sartor had written them up in her blog: http://anindieadventure.blogspot.com/2015/04/7-things-i-love-about-writing.html

What a great idea! I go around stealing things many nights on Facebook, so why not this? OK, here goes.

(1) Writing is my safety valve, the thing that keeps me sane. I know for some this is exercise, for others it’s meditation. But for me, it’s writing.

(2) The feeling of accomplishment. I love having written as much as the act of writing.

(3) Watching my project grow. I keep track of all the words I write for each project on a spreadsheet (because I love spreadsheets). I love seeing the words add up.

(4) Delving into issues. There’s a character, a woman, in a book that will be out in 2016 who is married to a gay man. I’ve known people who had found out that someone they thought was straight, someone they loved, was gay. But I didn’t know exactly how the person would be affected. I found an online group of Straight Spouses (or something like that) and joined it for a time to eavesdrop. I love finding out about people and about how they handle their problems. This is going into the second Cressa Carraway book.

(5) Doing the research. This is a lot like number 4, but not quite the same. Most of my hard-core research is about what the world was like 30,000 years ago, and what new discoveries are being made (almost daily) about Neanderthals. This is for my Neanderthal People of the Wind series, natch.

(6) Other mystery writers! These people are the friendliest, kindest, most sharing and helpful people on the planet. My life is much fuller knowing the other mystery writers that I’ve met since I started doing this full time.

(7) Losing myself. Like, most writers, I can get my head so thoroughly into my story that I’m disoriented when I get up from the computer and it’s not the same season, or the same place, I’ve been for the last hour or two, or three. It’s best if I set a timer to get up out of my chair once an hour so I don’t get too stiff and chair-shaped!

What’s your favorite part of being a writer? If you’re not a writer, what’s your safety valve?



9 comments:

Jean Henry Mead said...

Excellent article, Kaye. My favorite part of writing is research, which can consume a lot of time. My second is editing and polishing my first draft and infusing life into the characters and plot.

Kaye George said...

I didn't list editing--not my favorite part. I love the first draft!

authorlindathorne said...

What I love is holding the power to change my characters, the outcome of the story. When I write, I feel like I'm there. If it's a romantic scene, I feel the emotions. If it's scary, I frighten myself. I can make bad things happen to characters who are bad people and feel a sense of satisfaction. I can give characters what they want. It's all fiction, but I sort of feel alive inside it while writing and a control what happens. Unlike Jean Henry, I don't like the research part. It's necessary, but not what I enjoy.

Morgan Mandel said...

Doing research is one of the things I dislike about writing, but I'm happy after it's done and I've learned something. Yes, I love the sharing atmosphere with other writers in the same boat, trying to get our feelings and words down for readers.

Kaye George said...

I love it when I enter the story, too, Linda. A great feeling!

I might go nuts without contact from other writers, Morgan. Yes, sharing the atmosphere is a good way to put it.

Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredith said...

Excellent, Kaye. Non-writers have no idea about what we love and hate about writing.

Kaye George said...

And we're all different, aren't we? That's what makes this so interesting.

aminaraifi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
aminaraifi said...

The amazing thing about writing is anyone can write, you don't need skill. You can write anything in your own language or words. A professional CV maker near me once guided me to write a great CV and since then I have been able to write CVs by myself.