Try as I might, I am a writer who loves to write everything really but I love to write novels first and foremost. But the problem is my novels are extremely short for the subject and themes they contain.
I have tried my best at strengthening my descriptions, but I always run into a brick wall. Although descriptions interest me, I am not one to write them extensively when it concerns the environment of the character.
If my character sits down in a chair, they sit down in a chair. I do not pay close attention to the color or if it’s padded because I would assume the reader knows what kind of chair it would be given the circumstances of the character. Is that wrong? I feel like I may be holding my readers hand or spoon-feeding them if I have to describe everything to them.
Or I am not particular in wooing my readers with how the moonlight streams into the room unless I’m very eager to do so, which is not often.
Put quite simply, I am not poetic in that gesture.
I love screenplays for that reason. The descriptions for environment are succinct and then its onto the characters and the dialogue.
As visual as I am a person, I enjoy writing novels more because I can get to the inner-workings of the characters whereas screenplay somewhat limits it to only dialogue.
Am I the only one who feels this way? Is there any published writers out there who would have things for me to read, so that I may get used to their format?
You want to write something so bad but your “left brain” kicks in and it screams, “What’s your opening scene?!”, “What’s your climax?!”, “Do you know your characters well enough?!” “Maybe you should outline this first!”
After all that you think, “Jeez all I want to do is write,” but your “left brain” has succeeded in paralyzing that spark in you. So you sit there wanting to write something but you’re too afraid?
Does anybody know what I’m talking about?
So I had this idea that I was going to write a small letter to the so-called “creative peers” who were extremely rude to a piece I wrote and decided to self-publish a few months ago. It was going to be one of those “inner peace” type of letters.
Let me clarify that this group of so-called “creative peers” were on a forum I belonged to and decided to set off a wildfire when I happened to post it in the “promote” sub-forum.
I’m not a person who needs to please everyone, but sometimes when there’s such overwhelming negativity, it convinces you that you’ve been wrong about your skills this whole time.
Especially since this was a story liked by the people in my creative writing workshop. A fact which curiously ticked off this group of “teste di cazzo” even more when I politely informed them about the workshop.
I’m ashamed to say the experience made me back away from writing for those few months, fully convincing me that I should just quit.
As for the letter, I only got to the “Dear” part because what proceeded was a string of Italian curse words, all of which were wrapped around the word “anonimo”. It means “anonymous.”
After this, I find it’s easier for me to get rejected by an editor or a publisher because they will at least be kind and encouraging in letting you down. At least that’s what my experience has been when it comes to professional rejection.
But this was a group of anonymous people. Anonymous. So why does it bother me so?
I guess it’s the imbalance of criticism that confuses me even more. On the one hand, I have people who say nice things about my writing and then BAM! this happens. Is my writing so bad that some people are compelled to be nice about it? While others feel they are telling me “the brutally honest truth” and I shouldn’t be upset about it?
I don’t know. *sigh* I don’t know.
Fav, comment, enjoy!
