The Reality Writer

 

                                                                            

Realism Is Everything - Right?

   I was sitting in front of my computer, facing a mental barrier as I worked on an escape scene near the end of my second book. In this specific scene the heroine was trying to escape - but had her arms tied behind her and her feet were bound around the ankles. 

     

    What I wanted to occur was an epic escape from the walls that confined her. I didn't want my female lead to appear supernatural and the last thing I desired was for the escape to look unrealistic. So, I did what any writer who wanted their work to appear realistic would do. 

     

    I tied myself up. 

 

    Taking some flimsy string I tightly bound my legs at the ankles and then - with great difficulty - fastened my hands behind my back. I learned a valuable lesson that day...I can walk three feet across my study room with my hands and feet tied together. Amazing what us writer's learn, isn't it? The only problem was...I tied the ropes a little too tightly. Yeah...I kind of found myself in a bit of a literal bind. 

    Obviously I wouldn't do anything that was physically harmful to myself, but sometimes it's funny to share these stories about how writers get ideas or facts. Have you ever done anything like I did? Hopefully not as extreme but maybe you took a rock climbing lesson, went canoeing in your swimming pool to figure out how to react when a boat tips over, take an archery class, all to try and make your writing as realistic as possible. 

   Sometimes all you need is to get into perspective to make the perfect escape.  If you have ever had an similar experience let me know in the comments, I would love to hear about it!

~ Lydia R. Sherren

     

                                                                                     

                        Adventures In Editing 

        I still remember the day like it was yesterday. I had believed that I had finally found the right literary agency and agent to help me bring my novel up to it's potential.

     As I scrolled through the pages of my manuscript, trying to find the appropriate ten sample pages that I needed to attach to the cover letter, when I was stopped in my tracks. In an instant I was hit with the most outrageous thought: I can't submit this, it's awful! I know, I know, that's a pretty weird thing for an aspiring author to think when they are about to have - hopefully - a big breakthrough. 

    You see, if you are a writer, whether published or not, you know that our first work is unpolished, it's us testing our surroundings and finding our style of writing and where we stumble and what we thrive in. Well, by the time I had completed my second novel I had finally developed my style of writing. I had learned to be critical, to be objective, and what was acceptable for me to right down and what needed to be omitted.  

    When I scanned those chapters in my first novel I realized just how much I'd grown as a writer. Now keep this in mind, my first manuscript had already been through three total revisions, multiple rounds of critiquing and editing, all together taking over two years. So, when I took a look at that first manuscript I shoved down the nudge I felt to revise it - after all, it had already been through the ringer!

    That was when I leaned back in my chair and thought long and hard. I could send this manuscript off to the agency and maybe I could get it published, but was this manuscript which I had deemed "awful" really what I wanted to be known for as a writer? Despite the answer I wanted to hear, I knew the truth. No. I didn't want to be known for this type of work, because I knew now that it wasn't the best I could do. 

    I felt really confused, and for a while I was at a stalemate. How could I fix this? At first, I grabbed a pen and began to edit the pages where I saw fit...but after almost every paragraph being marked "omit" I knew that regardless of how I felt I had to do the right thing. 

    So, I decided to rewrite basically the entire novel.

    I know, I know, you're wondering who this insane writer is. Well, let me put it this way. I believe I've been called to write, and to write what I'm writing. My first book is important to me, and just because I've had a set back doesn't give me the right to trash all the hopes and dreams that went with it. 

    It has been a slow process, but now with God's help I am re-writing my first manuscript, complete with new character backgrounds and plots, and you know what? I love it! So what if I don't get published right away? The Lord has a plan for everything, and I believe he has a plan for this as well. 

~ Lydia R. Sherren

Quote For The Week

 

 

                                                                                        

 

        "Start Writing no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on."                                                 

  - Louis L'Amour