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Sunday, November 11, 2012

 How do you write?


My writing, I am told, is done differently. My wife says she can't quite understand the way I do things, which is probably not uncommon. She shakes her head frequently.
There are a lot of tools out there, for writers. Software to organize your thoughts, time lines to lay out the sequence of events and set your characters against the background of the story. Many words of praise have been written for these tools.
I can't use them. My mind doesn't work that way. To me, a story unfolds in my head, as the voices of the characters tell me it should. I hear them speaking, see them acting out their lives and doing all the things they need to do.
They come to me in the shower, while I'm having diner, in the middle of a conversation, or while I'm in the middle of writing chapter five they will say, 'go back to chapter three and change this. I would never do what you wrote!'
It can be disconcerting when they take over like that, but I usually like what they say. Sometimes they move and talk so fast, I have a hard time keeping up with them, especially if they are interacting with one another, brainstorming, if you would. I hate it when they argue though.
Right now, as I type, one of my secondary (sorry Tina) characters is telling me who she wants to marry so I need to hurry up and finish this. She is lonely and wishes to hurry to the nuptials. No, I will not let you peek. The wedding night is a very private matter, although she will talk about it a bit with her friends later.
I do not write porn. I do not share intimate moments between couples although I do indicate that they happen. After all, these are people, and they have needs and desires just like you do. And like most of us, they do NOT like it when their private moments are made public.
You see, to me, these are real people. Just because I invented them, does not mean they do not take on a life of their own. I can't put them on a 3x5 index card. I can't shuffle them like a deck of cards.
I might hurt their feelings.

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