Sasha White's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"

I don’t care what ‘experts’ say, you don’t have to love writing to be a successful writer. Personally, I hate writing. I always have. Okay, that’s not completely true. Let me go a bit deeper. I’m not a fan of the physical act of writing. I dislike sitting at a computer all day, staring at a bright screen. I dislike typing, and am not good at it. These two things are tied together because my dislike of staring at the screen leads me to staring at my fingers on the keyboard, which lead to typos, which leads to my dislike of typing. But none of this matters because I do LOVE being an author.

When I look at the words on the page and they form a story the feeling is indescribable. The knowledge that my mind has created a world with people (because characters are people to me) in it that others read and enjoy brings me a contentment and sense of accomplishment that is unmatched.

That is why I sit at the keyboard, and start again, every time.

For me, writing is hard. especially starting. Starting a new story, starting a new chapter, and new page, and new day. Doesn’t matter what, starting is hard. The magic comes after I’ve been at it for a bit, and I slowly lose track of everything around me as I sink deeper and deeper into the world on the page. I love the feeling of getting lost in the story, even while I dislike the act of writing because sitting and writing is hard. Not just hard on the mind, but the emotions, and the body too. Knowing this I try to set timers to get up and walk around or do something to keep my body somewhat fluid, and then I have to start again. Ugh!
I. know you'll understand this because it's the same when you're reading a good book. That "I don't want to move. I just want to keep reading." is the same as the "I'm finally in it I can't stop now." feeling I get when writing.

But, because I love being an author. Because I love creating, and sharing what I create, I keep doing it. I can't NOT do it. Writing is the same as anything else you choose to do, or not do. You need to accept how simple it is, how hard it is, and know what you dislike about it, and what you love about it. If you don’t understand these things it’s unlikely you’ll stick with it. With anything.

Do you have a passion? Do you think about these things? Why you love it, why it brings you joy? The things you don’t like about it? Please share with me in the comments. I’d love to know.

Any author will agree it’s all about the character, but not all will agree that we - the writers - are just the instrument that tells their story.

As someone who started her career writing short stories with no need for plotting, I’ve never really had a problem following the story where it needed to go. In fact, when I look back at everything I see clearly that the only times I really struggled with word counts, writing, or continuing a story are when my mind fights with that needs to go on the page.

My short story Meandros is the perfect example. I was writing to fill a call for vacation stories for an erotica anthology and I’d planned to write a sexy romp that took place in Greece. I started it with this couple on a plane on their way to Greece, and at the end of the first scene I wrote a sentence that changed it all.
After I wrote that sentence I stalled - literally for a week. That one sentence that just spilled out as I was writing took the story in a totally different direction. Not one I wanted, either. But it was so damn awesome. It was. Shocker, and it felt so right that I just wanted to run with it. But if I ran with it, then the story would no longer fit the call for submissions I was aiming it at.

I followed the story, and it turned out to be one of my favourite stories ever. It’s super short, and erotic, and so emotional. I wrote that story in 2004, and it’s gotten some great reviews, as well as awful ones, but I don’t care either way because that story taught me a very important lesson. Follow the story. You might not get the story you wanted, but it will flow, and it will be what it’s what its supposed to be.

A lesson I sometimes need to be reminded of, as I struggle with rewriting Drake’s Hunt. 😉