Two posts I read last week made me think about my writing in a new way:
The Seven Virtues Every Writer Needs to Succeed
Which was a nice change from “discipline-” “organization-” “perseverance-” type lists I’ve read many times before.
A lot of writing arenas talk about “brand” and how you need to market yourself to get read.
Steven King wrote in his book On Writing about life themes that come out of a writer.
But I rather like this concept and language better. It sounds more personal and poetic.
To answer the question I believe my stories all deal with the fragility and hunger of honest people searching for sustaining relationships. I write a rebellion against what my critique friend calls “miscommunication as a plot device” and other relational gaffs that pit people against their feelings, not to grow them, but to create more story tension.
I call this Lazy Writing.
Another element my writing frequently addresses is the tension between helplessness and inaction. This is one of my favorite things about writing fantasy: as god of a whole new world I am able to say frequently, Yes, that first step is enough.
Not a little because I am assuring my own troubled heart that that first step is all that’s asked of me.
Thanks for the kind words about my blog post. If you haven’t already, might you consider signing up to be a Novel Publicity blog tour host?
Yes. There definitely seems to be stock tension building elements. It gets silly sometimes.
It makes me *nuts* Blue! Especially when I see other places that manage tension *beautifully* without the gimmicks.
Emlyn– Maybe some other time. This isn’t a good season for me to focus far beyond my own walls.
I got a stack of “inspirational romance” novels from Matthew’s grandmother…she has bookcases full of them. I was thinking of writing a proposal for that market, so I wanted to read in the genre. Every. Single. One. relies on “miscommunication as a plot device.” ALL of the story tension could have been resolved half way through the book if they had just TALKED to each other honestly!
Jennifer quoted someone to me last night:
“It’s not Story Tension if it can be resolved by an adult conversation.”
I love that quote, Amy Jane. A good story will explore adult conversation, not avoid it.