Monday, October 29, 2007

The Glint of Light

Special Motivation Post for Writers:

"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." ~~Anton Chekhov


The greatest gift a writer has is the opportunity to manifest "something out of nothing." Here we sit with a lovely blank canvas-page stretched front of us, the artist-authors ready to splash words in the air and conjure up a new world. A new world that is ours to create. Yet the truest challenge is not only to manifest the intricate plot, the dastardly twist, the unique characters that spout the clever lines we conjure up after way too much caffeine.

What truly takes patience, focus and never-ending persistence is the art of constructing a three-dimensional world. Is our heroine hiding in fear? Or does she crouch behind a dusty dresser, trying to contain her gasps, as a board six feet away squeaks from the weight of her pursuer?

We try to resist filling in the gaps when the reader doesn't need to know (or care really) that our leading lady has always had a hard time breathing ever since she was three years old and her mother (who was laid off from her job because of her anxiety over her husband's issues with his father) first rushed her to the ER and the doctor there told her it was likely that for the rest of her life she’d have breathing issues which would require her to carry at all times a prescription inhal—

No. That won’t work. Can’t move the plot forward by dropping in chunks of back-story. Hmmm… Maybe something where she drops the inhaler? Or… maybe she reaches for it and it's not there and so… she sees it? Maybe… inches from the pursuer's foot? YES! And just like that… we’re off!

It's not the easiest task, to see the "sculpture" and remove all the bits that don't belong. But oh-my-oh-my it's glorious when we finally do see. It's what we strive for, after all. Because… We Are Writers! Let's take a moment and remember the magic, the Art of Writing. Adjust your 'beret', swirl the verbs and nouns on your palette, and Write On!

Hope everyone has a great week of writing!
--Chiron O’Keefe

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