Sunday, August 31, 2008

Write What You Love...

Love. Fall in love and stay in love. Write only what you love, and love what you write. The key word is love. You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for. –Ray Bradbury

This week I pulled out some of the stories written at the very beginning of my foray into fiction. What started me on my journey as an author was a love of speculative fiction. Twilight Zone stuff. My passion for the eternal "what if?" drove me to create my own worlds where strange and wondrous things might occur.

On one of my many writing loops, an author had posed a question about Taboos in Writing. Along with penning New York Times Bestselling novels, Allison Brennan always has time to add her voice and provide inspiration and insight to her fellow writers. Her comments charged me up yet again, reminding me that writing must come from the heart or it's just words on a page.


I really believe that you have to write what you love, and if you hold back or water it down you're cheating yourself and your future readers. I also think that it's harder to sell, because the passion won't be in the writing. Almost every editor I've spoken to has said that they buy because they love a book. Often they can't articulate why they love it, but usually when pushed they'll say "voice and characters." Allison Brennan

In the feverish pursuit towards publication, some of us may find dangling before our weary eyes the temptation to shelve what we love in order to write for the market. For a scant few, this will work. For most of us, it's a dangerous path. Be wary of closing your heart to your true passion. Remember always… Write What You Love.

Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say. ~Sharon O'Brien

Unless your writing enflames you with a sense of wonder and passion, why bother? Let Writing Be A Path Of Self-Discovery. Push yourself to question your characters and let them teach you about life and yourself. Writing is an exciting adventure or it's merely chewing cardboard. *grin*

The writer writes in order to teach himself, to understand himself, to satisfy himself; the publishing of his ideas, though it brings gratification, is a curious anticlimax. ~Alfred Kazin, Think, February 1963

Push yourself beyond your limits as a writer. Push beyond the story, beyond the outline, beyond what you first wanted to say. When you do this, a curious thing happens. The story takes over where your intellect first began. You move from being a writer to being a listener. Your heart will guide you. Let it.

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say. ~Anaïs Nin

Find your passion. Discover your inner dreams. And Write ON, my friend… Write on…

Let's set some goals!

Outline is finished so writing for me. I'm shooting for:

15 pages.
Weekly essay.
Rewrite of a short story.

How about you? Ready to share some goals?

Here's to a week of self-discovery!

Go-go-GO! Write-write-WRITE!

--Chiron

10 comments:

Misty Evans said...

Ah, love. Love for storytelling is the key to making our stories great. When the process becomes a chore for me, I know I'm trying too hard to follow the rules and not listening to the voice inside me. When I tell a story my way, it may not follow the rules, but my voice shines through. The story is much better.

Thanks for the reminder, Chiron, to love what I write and write what I love!

Misty
OPERATION SHEBA - September 08
WITCHES ANONYMOUS - February 09
www.readmistyevans.com

Sandy said...

Chiron,
That's why I write mystery romance. I've loved mysteries since I was in grade school. Another great post.
Sandy

Linda LaRoque said...

Hi Chiron,
I couldn't agree more. If you don't love it you won't read it much less write it. As to writing for the market, someone would need a magic ball to know what the market will be by the time a story is finished. Thanks for an excellent post.
Linda
www.lindalaroque.com

Unknown said...

Lovely post Chiron! It's why I love historical romance. I find myself at home delving in other eras and rummaging through interesting facts about how people lived back then. I really enjoyed reading this :-).

Angela
x

Chiron said...

Hey there, Misty!

You've got it... "The voice shines through..." Funny how it works, but these comments often are exactly what I need to hear.

*grin*

Thanks so much for the insights...

And congrats on your new release!! Woo-hoo!!

For those who thrill to a great romantic suspense, check out Misty's new release... Awesome!

--Chiron

Chiron said...

Sandy,

That's exactly the way. Write ON! It's easy and more fun to create a world WE want to live in. Good for you, woman!

--Chiron

Chiron said...

Linda, hello!

I laughed when I read your comment. So true! Unless you have a crystal ball tuned to the market, you're always better off writing what you love.

Besides, the best authors don't follow, they MAKE the market. *wink*

Thanks so much for your comments!

--Chiron

Chiron said...

Thanks so much, Angela!

For those who take on the historicals, I bow in awe... I love history too, though I have yet to feel up for that challenge.

Thank goodness for authors like you, who write the books I can read. *grin*

Yup, that's the key. The books we reach for are the ones to write.

Thanks for stopping by!

--Chiron

Wendi said...

I enjoyed this post a lot, Chiron. And I love the Bradbury quote. I'm a fan of his work - which reminds me of a ms that I really love ... and put aside. Maybe it's time to revisit that one. :)

Wendi Darlin

Chiron said...

Thanks so much, Wendi! I love that quote too. Isn't he amazing?

Maybe it is time to revisit your ms. *smile* I walked the talk and pulled out an old short story of mine too. It's going to take some work but it feels RIGHT. You know?

Thanks again for stopping by!!

--Chiron