Sunday, November 6, 2011
My Writing
I find myself writing a lot more lately, so I think it would be fitting to do a blog post where I give my opinion on my own writing. I like to write about my problems, but I take them to the complete extreme. I use it as a venting source I guess, where I can complain about my problems without actually talking to anyone, where I can say what I want to say but don't have the guts to actually admit. I feel like that's when I write the best, so in a sense when my life absolutely sucks the most, I have the most potential. I like writing in first person because I try to connect the reader as best as I can to the character and because I make it easier to relate myself to the character. I don't like naming anyone and I try to avoid it as much as possible. My point of view is that the character's names aren't as important as the message I'm trying to make clear, plus I don't like using the names of people I know and I can't think of too many more names. I like making everyone die in the end; happy endings piss me off. In life, most endings aren't happy, so I think that's how it should be in literature. More people need to know and understand that sometimes sad things happen that are out of your control. The only happy ending I wrote was a part of a dual ending, where I gave the reader the option of which ending they want. I didn't want to do it, and the only reason I did is because I didn't want people who read it to think I was suicidal. I made the main character move to a new neighborhood and not like it, just as I had, but he eventually kills himself. I want that to be the ending everyone gets, but I split the endings to keep my family and friends at ease. I'm definitely my biggest critic and I'm a perfectionist when I write. I hate first drafts, so I always try to perfect it while I write and I'm always telling myself it's not good enough. Whenever people read my stories they tell me they like them and I always feel like they do it out of courtesy. I can never tell if they truly mean it or not, and that bothers me. I'd rather be told by someone the truth, whether that be negative or not.
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This is some good insight into the mind of a writer, Mike. I often face the same problem, where I feel a particular character is interesting or meaningful, but doesn't reflect me personally. My only advice, and this is the most common advice, is write for yourself regardless of the audience. If you are happy with your work, you will attract the kinds of readers you want to entertain.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a great point, Mike. Not only is a story a way to let out your emotions, but it is a way to show the world different espects of life. Who cares if people don't like a sad ending when everyone dies? No one said life is kittens and rainbows. Also, writers are their own critics. When you think about it, a writer's work is never complete. There is so much they can add and take out, but they end it at some point. I guess that is the point of sequels. Stay strong and keep writing.
ReplyDelete-William
Mike, this is a very honest post about how difficult it is to be a writer. On the one hand, you use writing as therapy, a way to vent frustrations, act out aggressions, or fulfill wishes. And yet, as a writer of fiction, you want an audience, and you want them to like your work, or at least identify with it. I totally relate to the perfectionism; sometimes I read what I've written and think I'm a no-talent hack. But if you enjoy the process and, like Mike said, write for yourself, you're going to hit on some universal truths that will resonate with a reader.
ReplyDeleteI am ambivalent about happy endings. I kind of favor them in my fiction, and yet most of the best literature ends in misery, defeat, death. I suppose these works are considered "great" because they reflect reality better than the stories that end tied with a pretty bow.