Becoming a Writer
by Woman of Letters
Learning to write means learning to listen. To really hear the words on the page. To slide the syllables across your tongue like you’re tasting your last meal, memorizing the flavors and finding the feelings they create. Words are like a banquet when properly prepared.
Say the words out loud so you can feel their impact. Are they like soft caresses, a baby blanket tickling your nose, or are they sledgehammers pounding through the walls, shaking your whole body until you can’t remember what it was to be still? Sometimes you want a caress, other times you’ll need the sledgehammer.
Learning to write means paying attention to the world around you. I don’t mean just noticing what color the leaves are. (Purple, of course.) I mean hearing the people around you, noticing what they say, how they act, what they do and why they do it. All these little bits come together to make your characters and your world come to life.
But before all of that: Care about what you write. Love your characters for all of their foibles, for their strengths and their weaknesses. Respect them. Be passionate about the story you’re telling, and your readers will be passionate as well.
The rest is commentary.
Learning to write means learning to listen. To really hear the words on the page. To slide the syllables across your tongue like you’re tasting your last meal, memorizing the flavors and finding the feelings they create. Words are like a banquet when properly prepared.
Say the words out loud so you can feel their impact. Are they like soft caresses, a baby blanket tickling your nose, or are they sledgehammers pounding through the walls, shaking your whole body until you can’t remember what it was to be still? Sometimes you want a caress, other times you’ll need the sledgehammer.
Learning to write means paying attention to the world around you. I don’t mean just noticing what color the leaves are. (Purple, of course.) I mean hearing the people around you, noticing what they say, how they act, what they do and why they do it. All these little bits come together to make your characters and your world come to life.
But before all of that: Care about what you write. Love your characters for all of their foibles, for their strengths and their weaknesses. Respect them. Be passionate about the story you’re telling, and your readers will be passionate as well.
The rest is commentary.