"What do you think about when writing" "How did you develop those characters" and the list goes on. I've read an inordinate amount of information on this topic too. There is so much out there, so many perspectives.
Imagine how stunned I was to realise... I worried about none of it.
To be bluntly honest, when I'm writing I don't think about the constructs and methods of writing. I don't think about character development or any of the other stuff that authors are "supposed" to be concerned with.
EEEKKKKK!!!
I can hear it now from afar!!
Authors and writers running for the hills in fright of the unwashed heathen in their midst!!
Ok, so it's not as dramatic as that, but the statement begs an explanation.
What do I think about when writing?!
I think about Discovery.
Pure and simple. Like each of us on this planet, my characters are allowed the room to discover themselves, the relevance of their own history in relation to present situations. Further to this they are allowed the freedom of circumstance and of their own perception within that framework.
Sometimes that perception is a lie that makes the gouging cut of circumstance all the more painful. At other times it is the gentle and unswerving truth that allows the false perception to be dropped.
As the author I have the wonderful advantage of being able to see the unseen my characters are living, but somehow always know.
Which brings me to the second thing I think about. Passion
Passion motivates so many different aspects of human existence. The passion to succeed in a chosen career, the passion to excel in some manner or other, the passion to ensure that someone else does not succeed!
And certainly, physical passion can and must be included here too. Passion is a motivator. Passion gives the opportunity for ordinary people to reveal their extraordinary capabilities.
Then there is one other thing I think of. Truth.
Characters must have their own truth. A unique history that gives some insight into why they do the things they do. What motivates them to excellence or despair, war or peace, love or hate. And they also must have the room to change their minds too! To be able to grow as any person is able to when faced with new truths.
So, perhaps I am thinking about character development and all of those things that authors are supposed to the thinking about, but just in my own unique way that has meaning to me.
And I think that is how it is meant to be for writers.
We write our own truths.
Why shouldn't we do it in a way that has meaning to us too?
One of the greatest joys in being an author is the delicate and private discovery of self in the pages of our novels. Writing really does release a soul into the world. Part of that soul comes from the author parent who gives it life. It is only recently that I have begun to acknowledge that aspect in my writing on a deeply personal level. And it is wondrous!
Its time to cast off the confines of tethered structure and write. As we see fit!
Never forget, cooks say the proof is in the pudding. Authors know it's also found in the editing!!
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