A wonderful thing about writing

“The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile.”~ Robert Cormier

This is one of the beautiful things about writing. It is an art, not a science. There is so much to be creative about. It is exciting to start out with something in mind, only to find that a piece of writing, or a character, or a story plot takes over, creating an organic life of its own. I’ve had this happen on many occasions, even with blog articles.

Yes, I do plan what I am going to say, but sometimes I end up somewhere else entirely. With my short story writing I sometimes start with just the name of a character in mind. Then I mentally picture that person and ask myself, what is he/she doing? Why are they inhabiting my mind? What will they do with the “life” I have given them? Before I know it, this new “life” takes over, creating a little existence of its own.

Sometimes it doesn’t work like how I’ve described. That’s fine. Sometimes it is just a snatch of a conversation over heard, a memorable phrase or an amazing scene that is the leaping off point for a story. Sometimes I do know the ending from the beginning, and plan the plot accordingly. Often though, I enjoy the creative excitement of discovering the story as it unfolds.

It doesn’t always work. But that’s okay. It’s not brain surgery. I can go back over and rewrite – or even abandon the story completely.

I guess that’s why I choose to be a wordsmith – and not a brain surgeon.