Living the Fictional Dream

What grips you when you sit down to write? What keeps you typing or scribbling on?

Usually, I get swept up in the story, the characters, what happens next. This is especially true when I work on one of my novels in progress, but sometimes for short stories, as well. When my muse really starts to flow, it’s like I’m channelling the lives of those characters and just trying to keep up getting everything down on paper. I usually save stuff like language and word choice for the revision.

However, I’ve noticed a slight shift in the past year or so — especially with shorter stories and flash. Sometimes, as I write, I’ve been thinking more the voice of the narrator and the language itself than I used to on the first draft.

When I wrote “The Widow and the Stranger,” Sarah’s voice sprang to mind fully formed, and I was conscious about carrying it on throughout the piece. When I wrote “Alpha,” language reflecting the canine and bestial nature of my werewolf and werecoyotes was on my mind — using “barked” instead of “yelled” or “ordered,” that sort of thing. (And the same thing happened with the new story set in this universe that I’m working on now.) I have another story out on submission at the moment with a concert pianist as a main character, and the language took on certain musical terms and (I hope) rhythms.

I’m sure this isn’t new to a lot of writers out there. I know some who’ve always focused on language and theme when they write, and I’ve admired their well-crafted stories. However, it’s not a mindset I’m used to having. I’m used to throwing myself into a story, letting it submerge me, and then worrying about perfecting the language later. But, this new mindset has been interesting. It’s not quite as passionate and spontaneous as the other, but the pieces turn out a bit more polished in the end.

It all depends on the story, I suppose. the right mindset for one, might not be the right mindset for another.