When I retire, I am going to be brain surgeon, Part 2

 Please read Part 1 first.

Writing isn't brain surgery, but it's hard work
By Elizabeth Floyd Mair | Albany Times Union
published at the Montreal Gazette

I found this comment in the "Brain Surgeon" article described in Part 1:

[Author Marion Roach Smith] ....recommends ... seeing what happens if you write about big events obliquely, looking at them sidelong rather than straight on. She writes that, in most cases, she'd rather read an essay about dressing for a funeral than about sitting there listening to the eulogy.

I could write a full blog post on this comment (and I probably will some day very soon.) For that reason I started to omit it here, but it gives an interesting perspective for that brain surgeon or anyone that thinks that there is nothing much involved in writing.

Is good writing more than vivid pictures and a good writing style? 

Bear with me a minute.  I remember long ago someone read a scene I had written. She commented that she could have written a better description - which was true. My style is boring. I trip over my words. (Not good for a writer.) She could write very effective descriptions that made a scene come alive.  These were necessarily  flowery, detailed descriptions that people usually skip over. Her descriptions were clear and vivid. She was very good at it.  But that was all she could do. She created photographs.


If she were writing about a funeral, she would have descriptions of everything and all from the same angle. She would not focus on anything.  The description would be the same regardless of whether her story was about:

• the 29 year old widow distraught with grief, 
• the eight year son who didn't really understand what was happening, or
• the murderer sitting along with other business associates, fearful that he might give himself away.

It would never occur to her to see the scene from a different point of view, or to write about dressing for the funeral instead of a description of the funeral itself.

There is more to being a writer than writing descriptions. You are describing something that is in your head - which first means you have to be able to create the characters, the plot, and the theme in your head. You have to play with point of view and subtle nuances.  There's your personal observations, your unique way of seeing things, and your ability to find structure and meaning in a chaotic world. 

Whatever happened to that acquaintance who read my scene? I have no idea.  She clearly is not on the best seller list. What happened to me? I grew up to develop marketing communications for a non-profit, write articles for an in-house travel magazine, do technical writing for engineers, and create training materials for a Fortune 500 company. In short, I chickened out on my creative writing.  So you shouldn't listen to me either.

Yes, I know, you were expecting a better end to this story.

But that's not really the end - it's the new beginning.  I treasure and will continue to enjoy my writing experience in the business/non-profit world. I  It's not dissatisfaction that makes me want to go back to creative writing as a sideline. Maybe it's just curiosity because I never had the courage to let go and give it a real try.  I know I am not the only writer who struggles with confidence, so I thought I would share my journey with you. We don't know how this story will end.

It takes courage to be a writer. Going back to our brain surgeon, does it take courage to be brain surgeon? Yes, you could kill someone if you don't know what you are doing.  But it's courage and confidence in your education - that's information that someone else created - and in your experience.  Interwoven with that experience is judgement and instinct and even wisdom to figure out better approaches.  Obviously, my hat's off to brain surgeons.  I wouldn't do it, even if I could. But the brain surgeon does not have to expose his inner thoughts, his personality, and the essence of who he is,,,, to criticism. So my hat's off even more to those of you have taken the writing challenge.

Oh, not one of those

Now, I don't want this to be one of those blogs where the author thinks the whole world really cares about what she had for breakfast or that the whole world really wants to read rantings about her personal demons. One reason I think this will be different is that lack of confidence is a very common demon. I am hoping my blog will encourage other people to share how they (or someone they know) overcame this challenge.

Secondly, as I begin to refocus on creating writing, I will be revisiting the classic foundations of what makes a good plot or a believable character. I will be gathering resources for writing, for connecting with other writers, for reading, and even for word study and editing. I will be throwing out writing prompts. I fact, once I start letting go, ideas are coming me so fast that I can't write them down.  So, expect a lot of "What if"s and "here's a tidbit. See what you can do with it." I think my potential readers will find at least some of this information interesting.

You may be reading this and thinking, "I am way beyond all this.  She has nothing to offer to me. But after reading this nonsense, I could sure tell her a things or two."  Please do.  You have a pulpit here.  Share your expertise.

My only "rules" for comments (or guest posts) are:

• show respect even when you are criticizing
• keep it P-13 or at least keep out anything that would embarrass someone else.Writing is about the real world so sometimes foul language and very graphic information has its place.  However, I do not want someone to type something vulgar into Google and come up with website. So use common sense.
  

Oh, and one final comment, even though I will be including links for grammar/word story sites, please feel free to misspell half the words you use and ignore every grammar rule you know. I want this to be a comfortable place. I have worked many years as a professional writer in the business and non-profit world.  (now called the not-for-profit world.) I know it is critical to know what is correct when I write something representing my company or organization. But I am not representing anyone here. I just want to play.