Tuesday, November 1, 2016

The Insecure Writer and Being Able to Share Your Worlds



Today is November's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

And this month's question is:



“What's my favorite aspect of being a writer?” 

The answer: Being able to create my own worlds and characters. 

Seems like an obvious answer, right?  Who wouldn't want to be in charge of a world?  Making the rules.  Deciding who lives or dies. Heck, having the final say over what happens to my characters and my world is just plain intoxicating.  As Mel Brooks once said, "It's good to be the king."  


But now that I think about it, I realize that being able to create worlds is not the full answer. I could do all that creating in the privacy of my own head and never write a single word. What gets my juices flowing is sharing those worlds and characters with others. The people and places in my stories may feel real to me when I dream them up, and even more real when I put them down on paper, but when I share those stories with other people, the realness factor jumps by an order of magnitude. And the more people I share my story with, the better.

But none of that will happen if I don't finish my story, so I'm determined to keep writing until the world has a chance to see my completed story. 

That’s the attitude that keeps me coming back to the manuscript during those dark days when the words don’t come. 

ChemistKen 

25 comments:

  1. Great attitude, Ken!! Keep going and continue to enjoy the journey. All the best.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with you! Sharing our work with others is a great thrill. And determination (sometimes I think stubbornness is the best trait for writers) is a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is the fun of sharing it with others.
    You are going to finish! Darn it, I want to read it some day.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You and I are on the same page! You will finish it. You can do it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love building worlds. You will finish, Ken. We all have faith in you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sharing your writing with others is the ultimate goal.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It can be a relief to live somewhere else for a little while. The real world can wait. :-)

    Anna from elements of emaginette

    ReplyDelete
  8. I agree that the sharing is a key point to my enjoyment of being a writer. Which is why, when my books don't sell well, I fall into a funk. It feels like no one wants me to share my stories.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That's a very good reason, Ken. Makes total sense.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Creating worlds and characters and then sharing them is the best. Now that I think about it, I do think that's why I love to write.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Watch out, that love will continue to evolve. =) Keep at it! You're creating magic.

    ReplyDelete
  12. You've hit that proverbial nail on its head! It's the SHARING of our ideas that truly keeps those creative juices flowing out of our heads and onto our keyboards.

    Happy November,
    Jen

    ReplyDelete
  13. Like the Velveteen Rabbit, they become more and more real.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I couldn't agree with you more! Keep writing!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. It sure is fun to create something out of nothing!

    ReplyDelete
  16. We have very similar answers today! Those characters are so real, it's fun to get them out and about! :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Can't wait to see your story! I love creating new worlds. It is mega fun.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I should have guessed our ideas would be similar, but you took it to the conclusion. Yep, you're going to finish. I have to decide whether I like chickens better than writing because I don't think I'll ever have time to do both right.

    ReplyDelete
  19. As scary as it might be at times, it's all in the sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Yes, I agree! Creating worlds and characters is one of the best things about writing, for sure! Keep on plugging along on your ms—you'll get there!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Keep writing up a storm, Ken!
    Happy IWSG!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Completion is important isn't it. Nothing more frustrating that a half-done manuscript collecting virtual dust on the hard drive.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I like the same thing. Plus I need to do the same thing as you. I so get where you are coming from. I'm NaNoing this year again, so hoping to have a novella draft.

    Juneta @ Writer's Gambit

    ReplyDelete
  24. I hope you have many readers who enjoying sharing those worlds!
    Mary at Play off the Page

    ReplyDelete
  25. The worlds and the characters are definitely sweetest when shared with someone who appreciates them. I'm looking forward to diving in someday!

    ReplyDelete