So last week in Pyromancy land, we wrote 5 chapters. We're kind of cruising through it, and it's exciting stuff, but it's also some of the most emotional and difficult writing I've ever done.
Sam goes through some stuff in this one, and I had the privilege of sitting behind his head, and it left me kind of depressed.
We started this as a game. And I love it. I LOVE this darn thing. I love our characters, and the staggering honesty that comes from such different characters in the same world.
But right now, I feel like I can barely write a sentence.
There are a thousand reasons why we write stories, but for me, one of the reasons is to teach that dragons are real, and that they can be defeated. But that means sometimes that we need to wade through an awful lot of dragon crap. We do it, because the darker it goes, the more powerful the light when it comes. I'm a big fan of painting with dark and light colors. It's necessary to paint a clear and honest picture.
But at the same time, how much darkness are we willing to create? How much darkness can we add to the real world just for the sake of telling a story?
I'm a super fan of Downton Abby, and I think Julian Fellowes is a brilliant master of his craft, but dang it, Dude. Why do you keep punishing the likable characters? It's like if he has a likable character you just know know that he will be killing or destroying that character. It makes for some beautiful drama, but it also creates darkness in a world that is sometimes just plain sucksville.He balances it with kindness, wit, humor, beauty, and just sunshine. That's the reason why I keep watching, even when he keeps punching me in the emotional kidneys.
So today, I want to give you Prosers a challenge. Write light and hope into your current WIP. Add as much brightness as you can.
Because the world need to know what's on the other side of the storm. That's every bit as important.
Maybe more.
~Sheena
You keep saying we wrote 5 chapters, but that just can't be possible. 5 chapters in one week? Plus all the crying jags and epiphanies and time spent talking each other back from the edge? Wow. We are super women.
ReplyDeleteLet's see if we can beat that next week. I'm a teensy bit addicted to this dark/light novel of ours.
The knife chapter, the beach chapter, Ana's reaction to the beach chapter, Juliette's reaction to the beach chapter, Sam's reaction to the morning after, The pool chapter.
DeleteTechnically that's six chapters. I keep calling it five because I'm not a thousand percent sure when you put the knife one up.
I'm pretty sure this week will be going slower, mostly because my brain is slightly broken, Sabrina has a busy life, and you should be doing your final edits on HM.
But we'll get there, because we're all slightly more than addicted.
Is it weird that I like knowing the story has a bit of darkness to it? I do like dark stories, but they can get too dark and too depressing without a little bit of light and hope weaved in.
ReplyDeleteI'm so impressed on how you guys are cruising along on this sequel. You are all my writing heroes. :)