First Update for the Year

 

Traci Kenworth

 

 

 

I intended to post this early this morning but got sidetracked by black ice and a fall. I’m okay, my knees are just a little banged up and hand and legs hurt but otherwise, A-OK.  Just wasn’t expecting the ground to slip out from beneath my feet, lol. I think that sometimes happens in our writing life too. We’re sprinting along on a project and then bam, something happens to set us back. I had plenty of that for the last 3-4 weeks with editing. Most of it involved not being sure of where I was going but some of it was a sneak-attack that left me crawling over a puddle of ice, trying to reach solid or stable ground.

 

I have learned SO much from The Other Side of the Story and taking the approach of having my character/s face a problem in every scene, usually stemming from something’s that’s gone before like little ripples on a pond.  It’s really shaped my story up nicely. Now, I’m not just giving them just ANY problem but one that relates either to my main plot or is an off-shoot of one of my subplots.  I can’t tell you how much stronger my characters are for doing this. I’ve had to step back and dissect each scene and figure out the heart of them. The result is amazing.

 

Never stop learning your craft. It’s so important to grow as writers. When it comes to my stories, I want to always reach beyond the ordinary. I want to make the reader laugh, cry, sing, dance, all the emotions available to us, but most of all, I want to leave them with hope. A hope that light can shine into the darkness and beat it back. My characters have gone from stick-figures to people you can almost hear breathe. That’s no accident. It’s pushing myself that stretches those boundaries, moves me into the next level. Don’t be afraid to reach for the seemingly impossible. You’ll love where it takes you and your work. Good luck and happy writing.