Posts
Before I start - last chance to enter my contest is Wednesday the 23rd.Now as the Franken-Novel - no I don't mean I'm Mary Shelley. More like Dr. Frankenstein. See it occurs to me while working on this WIP that it's sort of like having a patient on the operating table, guts spread out in all directions, waiting to be pieced together again. Only it's more than just your average patient. I am in some ways playing God - trying to breathe life into something inanimate.
We have to be able to take this thing, slice it up, reattach and insert things, and leave no visible scars. So how do we do that? How do we keep the soul of thing intact?
Bet you thought I was going to start listing pointers here, right? Well, the truth is that in this case I'm not sure there are any. We can (and should) study craft, review and dissect the work of others, take classes and go to conferences and workshops, and do any of the other worthwhile things writers do. But there's also a heart to this folks. I don't mean to sound all existential or anything, but they don't call it "art" for nothing. Because at the end of the day, when we've done all but (and maybe including) bleed into the manuscript, it's that little bit of our own soul that's transferred over, and in this writer's opinion, that's what ultimately makes it breathe.
So don't go running out there screaming, "Lisa said it's art so I don't have to work so hard anymore!" Uh-uh. Nope. Not what I said. What I AM saying is, in your obsession (because let's face it we tend as a group to obsess) to follow all the rules, analyze plot and structure, character, hooks, and everything else under the sun - DON'T FORGET THE CREATIVITY. Therein lies the soul I've been talking about. Don't lose that. Please.
