So this whole writing thing is pretty personal. I take characters, thoughts, situations, daydreams, fears and desires, pretty them up and slap them down on the page. Actually it sounds a bit abusive when phrased that way, but I stand by the description. Every writer, poet and artist has their own variation on the creative process, but I’ll bet they all put some of themselves into every piece. This week I’m putting myself under the magnifying glass a bit and exploring how who I am influences my writing.
One of the most obvious things is my sense of humor, as anyone who has read any of my blog posts can tell you. At times my writing voice is so cheesy, it repels the lactose intolerant. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever written a story without a snarky or sarcastic character and I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. The main character of my current WIP is a bit of a smart ass and since it’s written in the first person, it heavily shapes the story. I’ve heard from several people that they don’t usually like sci-fi, but Roger’s humor drew them into the story. To me it is a huge compliment, hearing my writing style is engaging enough to override genre preferences.
As people, we all go through stuff. Feeling and experiencing said stuff can fuel our writing, sometimes making the difference between a compelling scene and one that feels shallow. Now my book is about enhanced humans being turned into living weapons, so I can’t say I have firsthand experience with that situation. But I have lived through plenty of difficult, scary and downright ridiculous things. Regardless of what prompts it, emotions are a common human experience. If you’ve ever felt sadness, joy, anger or guilt, you can write about that feeling from firsthand experience. For example Roger has an entire research organization depending on him when he goes on combat missions in the field. I don’t, but I do know what it feels like to have someone depending on you on a daily basis. I can write about the burden, the responsibility and the sense of purpose with just a bit more insight than if I had never experienced that.
Writing is also a way to give life to your innermost dreams and desires in big or little ways. For years I have struggled with chronic pain issues, so staying active and mobile is challenging for me. In that sense, writing about a character who is enhanced physically from the cellular level is liberating. He can outpace an Olympic sprinter, take on six men at once in unarmed combat and probably bench press a small car. I get to live through him every time I write more of his story.
Speaking of characters, books are full of them and they all have to come from somewhere. Sometimes they come from an idea, sometimes they exist for the sake of the plot, and sometimes they are based on someone you know. While I can’t say that any of my characters are complete replications of anyone, I definitely draw aspects of their personality or background from familiar sources (real and fictional). They can even be based on someone you don’t really know! I know I’ve walked away from many interactions with people thinking “I can’t imagine dealing with so and so all the time”, then I try and check myself and think “Well they’re probably not that difficult to deal with all the time.” Then my writer’s curiosity kicks in and I go “But what if they were…?” So I have characters who are the living embodiment of an interaction with a rude, impatient or ignorant individual I have crossed paths with. It almost becomes a challenge to create someone whose life story justifies them being a jerk.
All of the above means that everything that happens to me in life can be brought into my writing somehow. But there’s another side to this…a dark side *heavy breathing*. I slip into book-fueled day dreams when I should be focusing on other things or people. I can’t (and don’t want to) turn off that imagination, but it makes for some pretty awkward moments when you’re caught not listening and have to explain or come up with an excuse. (“Sorry, I was thinking about how a cybernetically enhanced soldier would respond to a stun gun” doesn’t fly with most people) But if being distracted now and again is the price I have to pay to keep writing I’ll take it. That’s totally worth it for all this power. UNLIMITED POWER!…what do you mean all this writing may have gone to my head?
Weaving the Wolfsong 