I like to compare the writing process to the stages of development of a life.
Coming up with a snappy idea for a story. Well, that's like the excitement of seduction, meeting someone for the first time, getting to know him and discover all his charms.
Solidifying the snappy idea into a meaningful structure for a story. Clearly, this is the act of conception. Messy, exciting, wondrous, mind-boggling. Tender, yet stimulating. So full of potential, it almost hurts.
Writing the story. For me, this is the time of labor. Seeing the idea develop into a real, living thing. It's not a story yet - it won't be a story until it is finished, the day it is born, but you know it's there. You can feel the pulsation of life as the story develops and develops.
Editing the story. This is comparable to delivery and birth. It can go fast, it can take forever, and it is always painful, difficult, tense, frightening. It is during the most intense moments of editing that you wonder, why am I still dealing with this story? Don't I have better ones to work on? But it's your story, and so you keep at it. Besides, what choice do you have?
Selling and marketing the story. This is the long, difficult process of raising your child, helping her become the person you dreamed about in those moments of seduction and conception. You experience periods of great joy at your off-spring's accomplishments, days of sorrow when you are confronted with bad news, until finally the day comes when your story stands on its own merits and your job as creator is finished.
Most of us like the first two stages of writing - coming up with the idea and developing it into a possible story. Only a few of us have the courage and determination to go the rest of the distance. And even then, the writing universe is littered with still-births, abortions, and abandoned babies. And sadder still, there are even a few really great stories that just don't get the nurturing and development they need to make them into living examples of a person's creative urges.
Coming up with a snappy idea for a story. Well, that's like the excitement of seduction, meeting someone for the first time, getting to know him and discover all his charms.
Solidifying the snappy idea into a meaningful structure for a story. Clearly, this is the act of conception. Messy, exciting, wondrous, mind-boggling. Tender, yet stimulating. So full of potential, it almost hurts.
Writing the story. For me, this is the time of labor. Seeing the idea develop into a real, living thing. It's not a story yet - it won't be a story until it is finished, the day it is born, but you know it's there. You can feel the pulsation of life as the story develops and develops.
Editing the story. This is comparable to delivery and birth. It can go fast, it can take forever, and it is always painful, difficult, tense, frightening. It is during the most intense moments of editing that you wonder, why am I still dealing with this story? Don't I have better ones to work on? But it's your story, and so you keep at it. Besides, what choice do you have?
Selling and marketing the story. This is the long, difficult process of raising your child, helping her become the person you dreamed about in those moments of seduction and conception. You experience periods of great joy at your off-spring's accomplishments, days of sorrow when you are confronted with bad news, until finally the day comes when your story stands on its own merits and your job as creator is finished.
Most of us like the first two stages of writing - coming up with the idea and developing it into a possible story. Only a few of us have the courage and determination to go the rest of the distance. And even then, the writing universe is littered with still-births, abortions, and abandoned babies. And sadder still, there are even a few really great stories that just don't get the nurturing and development they need to make them into living examples of a person's creative urges.
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