Moods and Emotional Writing
Do moods contribute to or detract from your writing? Your writing routine?
Affecting my routine the most are the moods around me, rather than my own. I can be in the middle of a productive day when someone's negative attitude or unhelpful spirit will sidetrack me.
On those days, I try not to be too hard on myself and write at another time - usually after everyone has gone to bed. When on deadline, I block out enough of the negativity to push through.
What about my own moods? I tend to be a happy camper, so it's seldom when I'm less than a "perky" nuisance. But those rare days can alter my writing, so I've learned to utilize them. Those are the days when I write my darkest, saddest, meanest scenes. My mood fits, so my writing fits. Then, when the storm blows over, I can write perky again.
I've been reading and studying a variety of books written by numerous Christian authors. Today, I verbalized a major lesson that I've learned the last few weeks and I'd like to share it here.
So far, I've written sweet, happy books/stories. Oh, they have the dramatic and/or tear-jerking scenes but they still are "lightweight" books. As I've read these other books that have gotten me emotional enough I have to put the book down for a period of time I've realized that these writers EXCEL at this type of story, and I enjoy reading them to a point. I can't read many of them in a short time period, and I'm not sure I will ever be able to write those types of books.
Why? The only answer I can come up with (and I'm not even sure it's the right one!) - I have lived through some pretty horrid situations in my life and reading was always an escape from the pain and dysfunction surrounding me. If I were to choose to write a book with such tragedy and sorrow in it, I would be putting myself into the same situations that I've tried to escape all these years.
Does that mean I'm a chicken? No. Or not as talented a writer? That remains to be seen, but for the sake of this column, I'll say "I don't think so." Books are a way to escape and I will write those escapes to the best of my ability and provide my readers with a relief from their daily lives. Hopefully, in my books, they will find something to laugh about, maybe shed a tear or two from happiness, and in the end, walk away with a smile on their face.
Does it mean the other writers are wrong? Absolutely not. It means they are gifted in a way that I am not. It means that they are willing and able to be emotionally drained each time they write a scene. It has to be draining - how else could they pour out such emotion on the page without the words taking some part of the writer down with it?
I can learn tremendous amounts from these authors, and may even someday write like them, but for now, I'll continue being perky.
Affecting my routine the most are the moods around me, rather than my own. I can be in the middle of a productive day when someone's negative attitude or unhelpful spirit will sidetrack me.
On those days, I try not to be too hard on myself and write at another time - usually after everyone has gone to bed. When on deadline, I block out enough of the negativity to push through.
What about my own moods? I tend to be a happy camper, so it's seldom when I'm less than a "perky" nuisance. But those rare days can alter my writing, so I've learned to utilize them. Those are the days when I write my darkest, saddest, meanest scenes. My mood fits, so my writing fits. Then, when the storm blows over, I can write perky again.
I've been reading and studying a variety of books written by numerous Christian authors. Today, I verbalized a major lesson that I've learned the last few weeks and I'd like to share it here.
So far, I've written sweet, happy books/stories. Oh, they have the dramatic and/or tear-jerking scenes but they still are "lightweight" books. As I've read these other books that have gotten me emotional enough I have to put the book down for a period of time I've realized that these writers EXCEL at this type of story, and I enjoy reading them to a point. I can't read many of them in a short time period, and I'm not sure I will ever be able to write those types of books.
Why? The only answer I can come up with (and I'm not even sure it's the right one!) - I have lived through some pretty horrid situations in my life and reading was always an escape from the pain and dysfunction surrounding me. If I were to choose to write a book with such tragedy and sorrow in it, I would be putting myself into the same situations that I've tried to escape all these years.
Does that mean I'm a chicken? No. Or not as talented a writer? That remains to be seen, but for the sake of this column, I'll say "I don't think so." Books are a way to escape and I will write those escapes to the best of my ability and provide my readers with a relief from their daily lives. Hopefully, in my books, they will find something to laugh about, maybe shed a tear or two from happiness, and in the end, walk away with a smile on their face.
Does it mean the other writers are wrong? Absolutely not. It means they are gifted in a way that I am not. It means that they are willing and able to be emotionally drained each time they write a scene. It has to be draining - how else could they pour out such emotion on the page without the words taking some part of the writer down with it?
I can learn tremendous amounts from these authors, and may even someday write like them, but for now, I'll continue being perky.
posted by Tracy Ruckman at
8:00 AM
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