Thursday, July 28, 2011

When the writing gets tough

A friend emailed to ask how my writing was going. I told her that I've been praying a lot about the book I'm writing. That it's been difficult because I'm dealing with a very dysfunctional family, and I write things that I  can't imagine an adult ever saying to a child and about really mean things that girls do to my character. I don't have any experience to draw on from my own life so it's a real challenge.

At the same time, I feel God is helping me, leading me down this path to find the right words at the right time. I hope that in the end, it's a powerful story of redemption. I can't wait until I write the ending because it's going to take the reader by total surprise, I think. There's a twist that gives us hope and a peace of mind and a reminder that love can overcome even the darkest moments of our lives. 

Have you had a similar experience in your writing? Have you written horrible things that you can only imagine but have no real-life experience with? How do you handle it? I find myself even crying at times, my heart feels so broken and I ache for this character. I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

2 comments:

  1. I have not written anything for publication that has affected me in the way you describe but it sounds powerful, reminds me of a book I just read that was hard to read because it had hard things to say. But I loved it because of the honesty.

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  2. I think it's important for characters to move the reader, even if that reader is also the writer! Emotional connection to characters is why I love the Harry Potter series. There's a scene in the final book that makes me tear up every time, and when I saw the last movie, I actually cried in the theater! Something I never do. In fact, just THINKING about that scene as I type is getting me a little choked up. So I better stop before my coworkers wonder what's wrong with me :)

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