A Look Inside My Head

One of the subjects I avoid the most is probably the one thing that most of you are the most interested in, that being the craft of writing. One of the reasons I avoid it is because I don't believe there is a way to teach writing, per se'. I think that, like a lot of things, you are born with a certain set of skills that get manipulated by your environment that inturn produces a mentally challenged individual that thinks that writing stories in exchange for monetary consideration is a good idea. Here's an example of why I think this way:

In the current novel I'm writing, our protagonist is searching for a missing friend. His search leads him to finding a key... a clue to be sure, and an important one... when the bad guys arrive on the scene, our hero, wanting to keep the key from falling into their hands, swallows it. Now, at this point, seeing as how I write without a net (ie no outline, no notes) I have no idea where this key leads. All I know is that our protagonist thinks it's an important clue.

Fast forward a few hundered pages and our hero is in a dungeon, chained to the wall. The missing person he had been searching for is thrown into the cell with him. Joyous reunion, right? Well, our hero's formerly missing chum makes the comment, and I paraphrase to retain the integrity of the novel, "Yo, man, if we bust outa here we need to run by my crib and get this key I've got stashed so we can go pick up this somethin'-somethin'..."

Now my point here is this. Prior to this moment I had no clue as to where that key led, hadn't given it much thought at all. How could I? The guy who knew where the key led hadn't entered the story yet. As soon as he hit the stage, he told me what the key was for. Let me rewind this just a bit, in case you missed that last part. I said, he told me what the key was for.

That is a perfect glimpse into the way my mind works and is a snapshot into the realm of organic writing. The story flows... it writes itself... as a writer you are barely holding onto the reins as the story leads you from page to page and revelation after revelation. I have numerous "wow" moments when I'm writing, because, quite honestly, I'm as much in the dark as a first time reader is. This for me is part of the thrill of writing

That's also why I feel that writing is something that is, if not impossible, then at least beyond difficult to teach to someone else.

"til next time...

~Bob