My Critique Sisters and I were discussing our challenges in writing and I said, “I have no challenges.” But of course, "there is something that must be difficult,” they replied. "What could that be?" I asked. I sit at the computer and the story flows from my mind, heart, and soul via my fingers, through the keys, to the blank page. My chapters are scenes in a movie. My characters are real to me. I love dialogue. And I write. And write and write. My greatest obstacle is placing life on hold so I can delve into my fantasy world.
So what is my challenge? What is difficult? I realize that the meaning I attach to these words does not define writing in my vocabulary. Those two words instill the feeling of angst, the image of obstacles, the thought of overwhelming frustration, being burdensome, demanding, or unyielding. And writing does not make me feel anything but creativity, joy and flow. There lays my personal challenge... vocabulary.
Crafty, creative, emotion inducing, thought provoking words that can instill feeling, and portray characters emotions by their actions, do not come natural. They sneak in during my many rewrites. Someone said, “It’s okay to be a lousy writer, as long as you’re a great editor.” I say, "Make sure you have a thesaurus close by and a critique group."
We all have areas that need extra effort, but those areas do not have to be challenges. They just require a little more attention. Keep crafting and each day you will be one step closer to your dream, and remember to remove the word "difficult" from your vocabulary.
Karlene
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