RTW: For the Love of Writing!

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, a day to celebrate the love in one’s life. Usually, we think of significant others (and, indeed, romantic love is the intent of the traditional celebration), but there are other loves in our lives we should also recognize. Family, friends–and for readers and writers, that wonderful gift of language and story.

With that in mind, for this week’s Road Trip Wednesday, the YA Highway folks want to know…

What do you love most about writing (and/or reading)?

Quite simply, for me, it’s the actual writing process: putting thoughts, ideas, stories, whatever it might be into words. It’s crafting sentences; finding the correct words to express the thought as succinctly and precisely as I can. It’s thinking about sentence structure and rhythm, so the words flow with elegance. And this applies whether I’m writing fiction, non-fiction, novels, papers, blog articles, or emails. Yes, I will even pour over an email message, checking grammar and spelling, sentence flow and vocabulary. In other words, I never stop being a writer. Even this short blog article will be reviewed and edited as if it were a chapter in a novel!

What do you love about reading and/or writing? Comment below, or join in the RTW fun (details on the YA Highway blog).

cds

Colin D. Smith, writer of blogs and fiction of various sizes.

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26 Responses

  1. That’s interesting that you named the mechanics of writing, the form and structure of the sentences. It’s sort of like building or gardening — you want to create something that makes sense, and that’s pleasing to the eye. I find myself checking punctuation and spelling in my text messages, too!

    • cds says:

      I think the thing that points most to the fact that it’s the mechanics I enjoy is the fact that I love writing, period. Not just fiction, but non-fiction, blog articles–whatever! Now, there are aspects of novel writing that I enjoy over non-fiction writing, and there are things about non-fiction writing that I prefer over novel writing. But the thing that entices me to do either is that love of the writing process.

  2. I can definitely relate to a love of the mechanics. I know I love the rhythm of the words forming sentences and stringing together into paragraphs that sing. It can be so rewarding to finally tune a sentence in to that “rightness”. 🙂

    • cds says:

      For me, there is nothing like that warm bubbly feeling in the pit of the stomach that comes when you hit upon the perfect sequence of words that express exactly what you’re trying to say, and does so with just the right rhythm and flow. Ten minutes on my blog will give evidence to the fact that while I love the mechanics of writing, I don’t have those warm bubbly moments often enough. But it’s such fun trying! 🙂

  3. Jaime says:

    I feel the same way about finding the right words and making them flow. I think sometimes I go overboard with this, fiddling and fiddling with the same sentences just to make them perfect. For me, when it comes to writing and reading, I love the idea of escaping to another world that is so much more interesting than mine, whether it’s me creating that world or someone else. 🙂

    • cds says:

      Yes, there is the danger of becoming too picky, and you have to let it go before you get mired in indecision and frustration. Usually, the perspective of time (and a good beta reader) will help you determine if the words are as well-tweaked as they can be. 🙂

  4. Melanie says:

    Ha, that is NOT one of the things I love about writing. I do love when a sentence/chapter/the whole thing comes together, but I struggle sometimes over finding just the right words. I love the broader aspect- the characters, the plot, the world.

    • cds says:

      I think if I were to focus just on fiction writing, then yes, there’s a lot to love about character development and world building. But when I look at writing as a whole, it’s the mechanics, the art of putting words together in a way that evokes meaning as elegantly as I can.

  5. Carrie says:

    It’s awesome that you love the mechanics of writing. Finding the write words is such an important part of the process

    • cds says:

      Looking at writing as a whole, I do think that whole process of choosing the right word is the most satisfying. There are aspects of fiction writing and non-fiction writing that are fun in their own right, but for me, I get the greatest buzz from hitting upon the perfect word or phrase for whatever it is I’m writing. 🙂

  6. Aubrey says:

    I also love the editing process! I could get lost for days on one paragraph and rewriting sentence after sentence. Sometimes, well actually most of the time, I just have to let it go by the 3rd or 4th revision!

    • cds says:

      Yes–sometimes it’s hard knowing when to stop and let a few days or weeks pass before looking again. And even then, it sometimes takes another pair of eyes telling you “that works” before you can finally leave it alone. 🙂

  7. haha, I also tend to obsess over emails and blog posts. The feeling of getting it “just right” is a powerful one.

  8. Erin L. Funk says:

    While the really technical side of writing can feel a bit tedious to me, sometimes the challenge of it is almost like a game, and it’s very rewarding to see all the different aspects of writing click together into a nice finished product, I like how you said that you never stop being a writer. If writers are supposed to communicate important truths about life through their stories, then writing has to be a part of everything you do in some way.

    • cds says:

      I don’t know about you, but for me, the art of writing is part of who I am, and it’s not something I can turn off. I don’t become a writer when I’m sitting down to work on my novel, and turn it off when I’m instant messaging someone. I’m always thinking about the words I use. Granted, the way I use words will change according to context (novel, email, academic paper), but I can’t be careless about written language. That’s what I mean when I say I’ve never stopped being a writer–and I don’t think I ever will! 🙂

  9. Kris Atkins says:

    I love creating new characters and getting to know them. Even before I wrote/was a writer, I made up characters. Sooo much fun.

    • cds says:

      Hello, Kris! Yes–me too! My brother and I were always inventing characters and making up stories for them. It almost seems inevitable that I would continue to write stories well into adulthood! 🙂

  10. Beck says:

    Crafting that perfect sentence is a great feeling. Sometimes I get stuck and will agonize for ages over the exact right word.

    • cds says:

      Absolutely, Beck! And it’s so satisfying when you find just the right words. It doesn’t happen often enough for me, but I try to get as close as I can. 🙂

  11. The best part for me is how the characters come to life and start doing their own thing. I love it when I get so in the zone that it doesn’t feel like i’m even writing, it’s more like i’m channeling from some other source entirely. Very cool.

    I like your blog! New follower. 🙂

    http://www.onemagicbeanbuyer.blogspot.com

    • cds says:

      Hello, Tamara! Thanks for following!! 😀 I’ll try to keep things interesting for you. 😉

      I have those “zone” times too, when time flies by, and the words are all coming from somewhere, and I’m not sure exactly where this plot suddenly sprung from, and why that character is saying that, but it’s cool so I’ll run with it…!

  12. stephscottil says:

    I bet you like revising… I do too! I like the process of writing, and I love learning a new skill to improve my writing. I’m not one that loves to freewrite; I like structure and I constantly revise. I’ve had to learn to find a process where I’m not constantly revising, which is why I did nanowrimo again this year. I have to allow myself to let loose.

    • cds says:

      An interesting thought, Stephanie. It’s true that I find it hard to let a bad sentence, or even a sentence that I know could be better, alone. But I think it helps my story writing process if I try to get the story down first, and then go back and craft the words later. So, yes, the revision process is fun, but I too have had to learn to let loose when writing the story for the sake of not being stuck during the writing process.

  13. Robin Moran says:

    I love the process of writing when it just comes to you and everything clicks. Weaving those plots and sub-plots together, plotting away the journey of a character, and finding that voice to fit you as a writer and your WiP.

    You have to love the journey of writing a story from 1st draft to revision. Creating something is such an achievement.

    • cds says:

      When it comes to fiction, the process of creating characters and a world, and telling a story that allows you to explore ideas is so cool. 🙂

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