Wonders In Writing: The Impact of Our Writing

Wonders In Writing: The Impact of Our Writing:             I have often said I am inspired at the oddest times and have no notion where my ideas, which I call germs, come from or eve...

The Impact of Our Writing

            I have often said I am inspired at the oddest times and have no notion where my ideas, which I call germs, come from or even what they mean– not until I write about them; with that in mind, I would like to tell you, Dear Reader, about a dream I had. It focuses on a cherished childhood story.

           

 In a window where the sun shone every day stood several toys: two dolls – a blonde doll with bright blue eyes; she wore a blue gingham dress past her knees and a white apron. Her blonde hair was divided into two braided pony tails, and a brown-haired doll with dark brown eyes, which stood close to the first doll. This second doll also had her hair divided, but into two bushy pony tails. She wore a brown dress with a beige apron, and on her face, she had a gold pair of eyeglasses.  On the shelf, also, were the following: a white sheep, a dark brown horse, and two black and white cows; not far off was a cherry-red, race car. On the very top shelf was a pink piggy bank. This toy had two black eyes and long, black eyelashes.  

            Every day a girl came to see these toys. She watched as the toys were bought and replaced. The pink piggy bank never moved. She wanted her mom to come with her one day. Maybe her mom would fall in love with the toy, too, and buy it so they could take her home. But her mom never came and so the girl would come and watch and wait and hope no one else would buy the piggy. Because the girl loved that piggy so much it was difficult for her to understand why no one wanted the piggy.

          As a young female reader I, like the girl in the story, didn’t understand why that piggy stood alone day after day. What was the meaning in that?

            I read and loved this story before I studied and understood like elements like theme -- what point the writer wanted the reader to get from the story – characterization, setting, and symbolism.

            Today, I could speculate on these different elements, but what good would that do seeing I don’t have access to that story? I don’t remember the title or the author’s name. All I do know now is this story had such an impact on me it has stayed with me all these years, and this is much, much longer than most memories remain. This may be the point of the story: some stories become a part of us; they remain with us through the good and the bad, and they come back to us when we’re reflecting on something else.  

            And this is the responsibility that we must have to our readers – to remember that what we write does become a part of our readers’ psyche. And for the writer to remember that it is indeed an honor to know that something we wrote will be filed into the deepest parts of the reader’s mind and heart.                          

The Romance Novel as a Study in Character Development

I don’t usually read romance novels. It’s not that I don’t believe in romance and love and all the rest that go with it; it’s just I have preferred suspense and detective/mystery novels. However, as most of us know, a little romance fits in anywhere – so, I told myself, why not read it? I might find myself enjoying it.

Debbie Macomber’s novel, Twelve Days of Christmas, definitely fits into the romance genre. I do recommend the book for all readers, although I can picture several students and readers now wrinkling their nose at my suggestion. So, for all of you who feel the same way I felt about romance novels, listen up: we may all learn something new or be reminded of something we need to incorporate into our own writing.

Twelve Days of Christmas isn’t that long – 268 pages to be exact and the writing flows so there are no obvious blocks to the reading flow. Macomber, however, spends a great deal of the novel in character development. So much so that by the time the reader hits the ¾ point of the book, he or she is wondering what is to come of these characters that have fallen in love in the twelve-day-time span. (I know . . . is that even possible?!)

After the reader is finished with the novel, the way Macomber utilizes character development is obvious: the reader knows and understands both characters – the female and the male. And the reader fully comprehends why both characters have behaved the way they have throughout the entire novel. If Macomber hadn’t spent so much time developing the characters, readers wouldn’t care if they resolved their differences in the ending, and they also wouldn’t be left pondering over the lives of the characters and where they can go from this point on.

So Dear Reader, even though Twelve Day of Christmas may not incorporate the elements of a mystery novel or even have a sense of an adventure story, we as readers/writers do learn first hand the importance of character development.

A Few Words on Allowing Someone to Read What You Have Written

No one likes to be critiqued – whether the critique follows the writing of a paper for a class and comes in the form of a grade or comes as feedback after you’ve written and published a story, a poem, or a book. Critiques can be harsh. This is especially true when either family members or close friends critique you.

It is a commonality in our culture, and for some odd reason, that not too many people want to say, “Job well done” when it comes to creative writing projects; however, if it is said, you, as the writer, are often left thinking, Did they really read it and what particularly did they like about what I wrote? In other words, the feedback lacks substance. Oftentimes the reader will simply say, “It’s good” and leave it at that. There is also a strange phenomenon that seems to take place when a person seeks a complement or acceptance from someone he or she knows: it seems that by giving positive feedback on a written report, book, or story, the person giving the positive assessment seems to feel that the writer will have one step up on the friend who didn’t produce anything.

As an instructor, I spent so many years giving positive feedback on written material that it has become second nature to me. I will be the first to say, if you worked hard at whatever you composed and you honestly feel you did a good job then you deserve to be told, “Job well done.” I also like to spend moments after reading something to reflect on the piece and on analyzing what I truly enjoyed about the writing.

I am not saying that one should lie or give false hope to a writer. I am saying, though, that if a friend or family member feels unqualified to give constructive criticism then that person should tell the writer that at the onset.

After all, as writers, we are looking for readers who will appreciate and give us constructive criticism on what we have written.

Wonders In Writing: A Writer's Life

Wonders In Writing: A Writer's Life: Writing is a lonely life – or so it has been said and by many of the greats who know more about writing than the rest of us could ever po...