QT Bloggage...
Time for the blog chain again, (if you've come from Terri's blog HI!) and this week's question was posed by Archy :
Some people argue that creative people need “angst” to produce good work. Do you? What emotions drive you as a writer?
Oh how I heart me some angst. My boys: emo. Decorations in my writing room? Dead roses, antique forgotten items that I felt sorry for and adopted. My characters? OH HOW THEY ANGST. And to get there, I ride the wave. I'm a firm believer that you've gotta get there, suffer for your art and embrace it. Do you have to be sad to write a sad scene? Do you have to be happy to write a happy scene? Yes and no. If you don't feel it, it's not going to come across on the page. And if your readers don't feel it you are not doing your job. This doesn't mean I walk around a sad little ball of Emo every day. I keep a little flame aglow at all times...when I need to tap into that I throw on some angsty music and fan the fire. Most times I'm a perfectly well adjusted adult. Still, there's always a little angst in my life. There's times like tonight, where I'm sitting here with my friend Morgan ANGSTING about what to put on this entry because it will be made of EPIC FAIL no matter what and listening to Hey Jude and H.I.M. and . Is it emotastic? Sure. Will I tap into it later and use it in a scene? Possibly. Must you angst to write? First rule of writing...Write what you know.
Q: What emotions drive you as a writer?
A: EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. As a writer you've gotta know how to use every item in your arsenal and use them correctly. You need to be able to tap into how you felt at different moments and bring those feelings back to life. Emotions are nothing more than tools in your toolbox. You do this everyday in your normal life. If your friend tells you she's pregnant, you instantly pick a tool. Is this happy news? Sad news? You need to know the backstory to pick the right tool and you damn well BETTER have the skills TO pick the right one. Hey, at least in writing there's editing :)
Heather is up next...Check out her blog here.
Some people argue that creative people need “angst” to produce good work. Do you? What emotions drive you as a writer?
Oh how I heart me some angst. My boys: emo. Decorations in my writing room? Dead roses, antique forgotten items that I felt sorry for and adopted. My characters? OH HOW THEY ANGST. And to get there, I ride the wave. I'm a firm believer that you've gotta get there, suffer for your art and embrace it. Do you have to be sad to write a sad scene? Do you have to be happy to write a happy scene? Yes and no. If you don't feel it, it's not going to come across on the page. And if your readers don't feel it you are not doing your job. This doesn't mean I walk around a sad little ball of Emo every day. I keep a little flame aglow at all times...when I need to tap into that I throw on some angsty music and fan the fire. Most times I'm a perfectly well adjusted adult. Still, there's always a little angst in my life. There's times like tonight, where I'm sitting here with my friend Morgan ANGSTING about what to put on this entry because it will be made of EPIC FAIL no matter what and listening to Hey Jude and H.I.M. and . Is it emotastic? Sure. Will I tap into it later and use it in a scene? Possibly. Must you angst to write? First rule of writing...Write what you know.
Q: What emotions drive you as a writer?
A: EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. As a writer you've gotta know how to use every item in your arsenal and use them correctly. You need to be able to tap into how you felt at different moments and bring those feelings back to life. Emotions are nothing more than tools in your toolbox. You do this everyday in your normal life. If your friend tells you she's pregnant, you instantly pick a tool. Is this happy news? Sad news? You need to know the backstory to pick the right tool and you damn well BETTER have the skills TO pick the right one. Hey, at least in writing there's editing :)
Heather is up next...Check out her blog here.