Hello again!
After completing everything in a day or a week that you have to do, what else do you want to do? And what appeals to you about that activity? In other words, how does it engage (absorb, engross, captivate or fascinate) you?
Writing engages me in several ways:
1) Writing satisfies my desire to connect with people. A novel marketing course reminded me that my author website’s main purpose is to serve my readers. It lets you know what emotional experience my stories offer. Part of my weekly challenge is deciding what to post about that will interest and entertain YOU. Your benefit: you get to snoop behind the scenes of a fantasy author’s process.
2) Writing lets me explore new possibilities. What if we used talking messenger birds? What if we could cast our own holographic visions, including a soundtrack? Your benefit: you get a brief, repeatable escape from life’s mundane routines.
3) Writing is an outlet for my vivid imagination and (questionable) sense of humor. Here’s a wee sneak peek from Stoneslinger:
“She reminded him of the joke about drayhoofs, how the Profound had wed a swine to an ass. Hairy and long-eared as the one; short and squat as the other. Ten times more stubborn than either.”
Your benefit: you realize that someone else makes lamer jokes than you do. In public.
4) Writing provides an opportunity to express myself without interruption. I know, sometimes interruptions are unavoidable, especially in chats with long-winded individuals. But does anybody actually enjoy being interrupted? Your benefit: you get to control when to interrupt the story “conversation” and close the book.
I strongly encourage you to make time to pursue what fulfills you, both in active and relaxing ways. You don’t need to analyze why you enjoy them (unless your therapist says otherwise). I love to cycle, swim and stroll. Give me a stretch of road where I can build up some decent speed, or a lake that won’t cause hypothermia, or a path through a scenic landscape, and I’m supremely content.
This week, give yourself permission to explore what engages you, and then go do it. I’d love to hear about it!
Stay tuned. Next week, I’ll include a fun deleted scene from my novel.
Ciao for now,
Kai