I Blame Valerie Parv

Okay, as I've said many times, I write by the seat of my pants. Make an outline? Are you kidding? Why would I do that? White board jokes abound, my plotter friends (Sherry Jones) throw dry erase markers at me. These planner types are very fond of questions like "Why?" and "What about the plot?"

So, what about the plot?

Until yesterday, I was happily tooling along, writing on the WIP, overjoyed that that words were flowing. It's all awesome, getting the story down, in the first, very rough draft, and just having a heck of a good time getting to know my characters, playing with scenes - in short, having a blast playing in my own little world, ecstatic to be there.

Now then, I'd sent Valerie Parv an IM that said, "This is the Writing Police."

Her response? "You have no jurisdiction here."

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Apparently, she believes that we're on two different continents, in two different hemispheres means I have  no jurisdiction to hassle her a bit. I disagreed, and we wound up talking about my WIP. (Sometimes we talk about Valerie's WIP, but yesterday, it was mine in the hotseat.)

She liked the title, liked what I told her, then she dropped the W bomb.

"Why?"

Uhhhh....

Shrugging Emoticon

"What why?" (Me, disingenuously.)

Valerie: "You have to have a plot."

Head Scratching Emoticon

Valerie: "It drives the story forward."

Well, yeah, it does. I KNOW that, but Valerie, you're asking such HARD questions. I don't analyze, I don't ask questions (in the first draft round of writing)...I just take dictation from the Muse. Valerie made a fairly rude suggestion about what I should tell the Muse about the way she does things.

Shocked Emoticon


But, and I'm REALLY loathe to admit this (and many will snicker - Sherry Jones, Valerie Parv, possibly Angie and Grace...and likely an entire cave of bats, and they know who they are, just as well as I do)...The wheels started turning as I considered just what I could do with the elements I already had down, and it had it's own soundtrack by The Cars. *You Might Think* is a fun song to have playing on an endless soundloop in your noggin while you go through your morning ablutions. *Nodding. And rather appropriate that I have The Cars serenading me while contemplating Plot...because both cars and plot DRIVE something/someone somewhere. Yeah, I just made an analogy. I'm shocked and dismayed that I did, especially since it's so...PLOTTERISH.

And because I'm so busy answering questions, I"ll pose one and provide the answer..."What does this mean for the WIP?"

Why, I'm glad you asked! This means that I will go back to the beginning (I'm almost through chapter 6, but it's in a good spot to just abandon it and pick up later), and start layering in all these crazy, plotterish notions that have been occurring since OMG, The Sun's Not Even Up Yet O'Clock this morning. Let the fun begin! It's all creative, it's all writing...Creatively writing = Happy Laura.

And it's all Valerie Parv's fault.


@&@&@&@&@&@&@&@&@&@&@&@


When we read, we stat at the beginning and continue until we reach the end. When we write, we start in the middle and fight our way out.

Vickie Karp

Creative Writing...Or Writing Creatively

The definition of creative writing is writing that expresses ideas and thoughts in an imaginative way. The writer gets to gets to express feelings and emotions instead of just presenting the facts. 

Defining Creative Writing

Creative Writing can be defined as,

“A form of writing that expresses writer’s feelings, emotions, experiences, ideas, or thoughts obtained at a conscious or subconscious level. It is more driven by the writer’s need to “express”, and is generally articulated in the most unique, inventive, and poetic way”.

or

“Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature”.

Imagination, as defined by Merriam-Webster Online: 

2

a : creative abilityb : ability to confront and deal with a problem :resourcefulness imagination and get us out of here>c : the thinking or active mind : interest <stories that fired the imagination>

3

a : a creation of the mind; especially : an idealized or poetic creationb : fanciful or empty assumption

 See imagination defined for English-language learners »

See imagination defined for kids »

What a wonderful thing, imagination. Without it, there'd be no wheel. Man wouldn't have gotten curious about what was on the other side of the mountain or what mysteries could be found on the other side the really big, deep puddle. Imagination took us off our planet to explore the moon, and keeps us exploring space. Goes hand-in-hand with a healthy dose of curiosity. 


Imagination is what prompts us writers to write. Curiosity often fuels our need to finish the story. Curiosity to see how it will all turn out (even if you're a plotter, and most especially if you write by the seat of your pants...), coupled with the imagination that envisioned the story to begin with? Powerful. Compelling. CREATIVE WRITING.


I've learned over the years that the more I write, the more I evolve. My writing voice is unique to me, as yours is to you, as Nora Roberts' is to her, as Stephen King's is to him. I've discovered the greatest harm I can do to myself as a writer is to compare myself to BNA's and my writing friends, because when all is said and done, we are all unique in our gift of storytelling because our imaginations are all unique to us. 



&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&




The greatest rules of dramatic writing are conflict, conflict and conflict.
~James Frey


The story is not in the plot but in the telling.
~Ursula K. LeGuin


A story isn't about a moment in time, a story is about the moment in time.
~W. D. Wetherell



&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&