Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Writing and Vaudeville #MFRWauthor #writingtips

 When I read this quote by Dwight V, Swain, I chuckled but then had to admit it was so true.  "Writing fiction is like playing in vaudeville, except that you have to devise a new act for each performance."

Each story a writer creates has it's own problems and success or failure. We've all read some favorite authors, maybe even devour every thing they write. But we don't like all of them. Some of the stories fall flat. Sometimes when writing, one story doesn't resonate with the writer the way the last one did. In the beginning all the stories seem wonderful to the author but discovering that each story is in some way harder than the last one is a hard admission to make.

Consistence and productivity are the keys to making a career. Writing one story that is an instant success and then writing little more because the story doesn't work doesn't see the author going anywhere. Often they're frustrated.

Endurance seems to be what happens. If the story idea is a good one, keeping at it day after day can be the key until suddenly all forms a shape a pattern and the story comes together.  So are you persistent? Do you have within the desire to produce word after word, delete those words one after another, listen to critique partners and make the suggested changes? If so, you're on the way but remember each new story is like the vaudeville act that you're showing to a slew of readers.

1 comment:

Judy Baker said...

Thanks Janet, I needed to hear those words. I've been stalemate on my WIP and I'm in chapter 8. Thanks for the post.