The Pleasure of Writing
by Elizabeth S. Craig
Sometimes I get bogged down with my deadlines. My writing-related emailing
smacks of work, book promoting can be both baffling and exhausting.
Some days, I think it's easy to lose track of why we're writing. It can
also be easy to forget why we enjoy it so much.
The last few months have been very busy ones for me. I've dived from
writing one book into writing another. I've edited one while brainstorming
another, while promoting another's release.
I'm a very task-oriented writer so I've approached my days with lists of
what I wanted to accomplish. Goals and to-dos. Scenes sketched out and lists of
editing priorities.
But I can't just write to task and not have that spark of excitement and
fun in my work. So, because I am so task-oriented, I made another list. This
one reminded me what I enjoy most about writing.
I love:
When characters come alive. And when readers email about particular
characters as if they were real.
When I'm plugging through a story and following my original plan and an even better idea occurs to me.
When I'm plugging through a story and following my original plan and an even better idea occurs to me.
When I realize I've got the opportunity for a plot twist.
When the house is quiet and I'm typing away. When I'm so deep in my story
that a small sound like my dog's snoring makes me jump.
When a reader says she's read all my books. That just bowls me over.
When I replace a so-so word with an exciting word.
When I laugh while writing a scene. (I've done this in public before. Be
careful when you write in public.)
When I can see a fictional setting in my head.
When I sit down to write in the morning and I'm excited about the scene I'm
working on next.
This list has kept me focused on why I'm writing. I'm writing because I
love it. It's a privilege to share it with others.
As a writer, what do you love best about writing? As a reader, what
engages you most with a book?
