I haven't posted in over a month, hard at work on next manuscript and unwilling to risk losing the 'thread' of my story. But I've taken a few breaks to read, and today I found this on Janet Reid's blog.
It's not about what you think...
http://therumpus.net/2010/07/dear-sugar-the-rumpus-advice-column-44-how-you-get-unstuck/
I'll wait here while you finish. Yeah, I brought tissues. *taps foot*
Were you blown away? Talk about stripping away all the bullshit to reveal what's underneath. Writing bone-marrow deep like that takes real courage. Sometimes I get close. I look over the edge, stare truth in the eye. But something--now I know it's fear--makes me blink. Instead of bold and ugly and real, I pull back and write 'safe'.
Someday, I swear--and even if it takes a lifetime--I'm going to write like Sugar.
-T
Showing posts with label This is Real Writing.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label This is Real Writing.. Show all posts
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Monday, August 20, 2012
Dark and gritty?
Here goes: My first post as T.D. Hart, author of gritty mysteries and dark thrillers.
What do those thing mean? Dark...gritty?
To me, it means stripping away the pretty cover to see what's beneath. Because what hides below our shiny veneers is often the truth: our deepest fears, the parts we know are broken. We frantically conceal the holes in our personalities because we're certain if anyone knew us--I mean really knew us--we'd be unlovable.
Most of my characters hide the same things as you and me: Guilt, anger, pain, greed (which is really fear dressed in an expensive suit); a desperate need to be loved.
Funny thing though. People believe what you show them. So on the surface my characters may display arrogance or pride, courage or humility--things we expect from fictional villains and heroes. My goal as a writer will be to peel back the glossy steel coating and expose the complex human underneath.
Learning how will take years of practice--and a level of honesty that scares me to death.
Let's see how it goes.
What do those thing mean? Dark...gritty?
To me, it means stripping away the pretty cover to see what's beneath. Because what hides below our shiny veneers is often the truth: our deepest fears, the parts we know are broken. We frantically conceal the holes in our personalities because we're certain if anyone knew us--I mean really knew us--we'd be unlovable.
Most of my characters hide the same things as you and me: Guilt, anger, pain, greed (which is really fear dressed in an expensive suit); a desperate need to be loved.
Funny thing though. People believe what you show them. So on the surface my characters may display arrogance or pride, courage or humility--things we expect from fictional villains and heroes. My goal as a writer will be to peel back the glossy steel coating and expose the complex human underneath.
Learning how will take years of practice--and a level of honesty that scares me to death.
Let's see how it goes.
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