You've written something, but you're not all that happy. It doesn't sound like you thought it would or even worse, it started out sounding one way, but now you can't quite get that sound back. So you curse your stiff fingers who can't seem to get it just right and your age against them, begging them to remember something you yourself have forgotten. It's okay, it's your right as an artist, after all.
To kill yourself slowly.
Because that's what you're doing. You're trying to sound like something you're not, you're trying to write a story when the purpose of this exercise is not to write a story. The real purpose is to tell the story. Writing's just a transcript. You need to make sure that the someone who's listening, the passing stranger who hears you talking to yourself might wait a while in the cold outside your window, wishing to learn the end of your tale.
See, the passing stranger doesn't really care how you write, he doesn't want you to sound like an author or even worse, a writer. Because he will very likely never see your book. He's out there now and he has a busy life to lead, he doesn't have the time or patience to keep an eye out for when you do decide your book is perfect and ready to take on the world. You have his ear, but only just for the moment, only for a second, so be quick.
Tell him the story, as he might want to hear it, in such a way that he forgets where he was going. Tell the story even if you jump from time to time and sometimes refer to your characters by the wrong name. Those things don't matter now, he'll know who you mean because you do. Tell him, even if you're making small mistakes, insignificant in retrospect, but so very dangerous because if you're not careful, you'll get swamped.
Really, your feet will get all muddy and sweaty and you'll no longer be able to get out. And then a silence will come, all-consuming and kinda sad, and the stranger will listen at your window for a few more minutes, hoping with all his heart you're really just clearing your throat or have gone for a wee, but then, seeing you're not resuming your story, he'll walk away, a bit broken-hearted and with a longing in his soul that you were not able to fill.
I'm sorry, I wish things had turned out differently too, alas they did not. And we're all left story-less. Now, the good part – and the bad, depending what angle you're seeing – is that the stranger can't really go away, because he's only just you.
Let's be honest, you didn't really think someone had stopped in the cold outside to listen in through the crack in the window, did you? You're quite paranoid, I must say.
No, it's just you, listening to the story, eager to find out more. And so, you must always treat your reader with the utmost respect, always remember you're telling them a story and that in the end, they won't care all that much if you repeated 'dastardly' a bit too much or if you forgot proper punctuation. They'll just remember the story, the journey you took them on, and you in turn, will see their anxious eyes, hanging upon your every word, careful not to fall off the cart and miss some crucial part of the story.
We tend to think it's so hard to tell a good story, but it's not. Not really. You just have to remember, every time you might be drifting, those enthralled eyes. You must look on them, not in your memories, but see them now before you, just as you type. Are they getting a bit bored? Have they begun to drift off, back inside their respective heads? Are they wandering away from the window? Then bring them back. Ditch whatever bored them, it was nonsense anyway. You were trying to be a writer, you little rascal. But you caught yourself in time. Don't worry, you still have a few strikes left, it's not too late yet. They're just down the block, beckon them over. Promise you'll stop bullshitting as of now and try to stick to it.
Remember, they will leave at some point, if you don't.
And most of all, relax. You're just telling yourself a story. It's that simple.
And that complicated.
Thank you for reading,
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Because that's what you're doing. You're trying to sound like something you're not, you're trying to write a story when the purpose of this exercise is not to write a story. The real p urpose is to tell the story. How can not agre? they way you write it's so poetic, and a bit dark, i like this post a lot and i will share it in the promotion channel where i am curator beacause it deserve a good amount of votes ^^ Nice job as always!
I think it much motivated post for me that i read
Great advice conveyed with not eloquence alone, but caring.