Chris
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Ask#2 ~ In short, please help me know that choosing to write could possibly create something for me to hold onto. I'm 49, I've done slayed my demons and am no longer running; however, as pleased as I am with my life's progress, my forward momentum is gone. I feel I am lost without a compass. I've always wanted to write but I have no audience. Should I invent one? ~ In advance, I thank you for any thoughts. Christine
Lois McMaster Bujold
There are many how-to-write sources -- I usually recommend Pat Wrede's blog, for starters: http://www.pcwrede.com/blog/
Why to write is a different question. It is perfectly possible to write for oneself, for one's own pleasure -- in fact, that pretty much has to underlie all other goals, or one might just as well be flipping burgers for a living, or doing something else more reliable to get the desired attention or validation. After that initial joy-in-creation, further ambitions are up to the individual, and can vary wildly according to taste.
As a cart-horse-protocol observation, it is generally necessary to write something before one gets or grows an audience for it, although one does sometimes see people trying to do it the other way around. A friend of mine describes those as "people who want to have written." Not recommended.
Beyond that, there are lots of ways to reinvent one's own life, especially necessary for older women, as we tend to lack satisfactory standard social role models for actually, like, still being alive when older. If you ever get to Ista's book, Paladin of Souls, it addresses some of those issues. (Note it is a sequel to The Curse of Chalion, however.)
Ta, L.
Why to write is a different question. It is perfectly possible to write for oneself, for one's own pleasure -- in fact, that pretty much has to underlie all other goals, or one might just as well be flipping burgers for a living, or doing something else more reliable to get the desired attention or validation. After that initial joy-in-creation, further ambitions are up to the individual, and can vary wildly according to taste.
As a cart-horse-protocol observation, it is generally necessary to write something before one gets or grows an audience for it, although one does sometimes see people trying to do it the other way around. A friend of mine describes those as "people who want to have written." Not recommended.
Beyond that, there are lots of ways to reinvent one's own life, especially necessary for older women, as we tend to lack satisfactory standard social role models for actually, like, still being alive when older. If you ever get to Ista's book, Paladin of Souls, it addresses some of those issues. (Note it is a sequel to The Curse of Chalion, however.)
Ta, L.
More Answered Questions
Adger Williams
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Loois, do you keep track of loose ends you have left behind from each story as you go? (in a list or spreadsheet or some-such)., so that you can glance over the list at some point and say to yourself, "Oh yes, that fits in well with what I'm wondering about now". Or possibly simply have a sense for unfinished business with certain people or situations that may necessitate re-reading before writing further?
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