Creation, Construction or Torment

I have often been asked how, or why, I write. Do I have, for example, a system of writing, or a set style. I do have a style of writing, but for me I feel it’s natural. Unlike those gifted people who sketch, paint, sculpt or use their hands to reproduce what they see or feel.  I paint or create with words. I can only let you the reader decide what that style is and whether you enjoy it.

I am not sure if I have a system for writing, but I do know I have stages within that writing process or experience. For me I summarise them as creation, construction and torment.

The creation is probably the simplest, this is where the idea or inspiration begins. It can be anything that sets a seed. An image, conversation, fantasy, or even something innocent. Once the idea is there it is all about finding your character from within, setting the location. I do like to set the location so the characters and location can begin to exist. Once these are identified and set, it's onto construction.

Until this stage, everything is an image in my head. Now comes the important part, constructing the story. Breathing life into characters, they like us, have a past. Memories that inspire them, experiences that define them, dreams that empower them. At this stage plotting becomes a part of the character journey. What direction will their journey take? By now, I will have an idea of where they will be heading. However, the plot is not set in stone, there is always wiggle room, a release clause if you will. It is a framework around which the story evolves. As in reality, plans change, situations alter perspectives, one reassess goals.

That brings one to, for me, the part of my craft, torment. If the story begins to deviate from the framework of my original plotting, do I continue or pull the story back in line? More importantly, having breathed life into my characters, placed them in the centre of their world, they evolve. They assume a reality within imagination, at first my imagination, but ultimately within you, the reader’s world.

This is the real torment, characters exist. They have been given situations of my creation, with a path set by me. The only problem is, they then decide to think for themselves. To negotiate their own path through these situations. What once was clearly defined within my mind, has assumed new directions with no plan in place!

One has to decide if they need to be brought under control, the story dropped or more probable, continue to evolve. There is never an easy answer, but invariably, if one has created characters with depth, they will soar. The story will engage not only my mind, but hopefully, and more importantly, you the reader.