Category Archives: Writing

Finding Your Authorial Motivation

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What motivates a person to become an author is as deeply personal as who they fall in love with. For some people, it may just be a superficial desire; as simple as wanting to make some extra money. For others it’s searching for recognition or accolades, though there are certainly easier paths a person can take if they’re hunting for glory. For some people it might just be a personal challenge, or it could be something they’re attempting just for the sake of saying “I’ve written and published something in my life.” Other people might just have a story to tell and conclude that the best way to tell it is through the written word. In all honesty, there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to authorial motivations.
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How We Paint Trees

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I just read this fabulous article that really elucidates what we authors really do as storytellers.

Yes, we crave the details. But for the details to have meaning we need the storyteller to interpret them for us. The storyteller is a critical piece of the puzzle, one who can take a series of facts and events and give them meaning. Yes while a cowboy shooting down a bad guy or the detailed explanation in how space travel works is a necessary part of the narrative, it is not what we seek as a reader. It is the experience we crave. It is the sequence of events and emotions inside that cowboy’s head and why he wants this bad man dead so much, or the thoughts inside the space explorer’s head when the great red planet gets closer and closer and the earth becomes a tiny point of light floating out in the vast nothingness of space.

It’s really a learning experience for me still, only just getting started with writing and publishing stories like this. I love reading articles like this because not only are they interesting, I know they’ll make me a better writer in the long run. I can’t use a picture, so I guess I’ll just have to write a thousand words instead!

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