I've read Stephen King's book On Writing: A Memoir on the Craft a couple of times now, and it totally inspired me to write. I read it with my Writing Lab students every year and I think, for the most part, they are equally inspired. For those of you who haven't read it yet, have no fear. There's nothing scary about it (unless you count the number of times you're in awe of how good a writer little Stevie King really is). He makes writing look effortless, telepathic in fact. Yet he readily admits how disciplined one has to be to hack away at the keys every day. It's the height of irony. He makes it look so easy while saying it's a legitimate day job.
This past summer, during the seminar on fiction writing, I rediscovered the joy I found so readily available while reading King's book and taking my first stab at fiction writing. I was in a small group of women and one fabulous instructor and something about the timing and the chemistry just clicked for me. I went back to my story and found the point of view of my narrator. I was able to "sink in" the first scene (as they say) and it was exhilirating. So exhilirating I stayed up all night the night before our final share day. I couldn't stop typing. I remember seeing the sun come up that morning and being filled with this "life giving" happiness. I had given birth to my story, and there was no pain, no epidural, no crying baby. I cried though. I was that happy.
Sharing it made me feel even better. Hearing the oohh's and aahh's at the right moments, the laughs on que, the clapping at the end, reaffirmed my belief in myself as a writer. I do have timing. I do have voice. I do have a way with words. And damn it, I do have a story to tell. And that felt good, that simultaneous realization and gratification of something done well.
And then the class was over. And the rest of the summer too. I've had a couple chats with someone who I think will be an invaluable resource on the research end of my writing. I've done a little talking with a forensics teacher at my high school, and I've googled countless sites on criminal justice, particularly the process of investigating a homicide. I have a long way to go and only a little time to spare, but I'm hopeful again. I'm jazzed. I'm ready to write on.
Click on this link to read the first two chapters of RUN AWAY .
