Laura Catherine

“Good news everyone!” I shout from the rooftops and everyone gathers below awaiting the words I wish to share. Well, wait no longer, here they are:

“I have started writing my new Dystopian novel.”

The crowd goes wild, cheering and fist pumping. I hear my name chanted as I soak up the love and admiration. I raise my hands then lower them to silence the crowd like an on/off switch.

“Wait,” I tell them. “There’s more.”

I hang my head, unable to look my beloved followers in the eyes.

“I’m so sorry, but I’m afraid that my writing just isn’t any good.”

I look down at my hands and ball them into fists, falling deep into thought…

I’ve been spending the last few days writing a few 1000 words. The first pages of my novel were beginning to unfold before me, a new world was being brought to life, but there was just on problem:

Every time I read over the words I feel like what I’ve written isn’t good at all.

I’m so excited to write this story though. From the moment I had the idea, it’s been growing and blossoming into something amazing.

So why do I feel this way?

I pondered the question for some time and even sought out advice from others. It was a grand journey with many a tale to tell, but that is for another time. The point is that at the end of my quest I had my answer.

I realised I just don’t know my characters or world well enough to describe them to their full potential.  I mean, I have the ideas of how I want things to be, but they haven’t been fully fleshed out and I never know what my characters are truly like until I write them into  scenes. Only then do their true personalities show themselves.

The more I write the better my story will become because I’m getting to know my characters too.

It’s like when someone describes a person to you, but you don’t really understand what they are like until you met them yourself, sit down with them, and have a coffee and chat.

This is what I’m doing with my characters as I write my story. We are learning about each other. They’re telling me their life story, their hopes and fears, their goals, their secrets.

The more I get to know them, the better my writing will be.

“So my solution is simple,” I shout to the crowd below who have been giving each other strange looks as I went through this inner monologue.

The solution is:

“Keep writing. Don’t stop for anything and edit the crap out of it when it’s done.”