{"id":18986,"date":"2018-04-18T01:00:12","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T08:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=18986"},"modified":"2018-05-22T23:26:29","modified_gmt":"2018-05-23T06:26:29","slug":"writing-as-you-fill-in-the-blank-by-beth-barany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/18\/writing-as-you-fill-in-the-blank-by-beth-barany\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing As\u2026 (You Fill in the Blank) by Beth Barany"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWriting As\u2026\u201d metaphors…<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Many writers wind themselves into knots, thinking writing has be done a certain way, or else they are a failure.<\/p>\n

But what if writing could be anything you wanted it to be?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What if you could have writing be any kind of knot you wanted? (I like square knots for their symmetry.)<\/p>\n

To switch metaphors, what if you could step into a writing costume and step out again into a new costume?<\/p>\n

But why, you ask? Why would I want to do that?<\/p>\n

Great question!<\/p>\n

I have a few answers you can try on for size.<\/p>\n

FIRST: WHY NOT?<\/h2>\n

The first answer is another question: Why not? Why not play with metaphors to see how else you could experience writing?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s play!<\/em><\/p>\n

SECOND: CREATIVITY AND PLAY AS AN ESSENTIAL HUMAN NEED<\/h2>\n

The second is: Writing is a form of creativity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creativity is an essential human need, in my opinion. (More here<\/a> and here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Or at least feeling joy is, which is fundamentally the experience of play, in my experience.<\/p>\n

When I was editing my second novel, an experiment in writing a romance, I was so tied up in knots about how it had to be that I made myself miserable.<\/p>\n

Finally, one of my critique partners asked me, \u201cWhy are you banging your head against the wall? No one is waiting for your book. Why don\u2019t you do something fun?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d I mumbled into my coffee.<\/p>\n

Then I went away into my writing cave and asked myself, \u201cWhat if\u2026 what if this was fun?<\/strong> Then what would I do? What if I didn\u2019t have to be struggling so hard? What else would I do? What else would I write?\u201d<\/p>\n

After some reflection, and leaving the question alone for a while, the answer came to me.<\/p>\n

I could use what I learned about writing that second book and resurrect a 3-page story I started years ago. I knew how now how to craft that story into a novel.<\/p>\n

Third novel was a charm and became the first book, Henrietta The Dragon Slayer<\/a><\/em>, in the trilogy of the same name.<\/p>\n

\"Henrietta<\/a><\/p>\n

THIRD: CHOICE<\/h2>\n

My third answer to why you might want to step into a writing costume and step out again into a new costume is about choice<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When you become familiar with a different relationship you could have with writing and with different ways writing can serve you, you have more items on the menu of life.<\/p>\n

You have choice.<\/p>\n

You can have more:<\/strong><\/p>\n