DRIVE....The Path To
Passion, or is Passion the Path?
So many new and aspiring authors and writers in the literary field and
songwriting circles have questions about how to write and what drives the
writing process. What is that exact thing that brings an idea to fruition for a
writer and makes it come to life?
Being a musician, and award winning lyricist/ songwriter for most of my life,
and an author in recent years, I've had a lot of experience in bringing ideas
to life whether in print or in song. Earlier in my career, I took a lot of
advice from 'experts' telling me what to do in music. Some advice was helpful
but most was more damaging than constructive, and I found that whenever I listened
to the 'experts', they always led me astray! Why? Because they have a set idea
based on what they've 'seen or heard' or 'what will sell'...or 'what's already
been done too many times.'
Well, I have news for the 'experts'...one could easily say that LIFE has been
'done too many times' if one wanted to. But it certainly hasn't and each and
every life (and lifetime) is a new and wondrous adventure and story. If we
forget this, we become jaded and lose our ability to get excited about those
stories and to pour our passion into them. (This by the way, is the difference
between a CRITIC and an ARTIST. A critic knows everything with little
experience save personal opinion based often on their own insecurities and a
jaded view of life. The writer..the musician..the artist knows nothing except
the wild abandon and joy of creation based on their own drive, purpose and a
desire to share what's in their imagination with the world.)
Bottom line: for every new generation that comes, a story that is 'old' is now
new, because they have not experienced it yet, and there's ALWAYS a new way to
tell a story. Each one is a unique, individual and special experience that will
communicate to someone out there. I can't speak for everyone, but for me
personally, I don't push or force the process. And I don't waste time on ideas
or stories that I don't feel passionate about.
Sometimes an idea will come to me, whether it's a general plot for a story, or
for a specific scene or chapter in a book I'm already writing...but it's something
I allow to simmer and boil to the surface when it's ready. Some would say,
"Well what if that takes too long?" And that's a valid question, and
one that can mean the difference in getting a book written or not! If I have an
idea that I am uncertain about but it's just sort of sitting there, sometimes I
will do things to help it along.
If it's an idea for a book, sit down and think about how the story would go if
it were real life....would it be exciting to you? Would you want it to happen
to YOU?
And from a fantasy/diversion stand point: this something that YOU personally
would watch or be interested in if you saw it on television or in a movie? Or
if another author wrote this, would you read it and enjoy it? If not, then it's
probably not something you're REALLY passionate enough about to create a story.
Sometimes I will have an idea that starts one way...and then morphs into
something else, because of that very process of letting the story boil to the
surface. My book BLOOD FROM A STONE started as something entirely different
than the way it ended up. The original idea had a more tragic ending to
it...but somewhere along the way, I realized that I wasn't feeling passionate
about the idea anymore and I had to rethink it. Is it the idea of this or is it
the story I am writing around it? Once I got that right, the fire turned back
on and I knew EXACTLY where to take my characters and how to evolve their
personalities and how their story was going to turn out. It flowed effortlessly
and I actually cried when I re-read a couple of scenes I'd written. And I KNEW
that I nailed it. It was completely from the heart. I'd poured my passion into
every word.
I think that for all writers our happy ending always comes from never following
a strict pattern, or trying to write something you think would be 'popular' or
trying to make a story into something it's not meant to be. Instead LISTEN to
that little voice inside your heart and let your soul take you where you know
it's supposed to go. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks...because in all
things art and creative, YOU are the one in the driver's seat, the blank screen
is your open road....the keyboard is your vehicle. Throw away the map...look
out there to the horizon in your soul and find YOUR adventure.
Most importantly remember: there is no road that leads to your passion....your
passion IS the road that leads you wherever you want to go! So.....grab the
keys, drop the top....and cruise!
Copyright 2012.
Cynthia Lucas, Author: When Lightning Strikes (2010)
Blood From a Stone (2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards Second Round Pick)
Musican/singer/songwriter. Nominee NORTH 2 SOUTH: "All Messed Up": Country Song of the Year 2004/2005 JPF Music Awards. 4th Place Winner Best Lyrics; "Ka'Blam" 2005/2006.)
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