How much "heart" do you put into your writing? I don't mean the love and passion you have for writing, but your own personal feelings? Do you open yourself at all in your writing? How far are you willing to push yourself? Can I end a sentence without a question mark?
I guess what I'm asking is if there is something you won't write about because it is too painful or takes you out of comfort zone. I don't mean things like taboo subjects or explicit sex scenes, but topics more personal to you. Or, do you delve into those subjects, willing to bare your pain and weaknesses for the sake of a story?
9 comments:
I actually hit upon a moral dilemma in my writing once. The story called for an accidental adultery (the hero didn't know his first wife was still alive). And though it worked in the story, it didn't work for me. Every time I read it, it bothered me. Finally, I took it out and was much happier with it. Maybe some people would call me a "cop out," but when you put yourself out there in your writing, I think there are some things you have to stand up for. JMHO.
Why? What have you heard????
Wow, this is a tough one. There are topics I won't delve into deeply that are uncomfortable to me. I may skim them, but that's about it. But feelings I may need to express, will get royal treatment in the story. =)
I'm the same as Kelly. Some things I just won't explore because they hit too close to home.
The one thing I try to avoid is putting your children in jeopardy because as a mother, that is too terrifying. But I've done it a few rare times, and I'm sure I'll do it again, but for the most part I avoid it. Other scary, emotional things in writing don't bother me, but children in danger is a big bugaboo for me and I avoid it at all costs.
you know, I was going to say nope, everything is fair game...but then I read Suzanne's comment, and I'm the same way. I don't much like kids in jeopardy. Even off stage.
I did do one where a mom's teenager was in a car wreck and tried to tap into my feelings there. ARGH. It was hard to write. I think I actually wrote that scene with LESS emotion than needed because I was afraid of it.
Hmmm...I have to delve into the darkest corners for my writing. I need to write about those things that are the most painful to me or which I fear. Then I need to see how I can make my reader feel for the characters. For me, the most painful thing would be the death of one of my children. So I wrote a short story last week about a woman burying her 8 year old son. It's hard to do, but I was very pleased with the result. I could feel the emotion and I know a few others did as well. I hope delving into such depths will bring my writing that much more involving.
The subconscious is a wild and wonderous thing. It's amazing how even the most repressed emotions and feelings can pop up during a writing session.
I try to avoid any child issues. It IS too painful for me to read over and over again in rewrites. I'm one of those people who can cry on a commercial. Shhh. Don't tell anyone.
If I write something that is powerful and will speak to others, it stays. No matter the cost to me personally. I try not to be selfish. TRY being the operative word. But if I can't get it out of my head, then it goes. I'm not a masochist.
Crystal*
There is nothing that I wouldn't use in writing. I think that by writing about an experience and solving it (sometimes in a number of different ways) it can be a kind of therapy for the writer. I would however draw the line at publishing some of those things. Especially if they were topics which were especially sensitive to me, my family or my friends.
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