The Point of It All

[Peg Herring]

I've been reporting on what was discussed/presented at Sleuthfest, and I think the comments I've gotten bring us to the point of writing, which is "WRITE." We all have different methods, motivations, and machinations that bring us to keyboard or paper, pull us through plotting or pantsing, and assist us in fixing and finalizing.

I like hearing what others do, and I appreciate those who comment here with their own input. It's helpful to listen and compare, because we can all pick up tidbits that help us improve or at least make us consider our methods and see what might be holding us back. But I don't think a writer should try to be like any other writer. In a workshop I gave a few months ago, a woman became very upset when I mentioned that I like my chapter lengths fairly even. It's just me; I like symmetry, and I made it clear it was a personal choice. She couldn't get past the idea that if a published author did that, she must do the same.

No. No. A thousand times no. If anything I say here, or any comment that my friends make in response, makes a person think, "I have to change my writing style, method, or what time I start on my WIP every morning," that person has misunderstood. We're discussing. We're saying what we do. Our goal is a sort of encyclopedia of ideas about writing but not a manual for same. It's cathartic to "talk" to other writers, but in the end, a writer does what he does, and whatever works is the right way to write.