Friday, November 23, 2012

Why I Became a Writer


Today, a number of professional writers with blogs have gotten together to write the same post “Why I Became a Writer.” Please stop by any or all of their blogs to comment and find out what drives us in our favorite obsession.  My post follows the links.


John Brantingham and Sunny Frazier http://johnbrantingham.blogspot.com/

 


 


 


 


 


 


 

Chris Swinney http://clswinney.com

 


 

Stephen Brayton www.stephenbrayton.com

 


 


 


Why I Became a Writer or
Why What’s Good for the Writer is not Always Good for the Reader
 
If I tell you I was a psychologist and college professor before I retired and took up writing murder mysteries, you won’t be surprised if I admit I did so for purposes of revenge, that cathartic release that comes with venting.  Psychologists embrace catharsis because it’s assumed to be good for the psyche, cleans out the cobwebs of anger, disgust, and dislike and allows the person to move on emotionally.  My first manuscript was one in which the bad guys were the administrators and professors who “done me wrong” all the years I was in higher education, a place that shares the competitiveness and back-biting with most large businesses, but disguises those unsavory elements by purporting to be a learning environment.  We educators try to keep all that bad stuff a secret.

That manuscript didn’t even try to disguise the identities of the people I sought to pillory.  It was never published (I’m so grateful).  I did learn from it, however.  First, I found killing off people you don’t like on paper is quiet satisfying, the more so because you never have to pay for your crime.  After over one hundred thousand words of bile that I was wise enough to bind in humor, I felt a sense of catharsis, but no feeling of accomplishment.  Catharsis for the writer is not always good reading.  It’s selfish.  When I finally had the sense to wrap my characters in reality, give them reasonable motivations for their behavior, forgive them their flaws by playing them up to be funny and disguised them as characters, not the original perpetrators of my anger and disgust, I realized the most important lesson of all—I had a story.  It was a tale where I trusted readers through my descriptions of events, characters interacting with one another and a spritely plot to arrive at their own conclusions about how much drawing and quartering should be directed at the now not-so-bad as misdirected folks.  Oh yeah, the killer was still a despicable person, but you’d never recognize the murderer as anyone of my former colleagues.

Here’s the second big thing I learned.  You’ll always find there is someone in your life who will treat you unfairly and you’ll find unpleasant.  So why hold a grudge?  Simply write those situations into a story and bump off the guy.  There’s no need to identify him as your next door neighbor or the woman in your exercise class.  Allow, as I do, an alligator to death roll the witch from the checkout line.  Whatever you do, transform your most hated enemy into a most unforgettable character, but do it in such a way that all the anger is gone, and the character is unrecognizable as someone you know or hated to know.  You’ll have a heck of a good time writing it all, and your reader will love you for it.

No more catharsis for me.  Just fun writing.

19 comments:

  1. That was a fun post. I've never killed off anyone I didn't like, though I do combine personalities of lots of people for characters.

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  2. Interesting to know what got you going, Lesley! What a great idea!

    Billie
    Oak Tree Press

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  3. I understand the cathartic nature of killing off someone you are having issues with, but when I wrote a short story with that purpose in mind, it took off in directions I couldn't have imagined. Good way to get a story going.

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  4. Ah, a insight into at least one of the reasons your writing is so strong -- it's based on good psychology! Great post!

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  5. I think my writing has made me a better person, too. I'm not so bent upon writing my enemies into my books as the bad guys nor in bumping them off. Heck, maybe it's just because I've grown older and holding grunges takes too much energy.

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  6. Great post, Lesley! Anger, revenge, getting even...mellowed out by the process of writing a good tale. You win with both hands!

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  7. Awesome Lesley! I never even thought about what you said with regard to catharsis. But it is divine! I've got numerous people who need to feel the wrath in my upcoming books! Very cool blog today!

    Chris

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  8. What a great way to find revenge and not have to serve time!!! Thanks for sharing.

    Monti
    Mary Montague Sikes

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  9. I absolutely enjoyed your shared wisdom, Lesley! I'm looking forward to picking up your work. I never wanted to give my "enemies" the time of day in my stories but I have borrowed facets of their awful characters. You're right -they do make for a more interesting read.
    ~Carole

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  10. I've always thought of writing as very therapeutic. I just have one character in particular I'd like to kill off one day, but I've got to figure out how to do it without giving his real identity away. Terrific post, Lesley!

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  11. Loved it, Lesley. Your sense of humor shines through even when you're killing off those enemies.

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  12. Lesley,
    You're a woman after my own heart. Killing off someone on paper, especially if they represent (but bear little or no resemblance to) someone you dislike or who has wronged you, is very satisfying!

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  13. Love it! Don't get even - get writing! Great post, Lesley.

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  14. I have a writer friend who constantly kills off her characters when she get writer's block. Not quite the same as killing coworkers, but it works. lol

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  15. You've given me such a lift, Lesley. The writing and plot possibilities are endless for me, I now realize, because so many people tick me off on a daily basis. Cheers!

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  16. As a landlady with many annoying tenants over the years (to put it mildly) you make me think that I could probably start writing mysteries by killing off some of these critters one by one. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  17. This is very true; writing is a great way to purge the anger, sadness, regret, and loss in life. I've sat the computer many times, writing about that horrible relationship of the past, or the creepy man on the corner. Some turn out great, while others turn out as just a daily count of words, but it's best to let it out, I say!

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  18. I often have trouble disguising the identities of my antagonists, but usually because it's a part of me. I don't write murder mysteries though, so don't run off scared :) I stick to sarcastic a**holes. I feel like every novel should have this as an imprint on page one: Writing is personal and cathartic, having said this...this is a work of fiction.

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  19. Thanks for all your comments. It looks like I've inspired a few people to bump off their enemies...on paper, of course.

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