I believe creativity in any form helps my muse. So, I have taken up drawing this summer with my kids. One lesson in particular focused on shading—a complicated task for a novice like me. Shading with a simple pencil, when done correctly, adds dimension and depth to a piece.
As I am now wrestling with editing my novel, I can’t help but see the similarities with the two art forms: writing and drawing.
At times, I feel my 75,000 word rough draft is a long outline. I wanted to get the story out so badly that it is missing the characterization and emotional depth that I feel is necessary. So now, as I go back through the story I have begun to layer it. I find myself adding setting, senses, and emotional reactions that were previously missing.
Granted my novel, feels time consuming than the simple picture I drew, but I hope the time I put into layering my story will help it grow into the adventure I originally dreamed of.
Jami Gray
/ June 23, 2014And that’s what will set your writing apart. Depth of story, of characters, of world building, those are all part of what sucks readers in.
lisamorrowbooks
/ June 24, 2014I actually just read your latest submission, and I definitely see you applying this new way of thinking to your writing. 🙂
Dave Benneman
/ June 25, 2014I agree that creativity in any form, even if we’re terrible at the medium at hand, helps us to get into a nonlinear way of thinking. Helping us to open our minds to tell a story. That’s who we are, we are story tellers, first and foremost.