Writing Can Be Frustrating

I like having written more than I like writing. If I'm on a roll and I pen a well-written scene, it's enjoyable to go back and re-read it. There are times (rarely, alas) that I'm in awe of what I managed to put down on the screen. 

The actual process of writing, though? I can have a great scene in my mind, but translating it to the written word never works out the way I imagined it. That's the difference between possessing natural talent and striving. I'm a slow writer because it takes so long to get not just a scene right, but even one particular sentence. "No, that's not how I want to convey it!" I fiddle with things ~ how should the character react? How can I best portray her nervousness? No, that's not right; start over.

Maybe dialogue comes so easily for me because I don't overthink it. Or even "think" it. People say what they say. Generally, characters saying things moves the story forward better than my hair-pulling attempts at crafting a perfect scene. Writing dialogue is freeing. Many of the supporting characters in my books say things that are off-the-wall or at least unexpected; and their utterances have often taken my stories in directions I hadn't intended.

I know what I'm supposed to do to bring a scene alive, but knowing isn't enough. I'm not a fan of writing exercises, but maybe I should become one. For example, I generally employ only two of the five senses, when incorporating three or four would better immerse the reader in the story. Sight and sound pretty much do it for me. Maybe someone ruminating on "touch" strikes me as trying too hard. In real life, I touch a lot of things, sure, but I don't spend even one second thinking about how that thing feels on my fingers. Smell? How often does that come up in a particular scenario? Unless a smell permeates a scene, like the smell of something burning (which I used in Bad Blood), I just don't think about it. And even on the rare occasions when I want to describe something's smell, I have to research it. Twice in my current novel I describe the hotel lobby as smelling of stale cigars and old cedar, but what do those things smell like? I should have at least tried to convey the actual smell, instead of using similes ("smells of" instead of "smells like"). I suppose that's the difference between a natural writer and a striver. 

It seems that the more I write, the harder writing becomes. Or maybe my standards are higher now. I've done my apprenticeship; it's time to get on with it ~ be better.  

I can't just skate by. Left to my own devices, I'd tap out sentences like, "She picked up the thing and then she set the thing down", which is why a thesaurus is my best friend. 

Yes, I've conquered the mechanics of writing. I can craft a good sentence, grammar-wise, with the best of them. That's not my problem. Here is a good description of immersive writing. I've bookmarked it, because I'll probably need to reference it regularly. 

I'm ready to graduate from being a striver.