About Certain Doubts

Post 769:

After almost a month of diving back down into the craft of storytelling, I realize I can talk and think about it forever. Why something works, why a certain character causes such roiling in my blood, why a scene plays out so perfectly…

I imagine a bunch of dudes in a shop talking about a great car and why it corners so well or what makes the engine so perfectly timed and powerful.

My reality is way nerdier, but whatever.

I can shop-talk writing and fiction down to the tiniest nuts and bolts, but it really all comes down to overcoming uncertainty. If a person can’t deal with that, nothing’s going to happen.

No matter how good the idea is or how well-formed the plot is inside your mind, it could turn out horrible. Stories, especially long ones, are unwieldy beasts. Shiz can go wrong at any moment, and you may not realize it until it’s over.

Writers tend to make a lot out of this dilemma, but it’s no different than any other area of life. Anyone who tells you reality can’t turn on a dime hasn’t done much living. The best of times can become the worst. The surest bets can pinch out. On the other hand, totally crap situations often pan out pretty well, not to mention, you get to learn a bit along the way.

As you write, your characters have doubts. You’ll have them too. That doesn’t mean you stop or feel sorry for yourself (for too long), because in the end that’s not very entertaining.

If you want people to connect with your work, the most important thing is to have something to offer. Something completed. Something that made it by the gauntlet of doubt, misery and self-recrimination that all stories have to weave their way through.

Unless you’re a sociopath. It’s the people with feels—that’s who I’m addressing.

Don’t worry. Or keep it to minimum. In the end, it’s just boring. Cheers and see you after.