Saturday, April 26, 2014

W is for Weaving




Wherever we are in our writing journey, we storyweavers are wannabes. The unpublished writer’s greatest desire is to be published and the published writer dreams of being a bestseller and having his/her work duly recognized.

Yes, I too would love to be a bestselling writer, but I also want people to recognize me as a good storyteller, one who leaves the reader with something to think about after the story is finished.

But before publication, we writers do our fair share of weaving. It’s not easy to take character, mood, plot, point-of-view, setting, theme and combine these into something that becomes a spellbinding tale. We have to take each strand, apply our knowledge and individual style, and then plait them together in such a way that our readers will think it worth their while to take a 100-300 page journey with us.

What dreams do you have for your writing career? Are you gathering the necessary tools that will ensure you can weave your stories together seamlessly?

Hop on over to our IWSG Facebook page and share the love and any special news you have on your writing journey.

25 comments:

kaykuala said...

Almost at the end!
http://imagery77.blogspot.com/2014/04/wherewithal-with-wayward.html

Hank

Frankie Miller said...

I do have dreams that sometimes turn into nightmares because with success comes an expectation that the next novel should be better than the previous one. There's a lot of pressure.
My main dream is to improve without the pressure.

J.L. Campbell said...

Kaykuala, thanks for dropping in.

Fanny, there is indeed pressure on the writer to produce a stellar second/third book, etc. I try to make each of my books the best one I've written so the pressure is not as intense.

Anonymous said...

Right now, I think what I want is to be able to publish my book and not have any negative reviews. hahahaha!!

Elsie
AJ's wHooligan in the A-Z Challenge

Jessica Ferguson said...

I'm with Elsie and that's exactly what I was going to say. All along the way, we writers have to fight the negative comments that threaten to bring us down or cause doubt. Even after we publish, we have to avoid letting hateful reviews destroy our confidence. I'll never understand how a book can get five stars, then have someone else post how dreadfully horrible it was. I get that not all readers will feel the same way, but dreadfully horrible? Anyway, loved this post. Hope you're having fun with the A to Z Challenge. It's my very favorite blogging experience each year! :)

Pat Hatt said...

Just to keep on keeping on at my sea

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Just trying to maintain at this point...

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I want one of my books to be picked for a SyFy Saturday night movie and be a bigger hit than Sharknado. LOL. That's aiming pretty high.

Birgit said...

Oh I do wish to write about my mom's life as she had quite the life and many people said it could be turned into a book. I think a bio is easier than weaving the storyline of a novel. I hold high respect for JK Rowling and how she weaved the storyline through all those books and made it work

cleemckenzie said...

I'm happy with finishing a book, being satisfied that I've done the best I can with it and with readers enjoying the story.

I wouldn't say no to fame and fortune, but that's not why I write.

Chrys Fey said...

Lovely post. Writing stories really is a lot like weaving.

My dreams for my writing career are to finally get an agent and publish my series with a traditional published house. :)

Fundy Blue said...

Hi Alex! I enjoyed this post! I do want to be published, and a best seller would be awesome. I'm driven to write a memoir because I don't want the voices of these incredible people I've known to vanish into the fogs of history. And my Cape Breton/Newfie novel ~ well, again it is the people who's hearts I have known that I hope honor in my fiction. And the land, always the land which shapes our stories. I hope you're weekend is going well! Take care!

Fundy Blue said...

Well, this is embarrassing! I thought that I was on Alex's blog, and it was the IWSG! I enjoyed your post, JLC! I'm going to hop over and see your blog now!

Anonymous said...

I love how my dream has shaped into reality in the future. My dream is to be respected and be consistent in putting out good stories. It starts with the first one.

Ros Haywood said...

I'm nearing the end of Camp NaNoWriMo (which is where I wrote my first book). I'm writing a nonfiction book about - weaving! The stuff with wool and silk...

Not sure about my writing career at the moment - I am amazed to have come this far, with 3 books on Amazon. I don't know what's coming next (if anything!)

Visiting from the A-Z Challenge. My blog is at GenWestUK

klahanie said...

Weaving? I dreamt I attended the "Comedy Knitting" workshop. Had me in stitches.

Let's get this correct, J.L. The IWSG Farcebook page means, "I Was Seeking Gary." I shall go over and leave one of my um, eagerly anticipated comments over there. It's good to share.

And hey, don't forget the Alphabark Challenge, 2014! will soon be having its reflection post about reflections posts....

Gary :)

Unknown said...

This is so true. As a photographer I know how you feel. It is hard to get to where you want to be when there are so many creative people already successful.

Unknown said...

I am currently reading your novel Distraction and hope to read some others too. You are a good storyteller. For me, frankly telling a story as passionately as I would love to hear or read it means more success to me than becoming a best seller. Bestselling may be on my bucket list though hahaha :)
http://myeverydaypersonal.blogspot.be/

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

My dreams are pretty simple. I'd like to sell my books to a huge movie company and make tons of money. There, I said it!

Stephanie Faris said...

The dreams never really end as a writer. You publish one book, you want a second and third and fourth. You want to win awards and/or hit the bestseller list... I think at some point, maybe we all realize that all it's really about is just doing what we love!

the little princess said...

i know i have a long way to go....haven't even begun my journey!! thanks for dropping by earlier!

J.L. Campbell said...

Elsie, Good luck with publishing. Not so sure you won't ever have a bad review, but we can live in hope.

Jess, I've never written a 1-star review. If I can't say something positive about a book, I won't reveiw it.

Working consistently is important, Pat. Sounds good.

Alex, yeah, I should be doing more of that, but the end of April is near. :)

Susan, I believe in aiming high.

Birgit, yes, it does take consistency and hard work to make a series complete.You should move on your mother's story if it is something you're convinced you should do.

Lee, I'm happy too each time with writing the best book I can.

Chrys, it sure is. I hope your dreams do come true.

FB, that's a good reason to write a memoir. Many of us would move in that direction earlier if we thought about how our memories fade over the years. No worries on your mistake. It happens.

Agreed, Sydney. Consistency in quality is key.

Ros, sounds like your making some great steps. Keep on keeping on.


Gary, thanks for dropping in. Your comments make me smile.

Lady Lilith, thanks. It does pay to have a plan so we know where we're going, even if there are shining stars all around us.

Marie, thanks for your kind words. I like to think that each story is my best story, so I bring the same lever of passion and commitment to each.

Joylene, I hope it happens. I know you're working toward making that happen.

Stephanie, so true and well said.

TLP, thanks for coming by. Follow your rainbow and you'll fulfill your dreams.

Yvonne Ventresca said...

Weaving is a good analogy.

http://www.colindsmith.com/blog

Yvonne Ventresca said...

Oops! Posted last blog I visited instead of my own.

Yvonne

Michelle Wallace said...

Dreams for my writing career? Not sure. I'll have to think about all this... but my brain's on the blink at this moment...