Okay, Peoples of the MMW blogosphere. Less than a week until the contest is over. SUBMIT!!!!!!!!!
That being said, the ones we've seen so far have been pretty amazing. This will be a great book, and I'm sure you'll love to take the journey with us as we get it ready for "print".
On a more personal note, I've read with interest the posts by my dear MMW sisters and your responses about what our role as LDS authors should be in writing about different topics in the world. The consensus has been that we should write things that uplift. And I absolutely agree. I'm not into those stories that try to make the anti-hero the hero. I believe with all my heart that good triumphing over evil, not choosing between 2 evils, is what makes a good story and what accurately reflects our beliefs.
That being said, I have to put out there that the spectrum for uplifting stories can go from one extreme to the other. And as I've matured as a writer, I've realized that the stories I have to tell are darker than most in this audience. Not to go into detail, but there have been experiences in my life that are dark. Really dark. And though I'm not in that place, and I've been amazingly blessed with a wonderful life, it doesn't change what happened in my formative years. For me writing is cathartic. It allows me to write about things even more awful than what has happened to me in my past. And the deeper the hole my characters are in, the greater their triumph will be in the end. Because I know from personal experience that though the path is hard and filled with obstacles the size of the Rock of Gibraltar, it's a path worth climbing.
I hope no one feels bashed, because that wasn't my intention. Maybe all I'm asking for is some suspension of disbelief. Or maybe permission. I struggle a lot with not wanting to write the darker stuff, but when I try to keep it closer to what I think other people would like me to write, I get stuck every time. But when I let the story go where it will, I find that the truths I really want to share are there, deep in the conflict, those little rays of light to illuminate the darkness.
It's incredibly hard to write something that you have no feeling for. You should never write what other people think you should. I agree that as LDS writers we should ultimately uplift, but uplifting (for the most part) comes hand and hand with being in a dark place. How can we see the light if we don't know the darkness? It brings more depth to a story to see someone who has been through the worst come out on top. Don't let other opinions get you down!
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Well said, Megan. The problem is that as writers we worry too much about what other people will think of us. The real question is what we will think of ourselves. If you write something that you are uncomfortable with then ask yourself why. Is it uncomfortable because your afraid of public opinion or is it uncomfortable because it goes against your inner beliefs? That's what we have to use to gauge our writing. Sometimes I have written something that I thought was funny only to realize it made me very uncomfortable to write it because it wasn't me. It wasn't what I'm about. So I deleted it. It's our feelings that are our guide.
ReplyDeleteI think writing something 'glossy' so that it can be accepted has the same problems as writing something 'gritty' so it will be believed or published. We have to be true to our voice. Thanks for the post.
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