Something I learned over the course of the past few years writing this book is how important it is show the reader what happened rather than tell them what happened... For example, instead of writing, "Mr. Johnson was a cruel man," the author ought to show the reader, through dialogue, circumstance, and situations, Mr. Johnson's character without resorting to topic sentence style summaries which gives the reader nothing more than an adjective or a label to go off of. The goal is to create a reaction; it's to dig it's way into someone's heart and get them to feel something for the character.
My struggle with this book has always been doing that very thing. When I don't want to face writing a particular memory or describing a certain situation (the majority of the book) I distance myself from the material. To get it over with as quickly as possible, I tell a summary of the event without emotionally involving myself and the result is a relatively eloquent piece lacking in grit and true feeling. Today I was reading over the last portion of writing I've added to my manuscript and I got so frustrated as I realized how much telling I've been doing lately. I'm working on the events that were taking place towards the end of 2006 and it's blatantly clear by the style of writing I automatically fall into how much I don't want to be writing about that time and those memories.
It's my struggle and my own private battle that I wrestle over daily, even if I don't write, even if I do nothing but open the manuscript and stare blankly at the computer screen. It's always there. And only by turning to the Lord and asking for help do I find relief.
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