What Are You Trying to Prove Through Your Writing? #AuthorToolboxBlogHop

            I have more to discuss about secondary characters, and I’ll continue on this subject in September. I’m taking the month of August off to work on writing projects. For right now, I’d like to discuss purpose in writing.  

When authors sit down to write, they need to consider the purpose of the story or essay they wish to create. Aside from trying to entertain or offer inspiration, discovering the specific intention for a piece of writing will help the author stay focused. Having a specific purpose for your writing gives structure to your book project. You make decisions on what to say and how to say it based on this purpose.

I read an informative post by Jennie Nash about writing with intention. You can access it here. Nash believes that when writers are clear on their intention for a piece of writing, that intention will guide the writing process.

This makes sense to me. Writing with intention is knowing the purpose of your story or memoir. It’s having a point to make. The purpose of the writing project is what the writer is going to show in this story or memoir, and through that intention, the writer shows why the story or memoir is important her.

            Why am I writing about my college journey as a mother of five?  

To demonstrate that fear and doubt are a part of life. You can’t let them keep you from attempting difficult tasks.

To demonstrate that if you trust in yourself to do the hard work, you might discover that you’re smarter than the world would have you believe.

*Please feel free to offer comments or ask questions about the purpose for my memoir. This helps me to move forward in my writing.*

Authors should give fiction, memoir, and even poetry a purpose to help keep themselves focused on their intent.

So how does writing with intention give structure to a project?

It forces you to think in specific scenes. It keeps you thinking of the writing project as a whole. Because you have a firm purpose for this piece of writing, you consider scenes or experiences that prove what you want to share with the reader. You ask particular why and how questions of each character and scene. How does this scene fit into the purpose of the story? Why is this character necessary in this story?

You’re not just reaching for isolated thoughts or bits of action. You are selecting connected information, characters, scenes, or actual events. Remember to think: what are you trying to prove to the reader? In my case, I’m trying to prove that even an unprepared and insecure mother of five who struggled early in school can survive college if she studies constantly.

Thank you for visiting Adventures in Writing. Please follow my blog if you haven’t already and connect with me online. Leave your blog link in the comment so I can be sure to do the same for you. To continue hopping through more amazing blogs or to join our Author Toolbox blog hop, click here. 

Please note that I will not post in August of 2018. I have many writing projects I desperately need to address. Thanks for always reading my Adventures in Writing blog posts and sharing your insight. It means the world to me. Enjoy your summer!

Insecure Writers Want to Know: What are your ultimate writing goals, and how have they changed over time?

            So when I boarded this emotional rowboat called a writing career, I just wanted someone—other than my family—to tell me my writing was good. You know, publishable. And then once I received that, I wanted to be published all the time.   

Is this really so unreasonable to ask for; someone to like what I write and want to publish it? Well in my boat, it is. Do I know why? No! The story planks all seem to be cut from the same watertight tree. But every plank or so seems to squeeze out a “rejection” leak.

I’ve rowed through so many emotional rapids, sideswiped the “Almost” ship several times, and got sunburnt awaiting the life ring of reply to hopefully pull my story into the magazine of choice. I’ve got blisters on my fingertips.

These stories don’t just flow out of a shield volcano like on Hawaii’s Big Island, you know. They take planning and much too much thought and worry that I’m doing it right. I need to hide away in some cave with an internet connection to create them. Yet the family still somehow tracks me down.

Now it’s not always my family’s fault, I have to admit. Many days, I just sit in my rowboat and stare at all the plot threads and notes dangling off the port side. I’m surprised the fish don’t grab them and flip my boat. My memoir about attending college as a mother of five feels like the dead albatross hanging around the Ancient Mariner’s neck in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Will I ever be able to break free and just write?  

            This is why I remain in the IWSG Sea. You all keep me sane and encourage me to continue to submit my YA short stories and work on my college memoir. I’d be lost without you. Thank you!

And thanks for visiting Adventures in Writing. Please follow my blog if you haven’t already and connect with me online. Leave your blog link in the comment so I can be sure to do the same for you.

This post was written for the Insecure Writer’s SupportGroup. We post on the first Wednesday of every month.  To join us, or learn more about the group, click HERE.  

Please note that I will not post in August of 2018. I have many writing projects I desperately need to address. Thanks for always reading my Adventures in Writing blog posts and sharing your insight. It means the world to me. Enjoy your summer!