Thank you, Robin, for this compelling topic!
Before I sat down at the keyboard, I conducted research (via on line studies) on why writes say they write.
15% stated it was for expression while 13% stated she/he was driven. 2% (tied) wrote for fame or to entertain. 8% of Writers Write because of their imagination.
So where do I fall in this survey? My first impulse was to state I was driven to write. However, that is not entirely accurate. Once I have determined the plot, characterization, completed my research and begin the story, I am driven to write. My motivation is split between Imagination and to Help Others.
Imagination because I have whole worlds going on inside my head. I want to share these stories with readers. I’ve been living inside by head since I was a child. Introverted and shy, my childhood was nomadic because of my father military career. The norm (until high school) was to change school 3 times per academic year. Long-term friendships were not possible, so I read, wrote, and fortunately, had miniature poodle for a pet.
I Write to Help Others. My characters defy the odds, my YA/Tween heroines/heroes are not the popular kids, but they are spunky survivors. My adult characters have strong personalities, are compassionate and no matter the hardship—they give my readers hope, direction in life, and belief in better future.
I write to entertain and to be a positive influence.
My current release Tanayia – Whisper upon the Water, deals with a topic similar to what is splashed across today’s Internet, Television, and the cover of Time Magazine.
Native American children removed from families and housed in boarding schools.
Told in the 1st person, the reviews repeatedly state to story is: ‘raw and real”.
My story is not political. I find it interesting that the topic is timely and still relevant in today’s America.
Tanayia is a Nde/Apache girl living in the 1880s. This is a story I was compelled to write.
Stop by and see what the other wonderful writers in today’s Round Robin Blog Hop have to say!
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| https://books2read.com/u/mVZLor |
Happy Reading,
Connie Vines
Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1gQ
Marie Laval http://marielaval.blogspot.co.uk/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Aimee) A.J. Maguire http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog
Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com
Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com
Your goals are great, especially in YA books. Children learn so much in reading, including a perspective on who they are and why that is okay. Tanayia sounds like a beguiling character, and yes, in our U.S. current world her message sounds like a very important one.
ReplyDeleteI like that you want to help people with your writing. I try to do the same, though I often feel I've missed the mark and landed solely on "entertainment" instead of relevance.
ReplyDeleteConnie, the difference between forgettable and literature is that there is a message underlying the story. Naturally, that can't be preachy, but if you make your reader think, and perhaps do things differently, then your book is literature.
ReplyDeleteWell done.
:)
Bob
I admire your focus on having an underlying statement that's important. I think some of my stories have such a theme, but often it's not deliberate so I can't claim I started out with that goal.
ReplyDeleteHow hard it must have been to change schools that often. No wonder reading and writing have become so important to you, and no wonder too that your stories have difficult themes. When I started writing I wasn't aware of 'themes'. I just wrote. But I attended a talk one day and it was a revelation. I could suddenly see the themes in my novels, and an important one in all my novels was coping with loss and grief. What we go through in life really shapes us and our writing, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteHi Connie, I think entertaining people is important and it will then help them. Great post with interesting stats. Anne Stenhouse
ReplyDeleteHi Connie,
ReplyDeleteI think I write to entertain, but, often, a message sneaks into the story. Not because I'm trying, but my characters can't help themselves. LOL Hopefully, I don't beat you over the head with the message.
Love the post. Your newest book sounds interesting.
As an army brat, too, I can thoroughly empathize with making books your best friends. I learned early on not to make friends, but to be friendly. I learned that if I had a book in my hand invariably someone asked me what I was reading. Books opened a whole new world of experience and I hope now that I can share some of that.
ReplyDeleteWhile what I write is romance, what I really write about is interpersonal relationships. And the conversation between people, as they try to understand each other, and to be understood, is what I find to be the most interesting part of writing. I'm stuck living in my own head, so I can't ever really experience what it feels like to be someone of a different sex, or color, or nationality, or life experience. But I can imagine how I'd feel if I was, and hope that my characters sound real to readers as well. And when they deal with real-life issues, I can only hope that readers are affected. I've been told that some of my scenes were so intense they made readers cry. Funny, those were the scenes that I cried through as I wrote them. Strong stuff, sometimes, our stories.
ReplyDelete