Monday, November 14, 2016

Stories and Friendship

by Andrea Renee Cox

Every story I write presents challenges.

Though the difficulties may vary from one project to the next, a couple of things remain the same. Story and friendship both take work, but they’re also both worth the effort.

Story. It could fill up a year’s worth of articles. Story is everywhere around us, but if we look really hard, we can find the best ones. That’s part of my job as a writer, to discover those hiding treasures in order to weave them into tales readers will have a difficult time forgetting. Creating something unique and special every single time might challenge the limits of my imagination, but I cherish the opportunity to craft unforgettable stories that hopefully will find a home with readers around the globe.

Friendship is crucial when writing a story. Writing can be such a solitary expedition, which may get lonely incredibly fast. But if you have friends to do word sprints with or to brainstorm through writer’s block, you’ve found a true gift that’s completely irreplaceable. Recently, I’ve been blessed to do word sprints with a fellow writer during November’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). We’ve helped each other stay focused and push through when our minds wanted to shut down for the evening. We’ve encouraged one another when the words came slowly and celebrated together when we surpassed our daily word count goals. Friendship makes writing less lonely, but it also brings a bounty of blessings.

Right now, I’m nearing the end of the first round of revisions on a book that is currently over 550 pages. Yes, that’s a wee bit long for a novel. There may be a few more rounds of revisions to go before I can trim things down to a more appropriate number. I’m realizing now just how almost-impossible this project has become. But I’ve also discovered there’s joy in the process of tweaking and (yikes!) deleting and adjusting things along the way. There’s something incredibly special about digging deeper into the story than I ever thought possible and rooting out the just-okay stuff to replace it with the best-case-scenario types of things. It’s sweat-and-tear-inducing work, but the satisfaction that comes from the method is beyond amazing.

And it’s wonderful to have friends to share those moments with.

What about you?
What makes your job a one-of-a-kind experience?
How do friends make doing your job even more enjoyable?

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2 comments:

Miranda said...

I am very much pleased with the contents you have mentioned. I wanted to thank you for this great article.

Andrea Cox said...

Miranda, thank you for stopping by! God bless you!