I posed the question to readers: What is your favorite part of writing? Thank you to Shari and Dave for responding! My answer is last. Please enjoy!
I guess the part of writing I like most is when I get an idea for a story and it just flows smoothly. Often times lately I don’t have that happen. I get stuck. I stumble. Halfway through It just seems lagging or the plot suddenly isn’t making sense anymore. I love when I write a story and when I get to the end, I think, “Wow, that’s a great story.” Wish it would happen more often, and wish others would see it the way I see it, as well.
Dave Barz
I do a lot of driving that gives me time for that daydreaming or as I like to justify it, internal composition.
As much as I plot, outline and plan as I write, my favorite moments are still the little surprises that come to me as I am physically writing. Now, I could not rely on those to flesh out my entire story like a discovery writer. But as I wrote the first draft and now the edits, little details still come to me and I am amazed how great I feel the ideas are (of course readers’ opinions on these thoughts may vary). Often, I am literally bouncing softly in my seat as I incorporate these ideas. So yeah short of the thrilling rush of a new project or the euphoria of finishing it is the little surprises that keep me happy week after week.
Melinda
This seems to be a tough question for me to answer. As I said last week, I used to love the daydreaming part, or as Dave puts it, internal composition. But writing all the time has taken the daydreaming portion away. Currently, I think I enjoy the puzzle solving part of writing the most. Though I was frustrated with Episode Seven because my first two drafts were terrible, I really liked pushing and trying to figure out what would work. What would be the best solution to the characters’ problems and the best way to go about getting there. It was very satisfying when Julie finally said it worked.
Something I both love and loathe about writing is verbalizing world building. Julie and I spent an evening on vacation talking about the world for the urban fantasy I’m writing. It’s difficult for me to blurt out world building because it honestly sounds stupid. But amidst several jokes we we worked out problems and the foundation is much stronger.