Dear Folks:
When I first set up this site, I was deep into Book II – Blood Bonds: The Castle. I remember having the following conversation with myself: What can I possibly blog about that folks will want to read? A novel is easy in comparison. I tell a story that goes on for about 250-300 book pages. Piece of cake. For me.
Blogging, though? It’s like a newspaper column. I need to come up with something new and interesting every time I post something. Yeah, right. So, here goes.
Last month/year, topics went all over the map. I touched on my creative process, my muse, the importance of language in writing, and the value of consistently showing up to the writing space. This year, however, is going to start with me addressing a more fundamental question: Why write in the first place?
The short answer is that I can’t not write. Stories, that is. The characters nag at me so much , I write down what they dictate just to give us all some relief. The interesting part is, instead of lessening the tension, the story-telling intensifies the need to write. The characters become more insistent, they nag that much more, I write that much more, the need intensifies, and so the spiral goes.
If that makes me sound a little nuts, so be it. The best part is, a new story is birthed, one that didn’t have life before I started writing. If I fulfilled my part of the bargain, the characters have been able to come through with a minimum of distortion by me. They stand and shine as people I delight in introducing to you. They tell you in their own words what is going on with them. They talk. I write. You read. Nice arrangement for all of us.
With luck, or perhaps I should call it magic, there is the question, “What happens next?” I want to know, too. Based on what you tell me, so do you. As long as “And then what?” gets asked and answered, I’ll keep writing stories. When the characters stop talking, then what? If that ever happens, I’ll let you know.
Warmest regards,
Rosanne Licata
Rosanne Licata 