It takes a while to make these audio chapters. I write them largely as a way to constantly work on my writing. Sometimes the writing is good, sometimes it could use a little more work, but if I felt that everything I wrote had to be perfect, I'd never get to it, and certainly I'd never publish it.
What makes good writing? A lot of things really. A couple of things that I think are important are: showing the reader rather than telling the reader, for one, and being honest in the writing is another. When it comes to showing, you have to appeal to the five senses, but showing is not limited to just the five physical senses, showing involves thoughts and emotions as well--what is going on in a person's head. frankly, I like omniscience as a writer. I especially like unlimited omniscience. I like to get into the heads of a lot of characters. In doing so, I bring the reader into their world--which is really into my head and my world expressed through the kaleidoscope of multiple people--my characters. I may base a character on someone I know, but I can only project what I think they are thinking--what I think is motivating them--I cannot really know what is in their head or how they really experience the world. Other people are mysteries, really--and should be--we can know them, yet we never really know them at the same time.
That brings me to honesty. I'm not going to tell you all my secrets. I'm going to distort the truth in my stories, and yet I'm going to be honest in my lies. In creating fictional characters I have to draw on things that are in me. That said, I have to say that there are times when I write where I may not know what it is like for someone to go through events in my sotry that I've not been through--I have to imagine what it must be like and I may not be accurate about it, but I base it on what I think I would feel. There are other times when I am familiar with what my characters are going through, because I've been through them and so I may well connect the reader with something that is in my head, giving them a slice of what it might be like.
Chapter 20 you might find a bit disturbing and the ending is not bright, but more of the story is coming. I have been surprised at how many people have been listening to this audio series. I didn't really expect anyone to listen to it, let alone sustain listening to such a meandering, crazy, graphic novel in audio form. Chapter 10 has been especially popular for some reason. I've wondered of someone has put a link on it to another site. No matter, it is a joy to me that there are people, all over the world, who have listend to my meandering tale--especially chapter 10 which is one that I am happy with.
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