Great Suffering Makes Great Fiction

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I have to say the last few days have been some of the hardest in my life.  I won't go into the dreadful details of my boring life, because we all suffer and because trials are meant to be shared, not compared.  As I was prostrate, crying huge sobs this week, feeling regret, pain, stupidity, guilt, I came to a realization.  I realized that suffering made me a better writer.  Not only have I earned greater depths of understanding, compassion and skepticism, I learned another great truth: Everybody loves to read about somebody else doing something stupid.

Comments

  1. ChristineApril 12, 2012 at 12:33 PM

    Uhm, it might be everyone's favorite thing to read!

    I'm sorry it's been a rough week, hopefully things will look up soon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AZApril 12, 2012 at 3:03 PM

    Yeah, writing is great therapy! It's great to laugh at myself!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. TressaMay 18, 2012 at 11:04 AM

    Exactly! And writing my pain has the strange effect-- for me at least-- of transferring that pain to my character. It's no longer my pain, it's theirs. It sort of distances it from my reality and lets me look at it objectively. Odd juxtaposition, but useful, both for my book and for me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AZMay 18, 2012 at 3:57 PM

    Plus, suffering is something everyone can relate to, it makes your characters human and like you say, it helps alleviate some of your own pain. I feel that through my suffering, my writing has matured, had more heart, compassion and depth.

    ReplyDelete

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