The Journey or the Arriving?

by Isabella Hynde
20th March 2012

Anthony Scott Glenn answered Victoria Limbert's question, 'The Passage of Time' with this, 'Sometimes it is the journey that is the most important part'. (I've taken it out of context)

Is the Journey the most important part of your writing endeavours or is the Arriving? The Arriving will be different things to different people. It might be getting published for some. It might be the satisfaction of hearing people make positive comments about your work. For others still it might the act of creation that is the important part. I would like to know what you find the most important part of writing.

Replies

Hi Katie-Ellen

Thank you for passing on the advice. I can understand that. It's like real life in a way. You have to know what happened and understand why, what, when, where, how when someone dies. I can imagine that if the death isn't given sufficient details, then the reader is constantly feeling they missed something. That would be frustrating.

Hi Victoria

I cried too when I wrote the first ending, her death. I felt it was right, but you do become attached to your characters. They stay in your head for so long and you know everything about them. You have to. I'd love to read your re-write on shared works when you're ready.

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Isabella
Hynde
330 points
Developing your craft
Isabella Hynde
24/03/2012

I cried while writing the death of one of my characters after being with him for so long through the journey of my story. It actually pained me to let him go and I considered killing off a less likeable character. Some times you just gotta do it!....I might actually share it on shared works at some point, as it needs a re write anyway...hmmmm

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Victoria
Limbert
330 points
Practical publishing
Fiction
Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Speculative Fiction
Adventure
Gothic and Horror
Romance
Victoria Limbert
24/03/2012

An agent once advised me that when there's a death, a writer needs to draw it out and give details. Readers like it, he said. If you don't give enough pace and detail, he said, readers will feel a need to re-read the passage and feel unsatisfied. Yikes. But the man knew whereof he spoke.

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Katie-Ellen
Hazeldine
330 points
Developing your craft
Short stories
Fiction
Autobiography, Biography and Memoir
Middle Grade (Children's)
Picture Books (Children's)
Business, Management and Education
Popular science, Social science, Medical Science
Practical and Self-Help
Historical
Gothic and Horror
Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Katie-Ellen Hazeldine
24/03/2012