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 Lily

It does feel like your characters are real and living in your head. Morning after morning, I felt like I was watching a film as I was driving to work, and then scarily I'd arrive at work and not remember a single thing about my journey! Please don't tell the DVLA!

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Isabella
Hynde
330 points
Developing your craft
Isabella Hynde
23/03/2012

Personally the most important part of writing, is writing about characters that you have completly fallen in love with. For me that was the moment I considered killing one of them off, and couldn't do it or perhaps it was when I tried to force one of them to do something that they didn't want to.

Writing about characters that you can relate to and feel close to is very important, otherwise they cannot have life and colour.

It might sound a bit like I have thrown out a pool of sentimental syrup, but I truly believe every word of it.

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Lily
Dooner
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Ready to publish
Fiction
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Lily Dooner
23/03/2012

Isabella, I also didn't start writing to get published. I started writing because I had this idea bubbling away in my head and had to write it down and it just grew and grew and now I am in the process of planning the second book.

It was only mid-way through that I began thinking about the possibilities of being published.

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Anthony Scott
Glenn
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Anthony Scott Glenn
22/03/2012