Shannon Dittemore is the author of the Angel Eyes trilogy. She has an overactive imagination and a passion for truth. Her lifelong journey to combine the two is responsible for a stint at Portland Bible College, performances with local theater companies, and a love of all things literary. When she isn’t writing, she spends her days with her husband, Matt, imagining things unseen and chasing their two children around their home in Northern California. To connect with Shan, check out her website, FB, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.
Happy Friday, friends! First of all, I want to say THANK YOU for continuing to write alongside us. I adore reading through your responses to our writing exercises. Most weeks, I’m able to read each and every one. But some weeks, LIFE happens and I’m not able to get to them right away. Please know that it’s TOTALLY ME and not you at all. I love spending time with you and your writing. I just have a very full plate right now.
That said, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’ve grown as a writer. You know that happens, right? The more we write, the more we grow. And while I don’t believe we ever ARRIVE, I do believe that it’s healthy to look back and, instead of cringing at our early works, choose to see the progress we’ve made in our craft.
Early on in my journey, I came across this quote by Ira Glass, radio personality, host, producer, and writer. It helped me in more ways than I can say. I wonder what you’ll think.
When I first read Glass’s words, I nearly sighed in relief. It suddenly made sense–why my writing didn’t live up to the ideas in my head. It helped to know I wasn’t alone in that frustration and that this gap–between our taste and our skill level–is, in fact, NORMAL.
So, today, our writing exercise is going to be one of introspection. Oh, you’re going to write. How could we NOT write? But you’re also going to think. If you have to walk away from the computer for a bit, chew the question over some before you come back and type out your thoughts, please do.
Choose a favorite book (not two or three or four, just one) and consider: What is it about this book that you love so much? And, if you’re able to puzzle it out, what did the author do that so appealed to your taste?
Maybe it’s the plot. Maybe it’s the voice. Maybe you love the characters. Maybe it’s the mystery of the thing, or the romance. Maybe it’s the whimsy. There is no wrong answer here. There is just YOUR TASTE.
One of the hardest things for us to do as writers is to think critically about the things that we love. And today, I want you to take a stab at it by answering that question up there. Do it in the comments section and then come back throughout the weekend to see what your friends are saying.
And remember, if you participate in the writing exercise, you can use the Rafflecopter to enter our drawing. A winner will be selected next week and will have the opportunity to ask Jill, Steph and me a question for an upcoming episode of Go Teen Writers LIVE.