Fiction

I was reading for Fiction Writing today and it made me think about how interesting the workshop process is.  Reading other people's fiction and critiquing it, analyzing the plots and characters. Finding out a writer's strengths and weaknesses and trying to help them improve.  Having others tell you your strengths and weaknesses and learning how to be a better writer - a better storyteller. 

Good writers in a general sense are not hard to come by, but weaving together a web of details and descriptions, plots and people....well, the thought is kind of overwhelming.  That is why walking into Fiction Writing when it is time to review your own story is terrifying.  All you can do is hold your breath and hope that at least one person in that room liked your story.  And that no one tells you that you are wasting your time because you are horrible.  (Which no one would ever say because they are not evil, but it is still something that as writers, we constantly fear.)

I keep thinking about how different each writer is and what their process might be like.  How do they come up with their story ideas?  Why do they write about a specific subject?  Does it have to do with their past?  Is it just something they happen to be interested in?  Why?  I think it is all so fascinating.

If they chose to write about something different, to try something new, is it because they want to?  Or is it because they think that they should?  For example, if someone tells you not to write fantasy, do you listen?  Even if it is what you enjoy writing?  Or do you continue on writing what you love and ignore them? 

If a writer chooses to write something outside of their comfort zone for the sake of learning, is it really a good thing?  Or will their experimental writing pale in comparison to the stories that they took pleasure in writing because it was their passion?

Just some thoughts.