Wed. & Writing: The Power of Words

At the risk of sounding narcissistic, today's post is half a brag and half a realization. (Sorry guys, but I don't really feel that bad about my little brag because I spend so much time thinking I will never be good enough)! LOL.

On Valentine's day I did the Just Kiss Already blogfest. I chose to use a section of a very rough draft of my incomplete ms Chance Encounters. I have a much cleaner, completed manuscript, but in that one the characters grew up together. The attraction was instant and the whole town knew it. The kissing scenes are good and there romance is real, but I don't think their first kiss is a shock to anyone. I decided to use the a scene from the other book because the mc is so guarded her hero has to break his way in with a sledge hammer, but he patiently does it. It's a lot of work for her too, letting someone in like that. The kiss seemed almost sweeter being earned rather than fated.

I opened the ms to copy and past the scene and began to worry. It just didn't seem like my strongest work. The worst part of it was I wanted to use this specific scene because of all the subtext. But as I read the words on the page, I felt the subtext was missing. It happened before the scene, but all I could show you that day, was this scene. I braved it out and posted it anyhow. (I didn't know what else to use).

I was particular concerned about the last line. Those words were so simple, I wondered if you would really get how important this even really was. I thought about italicizing them, both sentences. That felt like too much. Then I wasn't sure what sentence to italicize. Then I laughed it off and trusted you would tell me. Haha. (Writers are such nice people, and when something isn't right they just can't help but rewrite it).

But the words were enough. The comments told me that. Several people referred specifically to the last line! The subtext was there, in that scene itself. I know it was because you told me. You were nice enough not to point out the countless grammatical errors. (I said it was ROUGH). But most of the comments were people telling me they liked the things I was specifically concerned about.

I realized words are enough, powerful in their own right. Italics weren't needed. The words said it at all. Words win court cases and write books, I guess I should have trusted in them.

But I was elated because for all the days I get critiques that make me want to beat my head off the wall, my jumbled mess told you exactly what it was supposed to.

Oh--and a quick apology. I'm so sorry I've been slow with comments. This week has been weird and today my asthma is torturing me, but since I made a schedule I felt obligated to do this post. I'll be back up to speed in a day or two. Promise guys.