“Size defeats us. For the fish, the lake in which he lives is the universe. What does the fish think when he is jerked up by the mouth through the silver limits of existence and into a new universe where the air drowns him and the light is blue madness?”

― Stephen King, The Gunslinger

I’ve been reviewing some of my favorite writing advice lately as I deal with the ups and downs of drafting my next novel. Some days I feel great about it, others the self-doubt rears its ugly head. If you’ve been following along with my recent updates–including today’s–you’ll know that my current work-in-progress is turning out to be a bit of a behemoth. There are times when I feel like I’ll never finish it.

        So when I stumbled on this quote from The Gunslinger yesterday, it reminded me of some excellent advice I took to heart when working on my first novel. It also applies to many other types of work, not just writing. 

        When embarking on an extended project, you can’t constantly zoom out and review how far you are from the finish line. That only makes it feel like an insurmountable task. You need to develop tunnel vision. Writing a whole novel might seem impossible, but writing a hundred words is doable (or a thousand, or fifty–whatever daily goal works for you).* 

        In other words, you break the enormous task into small, easily achieved chunks, build momentum, then repeat until completion. Each day you’ll feel better having accomplished your micro goal and won’t feel the existential dread over the impossibility of climbing a mountain in a single day.

        Related to this is the somewhat clichéd principle that you need to enjoy the journey. Finishing a project is great, but the sense of accomplishment, or praise, or reward, or whatever it is that awaits at the project’s end is fleeting. A reporter once asked tennis star Chris Evert how long the thrill of winning Wimbledon lasted. She responded, “About an hour.” 

        Now, there’s nothing wrong with achievement, but just keep in mind that the high of reaching that goal will be fleeting. Most of your time will be spent working toward it, and what sort of life are you living if you only enjoy yourself during those ephemeral moments of accomplishment? So stop being anxious about reaching the finish line, and start enjoying the process of putting one foot in front of the other. 

*If you write just 250 words/day, that’s over 90,000 words in a year. There’s the first draft of your novel!

Do you have a favorite fantasy quote? Email it to me and I may feature it in a future installment of Fantasy Quote of the Week?

“Shall I describe it to you, or would you like me to find you a box?”

― Legolas to Gimli in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Movie)

I copped out a little this week. This isn’t actually the quote I wanted to discuss, but the one I do isn’t a fantasy quote, so I figured the above classic would do as a lead-in.

The following came up in my Facebook feed yesterday:

“When reading, we don’t fall in love with the characters’ appearance. We fall in love with their words, their thoughts, and their hearts. We fall in love with their souls.” -Anonymous

This caught my eye because it matches up pretty well with my philosophy on description in my own writing. I think it’s important for a character to have a salient feature or two so they can be easily identified: Baz has his hat and brand, Rox is giant and has a nasty weapon, Leanna has purple eyes, etc.

But beyond that, I tend to go light on description, not just for characters, but setting as well. As a reader, I tend to gloss over extended descriptions and let my imagination paint a scene, using the words on the page as vague guidelines rather than strict rules.

As an author, a find writing descriptions tedious, which partially explains my writing’s general lack of fine details. But the larger reason is that I believe appearances should be left largely to the reader’s imagination, or at least the text should leave open that possibility.

It’s easy to forget that the images we subconsciously conjure in our own minds are based largely on our own life experiences, biases, and what we’re generally most comfortable with. I’m not saying that’s a problem (at least not in the context of exercising your imagination as you read a novel). But as an author writing for a large audience, I don’t want to alienate others by forcing my imagined appearances onto others except when it’s necessary to the story I’m telling.

For instance, it’s important that Baz has a dragon branded to his forehead, as it identifies him as a Speaker/slave and also serves as a constant reminder of the cruelty he’s fighting against. However, the exact color of Baz’s hair, or the shape of his nose, or even the shade of his skin doesn’t matter to the story, so I see no need to dwell on those details. You–the reader–can fill them in however you like.

At the end of the day, I don’t necessarily write to create specific images in my readers’ minds. Rather, what most interests me are the interactions between characters; the complex, and often difficult, questions and conflicts that arise when people who don’t like one another are forced together, or when those who care for each other are driven apart by circumstance. I write to create emotions, both on the page and in the hearts and minds of my readers, and I leave it to my readers to imagine the characters experiencing those feelings in whatever manner works best for them.

What do you think? Do you like my way of doing things, or do you prefer intricate descriptions of every character and setting? I don’t think there’s a write or wrong answer, but I am curious what others think. Email me, dtkane@dtkane.com.

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.”

― J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan

At the risk of coming off as arrogant by quoting myself, this week’s quote brought to mind something I intend to have one of the characters in Fire and Ink say: “Doubt is the greatest enemy of inspiration.”

        It’s easy to get down on yourself when life gets hard. Or, maybe we don’t even need to speak so broadly. It’s easy to be frustrated when anything gets hard. But remember, the closer we get to achieving something worthwhile, the harder it often seems to reach the goal.

        This is why discipline is so important in virtually any endeavor. Inevitably at some point that self-doubting voice is going to start whispering at the back of your mind to give up, and if you don’t have your discipline to fall back on–your day-in, day-out routine of getting down to work–then you’re much more likely to succumb. But when you show up and do your work each day, success is almost inevitable. 

        So don’t listen to that voice, put your head down, and get to it! Before you know it, you’ll find yourself soaring over your obstacles and toward the horizon of your aspirations.

Note to readers: Each week (or, most weeks, anyway), I share an inspiring quote from a fantasy book or author and wax poetic about it, indulging my inner philosopher. If you have a favorite fantasy quote, email it to me and I may share it in a future newsletter: dtkane@dtkane.com.