Welcome to the eighth installment in my ongoing essay series on the art and craft of writing. Some of these essays are all deep and meaningful and literate and stuff. Others aren't so much. That's because they're all based around my fifty thoughts on writing, some of which are much more intellectual than others. (I think this is true of fifty thoughts on anything.) Remember that the author always responds well to bribery, and since Starbucks now has Pumpkin Spice back in the stores, bribing has just become very, very easy. And now, because I can only stall for so long, it's time for the main event:

Thoughts on Writing #8: God Made the Mosquito.

This was one of the ones that turned out to be a little difficult to summarize, hence the oddly Vacation Bible School title of today's essay. Still, it's true that, as writers, we often assume that we're going to be the final authority and our own work. And sadly, that isn't always the case. Hence today's thought:

You are the author. That makes you, effectively, God. God created the mosquito. Sometimes, God can screw the pooch in a very big way. Being the author doesn't mean that you're incapable of being wrong. Sometimes, you'll write things that are out of character. Sometimes, you'll write things that are out of place. And sometimes, you'll write things that are just flat-out incorrect and inaccurate and insane and wrong. That's not a bad thing. The bad thing is refusing to admit it.

Essentially, I'm saying that no one gets to be infallible, not even the people who supposedly are. Oh, sure, we can cover it up with claims of being all-knowing, but that's not going to stop the spread of malaria. Today we're looking at authorial mistakes, learning to spot them, learning to resolve them, and having the will not to be ashamed.

Let's begin.

( My thoughts are not your thoughts; my process is not your process; my ideas are not your ideas; my method is not your method. All these things are totally right for me, and may be just as totally wrong for you. So please don't stress if the things I'm saying don't apply to you -- I promise, there is no One True Way. This way for my thoughts on the fact that yes, sometimes, authors make mistakes.Collapse )