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Why the title WRITING IN THE CROSSHAIRS?
All writers I believe write in the crosshairs. If you have beta readers and have submitted to agents/editors, you know the feeling of being in the crosshairs of their evaluations. Ouch. But no pain, no gain.
But I am thinking of the imagry of the hunter. He fixes his aim at his target, looking through his scope. The image is hardly crisp at the beginning. He must adjust the lens to achieve crisp clarity and the best chance of hitting his target.
Writers are like that hunter. At first the image of our tale is blurry. We tighten the focus with revealing dialogue, vibrant characters, engaging crises, and creative descriptions. Pacing and plot tighten the image even more. Sometimes we get it with dead-on clarity. Most times we don't. No one but Shakespeare is perfect. If you don't believe me, ask Harold Bloom or any university English professor.
It is a tricky endeavor writing in the crosshairs. How do we focus quicksilver humans into concrete mental images? Take flames. They look like objects but are really processes. Humans are like that as well. No human actually is complete. He or she is in the process of becoming.
But becoming what? We answer that question with our choices.
But there is more to my title than that. We all write the movie of our lives in the crosshairs. That endeavor is more tricky. We don't get the luxury of time to reflect, muse, or ponder at leisure. Life is a harsh mistress. As we struggle, she flashes us that "beauty-queen" smile : all sharp teeth and no heart. And in her games of chance, the House ultimately wins.
Like Indiana Jones we must make it up as we go along. We plan and prepare. Life gleefully throws her monkey wrench into our preparations. We must write our lives in the crosshairs of illness, accidents, dysfunctional humans, and our own inner demons. We are all in Life's crosshairs, and none of us know when she will pull the trigger. We just know that she will.
This is what my blog is all about : how to maintain a measure of grace and peace in the crosshairs of Life. I haven't figured it out yet. Let me know what helps with you.
I am currently listening to "Mourning Tree" by Leaves' End. The romance of my haunted, undead Texas Ranger, Samuel McCord, and his immortal love, Meilori Shinseen, has echoes to it of the tragic love of Arwen and Aragorn. Here is a music video I think you may like :
Wow. Great video! And agreed, a very tricky endeavor indeed. Writing, leaving ourselves open and exposed, always waiting for what may or may not happen.
ReplyDeleteThe crosshairs is an excellent image for writing, because it's so easy for us to get distracted and goof off and not do the work. It takes a lot of focus to get it right!
ReplyDeleteYou're right. It's a great video. Music is hauntingly sad.
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy. Writing is definitely a process. When I begin, I see people and places clearly, but as I continue, I see them even better, their mannerisms, personalities, and thoughts. Part-way through and I'm thinking about them as if they're friends with these enormous problems I need to solve. By the end, they are as real in my life as my actual life.
ReplyDeleteWhen I take and break and go back, it's like greeting old friends. And then I see the bigger picture during revision.
I like the analogy. As writers we are usually pretty observant people - watching through the crosshairs works too. :)
ReplyDeleteI like your anology: kind of like writing in the crossfire! I do feel as though I'm making it up as I go along sometimes. But when Indiana Jones does it, it always comes out all right!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by the Amandangle! And my other blogs, as well. The reason for the three blogs is that I'm targeting three different audiences - employers (Amandangle), the general public/friends/family (Silvertongued Serenade), and myself (Dustland Fairytale).
ReplyDeleteI think quicksilver humans are a beautiful image, and I love the analogy of humans as flames. Chills, dude.
LOVE THIS!
ReplyDeleteI thought the imagery of the hunter to be very interesting. A lot of the time when I start writing, my concept is blurry and shallow. It takes time and focus to get the best end result.
You've got me thinking and I like blogs that get me thinking!
Great post. I like how you said humans are always "in the process of becoming." It's very true. Whatever we are now, we won't be exactly the same sometime in the future.
ReplyDeletegreat post -- and great video. you're so right.
ReplyDeletethanks for this :)
It is so interesting that you wrote about your blog title today. I kind of did that in my Sunday's post. Not to this extent, though. From your words, I had a great visual of pulling the target into focus. I don't hunt, but I do shoot photographs and have used the manual focus. And, yes, we are living the movie of our lives. In The Holiday, the old scriptwriter tells Kate Winslett's character that she needs to be the leading lady in her own life. Thanks for the reminder and great message!
ReplyDeleteIt is scary when we offer up what we write for others to inspect and criticize. But if we don't then we will be guilty of burying our gift. Thanks for your insights and for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! You did a really nice job describing life as a writer: we have to keep writing, no matter how many shots are fired at us.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple powereful lines - well to me, as the writer anyways - from my novel that pretty much said how I wanted my audience to view my characters. What I want them to walk away with. And I do have a premise, and sometimes that was hard to stick to, but I think I got there.
ReplyDeleteSo I can agree about "writing in the crosshairs" as we're developing our story. Getting to that "specific intent" is difficult.
You've really thought this through. Thanks for sharing your insights, and your own journey.
........dhole
what helps me maintain a measure of grace and peace is watching, listening and walking with the Spirit of God, the Great Spirit, the Holy Spirit. I do this by believing in Jesus Christ and knowing that God is not like us in many ways and that is why we can trust Him. I really loved your comment about letting the wind blow through you in your short story. I have been asking God why I keep getting knocked off my horse...I believe you may have answered my question..Your writing just keeps getting better
ReplyDeleteI love Morning Tree!!!! Thanks Kind of reminds me of Enigma, but better!
ReplyDeleteExcuse me "Mourning Tree" :-)
ReplyDeleteMy mother (now 91) always described it as "waiting for the other shoe to drop." No matter how great life was at the time, no matter how happy she was, she knew things could change in an instant, and she hated to let her guard down. I have a little of that, little nudges once in a while, a sense of living in the crosshairs. In a way, it's self-protection, a bullet vest?
ReplyDelete