Posts
https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com
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 imagery 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 "Follow Me" from the anime Innocence.
The romance of my haunted, undead Texas Ranger, Samuel McCord, and his immortal love, Meilori Shinseen, seem to linger among those lyrics like the ghost traces of a moonbeam.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1530302722
Hi Roland. I really really enjoyed reading this post. It made me smile, it encouraged me and left me with some beautiful writing advice. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYour comment really made my morning brighter! As the jazz vocalist, Erin Bode, once told me: Keep at it! :-)
DeleteWe write in the crosshairs - good point!
ReplyDeleteSometimes that crosshair is blurry from life! Thanks for visiting, Alex!
DeleteGreat analogy. So true.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting and commenting! :-)
DeleteI always wondered why that was the title of your blog.
ReplyDeleteI thought it past time I explain my title to my readers. :-) Thanks for dropping by, Diane.
DeleteAs I'm not aiming those crosshairs at myself, it's not my concern and beyond my control. If an editor or publisher rejects something that I submit, it's not because the work is rubbish - it's because it didn't match what they have in mind ... which means that I have them in *my* crosshairs. I'm not sure if this makes sense, but I'm just not bothered.
ReplyDeleteYes, it does. :-) John Locke, the writer, not the philosopher, but the writer ... he believed if someone wrote a bad review, the reader was simply not his target audience!
DeleteMy way of growing as a writer is to aim those crosshairs at my prose. I think it works for me. :-)
First time visitor and I must say, I am happy to have checked in. I like it here. The imagery I see with "in the crosshairs" is profound. It is scary business putting yourself out there, giving others a chance to rip your ideas apart. It is even more frightening for a writer like myself, my work is in it's infancy currently and I have no real idea of what I am getting into.
ReplyDeleteA secret: even those of us with a book or two under our belts really do not know what our next book will do or what reaction it will receive. And each negative review smarts. :-)
DeleteYou certainly seemed to hit the target (hehe) with your musings. Sometimes, it's tough to conquer the feeling like there's something just waiting to strike.
ReplyDeleteDuring Hurricane Season especially in this neck of the woods! I've lost 2 apartments to hurricanes recently and spent 7 months homeless due to Hurricane Laura,
DeleteI press on with my writing. One day. :-)
Your analogy is a good one. I hadn't thought of it that way before.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Natalie. I thought long and hard at what to name my Blog when I first started out. Thanks for visiting me and commenting when I know how busy you are!
DeleteWin Ex lover back in 48 hours._______________
ReplyDeleteHe cures herpes with herbal mixture
100% result guaranteed..
-GENITAL AND ORAL HERPES
-HPV
-DIABETES
-ERECTILE ERECTION
–HEPATITIS A,B AND C
-COLD SORE
-LOWER RESPIRATORY INFECTION
-STROKE
-IMPOTENCE
-HYPERTENSION
-SHINGLES
-FIBROID
-BARENESS/INFERTILITY….
R.buckler11 [[ gmail....com ]]
United States….............