Wednesday, September 06, 2017

IWSG: Writing Surprises




This month’s Insecure Writers’ Support Group post is hosted by Tyrean Martinson,
Tara Tyler, RaimeyGallant,  and  BeverlyStowe McClure. Our question is Have you ever surprised yourself with your writing? (For example, by trying a new genre you didn't think you'd be comfortable in?)

If you’re under eighteen, you’d better stop reading, since the first example that comes to mind involves a sex scene. Specifically, the first one I ever wrote was between two women. It hasn’t been published, but I don’t want to give out details about the characters for fear of spoilers. For me, the point of the scene was tracing the characters’ emotions, not body parts. 



Another way I’ve surprised myself with writing is with cursing. The main characters of Lyon’s Legacy and Twinned Universes swear a lot. I personally seldom swear. However, when I wrote those stories, I dropped a ton of f-bombs without batting an eye. I guess that proves authors and characters don’t always think alike. 

How has your writing surprised you? Feel free to share in the comments.

9 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I rarely swear. Saying seldom would be pushing the truth though.
Most authors can separate themselves from their characters. I must be the rarity in that I couldn't write a main character who was off base too far from my own morals and values.

PT Dilloway said...

I love swearing.

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

I wouldn't want to write an anti-hero or anti-heroine either, Alex.

Pat, I guess it's good that I don't swear, seeing as I have a kid. Unfortunately, it's hard to track how much swearing he hears on YouTube.

Maria Zannini said...

I won't swear in public, but smash a toe or get stung by a scorpion and I can get colorful.

emaginette said...

Yeah, one of my characters is a real potty mouth. I hope no one confuses me with them. I'd hate it.

Anna from elements of emaginette

Misha Gerrick said...

Sex scenes tend to surprise me too. Mostly because I'm pretty dang straight-laced, but those scenes.... phew! ;-)

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Maria, yes, that would be appropriate justification!

Anna, I hope most people realize authors are not their characters.

Sex scenes can be pretty surprising, Misha!

Diane Burton said...

You hit on 2 of the hardest things to write. I have to watch my language around the grandkiddies. Talk about hard! In writing sci-fi romances, I came up with substitutes for the classic swear words. That wasn't too bad. It didn't seem like swearing. But in my contemporaries, it's different. I have a character whose deathbed promise to her mother was not to swear like a teenager. It's a cute gimmick for substitute words.

James Pailly said...

I'm actually kind of surprised by how rarely I use curse words in my writing. I don't seem to mind using them in real life, but for some reason writing them down... I don't know. It feels kind of weird to me.

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