Ah Christmas lights. We drive past an amazing display of lights every time we leave the neighborhood. It has made me think about what kind of people live in each house, according to their decorating tastes. Some lights are very structured, outlining the house using those straight light thingys, and some lights are almost flung on everything...the roof, the porch, the tree, the mailbox. Other houses have bought those giant inflatable snowmen...which to me, is funny, because where we live, we usually end up with six feet of snow for at least 4 months, might as well wait til you can build your own!
And other houses have a sweet manger scene with lights hanging elegantly in just the right places, blinking to Christ honoring carols at just the right moments.
As a writer, I often realize that I can take on multiple personalities in my authorship, just like the multiple styles of Christmas lights we all see this time of year. Do you ever find yourself sitting in front of your wip wondering if you should dissect your own motives at that moment, instead of your characters? Using the examples of the lighting extravaganzas of the season I'll show you what I mean.
Random Light Sprinkling Overgrowth: So this is often an eye-catcher and intrigues the reader to keep going, but it can completely hide the intended flow of the plot. Sometimes you have so many good ideas and techniques you try to fit them in the story, somehow some way. But when it comes down to it, they can dilute the theme, squelch good solid character development, and leave the reader dizzy wondering if they just read a group of short stories instead of a novel. When I have the idea passion, I sit back and analyze which would move the story forward or just distract from the theme I'm trying to convey.
Do you feel like you are a "different" writer at different times? I may have some weird writing disorder that nobody else experiences, but now that I've pinpointed my problem, I will know which writer to listen to as I sit down and create a shining display! :)
