Last week, as I worked on Chapter One, Scene Three, reviewing the comments (once again) that my beta reader had sent me and trying to find the best way to write what I wanted to say, the word crafting came into my head. I realized I was crafting my story, in the same way a painter crafts his painting, a sculptor crafts his sculpture, or a drawer crafts his drawing.
I've just looked up the definition of crafting: exercising skill in making something.
But, for me, it goes much further than that.
I love when I read a review of a book, and it says the writer crafted his story. What a compliment. What a beautiful thing to say.
That tells me the writer focused on the details, searched for just the right word, played with the order of words and phrases and sentences and even paragraphs, tried as many options as were necessary to find just the right way to put something. Never giving up, until he knew he couldn't get any closer to what he needed to say.
That tells me he spent the time with it.
It's easy to dash off any piece of writing. It's easy to get a series of words on the page and call it done. What's not so easy is working with it, shaping it, molding it, caressing it, turning and twisting it. Why? Because all of that takes time. Lots and lots of time.
And patience too. We want everything right now. Even writers. Especially writers. We want to finish this project, so we can move on to the next one.
But, sometimes, what we're working on deserves so much more. Sometimes, what we're working on can be so much more–if we just have the patience, if we put the time into it–however long that might be–and if we craft it, in the process becoming a better writers.
Work on crafting your writing. It'll be time well-spent. You'll be more pleased with your work, and you'll grow as a writer, more than you know.
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