My Discoveries About Me as a Writer

Over time as we write story after story, we begin to understand what we enjoy writing about and what sorts of stories we're good at telling. We experiment with various genres. Science fiction, romance, horror.

We take a shot at memoir and various forms of poetry. The haiku, sonnet, and villanelle.

As we experiment with our writings, over time, we understand more and more about ourselves as writers.

Here are some of the things I've discovered about myself:

I Like Writing Short Stories

And more than I thought I would. It's not that I didn't think I'd like writing short stories. There's just something tricky about writing them. The story and characters have to reach a conclusion within a short time frame and still make sense without feeling rushed.

I took a chance at writing a few short paranormal horror stories. I found out quickly that I liked writing these kinds of stories and have taken a chance at writing other genres of short stories as well.

Quite a few of them have been inspired by various urban legends like this one:

I'm More Drawn to Writing Villainous Characters

I've enjoyed writing all kinds of characters. Protagonists, side characters that surprised me ... but one such character that I have especially enjoyed creating is the villain. As far as a story goes, I guess I like plotting in more ways than one. 😉

While writing, I discovered that it's important to give the villain some morality as well as a weakness so that they are believable. To ensure a story lasts with the reader, I think it's important to not only write a compelling hero but a compelling villain as well.

Every good story needs conflict. A challenge for the hero. And besides, creating all good characters is not only unrealistic but sounds boring!

I'm Most Creative at Night

I'm more of the kind of person that would rather stay up late than wake up early. I do most of my writing between early evening and into the night before I go to bed. I think part of the reason why I feel more creative at night is that it's usually more peaceful at night and I have less distractions.

I've also learned to write during a different time than I usually would. I've written in the morning when I was just starting my day and found that I was more creative than I thought I'd be.

It's important to experiment and write during different times of the day. You might be surprised!

I Listen to Music For Scene and Character Inspiration

I think all writers have a unique writing routine. That one writing quirk to get their story flowing. Some writer's read their story out loud and act out dialogue. Some might hand write their story and even have a certain pen they write with.

I didn't think there was anything unique about my writing routine. But it turns out, there is.

I listen to music before I write. And I don't only listen to music to put me in a good mood before I write. I listen to certain songs or genres that reflect a certain scene or characters.

For instance I might listen to a rock song with dark undertones if I'm writing a scene focusing on the villain or even a horror story. Or I might listen to a certain song that reminds me of a certain scene I'm writing.

One reason I believe this works for me is that while writing and reading, I visualize the story in my head as if I were watching a movie.

I wonder, does anyone else do this or something similar? Maybe a playlist of songs that are inspired by a story you wrote or are writing?

These are just a few of the things that I've discovered about myself as a writer. If I continue to experiment more with my writings, who know what else I'll discover!