Are you a timid writer?
I knew I wanted to write and get published when I first got my grubby paws on the romance novel – you know, the ones with gorgeous river pilot on the cover: tall, dark, muscular and handsome hero with beautiful heroine – when I was 16 years old.
I said to one of my best friends, Sylvia, “I’d love to write my own novel one of these days.”
She looked at me. “Like this one? No. You can’t be serious.”
I tried to hide my mischievous smile.
“I don’t believe you,” she said with bulging eyes.
“Watch me,” I said.
She laughed. “All right. The glint in your eyes convinces me you’re up to something.”
Someone clears his throat. “You two, did you finished your work?”
Sylvia and I looked behind us. Our science teacher, Mr. Shamsuri now stood on my side with hands on hips. I threw the hard cover novel into the drawer and sat straight. Sylvia crabbed away searching for her book. We both flushed for being caught in act with a romance novel in my hand. He rolled his eyes and walked toward the front of the classroom. I elbowed Sylvia and we giggled. He gave us a dirty look and continued with his lecture.
That was eons ago. I indeed managed to write several novels, but guess what – they were literary and young adult type novels. Only one of them I considered a romance (Jejaka Idaman or Idol Man) but it was nothing in there other that the hero and the heroine looking at each other eyes and holding hands.
I was too embarrassed to write the love scene. Also being in a country which was tight with moral regulations – writing an open love scene will guarantee your novel will not get published.
I guess I was not alone?
Recently, while reading my short story AGAIN (groan), I didn’t feel the attachment towards my main character: I didn’t feel the connection. So, I analyzed the characterization of her and found I didn’t write about her embarrassment in detail when she was tossed into the spot light.
So, I recreated the scene and dwelled deeper into my own experiences of feeling embarrassed on something unpleasant and just let it fly all over the page. When I read it later, I felt so sorry for her (the main character) and I do care about her.
Sometimes, as a writer, I don’t like to write when the main character goes into all these not so flattering things in order to get what she wanted because it is so painful to write, but then I also understand that to become a better writer – one has no choice – the reader needs to feel a connection with the main character in order to turn the pages.
So, if you do feel timid to write an embarrassing situation, get over it and use all the techniques in fiction to help you to overcome resistance. Your characters need you to show it to the readers.
As for the love scene I was talking about earlier, well, I still couldn’t muster it into my writing – probably I just stay as a fan for romance novel, then – for now.
