Roller coasters

The ups and downs of the writing craft

Photo by Meg Boulden on Unsplash

The crunchy gravel under my sneakers and the bells and whistles of carnival games pinging along the path welcome me to the midway. The heavy scent of caramel corn and grilled meat hangs in the air, tempting my taste buds. The barns are full of livestock and fluffy chicks vying for blue ribbons. Above it all, shrieks and laughter erupt high in the sky from people riding the rides. My heart beats fast, and my skin crawls with fear when I look up at the roller coasters.

I love a good county or state fair, but I loathe roller coasters. Sure, I’ll ride a carousel or a handful of low-to-the-ground rides meant for small children, but roller coasters, which produce whiplash and stomach drops, aren’t for me. I’ve been on a handful of big coasters in my lifetime. I was talked into Space Mountain as a child, peer pressured into a giant coaster at Six Flags north of Chicago the day after prom, and I’ve been on one beginner coaster at Cedar Point. I hated all of those experiences. Riding in fast-moving vehicles with open seating is a hard no for me.

However, I often compare the craft of writing (which I love) to a roller coaster. Writing is by no means a quick activity, and there’s no speed to it at all, but writing ups and downs mirror a roller coaster. When I started writing, I didn’t think much beyond the birth of the story. The act of writing is always an “up” for me. I love to watch a story unfold on blank paper and become friends with my characters. The “downs” of writing come when the manuscript draft is complete. Once you release it to beta readers or start querying agents and publishers, the criticism and rejections are just like the descent of a roller coaster. Sometimes your stomach even plummets when an editor writes unsavory comments in the margins.

Editing my own work is another “up” for me. I love to move the words around on the page and insert new words where bland ones hold their place. I’ve been known to shift whole paragraphs to other parts of a manuscript and delete entire acts only to replace them with new, hopefully better, story beats.

This summer has been a roller coaster. My short story, “Power of the Pen”, was accepted into a Summer Romance Anthology at Nicole Frail Books and was published in June. “Power of the Pen” is the first story in Just One… A Summer Romance Anthology. A publication of any kind is worthy of a celebration.

Like a roller coaster, what goes up must come down. My current manuscript query has been rejected by every literary agent I’ve queried so far. I revise, brainstorm new scenarios, write, edit, and submit again. It’s a constant wheel that will keep spinning until someone takes a chance on my work.

I climbed to the top again when a short story I submitted to a local fiction contest last March won honorable mention. “Finding Peace” will be published this Fall in the Wake Forest Review. I’m not sure what the future will bring, but for me, the ups and downs of the writing craft are far more enjoyable than any roller coaster on the planet.