Before I started writing essays I held the opinion that writing a story was easier. However, after writing essays I’ve come to realize that crafting a story is much harder. Of course, there is artistry that goes along with writing essays. I really enjoy writing them and experimenting with form, voice, etc…
And even though I’ve been writing creatively forever, I find writing a full story much more daunting than writing an essay, or even doing a huge project. Let’s say I’m doing a research project and then I have to present my results or show the research I’ve done through an essay. Depending on the project, it may be difficult and it may take years. But, it still all exists within the real. The elements in your project are within your reach.
With a story (and I’m specifically talking about a fictional story) you are creating your own world, your own characters, and your own events. And when I say creating your own world, I mean the world in which your characters live. Even if the story takes place in modern times it still is a different than our real world. And since these stories are coming from you, the author, it has a unique perspective.
Essays and research projects usually have certain assumed structures but with stories (and other art) the sky’s the limit as to what you can do. You have a lot of freedom and that freedom is daunting. For me, it has become not “look at all the things I can do!” but “what should I do?”. There are more nuances, many more things to think about than when I am writing an essay. When I am writing an essay, for instance, the person speaking is myself. In a story I may not be the narrator, I may have a character be a narrator.
There are a lot of differences and similarities, of course. Perhaps some of you may disagree. That’s fine. I just thought of this topic because I’m in the beginning of writing a story and I have found that process much more difficult than any project I’ve done. I’ve been writing for years, yes, but each story is different. I am just now realizing the magnitude of what I am attempting to accomplish. Perhaps that is because of how much I analyze literature and when I do that I see all the little things they do to make what they are writing great. I aspire to write great things and include little details–make it art… but doing that is difficult. Writing something of that nature takes a really long time.
Yet, now I can write an essay that I am proud of and that I consider artful. I can make thoughtful choices about my words, my paragraphs, about my structure. I don’t yet have that skill when I am writing stories.
What are your thoughts? Do you struggle to write stories yet want badly to write one?