I think I might be a bit slow. Until I sat down to write this post, I hadn’t considered the ways writing and motherhood are similar. Why is that? Writers often speak of how their manuscripts are like their children. Where was I all this time?
Like our children, we pour countless hours of blood, sweat and tears into our manuscripts, knowing in the end, we can only pray they will turn out right. No matter how well we teach our kids, and how much motherly advice we impart, it seems every child—myself included—is destined to go his or her own way. I’ve realized my characters are going to do what they want despite any outline I have created. When I stubbornly try to stick to my outline and refuse to write the scenes my characters are insisting must be written, all I get is frustration. That’s very similar to when I force my oldest daughter to complete her homework right after school. I finally smartened up and allowed her to set her own schedule—whether she works on it right after school or right before supper is up to her, but either she plays right away and comes in earlier or she plays later and stays out later. Oh, and I’ve tossed outlines out the window.
Characters and kids like to play. It’s important to give them some down time. While drama and hard work is a normal part of the game, no child’s and no character’s life should be all work, heartbreak, conflict, and tears. A healthy balance is better for everyone.
Characters, like kids, talk back. It’s not usually a pleasant experience, especially when a character says something like, “I would never do that you knucklehead,” but at least in writing it could serve a purpose. Maybe it serves a purpose for mothers too. Perhaps it’s time to listen to what the child is saying. It might not change your point of view, but thinking of something from your child’s perspective could help you understand him better.
That brings me to one way that writing and motherhood are different. It’s legal to murder your characters.
Cheryl Malandrinos is a freelance writer, children’s author and editor. Her first children’s book, Little Shepherd, was released in August 2010 by Guardian Angel Publishing. She is also a member of the SCBWI.
Cheryl is a Tour Coordinator for Pump Up Your Book, a book reviewer, and blogger. Ms. Malandrinos lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband and two children. She also has a son who is married.
Visit Cheryl at her newly redesigned website http://ccmalandrinos.com or visit the Little Shepherd book blog at http://littleshepherdchildrensbook.blogspot.com.
