Told to “write what you know,” most authors will turn to the subject near and dear to our hearts: writing. Liberation via Pen follows Krista along her journey of self-discovery, her pen providing the guiding light.
Here’s a short (unofficial) excerpt:
Krista took the advice to heart, literally: for the past two years, she’d known Ethan. She’d let him infiltrate her life, her apartment, her thoughts, herself. Thinking his invasion signaled the laying of groundwork for a future, she’d dated him exclusively, rearranged her life to accommodate his likes and dislikes until she could no longer remember her own.
She wrote to rediscover herself, divine her innermost thoughts and feelings. From their seemingly serendipitous meeting to their breakup, Krista chronicled and dissected her and Ethan’s former relationship, building to the crescendo to the eventual fall.
She copied the first five pages for the critique group the next month. The chick lit writer said: “Your dialogue’s too stiff; make it sound more realistic.” “Make your prose more lyrical, but get rid of the adjectives and adverbs,” said the poet. The mystery writer advised: “Foreshadow your events to build suspense.”
Krista nodded as each spoke, noting their advice for her revision. She spent the next two weeks pouring over each sentence, mercilessly slashing words that were the literary equivalent of flab, constructing setting and scene through description. As she wrote, the cadence of her prose became, as the poet foretold, lyrical. Like music, the words flowed then came staccato as demanded by the scene. They lifted her spirit, excited her neurons in a way that made her hunger for more. She became addicted to the high of writing a well-structured sentence.
As a bonus, certain aspects of her former relationship came clear. Ethan promoted himself as being on the cutting edge of pop culture, always had to have the latest gadget or widget or gizmo or feature. His talents centered on technology. With people, not so much. Had she the foresight to commit his faults to paper earlier, Krista might have been spared much heartache. The exercise allowed her to see, finally, Ethan represented the ultimate ass. By setting her emotions on paper, she not only defined them, but her writing informed her self-definition.
When she handed out edited pages at the next meeting, all but Charlene had positive criticism. She most looked forward to Todd’s reaction. The lower Ethan sank in her estimation, Todd rose. A good guy with interesting traits, who made her want to find out more. Self-absorbed bad boys were so yesterday.
