The Voices in My Head

I used to think that I was a visual person but I guess that was all in my head. (Sorry couldn't resist the pun.) In all seriousness, I thought that I was someone who needed to diagram everything and see everything out on paper. However, as I've been attempting to edit/add to Guardians the descriptions have been the hardest part. I'm a firm believer that everyone who reads a book sees something different. That's why when a book becomes a movie no one is completely satisfied because no set can compare to what people see inside their head. It's also hard to know how much description is enough to ground a reader in your setting and make them believe what your writing versus that point when it's too much. Even though it's important to set a scene too much description slows down the plot.
Even though I had decided that the first step in editing Guardians was to add more pieces, the adding was starting to feel like a chore. It was hard to see where I was going with everything and I had to force myself to write. That's when I realized that I shouldn't waste the year I spent learning how I function as a writer. I started working out of order and focusing on what I am good at: dialogue. It seems weird but even I can't quite visualize my characters- they're a bit hazy and I like it that way. I want people to be able to project their own version of Shana, Kalynn, Ben and Rafi when they read. However, I can literally hear their voices in my head when I write. A writer's voice is her most important tool and I truly think that a character's voice is their most defining feature. I had forgotten that when I first started writing I wrote huge chunks of dialogue and then linked everything together using descriptive scenes. I think that my character's voices seem real and relatable and that the dialogue flows at a good pace. It's fun to write, as if I'm eavesdropping on a conversation. For an example of dialogue (and a new piece of the story) check out the Guardians tab.