Michael T. Hare

My plans for an epic fantasy story are shaping up. I won’t reveal too much, but I will say this: it will reflect the crux of who I was when I first began writing.

For the past two years, I’ve written from an idealized belief that writing ‘in a certain way’ is how to go about it. I allowed my insecurities about not being a good writer to alter my craft entirely and wash away the enthused author I used to be.

I’m sure many other writers can relate to thinking ‘beautiful, complex books with flashy words’ are the hype of storytelling. Well, you may be relieved to hear this is not the case.

While writing ‘beautifully’ has its perks, I’ve found there’s something riveting about keeping it simple and putting clarity before decoration. It’s like what I always say: Readers will never feel what is ON the page; readers will feel what is IN the page. The meat of my stories was always found in what happened and how characters solved problems, not wowing the audience with lengthy, intricate paragraphs.

In earlier days—fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen—I wrote compelling, character/plot-driven stories, and I did all without ‘ornate storytelling’ to quote Christopher Paolini. Of course, there’s always a place for this kind of writing, even in stories that don’t prioritize it very much–even I still utilize that ‘beautiful writing’ muscle. My problem before was letting it dominate my voice because of some weird belief that it made good writing.

I was missing that delicate balance between ‘beautiful’ and ‘clear’ writing. Over time, I moved most of my ‘beautiful’ writing abilities to description and scene setting while applying my ‘clear’ writing abilities to plot structure—character conversations, actions, etc. This is what I meant by ornate writing having a place. You only need to figure out where it belongs and not let it leak out over everything, and the best way to learn that is to READ! Read books, email your favorite authors, study their methods and apply them. I recently emailed one of my favorite authors, Jeff Wheeler, for some publishing advice and received a response!

P.S. Feel free to email me with any questions about balancing clarity and complexity. I’m still learning a lot myself (I frequently visit the Young Writer’s Workshop on YWW), but I’d be honored to help anyone who wants to join the journey.

Best wishes,

Michael.