Has empathy ever made creative writing difficult for you?
I had an interesting experience this afternoon, regarding revising a tough scene in book two. I was kind of dreading doing it.
I’ve had two scenes make me cry revising them, one in book one of my trilogy (just released in a second edition) and one in book three (hopefully to be released eventually in a second edition, if I can get book one to do well enough).
The tone of those scenes is different than the one I worked on today. They are more bittersweet in their way, and it feels (at least to me) somehow that the stakes are . . . different . . .than in this scene that I just kind of wanted to avoid for emotional reasons.
I got through that scene just fine a few minutes ago (as I write this), of course. It’s just fiction. (It actually still hasn’t made me cry, either).
I’m wondering why I was unwilling to touch it, when it’s truly a beautiful scene in lots of respects. And I don’t think it’s just the violence.
They say that people who are highly sensitive tend to become more sensitive, not less, as the years pass by. I’ve always been sensitive, so maybe that’s a part of it.
But I also think it’s a mark of how much better the revisions I’ve done have made the novels. At least, I hope that’s part of it
I think I understand the characters more, and love them more, and the stories are just presented better than they were in the first editions.
Whatever the case, my stomach is in literal knots right now. Sometimes I hate being so empathic. It’s to the point that I will sometimes literally find myself, as I edit, mimicking the gestures and actions of my characters.
Anyway, have you ever found yourself crying or having some other physical reaction to scene you wrote and have to edit?
(Don’t forget, The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope is available now in paperback or ebook from Amazon! Check out the book’s website here: Archangel Ink really did a fantastic job!)
Creative Writing with the Crimson League 
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