Angela Grout, Author    

Effective Words Affect Me- Inside the mind of Author AM Grout

When I pick up a pen, I often pause to consider if a story is worth writing. I make this decision by how the inspiration and the influences that surround the idea of the story affects me. If the story affects me to the point that I must sit and write, I set a timer, and do it.

I seldom pause when writing with a pen in hand, therefore the scribbles are most likely only legible to me. I once tried to learn shorthand so that I could write faster, but the dashes, slashes and symbols were too foriegn to understand.

The cool thing about handwritten rough drafts is that I can abbreviate, use private symbols, and even write the word "ELAB" when I want to elaborate more in the typed version of the story. Typing the rough draft is easy, editing is not so easy.

When typing the words I slow down seeing the edits that need to be made such as punctuation, verb tense, and spacing. My type A personality doesn't allow me to hand editing over to just anyone. My trusted resources provide me with what I need, yet I am still responsible to make the final edits, something I want to let go of a little.

Every page I type, I often can get sidetracked with the aesthetics of the layout. But truth is I just want the stories to be as pleasing as the visual words on the page. The reality is the effective words on the pages in some of my stories may not bring peace when the cover closes, but they will certainly affect the reader.

In my journals and my everyday life, my writings are often reflective.

In the stories I write, I have many moments where I reflect on the what ifs, whys and the what would I have done in that circumsatance. I suppose that is the way effective writings work.

An effective story, has words that provide an effective way to affect someone's thoughts. They certainly have affected me or I wouldn't have picked up the pen.

(Submitted to Write Angles Conference 2018 )