The Downside of Loving the Written Word | Teen Ink

The Downside of Loving the Written Word

April 28, 2009
By NicAliceF GOLD, Tacoma, Washington
NicAliceF GOLD, Tacoma, Washington
12 articles 1 photo 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
Ernest Hemingway


“So I’m going to die?” He asked, perched on the edge of my bed as I sat at the computer.
“I’m a writer Luke.” I said calmly. “It’s what I do. Don’t take it personally.”
“Don’t take it personally?” he asked, his voice rising. Oh no, that’s not what I wanted. Luke mad might scar me mentally; he was, after all, my first born character, my best friend. Luke Samuels was loyal and strong, pensive and intelligent. He was a hunter of the supernatural, a father, and a husband; he was everything I’d ever made him, and what he was…well he was just the best.
“How can I not take it personally?” He snapped, already on his feet, angry.
“Sit down.” I called, trying to not show emotion. “Or I’ll do a re-write and crash your car.” Luke sat down immediately; jesus, anything for that car.
But it was a nice car; he deserved to drive the best, and when I’d been writing it, the Ford Bullitt had been one hell of a car. Not that it wasn’t now, it still was.
Luke was the kind of guy who treated his car like it was a member of his family, and threats to the Bullitt…well it would make him do anything. “Actually,” I said, and smirked. “I might just give it to a hobo.” Luke grimaced.
“That’s not funny Nic.”
“Neither is you being here.” I snapped, and moved away from the computer, hands shaking as they left the keyboard. “But obviously asthma and mental chatter wasn’t enough. I had to actually visualize my characters talking to me…” Luke watched me as I crossed the room and knelt before the mirror on the wall, applying make-up. “What a shallow attempt at a normal life…” I murmured, blinking as I applied mascara. “Thanks a lot big guy…” I said, and stared up at the ceiling. “Thanks a ton.”
I swore when I accidentally stabbed myself in the eye with the mascara brush.
“I still don’t understand why I have to die.” Luke whispered from behind me. I looked up into the mirror, wiping away mascara from my face and eye.
“because.” I murmured, looking down. I couldn’t tell if I was crying because he was sad, or because I’d just stabbed myself in the eye. Either way, the situation sucked. I left the mascara alone and went with the eye liner, I couldn’t screw that up. When I was done, I put on some skin colored eye-shadow.
I like comfortable, plainness.
“You’re not real Luke.” I told him, and got up, turning around. I’d run my hands through my short hair, messing it up a little bit. That’s how it was supposed to be- short, spikey, messy. “You’re the main character in a story I’m trying to tell. That’s it. You don’t exist.”
“Don’t you wish.” He said, and laughed darkly.
Oh wow, the way he laughed. Normally I would have described it as a deep chuckled, and explained the way he smiled cheerfully, and ran a hand through his thick hair self conscious of what he was thinking…but this…This wasn’t every Luke-like, he’d never…
“You wish we’d be just a figment of your imagination,” he continued on. “You wish that the car I drive, the gun I shoot, would never pass you on the street, you’d never see it in a store, or face to face…But the truth is, Nic, that we’re real.”
“We’re so real.” Came a light voice, and Oliver was standing on his right, smirking that crooked half grin. A scar, long and broad, ran from the top of his brow, down to the tip of his mouth on the right side, it even punctured his eye.
I knew this. I knew that he had a hard time focusing his eye, and shot mainly with his left.
Just like I would know he weighed one fifty, and was six three, though he could bench press two sixty.
“We’re real enough that we sit with you at Orchestra concerts and calm you down, right?” Richelle asked, stepping forward out of nothing to become Luke’s left shadow. “We’re real enough that we make you laugh when you cry at night, and we make you strong when you feel like you’re all alone.”
“I am alone.” I whispered, and she shook her head slowly.
“You’re never alone, not when we’re here.” Richelle told me.
God, I wanted to believe her, I wanted to know that she was right, I wanted to relish in the fact that Luke Samuels, Oliver Stokes, and Richelle Carmichael were real, badass people…But I knew that they weren’t.
“But I am!” I shouted, moving away from them. “I am so alone because you’re not real! You’re about as real as Pamela Anderson’s boobs! I’m bonkers, I’ve pretty much figured that out- last week I went to school dressed as a KISS member!”
“What’s wrong with KISS?” Luke asked, offended.
“IT WAS COLOR WARS!” I yelled, growing red in the face. “I was dressed in leather and white face make-up while other kids were wearing their class colors!”
“That’s not that bad…” Richelle murmured.
“I spent five hours on the computer yesterday,” I hissed, stepping back to face them, voice low. “You know what I was doing?” I baited, and they just stood there. “I was creating false e-mail accounts in your name, giving you myspaces, picking out music for your profiles, uploading your pictures. I spent fifteen minutes creating the dialogue of a fake conversation that I sent back and forth between you and Oliver! That’s wrong, that’s so wrong.” I took a deep breath. “You’re not real, and I act as if you are, I created you to be a fictional character, and I know that’s all you are, even if you try to convince me otherwise.”

The author's comments:
The Downside of Lovin the Written Word should explain how it can be as a writer when you love something enought to actually imagine it; to have the characters walk beside you.
It's a wonderful pain.

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This article has 105 comments.


on Jun. 13 2011 at 10:56 am
Alice_in_Wonderland GOLD, San Clemente, California
16 articles 0 photos 620 comments

Favorite Quote:
“I could give up, I could stay stuck, or I could move on, So I put one foot front of the other, No no no nothing’s gonna break my stride, “ –David Archuleta (The Other Side of Down)

Wow that was really creative! I feel the same way with the characters of my stories and of the books I read. It feels like they actually exist but they don't. It is crazy how real something can feel to you if you let yourself believe it is real. Great job! :)

11_Jurrassic said...
on Jun. 7 2011 at 9:37 pm
I couldnt agree more its so refreshing to read something written of passion by a writer who truly has skill!

Sailaway said...
on Jun. 7 2011 at 9:32 pm
LOVED IT!!!!!

11_Jurrassic said...
on Jun. 7 2011 at 9:30 pm
You spin words into master pieces simply wonderful!

critic11 said...
on Jun. 2 2011 at 7:51 am
The way you write is simply amazing!! I enjoyed reading this very much!

on May. 31 2011 at 10:54 pm
MaryZann BRONZE, Rockwall, Texas
4 articles 1 photo 7 comments

Rad.

(:


on May. 31 2011 at 2:58 pm
Dizzy.Bird BRONZE, Thornton, Colorado
3 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you shall land among the stars."

I love this concept- it's new and fresh and not cliche. Excellent work! :)

on Mar. 4 2011 at 11:12 pm
Bagheera-Rose BRONZE, Tacoma, Washington
1 article 7 photos 22 comments
This is great! I always think of what it would be like if all my chara's got together on some island or something, or if there was a lost universe of characters. It's always hard tog et rid of them, too, so this is really relatable, especially to people on a website like this. Loved it!

Hawthorn said...
on Feb. 10 2011 at 3:33 pm

Wow. very realistic.

 


on Dec. 6 2010 at 5:42 pm
MidnightFire PLATINUM, Lincoln, Illinois
40 articles 6 photos 239 comments

Favorite Quote:
'Dream as if you will live forever, live as if you'll die tomorrow.'
for my sister: 'when life gives me lemons ... i eat them'
'do not be afraid, be faithful'
'God is not safe, but He's good'

loved it :)

NicAliceF GOLD said...
on Oct. 24 2010 at 7:05 pm
NicAliceF GOLD, Tacoma, Washington
12 articles 1 photo 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
Ernest Hemingway

Wonderful! They can help, or they can hinder, but mostly they're quite benevolent. :)

on Oct. 23 2010 at 12:27 pm
Hamlette BRONZE, Tulsa, Oklahoma
1 article 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If it be now, tis not to come. If it tis not to come, it will be now. If it be not now, then it will come. The readiness is all."

Awesome! Well-written! And I can relate. I talk to my main character all the time too. He moved in with me a few months ago, at first just to ensure his story got finished, and now we're great friends.

NicAliceF GOLD said...
on Oct. 18 2010 at 8:28 pm
NicAliceF GOLD, Tacoma, Washington
12 articles 1 photo 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
Ernest Hemingway

I was hoping someone would be able to relate to what I was portraying here-the writer is always blessed with many friends, but not all of them are seen entering or exiting our lives.:)

NicAliceF GOLD said...
on Oct. 18 2010 at 8:26 pm
NicAliceF GOLD, Tacoma, Washington
12 articles 1 photo 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
Ernest Hemingway

Haha, thank you. I'm delighted to hear it kept your attention.:)

NicAliceF GOLD said...
on Oct. 18 2010 at 8:21 pm
NicAliceF GOLD, Tacoma, Washington
12 articles 1 photo 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
Ernest Hemingway

I'm glad!:)

I like to think of stories in relation to cupcakes- if you can't stop consuming them, then they've done their job.:)


NicAliceF GOLD said...
on Oct. 18 2010 at 8:18 pm
NicAliceF GOLD, Tacoma, Washington
12 articles 1 photo 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
Ernest Hemingway

They do, don't they? Always complaining and whatnot... It's a good thing I love them so much, otherwise I'd probably have to kill them all. xD

NicAliceF GOLD said...
on Oct. 18 2010 at 8:17 pm
NicAliceF GOLD, Tacoma, Washington
12 articles 1 photo 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
Ernest Hemingway

Thanks.:)

I find that in writing visuals are key. If I want to pen an accurate description of a character, I usually imagine them doing normal things along side me.

It may sound weird, but Oliver Stokes spent most of my orchestra concerts sitting at my side. It made him much easier to relate to, and more realistic, which in turn, made him easier to write with, as one of my main characters.


NicAliceF GOLD said...
on Oct. 18 2010 at 8:11 pm
NicAliceF GOLD, Tacoma, Washington
12 articles 1 photo 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
Ernest Hemingway

Thank you!

I was going for the sudden cut off because I know a lot of people, (including myself) hate it. I did, however, continue it in the second part which is also posted on Teen ink.


NicAliceF GOLD said...
on Oct. 18 2010 at 7:53 pm
NicAliceF GOLD, Tacoma, Washington
12 articles 1 photo 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
Ernest Hemingway

Who said they weren't? ;)

NicAliceF GOLD said...
on Oct. 1 2010 at 8:18 pm
NicAliceF GOLD, Tacoma, Washington
12 articles 1 photo 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
Ernest Hemingway

Thank you.:) Yes, the second part is up now!