An Evening of Writing

It's after 11:00 PM and I am jazzed. I think I am going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight. I just finished the first draft of my short story for my creative writing class. I wrote for about four hours and I feel like I've just had a large espresso. I am filled with adrenaline and really excited about how my short story took shape. It's not what I expected at all. When I first sat down to write this short story, I wanted to go in a whole different direction. However, my vision of the story is not where the characters wanted the story to go. As we are learning in our creative writing course, it's important to follow the characters rather than make the characters follow the writer's agenda or preconceived plot.
In the book On Writing that we are using as our primary text for the class, Stephen King says that he never lets plot drive his novels. Instead, he takes a journey with his characters and often times he is surprised where they lead him. Now, I'm not suggesting that I am anywhere near as gifted a writer as Stephen King. I've read some of his books and watched many movies based on his books. He has a creativity and passion for writing that I don't know that I will ever experience. However, I feel like tonight I tasted a little bit of what King is talking about in his own writing process. I could not put my pencil down. I kept writing and writing until I got it all down. It just kept flowing and I am surprised about the path on which it flowed. It was totally unexpected.
Now I've got to do the hard work of editing my work. Tonight was the completion of one of the primary steps. This weekend, I've got to get my scribblings down in a form that I can present to my class on Monday night. This is going to be a bit tedious. I know that what I've written is extremely raw and lacks substantive form. It will definitely take me most of the weekend to get my story to a place at which I can share it with others.
What tonight's writing experience reminded me of is that I love to write. I don't know that I write well, but I love to put things down into words. I love to follow characters. I love to discover unique ways of telling a story. I love to express myself and what's on my mind by writing. It is a creative drive within me that helps me to share my heart and views of life with the world.
I will let you know how it goes as I edit and then present my short story to the class. I'm a little anxious about it. I feel vulnerable sharing it but I know that receiving feedback is what can help me to become a better writer.
I appreciate you taking the time read what I write on this blog. I know it's always not the most exciting or intellectually stimulating blog on the Internet. However, it is my way of connecting with others through the power of the written word. For you to spend even one minute of your valuable time reading my blog is a great honor to me.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!