On Writing Pleasures

By: Emily Eileen Moreshead and Erin Rose Hennessy

What do you like to write about? What scenes fill you with a sense of pride and pleasure in your work? What specific things do you like to input in your work to make it more enjoyable for you?

Erin: I love writing about little kids and toddlers. They’re both fun and entertaining but also challening in their own right, as they struggle to make sense of their world and strive for independence. Some of my favorite stories we have written have included a baby or small child under the age of four. There’s something so innocent and sweet about adding a small child to a story that has the potential to give the work a breath of fresh air.

Emily: My favorite scenes to write involve any high drama or scenes that cause a character’s heart to beat a bit faster than normal. I like kidnappings, sudden accidents, and a surprise robbery here and there which is quite telling because in my real life I have never experienced any of this chaos!

Erin: I also enjoy writing drama, but what really speaks to me is when characters come together to solve it. When a family or friends or a team comes together and works on the problem, is there to support each other, and is able to move on as a team – that really makes me happy!

Emily: I like to watch how a particular plot twist will affect a character not just within that one story but for a long time afterwards. It shows the reality of their experience to me. And it’s important to show that metamorphosis.

Erin: I also enjoy writing little quirks and personality traits that will show throughout the characters’ lives. Writing scenes of a six-year-old girl itching to learn all she can about how the world works, and then that same girl as a sixteen-year-old deciding she wants to learn about law and go to law school, and then that same girl, now a young woman – is graduating from law school in her lifelong quest for learning and making the world a safe place to live.

Emily: I love the way characters can become better versions of themselves or shells of themselves even within the same story. I love personifying them with people I know too, not the whole individual but snippets based on their actions with me and with others. As the saying goes, ‘careful with talking to a writer because they may put you in a book!’

It’s important to never lose touch with why you write and what your favorite parts about writing are! Feel free to share your favorites in the comments!