Many of us know that writing often takes us in a different direction than we intended. Expressing oneself concisely, clearly, and unambiguously is a lifelong task. Literary expression naturally requires far more skill, practice, knowledge, feeling, and sensitivity than everyday conversation. This is clearly evident in screenwriting, where even the smallest word can be out of place. Words play an important role. Why?

Writing a book, theater text or screenplay is a great challenge. For me, it has always been like falling in love again – always fresh, unrepeatable and unforgettable. In my experience, there are seven stages of writing, each more exciting than the last. Here is an overview of all the phases as a guide for aspiring writers…

At school, you get to know a wonderful world of novel characters through reading. For example, the world of characters such as: Huckleberry Finn, Heidi, Dracula, Frankenstein, Alice, Tom Sawyer, Marlin, The Count of Monte Cristo, Captain Ahib, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to name but a few. Even later, we read breathlessly about Ulysses, Madame Bovary, Hamlet, Dr. Faustus, Dorian Gray, Anna Karenina, etc.

It is undisputed that we are born in a certain time and space. We cannot change these circumstances: we live in a certain family that speaks a certain language, we look the way we look, we have a certain skin color and a certain age at a certain time. Many things are already predetermined at birth, without us being able to make a choice: name, gender, nationality, nation, etc. – And literature plays an eminent role with regard to these predeterminations. For an author can free himself from his predeterminations through literature. The author can be…

While writing, I came to two conclusions regarding the last sentence of a literary work: the last sentence is as important as the so-called famous first sentence, and the successful last sentence should have a connection to the first sentence in the book.

Inspirational images have something magical about them, because they move in the realm of the difficult to define. One of the blue portraits of me, taken by Danilo Wimmer, inspired Peter Paul Wiplinger, a famous Austrian writer and photographer, to write the following equally inspirational reflection on November 15, 2024 and publish it as a social media post: Ana Bilić – Portrait in Blue

The fact that an author’s profession depends not only on inspiration but also on the readership is a constant that you cannot lose sight of – whether you want to or not. Building a bridge with others means articulating yourself communicatively and finding a common (literary) language with your readers. In short: I communicate with myself and with my intimate thoughts so that I can communicate with others.

The novel is written and published. The author is really enthusiastic about the text, in love with their work and thinks it’s great. Ten years later, the author re-reads the text and is amazed by their own work: “Huh! I wrote that? Hmm… I mean, okay, the idea is good, some passages aren’t too bad either, but all in all – well. Not a gem. Not a masterpiece. Why didn’t I notice that at the time?” – The answer is clear: you were ten years younger; your writing experience was more modest and – yes, we’re all smarter in hindsight. We all know this phenomenon from everyday life.

Ever since we came into the world, we have been putting forward our findings as theses that help us to understand the world and find our place in it. Children are particularly good at studying their parents and their environment and acting accordingly. I still remember as a child comparing my classmates‘ moms with my mom. I was convinced that my mom was the most beautiful because she was a bigger version of me, because she was slim, graceful and beautifully dressed. If I were to formulate this conviction as a child’s proverb, it would be that you can achieve happiness only through your own mom.

For me, writing style is like shaggy hair that needs to be combed through and sway in the current like river grass. Everything has to flow and be natural, words and sentences should be brushed through, perspective should be clear and logical, text structure should arouse curiosity, so that everything does not create resistance in the water of reading. Otherwise, it’s not just me who resists my text, but also every reader.