Struggles of Writing Fiction

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
― Ernest Hemingway

During English classes, among the range of essay types – narrative, descriptive and argumentative, a majority tends to attempt the narrative storytelling. The reason behind it is that usually the fiction prompts provide an easier option to gain more marks. The examiner here acts like a customer at your boutique, telling you exactly what he/she wants you to make and you simply have to comply. However, what happens when you venture to write fiction without the prompt, without the time limit and exam conditions? Does it get easier? By no means.
When encountered with the question of “What is the purpose of life?” Kilgore Trout, one of Kurt Vonnegut's most creatively driven characters, who also is an author, replies, “To be the eyes and ears and conscience of the Creator of the Universe, you fool.” As you devote yourself to writing fiction, you find yourself striving to create a universe, or at least a fragment of a universe, with characters projecting the images and voices inside you and their actions reflecting your own conscience. In the words of Oscar Wilde, “As it was, we always misunderstood ourselves and rarely understood others.” Therefore, the projection of our thoughts in writing fiction is, to say the very least, complex. This paradoxical complexity has never hindered a truly great writer. Writers of that calibre use their fiction to vent, to attempt to make sense of their own thoughts.  
Albert Camus, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, said, “Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.” Fiction is an art form; it does not matter whether the expressed art is science fiction, romance or fantasy. At the end of the day, to satisfy yourself (which in turn will satisfy your readers) your work has to convey something meaningful. This deeper meaning makes fiction riveting as it places dangerous ideas in the most delicate ways imaginable. Sure, you can write fiction for “fun”, and it is fun sometimes, yet it must be kept in mind that fiction calls for a deep emotional investment.
Take it from a closet fiction writer, one of the most difficult parts of the fiction writing process is revealing it – giving people access to the thoughts your mind plays with and opening the gateway for criticism. Since writing fiction is the product of such personal input, it is harder to integrate changes to it. In the non-fiction book “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft”, Stephen King writes, “Even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler's heart, kill your darlings.” He does not mean for you to kill off all your characters like in “Game of Thrones”, but discusses the importance of editing and cutting of pieces that may be significant to you but not to the story.
As you leaf through the pages of a great work of fiction, you find the thoughts of the writer trickling down your own mind. That is the basic standard of writing fiction writers are compelled to aspire for. The bravery of trying your hand at fiction alone is a commendable act.