Thursday, January 19, 2012

Quit Worrying and Just Write

Sometimes the words and ideas flow effortlessly. More often than not you need an inspirational kick in the ass.

When I joined Nanowrimo for the first time in 2009 I had less of a lackluster experience. I diligently went to my keyboard every night tapping away until I got to my 1700 words.

The writing was crap. My plot flailed wildly and my characters didn't stay consistent. By mid-November I had little motivation to finish.

I continued to write.

I'd like to say that exercise had a happy ending and what I wrote in November 2009 became an excellent book with engaging characters. Truth is after Nanowrimo (which I didn't win) I left the book unread on my computer for months.

Then in October I revisited the idea and thought of an even better book than what I originally struggled with. Now I'm rewriting the book that once seemed to have so little promise. The story and characters (after months of letting my imagination subconsciously tinker with them) are much better. There still is a lot of work that needs to be done, but if I hadn't taken that crazy leap into writing in Nanowrimo I still would not have a book to work on.

The hardest thing is to delve into the unknown, sit your ass in front of the keyboard and write something, anything even if it seems useless at the time because you never know where that idea might lead.

8 comments:

  1. Can't help but agree. Found myself in a similiar situation a couple of times. 5-7 years ago, I used to be able to write in length cuz I was really inspired. These days, it's hard to commit to anything new because it rarely works out great.
    I more or less ran with whatever idea I had in my head and told myself that I only needed to write out the scene, not putting the pressure on myself to make it a novel. Out of the last 5-6 attempts, one of them I finished and two, I may have ended but am kinda afraid to put the final nail in the coffin cuz they were so fun to write to begin with. Hated to see it end.

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    1. I read somewhere that books are never finished by their authors, they're just abandoned. It's hard to finish anything because you know there's something you can change or improve. There's a lot of self-doubt that goes into the writing process and any writer who doesn't feel it is either cocky or stupid. LOL Have you published any of your books? I'd love to read them.

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    2. awww... NO... if only I were that lucky.
      I was a highly profilic writer in high school and college. Finished 9 novel-length stories (60-199 pages) and 4 short stories. My short stories are more fiction than my forte, fantasy & romance. Of those 9 novels, I only feel confident that I may one day be able to publish 4-5 of them. I think I'd been working on grooming one story for publication for a good 5 years now, but it seems there's a lot still to be done. Once I get that done and I find the one liteary agent who wants to represent me, I can start the polishing with everything else.
      I could send one of them to you via email if you're interested.

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  2. It's funny because I force myself to write pages upon pages of planning (usually 20-25) before I start drafting. And usually, I don't even look at that planning. But I have to go through it to get a feel for the story so that I can draft something that's actually good. I enjoy fast drafting and for me, the story comes out better when I fast draft. My planning helps that--even if I don't actually use it while writing. I have an idea and I am able to make sense of it.

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    1. I do a little outline before I start but find as I continue in the story the original outline goes out the window as some characters come to the forefront and other ideas I thought were good at the time go by the wayside. I know some writers do very well planning while others are better "winging it." I seem to fall somewhere in between. ;)

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  3. This happens a lot to me with regards to my writing. I have grown accustomed to being okay with the crap I first put out. I always go back to it and each time, my writing and plot becomes better for it, whether I wait a few weeks, months or years.
    And I enjoy blogging off the access. While I do not have the time I once used to for it, I like to take half an hour or an hour to just come up with anything my mind thinks of.

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    1. I loved the quote from Stephen King - "Only God gets it right the first time." How very true. Even if it's a very rough draft it's something easier to work with as opposed to a blank page.

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  4. I totally agree, this has happened to me on a book. I didn't like the ending at the time of writing but after leaving it for several months and I came back to it with a fresh perspective and new ideas.

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