Sunday, November 13, 2011

Weekend Musings: I R Writer

 So, I have a confession to make. For many, many months I've been stuck in a rut. It was the "I want to be a writer, I talk a lot about writing, but I don't do much actual writing" rut. Anyone else know that one? And honestly, I think it was because of the blogging.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm soooo glad that I started blogging. I've gained so much from it The amount of stuff I've learned is positively overwhelming. And the amount of fun I've had must surely be sinful. So I don't regret a moment of it and I've no intention of stopping. But there does come a point of non-productivity where it suddenly becomes a lot easier to sit and read blogs because holy crap there's so much you still don't know and you'd better learn it all before you put pen to paper again lest your WIP be one smidgen less polished than it could be if you knew everything.

I never thought that consciously, but being confronted with the vast amount of information on writing blogs that I didn't know before has had a sort of freezing effect on me. My mind constantly asking, are you doing it right? Are you sure you're doing it right? What if you're doing it wrong? What if you're doing ok, but you could be doing it much better if you just read all these writing tips?

So, I'll be honest, it's been a while since I actually wrote any prose connected to my work in progress. As I said in my last post, my creativity had stalled and it's because I'd started thinking too critically all the time. I've been too concerned with the format of my stories as a future series when I haven't even managed to write one novel yet.

Then something happened this past week. I sat down and wrote a new opening scene for my WIP. I wrote it out in my notebook first and then typed it into my computer from my notebook, doing light editing along the way. And it felt good. More than that, I liked the finished product. And so I remembered that I am a writer. Not just a plotter. Not just a worldbuilder. But a writer and most importantly a storyteller.

My goal for this current round of A Round of Words in 80 Days (don't talk to me about Nano, I don't do well with hard deadlines) is to get back on track with actual writing. I want to, by the end of this session, be regularly writing for my WIP everyday. I want to actually make progress as a writer. I started to make some progress this week. And I feel hopeful that I can keep it up. I really felt in the creative zone when I was typing up that first scene. I'm excited.

To help keep me on track, I've decided to only post here twice a week. One brief (briefer than this one) status report on my WIP for Row 80 on the weekend and one other longer, hopefully interesting and thought provoking post during the week. I'm putting a serious limit on the amount of blogfests I'll sign up for too. I've been a bit too compulsive about that in the past. That's the plan. Hopefully by the end of this ROW 80 I'll be seriously involved in my current WIP. I have high hopes for this one.

14 comments:

  1. I find handwriting my work so liberating. I love to get away from my computer and pour my writing onto a page. It may be messy, and I may have to type it up later, but I get so much done.

    Good luck on getting back in touch with your WiP!

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  2. I guess I'm glad I wasn't online during the writing of my first book, because the information can overwhelm. Find your joy of writing, right or wrong, and do it for you.

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  3. Miss Cole, for some reason I find that I'm more creative when I'm handwriting. My ideas are more interesting and more coherent. But it's more of a raw creativity. It's during the typing phase that things smooth out and flow together. I need both ways to write well.

    Thank you, Myne.

    Alex, part of me wishes I had waited to get online until I had actually finished a book. But the other part of me knows that I really did need to learn many of the things I've learned before pursuing a writing career. I'm still in a good place. I'm excited for the future.

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  4. I didn't get into the whole blogging thing until after I'd finished my first novel, and I'm really glad. Blogging splits my time up too much, and the second novel is going much more slowly than I'd like it to. Which is not to say that I'd give up the blogging, but it does complicate things.

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  5. Good to hear you liked what you wrote. Enthusiasm for the work is everything! That's what will take you across the finish line. :)

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  6. Andrew, that's why I'm forcing myself to cut back on blogging. I'm usually an all or nothing type of person, so moderating the blogging to a reasonable level is much harder than giving it up all together. But I really wouldn't want to do that.

    LG, thanks. I'm a perfectionist and thus a chronic editor, so it really helps me to keep going forward if I'm already happy with what I wrote last time.

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  7. What great news!

    I look forward to hearing more exciting news about your WIP. Good stuff!

    Happy Writing

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  8. To finish my current WIP (and the first, very messy round of edits) I had to write everything by hand and then transfer it to my computer. An added bonus was each scene was essentially edited as I input it, so my first edit wasn't as bad as it could have been.

    Happy writing!

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  9. Glad to hear you've got your groove back, Sarah. Good luck with RoW in 80!

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  10. Your WIP is definitely more important than posting often to your blog. Keep your eye on the target.

    It always feels great to get back into the groove, doesn't it?

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  11. I know what you mean. If I'm on "my schedule" that puppy just won't get done in a reasonable amount of time. ROW80 has been helping me with that though. Good choice. And the pen/paper first, then transcribing later? Yep. That's a good trick that I use a lot when I feel stuck. Good luck!

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  12. Definitely, you have to focus on what is most important to you. Good luck, Sarah!

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  13. Glad you're finding a balance that works well for you! I can't *not* write in a notebook. It makes NaNo extra hard cos I have to type everything later...

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