I have always thought of writing as a solitary hobby/profession. It's difficult for me to share my writing before it's complete, and I dread telling people that I enjoy writing because they often ask, "What are you writing?" I never know how to answer them when talking about a work-in-progress (WIP), and when I try to explain my WIP, I feel I sound like I don't know what I'm doing even though I should. Kinda like a parent trying to explain to a teenager about heartache:
"Well, it hurts, yes... But not forever... It seems like it will... But it really won't... And you can get over it, but don't force yourself to get over it... These things take time... Just know it'll all make sense when it's over..."
The above sounds more like a 90's movie interpretation of parent-teen talk, and I hope reality is a little different. My future teenager depends on it, as do I.
I digress...
My point is, while writing a story (no matter how interesting it is in my head), I can't justify sharing it because it's incomplete and probably flawed beyond belief until I finish it and re-finish it countless times. But then I feel silly when someone asks me what I'm writing and I fumble over my words:
"Well, it's a story... But not a complete story... I've been working on it for a while... Like, since last year... And then life got in the way... But I'm back to writing it again... And it has Zombies in it... But I put a few twists in it..." It's at this point that I feel I have to defend my WIP's being about Zombies. "And there's romance..." More defense. I don't want people thinking I'm trying to write Twilight-style Zombies, or that it's the next Warm Bodies, the latter of which is a great book I read out of pure fear that it would be too similar to my own WIP I'd started Spring, 2012, before I knew anything about Warm Bodies. (See, I'm still being defensive).
It's not that I don't have any confidence in my writing. It's not that I don't know what I'm writing. But I lack confidence in branding myself as a writer, because I haven't published anything (yet). I feel I don't deserve the title.
Maybe I should call myself a "Writer in Process" (WrIP) which is entirely dependent upon my WIP becoming a Novel in order for my WrIP status to graduate to Writer. Or I could be over-thinking things as I tend to do early in the morning before breakfast.
My self-proposed solution is this: Reach out through this blog, a YouTube channel and other social networking/broadcasting platforms to connect with other writers and readers so that I will be forced to break out of my shy, solitary writing shell.
Today is Step 1: My Declaration of Doing. It's the easiest step (for me, at least). I take my idea, and I declare it. Ideas come easy. It's implementing that is a lot more challenging. Tomorrow will be Step 2: Connecting with other writers and readers through their own social networking platforms.
Now, I've got about a thousand more words (about the aforementioned Zombies) that need to bleed their way onto paper (not literally, of course. I'm just gearing up for a little gore). My goal is to write over 2,000 words today and reach 27,000 words total.
See you tomorrow!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Zombies, kitties, and wee hours
After an unscheduled hiatus, I got back on the writing wagon and wrote 1,000 words today. I'm glad I did it, but I'd have to say I'm a bit disappointed that I haven't been writing for the past several weeks.
The ideas were flooding in today though, and even with an impromptu revision (un-killing an important character and feeding her back into the story-line), I think I still managed to make some progress.
I have missed my zombies =).
Oh!
I had this dream the other night (which jump-started my writing). In it, I was on an old farm and everything was amber-colored, like an old photograph done in sepia instead of black and white. Zombies were moseying around, doing their usual... Groaning and grumbling for grubbage. But, the best part was when I walked into the living room of this dusty farmhouse and found several feral, infected cats collecting dust like the wing-back chairs in the corners. They were alive and about as well as well could be for zombie kitties, missing clumps of hair here and there, their eyes wild with hunger. They were so much smarter than people-zombies, reverting to animal instincts to try to bring me down. I don't remember being scared. I was just fascinated. Several of them scattered behind furniture, and the tension built in the room.
I caught one orange kitty as it lunged at me. It looked rabid, but infected bites and wounds oozed as he hissed, flipped and rolled, trying to free himself from my grasp.
The dream ended shortly after that. Abruptly. I'm not really sure what happened.
I won't be putting any infected kitties into my zombie story though. As intriguing as it was, I think infected people are quite enough.
On a different note, I've decided that I need to be more persistent plugging away at my storyline (as suggested at the beginning of this post). I tend to get a surge of ideas and write about them, only to find I cannot realistically place them in the storyline in a readable format. This is what usually happens: I summarize the idea and leave it that way. Fleshing it out (for lack of a better phrase) becomes tiresome and difficult, and then I start feeling that all of my "hard work" coming up with the idea in the first place is moot because now I can't find out how to expand on it in such a way that it makes sense in the story. But, I think in thinking that way, I'm missing the point: Ideas come naturally; the real work comes from implementing them. So, I've decided to allow my ideas to take shape on paper and take time out of my day as long as I've already written my 1,000 words for the day. Now, if I wanted to be really disciplined, I'd make sure to wake up early and get my 1,000 words done in the wee hours, but I'm doing baby steps here... Just baby steps...
The ideas were flooding in today though, and even with an impromptu revision (un-killing an important character and feeding her back into the story-line), I think I still managed to make some progress.
I have missed my zombies =).
Oh!
I had this dream the other night (which jump-started my writing). In it, I was on an old farm and everything was amber-colored, like an old photograph done in sepia instead of black and white. Zombies were moseying around, doing their usual... Groaning and grumbling for grubbage. But, the best part was when I walked into the living room of this dusty farmhouse and found several feral, infected cats collecting dust like the wing-back chairs in the corners. They were alive and about as well as well could be for zombie kitties, missing clumps of hair here and there, their eyes wild with hunger. They were so much smarter than people-zombies, reverting to animal instincts to try to bring me down. I don't remember being scared. I was just fascinated. Several of them scattered behind furniture, and the tension built in the room.
I caught one orange kitty as it lunged at me. It looked rabid, but infected bites and wounds oozed as he hissed, flipped and rolled, trying to free himself from my grasp.
The dream ended shortly after that. Abruptly. I'm not really sure what happened.
I won't be putting any infected kitties into my zombie story though. As intriguing as it was, I think infected people are quite enough.
On a different note, I've decided that I need to be more persistent plugging away at my storyline (as suggested at the beginning of this post). I tend to get a surge of ideas and write about them, only to find I cannot realistically place them in the storyline in a readable format. This is what usually happens: I summarize the idea and leave it that way. Fleshing it out (for lack of a better phrase) becomes tiresome and difficult, and then I start feeling that all of my "hard work" coming up with the idea in the first place is moot because now I can't find out how to expand on it in such a way that it makes sense in the story. But, I think in thinking that way, I'm missing the point: Ideas come naturally; the real work comes from implementing them. So, I've decided to allow my ideas to take shape on paper and take time out of my day as long as I've already written my 1,000 words for the day. Now, if I wanted to be really disciplined, I'd make sure to wake up early and get my 1,000 words done in the wee hours, but I'm doing baby steps here... Just baby steps...
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
1,000 words
Today, I wrote over 1,000 words in my zombie work-in-progress (WIP) in 30 minutes. Now, I'm not sure if I just didn't know that it could take that long (I thought it'd be longer) to write that much, or if I'm just excited by my ambition, but I'm pretty happy about that. That helps me pinpoint a goal and a projected end-date for this project that has taken entirely too long to complete.
If I can average 1,000 words per half-hour, and if I can set aside 90 minutes per day to write, I could be done in a few weeks. Now, I realize that's an ideal situation, that requires I write every day with no exception. But in all honesty, I prefer to work toward ideals as opposed to pessimistic realities that might have me giving myself days off for "breaks" and such. (Incidentally, I typed "suck" instead of "such," and I debated upon leaving it that way but then thought that wouldn't make sense. Now that I've parenthetically described my self-editing dilemma, you may understand that I intended breaks to be a sucky thing. Well, that's if you're the type of person who reads inside parentheses. I know I am.)
I say I could be done in a few weeks because I've got 17,000+ words currently written. I love the idea of writing, reading about writing, and reading what others write so much that I want this blog to be about just that.
With that said, please link up with me on Goodreads and Twitter. I'd be happy to connect with you there. I've learned so much from my contacts on Twitter, and it amazes me how generous people are with information. I love Goodreads because it's so quick and easy, sharing and rating books with your friends.
I'll be updating tomorrow, after I've written another 1,000 words.
If I can average 1,000 words per half-hour, and if I can set aside 90 minutes per day to write, I could be done in a few weeks. Now, I realize that's an ideal situation, that requires I write every day with no exception. But in all honesty, I prefer to work toward ideals as opposed to pessimistic realities that might have me giving myself days off for "breaks" and such. (Incidentally, I typed "suck" instead of "such," and I debated upon leaving it that way but then thought that wouldn't make sense. Now that I've parenthetically described my self-editing dilemma, you may understand that I intended breaks to be a sucky thing. Well, that's if you're the type of person who reads inside parentheses. I know I am.)
I say I could be done in a few weeks because I've got 17,000+ words currently written. I love the idea of writing, reading about writing, and reading what others write so much that I want this blog to be about just that.
With that said, please link up with me on Goodreads and Twitter. I'd be happy to connect with you there. I've learned so much from my contacts on Twitter, and it amazes me how generous people are with information. I love Goodreads because it's so quick and easy, sharing and rating books with your friends.
I'll be updating tomorrow, after I've written another 1,000 words.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Beginning
Ok. So, every time I think I'm going to be a great blogger, I fail. For that reason, I'm gonna try to lower my expectations to posting on here once per week.
What will I be writing about?
Writing. Fiction. Right now I'm working on a zombie novel, and at about 16,000 words in, I'd say I need to pick up the pace. I've been working on this for nearly a year now, and unfortunately, life did its thing and got in the way.
I stopped writing to focus on finishing college (English degree with a Creative Writing focus, so I guess I didn't really stop writing...). And then I thought it might be bright of me to get a job with health insurance so my little one could continue being the reckless little munchkin she loves to be (no broken bones yet ;) ). I found a job, but I feel like I should be using my skills, and my bills keep screaming at my wages demanding, "MORE! MORE!"
So, here I am. I'd like to take a step back and re-focus my attention, even if it's just a few minutes a day, to one thing I love to do.
Write.
This blog is simply a running track for me to keep at least a steady pace on my writing. I'll try to keep readers posted on progress, and if I end up being the only one reading this blog, well then, I guess I'll be making myself accountable ;).
I'd love to make this a place to share thoughts on writing and reading, so feel free to post constructive comments.
Next post, I'll be talking about what I enjoy reading, including a couple of my favorite blogs, books, etc.
I'm also planning on getting a piece of my zombie novel-in-progress up here soon as well.
What will I be writing about?
Writing. Fiction. Right now I'm working on a zombie novel, and at about 16,000 words in, I'd say I need to pick up the pace. I've been working on this for nearly a year now, and unfortunately, life did its thing and got in the way.
I stopped writing to focus on finishing college (English degree with a Creative Writing focus, so I guess I didn't really stop writing...). And then I thought it might be bright of me to get a job with health insurance so my little one could continue being the reckless little munchkin she loves to be (no broken bones yet ;) ). I found a job, but I feel like I should be using my skills, and my bills keep screaming at my wages demanding, "MORE! MORE!"
So, here I am. I'd like to take a step back and re-focus my attention, even if it's just a few minutes a day, to one thing I love to do.
Write.
This blog is simply a running track for me to keep at least a steady pace on my writing. I'll try to keep readers posted on progress, and if I end up being the only one reading this blog, well then, I guess I'll be making myself accountable ;).
I'd love to make this a place to share thoughts on writing and reading, so feel free to post constructive comments.
Next post, I'll be talking about what I enjoy reading, including a couple of my favorite blogs, books, etc.
I'm also planning on getting a piece of my zombie novel-in-progress up here soon as well.
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