Thursday, December 18, 2008

Can you write?

At age five (5) everybody thinks they can draw a cat. At age twenty-five (25) very few still believe.

From: The Great Sea (Look in the comments to find it.) The post is very encouraging for those of us who are not ready for publishing yet.

I think I'm in danger of losing sight of the reason I ever wrote anything in the first place - it was because I wanted to. I used to keep a journal, or "whinge-book" as it mostly was and I've written a couple of stories of which one was finished. I think that I'm putting pressure on myself from hanging around with people who are better writers than I am and there's no need for me to do that. There's room for all of us, whether hobbyists or professionals.

Oh, and I do want to do my reading today for Robin but I'm rather behind as I had to reinstall Windows. Well, when I say I had to, I mean my son did most of it but I keep finding programs that I need to reinstall.

8 COMMENTS:

Whirlochre said...

Here's an interesting thing. I've been wondering why my WIP has become more of a tedious chore the closer I've got to the end, and the only thing I can think of is that the fun factor has kind of evaporated. I'm no longer at the very beginning — that wild incendiary spizzoon of unfolding delights that compels you to write on to find out what happens. It's the ending. The tying up of loose ends and shrapnel. The making sure that my protag's last few lines make sense in the context of what's gone on before. I'm thinking of edits and synopses nad agents and leaps from cliffs rather than being expansive in my consolidation; generative in my finales.

Fun. That was always my reason.

As for readings, I too have to miss out on this one. Whirl Towers has become a breeding ground for every germ and bug bar syphillis and small pox, and if Geoff succumbs to whiskery snitchoos, that'll be the entire household laid low. Under these circumstances, the sexiest thing I could do with instructions for taking Paracetemol is not sneeze on them.

Bevie said...

I get uneasy as I near the end of a piece - particularly if I'm into it. I wonder if it's because I'm afraid I've just used up the last of my creative juices and this is my last hurrah?

Fun. That was always my reason.

The greatest motivator of them all.

Ms Scarlet said...

Vive la difference! And don't compare.. and have fun.
Sx

Robin S. said...

I agree- don't compare. It bums me out, doing that.

And I'm with Whirl, I'm about at the end, but I'm in the grip of a crisis in confidence. Bottom line, I am now firmly convinced I suck, and that's keeping me from hitting the finish line. I called Chris yesterday and had a big hissy fit of worry. Thank God she helped me out of it.

Wanna know what else would help?
Yeah. That would help! Hope Windows is fixed soon, because I really can hardly wait to hear ya!

JaneyV said...

I have the same difficulty and I'm not even half way through yet. I have much to learn and the comparison with others will always see me come up short. I hope that slowly plugging away will reap benefits in the end. Y'know … eventually.

Still horribly mucusy and croaky so the voice thingy will have to be a 'no'

fairyhedgehog said...

WO: I'm sorry to hear that you're all germ-ridden and buggy. Hope everyone gets better soon.

I'm not sure any writing is fun for me at the moment - I keep thinking how it will look to bright sparks like you and the rest of the gang. I'm not used to being around people who are so much brighter than I am and it comes as a bit of a shock but I shall rise to the challenge. That's what I tell myself, anyway.

BBJD: Yes, I need to put the fun back into my writing. Maybe I just need to be a bit more playful. I try to write well and I need to put that aside till I get to the editing part.

scarlet: thanks for the encouragement :)

Robin: you don't suck. Really, really you don't.

Janey: I'm sorry your toad is still giving you problems. I really wanted to hear you. Hope you get better soon.

Sylvia said...

I write a lot "just for the sake of it" and for very specific readers. It's hard not to see getting published as the primary goal but I don't see why it should be.

I was reading through some old essays that I wrote about five years ago. I was thinking, some of this might be publishable, at least on blogs, if I rewrote them and made them a bit less personal. Then I came to my senses and remembered that the point of them was to be personal and to share with my friends, not to sell them. They had an audience of about five people and that's all I wanted and it was fine.

I'd like to also say that I have never encountered a wild incendiary spizzoon, nor any other of the ecstatic feelings, at the beginning of a piece. This whole feeling of excitement of writing something new isn't really there for me.

And having just seen your last comment - EEK! You can NOT think about people reading your work while you are writing! I'd never write a WORD that way. I feel sick at the very thought.

Fun little writing exercises, maybe. Even then, I feel all stressed and fretful as I wait for the reactions. The refresh button on firefox has had the pixels worn off by my obsessive checking.

Anything longer, I go on the basis that everyone will HATE it as it is but maybe I'll have something worth saving at the end. And then I finally get to something that I think is readable. At that point, I have a friend who is honest BUT also really loves me, my writing style, and most of what I write. And I always give her the first draft.

Saves a fortune on therapy, I'm telling you.

fairyhedgehog said...

Sylvia: I'm glad you don't like to think about people reading your work, either.

Your friend who reads your drafts sounds like a real gem.

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