shame!
So, yeah, according to my self-imposed deadlines, I should be posting a excerpts from a nice, completed story here today. But alas, I cannot. Because I did not complete a story.
Though it will sound lame as most excuses and apologies do, I did try. Really. I started numerous stories, and tried reviving some old ones that I'd never been able to go anywhere. Nothing much worked out.
Basically, I'd sit down to write a story, and after getting a few paragraphs down, I'd more or less panic. Every possible element of the story that I thought I maybe should address would suddenly seem to be of paramount importance, and I would feel that there was no possible way I could ever address everything and make the story worth anything. And worst of all, my prose seemed lame and pedestrian. After spending a year editing the works of semi-literate drunkards and senile septuagenarian (I suspect thats what they are, seriously, who else would write a line like "boiled with surprises"), I was unable to simply write myself. To shorten my lame complaining, I had writers block.
But I kept at it, sort of. I mean, I got pretty frustrated with myself, and um, easily distracted (damn you DVR and PS2), but I finally have started on a story that is ok. Not a Josh classic, but enough to hold my interest and hopefully get through. And maybe with some time turn into something.
I'm certainly not sure I'm over writers block, but its getting better. I'm training my mind to focus just on the story at hand, and not worry about too much else. I'm also hoping that participating the in the black ink writing community (sup!) will help keep me going and working semi-regularly. So I will hold to my self-imposed deadlines of delivering a story a month, even if I crashed and burned here on my first time out.
After all, the beginning is the hardest part. Until the middle and end.
Though it will sound lame as most excuses and apologies do, I did try. Really. I started numerous stories, and tried reviving some old ones that I'd never been able to go anywhere. Nothing much worked out.
Basically, I'd sit down to write a story, and after getting a few paragraphs down, I'd more or less panic. Every possible element of the story that I thought I maybe should address would suddenly seem to be of paramount importance, and I would feel that there was no possible way I could ever address everything and make the story worth anything. And worst of all, my prose seemed lame and pedestrian. After spending a year editing the works of semi-literate drunkards and senile septuagenarian (I suspect thats what they are, seriously, who else would write a line like "boiled with surprises"), I was unable to simply write myself. To shorten my lame complaining, I had writers block.
But I kept at it, sort of. I mean, I got pretty frustrated with myself, and um, easily distracted (damn you DVR and PS2), but I finally have started on a story that is ok. Not a Josh classic, but enough to hold my interest and hopefully get through. And maybe with some time turn into something.
I'm certainly not sure I'm over writers block, but its getting better. I'm training my mind to focus just on the story at hand, and not worry about too much else. I'm also hoping that participating the in the black ink writing community (sup!) will help keep me going and working semi-regularly. So I will hold to my self-imposed deadlines of delivering a story a month, even if I crashed and burned here on my first time out.
After all, the beginning is the hardest part. Until the middle and end.