(no subject)
I've been thinking about writing lately. I don't know, there seems to be a resurgence of posts on the writing "process" in my internet neighborhood, or maybe I'm just noticing them more, or something. Kind of like how after the Wrestler bought a Geo Metro I saw them everywhere, or something.
Anyway, it's made me think about how I started writing. I remember taking a creative writing class in high school and writing the beginning of some alt universe fantasy. I think I went on for a paragraph, at least, about what the sky looked like at sunrise. I got good feedback from my teacher and my mom liked it (note: my mom also thought I was the greatest singer ever, even though she never went to any of my concerts) but it was something my dad said that I found the most rewarding. He made some throwaway, snide comment about how descriptive it was that at first made me pretty embarassed. But then I realized that he was right, that it was OTT and ever since then I've taken to mentally red-penning my own work, cutting out all of the dross that doesn't need to be there. Though there are times where I probably cut away too much stuff, but I never claimed to be a master of the craft. ;-)
[BTW, seeing as my father was the one who introduced me to most, if not all, of the crappy fantasy I read back in the day it's kind of, I don't know, fascinating that it was his snark that saved me from spending years trying to recreate it. Instead, now I structure things like television shows because that's how I currently roll. *g*]
For years I hardly did any writing that wasn't papers for college. I told my self that I wasn't a writer, that I couldn't be a writer, so I should just do other things instead. But even though I wasn't writing I was reading, a lot. I was discovering what really good writing was like, not the crappy fantasy novels that I devoured when I was a teenager, but books that pulled me in and made me gasp at what language could achieve. At the same time I was lurking in online fandom, reading metric tons of X-Files fanfiction. And that was teaching me things as well, things about character and dialogue and plot. In seeing other people writing, people at all levels of the skill spectrum, I not only learned what did and didn't work but also why that was the case.
Somehow, after all of that, finally making the leap to writing my own stuff wasn't all that hard. I mean, yeah, writing still kicks my ass and I'm absolutely still learning and growing and improving, but there are still days where I'm absolutely thrilled to realize that I'm a writer. I write. After years of thinking that it was something I couldn't do it's now something I can't not do, can't live without. And people read what I write! And sometimes they even comment! And my friends (who are tremendous writers) consider me a peer! And OMG!
I'm still fiendishly neurotic about my stories (there aren't enough comments! everybody hates me! woe is me!) and I'm still working on becoming a better writer. But I love it and I'm so glad that whenever that oppressive you suck voice whispers in the back of my head there's another one that tells me that I don't. Well, that and random comments on old stories, which is also a totally awesome thing (and something I need to do more often for other people).
In sum: this is why I'm quitting Panera because it's taking all of my time and concentration away from doing important things like writing fanfic and figuring out my future. I mean, seriously, I totally could've finished that awesome Susan-fic that hit me a couple weeks ago if not for all of this balderdash. I love being the kind of nerd who concurrently reads a book on the Italian Renaissance, watches a couple episodes of The Tudors and gets an idea for a piece of Narnia fanfic. Geeks of the world unite!
comments at http://liptonrm.dreamwidth.org/16569.html.
Anyway, it's made me think about how I started writing. I remember taking a creative writing class in high school and writing the beginning of some alt universe fantasy. I think I went on for a paragraph, at least, about what the sky looked like at sunrise. I got good feedback from my teacher and my mom liked it (note: my mom also thought I was the greatest singer ever, even though she never went to any of my concerts) but it was something my dad said that I found the most rewarding. He made some throwaway, snide comment about how descriptive it was that at first made me pretty embarassed. But then I realized that he was right, that it was OTT and ever since then I've taken to mentally red-penning my own work, cutting out all of the dross that doesn't need to be there. Though there are times where I probably cut away too much stuff, but I never claimed to be a master of the craft. ;-)
[BTW, seeing as my father was the one who introduced me to most, if not all, of the crappy fantasy I read back in the day it's kind of, I don't know, fascinating that it was his snark that saved me from spending years trying to recreate it. Instead, now I structure things like television shows because that's how I currently roll. *g*]
For years I hardly did any writing that wasn't papers for college. I told my self that I wasn't a writer, that I couldn't be a writer, so I should just do other things instead. But even though I wasn't writing I was reading, a lot. I was discovering what really good writing was like, not the crappy fantasy novels that I devoured when I was a teenager, but books that pulled me in and made me gasp at what language could achieve. At the same time I was lurking in online fandom, reading metric tons of X-Files fanfiction. And that was teaching me things as well, things about character and dialogue and plot. In seeing other people writing, people at all levels of the skill spectrum, I not only learned what did and didn't work but also why that was the case.
Somehow, after all of that, finally making the leap to writing my own stuff wasn't all that hard. I mean, yeah, writing still kicks my ass and I'm absolutely still learning and growing and improving, but there are still days where I'm absolutely thrilled to realize that I'm a writer. I write. After years of thinking that it was something I couldn't do it's now something I can't not do, can't live without. And people read what I write! And sometimes they even comment! And my friends (who are tremendous writers) consider me a peer! And OMG!
I'm still fiendishly neurotic about my stories (there aren't enough comments! everybody hates me! woe is me!) and I'm still working on becoming a better writer. But I love it and I'm so glad that whenever that oppressive you suck voice whispers in the back of my head there's another one that tells me that I don't. Well, that and random comments on old stories, which is also a totally awesome thing (and something I need to do more often for other people).
In sum: this is why I'm quitting Panera because it's taking all of my time and concentration away from doing important things like writing fanfic and figuring out my future. I mean, seriously, I totally could've finished that awesome Susan-fic that hit me a couple weeks ago if not for all of this balderdash. I love being the kind of nerd who concurrently reads a book on the Italian Renaissance, watches a couple episodes of The Tudors and gets an idea for a piece of Narnia fanfic. Geeks of the world unite!
comments at http://liptonrm.dreamwidth.org/16569.html.