procursus -us m. : [lit. running forward] : a military advance , charge.
I've come to an interesting place in writing. I've learned some stuff during my "dry years" that is helping me now.
I've learned most of the niceties of grammar and mechanics. I feel confident in the tone of my writing, and how to manipulate grammar to influence tone. For example, I know when to use short sentences and when to use long. I understand that short sentences can up the drama, especially after long. I understand that some characters' voices naturally consist of short or long sentences. I also understand the grammar that underpins long sentences, and how to make them read smoothly. I'm starting to get a feel for what the sentence needs, as far as phrases and metaphor and all that frippery.
I have also (wonder of wonders) begun to get a handle on dialogue. I'm developing a feel for how real people talk, and how to translate that into letters and spaces and punctuation. Dialogue format is particularly confusing. Do you start a new paragraph when someone new is talking? Do you need a tag? Do you need a comma? Why is Microsoft Word putting that stupid green line there? It's ridiculous. My unsolicited advice for other writers about the correct form for dialogue: pick a book off your shelf and look at how the published writers do it. Then copy it. That's how I did it, and it's working pretty well so far. I suppose, if I ever get published, someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Deciding how to format dialogue and sticking to that format has freed me up to pay attention to what the characters are actually saying, which is the important stuff, after all.
So. I've learned some stuff during my "dry years" that is helping me now. But all that just led me to the boundary of what I don't know. I don't have to worry too much about grammar, self-editing, format, detail, etc. So what do I worry about? Plot.
I find myself in this place where my tools are good, maybe too good. I can write my characters into any situation I can dream up. Lovely. But what situation do I create? Now I have to look at the bigger picture and decide what best serves the plot. They can go there, but should they go there? Is that melodrama? What is melodrama?
It's tough because I'm also writing the fantastic, so I can't just ask "Would that really happen?" Yes, characters react like humans even in fantastical circumstances, so that question has helped me. But it doesn't always work.
I also have the "house of cards" problem. It's like this: Once I start fucking with one scene or plot point or story arc or whatever, the whole thing falls apart. I start questioning, and it's very hard to stop. I can work myself into a frenzy of "what if"s, and pretty soon I've convinced myself to stop writing altogether. I'm not joking. That's really happened. More than once.
I realize that this is just another stage in the process of becoming a better writer. I have to allow myself to write crap and veer into melodrama, etc, so that I know what it looks like. In a year I'll look back and say something like what said at the beginning of this entry: I've learned some stuff, but it's just led me to the boundary of what I don't know. Which is, I suppose, the point of writing.
I've learned most of the niceties of grammar and mechanics. I feel confident in the tone of my writing, and how to manipulate grammar to influence tone. For example, I know when to use short sentences and when to use long. I understand that short sentences can up the drama, especially after long. I understand that some characters' voices naturally consist of short or long sentences. I also understand the grammar that underpins long sentences, and how to make them read smoothly. I'm starting to get a feel for what the sentence needs, as far as phrases and metaphor and all that frippery.
I have also (wonder of wonders) begun to get a handle on dialogue. I'm developing a feel for how real people talk, and how to translate that into letters and spaces and punctuation. Dialogue format is particularly confusing. Do you start a new paragraph when someone new is talking? Do you need a tag? Do you need a comma? Why is Microsoft Word putting that stupid green line there? It's ridiculous. My unsolicited advice for other writers about the correct form for dialogue: pick a book off your shelf and look at how the published writers do it. Then copy it. That's how I did it, and it's working pretty well so far. I suppose, if I ever get published, someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Deciding how to format dialogue and sticking to that format has freed me up to pay attention to what the characters are actually saying, which is the important stuff, after all.
So. I've learned some stuff during my "dry years" that is helping me now. But all that just led me to the boundary of what I don't know. I don't have to worry too much about grammar, self-editing, format, detail, etc. So what do I worry about? Plot.
I find myself in this place where my tools are good, maybe too good. I can write my characters into any situation I can dream up. Lovely. But what situation do I create? Now I have to look at the bigger picture and decide what best serves the plot. They can go there, but should they go there? Is that melodrama? What is melodrama?
It's tough because I'm also writing the fantastic, so I can't just ask "Would that really happen?" Yes, characters react like humans even in fantastical circumstances, so that question has helped me. But it doesn't always work.
I also have the "house of cards" problem. It's like this: Once I start fucking with one scene or plot point or story arc or whatever, the whole thing falls apart. I start questioning, and it's very hard to stop. I can work myself into a frenzy of "what if"s, and pretty soon I've convinced myself to stop writing altogether. I'm not joking. That's really happened. More than once.
I realize that this is just another stage in the process of becoming a better writer. I have to allow myself to write crap and veer into melodrama, etc, so that I know what it looks like. In a year I'll look back and say something like what said at the beginning of this entry: I've learned some stuff, but it's just led me to the boundary of what I don't know. Which is, I suppose, the point of writing.