Writing for writing's sake
Since I finished my nano project and I can't bring myself to handle the re-write for at least six months (I need to be away from it. I find as time passes, I go through a process of absolutely loathing my work to not minding it to realising that although it is deeply flawed there is good stuff for me to work with, and deciding eventually that it does deserve my time)... wait, what?
No brackets. Ahem.
Since I am currently sans writing project... I have been flailing about wondering what to write about, to keep in the habit. At my last writing group I managed to write 2500 words on a story that I had completely forgotten even existed. I now only have a very vague idea of what happens next, but it's a long form story, and based on past experience I shouldn't dive in until I have an arc and a plan and a shape. The story might not follow said arc/plan/shape, but without that to refer to I will end up with an awful lot of dithering (one of my greatest fears in regard to writing novels. I think it's because teachers and judges always told me that I had a very good sense of pacing, and I have no idea how I actually do it, it just sort of happens, which means that I can't make it happen, it's basically magic, and it's so easy for magic to just fail to happen... and in long form stuff it nearly always does).
So I put my money where my mouth is (you'll want to rearrange that particular platitude in a bit).
I started looking up story competitions.
Jesus fucking Christ, there are a lot of them. All hail the fucking internet! And some of them look... well... right up my alley... or what I think is my alley...
So that's my new plan. When I turn up at writing group, I'll check my diary for the next competition, and try to come up with something. I'll basically use them as prompts. I will enter them (and edit and polish and all that), with the expectation of not winning things (because that last time I won a short story competition, I was the 19 year old in the teenage category and had something of an unfair advantage).
Wish me luck, amigos.
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No brackets. Ahem.
Since I am currently sans writing project... I have been flailing about wondering what to write about, to keep in the habit. At my last writing group I managed to write 2500 words on a story that I had completely forgotten even existed. I now only have a very vague idea of what happens next, but it's a long form story, and based on past experience I shouldn't dive in until I have an arc and a plan and a shape. The story might not follow said arc/plan/shape, but without that to refer to I will end up with an awful lot of dithering (one of my greatest fears in regard to writing novels. I think it's because teachers and judges always told me that I had a very good sense of pacing, and I have no idea how I actually do it, it just sort of happens, which means that I can't make it happen, it's basically magic, and it's so easy for magic to just fail to happen... and in long form stuff it nearly always does).
So I put my money where my mouth is (you'll want to rearrange that particular platitude in a bit).
I started looking up story competitions.
Jesus fucking Christ, there are a lot of them. All hail the fucking internet! And some of them look... well... right up my alley... or what I think is my alley...
So that's my new plan. When I turn up at writing group, I'll check my diary for the next competition, and try to come up with something. I'll basically use them as prompts. I will enter them (and edit and polish and all that), with the expectation of not winning things (because that last time I won a short story competition, I was the 19 year old in the teenage category and had something of an unfair advantage).
Wish me luck, amigos.
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