On Writing and Stuff

[aikakone]

So last night I finished typing my grandmother's novel Jenny. It was an achievement, and I busted my butt in 2 weeks to get it done. Originally, I had hoped to be an Olympic-level typist and get all 4 of her novels done before the month was out. As I worked on things, it became obvious that was not going to happen, so gradually my standards

Comments

[mummakook]

Speaking purely academically, first I'd say write. Write anything just to get in the zone. Perhaps the new idea is a good thing to work on there. When it comes to your Wolfgang story, if you're struggling then leave it. Put it aside, work on other stuff and come back to it fresh. If you have ideas along the way by all means write them down, but don't put any conscious energy into thinking about it for a while. Nothing like a break for getting back into things and usually improving them at that.

[aikakone]

Your assessment is most wise. I was thinking this afternoon and evening after I wrote that post that I really should just stop whining and angsting. I should write and consistently so. It's slow and steady that wins the race, as the fable goes. It works the same for music, too, really.

So, now that I'm done with the one story, I sat down tonight and wrote with a timer because that is what is best for me. Just put the timer on for 20 minutes and write, even if it's crap. And it all likelihood will be, but it will keep me going forward. I got nearly 800 words out of the deal, so not a bad restart at all.

[mummakook]

Good for you! That's exactly the advice given to me once, just write about anything, it may be crap but that's not the point. Turned out at the time not as much of it was as I'd anticipated, it's just a matter of of pushing yourself beyond the boundaries (real and imagined). Sounds simple, and in time you do learn what works for you (like your personal timer thing) a bit but it's indeed a slow process. I was recently listening to a Buddhist nun speaking on principles I really want to adopt (and have done for some time, but ... browser crash cos you tried to chat to me on the horrid facebook chat - am on MSN and Yahoo just hiding) and she said it's like 5 steps forward, 5 steps back. Then you try again and maybe you get 5 steps forward and 4.5 back, yay progress!